The Eden Magazine January 2020 by Maryam Morrison

January 2020

EDEN T h e

Magazine

Table of Contents Paramahansa Yogananda

BACK FROM THE BRINK, SAVED FROM EXTINCTION

THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO KETO & GUT HEALTH

By Kristin Grayce McGary

THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE & FEAR

By Rudolf Eckhardt

HOPE, FAITH, FREEDOM, BELIEF By Michael White Ryan

106

CONSCIOUS & SUBCONSCIOUS AWARENESS By Jayita Bhattacharjee

THE SECRET OF ABUNDANCE By Phyllis King

104 82

HOPE THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS By Angela Dunning

A SOUTH DAKOTA STATE OF MIND By Michael Manasseri

ARE WE IN AN AGE OF MASS EXTINTION By Dr. Frederik Saltre

THE NATURE OF ATTACHMENT

THE SPACE IN-BETEERN

By Tara-jenelle Walsch

Cover Photo by

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

10th Anniversary 68

GRATITUDE IS THE BEST ATTITUDE By Sasha Gary

BECOMING ANXIETY FREE

By Mia Villatora & Jennifer Marsland

REFLECTIONS

By Lavandaia & Marco Nunzio Alati

THE TROPHY EFFECT By Alexia Melocchi

BOSOM BUDDIES By Joey Santos Jr.

AN ANTIDOT FOR THE AGE OF ANXIETY By Philip Shepherd

MAKE 2020 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER By Nancy E. Yearout

100

58 108

ZENTANGLE - A CREATIVE PATH TO THE PRESENT MOMENT By Brian Crimmins, CZT

108

2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGAN

2019 Ottowa International Vegan

54 64

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5 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2019

DINA MORRONE

Maryam Morrison

GREG DOHERTY

MARGARET TOMASZEWIC

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

MARIA ELENA INFANTINO

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

TARA-JENELLE WALSCH

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

NANCY E. YEAROUT

SHERI DETERMAN

MICHAEL WHITE RYAN

ANGELA DUNNING

JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE

JOE SANTOS, JR.

SASHA GARY

MARCO NUNZIO ALATI

ISABELLE RUEN 6 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eDecember 2019

PHYLLIS KING

MEET OUR TEAM

Photo by ISABELLE RUEN

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

EDEN T

MAGAZINE

Since 2010

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

www.theedenmagazine.com 325 N. Maple Dr. Po Box 5132 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 To purchase a copy visit us in www.theedenmagazine.com Eden Magazine is a non-profit monthly online magazine. We aim to create a better environment where we live among other living beings in peace and harmony. We support artists that their work matches our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article or/and your photography for our future issues please contact Maryam Morrison at; maryammorrison@theedenmagazine.com 7 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Dear readers, Of all the editor’s letters I’ve written, this one is by far the most meaningful so far. What an amazing time to celebrate our 10th Anniversary in publication as we turn over into the new decade of 2020. I’m so grateful to our team members, writers and all the contributors who work very hard every month making it possible for us to be here celebrating such a momentous anniversary. The story of how the magazine came to life all began in 2010 while living in Los Angeles while taking care of my mother who was battling Alzheimer’s. I felt how many people feel when dealing with challenges in their life without answers; frustrated, alone, scared and wanting to make things better. With a Graphic Design degree, I had past experience in the industry publishing a small, black and white print magazine called, “Critter”, when I lived in Savannah, Georgia. The content was primarily based around Animal Shelters and Animal Rescuers, but I wanted to focus on more than animals. This led me to the idea of creating a publication that could be a bridge between those seeking answers and those who have a solution. The Eden Magazine was officially born in January 2010, with only 20 pages and just a few readers. Today it reaches over one million readers from around the world. The goal of the magazine has always been to help people find a better way to live and to focus spreading compassion to all sentient beings living in a healing and peaceful world. I’m passionate about highlighting people who support charities and have a keen awareness of the environment and all living beings. Over the years I’ve been fortunate to feature celebrities, environmentalists, animal rights activists, athletes, artists and musicians. The Eden Magazine has been a labor of love from all our contributors who have stood strong together in one voice for the past ten years, believing our mission and trusting our path, never losing sight of what it represents. But none of it would matter if we didn’t have readers like you who agreed with and believed in our mission. Thank you for your continuous support and for being part of the Eden team by sharing our messages and extending your compassion out into the world. My Best wishes to all the family of The Eden Magazine for 2020.

With deep gratitude,

Maryam Morrison

Maryam Morrison Editor in Chief, The Eden Magazine

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The Eden Magazine Team Members Wow, I am sitting here reflecting on how incredible these last ten years have been since I started The Eden Magazine. It has been a thrill for me to create the magazine and to share it with the world. But I did not do this alone. I am extremely honored and proud to have such terrific team members, who have supported The Eden Magazine. Thank you for these ten remarkable years of warmth, friendship, dedication, and loyal support. I couldn't have done it without all of you. I am so proud of all that we have accomplished together. On this special anniversary, I'm pleased to introduce you to The Eden Magazine family. Maryam Morrison

DINA MORRONE

EXECUTIVE EDITOR/CONTRIBUTING WRITER Dina Morrone began writing plays, short stories, and sketch comedy scenes while in grade school in her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. At 11 years old, she and her best friend convinced the principal to grant them permission to write and produce the school’s first variety talent show. All the proceeds collected went to the local CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind). That was just the beginning of Dina’s involvement with Non-Profits and giving back. It was through that experience she recognized the importance of helping and giving to those less fortunate, and to those with debilitating health needs. She learned that by giving through her passion for performing and the arts, she could give back to causes that are dear to her.

an show, The Italian In Me. (Best One Person Show at the Valley Theatre Awards in Los Angeles)

Dina graduated Ryerson University, in Toronto, and moved to Rome, Italy, to work as a television host for RAI Television, actress, model, and voice-over artist. After several years, she made a move to Los Angeles, where she currently resides and works as a writer, performer, and voice-over artist.

Dina is the Executive Editor and a contributing writer of the Los Angeles based lifestyle-conscious magazine, The Eden Magazine. She has written features, editorial pieces, and interviewed the likes of icon Gina Lollobrigida, and Hollywood legend, Bruce Dern. Dina sits on the Artistic Board of Theatre West, and is a proud member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, Dramatists Guild of America, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and an Alumni of Ryerson University and UCLA. www.dinamorrone.com.

One of the professional highlights of Dina’s time in Rome was a meeting with the Maestro, Federico Fellini, which subsequently became the inspiration for her award winning one-wom-

In 2011 Dina’s full-length play, with a cast of twelve, Moose On The Loose, a comedy about an Italian family and a Canadian moose, opened to rave reviews. Mel Brooks wrote, “I cannot tell a lie, Moose On The Loose is really funny and surprisingly moving.” Broadway World gave it a Critics Pick - 5 out of 5 Stars, The LA Times Recommended it, and The Lake Superior News, said, “Dina must have studied Shakespeare at some point because this story has all the epic marks of that great playwright.” Moose On The Loose was picked up and successfully produced, in Canada, by Magnus Theatre, and STC Sudbury Theatre Centre.

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Thank you letter from Dina Morrone For the past five years, I have had the honor of being a contributing writer and the Executive Editor of The Eden Magazine. It’s been a real pleasure to work so closely with Maryam Morrison on this extraordinary and influential magazine. Maryam’s vision of what the magazine is and what it strives to be is remarkable. And I have learned so much from our collaboration. I look forward to each monthly issue with excitement to see what it will bring and what it will teach me. So many fascinating people have graced the cover, and their inspiring stories shared inside the magazine. These are individuals from different professions, and from around the world, whom Maryam has handpicked. It's not just about the feature pieces; however, all the stories and articles are uplifting and inspirational, informative and educational, and, most of all, empowering. Congratulations to Maryam Morrison and The Eden Magazine on the 10th anniversary of the magazine and to celebrating many more successful years while continuing to create significant issues for our loyal readers around the world.

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR/CONTRIBUTING WRITER Alexia is one of the two Partners of LITTLE STUDIO FILMS, a boutique international production and entertainment consulting company in Beverly Hills. An accomplished entertainment industry professional with a long proven track record of success in the Film and Television space, she has produced dozens of films, shorts films and documentaries that received critical acclaim and Festival recognition. A regular participant at most major Film and Television markets and Festivals around the world, Alexia Melocchi still pursues international acquisitions of films and television series for the Media companies she represents. Alexia is fluent in Alexia Melocchi is fluent in 5 languages and is also an Advisory Board Member of The Eden Magazine, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, and the Italian Television Festival. She is frequently invited as an expert Panelist on the Global Entertainment Industry and writes monthly blogs to educate film makers. In 2020 she is preparing to launch a series of Masterclasses to educate creative talent on how Hollywood truly works, from an insider’s perspective. Alexia likes to call her Eden magazine section “Conscious Hollywood” as she loves to feature celebrities, luminaries and showcase films seen on the Festival circuit that inspire and contribute to the raising of consciousness in the Planet. She believes that “putting yourself out there” can have a ripple effect of creation of good that we could ever imagine so she is always ready to click that “live button” on her camera. She is a tireless advocate for animals- being herself the proud mommy of 3 rescue cats. Feeding her spirit with good books and good friends, she will be launching new and exciting projects for The Eden Magazine.

MARIA ELENA INFANTINO

CONTRIBUTOR BRAND AMBASSADOR Maria Elena is an International Singer, Actress, producer and is the brand ambassador for The Eden Magazine. She graduated in acting in London at ALRA (Academy of Live and Recorded Arts) in 2010. Her debut was at the Royal Albert Hall, singing for the 50th Beatles Anniversary, starring Dame Shirley Bassey. She then landed a role on the ITV British series Emmerdale, she hosted and produced her first show at the Leicester Square Theatre in the West End, as a tribute to her father, the tenor Luigi Infantino.

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

CONTRIBUTOR HAIR & MAKEUP ARTIST Edward is an accomplished Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist who found his inner strength of improving ones beauty many years ago. His passion started in 1997 where he discovered his passion of enhancing individual’s beauty. Edward has been creating beauty for over 20 years which has paved the way to start working in 2015 with The Eden Magazine. His unmatched talent has been proven by working with such great celebrities such as Shohreh Aghdashloo, Maria Conchita Alonso, Tracey Edmonds, and Sofia Milos, and many more.

Her credits include the Edith Piaf and Dalida one woman shows at the Grammy museum, Vatican Tribunal, Lee Strasberg Institute. In addition to full-service hair and make-up for weddings and She’s on the advisory board for charities such as Caterina’s club and other special events, Edward offers Make-Up classes for those Ranch Hands Rescue. wanting to learn how to create their own stunning looks. 11 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

TARA-JENELLE WALSCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Like many of us, I’ve experienced moments in life filled with much challenge. One passage in particular took me to a place of deep self-examination, opening me to an exploration of my feelings in a new way. I found myself writing short verses in my journal as a way of healing my heart from the pain I saw, sometimes still in myself, and so often in others. As time passed, I became inspired to help others find new freedom that I felt, through the feeling and expressing of emotions. I began creating designs around my verses, turning them into handmade cards and sharing them when others were in need. The response was immediate and heartwarming, as if my words put them in touch with something their soul had been urging them to experience and express. From this process, my greeting card company, Soulebrate, emerged. The messages within them are intended to be unlike what is found in most conventional greeting cards, carrying not just thoughts, but feelings. Others seemed to agree, and people—both senders and receivers of these cards— began writing to me asking for guidance on how to find the courage to drop their walls of protection and fully connect with themselves and others. From this I saw that there was a genuine need in our world for people to find a way to more easily access and express their emotions, and the book Soul Courage was born. When the book was published, I started speaking publicly about emotional and energetic awareness and a concept called, Soulcialize, which I believe has the ability to enrich the world at large. Five years ago, Maryam, the owner of The Eden Magazine, read my book and when we met our instant kinship led her to offer me a monthly column around Soul Courage. Today I’m honored to share my thoughts with her readers. Thank you for being one of them! www.soulcourage.com

ANGELA DUNNING

CONTRIBUTING WRITER I come from a large working class family and grew up in the West Midlands, England. I have always been deeply passionate about all animals and the natural world, but am especially closely connected to horses. I have a deep intuitive understanding of and respect for animals and all of nature. After graduating with a degree in International Peace Studies I worked for a number of years with refugees in the North of England. I also worked as a community worker supporting marginalised communities and individuals. More recently, I have combined my love of horses with supporting people’s personal and spiritual growth through offering equine facilitated learning in private practice to individuals and delivering group workshops. I love writing and three years ago I published my first book about my approach called 'The Horse Leads the Way: Honoring the True Role of the Horse in Equine Facilitated Practice'. I also write regular articles and blog posts, as well as poetry. Much of what I write is inspired by being in nature and also my own personal journey of healing from depression and low self-esteem. As well as my work and writing, I also study the work of Carl Jung to deepen my own awareness. I am passionate about social justice and equality and am committed to playing my part in saving our beloved planet and all of the natural world. I believe tolerance, empathy and compassion, as well as being connect to a higher power, are the key ingredients for living a meaningful and healthy life and it is my driving purpose to live a life based on these qualities. To read more about me and my work please visit my website: www.thehorsestruth.co.uk.

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MARGARET TOMASZEWICZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A native of Warsaw Poland, Margaret Tomaszewicz came to Southern California in the early 80s. Polish women for centuries recognized a need for great quality skincare. Polish cosmetics were highly recognized by European women. In the USA, the skincare revolution was just beginning. With a passion for skincare, Margaret was privileged to be on the ground floor of this development. She worked in the first skincare salon of Dr. Murad learning from him about skincare health. Training with the founder of Demologica Jane Wurwand, , Margaret saw a vision of bringing European knowledge of skincare to the United States. Then came the concept of the Day Spas leads by Burke Williams. After 26 years, Margaret used all of her knowledge to start her own European Skin Care Studio in Santa Monica, bringing the best skincare services to her studio, Margaret carried the tradition of her European roots by offering Luxury at affordable prices. Her established and loyal following that includes the number of celebrity clients, loves the combination of European touch combined with a forwarding thinking and newest technologies. In 2016, Margaret used all of her acquired skills, knowledge, and experience to begin developing her new skincare line-Woda, Made with natural and organic ingredients, skincare products are created with a deep understanding of every ingredient and its effects on the health of the skin. Because Margaret’s love for animals the WODA European Natural Skin Care is cruelty-free, PETA certified. In 2017 Margaret was voted one of five best facialists in Los Angeles and given VIP Woman of the Year Award by the prestigious National Association of Professional Women for excellence, leadership, and commitment to her profession. In 2019 WODA has been voted the most loved business in the beauty category. Margaret partnered with the organization One Tree Planted. For every product sold the organization plants a tree in California. Margaret has been a contributing writer for prestigious The Eden magazine where she writes articles about beauty and wellbeing. www.wodaskincare.com

NANCY YEAROUT

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Nancy connects with folks all over the world as the host of High Road to Humanity. This is her weekly Radio show on Toginet Radio and a Podcast on iTunes. This is where she interviews experts from health. Scientific, holistic, religious and spiritual community. Her Mission Statement is clear, “Using My Voice to Uplift Humanity, One show at a time”! Each week brings a fresh new topic of conversation to the listening audience along with invaluable stories to enlighten and uplift humanity as each guest shares their story with the audience. It’s their stories of hope that enlighten us to makes a difference in our own lives. You will find her interviews on her YouTube Channel, Nancy Yearout’s High Road to Humanity. Before she became a warrior for humanity, she was a single mom and a business owner. Her corporate background in sales gave her the edge she needed to rise to the position of a successful Real Estate Broker and owner of her firm, Nancy for her true calling as an inspirational speaker and leader. Today, she is blissfully married with two adult children and three grandchildren who light up her life. She has received guidance from religious and spiritual teachers along the way, enhancing her skills as an intuitive. She motivates us through her writing and her speaking to create what we desire and shows us how to use the skills we possess to change our mindset to hold and project the energy of love. www.NancyYearout.com | nancyyearout@gmail.com | www.HighRoadtoHumanity.com

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MARCO NUNZIO ALATI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Marco graduated in Industrial Biotechnology, he played a key role in international research projects in Canada, Austria and Spain. He stumbled upon the Reconnection by mere chance and it enlightened him in ways he hadn't realized he needed. Three months after that unique experience, he left his job in biotechnology and embarked on his journey to become a full time Reconnective Healing Practitioner, and one of the two Italian Mentors and Teaching Assistants of Eric Pearlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direct Team. He is currently living in Los Angeles and collaborating with a number of independent scientific studies that are exploring Reconnective Healing and its extraordinary benefits. Marco has been a contributor writer for the The Eden Magazine since 2018. marco.alati@gmail.com

JOE SANTOS JR.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Joe is a Celebrity Chef and Life-Stylist. Son of TV/Film actor Joe Santos, Grandson of International Singer/Entertainer Daniel Santos, him growing up as a celebrity child, had many ups and downs in his life, he found himself a different life path "Chef". Joe was a recuring character (Officer Aiello) on NYPD Blue on 2 seasons. He studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse for years. He owned 2 restuarants. El Mocambo in Los Angeles and JoJo Americana in Saugatuck, Michigan. Joe's passion for writing led him to write for The Eden Magazine as a columnist, he brings us his take on life, love and everything in between. Joe has been a contributor wrtier for The Eden Magazine since 2018.

SASHA GARY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Sasha is an actress, writer, and Transformation Life Coach. She has 16 week online healthprogram for women that shows you how to implement small sustainable changes one by one to help you with whole food nutrition, self-love and a conscious movement.Â Sasha is a yogi of 25 years, a crystal healer, and an avid sound bowl meditation participant and lives in Venice California! She is a contributor writer for The Eden Magazine since 2018 www.balancedbellasonline.com

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MICHAEL WHITE RYAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I write to inform from what the world projects onto my observation skills, it helps understand the complexity this being is connected with. Life appears designed to swallow us into an existence by choice and extracted knowledge, while hiding the true mysteries of human/individual potential. I am a co-founder with my wife Pamela Edwards of Language of Space. I am also recognized in the top 100 globally and I am Americas Leading Feng Shui Business Consultants with 20 plus years as entrepreneurs. For me the process is far too lengthy, time consuming and exhaustive. Therefore I write without judgement to peel away, see past the veil of confined definitions, and experience a state of beingness that is â&#x20AC;&#x153;what I am in any given momentâ&#x20AC;?. This one referred to as michael, blessing 2020. Michael has been a contributor writer for The Eden Magazine since 2014. www.languageofspace.com.

JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jayita was born n Calcutta, India and later on pursued education from University of Houston in Economics, she had chosen her career as a trustee and teacher. Her Indian residence is in the vicinity of the famous Belurmath. Currently, she is settled in Tampa, Florida. Her love for writing on a journey of heart and soul was hidden all within. Looking at the moments captured in love and pain, joy and grief, the hidden tragedies of life...it was a calling of her soul to write with the ink that kept flowing from her heart. This is what gave her the fulfillment, the richness in her soul. Her books "The Ecstatic Dance of Life', "Sacred Sanctuary", "Light of Consciousness", "Dewdrops of Compassion" are meant to shed light on what guides a person to respond to the mystical voice hidden inside, to soar in a boundless expansion with the limitless freedom of spirit."It is in the deepest joy that I write with every breath of mine." She has been a contributor wrtier with The Eden Magazine since 2018.

PHYLLIS KING

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Phyllis is a founder of King Mastery International, and has worked with tens of thousands of people in 25 countries. She is known for her practical and down to earth approach. She has been featured on, ABC, CBS and NBC TV, radio programs across the country, and has been published in over 70 print and online publications. She has four books, including Bouncing Back, Thriving in Changing Times, with Dr. Wayne Dyer. Her latest book The Energy of Abundance is available in bookstores now. Phyllis holds a B.A. in Sociology. www.phyllisking.com Phyllis had been a contributor writer for The Eden Magazine since 2019

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ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

CONTRIBUTING GRAPHICS & PHOTOGRAPHER As a Graphic Designer and Photographer, Artin has over 12 substantial years of expertise and cognitive experience in the Arts industry. He has experience in working on various projects for commercial agencies, printing shop, digital printing, Artin has worked with The Eden Magazine as a photographer by providing coverage for major events and magazine cover secessions. He has been servicing the entertainment and media industry, as well as running his own small design firm Nexision. His abilities and experience are far-ranging. Artin has all the necessary skills to see a given project from the first idea through conceptual development and design to final product, even trouble-shooting computer software and hardware if necessary along the way. Recently he started her new career regarding Graphics and Motion Design by providing Video and 2D animation for commercial use and fashion.

ISABELLA RUEN

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER An award-winning photographer whose work has been published both domestically and internationally, Isabelle Ruen was a teenager obsessed with fashion and fascinated with Vogue. Born and raised in the suburbs of Paris, she spent a summer working at Chanel, and a few years later and a couple of Master’s degrees from the Sorbonne in hand, she moved to Los Angeles on a whim. On a whim also, she accepted when a friend asked her to take photographs of her, and still, photography became her passion. Since then, feeling like a kid in a candy store, she has shot some celebrities, as well as numerous portrait, fashion, music and motion picture still photography images.

GREG DOHERTY

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER As a full time portrait photographer, you'll often find Greg Doherty in the studio shooting portraits and lifestyle images. At night he's shooting events as a Getty contributing photographer. He loves shooting people, whether its a portrait, or fashion models or people at an event. When the jobs come along, he switches hats to a unit stills photographer. Greg joined The Eden Magazine team in 2019. www.gregdohertyphotos.com

SHERI DETERMAN

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Sheri Determan is a Los Angeles-based photographer and marketing professional who enjoys shooting portraits, fashion, editorial, lifestyle, and events. With a background in corporate marketing and communications, Sheri worked in the technology industry for many years, and now spends most of her time working as a media and freelance photographer in the entertainment industry. She studied photography and film making at Santa Monica College and Art Center Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Her education includes a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and an A. A. Degree in Photography. Sheri joined The Eden Magazine team in 2016. www.sheriphoto.com 16 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Thank you for

10 years supporting us

Photos courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship

PARAMAHANSA

YOGANANDA YEARS

100 OF YOGA IN THE WEST By Brother Prafullananda

“Uniting the soul with Spirit is Yoga — reunion with that great Happiness everyone is seeking.…In the ever new Bliss of Spirit you are convinced that the joy you feel is greater than any other happiness, and nothing can get you down.” ~Paramahansa Yogananda

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“Yoga teaches us how to rise above the delusion of separation and realize our oneness with God”

was in Boston harbor in September, 1920 that a young, turbaned swami disembarked from the first postwar steamer arriving in America from India. As the Indian delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals soon to convene in Boston, Paramahansa Yogananda’s arrival marked the beginning of a profound change in the spiritual landscape of America — a change that decades later would result in the recognition of Yogananda as the ‘father of Yoga in the West.’ During his first lecture in Boston, Yogananda introduced Westerners to an unconventional and novel concept of the Divine: that God — so often conceived as a venerable Personage, adorning a throne in some antiseptic corner of the cosmos — can be experienced as ever-existing, everconscious, ever-new Bliss. He then explicated a step-bystep methodology by which anyone can experience that Bliss for themselves: Yoga meditation, India’s universal science of the soul. Yogananda’s pioneering efforts sparked an interest in meditation that has deepened over the decades, providing significant impetus to the meditation practiced today by more than 18 million Americans and countless others throughout the world. The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda’s arrival in the U.S. and the founding of his society, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), which he established to disseminate India’s universal and timeless science of yoga meditation. “Yoga teaches us how to rise above the delusion of separation and realize our oneness with God,” Yogananda stated. “The poet Milton wrote of the soul of man and how it might regain paradise. That is the purpose and goal of Yoga—to regain the lost paradise of soul consciousness by which man knows that he is, and ever has been, one with Spirit.” Much has been written about the positive impact that meditation has on the body and the mind. However, Yogananda pointed out that an even more profound purpose for meditation is the discovery of one’s true self, the soul, and the cultivation of the infinite joy and peace that can be found within. The more one practices meditation, the more that deepening peace can be experienced; and it is in this stillness that the meditator begins to transfer his or her

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sense of identity from the finite body and mind to the infinite all-satisfying soul. “The moon’s reflection cannot be seen clearly in ruffled water,” Yogananda explained, “but when the water’s surface is calm a perfect reflection of the moon appears. So with the mind: when it is calm you see clearly reflected the moonèd face of the soul. As souls we are reflections of God. When by meditation techniques we withdraw restless thoughts from the lake of the mind, we behold our soul, a perfect reflection of Spirit, and realize that the soul and God are One.” People often ponder if it is possible to fit daily practice of meditation in with the countless responsibilities and commitments of modern life. Yet Yogananda explained: “It is not the length of meditation that is most important; it is the depth of your attention during meditation that is essential.” To this end, SRF offers many ‘spiritual tools’ that help deepen one’s meditation, including online guided meditations (https://yogananda.org/guided-meditations)— a popular resource for anyone learning how to meditate or looking for a rejuvenating break from life’s frenetic pace.

Kriya Yoga – A Path to Permanent Peace and Happiness At the core of Paramahansa Yogananda’s teaching is the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga, which he identified as being the most effective method for attaining union with Bliss, or Spirit. This science contains the distilled essence of Raja Yoga, the ‘royal’ path of yoga formally systemized in the second century B.C. by the Indian sage Patanjali. At the heart of Kriya Yoga are advanced techniques of meditation whose devoted practice leads to the state of inner stillness that enables one to realize his or her inherent soul nature and infinite potentiality.

SRF Lake Shrine, located at the westernmost tip of Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California. Yogananda founded the Lake Shrine as a tribute to world peace and spiritual fellowship, stating at its dedication on August 20, 1950: “This Shrine has been created for all religions, that all may feel the unity of a common faith.”

Yogananda pointed out that the brain and spine comprise a metaphysical ‘tree of life,’ containing seven cerebrospinal centers of life and consciousness which store and transmit the life energy, or prana, that sustains the physical body. The Kriya yogi learns to consciously control the flow of that life energy, revolving life current up and down the spine, thereby refining and purifying the consciousness. The energy is thereby switched off from the muscles and senses, allowing the attention to be interiorized — free at last of all distractions and allowing absorption in the Divine. Yogananda explained that the deeper one meditates, the more he or she experiences the infinite ocean of peace, divine love, and bliss: “Real unending joy lies in attuning the consciousness to its true, ever calm soul nature by meditation, and in thus preventing the mind from riding on the crests of sorrow and happiness or from sinking into the depths of indifference.” Yogananda’s Kriya Yoga teachings on meditation and the art of spiritual living are contained in his Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons — a comprehensive home-study series unique among his published works, presenting his personal step-by-step instructions on the meditation techniques and “how-to-live” principles. “Every person needs a retreat, a dynamo of silence where he may go for the exclusive purpose of being recharged by the Infinite.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda encouraged everyone to spend time in meditation. He counseled, “If you cultivate the habit of spending time alone at home in meditation, a great power and peace will come over you. And it will remain with you in your activities as well as in meditation. Seclusion is the price of greatness.” In his lifetime, Yogananda established a number spiritual sanctuaries open to anyone seeking to escape the hectic pace of daily life. Of these, perhaps the best known is the

The Lake Shrine has become ever more popular over the years, with millions of visitors from all over the world having passed through its gates in its nearly seventy years. A rich diversity of flora from all over the globe metaphorically reflects the religious tolerance and harmony that is a central theme. Visitors sit, stroll, and refresh mind, body, and spirit in this 10-acre spiritual sanctuary. A prominent feature of the Lake Shrine is the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial. Residing in a “temple without walls” — a striking archway crowned by golden lotuses — the Memorial houses a portion of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes in a 1,000-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus. Gandhi and Yogananda had deep respect for one another. During his return visit to India in 1935, Yogananda visited Gandhi at his Wardha ashram and, at the Mahatma's re¬quest, in¬structed him and several of his followers in the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga.

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Across the lake from the Gandhi World Peace Memorial is the ‘Court of Religions,’ with monuments honoring five of the world’s principle faiths: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. Elsewhere in the gardens, statues depict figures from the world’s religions.

find a Self-Realization Fellowship location near you by visiting www.yogananda.org.

The Lake Shrine grounds also include a picturesque Windmill Chapel, a Mississippi-style houseboat, and a museum and gift shop in a small mill house. Exhibits in the museum give glimpses of the life and work of Yogananda, as well as of the Lake Shrine’s colorful history. A temple overlooking the lake offers inspirational and meditation services conducted by Self-Realization Fellowship ministers. A retreat facility provides guests an opportunity to spend up to six days in an environment of silence and tranquility, meditating with other retreatants and taking part in weekend conducted programs. Other meditation sanctuaries that Yogananda established include those in Encinitas, California at the SRF Hermitage, Retreat and Ashram Center; and at the SRF international headquarters on Mt. Washington in Los Angeles. He also established temples in San Diego and Hollywood, which continue to operate today. In the century since Yogananda first set foot in America, the work he founded has expanded to include more than 600 temples, meditation centers, and retreats, affording people in over 60 countries the opportunity come together for group meditation and spiritual inspiration. In India, another 200 temples, ashrams, and meditation centers are overseen by Yogananda’s SRF work in India, Yogoda Satsanga Society. Meditation not only benefits the individual meditator, Yogananda explained. Deeply meditating individuals benefit the world as a whole, setting into motion new patterns of thought, peace, hope, love, and understanding — patterns now spreading into the hearts and minds of all people as meditation spreads through all lands. You can learn more about the yoga meditation teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and

The SRF Lake Shrine grounds in Pacific Palisades, CA are open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and o n Sundays from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The Lake Shrine is located at 17190 Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California. For more information, visit www.lakeshrine.org.

Photos courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship in order: f The International Headquarters of Self-Realization Fellowship on Mt. Washington in Los Angeles. f A statue of Bhagavan Krishna overlooks the lake at the SRF Lake Shrine. f The Golden Lotus Archway, beyond which is the Gandhi World Peace Memorial, where a portion of the Mahatma’s ashes are enshrined. f Meditation Gardens: The meditation gardens at the SRF Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades. f The meditation gardens at the international headquarters of SRF in Los Angeles.

Brother Prafullananda has been a monastic disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda for more than 35 years and is a minister of the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in Fullerton, Calif. He also serves in a variety of capacities in SRF’s Publications and Editorial Departments, and has given lectures on the teachings of Yogananda throughout North and South America and Europe.

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Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction, A New Giant Screen Film Adventure Narrated by Claire Danes, Brings Amazing True Wildlife Comback Stories To Life By the end of this century, half of all species could be pushed to the brink of extinction. Human activities, in particular, pose a significant threat—affecting wildlife in ways both visible and invisible. Pollution. Hunting. Habitat disruptionand destruction. Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction shows that positive change ispossible.Problems created by humans can be solved by humans. Filmed on location in three unique regions around the globe, Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction uses the immersive IMAX® format to plunge audiences into a wild world of breathtaking natural beauty and captivating wildlife behavior. In a spectacular giant screen experience, the film brings to life the amazing true storyof three animal species whose numbersrecentlydwindled to near extinction, but wererescued from the brink: California’s enchanting Channel Island Fox, China’s fabled Golden Monkey, and the wondrous migrating giant red crabs of Christmas Island, off the coast of Australia.The film also introduces the people around the world—scientists, researchers, park rangers, and stu24 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

dents—who are working passionately to preserve these endangered species. Ultimately, Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction aims to engage and inspire audiences to takeaction and connect with nature Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction is directed by Sean Casey (Tornado Alley; Forces of Nature; Alaska: Spirit of the Wild; Africa the Serengeti), who is also Director of Photography. The film is executive produced by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, and produced by Jennifer Casey (National Geographic's Extreme Weather and Tornado Alley) and Charlotte Huggins (Journey to the Center of the Earth and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island). The film is written by Kurt Frey and Ms. Casey. "Through the unmatched, immersive Giant Screen technology, we're able to connect audiences with nature in places they might not otherwise go. Back from the Brink: Saved from Extinction offers an opportunity to engage with some of the most extraordinary creatures on Earth, which nearly disappeared forever," said director Sean Casey.

"We demonstrate how human efforts do make an impact for the better, and are essential in saving and protecting the world's animals and wild places." Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction filmmakers were granted special permission to capture each of thefilm’s unique places and takeaudiences there as never before. We discover how California’s enchanting Channel Island Fox is rescued from an invasion of predatory Golden Eagles. In the fastest recovery of a species in the history of animal conservation, scientists help solve the mystery of the fox population’s severely diminishing numbers and devise andexecute an ingeniousplan to save them—which includes returning an iconic raptor, the American Bald Eagle—to the island to restore the ecology’s balance. Fox numbershavesincereboundedfrom less than 100tothousands and they’ve been removed from The Endangered Species List. In the fabled mountains of China’s Yunnan Province,the film follows one of the world’s most endangered primates, the Golden Monkey— a creature so elusive ithad never even been photographeduntil the 1970s. Hunted nearly to extinction, this mythical society of primates was on the verge of collapse, numbering about 1500,

when the efforts of oneintrepidresearcher and his investigation into theirplight changed everything. Therevelationsconvinced the Chinese government to turn the region into one of thecountry’sfirst nature preserves. Now,thehuntersare instead becomingpark rangers and arethe biggest champions and protectorsof the “Snubbies,” as they’re nicknamed.In just a few decades, the monkey population has gone from near extinction to three thousand or more. Audiences can also witness the wondrous migration of theRed Crabs ofChristmas Islandand marvel at their recovery from a Crazy Yellow Ant infestation in one of the most successful bio-control experiments ever undertaken. The intruder ants arrived as a few stowaways on cargo ships—but swarmed into an invasion hordenumbering several billion, which became a super colony that threatenedthe entire web of life on the island--especiallythe40 million crabs that had to run the gauntletthrough the forest.In a daring experiment, Malaysian micro-wasps are importedand hoisted into the treetop canopy on makeshift elevators.Dazzlinggiant screen filmmaking vividly captures theinsectwarfare being played out on a grand scale, as well as the red crab hatchlings emerging by the millions.

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Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction is supported by the film’s outreach partner, The Nature Conservancy. “The Nature Conservancy is honored to partner with BACK FROM THE BRINK: SAVED FROM EXTINCTION.Preserving our world’s biodiversity is critical to creating a world where people and naturethrive, and we know that charting a sustainable path requires solutions that work with –and not against –nature and all of its inhabitants,” said Richard Loomis, The Nature Conservancy’s Chief Marketing Officer. For more information on Back From the Brink: Saved From Extinction Nor to explore ways to get involved and connect with nature, go to the film’s website: www.backfromthebrink.com. To connect on social media, follow on Facebook at @CosmicPictureMovies; Instagram at @CosmicPicture; Twitter at @CosmicPicture; and on YouTube at @CosmicPictureMovies.

Cosmic Picture

Cosmic Picture seeks to make the most compelling cinematic experiences possible and to change peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of the universe in unexpected ways.Past films include award-winning IMAXÂŽ and giant screen productions and transformative environmental documentaries with tremendous social impact. For more information on Cosmic Picture, visit www. cosmicpicture.com.About

ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 72 countries, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visitwww.nature.orgor follow@nature_presson Twitter.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-

We demonstrate how human efforts do make an impact for the better, and are essential in saving and protecting the world's animals and wild places.

The Holistic Approach to Keto and Gut Health By Kristin Grayce McGary L.Ac., M.Ac., CFMP, CSTcert, CLP,

here have been waves of fad diets surging through social media; some stick around, others disappear as quickly as they arrived. In the last 22 years of practice as a holistic healthcare provider, I've learned that food is medicine and that you only gain the benefits of your nutrition if you can break it down and absorb it properly. When I analyze a blood chemistry lab, I often find people are not digesting and absorbing their nutrients well. Most doctors and naturopaths are unaware of which lab markers to order and the lab patterns associated with digestive dysfunction. Still, these are essential clues that direct appropriate and individualized treatment plans. Almost everyone has some degree of gut damage, which impacts immune function, nutrient absorption, cognitive function, hormone production, energy levels, inflammation, healthy skin, hair, and nails, and vitality, to name a few. Gut damage arises from multiple factors, such as consuming non-organic foods with pesticide and herbicide residues like glyphosates (from Round-Up). Or exposure to heavy metals in the air, water, food, and dental material; processed and packaged foods that are full of chemical preservatives; environmental factors such as herbicides used on public park and playground lawns; acidic foods and drinks like offee; the use of certain pharmaceutical medications, eating on the go, and stress to name a few top contributors. Dairy and gluten are two common examples of foods that cause inflammation, even if you don't have a known sensitivity. In my first book, Holistic Keto for Gut Health â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A program for Resetting Your Metabolism, I explore the science behind gut damage. I also explain how to repair it and the enteric nervous system properly. I look at the foods that both cause and prevent illness, new perspectives around the mind, body, spirit health and healing, and how a functional, holistic keto gut repair program can help halt, prevent, and heal autoimmune challenges. Scientists now agree that the human body, your brain, and every major organ runs more efficiently on ketones (fats) for fuel rather than glucose (sugar, aka carbohydrates). More specifically, the brain

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functions 25% more efficiently on ketones than it does on carbs. Ketones can provide as much as 70% of the brain's energy needs. 1. I remember when I was taking biology a prerequisite for medical school, Biology. I learned the brain requires carbohydrates to function, but I have since discovered that this is not wholly true. What is true is that several structures in the brain do prefer glucose, and this comes from a process called gluconeogenesis. but it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean you must eat carbohydrates to get what you need. The body is "making new glucose," which is done by the liver through the use of amino acids (protein building blocks). The liver is also good at making glucose from glycerol through a process that links fatty acids together in triglycerides (body's storage from fat). Your body prefers ketones to make everything it needs in terms of energy.

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The Low-fat fad has been scientifically debunked, and healthy fats, like coconut oil, shown to improve cognitive function. Good fats are our friends. Processed hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats cause many health issues including inflammation, the precursor to every disease. I'm part of several Keto Facebook groups, and I'm shocked at how many people live on of diet soda, coffee, and processed high-fat foods. Many people in that group are using a standard ketogenic-type diet plan to lose weight, and it can work, but they are also causing harm to themselves. How people interpret, the ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrates are visible in their food choices. Just because you're eating a high-fat diet, that may be called ketogenic, and even force your body into ketosis, does not automatically mean it's healthy for you.

I prefer a more holistic approach to the ketogenic craze. Not all fats are created equally. The foods that make up your calories each day do matter. I've found that the more fresh, organic, and vine-ripened vegetables and leafy greens, the better. Moderate protein and higher healthy fats can be the perfect ratio to stimulate your metabolism, resensitize your cells to insulin, stabilize blood sugar, decrease inflammation, and balance hormones. This approach is the ideal foundation for healing the gut. Avoid standard ketogenic diet foods, like dairy and eggs, processed foods, and synthetic sweeteners, and replace them with healing gut foods such as aloe vera, coconut oil, high fiber vegetables, collagen powder, and cultured vegetables. Add a natural supplement or two like L-glutamine, marshmallow root, specific high potency pre and probiotics, and finally, make lifestyle changes like chewing your food, mindful eating, staying hydrated with fresh spring water, avoiding chemicals, and managing stress. Your gastrointestinal tract can finally begin to repair itself.

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

Carbohydrates cause many serious health problems in humans. Diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, dental decay, obesity, and decreased cognitive functioning are a few of the harmful effects of glucose on the human body. There is solid science elucidating the link between metabolic disturbances (ex. high blood sugar) and mood and psychiatric disorders as well as dementia. Insulin has been found to play a critical role in neuronal growth and neuroplasticity. For example, people with Type 2 diabetes have a 60% increased risk for dementia of all kinds. 2. High blood sugar, trouble with insulin production, and utilization cause a problem for you.

The body is remarkable and can heal when blocks are identified and removed, and it is given what it needs. I outline specific nutritional and lifestyle recommendations, supplements, and contemplative exercises in my first book Holistic Keto for Gut Health, to offer you a comprehensive, holistic approach to healing, of which you deserve. If you find yourself needing a nutritional and lifestyle upgrade, then I'm here to help. I see patients, write regular blogs, and share tasty recipes to help keep you enjoying life to the fullest. Gut damage may indeed result in noticeable gut issues like gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, pain, and weight gain or loss. But this is only a small piece of how gut imbalances manifest. More often than not, immune dysfunction, which leads to allergies, skin issues, food sensitivities, joint pain, inflammation, and autoimmune challenges, is the result. Here is where the power of prevention, heightened awareness about what is happening inside your body-rather than guessing, and your desire to level-up your health and life do make a difference. Here are my top recommendations for vibrant health *Avoid chemicals in your environment and on your body (cleaning products, body and skincare, perfumes/colognes, silver dental fillings, new carpet glues, new paint which off-gasses, plastic bottles and food containers, flame retardant in linens, herbicides and pesticides in your garden, local food distributor, yard, nearby park, or school grounds, etc.) *Avoid inflammatory foods containing gluten like bread, pasta, crackers. Avoid dairy, corn, soy, preservatives and flavor enhancers like monosodium glutamate (MSG), and hydrogenated oils. *Drink more spring water. 3% of your body weight in water. Multiply your body weight in kilograms by 3% (Bodyweight x .03) to get the number of liters of water you need if you're a sloth. If you move your body, drink coffee or caffeinated tea, take medications or herbs, don't sleep well, or have inflammation, then you need more.

*Eat a wide variety of fresh, vine-ripened, or-

ganic vegetables; approximately 7-10 servings, the size of your fist, per day. Eat a variety of colors. 34 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

*Eat healthy fats like coconut, avocado, olive oil, pumpkin seed oil, and fresh nut oils- always check for rancidity.

*Rotate your foods- avoid eating the same

foods two days or more in a row. Rotate your foods weekly, so you get more variety, and your immune system doesn't create antibodies to the food antigens. This is common when you have gut damage and impaired absorption. Your body can easily mistake food as a bad guy and start attacking it. You help avoid this when you rotate your foods often.

*Eat in good company. Do your best to eat with family and friends as much as possible. Eating in a community helps your mind and body.

*Bring mindfulness to your eating. Notice if you stuff emotions with food, avoid feelings by binging or depriving yourself, and use guilt or reward and punishment around food. Next, explore where those habits arose. By bringing awareness to them, you have more power to up-level them and change your life. I have a whole chapter on this with contemplative exercises in my Holistic Keto for Gut Health book.

*Move, dance, sing, play, create, laugh, and be

cheeky: finding work/play balance is crucial for vibrant health. Explore your creative side, what lights you up, what inspires you to share your gifts with the world, and how does this further integrate into every aspect of your life. Fully embodying all of your gifts, as well as your perceived shortcomings, is an integral part of living a truly vibrant life. Prevention and healing aren't about perfection; it's actually about commitment to living your best life. Put one foot in front of the other, whether baby steps or huge leaps forward, on your path to optimal health. Implement my recommendations as you please and experience the difference in your life; you may become chuffed to bits with yourself. You're worthy of living a vibrant life and sharing your gifts with the world, so keep shining. Resources 1. White H., Venkatesh B., Clinical review: ketones and brain injury. Crit Care. 2011 Apr 6;15(2):219. doi: 10.1186/cc10020. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21489321) 2. Gudala K, Bansal D, Schifano F, Bhansali A. Diabetes mellitus and risk of dementia: a meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. J Diabetes Invest 2013;4:640â&#x20AC;&#x201C;650

Kristin Grayce McGary, L.Ac., M.Ac., CFMP, CSTcert, CLP, is an internationally recognized authority on autoimmunity, functional blood chemistry analysis, thyroid and gut health, food as medicine, and integrating mind, body, and spirit in health care. A health and lifestyle teacher, she weaves together more than 22 years of experience, education, and wisdom to empower you to heal on all levels. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. www.kristingraycemcgary.com

LANGUAGE OF SPACE

Photo by Abdiel Ibarra

By Michael White Ryan

36 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

HOPE FAITH

FREEDOM BELIEF T

here’s a mouthful, if ever there was! Most will think they have something in common, close your eyes, allow contemplation in 10 nice slow breathes, open the mind and discover their differences. As I open my eyes I create all that is me, all that I see, all that I’ve been told, all that is disguised as freedom. I never thought it would end this way. I have no idea how it all comes together, and yet we have been given reasons, beliefs for it to work. Take me away Happy Bliss. Love yourself, what exactly are these strange intimidating words, when my little left toe is so ugly? Confusion inside, raging battles as the made in heaven insightful mind, remains in eternal conflict. As this growing pregnancy of false childish beliefs becomes, lives as my true reality of dauntless churning waves, experienced as this stranger “I am me”. The pathway to mastery is a choice, who or which consciousness, is doing the choosing? Prepare to be the difference and life will enrich you with you, you will never understand why you never fitted in. Home, you are the home where your “once upon a time” story/stories began with no endings, when we fail to redesign the destination. Did we somehow miss this important memo, positive thinking is a mind-trip and failure is a heart-trip., The Feelings-She-Queen, resides over the Servant-Brain-Matter-King, and so the stories continues in the chosen 3D circus carousel of living. 37 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2020

Face to Face, standing watching staring into the mirrors image, who is this being, this stranger I have never known? Who is responsible accountable for this humans identity, identified-doingness? The immersion process, colors, sounds, amazed, connections, ensures we become the repeated becoming, unknowingly we drown in total focus. Our first step, a mile stone of appreciation pours down upon from the others above, so gleeful are we at joining the others-brigade! Let’s all dance. We know, as some of you may also know, are graced by,

body-mind motions into bliss renewed. Bathed in this saltan sea of protection, one gains connection, one’s-true-self rises beyond one’s daily servitude of doingness.

blessed with the glorious sufferings of having/being acceptance, external continuous. The story never ends, the cycles are every 2 years or is it every 7 years, these cycles come and go like snow melting under new sunshine. I run to solace, sit in silence, lay before the wholly-man, receive the blessings, turn towards another direction and discover, the animal inside speaks. Tomorrow is a new dawn, come-try come-buy again?

As these dark times deepen, absolution rises like the Eastern sun, then, goes home to rest in the minds playful evening sleep. Gratitude abounds as the all-knowing wisdom acknowledges its appearance, we heal, again and again. Oh yes, and so it is within these wholly-grounds, lives the bounded “Will”. Tomorrows gifts rise once again, to be accepted or passed over, by the ever knowing king/queen of consciousness? It’s in these murky grounds where 2019 lived, for now a new powerful time is rising to replace its touch upon you, smile babies smile! Swim my babies swim, for on this day, your ocean runs deep.

Yesterday’s dreams lost in the flowing-swirling waters consummated by time, now forever lost in tomorrow’s new beginnings rising from deeper awakenings. The barometer has moved from the question of “who am I” finally to “what am I” into “what am I being in this moment” Duality, has made me a prisoner of the self, totally true, it was a set up from the beginning, we have been educated well. Time and memories fade as time moves forward marching through the portals of never ending mind-games. We are as ships sailing through the day-nite-time-cycles, while hazy glimpses appear of tomorrows yesterdays or is it yesterday’s tomorrows? Ask the learned conductor for the answer, to stop temporarily one’s mind at this nearing approaching conscious bus stop. Breathe breathe, focus will slow the pace of the wandering egoic mind, in an hours instant, release arrives, send in the next “human-doings-becoming”. Start here, for now is now, you have been on my mind. Ooh how the musical-mind delivers echoes deep within its hidden caverns, wherein lives our residing nature, it’s the other self. Love rises to greet you in boundless waves of joy as the facial mask breaks, 38 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

BoyGirl GirlBoy listen openly via the “black-hole” ghost one’s hidden freedom path, while unbounded language rages everpresent, through the corroders of this one’s mindless mind it’s our home where flowing rivers live, tears of self-correction.

Hope Faith Belief Freedom lives as a sequence to those who seek beyond the trappings of this 3D world of forever-existence. For now, it appears the marketer’s lobbyists are leading us down the path of maintaining our 3D existence. Oh these happy days of seeding successful endings. The reconception of the material-egoic-mindset has birthed it’s inevitability upon us once again. Once upon a longtime, freedom lived a boring existence, and as intuition began to rise, suggested go forth and experience all that is possible. And so with backpack in hand, set off into the unknown 3D world of mind, armed with centuries of knowledge and wisdom, never suspecting all to be lost in arrival. Awakened wearing a fresh new dipper, one stands in the face of the unknown, bewildered and amazed, as we journey, blinded by Hope Faith Belief back through all we ever wanted, Freedoms never ending silent existence. Blessings from this one…

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

THE EDEN

Achievement Awards 2017

Photo by Alexandra Gorn 40 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

The Truth About Love and Fear By Rudolf Eckhardt

ove and fear are the central tenets around which our lives revolve and yet we have great difficulty understanding what each represents. The everyday use of the word love in respect to so many different things makes it hard to describe the meaning of love. Understanding the nature of fear can be challenging because we confuse the fear for our physical survival with that for the survival of our emotional self. “The Truth About Love and Fear” takes you on a journey that reveals your relationship with these dominating forces in life. Their influence is unavoidable because we were born with the expectation to be unconditionally loved, accepted and trusted, which explains our need for love, acceptance and trust from others.

The presence of fear in our minds has a deterministic effect on the relationship dynamic we create with others. Their influence causes us to be attracted to individuals who are a counterpart of our fear-driven self and then form relationships that are a mirror of our childhood. Quite often, these relationships become problematic and end badly.

We do not come into the world with fear. Our trust and acceptance as babies are remarkable, but it does not take long for fear-based limitations to become a part of our minds. The subconscious fears and insecurities our parents hold, cause them to be conditional in their relationship with us. In time, we will accept their behaviour as real and genuine and thereby take on their fears and make them our own. Parents are generally not aware that they are making love, trust and acceptance conditional and thus transfer their fear-based behaviour and attitude to us. We become convinced that we are unlovable and unacceptable by failing to be what our parents expect us to be. The potential for rejection and abandonment we experience generates the emotion that we call fear. Consistent exposure to fear-driven experiences in the first twelve years of life will shape our minds. Our non-discriminating young minds translate these adverse emotional events into fear-based beliefs by which we learn to define who we believe ourselves to be. Fear becomes a means to protect the potential for future rejection, abandonment or judgment. Once we grow into teenagers and then as adults, these belief-systems will dictate how we feel, think and behave and thereby determine our experience of life. Many of these negative experiences pass into our subconsciousness but then show up in our perception, feelings, thoughts and behaviours later in life

“The Truth About Love and Fear” shows and explains how and why these negative beliefs become a part of us and how we adopt strategic behaviours to cope with our fears. When others or certain circumstances trigger our vulnerabilities, the effect on our perception, feelings and thoughts is just as significant as our reactions and responses. This unique influence of our fear-based beliefs on our senses shows that we are responsible for generating our perception, thoughts and feelings. We cannot blame others and hold them accountable for what we feel or think. You are the creator of your own emotions, thoughts and behaviour and therefore by default are responsible for the experience of everything in your life and your relationships. Accepting this fact puts you in the driver’s seat of your life. The truth is, that you cannot change others or the world, however, you were born with the ability to transform yourself by releasing the fears that stop you from living your life to its fullest potential.

Our fears become an emotional block in forming genuine relationships, achieving our goals and aspirations by undermining self-confidence and self-trust. We all wish to live life as we were born to be, but our fears and insecurities separate us from our authentic self because our parents could not accept our unique nature. Love and fear are central to every human experience and the power they have over our lives as individuals and as a collective, touches everyone without exception.

You can only live life as the most powerful and confident self you can be, by being authentically yourself, and by loving, accepting and trusting yourself, unconditionally. You can achieve this by releasing the fear-belief systems that underpin the insecurities you acquired in childhood, to reconnect with the self you were born to be.

Like actors playing out a well-rehearsed script, we react and act automatically to a situation that reflects our negative past. The trouble is that we, the actors, are so lost in the role, that we are no longer aware that we are acting. In the same way, we accept ‘the script’ written by the mindset of our parents and the family paradigm as the truth of who we are. Once we take our role as our identity, we have effectively become what our family dynamic imposed on us. The state of being we evolve for our survival — our fear-based sense-of-self — will then determine how we will manifest our lives. We will unconsciously live our life by our parent’s fears, beliefs, conditions, values and standards. Convinced that your ‘script’ represents who you are, you are unable to be anyone other than who you believe yourself to be. If challenged, you may even argue to defend the role you have learned to play and the illusions by which you live.

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We tend to believe that what we see in someone and feel about them, represents the truth of who they are, even if others do not share our perception. We are not aware that what we see in someone else, are be a product of the beliefs that make up our sense-of-self and can distort our needs and expectations We keep on recreating life according to a script that is made for us, and in line with the consensus of what is true or false. The dynamic between people is a statement of who they believe they are as an individual and represents their version of reality. Others, just like you, do not realize that their ‘script’ has altered the nature of their original self, and has come to redefine who they believe they are. Our acceptance of this is so complete that we will go in conflict to prove that our distorted version of reality is the correct one. We tend to believe that what we see in someone and feel about them represents the truth of who they are, even if others do not share our perception. We are not aware that what we see in someone else, is a product of the beliefs that make up our sense-of-self and can distort our needs and expectations. Sometimes we see the potential of what someone could be — rather than who they are right now with all of their emotional problems. Once fear distorts our perception, our expectation of who someone is and how they will be in a relationship will be misleading. Our judgment of potential partners is usually hopelessly flawed due to the issues we have. As a result, we tend to follow our feelings and attractions regardless of the advice we receive, because we fear missing out on satisfying our fear-driven needs. The fascinating part is that many have a sense that something about the object of their passion is not quite who he or she appears to be. Both the lack of certainty and the fear that it will interfere with the fulfilment of their desire to be loved, make them dismiss these instinctive warnings. In hindsight, you may recall these moments of awareness and wish you had listened to it. The reality is that you can consciously override common sense to fulfil your needs, but it will not save from your negative beliefs eventually influencing your relationships.

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Considering that the attraction both parties have for each other includes their emotional issues, it is no surprise that conflict ensues over time. The way we experience conflict in a relationship causes it to feel genuine and real. When conflict and confrontations put both parties in a highly emotional state of mind and may become aggressive or completely powerless, they are both subject to distinct differences in perception and awareness, needs and expectations, etc. The intensity with which couples fight over these differences is a consequence of their fear of emotional survival. The problems they believe to be at the centre of their conflict are usually the symptoms of an issue rather than the core reasons. Only self-examination of the emotional difficulties they each brought into the relationship will reveal the truth of what is going on between them. Unfortunately, blaming one another will only lead to further argument and separation and less meaningful communication. By making each other responsible for the anger, frustration or disappointment they feel, they avoid accepting responsibility for their part in it, which is precisely the opposite of what you should be doing. Changing what you do will not change your life. You need to change ‘Who You Are’ not what you do. Genuine change is a transformation of who you believe yourself to be, by releasing the fears that stop you from being the person you are meant to be. Being your authentic self means loving, accepting and trusting yourself unconditionally. Only then will you be free to express and be your authentic and unique self.

Rudolf Eckhardt; In 1992, Rudolf Eckhardt independently developed the Core Belief Therapy. Eckhardt explains how the human consciousness creates experiences through beliefs one holds about themselves, others and the world. His philosophy of how humans create their own experience of life and relationships rises out of more than 28 years of work as a therapist with many different nationalities in Australia and other parts of the world. Readers will get a glimpse into Eckhardt’s new, radical, spiritually focused and unconventional ideas that have found realistic application in life in his new book “The Truth About Love and Fear: Love Controls Our Lives, Fear Determines How We Will Live It.” Eckhardt is a speaker and works as a therapist using Core Belief Therapy and is writing his next book, “The Truth About Relationships” which is geared toward dealing with relationship issues and “Self-Realisation for Leaders".

and

Conscious

Subconscious Awareness

Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

This is an unbounded meadow of consciousness that exists for real beyond what we see, an awareness. And as we immerse in a meditative state, our desires transcend the earthly level and gradually rise to become attuned to the inner unfoldment. And our feet feel the ground

which is real, and not illusory. We are born to live the truth within us and all our struggles cease, and we slip into this state rising from the worldly affairs that we are engaged in every moment. From this perspective of awareness, through the eyes of consciousness, we realize that events, people come and leave and we can only be aware of them. The awarenes is that which is left behind in us as that is ours to hold onto, that is who we are. The rest falls off. With this acceptance, love and compassion become our essence, and we learn to live in it, to grow in it. We experience the stillness, nothingness, an infinite field of potential. There comes a deep vibration from the void. Something comes out of nothing. The infinite field of potential gives rise to the eternal reality behind the visage of the material universe. From the frail and vulnerable existence we rise to powerful, creative beings. A dynamism emerges from the stillness, the emptiness and we experience eternity in every moment. Though enmeshed in materiality, we come to our roots. Through consciousness, we rise from this enmeshment, through awareness we emerge out of this entanglement, and we come to a point where we live from our center, the very core where there is the well spring of love and emotional intelligence.

Photo by JR Korpa

We get anchored to the root of all creativity and intelligence, we come in touch to that unshakable stillness from which arises the supreme beauty, that burns all that is not so beautiful. There is a treasure house within you. All around you are scattered infinite riches as you open your eyes and behold the jewels lying all around you. There is an unmined gold deep within you, from where you glean the finest cut of gem, so you live gloriously, joyously and abundantly. We are sound asleep as we are unaware of this infinite gold mines which is the marvelous, miracle working power found deep in our own subconscious mind, the last place where most people would come to look for it. Learning to contact and to release the secret abundance, how to unleash creativity and joy from this jewel inside needs us to be aware of our subconscious mind potentials.

There is an infinite power within your subconscious mind and that power has now been accessed. You have unlocked the infinite potentials of it. It is your birthright to discover the full potentials of this unmined wisdom and insight. As you explore your thoughts and feelings, though invisible it is, but you can elicit the hidden powers. The possession of these new- found jewels offers you joy and dominion over fear.

As we master the process of unleashing, life becomes grander, richer, greater and joyous. The infinite wisdom that lies within the subconscious depths, the infinite power and supply of all that is needed and desired for so long, all that has been waiting for unfoldment and expression, now sees a light as we enter into it and from the subconscious mind, we step into consciousness. We recognize the potentials of depths. The revela-

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tion of all that we long to know makes us receptive of all that comes along our way and we let life flow freely. We discover thoughts, feelings and power of love, light and beauty. Because of the extraction of hidden powers, we come into possession of the actual power and wisdom needed to be lifted out of the crippled state and become whole and free to go out into the universe to have health and happiness. The material and physical bondages break. The prison doors of the mind are opened, and you are liberated. There is an infinite power within your subconscious mind and that power has now been accessed. You have unlocked the infinite potentials of it. It is your birthright to discover the full potentials of this unmined wisdom and insight. As you explore your thoughts and feelings, though invisible it is, but you can elicit the hidden powers. The possession of these new- found jewels offers you joy and dominion over fear. The mind plays a paramount role in the unlocking of our inner wealth. It has two very distinctive characteristics. Each is endowed with distinctive powers and qualities. The two functions of your mind are as follows: The conscious and subconscious mind, the objective and subjective mind, the waking and sleeping mind, the profound self and surface self, the voluntary mind and the involuntary mind. Such is the duality of mind, its two aspects. Think of your mind as a garden and you are the gardener. Now you are planting seeds which happen to be thoughts in your subconscious mind, which arises from your habitual thinking. And the law is, as you sow so shall you reap, and it will be manifested in your body and environment. As you sow seeds (thoughts) of love, peace and compassion, the acceptance comes completely in your conscious reasoning mind. Continuance of planting these wondrous seeds in the garden (mind), someday you will begin to reap a bountiful harvest and that will be a glorious wealth. In the soil of subconscious mind, diverse seeds can be grown, good or bad. And each comes with its own potentials. Every thought that we sow is a cause and every condition turns to be an effect. So, there is a direct cause and effect relationship between thoughts and condition.

The thoughts that get deposited in your subconscious mind if happen to be constructive, harmonious peaceful, then the power of your subconscious mind will respond accordingly and will bring about harmony and unending peace in everything. Observing and controlling the thought processes creates the powers of your subconscious mind to resolve any struggling situation. So, you will create a conscious choice and will consciously work together with the infinite power and the omnipotent law which happens to govern all things. Looking around, we notice that for the most part, humans live a life without, but the most enlightened ones intensely live a life within. The shift their glances from outward to inward, from the world to the self, deep down to the soul. Of paramount importance is the truth, it is the world within, the running thoughts, feelings and the vivid imagery that create your world without. They are your creative power, which is then released in your world of expression, but inside of you deep down, they have been created by you in the realm of your mind, consciously or unconsciously. Knowing how the conscious and subconscious minds interact, a knowledge of that will enable you to bring a wondrous transformation in your life, one that can be life- saving and lift your spirit every moment as you juggle between decision making. To bring a transformation in the condition, you have to bring a transformation in the thoughts. To put a stop to the confusion, lack and limitation, you need to uproot the cause, so it does not stay there as a root of all the discord. With its uprooting, the harmony and peace flows in. Cause is the way you use efficiently your conscious mind. The way you think and picture in your mind creates the condition and to bring marvels and wonders in your life, you consciously choose between thoughts to sow in the garden of your mind. As you travel deep inside, you realize you have a fathomless sea of unending riches. Your subconscious mind is very sensitive to the coming of your thoughts. Your thoughts create the matrix through which you have access to your infinite wisdom and intelligence, the positivity, creativity and the energies of your subconscious flow. The applica-

tion of the laws of mind, the cause and effect relationship between thoughts and condition and your belief in them will create light for darkness, peace for pain, joy for sorrow, concord for discord and faith for fear and success for failure. These are the abundant blessings that you can be endowed with as you take a leap of faith in the seeds you sow consciously. Gradually, you begin to be enlightened as you gain a deeper understanding of the conscious and subconscious mind. With enlightenment you realize that there is a finite you and an infinite you in yourself. There is a conscious or rational and the subconscious or irrational self in you. The rational mind can speak to the irrational movement in your Jayita Bhattacharjee profound self so it can create peace, harmony was born n Calcutta, India and later on pursued and silence in your mind.

education from University The conscious mind resembles the captain of Houston in Economics, of a ship who directs and signals orders to she had chosen her career the crew. The ship represents your body and as a trustee and teacher. environment. Your subconscious mind accepts the orders issued by your conscious mind and carries them out. You contact and release the powers of your subconscious mind, you reverse the negativity and wonders fill you from inside. The subconscious mind builds up your body and heals you with the healing thoughts. Your subconscious mind is your faithful follower and it will obey you without a question.

Engage in soulful ideas lovingly and feelingly to your sub conscious mind and it will respond in vibration accordingly. Your conscious mind which happens to be the captain must give the right commands which are thoughts and images, to your sub conscious mind, which in turn monitors, controls and governs all your experiences. Walk away from negativity as crippling thoughts become actions and they in turn cripple you so you become in a position to fall and not to stand. Thus, you unlock the infinite powers of your subconscious mind and you rise through the deep dark abyss. So, you rise from misery, melancholy and failure and come to the authentic place where you solve the most unresolved things that impede your progress and stand as major blockages in the flow of abundance. It releases you from physical and emotional bondages and gives you the wine of freedom. All that makes you anew.

Her Indian residence is in the vicinity of the famous Belurmath. Currently, she is settled in Tampa, Florida Her love for writing on a journey of heart and soul was hidden all within. Looking at the moments captured in love and pain, joy and grief, the hidden tragedies of life...it was a calling of her soul to write with the ink that kept flowing from her heart. This is what gave her the fulfillment, the richness in her soul. Her books "The Ecstatic Dance of Life', " Sacred Sanctuary", " Light of Consciousness", " Dewdrops of Compassion" are meant to shed light on what guides a person to respond to the mystical voice hidden inside, to soar in a boundless expansion with the limitless freedom of spirit. "It is in the deepest joy that I write with every breath of mine."

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Photo by Kristina Flour

The Secret

to Ongoing Abundance What Most of Us Get Wrong and How to Get it Right! 48 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COMe January 2020

Many of us are stunned that 2020 is here. 2019 seemed to move so quickly. If this trend continues 2020 portends to move as fast or faster than 2019. These are simply the times we live in. In this time when everything feels like it is moving faster many of us wonder if we can keep up. We wonder how we will get around to becoming abundant with everything else we have to do. We wonder if we will have the energy or stamina to take the steps to reach our goals and improve our lives. In these very questions is where many of us get tripped up in the abundance equation. Abundance is something we tune into. It’s not something we put on a to-do list like grocery shopping or paying our bills. Abundance is a state of consciousness we nurture all the time. We do this by how we manage our thoughts and feelings. Abundance is a way of being that causes us to be in right relationship to benevolence. When we are in right relationship to abundance we are naturally magnetic to all that is positive and wealthy. When it comes to abundance itself we have to look at it differently than something we have to “do.” Strong and thoughtful people often jump into action and take charge of a situation to make things work out for them. That’s one way to do things. That approach has inherent limitations because it is a solo project rather than a collaboration. When we engage with the flow of abundance everything becomes easier and bigger. Example: If you have a boat, but no river, it’s much more difficult to make your way down the river. If you engage the boat with the river suddenly travel and movement becomes easier and our trip is expedited. We want to think of our relationship to consciousness similarly. We have the boat. Divine consciousness is the river. How can we best interact with this river to allow it’s benefit into our lives? This is needs to be the focus for abundance seekers. Not how can I get something? But rather how do I make myself magnetic? How do I collaborate effectively? It’s human to feel that the first thing we need to do when we are unhappy is make a change of some kind. We want the dis-

comfort to stop. That approach is the tail wagging the dog. We make an external change in the hope that we will feel better internally. Often those changes bring only temporarily relief. When it comes to “effortless” abundance, meaning that what you need finds you, it is mostly an exercise in broadening your awareness. That is achieved by shifting internally.

Success in these fast times insist we surrender to broader ways of thinking. That’s a good thing. The ability to separate from the ego’s grip will only lead us to less effort, more abundance, and happier lives. In 2020 don’t change, but rather awaken.

I like the analogy of looking at life through a window. When we awaken to a broader awareness we expand the view from our window. We clean off smudges that we didn’t even know where there. One of my favorite Dr. Wayne Dyer sayings is “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” When the window you are seeing life through is bigger and broader, your life will become bigger and broader. Life has to respond differently to you because you are different. How do we broaden our consciousness? How do we awaken? We pay attention to our thoughts, our feelings and our beliefs. We make sure our thoughts, feelings and beliefs are grounded in spiritual truths, such as: • We are consciousness itself • Every moment is a creative experience • We are not doing life alone. It is a collaboration • If we are in pain, our task is to peel back the layers until we understand how the moment is serving us • Approach each moment as if you chose it • Gratitude is the answer to lack • Time is not meaningful in abundance, state of being is • We can’t be given a learning experience we don’t need Before you change something, address your internal dialogue and belief systems. This is where your paydirt lives. Move these things around and the external reality will change. As you jump into 2020 with fast energy continuing in our lives, it is all the more reason to address abundance from your state of being, rather than attempt to keep a pace with external markers that in many ways are impossible to maintain.

Known as the Common Sense Psychic (tm), Phyllis King has worked with tens of thousands of people in 25 countries. She is known for her practical and down to earth approach. She has been featured on, ABC, CBS and NBC TV, radio programs across the country, and has been published in over 70 print and online publications. She has four books, including Bouncing Back, Thriving in Changing Times, with Dr. Wayne Dyer. Her latest book The Energy of Abundance is available in bookstores now. Phyllis holds a B.A. in Sociology. www.phyllisking.com

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RECLAMING YOUR TRUE SELF By Angela Dunning

Hope

Photo by Chad Madden

The Light In The Darkness

“Love, in all its forms, is the most powerful weapon we have. Because love is a form of hope. And, like hope, love abides in the face of everything.”

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Whether on a deeply intimate and personal level, or in the face of political and global darkness, hope may well be our most precious human resource. To have hope is to live with a heart filled with energy that sustains and nourishes you. To lose hope is to be drained of one’s vital, life-force energy and to drown in a sea of despair and depression. Without hope life is filled with endless fear and suffering, and meaning is absent. We speak of having our hopes dashed, and during those times we feel like defenceless, powerless creatures being battered against the rocks by the sea; all seems lost. Hope then is like a lifeline. It is a connection to the infinite nature of your soul. Hope counters despair, despondency and depression. It fills us up with the positive rays of eternal light; with Spirit. Without hope, the human Spirit withers and fades away. Yet, hope is also a highly tenuous thing, as Emily Brontë wrote in her poem Hope: “Hope was but a timid friend”. It’s easily lost, elusive and fragile. Most of my adult life I’ve experienced depression, negative thinking, despair, and feelings of powerlessness. Inevitably, hope tends not to hang around such heavy energetic states. And yet, like a delicate bird, suddenly she appears at the window again, gently tapping and begging to enter my heart once more and save me. Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi describes in his books how those inmates in the camps who quickly lost hope became sick and died, and that people like him who survived, had somehow managed to hold onto some small thread of hope. Hope in such truly desperate situations is the faintest flicker of light that keeps the human soul alive, when all else around them is bleak and seems lost. It’s easy to lose one’s connection to this vital source of energy and direction. Particularly if you have suffered a lot, or experienced trauma or depression, or been badly cared for as a young child. In these cases, it is even more vital to find your own way or reconnecting to hope as a fundamental life source.

Many people fall into the trap of refusing to feel hope. This is because they are more afraid of feeling hopes opposite states of disappointment and despair. These more painful emotions are warded off by those who have not developed the ability to tolerate and be present with so-called negative feelings, and instead, seek only to feel more positive ones like happiness. People spend their whole lives refusing to feel hopeful to prevent the pain of disappointment from entering their lives. This creates a vacuum of meaning and makes their emotional life flatline rather than varied and dynamic. Yet, like sadness and joy, hope and despair are two sides of the same coin. Therefore, to be able to truly feel one, you must also be able to fully embrace the other. To live a life which seeks to avoid despair and depression, also inevitably avoids feeling truly hopeful and so one ends up in the greyness of neither and without the precious resource that hope is. And importantly, until one has truly felt the depths of despair or depression, one can never truly feel the radiant light and inner peace that comes with hope. Furthermore, in these dark troubling times which we presently live in, hope may just be the most vital ingredient we need to survive. Therefore, we must dig deep and search for hope in our own heart and in the life we build around us. We must be adept at replenishing our own well-spring of hope, as well as being a beacon for others who can be guided by our attitude towards their own inner resources. We each have to find a way to do this so that collectively we can rescue this planet and all of its life forms, including ourselves, from climate catastrophe, and deepening inequality, hatred and division. And just maybe, when all around us seems to be rapidly being lost, we can hold onto hope as the single light in our heart, guiding us on and ensuring that somehow we find ways to keep that flame alight. For really, what else is there but hope and love?

Initial quote by Vinay Patel. ‘Hope’ by Emily Brontë, Everyman’s Library, 1996.

Angela Dunning is a regular contributor to The Eden Magazine. She is the author of ‘The Horse Leads the Way: Honoring the True Role of the Horse in Equine Facilitated Practice’, and she writes regularly on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehorsestruth/ and Patreon: www. patreon.com/angeladunning You can learn more about Angela and her work helping people and horses at: www.thehorsestruth.co.uk

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Be the Solution

Reduce Plastic Pollution

TwentyFifty address the plastic crisis with the world’s first truly compostable cutlery Literally, billions of plastic forks, knives and spoons are thrown into landfills each year. And they have nowhere to go. Let that sink in for a second. For the first time since the Ocean Conservancy began keeping track, plastic cutlery is showing up on the Top 10 list of trash found during beach cleanups. They’re among the items most deadly to sea turtles and birds and have been linked to the death of other ocean mammals, like the pregnant whale who washed ashore with 48 pounds of plastic in her stomach. Not surprising, when you realize 91% of plastic globally is not recycled. Something has to be done - and TwentyFifty offers a solu-

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tion. Named after the year 2050 - the year the population is projected to reach 10 billion and when it’s estimated that the amount of plastic waste in the ocean will exceed the amount of fish - the brand has one mission: to stop, or at least significantly reduce, plastic pollution. Before coming to California for college, (TwentyFifty Founder) Zack Kong lived in Forshan, China, which is a major manufacturing city. He witnessed pollution daily, including a river near his home that was filled with chemicals,” Albert Liu, TwentyFifty’s Business Mentor remembers. “He vowed to focus his studies on environmental change, and when he learned there was going to be more pieces of plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, he felt he had to develop a solution.”

That solution comes in the package of completely compostable cutlery that biodegrades in 30 days or less in your home compost. Kong, a 2017 bioengineering alumnus from UC San Diego, and Liu have poured over developing and iterating the perfect formula for mass-producing their small but impactful product. Officially launching in May of 2018 at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, the pair is currently working with a manufacturing site in Oceanside, CA to ramp up products to 180,000 units a day.

when not recycled or composted properly, or packed into a tight landfill. How long exactly, you ask? For conventional plastics, 1000 years. For bioplastics, 100 years. Wood and bamboo, 10 years. And, to put it in perspective, a TwentyFifty fork - 4 weeks. “I want to bring compostable forks and spoons to the market because our modern lifestyles aren’t slowing down anytime soon,” asserts Kong. “It is time to find a way to conveniently eat without damaging the planet. We invite people who care about the environment to join us in our campaign to eliminate food packaging waste.” And this is just the start for Kong, Liu, and the team. While still a lean startup, TwentyFifty is hoping to take millions of single-use plastic spoons, forks, and knives off the table and out of landfills and oceans. They’re also planning to create a collection system for their products, and others to develop a true, zero-waste, regenerative system.

(Spoon on the left, a current ‘compostable’ brand; spoon on the right, a TwentyFifty model after 10 days submerged in water)

So what makes TwentyFifty compostable cutlery different from other supposedly compostable brands? Well, it’s all in the formula. Others use cornstarch as a base for their products, which requires the product to be broken down into extremely small pieces and then composted with very high heat to biodegrade. In a nutshell, you need an industrial-scale plant to compost them. Even then, a sticky, resin-like material is left that is both not good for the soil and also a cause of methane gas. If you were to discard them in a backyard compost it would take two years (or more) for them to fully decompose.

It’s time to stop the throw away culture of plastic silverware and embrace TwentyFifty, a biodegradable alternative that can change the way you eat. For more info, and to see their current cutlery collection, visit them at www.twentyfiftyfork.com.

A TwentyFifty fork, spoon or knife contains only natural grain flours and water and completely biodegrades in a home compost in as little as 30 days (often, it’s soon). Not only that, but they also help fertilize. There is 2.7 cents in equivalent fertilizer value found in each utensil, so each piece helps enrich the soil it ends up in. “This compostable spoon may seem like a small thing, but it is a first step toward meaningfully addressing the problem of plastic waste in the oceans,” Liu reminds us. “This is one of the best things a consumer can directly do to help alleviate the problem of single-use plastic.” So what exactly is the problem of single-use plastic? It’s simple - it has nowhere to go. Even current cutlery labeled as ‘recyclable’ or ‘compostable’ can take years to degrade

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A South

Dakota

Stateof Mind

Movie producer Michael Manasseri reveals how going back to nature helped him find himself

By Michael Manasseri

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Photo by Leroy Iron Cloud @la_ironcloud

It’s

19 degrees outside. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of my fellow movie producer’s rental car looking out over golden fields of dried cornstalks stretching for miles to the small mountain in the distance. I’m on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the southwestern corner of South Dakota. There’s a small cemetery with wooden crosses up the hill to my right where a well-worn American flag blows in the harsh winter wind. Behind our car, sits the boarded-up house we are shooting in. I’m on location for the independent feature film, Beast. The

script, written by Riley Keogh, Gina Gammell and Franklin Sioux Bob based on stories told to them by numerous citizens of the “Rez” is the best I’ve read this year. It’s authentic, intense and hauntingly beautiful. I’m a co-producer on this project. The other producers, Ryan, Sacha, Bert and Lizzie along with co-directors Riley and Gina, have done all the heavy lifting. I literally came late to the picture but I’m grateful to be here and do what I can to help get this film across the finish line. Whether it’s bringing in more financing, driving 120 miles round trip to Chadron, Nebraska to pick up a hot water heater for a different location, or hauling the porta-potties. It’s that kind of film. Do what you got to do to get it done. 55 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

A little over a year ago, in August 2018, I was making my way back to Detroit from a cross-country road trip. I had a small shoot in LA and I decided to jump in my Fiat (of all vehicles) and drive across America. It was an incredible experience, especially heading west, descending on I-70 through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. That road is a mind-blowing feat of civil engineering and the landscape reminds you of just how beautiful this country of ours is. And as you wind your way through this enormity of natural beauty you also find yourself going “outside of yourself.” There’s a shift in the way you see and think about the world that can be quite revelatory. Something was going to change in my life. I wasn’t awake yet to what that might be but a realignment had begun. My work in LA went well and I decided to follow a different route back to the Motor City. I wanted to explore more places I had never been. Up through the desert into Utah then across Wyoming and into South Dakota. The other great thing about long road trips in this day and age is that we can listen to podcasts! As I went through Vegas heading northeast I was listening to The Joe Rogen Experience. Joe’s guest was John Joseph, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band, The Cro-Mags. I had never heard of John or the band but the conversation was fascinating as John, a former Buddhist monk, was discussing the tenets he aspires to live by: The Four Agreements. 1. Be impeccable with your word. 2. Don’t take anything personally. 3. Don’t make assumptions. 4. Always do your best. By this time the sun was setting behind me as I crossed into Wyoming from Utah. I drove through the darkest night I had ever seen as I made my way across 56 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2020

the empty vastness of Wyoming with semis roaring past me at 80 mph, shaking my little Fiat to its core. And the whole time, these four agreements are running through my head. The next morning, for the first time in my life, I crossed into South Dakota, mere miles from where I am today. Driving along the very same road I find myself driving to and from location on this film. At the time, the annual Sturgis Bike Rally was in full swing. As I made my way toward Rapid City I probably saw 500 bikers - big bikers, small bikers, men and women, all nationalities. I turned east on I-90, making my way across the southern half of the state and now the bikers were coming toward me on the other side of the seemingly endless, flat freeway. Then suddenly, the fiercest thunderstorm I have ever been in descended upon us. Traffic suddenly went from 85 to 10 mph and eventually everyone pulled to the side of the road to wait out the storm. Up ahead, bikers stopped beneath an overpass to shield themselves from torrential rain.

Photo by Leroy Iron Cloud @la_ironcloud

As the heated seat of the rental car thaws the chill from my bones I think about my journey to this place… to this moment.

And as I sat there in my tiny Italian car, hoping it wouldn’t float away, “Don’t Take Anything Personally,” continued running through my head.

went away. But she was in the middle of starting a new business and that was occupying her mind. The problem was that I was now anxious – “Don’t Take Anything Personally.” Something was shifting.

I had been gone for almost three weeks. My wife was back in Detroit. She had a You probably see where this is headed by now. history of getting anxious whenever I In late November 2018, nearly a year to the day

I am writing this, my marriage disintegrated in a single moment. I won’t get into the details, but let’s just say that “Don’t Take Anything Personally,” went right out the window for quite some time when I needed it most.

the “me”, all of the BS we allow to affect us that causes our anxieties, our fear, our anger… Those feelings, of course, can be within us and we can recognize that, but they are not who we are.

Shock, anger, rage, grief and an overwhelming sadness enveloped me. And at the same time, in this crazy thing called life, my filmmaking career blossomed. The film I produced earlier in the year in Milwaukee (yes, I was away from home making that movie) called, Give Me Liberty, had just been accepted into Sundance. Our film premiered in Park City two weeks before my divorce became official. The film then went on to Director’s Fortnight in Cannes and opened this past summer to the best reviews of any production I have ever worked on.

It’s in our Aloneness, that state where we are truly not dependent on anyone, that we become Aware, and see reality for what it is. And that is where we find eternity – in the Now. Because that’s really all there is.

And as I traveled around the world with the movie, appreciating the response from audiences and critics alike for all of the hard work and sacrifices of my fellow filmmakers, I did begin to heal. I do love my work, I love telling stories, I love the process. Jumping onto one project after the next has helped me get my “mojo” back. Well, almost. But why am I telling you all of this. What’s the point? It might be South Dakota. I’ve been here nearly seven weeks now. In a place I’d never been before until a year or so ago when four sentences were revealed to me and in their simplicity, helped me make my way back to my center. And here in this beautiful, desolate and so very empty place, driving along the same lonely freeway from a year ago, another podcast recently brought the book, Awareness, based on the teachings of Anthony De Mello, into my life. De Mello was a Jesuit priest and therapist who eschewed “religion” per se, and spoke of spirituality. More specifically, through Awareness, per De Millo, we become spiritual. Most of us live our lives asleep, or dead as Anthony De Mello would say. We are products of what we’ve been taught and told to be from everyone around us. If we can drop all of that, drop opinions, drop expectations, and most importantly, drop dependencies ie. not be influenced by another’s or society’s thoughts, feelings, or judgments about us – then the Ego falls away. The “I”,

Pretty deep, huh? You thought you were just going to read about another guy making some interesting indie films… And of course, I only have fleeting moments of Awareness. But hopefully, without too much effort (because that nullifies the whole thing) those moments will become minutes, hours, days… And how does this affect my work? Well, I hope to be Aware enough to continue to find projects that mean something and can have an impact – to be Aware enough to recognize a script for what it can be and make that instinctual decision where no matter what, I must be a part of said project and serve that film or “binge-worthy” show to help bring it across the finish line. And personally?... Only in Awareness, can we truly love. So there’s that. PS – A travel note. If you ever get a chance to visit Black Hills National Park in South Dakota definitely hike the Cathedral Spires trail. You will see otherworldly beauty and you will find stillness and an absolute silence that is perfect for meditation Michael Manasseri is an actor, writer, producer and director whose screen acting credits include License to Drive, Wings, Weird Science, ER and Buffy. He made his directing debut with horror film Babysitter Wanted and his latest movie as a producer, Give Me Liberty, is currently winning acclaim around the world.

Photos by Leroy Iron Cloud @la_ironcloud

57 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

ARE WE IN AN AGE OF

'MASS EXTINCTION'? Researchers from Flinders University in South Australia argue that humans are probably causing what ice ages and asteroids caused before them. By Dr Frédérik Saltré

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or more than 3.5 billion years, living organisms have thrived, multiplied and diversified to occupy every ecosystem on Earth. The flip side to this explosion of new species is that species extinctions have also always been part of the evolutionary life cycle.

This period in Earth’s past was characterised by high variation in sea levels, and rapidly alternating conditions of global cooling and warming. It was also the time when plants were starting to take over dry land, and there was a drop in global CO2 concentration; all this was accompanied by soil transformation and periods of low oxygen.

But these two processes are not always in step. When the loss of species rapidly outpaces the formation of new species, this The third and most devastating of the Big Five occurred at the balance can be tipped enough to elicit what are known as “mass end of the Permian period around 250 million years ago. This extinction” events. wiped out more than 95% of all species in existence at the time. A mass extinction is usually defined as a loss of about three quarters of all species in existence across the entire Earth over Some of the suggested causes include an asteroid impact that a “short” geological period of time. Given the vast amount of filled the air with pulverised particle, creating unfavourable clitime since life first evolved on the planet, “short” is defined as mate conditions for many species. These could have blocked anything less than 2.8 million years. the sun and generated intense acid rains. Some other possible causes are still debated, such as massive volcanic activity Since at least the Cambrian period that began around 540 mil- in what is today Siberia, increasing ocean toxicity caused by lion years ago when the diversity of life first exploded into a an increase in atmospheric CO₂, or the spread of oxygen-poor vast array of forms, only five extinction events have definitively water in the deep ocean. met these mass-extinction criteria. Fifty million years after the great Permian extinction, about These so-called “Big Five” have become part of the scientific 80% of the world’s species again went extinct during the benchmark to determine whether human beings have today Triassic event. This was possibly caused by some colossal created the conditions for a sixth mass extinction. geological activity in what is today the Atlantic Ocean that would have elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, increased global temperatures, and acidified oceans. The last and probably most well-known of the mass-extinction events happened during the Cretaceous period, when an estimated 76% of all species went extinct, including the non-avian dinosaurs. The demise of the dinosaur super predators gave mammals a new opportunity to diversify and occupy new habitats, from which human beings eventually evolved.

The Numbat is one of 47 Critically Endangered or Endangered mammals in Australia. Photo: Sharon Wormleaton

The most likely cause of the Cretaceous mass extinction was an extraterrestrial impact in the Yucatán of modern-day Mexico, a massive volcanic eruption in the Deccan Province of modern-day west-central India, or both in combination.

The Big Five

These five mass extinctions have happened on average every 100 million years or so since the Cambrian, although there is no detectable pattern in their particular timing. Each event itself lasted between 50 thousand and 2.76 million years. The first mass extinction happened at the end of the Ordovician period about 443 million years ago and wiped out over 85% of all species. The Ordovician event seems to have been the result of two climate phenomena. First, a planetary-scale period of glaciation (a global-scale “ice age”), then a rapid warming period. The second mass extinction occurred during the Late Devonian period around 374 million years ago. This affected around 75% of all species, most of which were bottom-dwelling invertebrates in tropical seas at that time.

An ammonite fossil found on the Jurassic Coast in Devon. The fossil record can help us estimate prehistoric extinction rates. Corey Bradshaw, Author provided 59 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Is today’s biodiversity crisis a sixth mass extinction?

The Earth is currently experiencing an extinction crisis largely due to the exploitation of the planet by people. But whether this constitutes a sixth mass extinction depends on whether today’s extinction rate is greater than the “normal” or “background” rate that occurs between mass extinctions. This background rate indicates how fast species would be expected to disappear in absence of human endeavour, and it’s mostly measured using the fossil record to count how many It would likely take several millions of years of normal evoluspecies died out between mass extinction events. tionary diversification to “restore” the Earth’s species to what they were prior to human beings rapidly changing the planet. Among land vertebrates (species with an internal skeleton), 322 species have been recorded going extinct since the year 1500, or about 1.2 species going extinction every two years. If this doesn’t sound like much, it’s important to remember extinction is always preceded by a loss in population abundance and shrinking distributions. Based on the number of decreasing vertebrate species listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, 32% of all known species across all ecosystems and groups are decreasing in abundance and range. In fact, the Earth has lost about 60% of all vertebrate individuals since 1970. The Christmas Island Pipistrelle was announced to be extinct in 2009, years after conservationists raised concerns about its future. Lindy Lumsden

In contrast to the the Big Five, today’s species losses are driven by a mix of direct and indirect human activities, such as the destruction and fragmentation of habitats, direct exploitation like fishing and hunting, chemical pollution, invasive species, and human-caused global warming.

The most accepted background rate estimated from the fossil record gives an average lifespan of about one million years for a species, or one species extinction per million speciesyears. But this estimated rate is highly uncertain, ranging between 0.1 and 2.0 extinctions per million species-years. Whether we are now indeed in a sixth mass extinction depends to some extent on the true value of this rate. Otherwise, it’s Australia has one of the worst recent extinction records of any difficult to compare Earth’s situation today with the past. continent, with more than 100 species of vertebrates going extinct since the first people arrived over 50 thousand years ago. In contrast to the the Big Five, today’s species losses are driven And more than 300 animal and 1,000 plant species are now by a mix of direct and indirect human activities, such as the considered threatened with imminent extinction. destruction and fragmentation of habitats, direct exploitation like fishing and hunting, chemical pollution, invasive species, Although biologists are still debating how much the current and human-caused global warming. extinction rate exceeds the background rate, even the most conservative estimates reveal an exceptionally rapid loss of bioIf we use the same approach to estimate today’s extinctions per diversity typical of a mass extinction event. million species-years, we come up with a rate that is between ten and 10,000 times higher than the background rate. In fact, some studies show that the interacting conditions experienced today, such as accelerated climate change, changing Even considering a conservative background rate of two ex- atmospheric composition caused by human industry, and abtinctions per million species-years, the number of species that normal ecological stresses arising from human consumption of have gone extinct in the last century would have otherwise resources, define a perfect storm for extinctions. All these contaken between 800 and 10,000 years to disappear if they were ditions together indicate that a sixth mass extinction is already merely succumbing to the expected extinctions that happen well under way. at random. This alone supports the notion that the Earth is at least experiencing many more extinctions than expected Source:This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original arti. from the background rate. 60 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

An endangered Indian wild dog, or Dhole. Before extinction comes a period of dwindling numbers and spread. from www.shutterstock.com

Dr Frédérik Saltré joined Flinders University in the College of Science and Engineering in July 2017 as Research Fellow in Palaeo-ecological Modelling and he is the Coordinator of the Global Ecology Laboratory working with Professor Corey Bradshaw. He is also Associate Investigator in the new ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. He completed his PhD in Biology Geosciences Agroresources and Environment at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE) and the University Montpellier. He is an ecologist interested in how ecosystems change through space and time. He combines modelling approaches with fossil data and genetic knowledge to inform how human pressure and climate changes modified ecosystem functioning such as distributions and interactions of plants, animals, humans, and environments, from a deep-time perspective. rites about ecology and climate change over time from the Late Pleistocene (~126,000 years ago) to the present day, and how our understanding of the past can help prepare us for the future. 61 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

SOUL COURAGE By Tara-jenelle Walsch

The

Space

In-Between 64 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Photo by Patrik Laszlo

contemplation; a time to look over our shoulder and review what was created in the past year and witness the compilation of cheers and tears, vigor and repose, optimism and discouragement, that was assembled through our experiences. And this January, since we’re moving into a new decade, the space in-between begs to be seen for its significance; both in our personal lives and for the collective contribution to the spiritual infrastructure of universal realignment. Today’s fast paced life-style has many of us leaping from rock to rock just to maintain our personal and professional agendas, let alone to match-strength with others. We’re encouraged and expected to “keep buggering on” as Winston Churchill would say—move forward without looking back and do what it takes to sustain momentum.

Photo by Timothy Onubeji

For this reason, and many others, it takes awareness to step into the space in-between. To pause and dip our toe in the water between those rocks, from time to time. And when we’re there, it takes courage to look at all that was, is and could become—and make conscious decisions from that place.

Here’s a fun extension to the holidays: You may be feeling an unexplained sense of togetherness with others this month. This is likely because we’re all standing in the same place, at the same time. Every one of us is experiencing the feeling of just having ended a year and not having yet begun another. Our hands are freshly dusted off from closing down shop and we’re sitting at the wheel deciding where to go next. The magical space that rests right between just ended and beginning again is one that is filled with immense value, yet so often overlooked. It’s a time for retrospection and

Most people have the courage to reflect after bringing things full-circle from start to finish. Whether it’s moving through a year, a relationship, a job, or a big purchase like a car or house—letting go of the old and starting anew pulls us out of routine and engages our thoughts in a unique way. Our mind naturally recaps experiences and translates the emotion we feel into thought, then evaluates how best to move forward. Some things, like relationships, may not necessarily end in total, but we move through cycles within them that have their own beginning and ending, which evolve us through levels of deeper and enriched understanding about ourselves, others and life. Although there are many days where it may feel quite the contrary, our primary reason for being is not to make ends meet and stay alive. We’re not here to simply drag our bodies around, year after year without self-inquiry, soul guidance or co-creation. So how do we feel into this space to receive insight before moving forward into the next new beginning? We slow down and quietly ask ourselves questions. In regards to the space in-between that we’re all in right now as we enter a new year, ask yourself specific questions pertaining to the last year, such as: What were my most memorable experiences in 2019? How did I react to them in the moment?

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What were my biggest lessons learned and most valuable messages received in 2019? What did I like best and least about the year? What would I change moving forward? What happened in 2019 that I didn’t expect? There were likely days in the last year where faith fled the scene and doubt stood up to the plate. It’s not always easy to wake up with a positive frame of mind, especially if we’re facing any level of adversity. This can feed the tendency to reflect on the “bad” things that happened; the dreadful events, sad news or unexpected misfortunes. If you start sinking into gloom like this, remember that it’s just as important to look at the unfavorable things that happened in 2019 so that you don’t rob yourself of validation. Then supervise your introspection and as you look at your experiences, asking yourself how you will now choose to look at those things differently. Rather than view them as bad, which feeds lower vibrations and weighs down your heart, you can expand your perspective by viewing them as gifts in some way. Byron Katie said it best with, “Nothing happens to us, everything happens for us.” When we hold this belief, it allows us to see that we aren’t victims of circumstance. And let us not forget the disappointment around those things that we wished would happen in 2019, but may not have. It’s important to review these things and give yourself a pat on the back for all of your effort, whether or not it achieved the outcome you originally desired. Why? Because all effort creates an outcome of some sort. It may not be immediate or hugely impactful, but energy toward anything, creates something. Now that you’ve reflected on the last year, try giving your introspection a twist and ask:

What good things in 2020 am I anticipating? What wonderful things in your personal life can you imagine and make the intention to bring into your experience this upcoming year? Even, and perhaps most especially so, if it’s something you may otherwise view as impossible. Then stretch your imagination further and ask: What good things can I imagine for the world at large? How can I be a part of making the world a better place? What will I choose to do with my life moving forward into the year? Who will I choose to be moving forward in the next decade? Using the space in-between for self-inquiry leads to much more than just answers. You’ll be surprised at what comes up and out, but even more so you’ll feel closer to yourself and increase your level of self-trust. This is both healing and empowering, and energetically works to create the direction you seek. There could be no better way to start the next decade than to give yourself the insights that will come to you through this process. Welcome to the next year of your life. Create grandly and joyfully. RoadMap to the Space In-Between 1. We’re all in the exact same place right now 2. This place rests between just ended and beginning again 3. It’s called the space in-between and has immense value 4. It takes awareness and courage to step into this space 5.- We get there by slowing down and asking ourselves questions 6.- Ask anything & everything about what just ended & what is about to begin 7. Self-inquiry leads to much more than just answers 8. Create well

Tara-jenelle Walsch is a monthly columnist for the Eden Magazine. She is the author of the book, Soul Courage, and the founder and spirit behindthe Soulebrate greeting card company. You will also find her speaking publicly about emotional and energetic awareness, and a sacred formula which she believes has the ability to enrich the world at large. Tara-jenelle was raised in Annapolis, Maryland and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Towson University in Baltimore. She currently lives in the beautiful hills of Ashland, Oregon.www. soulcourage.com

67 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Gratitude is the Best

Attitude By Sasha Gary

I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for a couple of years now and every day I would write down three things I was grateful for. I honestly felt like I was going through the motions of having to keep a gratitude journal because that’s what all the experts were saying I should do. So I would enter almost the same things daily for what I was grateful for like my family, my friends my job. Blah, blah, blah. Then I began to learn about the magic of gratitude and why we really put focus and energy into it. My whole viewpoint on gratitude changed and so did my attitude. I woke up being grateful for my breath, for having a good night's sleep, for waking up and moving my body in my yoga practice. I became grateful for the fresh food on my plate, the hot water streaming from my shower, the unexpected gift from the night before that randomly popped up in my life. The beautiful abundance of family and friends who supported me when I needed it the most. Every day I have a new practice of how I see and feel gratitude. I finally got it! Gratitude truly is what brings us true happiness for being thankful for what we already have! It also brings us more things to be grateful for. It brings us more abundance! It’s saying thank you for something that hasn’t happened yet. Being grateful reminds us of what we already have and that is enough. I am grateful for my home, for my friend who took my dog overnight when I had to work and I didn’t want him to be alone. I am grateful for an amazing workshop where I received great feedback and helped me with my scene. I am grateful for my man crush who grabbed me and told me how beautiful I looked. I am grateful for new opportunities that have helped my life. You can see, feel and experience so much gratitude in your daily life, and

it truly makes your life a better place to be. Gratitude is an abundant mindset, whereas focusing on what we don’t have comes from a lack mentality. Practicing gratitude actually changes the molecular structure of the brain. Gratitude can boost neurotransmitter serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine. How dope is that! I still continue to write in my gratitude journal daily, but now it has all changed. My practice is so reflective of all the beautiful things that happen, the beautiful people I meet, the simple pleasures in life, I am truly more grateful now than I ever was before. You can also practice your gratitude each morning with meditation, prayer, a journal and writing down the gratitude you have for the day before. This will give you time to reflect on what has happened. If something bad happens, find the gratitude in it and turn it around. Express gratitude to yourself in the mirror or your partner each day. You will see changes in yourself and them. Living a life in gratitude increases your happiness, and well being. You become more satisfied with what you already have. You feel better with your overall health and wellness, you practice more patience and have more humility. I am grateful to you for reading this, for your time and attention and for you to give yourself the time it takes to care for yourself enough to practice gratitude. “Gratitude will shift you to a higher frequency, and you will attract much better things.” Rhonda Byrne

Sasha Gary is an actress, writer, and Transformation Life Coachat www.balancedbellasonline. com is a 16 week online health program for women that shows you how to implement small sustainable changes one by one to help you with whole food nutrition, self-love and a conscious movement. Sasha is a yogi of 25 years, a crystal healer, and an avid sound bowl meditation participant and lives in Venice California!

69 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2020

A CONVERSATION WITH ANDREW HIMMEL

Author of The Reluctant Healer The Reluctant Healer, a first novel by Andrew Himmel, won the 2019 International Book Awards in two categories, General Fiction and Inspirational Fiction. The book was also named to Kirkus Reviewsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Best Books of 2018. The novel explores the relationship between a skeptical lawyer and a committed energy healer.

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Can you give us a thumbnail description of The Reluctant Healer? Sure. The novel is about a conventional young attorney named Will, working as a mid-level associate in a New York City law firm. He is vaguely dissatisfied with his life, for reasons he can’t quite pinpoint. And he becomes involved with a social worker, Erica, who incorporates alternative practices into her work with her patients. In this relationship, Will, the skeptical attorney, begins to exhibit mystical healing capabilities of his own. The central tension in the book is that despite mounting evidence that he may have these abilities, Will fights against this potential reality, struggles with Erica’s views on healing and mysticism and tries to hold on to his skepticism. Is The Reluctant Healer autobiographical? To that, I have to give a typical lawyer’s answer. Yes and no. There are some obvious autobiographical connections. I am a typical attorney from New York City. My wife, Michele, is an energy life coach. The differences in our marriage present unique challenges, and the novel is a loosely fictionalized account of those challenges. So while the actual plot of the book does not neatly track the paths of our lives, the central dynamic of the novel is autobiographical to a degree. The characters began loosely based on my wife and myself, but as the novel progressed, I found that the characters took on lives and personalities of their own. So you’re a conventional lawyer in real life. Have your own views on spiritual or energy healing changed as a result of your marriage? I retain some ambivalence, but my ambivalence has been challenged, first and foremost by my wife and what I have seen in her practice, and in the practices of other people. I have not become a committed believer, but I am not so

dismissive as I used to be. I listen now, whereas previously, I would scoff. There are some things that cannot be explained by what can be detected by the five senses. And ironically, somewhere buried within us, I think most people sense this. If you ask people if they believe in alternative healing, most would say no. But if you ask, have you ever experienced any mysterious or supernatural event in your life, I suspect that most, even people who identify themselves as skeptics, would say yes. Does this mean that they are all destined to believe in alternative methods? No. But it does suggest that we intuit that there are forces out there that we may not be willing to overtly embrace, but that we sense operate and have some degree of impact on our lives. What do you hope readers take away from this book? Good question. The Reluctant Healer is not a work of explicit advocacy. As a novel, it explores ambiguity, and raises more questions than it answers. But that said, I hope in broad strokes that the novel can prompt readers to at least consider the confluence of science and spirituality, of intention and healing, even without subscribing to any particular dogma or view. Larry Dossey, a prominent advocate of spirituality in health care (and one of the endorsers of The Reluctant Healer), captures what I’m trying to express, when he says: "I used to believe that we must choose between science and reason on one hand, and spirituality on the other, in how we lead our lives. Now I consider this a false choice. We can recover the sense of sacredness, not just in science, but in perhaps every area of life."

Andrew Himmel practices law in New York City and is a founding partner of Himmel & Bernstein, LLP, located in the Flatiron District. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Himmel worked in book publishing for The Dial Press, Harper & Row and William Morrow. While at William Morrow, Mr. Himmel worked for the veteran editor Harvey Ginsberg, whose writers included Saul Bellow and John Irving. The Reluctant Healer is available on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and in bookstores throughout the country. Follow Andrew Himmel on Facebook, Instagram and on andrewhimmel.com.

71 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Becoming Anxiety-Free

Mia’s Story

By Mia Villatora & Jennifer Marsland

The

turmoil for me started in utero if you believe the studies suggesting that unborn babies feel stress. You see, whilst my mother was pregnant with me, some of the time she was in a psychiatric hospital battling auditory hallucinations which altered her experience of reality and her ability to function. Along with having to listen to aggressively loud voices, slammed doors echoing up the corridor, as well as seeing very frightened patients needing help, the depressive cold sterile environment of the 1970s hospital was, for her, very stressful. For the first three years of my life, my older sister (who has since passed away) and I lived an extremely unpredictable life with our mum. According to social worker reports, our lives consisted of having neighbors throw food over the fence because Mum forgot to feed us. The reports also said that Mum would drop us off for a day in family daycare, which at the time could be run by anyone who hung a shingle on their door. In-

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stead of picking us up that afternoon as specified, she would not turn up until a week later and announce herself by throwing a brick through the front window. My mother gave birth to two more girls after me. The department of community services finally stepped in and removed us from our mother. Unfortunately, they separated me from my older sister as well. My heart broke. I hated being separated from her as she was like a mother to me, since my actual mother was off busy burning down some of her bad memories. I was placed in a complete stranger’s home and told: “you live here now...” By this time, I was three years old, so malnourished and traumatized I could hardly walk. Immediately, nutritional support and dental work were provided by community services to get me on track. My foster mother tried engaging with me but connecting with me was difficult. I would sit in front of the black and white TV all day long.

My biological mother knew she was allowed visits, but sometimes she snuck around the backyard to see me. Each visit, my mum would tell me she loved me so much, and she wanted me to be with her. This made it even more confusing for me as I just wanted to be with her too, and did not understand why she could not keep me. I loved her dearly no matter what she did, and let me tell you, she did some crazy things. School was hard for me because I felt I wasn’t like the other kids. I felt different. I experienced so many anxiety symptoms when it came to socializing. I decided I would play it safe and keep to myself as much as possible, I just watched life going on around me. Adults never picked up on the fact that I hid my anxiety. At random times I was expecting something terrible to happen, and my heart felt like it was literally going to jump out of my chest. I didn’t say much as I was getting older, but I sure was thinking and strategizing a lot as my mind would not shut up. My high level of mental planning for future scenarios kept me from having any peace. I would not have been able to even imagine a day of internal peace. I became fiercely independent to cope with life’s uncertainty. With this controlling anxious demeanor came depression, so much so that my first attempt at ending it all was at the end of my eleventh year. In my juvenile mind, I thought that if I went to bed that night and stayed underneath that purple and white striped dusty old blanket and not let any air in, I would suffocate and never wake up. I would have used a pillow, but I was not allowed one in this foster home. I sweated under there on that hot summer night until eventually I fell asleep and was then surprised to find I was still alive the next morning. I bounced around so many dysfunctional group homes, eventually taking up drugs to numb the anxiety and constant fear of the unknown. Whilst you might have been carrying around textbooks in your bag as a teen, our group had flathead and Philips head screwdrivers in our bags seeking opportunities to steal cars for fun. By the time I was sixteen I had my stomach pumped for the second time from a drug overdose. At sixteen I had my first real boyfriend. I had not been with him long before I gave myself away to him because I thought he would not love me if I didn’t. I was not ready for an adult relationship at all. I had such very low self-worth and high anxiety. It stands to reason that I panicked inside the day my doctor told me I was pregnant. I went to his house only to find out he’d been hauled off to juvie.

I had never even held a baby and was clueless and jobless. I was also homeless at that time, as I was on the missing person’s report too many times and had gotten kicked out of the refuge. My mind was racing anxiously about what the future may hold, but I decided I would go ahead with the pregnancy. I couch-surfed for a while and was then miraculously given government housing. I gathered a cot, pram and other baby supplies, compliments of my friends who just stole it all. I finally had a beautiful baby boy and did the best I could with my lack of parenting knowledge. I was a very detached mother as I had not received any tenderness of any sort and did not know how to give it. I couldn’t give what I did not have. My son’s father then left. I was so angry that my son had been abandoned and I had to struggle on without any support whatsoever. I thought of giving my wonderful beautiful baby boy up to someone who could give him a better life than what I could as I had no idea what I was doing. However, I didn’t want him to feel that both parents had abandoned him. Nor did I want to risk putting him into care for the fear that he would be abused. So, I kept him and soldiered on. This made excessive worry, palpitations and sadness my constant companions. This led me to another all-time low. So low, I went to the doctor to get help. She immediately prescribed me with antidepressants without even asking the extent of my history or referring me to a counsellor. I refused the medication as my instincts told me even at that time, that I had more significant issues and needed more than just a little purple pill. For months and months I continued living with this intense pain. I couldn’t find joy or hope in anything for what felt like a lifetime. Every day I cried and cried until I had no tears left. I just felt so broken, and did not understand why everyone around me was “happy” and I just could not be. The anxiety I experienced was so bad, it was a struggle to go out and do everyday things. The only time I sprung to life was when I was drinking alcohol in excess on the weekends. It took away my pain for a moment, but the pain was still there the next day. When I was twenty-four-years old, my workplace asked if anyone wanted to move interstate to start a new branch there. I didn’t hesitate as I had moved so many times, and moving was nothing to me. I was hoping to make a new beginning. 73 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

This is where my life started changing. I finally had saved up enough money and took out a loan for a home for my son and myself, and began socializing. I found new friends who supported me exactly where I was at without judgement. In spite of my social anxiety, I started to enjoy hanging out with them. During this process, the “I” became “we” and everything began changing. My friends told me how God loves me and how he sees me. At that time, I entered into a relationship with a really kind and patient man, who would later become my husband. He joined me in my travels to the Middle East and then later on to Europe and Asia to search for some truth about my creator. I found this beautiful word called repent which meant to recognize and turn from doing things my way. It also meant to trust God with my life from there on in, and that’s what I did. I was changed from the inside out with that decision. I was able to quit smoking for good, never take drugs again, and I never stole anything again. I was not alone anymore and this gave me great strength, comfort and hope. With a lot of support and counselling, I discovered that I had free will and by using it, I could move forward and have a better life. I finally started experiencing true joy, but in certain situations, especially at the most inconvenient times, the anxiety kept rearing its head. There was a time I did not want to even go to a shopping center as I would start to feel dizzy and short of breath. I felt it in my body with a racing heart, hot flushes, restlessness, and intense worry trying to figure everything out. What I experienced was a lack of internal peace! I moved back to Sydney in 2002 and married my now husband. At this point, anxiety was starting to affect my health. I was so sick of it...completely and utterly sick of it! I quit my job and began wondering who I would be if I were anxiety-free. I knew that I would be the same person, but my life would be very different, and anything was better than living so anxiously. I started out my journey of healing by enrolling in applied psychology as a mature age student. There I hoped to find out how to live anxiety-free and perhaps help others later in life, 74 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2020

but it was really me that needed help at that time. After years of being in college, I took a break and had two beautiful daughters. I decided to go back to study when my youngest had started school. Commencing a postgraduate diploma was in itself really overwhelming and full of situations to be anxious about, yet I loved it as I was so passionate about it. I had to get a lot of help to learn how to be in this academic setting. During this time, my mother passed away. I was going through complicated grief, essays were due, and all the whilst going home to two young children and silently suffering from high functioning anxiety. The amount of pressure I was putting on myself was outrageous. Ironically, it was during one of my worst experiences of anxiety that I learned how to free myself from its grip using the methods discussed later in our book. I was so blessed that I was surrounded by other counsellors and good friends that supported me during this tough time. Who I have become now that I am anxiety-free? I now love the gift of my life free from anxiety, and now know what it is like to live with inner peace. If anxiety tries to rear its head now on the very odd occasion I understand why, recognize it instantly for what it is, and am able to free myself from it on the spot. I love being a mother of three, serving others on their journey and am finding it really rewarding to work as a counsellor and author. I love doing life with my amazing family and loving supportive friends who I am extremely grateful for. I have my hard days like everyone else, but barely recognize the anxious girl that I used to be and look forward to the future. I would not have become the person I am today without my experience. I would not be able to see what I see when helping others the way I do without my experience with trauma and high functioning anxiety. None of us are promised an easy life, some of us have had to hustle more than others. Jenny and I have had clients who say they’ve had a “picture perfect life” and still have anxiety, but upon digging a bit deeper, there is always a reason.

Mia Villatora is a registered counselor, NLP practitioner, former foster-care panel member and overcomer of anxiety. She can provide commentary on living with, treating, and coping with anxiety. She is a member of the Australian Counselling Association and the International Association of Applied Neuroscience. Jennifer Marsland is an author and qualified counselor who has worked extensively with anxious clients. She has experience working as a counselor at Burwood, has run group therapy sessions for drug and alcohol rehab patients, worked with young people facing anxiety-inducing identity issues, and worked with domestic violence victims. You can find Villatora and Marsland’s new book, “Anxiety-Free: Who Would You Be?” on Amazon.com or Balboa Press

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Turning the Storm of My Past into My Biggest Accomplishments By Haifa Blanchard

EVERTHING HAPPENS AS IT SHOULD I was an expert at going against the flow. I tried to force things to happen. I was blinded by the roadblocks that prevented me from living my dream life and obsessed about the goals that I could not achieve. I never thought that perhaps there was something better in store for me. A perfect example was the process of obtaining my CPA license, which was filled with difficulties and culminated in multiple failures. Instead of taking a step back to evaluate the other opportunities around me, I kept forcing it to happen. I only worried about the odds being stacked against me instead of considering another career path.

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Photo by Renato Abati from Pexels

Photo by Andrii Podilnyk

Aim Higher

Often circumstances turn out differently than expected. I attributed the multiple attempts at getting my license to missed opportunities. I felt sad about not having the chance to walk through the doors that this license could have opened and tormented by the prospect of an unfulfilled career. However, after my spiritual journey, this sadness metamorphosed into a profound wisdom, as I understood that everything happens as it should. It took a lot of courage to let go of this dream that I desperately wanted to accomplish, but when I removed my blindfold and looked at the big picture, I understood why it was meant to be this way, and I finally saw the other opportunities around me. I believe that if I had passed my CPA license exam, my life would have probably been quite different. Perhaps I would have stayed in New York, living happily in the city with a big corporate job. My emotional turmoil would have been short-lived, and I would have never gone on this spiritual journey. My childhood traumas would still be buried, and my emotional outbursts would recur. I would have been busy making friends and discovering new places instead of working on myself. All these are hypotheses. I could have been better off or not. I will never know. What I do know is that thanks to the path that I walked on the last few years, I am the best version of myself today. I am very proud of the journey that I have taken. I learned that life is about moving forward and aiming higher. You let go of what could have been so you can reach what could be. There is no such thing as a missed opportunity, as every detail in your life happens for your greater good. Opportunities come and go; some may be right and others not so good. When the right one shows up in your life, you know with certainty. It feels effortless. It feels meant to be. Although it can bring challenges, it does not feel forced. It has only one purpose, which is to elevate you. I also learned that you should always do your best so you do not have regrets or doubts when your plans go amiss. When you find yourself in uncharted waters, you see them for what they are: experiences that enrich your life. Every step in your journey works in your favor. Events unfold in the way that best serves you. Failing my CPA exam as well as the many other unexpected events in my life were challenges put on my path to teach me many thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;among them resilience and self-worth. It took me many years to understand that they did not define me, but how I reacted to them and used them to my advantage did. Picking myself

up, staying strong in the face of adversity, and persevering were difficult tasks to accomplish, but doing this work made me strong mentally. I learned that my self-worth was not contingent on my successes and failures. I grew up in a competitive schooling environment where my siblings and I were rewarded for being among the top in our classes. Somehow along the way, I equated self-worth with high aspiration, significant accomplishment, and above-average intellect. Therefore, failing my license exam took a toll on my self-esteem and confidence. Fortunately, as I went through my spiritual journey, I realized how mistaken my concept of self-worth was. I could celebrate my accomplishments and be proud of them. They were milestones on my journey, but they did not make me who I was. Similarly, my failures did not mean that I was worthless. The purity of my heart and my good intentions were the only elements that defined who I was as an individual. Nowadays, when events in my life do not go according to plan, I go with the flow. I patiently let them run their course and look for the silver lining along the way. I know that they are bringing something greater into my life, and I look forward to what will be revealed.

I learned that life is about moving forward and aiming higher. You let go of what could have been so you can reach what could be. There is no such thing as a missed opportunity, as every detail in your life happens for your greater good. NURTURE YOUR INNER YOU Knowing that you are spiritually supported throughout life, especially in difficult moments, is reassuring and comforting. It helps you rise above it all as you receive spiritual guidance to navigate any storms. I am not sure if I would have made it to the light without the little voice in my head pushing me toward a spiritual journey. Before this journey, I did not pay attention to that voice, nor did I know where it was coming from. However, I learned that it is the spiritual guidance that supports me in life. It is the compass that shows me the direction to the right path and the tool that

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guides and helps me to live to my full potential. It has always been there throughout my life and taken various forms to hold my attention. Sometimes this spiritual guidance comes as a soft, encouraging voice in my head advising me. Other times, it shows up as an inner knowing, an intuition, or an internal force pushing me in a specific direction. All of these represent the various channels that my Higher-Self, God, uses to communicate with me. I associate them with the voice that guides, the message that brings wisdom and comfort, the light that illuminates in times of darkness, the force that provides strength in the face of adversity, and the inner knowing that no matter what happens, all will be well. Believing in them is trusting the essence of who I am. Following them leads to a higher place. They partner with experiences to help me grow on an individual and spiritual level. Their teachings enrich my life and support me in accomplishing the dreams and goals of my soul. I have learned the importance of nurturing the spiritual aspect of myself and believing in the messages it conveys. Listening to your Higher-Self does not turn you into someone you are not. On the contrary, it makes you more you. It brings you out of your comfort zone and puts you in situations where you get to know yourself better. It leads you to discover your authentic self-one layer at a time. Your Higher-Self nurtures who you are and embraces all parts of yourself. Its guidance is very subtle and nonjudgmental. It is your choice to listen to it or not. No matter what you decide, it will never turn its back on you. At the beginning of my journey, I ignored my inner voice on many occasions. Eventually, I realized that it is always right. I may take a detour when I do not listen to it, but it ultimately results in another learning experience. Your Higher-Self is always working in your favor. Never let doubt sneak in and ruin your relationship with it. Believing in it is believing in yourself.

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Nurturing your connection with your Higher-Self and following the guidance that you receive does not mean that life becomes easy or perfect. It simply means that you have help and support around you. You are still required to complete your part of the process. However, when you work in partnership with your Higher-Self, you know where your responsibilities stop and the point where God needs to take over. Having this clarity leads you to surrender. SURRENDER Once you have attended to your responsibilities, taken action, implemented changes, given your all, and done your best, it is time to surrender. I found surrendering very difficult, as I enjoy being in control and getting things done on my own. However, so much in life cannot be planned. Whereas in the past the unexpected gave me anxiety, I learned to see it as a wonderful twist to an already exciting life. It brings an air of mystery. I noted a significant difference between trying to make something happen on my own and allowing my spiritual self to take over and guide me. Whenever I followed my inner guidance, everything seemed to be effortless. I took inspired actions. I was led to experiences that my fear could not stop me from doing. I was assured at every step of the journey that I was exactly where I needed to be. I felt the presence of a partner who loved, protected, and supported me. I was limitless. I could dare greatly and aim higher. I realized that the stronger my belief in myself and nurturing of my inner being, the more in tune I was with spiritual guidance in moving from the darkness to the light. As I practiced all the tools that I learned on my journey to the light, I reached a pinnacle. I left the steep learning curve behind me. My work was done. I felt better, and my life was better. It was time to surrender completely. I let God take the reins and show me the path to this new chapter of my life. I had finally made it to the light. Excerpt from “Aim Higher: Turning the Storms of My Past into My Biggest Accomplishments”

Haifa Blanchard is a spiritual and self-development author who wrote “Aim Higher: Turning the Storms of My Past into My Biggest Accomplishments.” Blanchard was leading a very downtrodden life after a near-death experience, suffering from a variety of health issues and failing to pass her CPA exam. At the age of 27, she decided that she wanted to change her life around for the better. She embarked on a spiritual journey that has led her on an adventure inward. Her successful quest to define her spirituality and live a fulfilled, authentic life has helped her live a life of purpose. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in accounting. Blanchard currently works as a director of finance and business operations in Miami, Florida. To learn more, please visit: www.HaifaBlanchard.com.

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By Lavandaia & Marco Nunzio Alati

Photo by David Marcu

REFLECTIONS

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Here I am! standing in the living room, I look at the broom…I should sweep the floor! I look at the mop…I should clean the floor! I look at the fridge… I should cook! I turn around! I look at the pile of clothes on the chair, I should iron! I turn around! I look at a drawing hanging on the wall. I read, “ love you mom”. I sit down! I feel pervaded with pure beauty as I am thinking of him, that incredible and perfect creature that was gifted to me, MY SON! And as I’m sitting down, I observe myself. “Am I a woman or a female?” I don’t have the answers. I ask my own soul! Yes, because everybody has a soul. We often don’t pay attention nor listen to It. Many people spend their whole life without recognizing Its holy presence, without even trying to connect with It. That’s not me, it’s not me! What am I feeling? Which answer, which sentence is arising? I am a woman with my hands in the My sentient soul starts speaking with flour and with the image of my son in my no arrogance or curiosity. mind. He is harvesting tomatoes and he “We need to be like water. Nothing in this world is more adaptable than water. It flows in every situation and it always finds the perfect path for itself. Find your own path!” I then look at my hands, they are ruined by the constant work in the soil. I look at my dry skin. I feel it and I listen to it. Then I find myself communicating with the water of my own body.

is eating a cake. Yes, I am a woman and I am like water. I adapt. I know that I shouldn’t allow myself to dry out. A waterless well makes people realize the real value of water. I am grateful and I stand up and I look at the wall again: “ love you mom”. I take the flour, water and I begin to make bread for lunch. "Water is the force that moves everything.

Now I understand, I am not a female, I am Water digs into the rock, not because of its just not it. I don’t wear high heels and I strength, but because of its perseverance." don’t put makeup on. I am not perfect. I am a woman, with my hands in the soil, with my I cry and I smile. dry skin and flat shoes.

After graduation in Industrial Biotechnology, Marco played a key role in international research projects in Canada, Austria and Spain. He stumbled upon the Reconnection by mere chance and it enlightened him in ways he hadn't realized he needed. Three months after that unique experience, he left his job in biotechnology and embarked on his journey to become a full time Reconnective Healing Practitioner, and one of the two Italian Mentors and Teaching Assistants of Eric Pearl’s direct Team. He is currently living in Los Angeles and collaborating with a number of independent scientific studies that are exploring Reconnective Healing and its extraordinary benefits. For info contact marco.alati@ gmail.com 323-617-2289 “Description” is all in the eyes of that who is experiencing, thus “description” of “who” becomes irrelevant. And the truth is, that describing Lavandaia using “words” is like trying to catch a fragrance. Scent cannot be caught, it can only be enjoyed and discovered through the experience itself. Who Lavandaia “is” is her mission, Giving clarity and divine knowledge to those who are willing to move forward in life and explore how to express their highest self. For more information visit www.lavandaia.org, or contact us at paola.seed@gmail.com 83 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

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The Trophy Effect By Alexia Melocchi

ow do we reframe the value of life’s moments to make New Year’s resolutions stick?

We are embarking a new decade and as always, and for most of us, January 1st is New Year's resolution time. Almost religiously we use the opportunity of a fresh start to set out intentions for better relationships, health, finances, paired with a long list of places to travel to and things to buy. We also make promises to ourselves to interrupt patterns of negative thinking, judgment, complaining and hanging out with toxic people. The thought of "going for it' is always exhilarating, then, almost like clockwork, a few weeks into our efforts, we fumble, we get distracted, and before we know it, the majority of our resolutions end up on a shelf. In 2019 I joined a mastermind that was taught by Michael Nitti, of Intention Quest, a top life coach who is known for a unique approach called The Psychology of Supreme Certainty. Michael has worked with Hollywood celebrities, Fortune 500 CEOs, but also people from all walks of life who want to live their day on purpose with absolute certainty. Once I started taking in some of his concepts, I did a deep dive into his book, "THE TROPHY EFFECT" and my conversation about it here below may forever change the way you view New Year's resolutions-

Michael, why do people usually fail or do not follow through with New Year's Resolutions? It’s because we doubt that we are going to keep them. Though we say to ourselves It would just be nice, we do not own that commitment. In life, we either do something with a strong intention, or we fall into a place of reaction. It can be a reaction to fear, or event from our past, or a reaction to our fear that we will not follow through- and as a result, we are missing the intention and expectation. Does it all boil down to the frequent and permanent thought of not being good enough?? Yes, because we fail so many times before, we have a history of that not happening. Every human being has the fear they are not good enough. It’s intrinsic of their psychology so subconsciously we look for the proof we are not good enough through our past failures. How do we break free from this loop? First, we have to own that pattern and realize that we have to see our so-called failures not as proof that we are not good enough but as proof that we are human.

We also have to break through our psychology and find the real why behind the resolution. For example, when wanting to lose weight, you have to visualize how it will feel to have lost it. That feeling is your WHY. What is the Trophy Room that you talk about in your book? The trophy effect is born out of our survival instinct. Just like animals we have a biological functioning mind that is looking out for danger and threats to our survival. As a result of the mind naturally picks up "Trophies" – a collection of a piece of proof that you are not good enough to remind us that we survived through it. The mind considers it a victory – it did its job- a victory- so we get a trophy- and stores that moment in time in the trophy room. It feels like crap to us but that threat lives in the trophy room like a bad trophy and over time we collect a whole room of them. So we are constantly reminded of all the proof we are not good enough and we give up easily.

for something outside of ourselves when it has always been within us. Our focus should be to master the ability to shift into a purposeful state- instead of a reactionary state. The thought that we do not own our power is the biggest limiting belief. Do we need to fight our fears? No, we do not take the fear away, the fear is always there but at some point, you step beyond it so often that you gain more and more certainty. It’s like building a muscle. It's overriding the human being. I am a regular 67-yearold guy with very little hair. And I believe I am a powerhouse because I say so. When I coach I am not bringing anything more than what we all possess, not a special power or skill, I just help you awaken that you can too have an intention to show up this way.

Alexia Melocchi has an experienceof more than twenty years in inHollywood and has produced11 award wining movies and3 documentaries that were shot bymerging film makers that she has personally discoveredand mentored.

How do we change that? The power is to know that it is not true that you are not good enough. That is the first step. You need to come back to neutral and start throwing out the trophies because you do not need them– and see them as a collection of proof that you are human. When you own your humanity and forgive yourself that you are human, you will no longer fall prey to that pattern. How does someone build a trophy of potential and intention instead? Pat yourself in the back for all the victories and start a trophy room for those. We are all magnificent creatures capable of doing anything. You will be surprised without the weight of that bad trophy how you can create new energy to accomplish whatever you need to do. I am not talking about being arrogant but by knowing who you are. How do we stop the “not good enough” pattern? We are conditioned by culture to look

Alexia Melocchi is an accomplishedfilm producer and worldwidedistribution executive and thepartner of Beverly Hills basedLITTLE STUDIO FILMS.

What are the 3 go-to things you use to get yourself in a positive state? Always knowing who I am. Service to others. I also know that I am human and when I have the thoughts of looking for what’s wrong I know it’s my mind. I own my thoughts, laugh at them, and emerge out of them as being a hero. I show up as a hero not to be praised. The reward for being a hero is that I made a difference in somebody's life. That’s my intention.

She also acquires on behalf of her international distributor clients films and television shows from all over the world for release in the Middle East, Italy, Greece, Spain, Canada, South America and Germany. She attends all major film festivals in the USA and abroad and has beenoften invited as an expert panelist on the Film Business forhigh profile film and television conventions. Alexia is fluent in five languages and is the proud mama to3 rescue cats. She supports environmental and animal causes , meditatesdaily, and is an avid reader of spiritual and self helps books. IG @lexybella @LttleStudioFlms www.littlestudiofilms.com

THE WAY I SEE IT

By Joe Santos, Jr.

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Bosom Buddies Picture it. Riverdale, New York, 1969. It was a crisp fall day when I rode my dark green "English Racer" bicycle into the playground behind The Briar Oaks Condominiums where we lived. Perched alone on a seesaw was the person who would soon become my "forever friend." I got off my bike and walked over to him and said, "Hi, my name is Joey. It would be much more fun if I got on the other end." He replied, "Oh? Well, if you'd like, go ahead. My name is Philip." And as simple as that, started the friendship that became family. I was ten years old. I had just returned from a month-long vacation in the Caribbean with my parents and my younger brother. The year before, our older brother was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. He had just turned 18. It was a long hard year for me and my family. And our parents were determined to put back the pieces to life and heal. We had just moved into Briar Oaks a few months before, and as a fresh start and new beginnings my Father surprised us with the Caribbean vacation. Philip and I were the same age. We started talking and laughing, and we rode that seesaw up and down and into the dark. We vowed to hang out and play the next day. And, play we did. We made a plan to meet in the playground at noon. I'll never forget what he was wearing. He had on a grey cashmere coat, a black turtleneck, burgundy slacks, cordovan loafers, and a black Persian Lamb Fez that matched the lapel of his jacket. I remember asking, "why are you all dressed up"? He said, "I'm not. These are my play clothes." With that, off to play, we did. (Philip and his Parents had also recently moved into Briar Oaks.) That afternoon sealed our fate as pals. We swung

on swings, played in the playground, and ran around the Tennis Courts. Behind the playground was a wooded trail that led to the Hudson River, so I suggested we explore. It was so exciting and fun getting to know our new neighborhood and each other. By the time we got back to the building, it was just past dinner time, and I remember Philip panicking. I said, "you're only 5 minutes late". "Look at my clothes," he said. "My pocket is ripped, I have mud and dirt all over my pants and shoes, and my hat is torn. My Mother is going to FLIP"!! I said, "uhoh" just remember to call me after dinner'. He called around 8 pm and said: "my Mom wants to meet you tomorrow." I asked, "why, is she really that mad"? He said, "nope." She told me that "whoever this Joey person is, that kept you out past dinner, and had you come home looking like you had a dirt bomb fight and lost, I have to meet and thank him personally for turning my son into a regular boy. You may play with Joey anytime"! Fifty years later, we see each other every day, have dinner a couple of times a week, travel together, live less than a mile away from each other, and continue to talk and laugh for hours, swing on swings, explore and come home late for dinner, and occasionally show up with a tear or two and some mud on our shoes. “We’ll always be Bosom Buddies. Friends, Brothers, and Pals. If life should reject you, there’s me to protect you.” In this insecure world filled with so much negativity and insecurity, we have to remind ourselves of the people that we can trust, learn from, grow with, respect, honor, like, and love. There's nothing like having a good friend. Thanks, Philip, for being mine.

Joe Santos, Jr. is a Celebrity Chef and Life-Stylist. He joins The Eden Magazine as a writer sharing his unique view on life, death, love, and the avoidance of mediocrity. Follow Joey on Instagram @jojoboy13

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WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

Cyndi Dale Author, Intuitive, consultant & speaker

yndi Dale has been a natural intuitive since she was young, and offers these gifts to clients and groups seeking to make real and positive change. Her passion includes helping people open their “essential energy,” the powers and perspectives unique to them. She works with thousands of individuals a year, in the United States and internationally, because once an individual understands their own essence, they can tap into the energies of—and beyond—the world, joining the community of like-minded people who want to better themselves and others. Cyndi is an internationally renowned author, speaker, healer, and business consultant. Her books to-date includes the bestseller, The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy, published by Sounds True. The Subtle Body has garnered over 75 five-star reviews on Amazon.com and continuallysells in the 1,000 place, leading millions of books. It has also won four internationally recognized Publisher's Awards. Cyndi lives in Minneapolis with her sons, Michael and Gabriel, as well as way too many pets, all of which believe they have voting rights to her time.

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The Eden Magazine Exclusive Interview with Cyndi Dale Thank you for your time, please tell us about yourself, your spiritual journey? I was quite intuitive as a child—and I thought my abilities were normal! I could see colors coming off my parents, hear ghosts talking, and sense others’ emotions. I knew that when the colors emanating from my mother were red, she was becoming angry. When they were a brown-yellow, I’d soon be in trouble. When we lived in Huntsville Alabama, our house was behind a railroad and we’d frequently see hobos walking around, waiting for a car to jump. One night, I heard two hobos come in the room and cook breakfast. I knew they did! I heard the bacon sizzling! Of course, when I woke my parents after the hobos left, my dad blearily took me into the kitchen and showed me that…there were no dirty pots and pans.

sion. The information I intuitively bring through, research, and figure out goes into my books.

I really started developing my gifts in my early 20’s. I was lucky enough to be traveling internationally and started spending time with shamans, healers, and intuitive. That led to further explorations and training amongst indigenous healers. I was hooked and began putting together protocols based on my studies toward a master’s in Christian divinity (which I didn’t finish), cross-cultural healing and spirituality, and science. Now I’m as busy as I can be teaching, delivering energy healing/intuitive sessions, and writing.

I have a few pieces of advice. First, it’s important to know that sometimes we can’t connect with the just-departed because our own grief is so strong. Grief is necessary and can also operate like a cloud that blocks us from otherworldly contact. Having said that, my mother’s soul reached out to me right after she died. She literally knocked pictures and books over while I was teaching a class and talking about her. So, it’s not always about us reaching through the veil—the departed souls can do the same. In fact, after my girlfriend’s little black dog died, I was talking about him on the phone with her, and black feathers starting raining from my ceiling!

How did you decide to become a writer? I’ve always wanted to be a writer. In fact, when I was in second grade, I quite diligently wrote a book series about a fish family. I then began creating and producing neighborhood plays. I wrote my first non-fiction book in my early 30’s after developing an expanded chakra system. That book, which was called New Chakra Healing, was a result of my remembrance of those colors of energy I had seen around my mother when I was a child. I had always perceived 12 not 7 chakras, thus my first book was about that greater chakra system. At that time, I had just divorced and was living with my oldest son in a small apartment. Computers were bigger and more stationary back then, so I positioned my computer on my kitchen table. Michael and I ate on the coffee table. We ate a lot of Chinese food back then and I’d simply pretend we were at an Asian restaurant, eating close to the floor.

What was the most important message you wanted to share with your readers? Each of us is on this planet for a purpose. We are needed. We are talented. We are loved. That means we are worthy and deserving of goodness, love, and light. Many of us who lost the loved one, anguish to connect with another side, in your experience is such thing possible, and what is the process? YES! I have had many contacts with my own departed parents, as well as grandparents, and often link with souls from the other side for my clients.

You wrote many books, what inspired you to write these books? Each book has really arisen from my client work. Over the years, I’ve worked with over 65,000 people and I perceive themes that help explain and heal various conditions, such as the need for intuitive boundaries, the challenges of personality disorders including narcissism—and codependency to narcissism, addictions, food issues, traumas, extra-terrestrials. You name it, it has come up in a client ses91 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

The best way to reach through the veil is to get grounded by breathing deeply into your body, taking a few deep breaths, and then with all sincerity, asking for a connection. Request to link with a specific soul and be clear about your reason. Do you have a question? Simply want to sense their presence? Then establish time parameters on the connection. For instance, ask that the link be made clear to you within three days. Then remain intuitively open! The departed soul might visit you in a dream, send you a sign, or simply speak into your head. Sometimes being open for a contact can be challenging. Recently, I received a call from a friend. Her niece had just communicated suicide. Was I willing to talk with her sister and brother-in-law? I don’t usually work as a medium, although I’m able to do so. I actually couldn’t stop what I felt next. The young girl’s soul was so sad that I started to cry. I could feel her feelings for the rest of that day—and I usually have great boundaries! However, by the time I talked with her parents, I was able to bring messages of peace from spiritual guides to both the girl’s soul and to her parents. Great healing can occur if we reach to the other side. In one of your book “Illuminating the Afterlife,” you pointed about those who had sudden death, and how effected in their afterlife, how you describe those who did not have such a thing. How their path is in the Afterlife? I believe that a sudden death can be a great shock to the departing soul. Sometimes they exit through the debilitated area of the body. For instance, if they are stricken with a heart attack, the soul can get pulled into the ethers through the resulting energetic tunnel. If they die of a gunshot wound to the stomach—or a head stroke—or a serious blow to the leg—the soul might jettison out the related area, and sometimes struggle with figuring out what has happened. Most deaths are slower and more gradual. With enough time to process life and death, a soul will rise through the 92 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

chakra system over time, until it departure through the seventh chakra, which is on the top of the head. The seventh chakra is comprised of a lovely white light that mirrors the “White Light” that so many people who have gone through a Near Death Experience report. The soul leaving through this gateway is often greeted by departed loved ones and spirits that can bring it into one of the many Planes of Light afforded us at death. These are otherworldly realities that enable us to spiritually evolve. For instance, one of the Planes a death most commonly visits right after death is one of Rest. We then move into a Plane of Healing, and after that, we can connect with a Plane of Knowledge, Wisdom, and so forth. All of life and death is about maturing into become a true beacon of grace and love. Do you believe in reincarnation and why? I’ve believed in reincarnation ever since I was a child. When I was young, I remembered being alive in several other time periods. I had been a young Native American chief, a beheaded English princess, and a rather nasty Chinese warlord. When I learned about the concept of reincarnation when studying Hindu chakras, I simply had a name for my memories. Most cultures actually have a tradition in reincarnation. When I was working toward a master’s in Christian divinity, I noticed that the story of Pentecost actually reveals that the Jewish culture believed in reincarnation. Pentecost is the falling of the Holy Spirit upon a crowd of Jesus’s followers. The crowd is wondering exactly who Jesus is. Is he the returned Elijah, a prophet whom had ascended without dying? Or the reincarnated Moses? I never learned about reincarnation in Sunday School growing up—but here it was, under my nose, during my entire religious upbringing. Do you have any advice for our reads? In regard to your own intuition, have faith in yourself! We are all born intuitive and fully able to access spiritual messages and love to guide our way. In regard to life, enjoy it! What a great place we occupy. Yes, there is pain, suffering, and trauma. But also sunshine and moments to share joy with self and others.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

An Antidote for

The Age of Anxiety

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By Philip Shepherd

umans are arguably the most adaptable of animals. We live in arid deserts, frozen tundra, overpopulated cities and outer space. Adaptability has been the cornerstone of our survival; but it also has a dark side. Sometimes we habituate in ways that are corrosive to our well-being. As songwriter Bruce Cockburn put it, “The trouble with normal is it always gets worse.” For example, we have come to accept the constant presence of anxiety in our lives as a normal part of our human condition. It runs through our beings like an undercurrent – edgy, restless, unfocussed. As with any form of fear, our anxiety is reactive rather than responsive. That is, it is not moderated by wholeness. It is ungrounded. As our entire culture normalizes to anxiety, reactivity becomes the norm – the world around us feels like it’s being pulled apart at the seams. That’s where we find ourselves now: ours might be dubbed The Age of Anxiety. The question is, what can we do about it? The answer is as easy to point to as it is elusive to implement. We’ve heard it often enough: just become grounded; find inner peace; just be present. The evident solutions make sense, but how to actually move towards them is another matter. Our stumbling block in that regard is that we’ve normalized to a stubborn denial of the body’s intelligence. We have come to believe that thinking happens exclusively in the head; living by that belief, we resist the body’s sensational intelligence and become

mired in a world of abstractions. And when we subdue the body’s intelligence like that, we slide inescapably into anxiety. Consider this: when we restrict our thinking to the abstracting realm of the head, everything begins to feel abstract. Our very lives come to feel abstract. We feel disconnected from reality. And that state foments anxiety; and that state feels normal to us. The intelligence of the body doesn’t disappear. It’s always there. It feels and knows things that utterly elude the restless, anxious intelligence of the head. It knows how intimately we belong to the living world around us. It feels the sensitivity coursing through each moment of the present and knows how to join that sensitivity. And it knows that resting in that sensitivity dissolves the relentless tug of anxiety that is our constant companion, and enables us to open to the tangible embrace of the borderless moment. The body’s intelligence is our primary intelligence. Reuniting with it, I believe, is the foremost challenge we face as individuals and as a culture. That reunification requires an utterly personal journey of discovery – a journey that necessarily moves counter to the cultural instructions we’ve grown up with. I’d like to offer you a doorway into that journey, a simple exercise that is foundational in all of my workshops and programs. Click the play button to listen to the exercise – and see where it takes you, or how it affects your sense of being grounded, or if it seems to bring you to a place in which anxiety doesn’t have much hold. I’d be interested to hear back!

Philip Shepherd's unique techniques have been developed to transform our experience of self and world. The approach he takes heals the frantic, restless pace of the intelligence in the head, which tends to run on overdrive, by uniting it with the deep, present and calm intelligence of the body.

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3 Rescue Dogs Who Changed People’s Lives By Carol Novello

cience continues to support a truth that dog owners already know: they make our lives better. One recent study showed that people with dogs get three times more exercise than those who don’t. Certainly, the physical health benefits are doubtless — but rescuing a dog impacts our mental and emotional health, too. Here are three stories of rescue dogs who transformed the lives of the people who adopted them. Share these stories with fellow dog lovers, and with anyone you know who is wondering whether adopting a rescue dog is right for them. Together, we can save more homeless dogs — and they can “rescue” more humans.

It was pretty brutal. I might not have made it if it hadn’t been for Grace.” Not long before the stroke, Patrick and his girlfriend Alexia had adopted an injured and abused pit bull, Grace. After Patrick’s stroke, he and the injured pup recuperated and healed together. “Rather than falling apart,” Patrick shares, “I’d see Grace getting stronger and better. … How could I be mopey and depressed when here’s this girl who was found on the street, all beat up? Her positivity was contagious. …Thanks to Grace, I’ve learned it’s not what happens to us, it’s how we respond. She was my saving grace, for real.” Watch the short film about their story at MutualRescue.org/film/patrick-grace. Kim & Brian & Lana Kim and Brian suffered the loss of their newborn baby girl, who was born with a tumor in her lungs that led to fluid accumulation and heart failure. For both Kim and Brian, the weeks and months that followed felt like an empty, bottomless pit of grief. “We’d always laughed a lot and acted goofy with each other,” says Kim, “but from the day Aria was diagnosed, I didn’t hear Brian laugh. After we lost her, we sort of tiptoed around each other.

Patrick & Grace At age 34, Patrick Donovan was at the top of his game. A competitive athlete, he had athletic accomplishments he was proud of, and a girlfriend he adored. Then during a competitive fitness event, he suffered a stroke. All of a sudden, he went from being a competitive athlete to dealing with limited mobility. “I went from being totally busy and fit and active, with my footalways on the gas pedal, to nothing, a standstill,” he shares.“ 96 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Sarah became addicted to her pain medications Once they weren’t available to her, she experienced extreme withdrawal symptoms. Before long, she was buying heroin on the street just to ease her pain. “I come from an upper middle class family,” Sarah shares. “Heroin wasn’t supposed to be part of my life, but there I was: a 26-year-old IV drug user.” She overdosed a number of times and saw her friends OD, as well. She went through a rehab program but was on the verge of relapse. It wasn’t until she adopted a small dog named Domino that she had the strength and support she needed to make sure she didn’t relapse. Neither of us knew how to behave anymore. I thought my husband might never come back to me.” A year after their daughter’s passing, the couple moved to Florida. They had always talked about adopting a dog, and they decided the time was right. Kim was scrolling through the Facebook page of Paws In the City, a local rescue organization, when she saw a picture of Lana — a German shepherd mix puppy with pointy ears. Brian had always loved German shepherds, so she showed him the picture. They adopted Lana that Monday, and her presence instantly began to help the couple bond and heal. They played with her, took walks together with her, and began to relearn how to relax and be at ease with her and each other. Soon thereafter, Brian and Kim got pregnant again. They are now parents to a sweet baby boy named Noah. Watch the short film about their story at MutualRescue.org/film/kim-brian-lana. Sarah & Domino Sarah Coletti was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder and was in constant, full-body pain. Her doctor prescribed a cocktail of pain reducers: ibuprofen, Vicodin, Percocet, and later OxyContin. “I got to the point where I couldn’t work because I was taking so many meds,” says Sarah. “All those prescriptions should have been a red flag, but I trusted my doctor.” Eventually, her doctor lost his license due to his overly liberal prescribing habits, but not before.

Dogs give us a reason to be well, get moving, and reconnect with our best life. “This little guy was depending on me,” she says. “If I couldn’t take care of myself, how dare I claim to be ready to take on a dog? I had a reason to stay clean and stay alive.” She found that she could cope better with her pain once Domino was in her life, too. “When I’m having a bad pain day, Domino will just lie next to me, and the feeling of his little body next to mine relaxes me and helps alleviate the pain.” Watch the short film about their story at MutualRescue.org/film/sarah-domino. Carol Novello is the founder of Mutual Rescue™ and author of “Mutual Rescue: How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too” (Grand Central Publishing, April 2019). Mutual Rescue is a national initiative that highlights the connection between people and pets in order to inspire and support life-saving efforts in communities across the nation and world. Mutual Rescue’s first short film, “Eric & Peety,” went viral around the globe and has been viewed more than 100 million times. Dogs give us a reason to be well, get moving, For more information, visit and reconnect with our best life. www.MutualRescue.org. We Get By With a Little Help From Our Four-Legged Friends Adopt, foster, or volunteer with a homeless dog and discover for yourself how healing a dog’s presence can be in your life. Even those who aren’t ready to adopt can benefit from time with a pet. Shelters all over the country are constantly in need of foster homes for homeless animals. And if you’re ready to incorporate more movement in your life, one great way to impact your own health while also helping local shelters is to participate in Doggy Day Out. These outings help shelter dogs burn off pent up energy while also getting both of you moving. Take a walk or a hike, visit a pet-friendly restaurant, or explore a dog-friendly nature preserve in your area.

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High Road to Humanity

Photo by Jason Tharsiman

By Nancy Yearout

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Make 2020 Your Best Year Ever! It’s always fun to start a New Year. We are given the opportunity every twelve months to start fresh, to do things a bit differently. Most of us yearn for change for the better in the New Year. That’s probably why we celebrate with a kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve. What is your wish for 2020? There is some debate over whether the Decade begins in 2020 or 2021, either way it’s a new beginning for each and everyone of us to look at ourselves and our lives and to create what makes us happy and fulfilled! We are all little creators with the ability and the will to create any life that we choose. This is not a new concept but all of us, me included, forget we are the writer of our own story. How do you want your story to unfold this year? This is the perfect time to sit down with pen in hand and write down your goals, your dreams for 2020. It’s not a good idea to sit down at the computer. It is important that you physically write what you are wanting in your life down with pen in hand. The ink needs to stick to the paper, as the energy of your thoughts and your words are heard by the universal powers that be. Don’t forget to celebrate and give

thanks for your achievements of last year. Remember the new friends met and feel grateful for the old friends you have. Treasure your family, vacations, events, work accomplishments and your joyful days of the year past. As you reflect on the year gone by, honor yourself for the accomplishments and failures of this time. As a brief reminder, the struggles and painful losses that we all go through are great lessons for the evolution of our souls and somehow makes us better people. It is nice to know that we do get a fresh start each day and each new year.

We are all little creators with the ability and the will to create any life that we choose. This is not a new concept but all of us, me included, forget we are the writer of our own story. I am confident that this year will be your best year ever when you have faith that it will be. It is your intention that creates your life. Make this your best year ever and find balance between work and home. Meditate often and connect with the Divine. We are all heard and loved. Happy New Year

Nancy Yearout is an Psychic Reader, Intuitive Life Coach, Author and Inspirational Speaker. Her religious and spiritual work has enabled her to help many people to live the life they desire! Her motivation and drive come from Source/God. Nancy feels inspired to share the wisdom and the messages she receives with others. Her real-life experiences are shared each week on her Radio Show/ Podcast, High Road to Humanity where insightful, spiritual guests share their story. This is Nancy’s way of each sharing new insight about raising the vibration and consciousness for all of us to create a healthy, Loving and kinder people as well as a safe harmonious place to live. My Credentials: Sales Coordinator for General Motors Corporation, Sales Manager for multiple, Owner and Qualifying Broker of The Harville Estates Real Estate & Development LLC, Owner of Energy Girl Publishing LLC., Author of, Wake Up! The Universe Is Speaking to You, Author of Monthly Contributor to Eden Magazine, Motivational/Inspirational Speaker, Intuitive Personal Coach Intuitive card reader, Energy Healer, Radio Host/Podcast High Road to Humanity. Today she is happily married to the love of her life. Nancy Yearout Hosts a Radio Show/ Podcast every week on Toginet radio and iTunes called High Road to Humanity. Visit her website www.NancyYearout.com or her Podcast www.Highroadtohumanity.com 99 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2020

Zentangle A Creative Path to the Present Moment By Brian Crimmins, CZT

Last summer, we learned my mother had stage four liver cancer. Despite treatments, her condition saw little improvement. While I was flying back and forth between Florida and California for visits, I was developing my first book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Zentangle(R) Dingbatz: Patterns & Projects for Dynamic Tangled Ornaments & Decorations.â&#x20AC;? Although I had been a Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher since 2016, I now have a very personal experience of how a regular practice of drawing using this method helps reduce anxiety and stress, quiets the mind, calms obsessive thoughts, and provides quiet moments of peace along the way. 100 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Zentangle(R), founded by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, is a meditative art method that uses simple patterns, often with repeated lines or motifs, that allows someone - even those with no previous drawing experience - to create something beautiful and unique in an hour or two. Just as in meditation we focus on the breath, in Zentangle(R) we create by focusing our attention on one pen stroke at a time. The supplies to use this method in its traditional form are simple. Designs are created on 3.5” square tiles made of fine cotton paper by Fabriano in Italy, are drawn with a Pigma Micron 01 pen, and given depth and shadow with a graphite pencil and a tortillon (an artist shading stump). The simplicity of the supply requirements also adds to the mindfulness of the method. How many times have you taken an art class and the supplies themselves are complicated, excessive and expensive? This is of no concern with Zentangle(R). This simplicity also makes it a very mobile practice, easy to throw into a bag or backpack and take it with you wherever you go.

In the spring of 2017, Rick and Maria released a video in their “Kitchen Table Tangles” series that outlined a concept called “Dingbatz.” Drawing inspiration from printers’ ornaments and decorations called dingbats, they created these charming designs using Zentangle(R) patterns. Dingbats in classic literature and printed broadsides were small designs that were used to frame a title, separate sections of text, indicate the beginning of a new chapter in a book, and simply added some decoration to what would otherwise be bodies of standard printed text. Dingbatz with tangled patterns could be used to decorate journal pages, scrapbooks, note cards and envelopes, gift tags

and much more. My curiosity was piqued. There is an element of ceremony to the Zentangle(R) method that calls us to settle in, become present, express gratitude for our fine materials, establish the spaces in which we will place our tangle patterns, draw, shade with graphite and tortillon, and lastly, take a moment to appreciate our designs. When we gather in groups and in classes, we conclude with the practice of creating a mosaic by placing everyone’s tiles together. We gather around the table and admire the ways in which each individual brought their unique perspective and skill to creating the designs taught. It is a mindful practice and an intentional one.

There are terms that are sometimes used to describe Zentangle(R) but, in essence, are inaccurate. The most commonly used is “doodling.” When we sit down to doodle, we let our pen mindlessly wander on the page. We do not know what we are going to end up with, and we have no real plan on where we are going with our drawing. The Zentangle(R) Method is an intentional, mindful practice in which we thoughtfully plan out how we will use the space we have to fill with patterns, and as we draw, we breathe, we take our time, and we focus simply on the pen stroke. The difference is mindful and intentional Zentangle(R) versus mindless and unplanned (doodling).

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As summer turned to fall, my deadline for the draft manuscript of the book approached. Despite my academic experience in literary writing while getting my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from University of Central Florida, this was a different type of project because it required not only words, but many drawings, and photographs of completed projects that illustrated application of the concepts I was putting forth. Frankly, it was a godsend I had a binding reason to sit and draw on a regular basis. I don’t know that I had realized just how many drawings were required for a book of this magnitude, but all I knew then was I needed to keep going to have something to provide to my editors by mid-October.

have elevated anxiety for many, I dove in and made it work. The amount of drawings I did in the month of November amounted to equal, if not more, than what I worked on all summer. As life got significantly more complex, the demand to create art and stay centered increased in equal measure. I submitted all the new drawings and photographs to my editors just before Thanksgiving, and only a few days later my mother passed away. I share this not to bring the reader down, but rather to illustrate that in those moments when life seemed so beyond my control, when demands were high but purpose and passion were higher, a mindful, meditative art practice like Zentangle(R) really worked. The great news is it doesn’t require a book deal or a contract to establish a regular practice of drawing, of sitting with pen and paper to bring beautiful non-representational designs to life. The simple act of slowing down and being present while drawing a small tile for a few minutes can have wonderful results. Zentangle(R) is an active and intentional process that quiets the mind, brings us to the present moment, and yields beautiful and interesting designs that both delight and inspire.

At about the same time, my mother’s condition worsened, and I was off on another trip to California to spend time with her and my father, and to help with making decisions and getting things planned and organized for her care. A couple weeks later, when I thought the large portion of the book was completed, an email from my editors both applauded what I had submitted and noted that, when storyboarded out, everything came to 112 pages and they needed 160. I was given the month of November to make this happen - and again, while a situation like this would 102 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Brian Crimmins is an artist, writer, and Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher. On the heels of graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from University of Central Florida in 2014, he discovered Zentangle through a class offered at a local art store. Since becoming a CZT in 2016, Brian has taught at conferences, museums, cafés, tea houses, and in private homes. In addition to Zentangle, he is inspired by typography and lettering, organic patterns, and decorative arts, which sparked his personal passion and interest in printers’ ornaments and decorations. Brian is also a life coach, an avid theatergoer, and a world traveler.

A Cat Cafe Experience

www.crumbsandwhiskers.com

Adopted: 800 | Saved from euthanasia: 1,710 | Amount donated to charity: $24.5K

WE HELP RESCUE & FIND HOMES FOR HOMELESS CATS

THE NATURE OF ATTACHMENT By Dr. David A. Levy

Clearly, someone didn’t think this one through. It’s as inevitable as heartbreak in Hollywood. Puppies grow up to be dogs. Kittens grow up to be cats. And our family’s pet ducklings – Huey, Dewey, and Louie – grew up to be ducks. What did we know about nature? We were a middle-class Jewish family living in a middle-class neighborhood in Inglewood, California in the early 1960s. And we had just acquired three adorable hatchlings which we kept in a box in our garage. What could possibly go wrong? It was all so perfectly idyllic. My dad tenderly teaching us how to provide them with food, water, and shelter. My younger siblings and I chasing the pocket-sized birdlings around the lawn of our little backyard. Their awkward waddling on those little flat feet and those high-pitched quackettes. And when we held them in our tiny hands, carefully cradling the soft puffs of yellow down against our bare skin…well, it was almost too much bliss for a child to bear. I thought it would last forever. But of course, it didn’t. One day my dad took me aside. “David, our pets are growing up. We have given them a wonderful home, but they need to be with their friends and start families of their own. They will always love us and we will always love them, but soon it will be time for them to return to their place in nature.” Well, the only thing even close to “nature” in our neighborhood was Alondra Park – which happened to have a large pond populated with a multitude of assorted ducks. One fateful day, with mixed emotions my dad and I packed up Huey, Dewey, and Louie in the back of our white Pontiac station wagon, and shepherded them to their new home.

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Photo by Jennifer McCarren | freckledflower.com

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When we arrived, my dad and I gently guided them to the pond, then turned to head back to the car. But something was very wrong…We noticed our faithful pets waddling in tight formation right behind me. “Daaad!” I wailed. “They’re following me!” And so it went. Back to the pond. Back to the car. Back to the pond. Back to the car. But each time, with increased urgency. I was beside myself. Finally, we made a break for it. My dad scurried me to the car, we flung ourselves into the seats, and sped off, tears pouring down my face, and my poor dad looking absolutely miserable. Despite what “they say,” these ducks did not take to water...nor anything else in this foreign land. And despite the best of my dad’s intentions, his mission was doomed to fail long before it even began. It wasn’t until many years later when I was studying for a psychology class in college that I first read about “imprinting” in birds – how young hatchlings become instinctively attached to the first animal or object that they see near them, which they then identify as their parent. This is how they learn to navigate through life, by observing how the trusted parent behaves. Evidently, little Huey, Dewey, and Louie were simply doing what their DNA instructed them to do: They had imprinted on me – I had unknowingly become their parent. And that day in Alondra Park, when faced with the uncertainty of their new environment, they diligently shadowed me, imitating my every move, searching for direction from their trusted parent. But imprinting can occur in other species too. In puppies. In kittens. And, in a way, in kids. Looking back on it, I had imprinted on my dad. By observing how he behaved, I absorbed the values of caring for the helpless and vulnerable. Of respecting nature. Of saying goodbye to things you love because it’s best for them…even if it hurts. And most important, trying to do the right thing when life goes awry...in fact, especially when life goes awry. 106 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

Dr. David A. Levy is an award-winning Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University, where he has been teaching since 1986. He received his BA in theater arts from UCLA before earning two MA degrees and his PhD in psychology. In addition to two bestselling textbooks, diverse research studies, and a widely acclaimed self-help book, Tools of Critical Thinking, he has published numerous satirical articles. A sought-out media consultant for psychological perspectives on current events and insights into issues in the mental health field, Dr. Levy has appeared on more than 70 broadcasts on major networks, including CNN, PBS, NPR, and NatGeo. He has also worked as a director, producer, writer, and actor in films, television, and stage. He received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Network Television Series and was a guest star on the popular sitcom Cheers, where he portrayed the leader of Frasier’s low self-esteem group (a role which he adamantly maintains is not typecasting). He lives in Santa Monica, California.

Life Is a 4-Letter Word: Laughing and Learning Through 40 Life Lessons by Dr. David A. Levy. Reprinted with permission from Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Media, Inc.

I absorbed the values of caring for the helpless and vulnerable. Of respecting nature. Of saying good-bye to things you love because it’s best for them…even if it hurts. And most important, trying to do the right thing when life goes awry...in fact, especially when life goes awry.

2019 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival

Bucking Tradition Takes Home Grand Prize at 2019 OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL VEGEN FILM FESTIVAL

The film’s brutal and honest look at animal abuse on the rodeo circuit wins both Best Overall Film and Best Animal Welfare Film awards The second annual Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival (OIVFF) took place on October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this evening and the organization is proud to announce this year’s winners in the film and photo categories. Director Sharon M. Boeckle’s Bucking Tradition won both the Best Overall Film award as well as the award for Best Animal Welfare film. Dustin Brown’s innovative Casa de Carne nabbed the Best Short Film trophy, #Powerplant won in the category of Best Environmental Protection Film, Marcia Machado’s thought-provoking Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine won Best Health & Nutrition Film award, and director Dr. Theodora Capaldo’s expose on animal testing, Gold Doesn’t Rust, took home the Best Lifestyle Film award. The full list of winners can be found below. Discussing the impact of the Best Overall Film, Bucking Tradition, festival judge Jim Amos states, “We often cringe in

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horror at the animal cruelty we see inflicted in the name of “sport” around the world such as those committed in the bullfighting ring but are blind to the blatant abuse of animals right in our own backyard on the rodeo circuit. Bucking Tradition did a masterful job at depicting the oftenirreparable injuries suffered by bulls and calves at hundreds of these events across the country every year, all in the name of carrying on one of the last remaining traditions of the American West.” The OIVFF, now in its second year, was honoured to present a diverse collection of films from around the world that made lasting impressions and ignited audience's imaginations. These vegan themed films were bursting with creativity, compassion, and inspiration. In 2019 the festival welcomed 40 film submissions, both short and full-length features, fiction and documentary from 13 countries totaling over 15 hours of vegan-themed films in five categories. All entries were viewed by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Festival Director and Programming Director. Finalists chosen by this committee were then screened by an appointed international jury.

2019 Ottawa International Vegen Film Festival Award Winners

Animal testing has been the standard of scientific research and testing for centuries, in spite of a long history of ineffective results and unimaginable cruelty. Now, emerging technologies promise to revolutionize the field of biomedical research by rejecting the failing animal model in lieu of human-based in-vitro methods. Can these new models break their way into mainstream, or will they be blocked by a scientific community so deeply rooted in animal research?

Photo Essay Contest In addition, OIVFF launched a Vegan Photo Essay Contest as part of the Film Festival in 2019. The photo contest is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Festival Director Shawn Stratton stated, “Our photo essay is a collection of images that tell a story and propel a narrative over multiple images. Photo essays often create a series of emotions in the viewer and are a powerful way to tell a story without relying heavily on text.” The competition's goal was to showcase the best in vegan themed photo essays – to recognize the best stories told through a series of 3-5 still images. Awards for the photo essay contest were won by photographers from around the world including Aitor Garmendia (Spain), Noah Ortega (Spain), Ruth Montiel Aria (Palestine), and Jo-Anne McArthur (Canada) whose award-winning photos came from around the world. When asked why Aitor Garmendia’s, Slaughterhouse was selected as the overall winner, festival judge Victoria Moran of the Main Street Vegan Podcast, said “This one spoke to my heart through the animals, their suffering and their dignity. Having spent a day in a slaughterhouse myself once, I was brought back there. Some things never seem to change. This one must. This photo essay will be a part of that change." OIVFF is proud to have been sponsored by the VegOttawa, the essential resource for vegetarian and vegans in Canada’s national capital region and Copper Branch, 100% plant-powered food.

Winner: 2019 Best Film ‘Overall’ & 2019 Best Film ‘Animal Welfare’ Bucking Tradition, United States Directed by: Sharon M Boeckle Bucking Tradition explores one of America’s most iconic competitions—the rodeo. With thousands of events held across the nation and around the world every year, this “sport” is hailed by some as one of the last traditions of the American West. By others, it’s decried as one of our nation’s last legalized forms of systematic and brutal animal cruelty masquerading as sport and family entertainment. Do some traditions deserve to die? Maybe they do. Winner: Best Film ‘Short’ Casa de Carne, United States Directed by: Dustin Brown On a night out with friends, Eric tries a new restaurant that takes the dining experience full circle. Set in a not-so-distant dark future, "Casa de Carne" is a thought-provoking short film about hard choices and hidden truths. Winner: Best Film ‘Environmental Protection’ #Powerplant, Netherlands Directed by: Robert, van Tellingen The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation presents its 5th documentary with Marianne Thieme. After ‘Meat the Truth’, ‘Sea the Truth’, ‘The Pacer in the Marathon’ and ‘One Single Planet’, this new documentary explores the prospects of a plant-based society. #Powerplant provides added insight into the link between climate change and meat consumption, a topic that Marianne Thieme was the first politician to address in the climate documentary ‘Meat the Truth’ in 2007, an issue that has become even more pertinent since then. According to Oxford researcher Marco Springmann, a

transition to a plant-based diet can prevent up to 8 million deaths per year in 2050, and on a global scale, can lead to savings that have a value to society of up to thirty trillion USD (30,000,000,000,000). Adopting a plant-based menu can reduce up to 73% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and can make it possible to revert 76% of all agricultural land back to nature, says Joseph Poore, also a researcher at the University of Oxford. The study is described by The Guardian as “the most comprehensive analysis to date” in this field. Winner: Best Film ‘Health & Nutrition Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine, United States Directed By: Marcia Machado Through the lens of filmmaker Marcia Machado, code blue reveals lapses in the current state of medicine and provides a common sense solution by featuring the practice of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse nearly 80% of chronic illnesses. It presents the hurdles to the proposed shift: outdated curricula in medical schools, confusion in the media, inadequate government policies, and the underlying influences of the pharmaceutical and food industries. With a dose of lighthearted humor, combining science and common sense, code blue follows a passionate physician, Dr. Saray Stancic, as she reflects upon her journey from a multiple sclerosis diagnosis to wellness through her own adoption of lifestyle medicine. Stancic introduces us to expert physicians/ scientists who are paving the way to turn the tide on the chronic illness epidemic, empowering audiences to stand up and reclaim their health. Winner: Best Film ‘Lifestyle’ Gold Doesn't Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives, United States Directed by, Dr. Theodora Capaldo

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PURPO by Beviva

Brings Superfood Purple Sweet Potatoes to Breakfast

Beviva Foods, innovator of fuss-free, nourishing foods for those living with chronic gastrointestinal distress, proudly introduces PURPO®, a plant-based line of prebiotic, gluten-free snacks and mini-meals powered by non-GMO purple sweet potatoes. A wealth of immune-boosting antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, purple sweet potatoes are an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamins A, B6 and C, essential minerals and sustainable energy from complex carbohydrates. PURPO combines the superfood benefits of purple sweet potatoes with thoughtfully selected, hypoallergenic ingredients in two flagship products that make America’s favorite breakfast an anytime treat: 110 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

PURPO All-in-One Cereal Cup Brimming with flavorful, real-food ingredients that are gentle on sensitive stomachs, PURPO All-in-One Cereal Cups provides 8g of dietary fiber and less than 1g of added sugar per serving. Each 200-calorie cup contains one packet of PURPO granola, a festive mix of crisp rice, purple sweet potato and shredded coconut studded with toothsome nuggets of dried fruit; plus one packet of Beviva’s probiotic Oat Mylk powder, a proprietary blend of glyphosate-free oats that transforms into a creamy beverage with the addition of cold water. A spoon included inside every cup allows consumers to enjoy a convenient, satisfying mini-meal whenever a sit-down meal is delayed or impractical; or wherever healthful food is limited, unreliable or cost-prohibitive.

PURPO Granola Pouch Crisp and craveable with a colorful superfood punch, PURPO Granola Pouches offer Beviva’s prebiotic purple sweet potato granola in single-serving, 150-calorie bags. With 6g of dietary fiber and less than 1g of added sugar per serving, PURPO Granola makes an ideal snack on its own, or sprinkled atop yogurt, smoothie bowls, frozen desserts and frosted cupcakes. For a fun and wholesome flavor boost, PURPO Granola also doubles as a creative ingredient in homemade cookies, energy bites, trail mix and pancakes. PURPO products are currently available online at Amazon.com for $3.60 per Cereal Cup and $1.80 per Granola Pouch, with case packs and a sampler snack packs available. The Path to PURPO Beviva's travel-friendly PURPO line was inspired by founder Sylvia Tam's personal journey to wellness as one of 70 million Americans living with a gastrointestinal disorder. Following a diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Sylvia battled debilitating symptoms daily while juggling a demanding career and three energetic kids. “I learned that being diligent about my eating schedule and food choices was key to managing my UC,” says Sylvia. “I was constantly looking for easy, pre-packaged options that could keep up with my lifestyle. I found that many foods promoted as gut-friendly are actually problematic for those with IBD. Ingredients like dairy, whey protein, soy, lentils, peanuts, chickpeas, and beans are smart choices for most healthy adults, but can aggravate IBD symptoms." Seeing the lack of better-for-you products designed for the IBD community, Sylvia dove into researching optimal foods for digestive health, and was intrigued by how often purple sweet potatoes popped up in her notes. "Oven-roasted sweet potatoes have been a favorite of mine since childhood," says Sylvia, "but they don't quite come to mind when grabbing a quick bite. My go-to snack was my homemade granola, which was in constant rotation at my house because my husband and kids loved it, too--it upheld both the convenience and the experience of sharing meals together. My entrepreneurial epiphany came when I imagined purple sweet potatoes presented in a format as familiar and family-approved as cereal, and PURPO was born."

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Dance Marathon

Melika Keshani is a young, bright girl who lives in Florida, and found one thing that's close to her heart. Dance Marathon at Florida State University. 2 years ago She walked into the auditorium for the first time and she saw hundreds of students just like her sitting and waiting for an explanation on what they should expect for the next 20+ hours. After an overview, they all stood up united to start the very first shift of the weekend. The moment of excitement began for all of them they made a memory that impacts their life forever. Dance Marathon at Florida State University was a year-long effort that culminates into an annual 40-hour event, where more than 1,800 students stayed awake and, on their feet, to raise money and awareness for our local beneficiaries. Over the past 24 years, Dance Marathon at Florida State University has raised over $12 million for our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital, Shands Children's Hospital, and the Florida State University College of Medicine Pediatric Outreach 112 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020

A CAUSE FOR THE KIDS

Program. In 2019, Dance Marathon at Florida State Universityraised a total of $2.2 million For The Kids. These funds made such a huge difference in providing the medical care, treatment, and research needed at our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital and the FSU College of Medicine! "I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how much money would be raised in the end, but all I could do is hope that it was enough to help. At the end of that weekend, they revealed that 2.1 million dollars were raised by FSU alone for Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Miracle Network. I have never felt more proud. That weekend my passion for Dance Marathon became stronger." Melika says. Melika reaching out to all those who feel the same as she felt 2 years ago, to participate and donate to make the difference in all these kids live. To help please visit https://donate.giving.ufhealth.org/fundraiser/2129609

Photo by Adam Griffith

A Christmas Miracle The world has so many problems that sometimes we feel helpless and believe that what we do to make the world a better place, is simply not enough to change it. If you do not believe that you can make a difference in the world, think again.

post reached over 800 times. We were started getting messages from friends and strangers asking us about the dog. Quickly we got on the web site of the Shelter and posted a screenshot of Patojo.

This December the Publisher of The Eden Magazine Maryam Morrison and her husband Matthew Morrison, and I, visited the East Valley Animal Shelter in Los Angeles. With them, they brought five bags of blankets, food, and toys thanks to the kind contribution of some of its readers and Board Members. We went inside and shot some video of the animals there that are waiting for their human family to take them into a loving home. It was very hard to be there but we knew that no gesture is too small to bring some comfort to those animals and help the tireless volunteers do their job.

All of us were touched and moved by the shares. Then a miracle happened. The very next day we found out Patojo, had been adopted that morning. In less than 24 hours, thanks to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;love armyâ&#x20AC;? of compassionate souls that found our posting on Social Media, a dog found a new home.

Then as we were exiting, we witnessed the abandonment and surrender of this beautiful 3-year-old dog, with his owner not having an ounce of regret. The dog was jumping up and down his lap thinking he was going somewhere to play. After a rough hour, this was too much to bear. We were all very emotional and sad. It was at that very moment that we decided to post this video on social media to show what is happening every day at the shelters. We pleading anyone online at that moment to help us save this poor dog. Within 24 hours the

This is what can happen when you put yourself out there. You are not required to give money, or to go to every shelter and save every animal you see. Even a simple share on Social Media, one coffee less at Starbucks, can go a long way. And before you know it, you too will become an angel and protector to those helpless creatures and you will gain major karma points at the Pearly Gates or wherever we go after this life and in this life. To take an action simply push that live button on your Facebook page, follow the efforts of various rescue groups, share their posts. You can be a powerful advocate to any cause you believe in. That is why I so love being part of this wonderful magazine. Please support this cause because the world and animals count on you. 113 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2020

Please leave wool out of your wardrobe.

Photo: Michael Muller â&#x20AC;¢ Grooming: Saisha Beecham, with Cloutier Remix

Joaquin Phoenix

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VEGAN WOOL SUIT BY BRAVE GENTLEMAN

The Eden Magazine January 2020

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The Eden Magazine January 2020