The Eden Magazine

July 2021

EDEN T h e

Magazine

How to

FUNCTION As a Highly

SENSITIVE PERSON

By Shelly Wilson

BELINDA Carlisle

LOVE, LONGEVITY, & LIVING THE BEST LIFE!

ETTA LEMON THE

SUFFRAGETTE

1906

By Tessa Boase

THE

POWER & POTENTIAL OF

Equilibrium

By Michael Goddart

FROM THE FIRE to FREEDOOM

By Phyllis King

PLAYING WITH

in Lumbini, Nepal

ENLIGHTENMENT

By Mark Johnson

e t o N s ' r o Edit Welcome to our July 2021 issue.

We all know that this past year, our world changed from what we were familiar with. Some of us are still uncertain about what is happening around us. In the same sense, we all asked to heal our inner selves and search for our deepest thoughts and energy.

Are we going to balance what we think we lost in the past year? And how do each one of us plan to do it? What is our responsibility as an individual?

Strong people pick themselves up right after they fall and do what they know in their hearts is the right thing to do. Don't be haunted by your past. Find your groove and believe in yourself. Walk and follow your path with gentle love for all.

You are not alone on this path and journey, but you are responsible for what you plan in life.

Maryam Morrison

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The Eden Magazine

@The Eden Magazine

Photo by Jess Bailey

@The Eden Magazine

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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.

DINA MORRONE

Maryam Morrison

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

MARIA ELENA INFANTINO

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

VITO TROTTA

SHELLY WILSON

ANGELA DUNNING

MICHAEL WHITE RYAN

SHERI DETERMAN

PHYLLIS KING

MARCO NUNZIO ALATI

SASHA GARY

GRETA PAZZAGLIA

MARGARET TOMASZEWIC

ISABELLE RUEN

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JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE

NANCY E. YEAROUT

JOE SANTOS, JR.

GREG DOHERTY

EDEN T

H

E

MAGAZINE

Since 2010

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

www.theedenmagazine.com 325 N. Maple Dr. Po Box 5132 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 To purchase a copy visit us in www.theedenmagazine.com

Eden Magazine is a non-profit monthly online magazine. We aim to create a better environment where we live among other living beings in peace and harmony. We support artists that their work matches our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article or/and your photography for our future issues please contact Maryam Morrison at; maryammorrison@theedenmagazine.com The Eden Magazine reviews article content for accuracy before the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials, and all other content is published in good faith.

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Table of Contents 10

BUCKELY THE COW & RALPHY THE GOAT

BELINDA CARLISLE

By Gary Quinn

18

29

18

THE POWER & POTENTIAL OF EQUILIBRIUM

BUCKLEY THE HIGHLAND COW, & RALPHY THE GOAT

By Leslie Ackerman

24

THE POWER & POTENTIAL OF EQUILIBRIUM

By Michael Goddart

29

DIGNITY, THE HALLMARK OF A GREAT SOUL

By Sarah Mane

32

32

PLAYING WITH ENLIGHTENMENT

By Mark Johnson

36

THE MAGIC MIRROR LIFE LESSONS FROM HORSES & OTHER ANIMALS

By Candida Baker

40

YOUR IDEAL LIFE

By Fab Giovanetti

36

24

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44

HOW TO FUNCTION AS A HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON

By Shelly Wilson

50

THE HUMANE HUMAN & SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

58

WEIRD GIRL ADVENTURES FROM A TO Z

By Shelly Brown

50

Cover Photo by

NICK SPANOS

Life is Essential, Feel it 62

JOY

By Joey Santos Jr.

66

62

ETTA LEMON, THE SUFFRAGETTE 1960 ByTessa Boase

70

PEAK PERFORMANCE

By Dawn Grant

74

YIN & YANG MORE THAN BLACK & WHITE YIN YANG

By Michael White Ryan

66

78

84

THE NECESSITY OF INNER BOUNDARIES

By Angela Dunning

84

FROM THE FIRE TO FREEDOM

By Phyllis King

90

SCIENTISTS CALL FOR SOLVING CLIMATE & BIODIVERSITY CRIES TOGETHER

By John C. Canon

70

96

GO OUTSIDE & TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES IT'S HEALING

By Nancy Yearout

90

THE NECCESSITY OF INNER BOUNDARIES

78

96

GO OUTSIDE & TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, IT'S HEALING 7 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man. ~ Charles Darwin

Belinda Carlisle

LOVE, LONGEVITY, & LIVING THE BEST LIFE!

By Gary Quinn

A

s individuals, we each face unique life challenges, but despite our differences, we all desire love, wellness, and happiness. The pursuit of these emotions gives us purpose in life and encourages us to always live in a state of gratitude and selflessness.

Recently I spoke with Belinda Carlisle, a beautiful, loving, spiritually conscious woman who is making a difference in the world.

Belinda believes that we make our paths in this life far more difficult than they need to be. She explained that our struggle with resistance is constantly entangling us when it doesn't need to be so challenging. Whatever you put out into the Universe will be reciprocated on all levels. With a confident smile, she said to me, "Our main job in life is to align with the energy that is the source of all energies and to keep our frequency in tune with gratitude and love. When you live in the consciousness of making a difference in your lifetime, opportunities and experiences will be abundant."

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Not many people can say they've had the transformative journey of becoming a world-renowned international recording artist, a New York Times best-selling author, a mother, wife, seeker of spirituality, and the founder of Animal People Alliance (APA), a nonprofit based in India that treats thousands of animals each year.

In 2014, Belinda Carlisle and Paul Suit co-founded Animal People Alliance, a nonprofit organization based in Calcutta, India. Its mission is to provide excellent quality and compassionate care, of the highest standards, to neglected street animals in India and Thailand. Animal People Alliance trains and employs vulnerable people from the community and pays living wages that help them improve their standard of living. They work with passionate and respected local and global organizations, activists, and veterinarians. Animal People Alliance establishes strong community links and helps educate locals on animal care and safety while partnering with local organizations to promote adoptions, vaccinations, and compassionate care. Belinda proudly asserts that this organization and the impact they have is her true passion in life.

Belinda is the lead singer of The Go-Go's, a band she formed in 1978 while living in Southern California. In 1981 their hit song “Beauty and the Beat” topped the charts, and the group 12 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

transformed the music scene in the United States. So, it's no surprise that The Go-Go's have managed to sell over seven million records across the world.

After The Go-Go's split up in 1985, Carlisle continued making music and had a very successful solo career with many hits such as "Mad About You," "I Get Weak," "Circle in the Sand," "Leave a Light On," and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth."

All the members of The Go-Go's rejoined to make music in 1999, and Carlisle still performs with them often while also maintaining her solo career.

In 2010, Carlisle published her autobiography, Lips Unsealed, which quickly became a New York Times Best Seller.

The Go-Go’s, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, are finally Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductees. After 43 years of fame, many of which were spent at the top of the charts, the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame will induct them Saturday, October 30, 2021. The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame is a museum located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Fury. The museum documents the history of rock artists, producers, engineers, and other notable figures who have influenced its development.

I reached out to Arturo Cisneros, the personal manager for The Go-Go's, to get more details on the upcoming Go-Go's TOUR. I asked what it's like touring with these famous girls and how everyone manages to keep on their diets and routines when they're on the road all over the world. He stated, "Touring is challenging on many levels, especially eating healthy. But, The Go-Go's make it easier by setting a good example, and they always have healthy foods and snacks around on the tour bus, dressing rooms, and catering."

to play music?

Well, you know, The Go-Go's was a group of five manifesters.

The Go-Go’s will embark on a US tour this fall 2021, followed by Belinda’s 2022 solo tour in the UK. The Go-Go’s: Documentary, directed by Alison Ellwood premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the 2020 Critics Choice Award. The Go-Go’s: Documentary is a candid, archive-rich, feature documentary that assesses the iconic group's place in pop history and examines the personalities and dynamics behind their rise, fall, and numerous reincarnations.

When I sat down with Belinda, I delved into her personal life, but I really wanted to find out what her growing organization, Animal People Alliance, was all about.

Belinda, what was life like before The Go-Go’s?

I remember working as a secretary at the Hilton Hotel Corporation in Century City in LA. I was always the freak in the office. I had to cover up my green or purple hair back in the late '70s, back before really anyone knew what punk rock was. I remember while I was photocopying papers for my boss, I would just stand there thinking, "I'm going to be a Rockstar one of these days." That was the attitude of everyone in The Go-Go's. We were all enjoying the ride every step of the way instead of worrying about the outcome. Whatever we didn't know about music, we made up for with charm on stage.

What led you to succeed and overcome your obstacles?

I always had to keep total trust in myself and my path.

When we first started The Go-Go's, several of us had no idea how to plug guitars into amplifiers or play music. Yet, against all odds, we succeeded because we never gave up along the way. We all held on to the deep belief that we would all be rockstars someday. I always had to keep total trust in myself and my path. When we first started The Go-Go's, several of us had no idea how to plug guitars into amplifiers or play music. Yet, against all odds, we succeeded because we never gave up along the way. We all held on to the deep belief that we would all be Rockstar’s someday.

How did you ever start a band if you didn’t know how

Looking back, it all came down to setting an intention and never giving up the power of saying, "We can do it."

Back then, we were all manifesting before we even knew what "manifesting" was. We were just completely determined, and we were having so much fun learning and growing along the way.

You started a foundation to rescue animals and empower vulnerable people. Tell me about your intention for co-founding Animal People Alliance?

I started my organization Animal People Alliance to improve the lives of people who are at risk of falling below the poverty line, including women who are trafficking survivors. The goal was to train and employ vulnerable or impoverished youth and women as veterinary technicians, dog handlers, and animal caregivers. The organization offers continued support and resources to the employees to prevent them from becoming vulnerable again. In addition, the local shelter homes for women and children are partnered with us and help us integrate animals into their communities. I believe in the work we do because we give these survivors a way to help each other recover from their traumas and struggles.

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we do is educational. We're partnered with a hospital in Calcutta to obtain access to emergency rooms and teach the general populace about animal care and adoption.

"IT'S IMPRESSIVE KNOWING WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR ANIMALS AND PEOPLE ALIKE." Tell us a story from your work with Animal People Alliance?

When the project started, I drove an auto-rickshaw for five days across north India to raise funds. I was trying to raise $25,000 for Animal People Alliance. I decided since I love traveling in exciting ways that this would be an excellent opportunity to bring attention to the project. And getting to travel through India off the beaten path was an experience like none other.

When did you decide that you wanted to create Animal People Alliance?

On a trip to India fifteen years ago, I met some people from Seattle who owned the largest animal sanctuary in India. I thought to myself, "I'm going to do this someday." It was always floating around at the back of my mind. Finally, my friend Paul Suit said to me, "We need to do animal services in Calcutta." After I thought about it for a while, I called him and told him that I loved the idea, and I wanted to do it. It has been growing and expanding since then, and to me, it's been a great example of the power of manifestation. This project is something my friend and I had a strong intention about, and then before we knew it, the organization was growing and finding its way in Calcutta. It's impressive knowing we're making a difference for animals and people alike.

What is your primary objective when rescuing homeless and sick animals?

Besides the many street treatments our team on the ground does in both Calcutta and Chiang Rai, Thailand, we are also teaching people that animals have feelings.

We teach the importance of helping animals, and then we show people how they can recognize a street animal in distress. In India, there is a developing middle class.

They still don't have proper vet care, so a lot of what 14 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

What’s your overall goal for Animal People Alliance?

We are focusing on Calcutta and Chiang Rai, But I would love to expand in both India and Thailand. I believe there's definitely a need for animal services in both areas, and so myself and the team would like to cover more territory as time goes on. I also want to grow the team and provide more employment for people in need, which has been hard to do this year, but I'm confident we'll accomplish it eventually. In Thailand, we are currently working with the Hill Tribes, who generally are stateless people who can't travel or get work outside their communities because they have no government identification, so I feel it's essential to offer them our services. I want to keep growing our team up there and work more with the Hill Tribes because they're truly incredible people.

Tell me about your love of art and painting?

This last year we've all had plenty of time to work on ourselves during the shutdowns and the pandemic. I've learned to slow down and focus on a lot of important things in my life that I might have overlooked, like spending more time with my family and pursuing my passions. I used to paint all the time, and I've always loved painting. I'm so happy because I've had all this wonderful time to go back to art classes a few times a week and study, and it's helped me make some beautiful paintings.

I know you often say you struggled with substance abuse in your past. What was your journey to recovery and health?

For me, it was a choice between life and death. It's something I struggled with for a long time, until one day I could clearly hear a voice telling me, "You're going to die if you go on like this." It could have been a hallucination or a message from above. Either way, I knew it was true. I will never forget looking at myself in the mirror or pictures back then and seeing how I looked as if I had the life sucked out of me. I knew it was time to start the healing process and choose life and that I had no more time to waste. After that, I decided I would turn my life around. I stopped drinking and using drugs, started exercising, and I became a vegan. I treat my body like a temple and practice Kundalini Yoga and chanting every day.

When did you start practicing Kundalini Yoga?

It's funny because I was always so put off by any kind of spirituality, I was raised Southern Baptist, and none of it ever resonated with me. After bible school and bible camp, all that spiritual stuff turned me off. But when I was pregnant, I became very ill and then met Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, who was from the Golden Temple, a vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles. I had food delivered there by a network that delivers to sick mothers, and they usually had Gurmukh come over. I loved Gurmukh, and I thought she was the coolest with all her jewelry and beautiful white clothes.

She practiced some Kundalini yoga with me to help me feel better, and it stuck with me even though I didn't like doing it at first. Later on, I took a class with her at her yoga studio, and she invited me to come to India with her, so of course, I said yes and flew out. was the beginning of my experience with Kundalini Yoga and chanting, and now 15 years later, I'm still practicing it daily.

What medium do you use when you paint?

I love using oil paints. They are easier and more forgiving.

What is your inspiration when you are creating art?

I have definite tastes, and I'm learning what my strengths and weaknesses are. For example, I love Jean Cocteau and Bernard Buffet, and you can see that influence in my paintings.

When did your passion for art first begin?

I was always great with art back when I was in school, but I never really picked it up after that, so I'm glad I took the time to go back and reignite my passion. Painting has always been like meditation for me. It's allowed me to center myself and stay in the moment. I sold one of my paintings for APA last year, and it felt very powerful to use my art to help improve the lives of people and animals on the other side of the world.

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What is your plan for the future of APA? I want to keep changing the global consciousness about the treatment of animals. In some developing countries, there's not really widespread public knowledge about the dangers of animal abuse, and sometimes people need to understand that animals have feelings too. The organization is expanding, but it takes a lot of time and hard work, so hopefully, we can go even more global and spread knowledge that could save the lives of innocent animals.

When people donate to Animal People Alliance, what can they expect?

Any donation will go to the team on the ground and help supply them with medicines and equipment used to treat a large variety of animal medical emergencies such as vaccinations, dog bites, traffic accidents, and cancer treatments. Donors can see where their donation has gone on our social media pages.

We have treated close to 20,000 animals since 2014, so you can be sure that every penny is going straight to the team and put to good use.

How do you feel when you work with Animal People Alliance in India or Thailand and can see the good things your foundation is doing in the world?

I can’t even describe the profound feeling that I get from knowing that so many animal and human lives are changing for the better. True happiness comes from helping others, and Animal People Alliance is one of my great joys in this life.

What was the most important lesson you learned in life?

I think to live in the moment and not take anything too seriously, and have fun!

Belinda Carlisle is living the dream of a magical life. Thank you, Belinda, for your time, talent and wisdom.

If you would like to donate or find out more about Animal People Alliance, visit https://www.animalpeoplealliance.net/ Follow Animal People Alliance on Instagram @animalpeoplealliance, and on Facebook at the official Animal People Alliance page.

Special Thanks to: Editing: Dina Morrone Photography: Nick Spanos Arnold Neimanis Chris Cuffaro Vicki Berndt GOGO’s manager Arturo Cisneros Interview Transcriber and Copy Editor Gregory McKay

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"I WANT TO KEEP CHANGING THE GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. IN SOME DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, THERE'S NOT REALLY WIDESPREAD PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ANIMAL ABUSE, AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT ANIMALS HAVE FEELINGS TOO."

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BUCKLEY THE HIGHLAND COW & RALPHY THE GOAT: A True Story about Kindness, Friendship, and Being Yourself

by Leslie Ackerman

A

fter losing his mom when she was sold to another farm, a young highland calf named Buckley arrived at a new home on a faraway ranch as an orphan.

When he was just five weeks old, Buckley was adopted by Leslie, the rancher. Leslie had known Buckley since he was one day old. She brought Buckley to live on her ranch with three goats, a puppy, a horse, two donkeys, and a pig. But even though he was a part of a new family, Buckley was sad for a long time and cried for his mom at night.

Then, one morning, something changed.

Leslie, the rancher, was standing in Buckley’s corral. “I brought you a friend,” she said. “So you won’t feel alone.” Curious, Buckley sat up a little straighter in the straw and perked up his furry brown ears.

That’s when he met Ralphy, the Nubian

kid. Leslie said that goats like Ralphy come from the Middle East and North Africa. Ralphy was seven weeks old, and he was an orphan just like Buckley!

Ralphy decides to take Buckley under his wing. The two are different in every way, but despite this, they become fast friends.

This friendship is captured in a new charming full-color children’s book, Buckley the Highland Cow and Ralphy the Goat: A True Story about Kindness, Friendship, and Being Yourself, which follows Buckley and Ralphy as they overcome barnyard bullying and loneliness while revealing the power of resilience, diverse friendships, and loving who you are! With adorable photographs of Insta-famous Buckley @buckleythehighlandcow, and beautiful illustrations, this unforgettable real-life story of childhood resilience will inspire kids of all ages to overcome tough social situations and thrive.

Leslie Ackerman is the (human) mom of Buckley the Highland Cow and Ralphy the Mini Nubian Goat, Buckley’s best friend.

All three live on a farm in Shingle Springs, California. and she’s answered a few questions about the book, Buckley and Ralphy’s friendship, and life on the farm with this unlikely duo.

This unforgettable real-life story of childhood resilience will inspire kids of all ages to overcome challenging social situations and thrive.

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What are the key messages in this book?

I think the key message would be that it’s OK to be yourself. You don’t have to look or act the same to be good friends. There is too much bullying, especially in children, and I would like to convey that we should all strive for compassion. I would like children to know that it is OK to have a friend of a different color, race, etc. and that being yourself is absolutely fine. I would also love for people to become more caring and compassionate with their treatment of animals.

Where did you come up with the idea for this book?

It’s a true story of a unique friendship between two different breeds of animals that I have enjoyed raising and witnessing the bond. In this day and age, the idea that it’s OK to be different is so important.

What is the inspiration for the names of Buckley & Ralphy?

My daughter named Buckley as she liked the name. My father’s name was Ralph, but everyone called him Buck. My 92-year-old mother thought we named Buckley after my dad, so we knew we had to name the goat Ralph.

Which of your animals on your farm is your favorite and why?

Oh, I can not pick a favorite. Each animal holds a special place in my heart as most are rescues and have a story to tell. Ralphy is definitely the clown of the barn, however.

Leslie; What is the most emotional part of Buckley’s story?

If I had to pick, it would be the part where Buckley cried so many nights for his mom. It broke my heart.

If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?

Oh wow, um, it would have to be an animation film of sorts. For the voice of Ralphy, a comedian! I’d have to say, Eddie Murphy! For Buckley, I’d pick the voice, Johnny Depp!

Where can we learn more about you, Buckle, and Ralphy?

You can follow our farm adventures on Facebook and Instagram (@buckleythehighlandcow.

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GO Campaign has been side by side with their Local Heroes around the world in the fight against Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. In the midst of school shutdowns, homestay orders, and government lockdowns, GO Campaign continues to listen and adjust to ever-evolving needs of children and their families during this critical time.

GO CAMPAIGN Brings Relief to India During Covid-19

So far, GO Campaign’s Covid-19 Relief Fund has provided over $655,000 in immediate emergency grants to their partners on the frontlines of the pandemic, helping them give children and their families access to food, health care and educational resources. “We are fortunate in that we are in a position to cut out the red tape often associated with many aid organizations and bring fast and immediate relief to families who are fearing for their lives.” said GO Campaign founder and CEO Scott Fifer. “The more we raise, the more children, women and families we can protect.”

GO Campaign recently launched a campaign focusing on the worsening Covid-19 infection and death rates in India. The country’s lockdown had stopped all production and economic activities in the country, leaving many people without a chance to earn income. For example, in Lucknow, a town famous for embroidery done by local women daily laborers, the pandemic has left many women artisans on the verge of starvation. The situation is even more dire for women who are Covid positive. GO Campaign has been a lifeline to these young women and their children, through the relief efforts of GO’s grassroots partner in Lucknow.

And in Mumbai, GO Campaign has provided desperately needed food and medical care to the families and children in the Dharavi slum and surrounding areas, and has also wired funds to the Lucknow region that will provide thousands of children and families with immunity booster kits, food rations, oximeters, and more.

Hundreds of thousands are still at risk in the latest waves of the virus. Experts predict that the pending third wave of the virus will be the worst leaving children the most vulnerable. Moreover, the upcoming Monsoon season not only brings torrential rain and 22 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

inclement weather, but higher risks of Malaria and fever, and children are particularly susceptible.

GO Campaign will continue to work alongside their Local Heroes in India and around the world, as Covid continues to affect communities and children everywhere. You can learn more about and support GO Campaign’s Covid-19 Relief efforts here. https://gocampaign.org/campaigns/ covid-19.html

“We are fortunate in that we are in a position to cut out the red tape often associated with many aid organizations and bring fast and immediate relief to families who are fearing for their lives.” said GO Campaign founder and CEO Scott Fifer.

Your donations are: • Feeding families in India’s • largest slum of Dharavi • Providing PPE for children • and families throughout the country Providing food for a young women’s embroidery collective in Lucknow on the verge of starvation due to the shutdown • Protecting five Banjara communities in Jaipur from Covid by providing food, daily health checks, homeschooling for children so they can continue their education, access to vaccinations, etc.

Every dollar had a HUGE impact - thank you for helping us protect the children and families of India.

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Photo by Persnickety Prints

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Excerpted from A NEW NOW: Your Guide to Mastering Wisdom Daily, Achieving Equilibrium, and Empowering Your Nobler Self

of

The

POWER & POTENTIAL EQUILIBRIUM

By Michael Goddart

E

quilibrium is dynamic balance, a spiritual center that you can live in and learn to return to again and again. Being in a state of equilibrium is wonderful. It enriches your life and helps you feel good, and supports your health.

What are the characteristics of equilibrium? Here are five key ones.

• Quiescent ego • Even temperament • Grateful contentment • Healthy independence • Balanced desires Quiescence is a state of repose, being tranquil. When your ego is quiescent, it isn’t raging for something it “needs” desperately. When your ego is quiescent, it isn’t inflated, self-justifying, self-pitying, or wallowing in injury. It isn’t driving you to take action or say things that aren’t in your best interest. Being unaware of your ego, letting it ride roughshod, is self-defeating, knocking you about in dysease. The antidote to ego is humility—welcome, revitalizing oxygen.

When your temperament is even, you are not anxious

or angry, negatively critical, upset, leery, or fearful. Your instincts are accessible, and you’re open to inner promptings. You realize that most people are entirely run by their minds and have no control over what they say and do. People who are run by their lower minds do say and write things that are unkind, hurtful, mindless, destructive.

Their actions can readily set off your reactions, which can be angry, fearful, or one of their myriad expressions, such as annoyance and worry.

Have you ever felt or thought that you have everything this moment that you need? One aspect of wise, clear thinking is no mistaking where you think or hope you’re going for where you are now. With acceptance comes contentment.

You may yearn to understand what you could do with the rest of your life, but embrace the perfection of who you are now and the intention to take each next step in your life as consciously as possible. Acceptance is a key element of consciously living in reality. Acceptance is not resignation. It’s being here, now, rather than allowing yourself to be run by envy or disappointment. Grateful contentment is a feeling of ease, of peace, of everything in its own time. Regardless of your circumstances, if you attain periods of grateful contentment, more and more, in your state of equilibrium, you will cherish these simple, luxurious feelings.

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When you are able to live in a state of healthy independence, your life is not ruled by attachments. You realize that everything is ultimately temporary. People must leave your life, and at times that can be unexpected. You are not the center of the solar system, with everyone revolving around you. You have a great storehouse of resourcefulness that you can access to enable your life to proceed well without unhealthy neediness that inhibits your growth.

When your desires are not inflated or squelched down, you are aware of them and moving at the right time and speed toward realizing them in a way that serves your growth and unfolding. We are desire machines—the mind is constantly spewing out desires. You can learn to be aware of how your desires want to drive you, and you can mentally detach from them, as well as you can, and make mental adjustments that balance your urges and put them in perspective. Being the driver of your desires creates more space for gratitude. By cultivating mental detachment from your desires, you can more readily be present in an expansive now in which you can experience healthy independence and grateful contentment.

Photo by Everton Vila

Wisdom and equilibrium go hand in hand. Being in equilibrium is an optimal state in which you can best access your power and develop your potential. You more readily enjoy a positive, confident attitude because when you are in equi-

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librium that comes naturally. You can more easily deal with and rise above distractions. Being in equilibrium and learning how to achieve and return to it is a necessary adjunct to mastering wisdom. It facilitates the accessing and growth of wisdom.

The more you realize and embody the five characteristics of equilibrium, the more you reduce stress. Tomes can be written on the benefits of reducing stress. Some doctors believe that stress is the root of all diseases. Some spiritual masters say that ego is the root of all disease. Stress and ego are intrinsically linked. This is because when we think then feel that people and things have to be a certain way, and they’re not—we stress.

If you think you need to get three things done before you leave your home and you rush to get them done, that likely creates stress. You are letting yourself be run by a belief that is undermining your health and state of mind. Why not pause and ask yourself if you can let go of one or two of the things until the right time after you return? It’s not the end of the world if, for instance, dishes remain in the sink filled with water until you can attend to them in a good frame of mind. It’s important to notice what feels good, what feels right. Value your equilibrium. That is being wise. That is helping to prepare the field of your spiritual foundation.

When your ego is not quiescent, your mind is on fire.

To master increasingly challenging times, a spiritual foundation can be a vital resource. Contributing to and being in touch with your spiritual foundation can greatly assist you in gaining wisdom and mastering it daily.

With a good spiritual foundation, you can more readily be drawn to your spiritual center and empower it each time you return to it.

brows. It’s not a physical place. It is where your awareness is. When many people forget something, and they are trying to remember, their fingertips automatically go to touch that place. Think of your spiritual center as the power and light arising from and energizing your spiritual foundation.

Good positive character is the ballast upon which the foundation of spirituality is built. They go hand in hand.

Good positive thoughts are the outcome of a vital spiritual foundation. And yet, you are not your thoughts. If you’ve not pondered this and embraced it, now is a good time to entertain this key concept of spiritual growth.

You are the soul, that immortal particle of love energy and knowing that is connected to LoveSource, simply another name for God. The soul is being dominated by the mind until, through your spiritual progress, you master the mind, and then it becomes your best friend.

For now, the more you access and act from your aquifer of consciousness, the less likely you are to do things that do not serve you and are simply unwise.

Photo by Christopher Campbell

Your kindness, love, intuition, and giving are what build your spiritual foundation. Giving is being of service to people, giving money to honest, worthy charitable causes, and giving kindness and goodness to struggling souls—like yourself—with whom you come in contact.

Learning to live from your spiritual center, in equilibrium, in your highest state of knowledge, is a way of life you will love more and more. In these times, more than ever in our crazy world, to lead our best lives, we need to strive to achieve equilibrium, and that will enable us to live in a new now.

Your spiritual center is the state of mind in which you are most calm, grounded, centered, relaxed, detached, harmonious, open, present, and on purpose. When you’re at your spiritual center, you are least anxious, frustrated, scattered, agitated, tense, fearful, and focused on the future. Also, you are in some degree of control of your mind instead of your mind pulling you every which way by uncontrollable ego, greed, attachment, lust, and anger. Thus, your attention is centered. Your thoughts are not agitated. Until you are a saint, however, your mind can pull you every which way—usually away from your spiritual center.

Your actual, present spiritual center is the seat of your soul. It’s a little above and between and behind your eye-

Michael Goddart, MFA, is the author of the newly published A New Now: Your Guide to Mastering Wisdom Daily, Achieving Equilibrium, and Empowering Your Nobler Self. He is also the author of In Search of Lost Lives: Desire, Sanskaras, and the Evolution of a Mind&Soul, a winner of the American Book Fest Best Book Award, the Living Now Book Award, the Body Mind Spirit Book Award, and the National Indie Excellence Award. Michael Goddart took his MFA in Creative Writing at Bowling Green State University. Please visit https://goddart.com for interviews, excerpts, testimonials, and more.

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“Dignity is a quiet strength which reflects your deep honour and self-respect.

It …portrays a calm awareness and generosity of spirit regardless of the environment or circumstances.” ~Susan C.Young

Photo katerina plotnikova photography 28 by THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e June 2021

Dignity;

THE HALLMARK OF A GREAT SOUL

By Sarah Mane

T

hink of someone you know, or know of, someone with quiet self-assurance, a person with a strong moral compass, who is not swayed by passing fancies, a man or woman who sets a clear direction for their lives, who is dependable and trustworthy.

Who doesn’t give his or her word lightly, but having given it, always follows through?

This is a person whom others go to for advice or comfort. These are people who set an example for others, who people think of when presented with a problem.

I was reflecting on people like this, and how, when you encounter one, the meeting is to be treasured. Even when they are public or historical figures – Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Viktor Frankel, Queen Elizabeth – and a personal meeting is not on the cards, a meeting of hearts and minds is certainly available.

It has been an immense privilege in my life to have met many people who are just like this. In the true sense of that word, strong people are not forceful or combative but steady and resilient.

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What word do we have to describe this confluence of qualities?

They are giving their best, speaking honestly, showing kindness, acting decisively. All this is part of dignity.

There are many words that could be used to describe this combination of virtues, but the one that seems best is ‘Dignity.’

Sanskrit, as always, can fill out our understanding of the true nature of this quality of dignity. The Sanskrit word for dignity is Māhātmyam. This compound of māhā, which means ‘great’, and ātman, means ‘essential indwelling Self, or soul’. So Māhātmyam means greatsouled, having a great or noble nature, high-minded, highly gifted, exceedingly wise.

Dignity is a subtle, elusive quality, but you know it when you see it. It is a quiet strength, integrity, and dependability, which engenders respect and a feeling of admiration.

The English word ‘dignity’ comes from the Latin ‘dignitas’, which carries the sense of worthiness, worth, and honor, which is fitting and proper.

With dignity, therefore, there is worth, value and substance, linked to that which is fitting, proper, and appropriate to the situation. So, a man or woman of dignity is worthy of honor and behaves in a way that fits the situation. Among friends, they are friendly when in a position of leadership; they are respectful of those to whom they are responsible and decisive when action is required. They are careful of the feelings and needs of others but are not swayed by personal considerations from doing the right thing.

We can over-analyze notions of nobility and worth and honor and, yes, dignity. We run the same risk as to the watchmaker who lays out all the pieces of the clock on his workbench. All the separate elements that go to make up a clock are there, but if you want to know the time, you’re out of luck.

From this, we can see that people with dignity have an inner steadiness and carry themselves with a sense of strength and integrity. And they also view the world through a lens that means they see the best in others.

The reason is simple. We all see the world to a greater or lesser extent as a projection of our own thoughts and feelings. This is a very big topic which we can cover another day. Suffice for now that a dignified person with strength, integrity, and goodwill in their heart looks out on a world and sees those same qualities in others – perhaps hidden, perhaps less manifest in some than others. But they always seek to identify and draw out the best.

And this is, of course, reflected in their actions as well.

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Perhaps we should resist the temptation to delve too far into these concepts and let them stand for themselves.

We can over-analyze notions of nobility and worth and honor and, yes, dignity. We run the same risk as to the watchmaker who lays out all the pieces of the clock on his workbench. All the separate elements that go to make up a clock are there, but if you want to know the time, you’re out of luck.

So let us conclude this meditation on dignity with a look at how we can make it practical. What can we do to grow into this wonderful quality?

In the Taittirīya Upanishad, there is some very practical advice.

When you don’t know what to think or say or do in a particular situation, think of what some wise man or woman would think, say or do in the same situation, and then do likewise.

To become dignified, think of someone you know – the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, your grandmother – and ask yourself what they would think, say, or do if they were in this situation? And then think, speak and act like them.

And one day, probably without you even knowing it, someone will think of you when they wish to grow in strength, calm, and dignity, and they’ll copy you.

Sarah Mane is a Sanskrit scholar with a particular interest in the wisdom of Sanskrit as a practical means to life-mastery. Previously a teacher and school executive, today she is a transformational and executive coach. Sarah lives in Australia. https://consciousconfidence.com/

Playing Enlightenment

with

Photo by Simon Rae

Excerpt from Life As Play!

By Mark Johnson

32 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

I

t is difficult to discuss enlightenment in general because enlightenment means something different to everyone and because it is paradoxical. Most people think enlightenment is a peaceful, blissful, formless realm beyond the manifest world and outside of space and time.

This is only partially correct because it is a paradox.

It is paradoxical because enlightenment includes duality and is simultaneously beyond it.

A lot of people who study Eastern religions are busily quieting their minds and emotions and are waiting for “enlightening” to strike. This is what the Buddha and Shankara taught and what I meditated on for almost 20 years. I have friends who are professional meditators. They can sit without a single thought appearing in their minds for hours at a time. However, I have rocks in my backyard that can do the same thing. Is this the apex of life on this planet? The Oneness as Emptiness is only part of the story. The manifest realm is also an expression of the great Oneness. Our task now is to figure out how best to manifest that ground of being in the evolving, material world. We must merge the transcendent with the immanent.

The analogy of the Ocean with its waves is the best way I know to describe the paradox of being both at the same time. Waves provide a good analogy for people because each wave has a discernible, separate existence. Each has a unique size, direction, speed, and shape – and they make a lot of noise, just as I do! There is also no real separation between them and the totality of the Ocean.

So, imagine yourself as an average wave rolling along, minding your own business, and some guru wave tells you, “You are the entirety of the ocean, and you can experience yourself as such.”

All you have to do is meditate as hard as you can, become a vegetarian, and take up Tai Ji, or, if you are the trusting, devotional type, you can surrender to Yahweh, Jesus, or Allah.

In Life As Play book you will discover how to allow your innate Playful essence to express itself in every moment. Think of Mark’s story as a tour and initiation into a life of Play. "Life As Play" is filled with tales of the unexpected and the unique circumstances that characterize a life of Play. This is not a book about playing, it is a Playful book! The most consistent theme throughout the book is that of the power of synchronicities to encourage a life of Play and how it reveals the interconnectedness of all creation. The book will help you recognize this Playful place within yourself and allow it to expand. Mark said he will never rest until it is in every motel room on the planet… and beyond.

So now they become a seeker with a mission! A wave in search of wetness! There is nothing like a little meaning in life to actually get a person to do something other than consume stuff to compensate for that endless dark pit of need in the middle of one’s chest. The fanatic edge that sometimes comes with a little meaning in one’s life can drive a seeker for several thousand lifetimes; in spite of a few setbacks such as exhaustion, depression, and the sneaky feeling, you are wasting a lot of time.

Some people start wave hopping to find the wetness, and others start perfecting their own waves to get wetter than the other waves. What keeps that cycle going is the fact that every time someone gets weary, another spiritual teacher comes along with the perfect technique for experiencing wetness, and off they go again until they finally drop. And then, “POW,” a moment of unity consciousness.

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If you stop striving for wetness in order to succeed in experiencing it, it will not work. You have to stop everything, which includes stopping everything. That is why not too many people actually do it. It is scary to surrender everything you think you are and allow the great Oneness to continue running the show.

Some of the best “strivers” I have ever met are the Zen folks. They tirelessly scale that “enlightenment” mountain going straight up the slopes while most people meander around the well-worn paths, smelling the flowers and eating the strawberries at every turn.

You would expect the Buddhist religion to turn out a lot of enlightened individuals every year, wouldn’t you? I didn’t find that to be the case. So, what is wrong with this picture? The more a wave pursues its own wetness as a goal, the further away the wave gets from being its wetness.

As I mentioned before, the tendency to take up spirituality as a cure for your psychological problems is called “spiritual bypassing.” You try to bypass all your problems with the magic bullet of meditation. It sounds good and looks good and actually works to some degree, but without doing the foundational psychological work along the way, nothing much is going to change, in my opinion.

Too many people and meditation teachers, in particular, honestly think every problem can be solved with meditation. If you are out of work and depressed, and your guru tells you to meditate more, it is probably time to get another teacher and find a job.

On the other hand (there is always another “on the other hand” when dealing with paradox), I often see people busying themselves by digging into their childhood traumas in self-help workshops or with their psychiatrist or therapist. Those “archeological digs” can sometimes lead to greater insight into why we do what we do, but far too often, it is simply another expression of narcissism.

I had a client who washed her hands a hundred times a day and knew exactly why she did it, but she still could not stop. I sometimes think some folks would be a lot better off if they spent their day helping people in a homeless shelter instead of incessantly talking about their problems.

The most common expression of narcissistic behavior I see is the incessant striving for enlightenment. The deep reason you don’t make much progress even after decades of meditation and self-help workshops is that you are doing it for yourself. When people take the focus off 34 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

themselves for even a short time, they find their personal problems miraculously dissolving. That’s due to their no longer giving little obsessions the energy needed to perpetuate. Try it. Don’t think about yourself for an entire day and see what happens.

Let’s say that while indulging in narcissistic pursuits, a person accidentally experiences a spiritual awakening. After all, even a blind squirrel will find an acorn occasionally. It is like a wave briefly glimpsing itself as the entirety of the Ocean. You think you have arrived!

But then, the memory fades, and you are back identifying with your old familiar ego/wave again – warts and all.

What good is a spiritual awakening if the wave that experienced it is distorted after experiencing itself as the Ocean? This is often what happens. This means the person must continue to work hard on psychological evolution in order to sustain the awakening. Your personal evolution will continue smoothly if you allow it to happen naturally and don’t force anything with your obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

This means: It is more important to be integrated and authentic at whatever stage you find yourself than to pursue enlightenment with a distorted and desperate psyche hotly.

Few Westerners have training in the multitude of Chinese disciplines that Mark Johnson has. In addition to Tai Chi instruction, Mark specializes in Qigong (self-healing through moving high frequency energies throughout the body.) He also taught three styles of Feng Shui (the study of the energies of an area) and he was also involved in writing one of the most popular versions of the E Jing (China's ancient classic on how things change). He also teaches Chinese calligraphy to his students on his many trips to China. Mark has integrated these disciplines in creative ways for over fifty five years now. He has also founded Integral Tao Centers in Taos New Mexico, Tulsa Oklahoma, New York, and California where he now resides.

He has been teaching throughout North America for nearly thirty-five years in a variety of formats: private sessions, on-going community classes, weekend and week-long seminars and workshops. He is a certified Tai Chi tournament judge and has officiated over 25 tournaments in the past twenty years.

Buddha Board

This blank slate offers you a chance to paint away the daily stressors that sap us of our creativity and energy without needing a long list of supplies or a lengthy chunk of time.

Simply grab your board when things start to get overwhelming and let the act of putting brush to tablet absorb your focus. Water “paint” in the abstract, make a picture, or give shape to your feelings. As the water evaporates you’ll be left with a clean slate and a clearer mind.

Buddha Board Highlights:

• Designed with a sleek, modern aesthetic • Reusable • Quick to set up • Painting is truly MESS FREE • Encourages mindfulness • Doesn’t add to your digital footprint • Taps into your creative side • Fun for all ages • Helps kids explore the creative process judgment free • Perfect for relieving stress at home, in the office, or when traveling • Original Buddha Board measures 12” x 9.5” x 1/4”

Take care of yourself, and you’ll help take care of the world with a little help from Buddha Board 35 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e June 2021

Excerpt from The Heart of a Horse

THE MAGIC

MIRROR Life Lessons from Horses and Other Animals

By Candida Baker

Learning to 'listen' with all our senses and the magic that happens when we keep an open mind about the idea of communication from the animal world. When author Candida left behind a city lifestyle and a high-profile job as editor of Weekend Australian Magazine, to live in the hills behind Byron Bay, little did she realize this was a first step on a journey of self-discovery - through her natural horsemanship, photography, writing and journalism - to an enhanced sense of spiritual and psychic connection with the animal world.

Told through a series of true stories, each illustrating a life lesson, at its essence, The Heart of a Horse is about learning to listen, with all our senses.

Using her lifelong love of horses as the main vehicle for bridging the gap between our thought processes and intuition, Candida describes the magic that happens when we keep an open mind about the idea of communication from the animal world.

36 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

RECENTLY A DEAR friend of mine came to visit. Her

husband had died only ten days before, and she was overwhelmed, worrying particularly for her two beautiful children and how she was going to parent them.

Although she had been separated from her husband at the time he died, they’d remained close, and his death had been shocking. Friends who were worried that he’d had a heart attack took him to his local country hospital, where there was no doctor on duty, no crash cart, and no adrenalin. He died before help could arrive, and my friend’s two children, a 13-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl who had been due to see him the night before were naturally grief-stricken and distraught. The boy, particularly distressed, was lashing out, and my friend was anxious to her core about him and afraid that at this particularly vulnerable age, he might go off the rails.

Photo by Paula Palmieri

,,

,, Photo by Jusdevoyage

For a minute, I tuned in to the gift I was receiving, and, as usual, like a pinprick of golden light, the vision came to me – I understood what the horses were doing.

38 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

She came to my home so we could spend the afternoon together, and we mutually decided that horse and dog cuddles were a good idea. As we walked down towards the horses, I asked them (silently) if they could show my friend what she needed to see at that moment and to give her something that would help her through this difficult time. When we got to the paddock, I got a couple of seats, and for a while, we just sat in with Eva and Tyra, and as all good psychic horses do, they immediately tuned in to what was needed. After the initial carrots and cuddles, with us sitting quietly in their space, the horses chose to stay with us in their different ways.

Gentle Tyra offered my friend wisdom, compassion, and quiet kindness, dropping her head towards her and not for the first time showing me that, as a broodmare whose babies were inevitably taken away from her over and over again, she understood the grief of loss.

Eva, on the other hand, showed her energy, personal space invasion, and humor, pushing on my friend from time to time and bustling around us in her cheerful bossy way. And our French Bulldog, Willow, well, she showed her unconditional love for all of us! I taught my friend how to create a boundary with Eva so that she couldn’t space-invade just as she wanted to, and Eva lowered her head, licked and chewed, and wandered off, leaving Tyra in peace to offer an outpouring of love towards my friend.

For a minute, I tuned in to the gift I was receiving, and, as usual, like a pinprick of golden light, the vision came to me – I understood what the horses were doing.

‘See,’ I said, ‘they’re showing you the story.’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked.

‘Well, they’re showing you the inter-generational process.

You are Tyra, the wise woman for your children. Your quietness will be their guiding light, and even though they’re devastated, they still need boundaries for their behaviour – as does Eva. When they have boundaries, they feel safe, and they can calm down.’

It was a wonderful moment to observe as my friend almost lit up from within.

‘You know,’ she said, ‘I don’t think I would have got this any other way. Seeing the horses like this is just like seeing us.’

And then, of course, the moment they were sure the message had been received, the horses turned away and went back to grazing. Job done. Thank you, horses.

The Gift: Grief offers us the chance to break through barriers. Creating quiet space allows the story to unfold naturally.

An accomplished journalist and editor, Candida Baker, left behind a city lifestyle and a high-profile job as editor of the Weekend Australian Magazine to live in the hills behind Byron Bay with her husband and two children in 2004.

Since then, she has been on a journey of self-discovery, which has led her on a creative journey through her natural horsemanship, photography, writing, journalism, and an enhanced sense of spiritual and psychic connection with the animal world. She is a horse trainer, and horse rescuer. She is the author of two novels, one book of short stories, three children's books, three non-fiction books, and the editor and contributor to numerous anthologies. Her work has been widely published in Australia, the UK, and the US.

39 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

Your Ideal Life

Photo by Dor Farber

By Fab Giovanetti

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Work-life balance – what is that?

We all have different lives, different lifestyles, and priorities, so work-life balance is unique to each of us and may change across our lives as priorities change. For example, a mother may have less time to commit to work when her children are very young compared to when they’re teenagers. Work-life balance is a constant recalibration. It may not be an “equal” balance between work life and “non-work” life, but a balance that feels “right” within your whole life.

I BELIEVE THAT FINDING A LIFESTYLE THAT FITS YOU IS KEY TO YOUR WORKFLOW AND MAKING YOUR OVERALL WORK HABITS STICK. AT TIMES, IT MAY ALSO BRING YOU TO REALIZE THAT YOUR JOB OR PATH IS NOT THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOUR LONGTERM VISION.

Joan Kofodimos defined work-life balance in her 1993 book Balancing Act: How Managers Can Integrate Successful Careers and Fulfilling Personal Lives as: “A satisfying, healthy, and productive life that includes work, play, and love, that integrates a range of life activities with attention to self and to personal spiritual development; and that expresses a person’s unique wishes, interests, and values.”

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DTI 2001) defines it as: “Adjusting work patterns so that everyone, regardless of age, race or gender can find a rhythm that enables them more easily to combine work and their other responsibilities and aspirations.”

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy

So, in a nutshell, you might say that someone feels out of balance when they cannot achieve a healthy interplay between their lives inside and outside of work and constantly feel fretful or overwhelmed, anxious and worried. If this sounds like you, welcome to your solution; my book Reclaim Your Time Off was written for you, and I can’t wait to help.

OUTLINE YOUR IDEAL LIFE Welcome to one of my incredibly challenging practical exercises that are super fun – and at times super hard – to carry out. Why hard? Because I am asking you to let go of any expectations, responsibilities, pre-conceptions, and bias and let your imagination loose. If you know me or have spent enough time around

me, you know that letting my imagination loose is not a problem. Give me a journal, a pen, and a few hours of uninterrupted quiet, and I can come up with the wildest schemes and ideas. Why? Because I turned the idea of bringing a bunch of bloggers together into a profitable business. (Disclaimer: there is no such a thing as overnight success; it took me six years to create a profitable business.)

Still, I even managed to get paid for my writing (say what!), publish one book, and you’re holding the second one in your hands. What I have learned from the journey so far, including the complex set of sub-jobs I have taken since, is that getting clearer on the lifestyle you want to lead is essential – and your work is part of your life. These are not separate worlds that never meet.

As the world as a collective has faced the challenges of working from home, it has become crystal clear that our lifestyles and routines need as much TLC as our faces. Jason Womack, author of Your Best Just Got Better: Work.

Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More also recommends writing an ideal day scenario for yourself to make the most of each day. Knowing what “ideal” means to you gives you a goal to work toward, he says.

(See the Action Step below for how we can put this into action.) I was talking to a friend recently who was struggling with deciding what to do with her career. Where to be in the next five years, Which country to live in? Honestly, I found it hard to imagine being in her shoes, as I have always had a “plan,” but I was excited to help her find her own answers.

As I was going through this exercise with her, she shared how she had once shared a cab with loads of businessmen on their way back to London from Italy. All of them led a double life, where they spent Monday to Friday in London and flew back every weekend to see their family in Italy. Now, for most people, this is an unattainable lifestyle – not to mention being environmentally unsustainable.

41 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

However, these people valued their work (and the location of their work being in London) above pretty much everything else. Ranking your most important values and non-negotiables can truly help even the most indecisive person draft out a lifestyle that works for them.I believe that finding a lifestyle that fits you is key to your workflow and making your overall work habits stick. At times, it may also bring you to realize that your job or path is not the right one for your long-term vision.

I believe in values and non-negotiables as they do not dictate what job you should do or where you should live. Jobs, careers, and homes do change. However, in my experience mentoring people for over ten years now, values rarely do.

How many hours do you work per day in your ideal working life? Do you take breaks? If so, how often and for how long? Is your ideal day spent near the beach or in nature? Does it involve fitness classes or time spent with friends? The more specific, the better.

Then unravel all the way to your working routine: write your perfect day, in the present tense, as if you are already living it. Now think through how that makes you feel. Do you feel excited? Can you truly see, feel, smell it? Stepping into the present tense of this existence is a really powerful way of helping you to take action toward living it.

The two most important questions to help you with this Action Step; 1. What are your top three values?

2. What are your top three non-negotiables?

First, let’s unpack what we mean by these terms ...

Values: values are mostly associated with feelings and areas of your life. A few values that I can outline include freedom and flexibility, family, friends, and ease.

Any type of work or commitment that is detrimental to those values is a no-go for me.

Non-negotiables: movement, meditation, and cooking are a few of my non-negotiables – they have to be a part of my life, full stop. It is also socializing and events. This will tie me to a location (or close by the location, which is London for me), and also, it requires me to work smarter to have more time to move, meditate, and cook my meals.

My examples are there to be used as mere guidelines.

One of my friend’s non-negotiables is to be somewhere sunny and warm – which jeopardizes a life-long adventure in London, for example.

ACTION STEP Now that you are fully out of the should or must mindset and have tapped into your values, write down what your ideal day looks like. This is the fun part!

Get your journal and simply WRITE. Start with your ideal morning. Get really specific. What time do you get up? Where are you living?

What are you wearing? What will you have for breakfast? Are you alone? What is your working space like?

Dive right down to the fine details – your workstation, whether there are plants, perhaps a big window? What is your view?

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Fab Giovanetti is an award-winning entrepreneur, writer, and marketing consultant. Reclaim Your Time Off is her second book, published on May 11th by Watkins Media. Fab is the founder of Creative Impact Group, a collective of hundreds of creatives making a positive impact on others and the planet. Through her community and her work at Alt Marketing School, she has touched over 100,000 people from all over the world. Discover more at https://fabgiovanetti.com

Photo by ENGIN AKYURT

A highly sensitive person, often referred to as HSP, is someone who feels energies to the extreme, which may then affect them physically. A highly sensitive person typically does have a higher degree of empathy towards others because we have the ability to feel what they are feeling. With that said, we tend to feel everything even when we really don't want to.

Learning to understand what is our stuff and what isn't and then adapting accordingly is necessary.

HOW TO

Understandably, unless someone is a highly sensitive person, they may not be able to understand what being sensitive fully entails. People can be sensitive to criticism or take things personally. This is a different connotation of being sensitive but is important to recognize nonetheless. We can be offended by hurtful remarks because we are human. However, we all have the ability to choose how we wish to respond and if we want to accept the remarks as truth for ourselves.

FUNCTION

AS A HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON

By Shelly Wilson

A

n empath is a person with the clairsentient ability to comprehend another individual's mental or emotional state. An empath is also known as someone who feels or is a feeler.

Empathy involves having compassion and understanding.

When referencing empathy, the Golden Rule is often referenced – do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This notion can also be translated simply – treat others how you want to be treated.

A sensitive is someone who is in tune with the energies around them and is able to feel other people's energies and emotions. At times, they may be unable to distinguish other people's energies from their own unless they are intentionally tuning in and have a heightened energy awareness. As empaths, we will feel the energy being emitted from others.

Being highly sensitive also involves understanding energy, which includes becoming aware of our own energetic emission with our thoughts, words, and actions and practicing good energetic hygiene. We know that everything is energy. This energy vibrates in frequencies. Therefore, we are essentially walking vibrations. Like a radio station, the frequency we vibrate at is what we broadcast out to the world around us. Our emotions affect our physical bodies.

If we are vibrating with fear, stress, or lack of trust, the energy is being focused in a lower vibrational way and resisting flow. The lower vibrations may feel especially overwhelming to those of us who are sensitive to energies and empathic.

Whether we deem ourselves sensitive or not, all of us have the power to transmute and shift energy based on our perspective and how we choose to respond. As necessary, we can transmute the lower, heavier vibrations to a vibration that feels better, or we may need to excuse ourselves from the situation altogether. We can easily shift our energy by breathing consciously and intentionally while attaining the peace within, so we can respond rather than react to external circumstances.

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Moreover, we need to understand who and what affects us in a positive, healthy, balanced way and in a not-so-positive, unhealthy, imbalanced way. Social media and the news can pull us into a negative or lower vibrational vortex.

Sometimes, people are unable to be an observer and will instead take some of the posts personally. They may also be passionate about their beliefs and feel others should oblige by having the same beliefs. Choosing to disconnect or at least limiting our technology time is beneficial.

As a highly sensitive person myself, I can speak firsthand and offer my personal perspective. I've always been sensitive to energies, even as a young child. As I've gotten older, I've become more aware of how to see sensitivity as a blessing rather than a problem. I work as an Intuitive Medium, so I am able to connect to my client's energy and also connect to those that have transitioned to the Spirit realm. It wasn't until my late 30's that I realized fully what I was experiencing and that there are varying degrees of sensitivity. Initially, it felt more like a hindrance, but now being sensitive is a beautiful gift.

Excusing myself from a situation or stepping outside for a breath of fresh air is a temporary solution, but maintaining good energetic hygiene is necessary. Furthermore, I tend to be very selective of the energy I am immersed in, whether it be personally or professionally.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR OWN WELL-BEING IS ESSENTIAL ON THIS SPIRITUAL JOURNEY , ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE THAT ARE EMPATHS AND SENSITIVE TO ENERGIES I find it extremely challenging to be in a busy space, such as a shopping mall, especially during the holidays. Concerts can be overwhelming due to large numbers of people, the use of lighting, and loud auditory levels. Even restaurants that have televisions blaring are something that I tend to avoid altogether, or at least at peak meal times. In addition to feeling the energy in each of these spaces, I am also feeling the energy and emotions of those present. Lastly, I am extremely selective of any news that I watch or even read and the length of time I am exposed to it. Graphic images and videos will literally make me feel nauseous and dizzy.

Taking responsibility for our own well-being is essential on this spiritual journey, especially for those that are empaths and sensitive to energies. We often overlook our own physical health and mental/emotional well-being in order to assist others. The following self-care tips are intended to help you function as a highly sensitive person.

Rather than just survive, these tips will help you to thrive and embody your sensitivity.

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1. Cocoon as needed - In essence, cocooning involves pulling your energy in as you become more aware of energy drains, whether it be people, places, or things.

Gather your energy and intentionally bring it back to you. Cocooning may also involve resting/sleeping and establishing boundaries.

2. Don't take things personally - What other people say and do is a reflection or projection of their own personal reality. The same is true for you. Communicate clearly to the best of your ability, and don't take things personally.

3. Invest in yourself - Take time for yourself and honor your emotions. Self-love and self-care are definitely not selfish. Your physical health and mental/emotional well-being are extremely important. Intentionally investing time and energy in your well-being will benefit you and those around you.

4. Relax and restore your spirit - You are a human being and not a human doing. Each one of us must become aware of how we're investing our emotional, mental, financial, and physical energy and then choose to recognize whether these activities bring us joy, connection, nurturing rest, and creativity to our lives. Choose to relax, restore, recover and re-energize, so that your spirit can be restored.

5. Excuse yourself from negativity - Being consumed with fear, worry, and negativity will undoubtedly take a physical and mental/emotional toll on an individual and can even create illness or disease within the physical body. Being sensitive, you will feel this energy from others. You have the power to choose where and with whom you invest your energy, so invest wisely!

Shelly Wilson is an author, intuitive medium and conscious creator who is passionate about helping people wake up to their greatness. She supports others as they navigate their own journey into consciousness to experience aliveness. Shelly’s books, 28 Days to a New YOU, Connect to the YOU Within, Journey into Consciousness and Embracing the Magic Within are available in paperback and eBook.

She is also the creator of Cards of Empowerment and Clarity Cards. ShellyRWilson.com EmbracingTheMagicWithin.com

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Pain sufferers are turning to ZV Botanicals as a source of natural CBD healing and immediate relief with no side effects. CBD salves, for instance, are absorbed in the body quickly and are all-natural. If you are a runner, for instance, you can find comfort in pain relief that supports heart health and your musculoskeletal, helping the regeneration of tissue.

ZV Botanicals blends Ayurvedic herbs and CBD to create a brand that is leading the way in natural healing with organic and wild-harvested ingredients harnessing the goodness of nature to treat the whole body.

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THE HUMANE HUMAN &

SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE HOW ARE THEY

Photo by katerina plotnikova photography

CORRELATED

50 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COMe July 2021

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

T

he humane human, how do we define him/her? The trend in the shift towards inclusivity, be it socially, or culturally or politically, can pull us together in shared humanity. It calls for interconnectedness between humanism and spirituality. The two need to be correlated, not isolated from one another. From time immemorial, spirituality is perceived which exists on a higher dimension that is superior to the erroneous humanness. It is not something that is existential in saints and prophets only.

Humanness need not be bereft of emotions and primordial feelings. This ultimate realization compels us to transcend the self and break the notion that emotions are illusions. It believes in the divine not only when the dawn is in but also when the dawn is out. It is not just in the rare moments or nearing death that one gets to experience spirituality but in the beat of everyday life when it is dull and mundane, and madness is not embodied in all facets of our living. We are born with a vibrant transcendental soul belonging innately to another realm, which is the spiritual realm where silence has a sound. Our feelings are shaped by the spirit, the spirit of beyond. We are not just sent to live a fragmentary life which is a narrow perception of humanness. Rather we are spiritual beings embodied in the shell of a human.

By not recognizing this truth, we are desacralizing ourselves.

This is the illusion with which humans are burning deep inside.

There is no divide between humanness and spirituality but living with the illusion sustains the distinction. It epitomizes the belief that being human is substandard and that spirituality is the pinnacle of standard. It keeps us away from doing the needed work required to be done so we can be integrated into the utmost spirituality. So, humans can merge with spiritualism through humanism.

Far above the challenges and complexity of human experience lies a realm of spirituality that is formless and shapeless, where we are floating in stillness. It is a stilling space above the messiness of human thoughts and experiences. Many of us are longing for an inclusive, humane world where humane humans will create meaningful connections that make life worth living. But just like acquisitive and unprincipled capitalism is damaging us, similarly, humanity-bereft spirituality is stripping us a part of any moral values that are left. It resembles very much a power-seeking patriarchal system where we are centered on living above rather than living among, focused on being above the tribe rather than being among the tribe.

We impact each other, so what happens to our humanness is spiritually relevant—bypassing this truth blinds sight of our bigger vision. And in this way, we can be engaged in escapism, willfully escaping the fact that we need to encourage inclusivity as our experience of enlightenment is not far above us but right among us. It is an act of reverence, a homage to our sacred selves, not a feigned but an unfeigned one.

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The more we emphasize on the division between spirituality and humanness, the more we turn away from our needed transformation. Instead of exemplifying divinity in our human soul, we symbolize avaricious human nature. Rather than symbolizing idyllic humanism, we engage in typifying the power-hungry, predatory beings.

From this perspective, spiritual wisdom and emotional wisdom are synonymous. Humanness needs to be tied to spirituality. It is not a higher plane but something that needs to be grounded in us. To embody it is not to rise above but to live in a grounded manner, the way we are sent on this earth. To be all-encompassing and inclusive is to live life as grounded spiritual beings, where we personify ourselves as humane humans, where everyone matters. Everybody’s dreams and despairs, wound and joy. Where every struggle, every tear, every bit of emotion kindles as a spark. From this belief, we gather together to co-create a humane world for all.

of functioning that is harmonized and not conflictual.

The person’s efforts are directed towards a greater overarching purpose that carries a profound meaning and insightful vision. That, in turn, contributes towards the shaping of a humane human.

As the person transcends the compressed sense of self or the ego-self, the impacts are observed all around. The ability to experience a transcendental and mystical state of consciousness leads to enlightenment so he/she can experience a sense of oneness with all things and beings. They gently guide the person in finding sanctification in all experiences and identification of a higher purpose in all their activities. So, they can cope and even find meaning in traumatic experiences. Gradually, spiritual intelligence extracts a person out of the constricted self and propels him/her towards a higher self, like a humane human.

SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE IS RELATED TO EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, WHICH SHAPES A PERSON IN A BETTER MANNER.

While shifting our focus on humanness, we are also focused on multiple intelligences in recent years rather than just focused on the intelligent quotient. In this context, it is worth noting that in the previous days when IQ used to the dominant factor in success while choosing a career.

Spiritual intelligence brings about consolidation, a unification in one’s personality so that the psyche is not torn in an inner turmoil. Spiritual intelligence acts as a force of homogenization for one’s entire life, especially the inner life. Gradually we can use this spiritual intelligence to solve other problems in our lives externally. At first, it gifts us internally. Later on, we apply it externally, which enriches our lives. So, it contributes towards intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships, enhancing the betterment of our lives. Spiritual intelligence beings a manner

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Photo by Rosario Janza

Spiritual intelligence is related to emotional intelligence, which shapes a person in a better manner. We all feel an innate need to connect to something of the higher power that is timeless, formless, and boundless. At the same time, we have an equal urge to connect with other fellow humans and be attentive to them and their needs too. These, in turn contribute to the moral, emotional, spiritual shaping of ourselves. Spiritual intelligence is the capacity to behave with others compassionately while maintaining the point of equilibrium inside. So, we do not deviate from the center of balance that sustains our stillness. Their wisdom comes through enlightenment and emerges as a manifestation of love for all sentient beings on this earth. Being among the chaotic circumstances, we are able to maintain the point of placidity, the lull, and serenity.

Spiritual intelligence allows intrapersonal consolidation.

The life of a human being emerges as an all-encompassing story that offers an overarching objective for one’s daily living, so he can perform meaningfully from a place of

conscious choice. Organizing one’s life with spiritually intelligent thinking harmonizes rather than entailing conflicts in their different endeavors. Thus, the concept of self-regulation is introduced, which brings a wellbalanced development of personality traits. A person shifts from an unbalanced growth to a balanced mix of many traits that shapes him as a humane human.

Diligence…..the ability to be in full control of one’s own impulses while proceeding towards the goals, sociability….the ability to regulate one’s interpersonal behavior so as to amiably maintain healthy relationship skills, achievement of emotional stability…the ability to handle negative emotions in the face of challenges, all of which work towards maintaining emotional health and sanity.

From this perspective, spiritual intelligence has a correlation with emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to handle all the emotions that arise, respecting and acknowledging them while not choosing to exclude any single one. But spiritual intelligence raises that awareness to a higher dimension, so we are at a place where we can connect with the higher power and the one thread that binds us all. Spiritually intelligent people tend to encompass forgiveness, compassion, inspiration, generosity, wisdom, and loving-kindness. The composure is maintained, the equanimity is upheld no matter what the circumstances are. Behavior emerges as a significant indicator of personal growth. To be able to stay centered with a calmness under enormous pressure, to maintain the point of equilibrium even when things are stretched out is to hold yourself in one piece.

In this context, spiritual intelligence contributes tremendously towards the development of self-regulatory personality traits. Despite the conflictual situation going on in the exterior world, you can stay in continual amazement. The sense of awe is never killed. None can crush it; none can rob you of the wonder in your eyes.

Wherever you behold, you see the divine signatures scattered all around. Its effects are far-reaching so much that a person is gradually transformed by this spiritual intelligence and pauses and wonders about his/her priorities in life. Your fount never runs dry, and you are in a state of continual ecstasy. Rapture fills your eyes. You know how to actualize your dreams, how to be in this world yet how to be above the world. Therein comes the accomplishment of intrapersonal consolidation. To be in self-actualization is to come to terms with whatever life hurls at you. You witness them, staying unaffected, unconcerned. They become the weathers in the sky, the emotions that came and go. But you stay free from them.

Materialism does not catch your eyes; rather, spiritualism does. You do not crave to become a societal rank influencer, and rather you seek the spot to be in harmony with yourself and life. From a place of self-actualization, you become ecstatic, and there is no void deep inside you. You are more centered on human values and the profound meaning of life, your purpose of living, and your sent on this earth. You experience heightened emotions, out-of-body sensations that keep you alive continually. Not a single moment goes unlived. Wonderment overwhelms you and what happens in the world affects you the least. You stay afloat and remain in a state that goes beyond any pleasure. You are at one with this life and universe. That feeling, the perception, is so natural that you are shaken inside in a tremendous elation. It is the manifestation of an awe-inspiring moment, the other-worldly experience.

That, in turn, becomes a transformative sensation. The profound moments become ineffable, and you tremble with a joy so unfelt before. It is the noetic quality of an other-worldly experience that leads to a revelation.

This elation can be attained by self-actualization, which in turn results from spiritual intelligence.

The more a person walks along the path, the more a human tends to be humane, and ultimately spiritual intelligence becomes the highest form of intelligence.

Jayita Bhattacharjee was born in Calcutta, India and later on pursued education from University of Houston in Economics, she had chosen her career as a trustee and teacher. Her Indian residence is in the vicinity of the famous Belurmath. Currently, she is settled in Tampa, Florida. Her love for writing on a journey of heart and soul was hidden all within. Looking at the moments captured in love and pain, joy and grief, the hidden tragedies of life...it was a calling of her soul to write.

Her books "The Ecstatic Dance of Life', " Sacred Sanctuary", " Light of Consciousness", "Dewdrops of Compassion" are meant to shed light on what guides a person to respond to the mystical voice hidden inside, to soar in a boundless expansion with the limitless freedom of spirit."It is in the deepest joy that I write with every breath of mine."

53 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

Christina Rose’s Hollyworld Creating Inspirational Stories For Global Audiences

By Nicole Muj

C

hristina Rose is an American-German director, producer, and screenwriter. She is part of the new "Hollyworld Movement" that creates entertainment for global audiences. She has worked in North America, Europe, Africa, and India. Together with her brother Michael, she co-founded Mirror Water Entertainment LLC and served as the company's CEO. Previously, Rose worked at such prestigious companies as Arad Productions The Amazing Spiderman, Exclusive Media Rush, Ides of March, and in distribution at ZDF-Enterprises,

54 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

where she developed numerous projects with Michael Hirst Vikings and William J. MacDonald Rome. Most recently, she was an executive at the European network Sky, acquiring new projects Since starting MWE, she has produced a number of documentaries and TV shows for the international market and is currently stepping into the world of feature films.

The Eden Magazine recently had a chance to catch up with Rose.

Wonder Women is about young women making a major impact serving in leadership positions in underrepresented industries. We are defining underrepresented where 15% or less of a given profession has women in remarkable positions.

We are featuring a fisherwoman out of Alaska (Marie Rose), an astronaut trainee from Germany (Suzanna Randall), a race car driver from Hungary (Vivien Keszthelyi), a Puerto Rican baseball player (Diamilette Quiles Alicea), a musical conductor from China/New Zealand (Tianyi Lu) and a pilot from India (Anny Divya). Each episode focuses on one of the women -- their journey, hardships, impact, and hope to achieve for future generations.

where in life, which I did at every place I worked, but if I look back, I realize that I was often being used. It's one of the reasons I started my company because I want to be fair and open to all based on their talent and skills. I can't say if it's getting better, but I can say that working within my own company, I aim to give people opportunities that I didn't have. As long as I can control that, I will continue to open new doors and opportunities not just for myself but for others as well.

It's been the most challenging project personally, mentally, and physically, but one that I'm truly very proud of it. And to be very honest, it's a project that's close to my heart because I have seen how women are discriminated against serving in such positions. So I embarked on this documentary series to show everyone how diverse, talented, strong, determined, and exceptional women can be. The goal is to show these women taking on the challenges they face day in and day out and showing and inspiring other women that they can do anything they want.

Making this series hasn't been easy. Due to the pandemic, we put production on hold. Just recently, we've been able to film our sixth and final episode. The best news I can share is that Wonder Women will premiere at the 10th anniversary of "Kat Kramer's Films That Change The World," where this year's theme is #SHEROesForChange. I couldn't have wished or dreamed of a better place for the series to have its debut. I'm truly grateful to Kat for this opportunity.

As a woman in the entertainment, what barriers have you faced in your endeavors? Is it getting better?

Fighting for a seat at the table is something I have experienced pretty much my whole career. It certainly hasn't been an easy journey for a woman in the film business.

I'm a big believer that you have to work hard to get some

Who is a role model to you? (can be more than one person) and Why? Tom Hanks – I have the utmost respect for him and was fortunate to meet him and heard him speak once while attending a class at the University of Southern California. I will never forget him saying that he tries to choose his films based on the three E's: stories that are entertaining, educational, and enlightening. That has become my company's philosophy. Everything I do today tries to live by that motto – in my film career but also in all aspects of my life.

However, I must mention four women who in this past year have had a huge impact on my life. Lani Evans – she's an amazing, creative, and talented woman. We were just starting to put together a wonderful series called InGenius that she created, and then the pandemic hit, and everything has been put on hold. Not only has Lani been patient with me throughout this process, but as I've been maneuvering to finish Wonder Women, she's put her project on hold to support me, and it's meant the world to me. We have recently started InGenius again, and working and collaborating with her has just enriched my life, and we are both looking forward to finally getting the project started.

FIGHTING FOR A SEAT AT THE TABLE IS

SOMETHING I HAVE EXPERIENCED PRETTY MUCH MY WHOLE CAREER. IT CERTAINLY HASN'T BEEN AN EASY JOURNEY FOR A

WOMAN IN THE FILM BUSINESS.

55 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

Dorian Hess – a brilliant writer who too has been so supportive and stepped in multiple times in my life to help me, she is behind the narration for Wonder Women, and her care and detail to words just amaze me every single time. I couldn't have done it without her, and she's probably the most talented writer anyone will ever meet.

type 2 diabetes, many heart ailments, and obesity are self-inflicted and can be reversed, cured, and prevented. My parents are alive today because of what I have learned and believe. Hence, I have written a cookbook to help people with their diet and better understand what they need to do to help themselves to live healthier lives.

And, I owe a lot to you, Nicole. Meeting you this past year has been the greatest gift that Covid -19 could have brought along. Your support for my work and your kindness has opened up new doors and opportunities.

Finally, I must mention Kat Kramer. I owe Kat more than you can imagine for giving Wonder Woman a chance this summer, and having her showcase the series is the greatest dream I could have ever imagined.

I have the utmost respect for all of you and the work you women do, day in and day out. You all inspire me.

I am truly grateful for knowing such creative, talented, brilliant, and kindhearted women!

What philanthropic causes are you involved in, or do you support?

There are two philanthropic causes that are important to me. One involves the care and concern for animals all animals. I cringe at what we often hear about the slaughter of our wildlife and am deeply concerned and upset with what we often see and hear about how people sometimes mistreat their pets---cats and dogs.

I am sensitive to both, and thus there are organizations to which I donate because I believe in their work to saving animals.

Where do you see yourself in the next few years?

Honestly, right now, I feel very fortunate doing what I'm doing, and if I can simply continue on this path, continue to grow, and become a better storyteller, a better filmmaker, and a better person – that's my goal.

I want to take on new challenges and continue this path of telling stories that are motivational and inspirational and touch people, and give hope.

I cringe at what we often hear about the slaughter of our wildlife and am deeply concerned and upset with what we often see and hear about how people sometimes mistreat their pets---cats and dogs. I am sensitive to both What advice would you give to a young woman entering your industry today?

First, don't measure your success from what you see in others. Measure success with yourself – I had pressured myself all my life, reaching and accomplishing certain landmarks by a certain age and added more unwanted and unnecessary pressure on myself, when in truth, I forgot to enjoy life in general and realize that my accomplishments came not in the form of an award but in -experience and inspiring others.

The second cause that I feel strongly about addresses cancer and what we have learned about how diet and lifestyle can act to stop, reverse, and even cure cancer.

My documentary film, Walking Points, and the follow-up Cancer Free Recipe reflect my views and what I have learned. Far too many people are dying when they should not have to. I am convinced that cancer, 56 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

Secondly, find your inner voice before speaking out – every one of us goes through a difficult time in life.

We all have scars we carry within us, and not until we recognize, understand, and learn from them do we have something to say. And don't be afraid to share those experiences. The more personal your story is, the more universal your story will be.

Photo by Baran Lotfollahi

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WEIRD GIRL

ADVENTURES FROM A TO Z

By Shelley Brown

Life is like a very long Afterschool Special. Some of you may remember them, and if you are too young, just envision a pre-Netflix series about the average controversial, dramatic, traumatizing, complicated life situation followed by a solution, except the solution isn’t a half-hour episode; it’s a journey and a continuum. It’s this weird life!

Sometimes our weirdness doesn’t know it’s weird until our weirdness is judged by others in an indelible way. For example, at a precarious, prepubescent pimply period in my life, otherwise known as age twelve, my journal was discovered by my classmates, the very journal in which I had scrawled pictures of female peers with one arrow indicating those who had developed boobs and another arrow had a Y or N pointing to their va-jay-jay to indicate those who had started her period.

The discovery of my private journal led to relentless bullying along with my first suicide attempt with three aspirin.

The moral of my story is that at times it feels as though our weird is growing while at the same time we’re trapped in a downward elevator with no buttons. Our inner weird person thinks each floor is the bottom, yet the elevator continues to go downward.

The weird elevator opens into my middle-class suburban home where my fascinating, fear-inspiring mom is at the forefront of the dig-your-heels-in-and-get-out-of-my-way feminist movement, striving to obtain some modicum of recognition and success while simultaneously succumbing to societal pressures to be thin, beautiful, and forever youthful.

My dad is a hippie Mensa veterinarian born ten years too early.

He is the funniest man in the world when not suffering from his own rage and perfectionism, which he projects onto everyone.

And my sister, when we are not in the same room fighting, is in her room with the door locked, plotting her escape.

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I grew up confused. Everyone was so isolated in their own messed-up bubble of struggle. You know, the struggles we all have in life that cause chaos, fighting, yelling, breaking things, depression, stress, and dysfunction.

Somehow this translates into a huge space of isolation and loneliness, later defined as the proverbial I-am-notenough that plagues so many of us.

I escaped the chaos, confusion, and uncertainty in all the pink things in my pink bedroom where possibility overshadowed problems—until it doesn’t.

And then that thing happened with my journal . . .

The elevator doors were closed. This thing is going down.

“Lower level one,” says the elevator lady, though this elevator had no lady, just a voice, maybe from hell. This low level of self-hatred offered me a new high school. It also featured drugs, boys, diets, and cigarettes. I loved cigarettes. They made dieting easier, and no one bullied me there.

“Lower level two,” said the elevator lady: promiscuity, bulimia, anorexia, and daddy issues. Hmm, it sounds lonely and horrible. I think I’ll get off on this floor for few years. Oops, who am I kidding—a few decades.

I explored around and found therapists and treatment centers to try on for a zillion dollars. Okay, that was nice and slightly unhelpful. I didn’t know I’d have to sleep with all those guys, try to make my daddy love me, and clean up so much vomit.

“Lower level three,” the lady announced. The late eighties, early nineties. I really can’t remember much other than affairs, cheating, a broken compass, more vomit, and an angry mom who I apparently, “NEVER LISTEN TO.” “Lower level four.” Love and marriage, miscarriage, marathons, and motorcycles.

“Lower level five.” If it looks good, it is no good. This was my real-life Instagram before Instagram. A world before selfie rings where you actually had to look like the real deal in the real world while your inner world is crumbling.

“Lower level six.” Crack, back, shiver, shake and shatter.

This is where I feared the elevator would stop forever.

The doors opened to a roomful of people smoking crack, including the ghost of my Prince Charming, the once beautiful man who was sure to rescue me. In disbelief, I entered on a newly fused spine and wobbly legs,

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minus a couple of other body parts, and shaking with anxiety. Here, the pieces of my life rolled away like marbles scattering into unreachable spaces. This is a living nightmare. Where is the call button? I need to leave now.

“Lower level seven.” Welcome to fight-or-flight, the gift from a lifetime of anxiety topped by the unimaginable experiences of floor six. Here, I found one nervous breakdown after another, all for the cost of a bunch of new jobs due to job probation or getting fired, and failed attempts to make everything in life work while I went from zero to catastrophe in seconds until I finally fell into even smaller pieces.

Weird Girl Adventures is a compilation of my own weird experiences that go from the bottom level to the top floor of impossibility—you don’t have to like it, love it, or embrace it. Simply allow. This is my invitation to you. When we allow our weird, who knows what else is possible? The journey in between is where Weird Girl Adventures come in.

I wrote this book for all of us, weird girls because the circle of Kumbaya continues to should-shame us into believing that simply by listening to or following them, somehow we’ll begin to magically love ourselves just because they tell us we should. I call bull-should.

The strongest feelings we sense in isolation also happen to be the things that connect us most—our weird, or, as I like to say, our collective humanness of weirding. It’s the same weirdness I felt when not knowing the right answer to the proverbial chicken question. No, no, not that one. It was when my germaphobe mother asked if I rinsed my chicken before I cooked it, and I had to really hedge my bets on how to respond. I answered wrong and will never forget her words, “Don’t rinse your chicken!”

These words are forever etched onto my weirdness and sprinkled over so many of these stories. This book is a rollercoaster to a freight train down a rabbit hole, but isn’t life?

Sometimes the ride is long, sometimes it’s short, but the train is always moving, and we can get off any time we want.

This book is also grounded in joy, the same joy I had playing with Barbies in my pink-filled bedroom, with pink-filled dreams where I sat clothed in possibility. It’s a journey through the extraordinary of the ordinary where thoughts so many of us have yet never say out loud get to dance, play, cry, lament, and mostly weird in this achingly beautiful thing we call life.

If you recognize yourself in this book, thank you. If you laugh along with me, at me, and at yourself, thank you.

If you recognize this life is really the same dog with different paws, thank you. If you embrace the collective uselessness of us . . . thank you.

The Glue is Drying is a poem I wrote about pieces of myself falling off and pieces I give away. I’d pick up these pieces and began to hold onto the ones I chose to keep through, allowing my own weirdness.

The glue begins to dry when we choose to let go of the suffering and realize we can continually pick up the pieces as well as let go of the pieces that no longer serve us. The glue doesn’t dry until we die.

Shattered shards, broken glass Kicked in heart, fell on ass Pieces of myself I once knew cracked and broken Held by glue.

Done dying, the glue is drying.

Shelley Brown is a speaker, mindfulness educator, mentor, artist, and author best known as the creator of Weird Girl, a series of humorous essays written about real-life experiences. Born and raised in Chicago, she graduated from DePaul University and served over 25 years in corporate America.

In 2014, Brown faced her greatest challenge when she suffered a serious spinal injury. After a lifetime of fitness that included 25 marathons, six ultra-marathons, and countless half-marathons, she found herself living with impaired mobility and chronic pain. Now living life with gratitude and joy, Brown provides organizations with keynote talks and customized mindfulness seminars aimed at humanizing work cultures, cultivating self-aware leaders, and of course, allowing our weird. For more information, please visit: www.weirdgirladventures.com

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JO Y

THE WAY I SEE IT

Photo by FRANCISCO CAMINO

By Joey Santos, Jr.

"The emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.”

“A source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.”

In a world valued at so much less, are we still able to recognize such emotions?

Can we even recognize them anymore? Let alone display them! Every day we encounter those who can't. Some are strangers, others co-workers and friends, many are family - this is what is so scary. Little by little, our basic human principles and instincts are numbed, unrecognized, and undervalued. When we forget what "feeling" feels like, we are lost. And, when we don't desire, understand or learn how to get it back, we are doomed.

There’s an old saying, "Why do children see magic? Because they look for it”!

We should begin to look at ourselves in a way that ignites wonder.

Remember, we will never starve from lack of wonders, but lack of wonder. Never stop asking questions. Never stop seeking answers, and by all means, never stop feeling feelings.

Numbing, desensitizing ourselves are not solutions to avoiding pain, disappointment, confusion, and unhappiness. They are merely "used" bandaids that, although they may seem helpful, in reality, are contaminants. Poisoning our ability to heal and not recognize the true pain we hide. And those symptoms are different for all of us, but unrealized and untreated affect all of us.

So many allow emotional pain, uncertainty, and disappointment to enter our lives without recognition, let alone a solution. Or as l like to say a ”SOULution”!

JOY - owning it, sharing it. It is in all of our grasps. Fill the glass. Celebrate life. It's supposed to feel good. And where are those times when it doesn't? It is still supposed to be "felt." Life without emotion, elation, even despair is not really living. We are put on this earth to learn and teach. Let's remember to do exactly that with as much joy and passion as we can muster. This way, when those times come around that aren't so great, we can at least sit back and conjure our joy to help us through!

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

A Columnist for The Eden Magazine since 2016.

Joey was raised in NYC, Malibu, and West Hollywood. He is the son of Film & Television Actor Joe Santos, and his Grandfather is WorldRenowned Latin Singer Daniel Santos.

To follow Joey on IG: @jojoboy13 63 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

In life’s darkest moments, poetry has the ability to uplift and inspire. After the publication of several works of poetry, author Liesel Kippen is proud to release her latest collection, Cherry Blossoms. This new book contains 15 powerful pieces of poetry that speak to the heart with messaging that expresses the importance of hope, love, and beautifully painful moments that define the human experience. Written with readers young and old in mind, Kippen effectively shares her passion for life through writing.

Containing free verse and traditional rhyme, this collection of poetry focuses on the hidden beauty within nature and our relationship with it. Each poem also contains images that help the reader visualize the world Kippen is building with each verse. With a dedication to encourage and motivate those feeling hopeless during a tumultuous time in history, Kippen focuses on the presence of a positive mindset.

Beautifully detailing the vast treasures that exist all around us, the narrative in Chery Blossoms immerses readers of all backgrounds through profoundly descriptive language.

Photo by Samantha Kennedy

“The poems in this book are beautifully exciting and descriptive, imagery is powerful, and descriptions are vivid,” “The writer captures the essence of nature in her poems and gives us a glimpse of life itself. Powerfully riveting!” says a Barnes & Noble.

Liesel Kippen has been a primary and secondary school teacher for the past 27 years. She received her Bachelor of Education degree from Edgewood University in South Africa. She has presented a number of writing workshops for Victorian teachers. A celebrated author since 2017, her additional works include cookbooks such as Lee’s Delicious Treats and Liesel’s Quick & Easy Dishes and other books of poetry including Inspirational Thoughts, Poetry and Poetic Devices, Coffee Time Inspirational Verses, Silver Bells and Chery Blossoms She currently resides in Berwick, Victoria.

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Poem excerpt from Cherry Blossoms

Life, Through Imperfect, Can Beautifully Entice

By Liesel Kippen

The sun rises and her beauty shines through Her golden rays spread randomly too.

Some days are dark and filled with gloom Rainclouds huddle like relics in a tomb.

Morning embraces us with her glistening glow Evening descends like a distant foe.

Moments aren’t always wonderfully nice Life, though imperfect, can beautifully entice.

Courage is a beautiful thing It makes us laugh and it makes us sing.

Sometimes fear and doubt take hold When life comes crashing and leaves us in the cold.

Joy gushes through like a broken tap Sadness wakes stealthily from her nap.

Moments aren’t always wonderfully nice Life, though imperfect, can beautifully entice.

Tumultuous feelings rise to the fore When disaster strikes our inner core.

Pain and sadness inwardly unite They overwhelm with grief, collaborate and fight.

Love and romance rise in the hour Filled with valour, strength and power.

Moments aren’t always wonderfully nice Life, though imperfect, can beautifully entice.

Hardships plague and grip like a vice They stab, wound and pierce like a knife.

Failure dominates and depresses the soul Leaving it vulnerable and caged in a hole.

Positive mindsets emerge from the blue Empowered by confidence and resilience too.

Moments aren’t always wonderfully nice Life, though imperfect, can beautifully entice.

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Photo by JJ JORDAN

Etta

Lemon

By Tessa Boase

THE SUFFRAGETTE 1906

A heroine for our times, Etta Lemon campaigned for fifty years against the worldwide slaughter of birds for extravagantly feathered hats. Her legacy is the RSPB, grown from an all-female pressure group of 1889 with the splendidly simple pledge: Wear No Feathers.

Etta’s long battle against ‘murderous millinery’ triumphed with the Plumage Act of 1921 (July 1, 2021 will be the anniversary of this act) – but her legacy has been eclipsed by the more glamorous campaign for the vote, led by the elegantly plumed Emmeline Pankhurst.

This gripping narrative explores two formidable heroines and their rival, overlapping campaigns. Moving from the feather workers’ slums to high society, from the first female political rally to the rise of the eco-feminist, it restores Etta Lemon to her rightful place in history – the extraordinary woman who saved the birds.

At a brisk nod, the Chief Constable of Manchester pushed through the audience towards the two women and ‘invited’ them to put their question in writing so that it could be handed to the speaker. Christabel Pankhurst, 25, and Annie Kenney, 26, rolled up their banner and waited patiently. When no reply came at the end of the meeting, Annie – a cotton factory worker – clambered up onto her chair and repeated the question in a cry: ‘Will the Liberal government gives women the vote?’ They were instantly dragged out of the Free Trade Hall by burly stewards, the audience howling and jeering in their wake. As she passed a policeman, Christabel pursed her rosebud lips and spat.

Rather than pay fines for the outrage, the two chose a week in prison– and consequent martyrdom. They were released to a heroes’ welcome (bouquets, songs of liberty, stirring speeches). Emmeline stood proudly by the daughter, who had put women’s suffrage on the front page of every newspaper. From now on, heckling of politicians, and a willingness to go to prison, became key tactics in the WSPU campaign to get the vote.

As the WSPU suffrage movement geared up, Mrs. Pankhurst’s shop, Emerson & Co, was finally wound down in 1906. Emmeline and Christabel moved south to join art student Sylvia in London, the better to influence parliament – just as the SPB had done in 1889, choosing London over Manchester as the centre of operations. The move to the capital marked a determined change of gear for the Women’s Social and Political Union.

F

oreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, a vice president of the RSPB and fanatical bird lover, gripped the ornate lectern at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall and stared levelly into the crowd.

Two women had unfurled a calico banner between them, on which was daubed the slogan ‘Votes for Women’. He could hardly believe what he was seeing – or hearing. ‘Will the Liberal government give women the vote?’ called out one repeatedly in a fluting voice.

Each was as young and as striking as the other. The meeting erupted, men, shouting over the top of the women’s question in angry cries. Suave and beaky, Sir Edward tightened his lips and waited for the order. He was, as it happened, a supporter of women’s suffrage.

But to have a pre-election speech interrupted by ladies calling out and waving a homemade banner! It was unprecedented, and it was unacceptable.

At 48 years old, Mrs. Pankhurst was of Etta Lemon’s generation. Yet, she had her daughters as well as her ardent young followers propelling her forward. She had the thoroughly modern Christabel, all painted eyebrows and persuasive tongue, courting martyrdom to win the propaganda war. In particular, Mrs. Pankhurst’s eldest daughter gave her softly spoken, genteel mother the momentum to step into the limelight at last.

The WSPU organized widespread heckling during the 1906 General Election. ‘Pay no attention to those cats mewing,’ male speakers cried in irritation as yet another woman popped up and started shouting questions in meeting halls and tents throughout the country (‘Will the Liberal Government, if returned, give votes to women?’). These women would then be pounced upon by male stewards and dragged outside, and their heavy hats tipped well over the face as a protection against missiles from the crowd (eggs, cayenne pepper, stones).

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Photo by JAVARDH

The Liberal candidate for Manchester North West, a young man named Winston Churchill, was particularly outraged by the idea of women’s suffrage. ‘They come here asking us to treat them like men,’ he expostulated. ‘That is what I particularly want to avoid. We must observe courtesy and chivalry to the weaker sex dependent on us.’ Churchill could not open his mouth without being heckled for an answer to the women’s suffrage question. ‘Nothing would induce me to vote for giving women the franchise,’ he replied with contempt. ‘I am not going to be henpecked on a question of such grave importance.’

‘These silly women’, as they were known, were not the bluestocking matrons of last century’s suffrage movement, caricatured as elderly spinsters in horn-rimmed spectacles and trilby hats. They were young, articulate, fearless – and attractive.

‘If I might illustrate my meaning from football,’ said one male suffrage supporter at a meeting in Redhill, the hometown of Mr. and Mrs. Lemon; ‘both have the same goal, but the suffragettes are, perhaps, the forwards in the game, while the older suffrage societies are the backs and halves.’ Many of them belonged to the same social circle as Churchill (son of a Conservative lord and an American heiress). When Alice Milne, secretary of the WSPU Manchester branch, visited the London office in October 1906, she was surprised to find it ‘full of fashionable ladies in silks and satins . . . Ours was a 68 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

movement for the middle and upper classes’ – women who shopped at boutiques like Fabbricotti’s.

The public could not get over its astonishment that these agitators were ladies, Ultra-feminine, exquisitely attired ladies. Their bonnets and hatpins usually made it into the first paragraph of every report on their latest exploits. Fashion had become political. At the opening of parliament in October 1906, 20 such ladies invaded the Strangers’ Lobby and started making speeches in high, patrician voices, waving red flags about their heads, standing on the settees. ‘Six stalwart policemen arrived at the double and threw themselves into the mêlée,’ reported the Daily Chronicle. ‘The bodyguard was quickly dispersed – leaving a trail of hatpins and hairpins behind them, and even bonnets.’

The belittling new term ‘suffragette’, coined by the Daily Mail in 1906, was immediately taken up by Mrs. Pankhurst’s WSPU as a badge of honour. Soon it became the word in every buzzing conversation, whether in solidarity or – far more commonly – appalled dismay. The RSPB’s aging personalities and small victories slipped off the front page and down the news agenda. The Queen had just decried in public the osprey, but nobody seemed to care. And like a Trojan horse, the ‘suffragette’ made her first entrance into the RSPB’s annual general meeting that year in Hanover Square.

Through twirling mustaches, the Marquess of Granby warmed up his sedate, bird-loving audience with a little joke about suffrage. ‘Where ladies are in the majority, it is somewhat difficult to deal with them!’ Granby was referring to the recent WSPU deputation that had gone to call on the new Liberal Prime Minister, Sir Campbell Bannerman. For an hour, the women had waited on the doorstep while the PM hid inside, refusing to open the door of 10 Downing Street. ‘If many of the ladies who were now making strenuous attempts to wear the breaches were at the same time to give up wearing egrets,’ continued Granby, pausing for laughter, ‘they would do more to extend their influence in the world than they would do by many of the methods adopted in the agitation for women’s rights.’

The conservative core of the RSPB, male and female, was horrified by the spectacle of well-dressed women making a strident exhibition of themselves. It went against every natural, God-ordained principle. As a murmur of complacent ‘Hear hears’ ran around the AGM meeting room, a renegade got to her feet. Miss Clara Mordan, 62, was a wealthy heiress whose father had invented the propelling pencil.

This perhaps gave her the confidence to speak out more boldly than most – and especially on this contentious subject. ‘From a wide acquaintance with women suffragists,’ said Miss Mordan (freshly recruited to Mrs. Pankhurst’s WSPU), ‘I can confidently assert that they are of the class of women who are the most in sympathy with the objects of the Bird Society.’

Frank and Etta Lemon’s eyes might, for a brief moment, have met. From within their own ranks! The ‘suffragettes’ were precisely the sort of women – and this was clear to all who had witnessed the rallies around Westminster – most likely to wear murderous millinery. Few of them seemed to go out without a flock of long-tailed parakeets or half an Acadian owl upon their heads. Miss Mordan sat, avoiding hostile stares. But the cat was out of the bag. There were close and growing links between animal rights issues and the suffrage cause; it was inevitable that humanitarian and feminist movements would share sympathizers. The RSPB attracted educated, fervent, brave women who were not afraid to swim against the tide of popular taste. This was society’s strength. But if their members were also clandestine cardholders for the suffrage movement, militant or otherwise – well, this might also damage the society’s reputation.

The glaring crossover in membership once pointed out seemed suddenly to threaten all that Mrs. Lemon believed in. She was the RSPB. She and Frank, it was theirs, moulded in their image, a mouthpiece for their conservative values. It could not admit this insubordinate, unnatural, deeply troubling element.

‘When the suffragettes began the campaign, they were mis

taken for notoriety hunters, featherheads, flibbertigibbets,’ reported the Daily Mirror that October. ‘Now that they have proved they are in earnest, they have frightened the government, they have broken through the law, they have made votes for women practical politics.’

Like most of her circle, Etta Lemon did not believe in votes for women. But rather than keep quiet, she was willing to risk her good name in fighting against this pernicious cause. There was no time to lose.

Tessa Boase read English at Oxford, and has worked as a scriptwriter, a voiceover artist and an editor at The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. As a freelance journalist she has contributed to a wide variety of publications. Her first book, The Housekeeper’s Tale, was published

by Aurum in 2014.

She is married with children and lives between St Leonards on Sea, and Lazio, Italy.

69 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

PEAK PERFORMANCE Photo by SYDNEY RAE

By Dawn Grant

"IN THE ZONE" Definition: In a state of focused attention or energy so that one's performance is enhanced.

70 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

In "7 Strokes in 7 Days," Grant taps into her decades of experience helping top athletes reach their peak performance to share concrete, specific, "secret-weapon" techniques that improve focus, quiet the mind, boost confidence and consistency, and cultivate the tools necessary to maintain calm under pressure.

The "peak performance" state of mind Grant describes in "7 Strokes in 7 Days" is not only applicable to athletes but extends to all people in the form of stress-free, mindful living. In Grant's book, she shares how the state of mind can be achieved, helps readers to become their best self, and teaches them how applying these techniques can create opportunities for success as a human being.

Y

ou are a competitive golfer. You struggle on the golf course. You don't perform as well as your practice. Your performance is inconsistent. You can't focus. You have experienced "The Zone" infrequently or not at all. And you just aren't having fun playing golf anymore.

No matter how hard you try to make shots happen, no matter how well, you do in practice, no matter how expensive your clubs are, no matter if you've trained under the best instructors, no matter how hard you try to focus, you just can't seem to take strokes off your score.

You're sabotaging your own efforts and don't even realize it. But no worries, I can help you.

I am an expert on the mind. I can help you with all of these self-inflicted obstacles, both on the golf course and off. Resulting in improved, consistent performance in golf; and improved, consistent performance in life!

Ultimately, you become an overall happier, more successful person who can be your best in any situation.

You are experiencing Peak Performance in all areas of your life.

I know what you want.

You want to focus better. You want to perform as well as your practice and be more consistent. You want to feel more confident, trust yourself and trust your mechanics. You want to feel you've done your best and see improvement in your scores. You want to enjoy once again the sport that you love.

In summary, you'd do anything to be able to know how to feel your best and perform at your best in any

situation, under any conditions. What you really want (whether you know it or not) is the ability to perform in "The Zone."

I know you are discouraged.

You have spent a lot of time participating in instruction for mechanics, learning proper technique, practicing, and maybe even dabbling in mental training. You have spent a lot of money on clubs, instruction, greens fees, golf carts, clothes, balls, gadgets, and gizmos. All this, only to have inconsistent and mediocre performance.

I know, at times, you have thought about quitting golf altogether.

You have gotten so annoyed with yourself and the game that you have often wondered if it is worth your time and money. You may have thrown your clubs, kicked your golf bag, cursed the heavens, and got close to walking off the course in the midst of around.

How do I know all this?

Because, although all humans and athletes are different, they are also all the same. They come to me thinking they have unique problems when, ultimately, they are experiencing the same issues I've heard hundreds of thousands of times. But it's not just a matter of hearing their problems; I've trained clients out of their issues and into hugely successful solutions. At this point, we are talking about 1000's athletes of all kinds who have improved their mental game. This means they have better focus, have great scores in performance, leave the event feeling they did their best, and have a total enjoyment of the sport they love again. But, better yet, they experience The Zone more often and for longer periods of time due to knowing how to set up and experience their optimal state of consciousness.

What is this optimal state of consciousness I speak of?

Many refer to the ideal state of mind for Peak Performance as "The Flow," others refer to it as "The Zone."

I am sure there are many other names out there as well, but personally, I like to refer to it as "The Zone." This state of mind and state of being has been acknowledged and sought after for thousands of years. I find it funny that something so incredible, so recognized, and so common can seem so out of reach. Whether one was a leader in ancient times, an Indian medicine woman, a military general, a corporate executive, an athlete, or an artist… each has been seeking to experience this mental and physical state, where the level of their human potential goes through the roof! Unfortunately for them, The Zone has been dodging their every effort to MAKE this state of mind happen.

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Athletes and artists have been most prone to experiencing The Zone, but that doesn't mean they know what causes it or how to re-create it. Even the best of the best Pro Athletes, Famous Coaches and instructors, and Expert Sport Psychologists and Mental Trainers will say that The Zone is elusive; they will also tell you that you can't create it. But, they are wrong, and nothing could be further from the truth! This is nothing against them. How would anyone that doesn't truly understand the mind think any different? It's not really their fault; it's just their lack of understanding.

Contrary to popular belief. The Zone is NOT elusive and is totally within your grasp!

Not only do all these other "experts" not understand the mind well enough to make a statement like "you can't make The Zone happen;" they also don't have the number of clients and private sessions directly related to the topic under their belt to make such a profoundly impactful proclamation. You see, I have been helping clients one-on-one to achieve this state since 2001. I have well over 60,000 hours invested in understanding the mind, its potential, our limitations, how to overcome those limitations, and how to be the best version of yourself.

I am genuinely, personally inspired daily to understand the

human psyche, not only for clients but for myself. Of all the different passions, hobbies, and interests that folks can have, mine is to deeply understand, practice, and teach optimal human performance. I have known from a young age that I wanted to help people make profound, positive changes in their lives, and I am fortunate I have found an avenue to achieve that. Like an addict getting their next hit, the high I experience when I help someone to overcome their limitations and tap into the best version of themselves… is indescribable. But then again, if you are one of the fortunate who hasexperienced The Zone while doing something you love… then you can relate to this level of euphoria.

The Zone isn't reserved for a few special people, certain kinds of athletes, elite military, or highfalutin CEOs; it is accessible to all of us. I experience it in both my life and my work; and can absolutely, positively help you to experience it so you too can be your best. Now, isn't that exciting! But let's add to that excitement just a bit more! Just as an athlete who performs in The Zone experiences their best performance and successful outcomes, the state of Peak Performance I function in as a Mental Trainer provides for the best outcomes possible… with successful, positive change bestowed upon you!

Photo by ANDREW RICE

I FIGURE THAT IF THERE IS A DOG WHISPERER AND A HORSE WHISPERER, THEN THERE'S DEFINITELY A PRECEDENCE SET FOR ME TO BE THE ZONE WHISPERER.

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I am The Peak Performance Whisperer. I am The Focus Whisperer. Or, even better yet. I am The Zone Whisperer.

Why not? I figure that if there is a Dog Whisperer and a Horse Whisperer, then there's definitely a precedence set for me to be The Zone Whisperer.

My expertise is in "Mental Training," coming from a culmination of 30 years of true dedication to formal education, certification, studying, mentoring, coaching, observing, and a lot of personal practice. I'm like a swing coach or a personal trainer, but my competence is pertaining to the mechanics of your mind and your thinking process. I have extensive working knowledge and on the scene training support for Competitive Golfers and other competing athletes. I have helped them to tame down the contributors to their attention deficits and the "mental chatter" since both have been the thieves keeping them "off their game." They learn how to overcome thought patterns like "I can't pull off this shot," "this is why I'm not any good," "I'll never be as good as my friends," or even the sneaky, double-edge sword kind of thoughts like "if I keep this up I'm going to win." But they aren't just eliminating these deficits. They are learning and building powerful techniques for mental prowess.

The results my clients gain are phenomenal. Which usually catches them off guard since they are so used to working so hard, with minimal change.

Isn't it time you stop trying to fix your problems the same way you always have, only to end up getting the same results you've always gotten?

With this in mind, it does not a surprise this quote has become so well known: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results."

-Rita Mae Brown It's time for things to change.

It's time for you to get the most out of your game, as well as the most out of your time and money.

I know how to help you!

Dawn Grant is a mental trainer and hypnotist who has been helping clients to achieve their optimal state of performance in sport, career, personal life, and relationships since 2001. Grant earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Westfield State College and became a Board-Certified Hypnotist through the Omni Hypnosis Training Center. An expert on the mind, Grant has developed training and techniques that provide clients mental mastery and the ability to easily and frequently perform in "The Zone." Grant offers an extensive list of training tools through her website, www.DawnGrant. com, including online courses, hypnosis downloads, and videos through her Mental Training On-Demand Subscription.

73 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

LANGUAGE OF SPACE

By Michael White Ryan

YIN &

YANG

MORE THAN BLACK AND WHITE

“YIN YANG” 74 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

Photo by BENJAMIN HAZAEL ROJAS GARCIA

75 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

W

e dance through this world made up in 3D form perspectives, while one’s human intelligence functions from a dual 2D perception. How is this visible unseen separation even possible? For obvious reasons, the answer remains invisible due to a lack of intelligence that has not yet been corrupted by the telling by another trusted source. The understanding of Yin and Yang gives us back our souls, as they are not defined by the 2D limitations we humans have projected upon them. All does not exist in the realm of black, white, good, bad, right, wrong, hot, cold.

much out there (yang). Observe, Introvert-extrovert, and they are everywhere. Now the question, can/do both of these characteristics exist in one individual?

Absolutely be my answer, yes. Take an introvert (yin) shy, reserved, conservative, standoffish, quiet, and so on, yet when confronted by very different ideas, they can strongly hold to their values (yang), so the balance of that appears as opposites are complete.

These words yin and yang are meaningless here in the West, nothing more than a crude explanation/ definition of that which too many may appear as opposites. In the human mind, their understanding is limited, as their existence is for communication purposes only. All the stuffed trumped-up meanings peoples have added are also nothing other than mistaken thinking by unintelligent persons throwing their own versions onto their canvas in an effort to proclaim self-knowledge. All confusion within our human communication systems is bound by this same broken strategy. Hence war, divorce, lack of trust, blame, right wrong, and all the 1000’s of others are the intelligence consequences we live with every day and continue, believe it or not, continue to evolve these false assumptions due to the lack of courage in redefining, the way of one’s existence.

Sleep is a great example, one of many processes where yin, quiet, stillness replenishes so the body-mind can function in a state of yang, energy, thinking, action.

Then there’s the middle ground, neutral, zero points, combined yin-yang, yes they can/do exist as one, this is where another state-of-beingness happens, behold the surrounding world just disappears, sheer bliss. Similarly, how amazing when one’s pure focus/ flow is in session can mistakenly equate as yang. This is when one is in a neutral flow state-of-being and the self, me-ness, I am, disappears, more bliss.

All confusion in human communication abounds from broken strategies For this, our world to exist within a 2D system, opposites must/do exist. One system simply expresses this as Yin and Yang, hot-cold, up-down, there is also a third, but what does it all mean. Going past the monkey mind, it basically comes down to change is here to stay. When we are told before having the experience that change is a risk, we swallow the negative, and behold, we have become.

Fear rises/enters before we engage experiences, now indoctrinated we, the lesser being We may often observe between couples. One appears quiet (yin) while the other, well, you can hear them before they arrive; usually, they are pretty

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Unfortunately, when we are observing, a person’s strengths may not be visually noticeable when looking through one’s preconceived programs.

The problems arise when yang-action gets inside our heads. You may be doing that something to pay the bills have money to burn, be surrounded by friends, and all the while, it is suffocating the life out of, the who and what you know you are capable of. There appears no end, as time keeps pace, moves past. You know deep inside what and how to be, yet the negative vulture thinking cultivated over the years seeps, dampens, generates, therefore penetrates life’s continuum along its stagnate path.

Is there, what is, the counterbalance?

Yin is our savior; it breaks the internal yang-action and brings with its separation. Allows one to engage face to face with your innate internal stop sign. Past thinking always carries with it an emotional component, gives those thoughts a false strength of power.

This is why it will always submit to, in the present, now thinking, it’s like stepping out of a dark cave into the openness outside. Now one can breathe fresh again, just like one did for the first time, breath to live.

You may have noticed some mothers short on the outside, yin big on the inside, yang

Within our culture, we tend to avoid using yin and yang. No wonder they are foreign to the words we have learned when communicating. We use hot, cold, black-white to describe an object or feeling. The reason yin and yang are not used as often, they describe the energy-value of action or non-action. It does not refer to the surface name; it’s that next deeper level of connection. They describe the natural underlying core value, the same as when our heart communicates within all of us. A photo exhibition of black and white images is a Yin exhibition; the images are yin as there is no movement whatsoever, regardless of the black and white, colors being opposite.

You never win anything by waiting for it to come to you.

WE DANCE THROUGH THIS WORLD MADE UP OF, THAT WHICH IS MORE THAN BLACK AND WHITE, AND YET, THERE’S MORE. An unplugged concert is a transmission without an external electrical power system. Individualism is an unplugged human, connected with their internal power source. Sadly individualism has approached mass extinction. There may be no visible cord yet, but we have definitely become plugged in humans, become yin-receivers to our yang cell phones. The cell phone delivers our necessary needs, desires, along with our need, to-be-one-with-connection.

It gives one a false sense of security, generates happiness feeling to arise, therefore allowing the cell phone now acts as one’s personal mentor, scary stuff.

This relationship engagement describes how to function, think, live, and feel, physically, mentally, and spiritually. One may call this a Divine Intervention?

What a blessing, you never have to think for yourself, ever again!

It appears we, most, now internet knowledgeable, always see, almost want to engage with everything from an opposite point of view. It has become an underlying fear-driven, self-protection mechanism, due to current times. Sadly Trust went out the door with

the dirty water. Rather than find trust within again, we play out connection-follow. Lost is the perception unable now to observe from a yin-yang neutral perspective. Stop, please stop, take a precious moment to be aware of both sides of the coin before deciding, judge or blame oneself or another.

The starting point never goes astray. We have lived starting processes since we knew how and will remain till we reach in and remove the stones hiding the jewels to breathe life anew, once again. Before beginning, once again, allow your heart and mind, heart-mind to function in unity. This one single action will make certain you know what it is you want for the next phase of your story. Hidden is personal empowerment, which resides in you, in all of us, and knows full well, it’s not as difficult as the confused mind keeps telling us. Take charge.

We dance through this world made up of, that which is more than black and white, And Yet, there’s more.

For here we have in our midst, a Prince Harry new term referring to couples who have decided to separate amicably. That be the term, conscious uncoupling. Why just make it about couples? It’s the perfect term needed to describe when you allow the yin-yang-storm to enter, uncouple when confusion ascends, the mind from the heart, or the heart from the mind. Mindheart Heartmind “YinYang: is the neutral-action required. What say you lost in the dark? Blessings are in the dance.

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 BusinessConsultants.

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 Australia. www.languageofspace.com

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RECLAMING YOUR TRUE SELF

By Angela Dunning

The

Necessity of Inner

Photo by HADIS SAFARI

Boundaries

“Low self esteem results when the inner critic prevails” ~ Catherine Cardinal

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W

hen we talk about boundaries, often the focus is on setting external inter-personal boundaries with others or asking others to respect our own boundaries, personal space, and needs.

What is mentioned less, however, are the vital INTERNAL boundaries that we all need to heal, develop and thrive.

These inner walls and defenses are vital to protect both our ego and our soul from inner, unconscious, and destructive forces and split-off parts of ourselves. I'm speaking here of the inner critic, false self and in more severe cases found in early childhood trauma survivors: the inner persecutor. Without some degree of inner firmness, we are at the behest of these negative, critical, and sometimes malevolent, powerful forces. Left unchecked, over time, they can seriously undermine and debilitate our self-esteem and sense of worth.

Strength, determination, and self-belief come from within, but if these inner forces are constantly draining our strength, then that is where the work first needs to take place.

Everyone has an inner critic/false self. We know this because we are familiar with the repeated words and

phrases that we say to put ourselves down; make us doubt ourselves and cause problems in our relationships through blaming, projection and aggression, thanks to their wholly negative content, which seems to stay on a permanent kind of tape-loop.

Yet, what is crucial to learn is that it's through working on establishing and strengthening inner boundaries and defenses that enable us to THEN set external boundaries. I've learned that if we allow our inner raging energies to run amuck willy-nilly while trying to set boundaries with others that it never truly works. It's as if potentially harmful, pushy, and manipulative people or animals can sense this lack of inner firmness in us, and they seem to know they can still get to us, despite all of our best efforts.

I have gradually found that the more I can tame, control and stand up to my own inner harmful parts, this makes me both stronger in myself and, therefore, more able to stand up to those who try to overstep my boundaries, particularly in close relationships which trigger our earliest relationship dynamics.

There is a whole host of ways we can learn to detect AND act to stand up to these inner forces.

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There is a whole host of ways we can learn to detect AND act to stand up to these inner forces. And I find that it is also the case for many people I work with that the biggest area of their inner work and growth is identifying and learning to deal with their lack of inner boundaries FIRST. Horses, in particular, seem to be able to detect this lack of inner firmness a mile away. They are often nudging people to take better care of themselves, to do something about these inner attacks on their true self and integrity, while also encouraging them to step into their true power and potential.

The more you assert yourself against this inner tyrant, the stronger you will begin to feel and the less automatic power it will have over you. I know for sure that it doesn't work to ignore the critic, nor does outright battling with it. But, clear, healthy assertive anger and challenges DO work. They depotentiate it while also giving you a greater sense of power and agency, both of which the inner critic steadily erodes.

I'd spent years working on this in myself the other way around by trying to set external, inter-personal boundaries whilst constantly remaining at the behest of my inner critic. It is only now that I am finally acknowledging just where my weakest defense is: inside of me.

Yet, once I began to acknowledge the power, presence, and ability of my inner-critic to overwhelm my inner world, I found that I was able to improve at stopping it through recognition, inner dialogue, dream-work, and journaling. It's definitely a work in progress still, but already I can feel a stronger and firmer me developing from within. I feel less likely to bend with whatever wind blows into my life and more able to stand firm and tall, assess my choices, and move forward from a more grounded and empowered stance.

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Photo by SAM BURRISS

Some of the initial ways to start setting inner boundaries that I suggest to clients are: to list the most common and repeated things you say to yourself which are negative and critical – make a full list, keep adding to it when you notice another one; also notice what your inner critic says about others, again list these as they're likely to be of the same tone and content as what you say to yourself; then start to locate feelings of healthy anger towards this harmful inner presence and instead of buying into and accepting what it says about you, challenge it with real-life examples and true, self-compassionate wisdom; tell it to be quiet, stay out of your decision making, pipe down, whatever works for you.

Angela Dunning is a regular contributor to The Eden Magazine.

She is the author of The Horse Leads the Way: Honoring the True Role of the Horse in Equine Facilitated Practice. Angela writes regularly on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehorsestruth.

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

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Have you seen Gretchen?!

Missing since 11/11/2016 Please contact us

info@theedenmagazine.com

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Abundance Corner

By Phyllis King

Photo by JULL KOSOLAPOVA

The Only 3 Questions We Ever Need to Ask

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T

here is no question or dispute about it. Life is hard. It is hard for a reason. If we can lean into the “reason” why life is hard, we are halfway home to gaining freedom from the “fire” of life.

We are absolutely challenged at almost every turn.

Some challenges we can predict, we call that risk or intention. Other challenges simply fall in our lap, like certain losses or health concerns. We did not knowingly invite the fire into our life. Nonetheless, we still must attend to the fire and resolve it. This is living.

How do we lean into the reason why life is hard?

The short answer is that we must lean into ourselves. Life is an external dance we do with our internal world. We are physical beings. We must exist and try to thrive in a physical world.

How we feel in the physical world is entirely dependent upon how we feel in our inner world.

We must become curious about who we are beyond the moment we are inå. We must be willing to ask three questions. They are: Who am I? Where does my happiness come from? And finally, What is real and true?

Suppose, in your curiosity; you discover that you are indeed a spiritual being having a human experience. In that case, you automatically become involved in a reality that has no borders, limitations, or ending. You may not know exactly what is going to happen when your body dies. You know that the essence that is you, your inner world, will continue in some form. In that awareness, you

have framed your life in possibility and expansion.

From that viewpoint, you feel free, hopeful, and peaceful.

With this viewpoint, the limitations the physical life presents to us take on a different shape.

Suddenly we see the limitations of the physical life more as experiences to learn and grow from, rather than hardships perpetrated against us by an unfair or cold universe. We may even begin to play with the physical life limitations and consider that we do not have to take them all so seriously.

The moment we are in is temporal.

In that awareness dimension and possibility is born. Suddenly life becomes eternal. The moment we are in is simply a dot on a timeline that measures existence to an analytical mind.

The challenge for human beings who want to live in and receive abundance is to learn how to break away from the scorching heat of fire rather than to identify with it. Rather than say, “I am burning, so now I am fire!”

We recognize “I am burning because I am merging with the fire.”

To help us step away from the fire, we only need to turn our best attention to the three questions.

Who am I? What is real and true? Where does happiness come from? These questions is where all our answers exist. If we focus on these three questions, they will provide the sustenance we need for every situation we encounter in our life.

WHEN WE DISCIPLINE OURSELVES TO SEE THE FIRE AS AN EXPERIENCE TO HELP US EVOLVE, IT PROVIDES A POWERFUL POINT OF VIEW WE CAN USE TO ORIENT OURSELVES PRODUCTIVELY. IN THAT, WE FIND COMFORT AND SAFETY.

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We will become stronger and less reactive to the temporal experiences life generates with or without our consent. We will enjoy the process of living much more, rather than worrying about what is wrong with our life.

When we have an expansive and powerful baseline life philosophy, we can go from “fire” to “freedom” with grace. We maintain our inner power, which ultimately determines the quality of our life.

The thoughts, ideas, and responses that come from our inner narrative either take us out of the fire or keep us burning endlessly in it.

This is the road less traveled. It takes time, patience, and quiet to be with ourselves. In our fast-paced swipe-right world, we do not want to slow down. We want the quick fix promised to us by advertisers, TV shows, and those who want to lie to us about what life really is.

Those answers are inside of us. Be courageous. Ask the simple questions, who am I? Where does my happiness come from?

What is real and true?

Photo by HOUCINE NCIB

If you focus on these questions and seek answers that satisfy your mind, you will live a happy and fruitful life with minimal time spent in the fire. You will step away from the fire time and again to feel the power and joy that comes from living free.

To help us step away from the fire, we only need to turn our best attention to the three questions. Who am I? What is real and true? Where does happiness come from? These questions is where all our answers exist.

If we focus on these three questions, they will provide the sustenance we need for every situation we encounter in our life.

When we discipline ourselves to see the fire as an experience to help us evolve, it provides a powerful point of view we can use to orient ourselves productively. In that, we find comfort and safety. It does not mean we may never become rattled from time to time by experience. We are evolutionary beings here to experience being human and all that comes with humanity.

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Known as the Common Sense Psychic (tm), Phyllis King has worked with tens of thousands of peoplein 25 countries. She is known for her practical and down to earth approach.

She has been featured on, ABC, CBS and NBC TV, radio programs across the country, and has been published in over 70 print and online publications.

She has four books, including Bouncing Back, Thriving in Changing Times, with Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Her latest book The Energy of Abundance is available in bookstores now. Phyllis holds a B.A. in Sociology. www.phyllisking.com

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MARIAM’S GARLIC GOODNESS GARLIC DIP

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Now Available California-wide

Mariam’s Garlic Goodness, a plant-based Lebanese garlic dip, is now available in grocery stores, health food stores, and supermarkets throughout California.

Known as “toom” in Lebanese, the dairy-free and keto-friendly dip can be used as a condiment on sandwiches and wraps, a dip with crackers and chips, or a flavorful way to marinade fish and proteins. Mariam’s Garlic Goodness comes in Original Garlic, Chili Pepper, and Jalapeno flavors are now available at fine retailers, including Andronico’s Community Markets, Erewhon Market, Woodlands Market, Berkeley Bowl Marketplace, and others throughout California. The s uggested retail price is $5.99.

For a complete list of retailers, https://www.google.com/maps/ d/u/0/viewer?mid=1Lyi1LoLSF1BBt1uB1Dk1uVZdq539px9y &ll=36.753735021067094%2C -121.03446055&z=6.

Berkeley-based entrepreneur Mariam Elghani founded garlic Goodness. Growing up working in her family’s Silicon Valley restaurant, Falafel Bite Mediterranean Grill, Elghani worked with her father to perfect traditional Lebanese recipes. When they started dressing wraps with their handmade toom, customers began asking for the condiment as a side dip, and it became an instant hit.

“My family’s restaurant catered events for a lot of Valley-based tech companies. When we first introduced toom, they started requesting side order containers of it for their events. Soon it became so popular, they were requesting entire trays of toom,” says Elghani. “Demand became so great; I realized we could be producing more for people beyond the Valley. That was in 2018.

I’m thrilled that today we’re in stores from Northern California to Los Angeles, and people can enjoy this healthy food at home.”

We at Mariam’s Garlic Goodness believe in the importance of giving back to our community. That’s why we are dedicated to donate a percentage of our net profit to the The Joyful Heart Foundation where survivors of PTSD can attain the resources they may need to live the life they have always deserved!

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SCIENTISTS

CALL FOR SOLVING CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY CRISES TOGETHER

•

• •

A new report from United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) highlights the importance of confronting climate change and biodiversity loss together.

Global climate change and the unprecedented loss of species currently underway result from a similar suite of human-driven causes, the report’s authors write.

As a result, solutions that take both issues into account have the best chance of success, they conclude.

The push to halt climate change too often neglects the interconnected issue of biodiversity loss, according to a recent report from a panel of scientists with the United Nations.

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Photo by VANCE BERISFORD

Photo by CLAUDIO SCHWARZ | @PURZLBAUM

By John C. Cannon

The release comes amid the summit for the world’s major industrial nations, known as the G-7. Leaders from the G-7 countries acknowledged that solutions aimed at solving these problems have typically been confronted independently, and that needs to change, they said in a statement.

Broad-reaching international agreements exist, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, to hold global temperatures below a 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) rise above preindustrial levels, or the 2010 Aichi targets meant to safeguard the world’s threatened plant and animal species.

But carbon emissions continue today at alarming rates, and the loss of biodiversity has reached an unfortunate zenith (at least since humans have been around), with 1 million species moving closer to extinction, according to a 2019 IPBES report.

“The Aichi targets are probably held back because … the world looked at biodiversity and climate as different issues,” David Ogura, founding director of the research nonprofit CORDIO East Africa, said at the press conference.

Photo by NANDHU KUMAR

The report highlights promising efforts and pitfalls, arguing for a concerted approach that takes into account climate change and the unprecedented loss of biodiversity across the globe.

“What we want to emphasize here is how relevant biodiversity conservation is for climate change mitigation,” said Anne Larigauderie, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), in a press conference launching the June 10 report.

In a first-ever collaboration, scientists from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and IPBES teamed up to draw on research looking at the convergence of the biodiversity and climate crises, how they’re affecting all life, including humans, on Earth and what’s being done about them. “We are seeing multiple impacts of climate change on all continents and in all ocean regions,” Hans-Otto Pörtner, co-chair of IPCC Working Group II, said at a press conference. “These increasingly add to the enormous human pressure on biodiversity, which is causing its progressive loss.

“Every bit of warming matters,” Pörtner added. “Every lost species and degraded ecosystem matters.”

Nature-based solutions are seen as an important avenue to sponge carbon from the atmosphere while also providing critical habitat for threatened species. Paul Leadley, a professor of ecology at Université Paris-Saclay, said the agreed-upon definition of nature-based solutions means “they’re good for nature, they help solve the climate crisis, and they’re also good for people.”

But “some of the things that are being sold as nature-based solutions” don’t meet that standard, Leadley said.

For example, restoration efforts that involve planting a single species of a tree that’s not native to a given area may (or may not) increase the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere. But such efforts are likely to do little to help at-risk species, and may even be a hindrance to their recovery.

The report also points out that the most vulnerable segments of society stand to bear the brunt of both biodiversity loss and climate change. What’s more, these communities are also likely to be disproportionately affected by attempts to alleviate climate change and biodiversity loss.

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“Any policy intervention to try to solve the crisis, this coupled environmental crisis, will have winners and losers,” said Unai Pascual, a research professor with the Basque Centre for Climate Change. The report calls for the equitable and just implementation of mitigation measures.

When the further pressure required to farm bioenergy crops is factored in — which could take up “millions of hectares” under certain scenarios — the results could be “catastrophic for biodiversity,” said Almut Arenth, a professor at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

An outsize piece of the puzzle will be rethinking how we as a society produce food for a population of 7.67 billion people and counting, the authors said. Right now, around a third of land nurtures crops for food. That puts a huge strain on increasingly scant habitat for biodiversity, requires a majority of available fresh water, and accounts for 30% of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. As things stand now, those burdens will only increase along with the human population.

“That is sort of one example that really demonstrates that we really should better decarbonize societies and reduce emissions,” Arenth said.

“There’s a huge opportunity here,” said Yunne-Jai Shin, senior director of research at France’s National Research Institute (IRD) in Montpellier. “By mobilizing our energy and finances, our individual choices, by transforming our systems, we can kill two birds with one stone.”

conventional conservation measures such as parks and preserves.

Photo by HENRY & CO.

Shedding carbon emissions and getting away from consistent contributors to carbon in the atmosphere, such as an energy system that still relies largely on fossil fuels, will require widespread changes in how society operates. What’s needed is to reduce all sources of climate-warming greenhouse gases.

To many of the authors, as well as scientists and conservationists at large, one aspect of that needed shift is setting aside 30-50% of the world’s landmass for conservation. A recent U.N. assessment found that 17% of all land is protected, meeting part of Aichi Target 11. Now, the emphasis should be on increasing the quality and connectivity of those protected lands, along with increasing that percentage as a whole. Part of that will involve the increased recognition of community- and Indigenous-managed areas. In many cases, this management, by people living on the front lines of the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, wards off ecosystem degradation as well or better than 92 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e July 2021

“The cause of our global crisis is our abuse of our life support system, our increasing destruction and pollution of the natural world for the sake of unfettered economic growth,” Enric Sala, an ecologist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence, said in a statement from the Campaign for Nature. “We cannot think of global warming and the loss of nature as different crises.

They are one and the same.”

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

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MOTHER KOMBUCHA Sparkling Water Meets Kombucha IG @motherkombucha

Grapefruit Agua Bucha

Bright and tart, so pucker up!

Meyer Lemon

Light lemon zest with a delicately sweet finishing note

ADD THE GOODNESS OF KOMBUCHA TO SPARKLING WATER, AND YOU HAVE AGUA BUCHA! Evolving out of a demand from Mother Kombucha's loyal customers over the years, Agua Bucha is all-organic, low in calories and sugar, and super easy to enjoy. It's a fun kombucha-infused beverage to add to this year's holiday celebrations! Rich with naturally occurring B vitamins (2200% RDA B12 boost anyone?), it's sparkling with benefits.

Kombucha is in the spotlight. The effervescent artisanal drink has grown in popularity for its great taste and health benefits. But not all offerings are the same. Mother Kombucha products are expertly brewed in Florida with a multi-step craft process to ensure the drinks are delicious, innovative, fairly and cleanly sourced, and priced right.

Key Lime

A friendly Florida take on fun with a bubbly twist of lime

Agua Bucha is currently at local independent retailers, Florida Publix Super Markets, and direct to consumers nationwide on the Mother Kombucha website. Availability on Amazon in the next few weeks!

Founded in 2014, Mother Kombucha is committed to the belief that healthy choices should also be delicious. The brand is on a mission to create mindfully-sourced, accessible beverages that enhance a healthy lifestyle. Brewed in St. Petersburg, Florida, Mother Kombucha is a WBENC-certified, women-owned business offering craft-brewed bottled and draft flavors, all of which are certified organic, vegan, and kosher. The company puts good back into the world by composting 100 percent of all food waste with local community gardens and offers workshops in homebrewing to promote their belief that everyone should have access to kombucha.

All priced at $28.99 for a 12-pack per flavor and variety pack. Subscribe and get 10 percent off!

HIGH ROAD TO HUMANITY

By Nancy Yearout

Go Outside & Take Off Your Shoes

It's

A

HEALING

s a kid growing up on a farm in Ohio, I ran around barefoot all summer long. My mom said I would have big feet if I did not put my shoes on, (today I wear an average size 7)

My sister and I went barefoot all summer long, not realizing that we were connecting with the vibration of the Earth.

Growing up, I heard people talk about grounding, and it sounded so crazy to me; what was this practice that the spiritual community spoke of, and why was it so important?

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When asked about grounding, I was told that it was to connect to the Earth, stay in your body, and be present. Now that made sense, but I felt there was more to it.

As I have worked with energy and focused on my body's energy, I understand how easily our vibration can become out of tune. Once you realize that we are energetic beings and that many outside frequencies affect our balance, such as our phones, microwaves, music, television, radio waves, emotions, and other people, you realize the magnitude of these energies.

Energetically we are affected by many outside influences.

The goal is to keep our mind, body, and spirit in balance, but how can we do that when we have lost our connection to the Earth?

For many years we did not wear insulated shoes, and we slept on the ground, but when we began to have better footwear and beds off the floor, the disconnect began.

For example, when the tennis shoe was invented, this created a huge disconnect for all people as this manmade foot cover composite insulated and disconnected us from the Earth's natural healing vibration.

Today most of humanity had completely disconnected from the Earth without ever realizing what they were doing. Our feet are so well insulated we do not receive the natural healing vibrations from Mother Earth that was meant to be a part of our energetic makeup. We cannot receive this healing vibration unless we take our shoes off.

As I researched further on how the energy from the Earth was affecting us, I found Clinton Ober and his extensive research on the subject of grounding.

Here's a bit of his story, In the 1980s, he turned his attention to the computer industry and partnered with McGraw-Hill to distribute live digital news services, via cable, to PCs. This led to the development of the first cable modem and increased awareness of the need for proper system grounding.

Following a major health issue in 1995, Clinton Ober, now retired, embarked on a personal journey looking for a higher purpose in life. During his travels, he noticed people were wearing plastic and rubber-soled shoes that insulate the body from the Earth. He wondered if no longer being naturally grounded could affect us. The question led to an experiment that suggested grounding alone reduced chronic pain and improved sleep.

He discovered and developed a working hypothesis: "Grounding the human body to the Earth normalizes the functioning of all of the body's systems. Thus, the body utilizes the Earth's electrical potential and free electrons to maintain its internal electrical stability, normalizing all of its self-regulating and self-healing systems."

Other scientists began to take notice of his findings.

Over the past twenty years, his work has catalyzed many research studies that have been published on the amazing health benefits of grounding, which have shown incredible improvements in the following: inflammation,

sleep, pain & stiffness, circulation, blood pressure, cortisol, stress, depression, anxiety, tiredness, fatigue, energy, mood, blood glucose, blood viscosity, immunity, thyroid function, metabolism, wound healing, HRV, vagal tone, serum electrolytes, athletic performance and recovery and possibly more.

Grounding has become a Universal movement to reconnect eclectically to the surface of the Earth.

So go outside right now this very moment and take off your shoes and connect!

And for those who don't have a patch of grass to stand on this summer, you can pick up a grounding matt or a grounding sleep matt for your bed or one for your car.

It's amazing what's available to keep us grounded and healthy.

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! 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.

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

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