March 2020
EDEN T h e
Magazine
ng
nce of Recogniz a t r i po m
I
Causes & Treatments for Hyperpigmentation By Margaret Tomaszewicz
Totem
Tapping
A Deep Dive into the Heart of Hollywood Producer & Philanthropist
C INDY COWAN
By Dr. Leanne Manel
Finding Your True Purpose By Bernard Moya
How to Improve your self worth
By Kimberly Mueller, M.S.
Table of Contents Animals in the Fire Zone
24
8
92ND OSCARS®
26
14
CINDY COWAN
20
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DR. PARTICK PORTER By Alexia Melocchi
24
ANIMALS IN THE FIRE ZONE
26
SPIRITUAL SPEAK VS SPIRITUAL MASTERY
34
By Phyllis King
30
DOG FIGHTING GOES GLOBAL By Nina Jackel
34
TOTEM TAPPING
By Dr. Leanna Manell
Dog Fighting goes Global
30 36
36
YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO BE YOUNG AT HEART By Jacqueline Thea, PhD.
40
BAHARA GOLESTANI
44
ANTEMEDI & YOU
By Robert Lomax
48
WHY DOES DADDY ALWAYS LOOK SO SAD?
By Jude Morrow
48
Cover Photo by
Zoobs Ansari
WWW.ZOOBSANSARI.COM
10th Anniversary
54
AN INTERVIEW WITH PETER TABICHI
58
58 FINDING PURPOSE IN PAIN By Angela Dunning
70
40
IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNIZING CAUSES & TREATMENTS FOR HYPERPIGMENTATION By Margaret Tomaszewic
76
A NOT SO SUBTLE INTRODUCTION TO SELF-AWARENESS By Noami McDonald
70
80
START A NEW DECADE WITH THESE EASY HEART-HEALTHY EATING TIPS By Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS
90
FIND YOUR TRUE PURPOSE By Bernardo Moya
94
A MOMENT OF MIRACLE
By Lavandaia & Marco Nunzio Alati
76 96
96
80
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SELF WORTH
By Kimberly Muller, M.S.
94 How to improve your self worth 3 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
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5 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2019
DINA MORRONE
Maryam Morrison
EDWARD HAKOPIAN
GREG DOHERTY
MARGARET TOMASZEWIC
MARIA ELENA INFANTINO
ALEXIA MELOCCHI
TARA-JENELLE WALSCH
ARTIN MARDIROSIAN
NANCY E. YEAROUT
SHERI DETERMAN
MICHAEL WHITE RYAN
ANGELA DUNNING
JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE
JOE SANTOS, JR.
SASHA GARY
MARCO NUNZIO ALATI
ISABELLE RUEN 6 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e February 2020
PHYLLIS KING
MEET OUR TEAM
Photo by ISABELLE RUEN
Discover the path to a peaceful life among other living beings. We are all made of vibration and light in the universe to manifest our energy around all livingness.
EDEN T
H
E
MAGAZINE
Since 2010
The Eden Magazine is a free online publication that focuses on spreading compassion to all Sentient Beings living in a healing and peaceful world FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MARYAM MORRISON EXECUTIVE EDITOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER DINA MORRONE COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER ALEXIA MELOCCHI BRAND AMBASSADOR MARIA ELENA INFANTINO CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SASHA GARY PHYLLIS KING JOE SANTOS, JR. ANGELA DUNNING NANCY E. YEAROUT MICHAEL WHITE RYAN MARCO NUNZIO ALATI JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE TARA-JENELLE WALSCH MARGARET TOMASZEWIC CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS + MAKEUP ARTIST EDWARD HAKOPIAN GRAPHICS & PHOTOGRAPHY GREG DOHERTY ISABELLE RUEN SHERI DETERMAN ARTIN MARDIROSIAN WEBSITE
www.theedenmagazine.com 325 N. Maple Dr. Po Box 5132 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 To purchase a copy visit us in www.theedenmagazine.com Eden Magazine is a non-profit monthly online magazine. We aim to create a better environment where we live among other living beings in peace and harmony. We support artists that their work matches our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article or/and your photography for our future issues please contact Maryam Morrison at; maryammorrison@theedenmagazine.com 7 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
92nd Oscars®
"I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively, and I think at times we feel or we’re made to feel that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality. I think whether we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the right against injustice."
"This past year of conversations celebrating Judy Garland across generations and across cultures has been a really cool reminder that our heroes unite us, the best among us who inspire us to find the best in ourselves. When we look to our heroes, we agree. And that matters." 8 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2019
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Thank you to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the honor of having us cover the 92nd OscarsŽ. And thank you to all the photographers who captured all of these stunning images: Blaine Ohigashi, Michael Yada, Terekah Najuwan, Troy Harvey, Phil McCarten, ŠA.M.P.A.S.
FINDING THE CORE
CCowan indy
14 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
A Deep Dive into the Heart of Hollywood Producer and Philanthropist
BY ALEXIA MELOCCHI
Photo by Matt Porteous
Cindy, let's go back to your roots. Most of us did not know you started in music and became a prolific lyricist. How did this come about? I got into songwriting by accident. A while back, I was dating a musician, so I needed a night job. I started to work for the evening news at a CBS affiliate in Miami. Because I wrote stories so quickly, a friend of mine, who was a disco diva, asked if I could put lyrics to her music. I gave it a try and sent the song to a man that I knew who worked at BMI London. A few weeks later, he called me to tell me the song was great, and that I should start a publishing company immediately. He ended up placing two of my songs with an artist named Sinitta, who happened to be Simon Cowell's first artist. Her album ended up going top 10 all throughout Europe. From there, I wrote songs for Engelbert Humperdink and Howard Hewitt, before switching over to film. Define yourself in three words. Tenacious. Loving. And Loyal. As a successful producer, what would you say helped you to be where you are today? What advice do you have for young filmmakers? Top three tips. I am where I am today because of my tenacity. When I focus on something, I don't give up until I get it. So many people just like to talk about what they want, but never take the small steps to get there. You have to start somewhere. Anywhere. I'd say the three tips I'd give to young filmmakers is what I credit for where I am today.
Photo by Peter Svenson Makeup by Steeve Daviault
M
arch is the month of the Woman. We even have a full day to celebrate all things female. So how very timely it is for The Eden Magazine to feature in this month's cover issue, Cindy Cowan, an entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, songwriter, and all-around force to be reckoned with. Cowan is a woman of many talents who co-founded Initial Entertainment Group, a production, finance, and distribution company that had over 25 films in its library when she sold it. As the CEO of Cindy Cowan Entertainment, she has gone on to produce various films with the likes of Robert DeNiro and Woody Harrelson, and has several films in the pipeline, such as the recently announced NSYNC Superfan movie that is currently in the works in partnership with Lance Bass and Tristar Studios, as well as "True Haunting," a horror film that will go into production in the next few months with Screen Gems. Cindy Cowan is more than an accomplished entrepreneur, and in this interview, you will discover with me how she embodies a woman who has fully come into her own and is living her life on her own terms.
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First, learn your craft. In regards to the film business, do it any way you can. Intern, PA, read books and the trades. Secondly, have a passion for what you do. If you truly love what you are doing, you won't be discouraged with some of the negativity that comes with this profession. And lastly, network. You never know what actor, director, producer, or a financier can help your project move across the finish line. It's easier said than done, I know, but if you really love what you do, you will not waiver from what you want, and eventually, you will get there. In addition to a successful career in music, You co-founded Initial Entertainment Group (IEG), and you had projects like The Oscar-nominated Traffic. How did this impact your life? IEG (Initial Entertainment Group) was a company I ran together with Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King. We were a foreign distribution company that financed, distributed, and produced feature films. I was a part of it for five years. We had various recognitions from Emmys, Golden Globes, and OscarÂŽ. IEG changed my life. Through this company, I was able to cement my name in Hollywood as a female producer.The impact was monumental. I was able to pave the way for other
women to follow, buy my dream house, and have the ability to become more philanthropic. We see you are involved in many charitable works. Please tell us about them. And why they are important to you. Charity is what keeps me going. I truly love to give back! Little Kids Rock (LKR) was a charity that I had the privilege of being the West Coast chair for many years. Reaching over 500,000 kids in 45 states, LKR would go into low-income areas and bring music programs free of charge to schools. Teachers were taught for free, and students were then given instruments ranging from guitars to pianos. This helped them stay off of the streets by attending after school programs, allowed us to monitor them, and helped them with both their right and left-brain thinking, their social skills, as well as theirself-confidence. www.littlekidsrock.org Music for Relief was founded by the band, Linkin Park. Music for Relief helps bring aid to survivors in communities affected by natural disasters to help them recover and build. It aims to give immediate support and long-term disaster relief with the primary goal of making a difference to those areas in need. Their most recent involvement was the Australian fires. www.musicforrelief.org Children Mending Hearts was started by my good friend Lysa Heslov. Children Mending Hearts is a charity I am on the board of that teaches children everywhere compassion and kindness. Society's success depends on raising children who care for other people. And empathy is the key driver of kind and Photo by Matt Porteous Makeup by Julia Taylor
compassionate action. By developing empathy in young children, Children Mending Hearts helps them feel valued while nurturing their ability to relate to others. This plays a crucial role in helping to understand conflicts not just in their own lives but in the world as well. Empathy is transformative. It can reduce the chance of a child being bullied. It can enable world leaders to find peaceful solutions. Itcan inspire nations to open their doors to families fleeing war andviolence. It can inspire future generations of loving and compassionate global citizens. Empathy can change the world. www.childrenmendinghearts.org Grass Roots Soccer is an adolescent health organization. It leverages the power of soccer to educate, inspire and mobilize at-risk youth in developing countries so that they can overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities. www.grassrootssoccer.org 17 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Of all your charities, it's WE Care SOLAR that drew my attention. Can you tell me about this? I discovered this organization three years ago when I met Laura Stachel, an OB/GYN. She threw her back out one day while delivering a baby and was told she couldn't deliver anymore. She then decided to teach with Doctors Without Borders. While working in developing countries, she was horrified to see that darkness meant death. If there's no light, it's impossible to operate or deliver a child safely. Most hospitals were operating in moonlight or candlelight at night. Meanwhile, back home, her husband was installing solar panels in houses, so out of this need, together, they created a solar suitcase. A single suitcase is only $5,000 and is capable of lighting an operating room for up to five years without a single battery change. Donors to We Care Solar can feel good about their donations because it's clear of the impact one suitcase has and the number of lives it can affect. In 2013, Laura was awarded the CNN heroes award. www.wecaresolarsuitcase.org It's great to put attention on causes that are not widely known, which is why The Eden Magazine will be putting the light on those for their 10-year gala this fall. The charities I get involved with are the ones that are 100 percent non-profit. I want to make sure the money I am giving goes to the cause, and not to pay salaries or something extraneous. One of the things I'd like to be more active in is helping the homeless. The homelessness crisis in California is out of control.
learn about the world. I am making it a mission to go to at least two countries a year. In 2018, I went to Japan and Africa. Last year, I went to Israel and Bali. My desire to explore led me to a show I am doing called SEEKERS. It is about seeking the light in a world going dark, a la very Anthony Bourdain. The world is vibrating on two different planes – the ones seeking the light and those lower. We will show different ways of being or staying in the light and how they might vary in various parts of the world. Tell me about being in the wild in Africa. Africa was life-changing. I have heard about how safaris can alter one's perception, but until I was there, I had no clue. I thought I'd take some photos and see beautiful animals, but when I was lying in bed and heard lions roar right outside my door, it was incredible. I also experienced the circle of life on a deeper level when I witnessed an animal go after another animal for food. I was horrified and couldn't watch this, but grasped the deeper concept of what was happening and why. I was also affected by the fact that I saw some animals which were later served on my dinner plate. I am not a vegan, but red meat does not appeal to me after that trip. I have not eaten red meat since. Peoplethought I looked different when I returned--it changed meon a cellular level. The next movie we're shooting is taking me back to Cape Town, SA, and I'm very excited.
In your opinion, how can individuals make a difference in our world? One individual can make an enormous difference in the world. A simple act of kindness such as a hello, a hug, or a smile can go a long way. If you are in a position to do more, then you can impact groups of people rather than one person at a time. You can do this by giving money, shelter, clothing, education, or even just your time. Whenever I think I am doing a lot, I watch CNN heroes and realize that I, too, need to step it up even more. My wish is that every person would strive to do one nice thing to impact another person's life on a daily basis. Yet another thing that is impressive about you is that you hold a psychology degree from Harvard. Does this knowledge help you in life? Producing movies requires a lot of my skills in psychology. It takes emotional intelligence and finessing to keep all the personalities of the movie set grounded. I am thankful for my degree. I use it every day both in my personal life as well as in my job. Is the desire to explore various aspects of humanity that led you to do a lot of travel? I came out of retirement so I can continue to travel and give back to my charities. I like to take myself out of my comfort zone and journey into the unfamiliar. I want to 18 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
I could tell you were so present in your picture and in awe of the experience. When I was there, I realized the animals were in control, and I was just a speck. It forced me to be in the present and take in the now. In our big cities, people can forget to be in the present. I'm guilty of it, too, where I can get caught up watching the news, my job, and the minutiae of stress. In Africa, it was just me and nature, and that made me realize what is important.
Photo by Matt Porteous Makeup by Julia Taylor
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Your house looks so Zen. Is this the place where you become Cindy, unplugged? Yes, it's where I decompress. Anyone who comes over senses the peaceful vibe. When I first bought my house, Rob Lowe came over and told me he had his house feng-shui'd, and soon after, he booked his role on The West Wing. Inspired by this, I decided to do mine, too. In addition to this, my house has symbols of various faiths because I am very spiritual, and I can't say that anyone's religion is better than the other. In one room, you may see a cross, in another a Jewish star, and in a different room, a Buddha statue. For me, it is all about goodness. Anything that symbolizes love will invoke a peaceful and meditative feeling in me. What inspires you and your wide-ranging philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors? I am inspired when doing charity work by feeling that I am somehow making a difference in someone's life. To be able to give hope, compassion, or happiness to someone in need should be what life is all about. I am constantly feeling grateful for where I am in my own life and truly believe in paying things forward. You have a big social-media following and many fans. How do you handle this medium? The rule for my social media is positive posts only. I try to be a role model for other girls online--as well as off-line--because we need to lift each other up. If someone is not in a positive place, I try to find a reason to be uplifting to them. As long as I do that, smile, and cheer them up, that is a part of my contribution. I want to leave a footprint, and social media allows me to have a greater reach. Answering someone back online, or encouraging people with a positive post does not cost anything, but you'd be surprised at what a difference this encounter can make. You have a lot of friends that are considered celebrities, many in the music business. There is a perception that being famous makes one self-absorbed. Do you choose talent over heart? I choose all my friends in the same way, famous or not. I treat people no differently, whether they are a celebrity or a waiter. At my parties, there is no social hierarchy. A lot of celebrities can be self-absorbed, but so can the average person. I tend to be drawn to kind, loving, and generous people, no matter what they do for a living. How do you feel about the entertainment industry and women's involvement? I love where the entertainment business is headed as far as women are concerned. It has come a long way since I first got involved in it. Now you see women studio heads, many more female directors, producers, and writers. Not to mention female-driven films such as Wonder Woman paving the way for big-budget feature films to command the box office. 20 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Photo by Matt Porteous Makeup by Julia Taylor
I think Hollywood is well on its way to being more inclusiveas well as diverse. It's an exciting time. You are very close to your father. Your father is your hero. What qualities does he have that you admire? My father is everything to me. He has been my rock since the day I was born. He has instilled in me a sense of loyalty, and the ability to express what you feel, something that is difficult to find in a lot of men. I come from an expressive family; we are not afraid to hold hands or say I love you. Most importantly, he taught me to have an ear. He listens. I got that from him. A lot of people talk but don't hear, and that's a quality people need to develop. My dad is compassionate, loyal, and is a great listener. If I can find a man who is half as admirable as my father, I will be a lucky woman. What's next for you? Where do you see yourself in five years? II think I have about five more years left in the movie business. Not because I do not love it or am not successful at it, but I'd like to explore the beauty industry. I am currently a board member of an exciting new beauty brand, so we'll see where that leads. Also, in five years, I see myself simplifying my life and surrounding myself with nature more. Maybe I'll get a second home outside of the US.
If someone is not in a positive place, I try to find a reason to be uplifting to them. As long as I do that, smile, and cheer them up, that is a part of my contribution. Special Thank you to: Cindy Cowan Photographers: Matt Porteous, Troy Jensen & Peter Svenson Makeup: Steeve Daviault, Troy Jensen & Julia Taylor
I am inspired when doing charity work by feeling that I am somehow making a difference in someone’s life. To be able to give hope, compassion, or happiness to someone in need should be what life is all about. I am constantly feeling grateful for where I am in my own life and truly believe in paying things forward.
Photo & Makeup by Troy Jensen
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An exclusive interview with
Dr. Patrick Porter
T
he brain muscle has often been looked at as "the enemy", especially in times of stress and worry. And as a result, we have engaged in a fight for the control of our thoughts and feelings.
Thanks to the work of Scientists, Gurus, Philosophers, Doctors, and Coaches who have engaged in the study of the mind, body, and spirit connection, we have been able to access various techniques, most rooted in meditation, that would allow us to decrease worry and stress.
When the Brain Becomes a Conduit for a Stress-Free Life By Alexia Melocchi
But what if we fully used our Brain Power, the exercising of its muscle, to stop fighting and start living in alignment and presence? I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Patrick K. Porter, an award-winning author who has devoted his career to neuroscience and brainwave entrainment and has emerged as a leader in the digital health and wellness field. He is the creator of BrainTapÂŽ, a mind development tool that uses Creative Visualization and Relaxation to help people relieve symptoms associated with stress, insomnia, pain, and much more. Dr. Porter is also the author of many works, including books Thrive In Overdrive, "How to Navigate Your Overloaded Lifestyle", and his bestseller, Awaken the Genius, Mind Technology for the 21st Century. This month Dr. Porter is speaking at the Biohacking Conference in Los Angeles on Brain tapping technology. The concept of Hypnotherapy is still shrouded in mystery. How do you explain what Hypnotherapy is? It's important to point out that a lot of people confuse stage-show Hypnosis with therapeutic Hypnosis, but there's a big difference. In real Hypnotherapy, you are guided to a sleep-like state. People have described this state as being asleep, but your mind is awake. And, contrary to the stage-show Hypnosis, where the therapist gives you orders or tells you what to do, in therapeutic Hypnosis, he or she works with you to train you how to think in a more empowered manner. Doing this can unleash your full brain potential. And the mind is very powerful. The placebo-effect is now at 40%, which means that most of the drugs out in the market for depression, anxiety, etc., wouldn't even pass the trials because they wouldn't beat the placebo.
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Our brain is, in fact, the world's greatest pharmacy, and they can dispense it with simple thoughts. The brain loves patterns and vibrations, and we use the brain's system to bio-hack it by using visual and sound vibrations. Everything in the universe is in constant vibration, that's why sometimes people "resonate" with someone they've just met.
Photo by Sandra Molina
Is there any difference between the deep states you achieve with your guided audio programs and other forms of meditation? Through my years of research, I have never tested anyone who can get to these deep states of mind without the help of some kind of technology. Other techniques will take up to 90 minutes using straight Hypnosis to get there. We have the same results as most people using our technology in 20 minutes. I created this technology because most people don't want to spend time learning to meditate. That's when the hypnotist comes in, and with BRAINTAP we can get people in an optimal state with technology. If we go back in time, people used to meditate, staring at a candle. Most people don't realize the science behind that because they take it for granted. It's something weird, but now we know through science that the candle flickers at a 10-hertz frequency, and that frequency gets all brain waves to expand. That's why meditation has so many benefits, like helping with Alzheimer's, memory, and concentration. All these improvements happen because the harmonics and frequency of our brain are improved. Your BrainTapping technology, is it like EFP tapping for the brain? Yes, the Emotional Freedom Technique taps various parts
of the body to release physical pain and anxiety. With Brain Tap, we are retraining your nervous system. 70% of your nervous system is in your brain. So when we say brain tap, we're tapping into your brain's potential, because it has the potential to release 30,000 different neuro-chemicals. Our brain is, in fact, the world's greatest pharmacy, and they can dispense it with simple thoughts. The brain loves patterns and vibrations, and we use the brain's system to bio-hack it by using visual and sound vibrations. Everything in the universe is in constant vibration, that's why sometimes people "resonate" with someone they've just met. How long are your recorded sessions, and what do you recommend for someone trying out BrainTap for the first time? In the morning, most people don't wake up their brain appropriately. Therefore we recommend a 10 minute light meditation. For example, we know that while we're awake, we should have 5-8 delta (the sleep and recovery wave) happenings in our brain, and we've done over 10,000 brain scans, and we found that about 65% of the people have more than 50% delta when they're awake. Their brain is so stressed that the brain is saying, "We need to take a break." Instead, most people will get a coffee and keep going to push through that instead of using their neural pharmacy. Our light meditation helps balance the delta waves.
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Do you recommend an evening routine? The ideal time for an afternoon session would be 2 o'clock because that's when our body's core temperature naturally lowers. Most people can't do it, because they work. That's the natural time when the body reboots. For example, it would be the perfect time to take a nap. However, a real nap takes 3-4 hours, so we've created sessions where you can get the same benefits of a 3-4 hour nap in only 20 minutes. The advantage of our BrainTapping headset that we recommend as an added tool to our audio sessions (which can be accessed through the app) is that we can synchronize sound and visuals as we know that the body's healing process comes from light. Is there a way to get to a high energy state without having to be pumped up by loud music, for example? Pumped up by music is good for coaching seminars, but when you leave there, you're not going to be jumping and screaming "yes, yes, yes" during your day to raise your physical state. With Brain Tapping, we have been able to increase the nervous system function by over 27% if used three times a week. And what makes this form of exercising the brain so important is that if we can get the thoughts trained, we can get the trauma taken care of, and then we can get the body toxins removed.
When you start taking care of yourself, and your brain, there's a general overall effect. Your physiology affects your psychology. Some people, when they start working out, start thinking better, and that leads to feeling better and taking better care of yourself and having a better life. We believe you have to do both. Are there any charities that you support? I am a supporter of Health core charity — which teaches mental resilience program for students. We also have a school in India called The Creative School, which we are funding and even doing a lot of research with the students. Have you seen results where people, using the brain tapping technique, have dramatically reduced the use of any chemicals (drugs, sleeping aid, etc.) and wake up refreshed and energized? Yes. We've seen amazing results. There has never been a study
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that shows the benefits of sleeping pills, beyond possibly getting ten extra minutes per night. Why would you even take them if they don't work? Our brain can do so many things that we do not even have an idea it can do. The first thing people need to learn how to do is to destress. This doesn't mean that we don't need medical doctors (if I break my leg, for example), but there's a lot we can avoid just by learning how to control negative emotions, all those have in common is that to experience them we need to start breathing. People need to learn to breathe through negative emotions. Depression, just like sleep patterns, can be significantly helped through the brain tapping technology. Correct? Yes. When you start taking care of yourself, and your brain, there's a general overall effect. Your physiology affects your psychology. Some people, when they start working out, start thinking better, and that leads to feeling better and taking better care of yourself and having a better life. We believe you have to do both.
Alexia Melocchi is an accomplished film producer and world wide distribution executive and the partner of Beverly Hills based LITTLE STUDIO FILMS. Alexia Melocchi has an experience of more than twenty years in Hollywood and has produced 11 award wining movies and 3 documentaries that were shot by merging film makers that she has personally discovered and mentored. She also acquires on behalf of her international distributor clients films and television shows from all over the world for release in the Middle East, Italy, Greece, Spain, Canada, South America and Germany. She attends all major film festivals in the USA and abroad and has been often invited as an expert panelist on the Film Business for high profile film and television conventions. Alexia is fluent in five languages and is the proud mama to 3 rescue cats. She supports environmental and animal causes , meditates daily, and is an avid reader of spiritual and self helps books. IG @lexybella @LttleStudioFlms www.littlestudiofilms.com
Photo by Johen Redman
Animals in the Fire Zone:
Why care about one and ignore the others?
Aftermath of one of the bushfires in Australia, January 2020. Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media 26 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
This story originally appeared in "Planet Friendly News (Canada)" and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration to strengthen coverage of the climate story.
We are culturally conditioned to care about wild animals but not to give much thought to the fate of the billions of farmed animals held captive in our industrialized food system. Farmed animals are marginalized in our societies, their suffering carefully hidden from public view and there is a huge cognitive disconnect for consumers between a cow or a lamb and the meat at the butcher’s counter. For the wild animals that have survived the fires, they face the deadly combination of loss of habitat, the threat of starvation and dehydration, and are vulnerable to predators. Australia is home to many unique and rare species that may be wiped out by this fire season. This biologically diverse ecosystem will struggle to recover, and many species of flora and fauna will be lost forever.
On a global basis, what we eat is making the problem worse but also provides a way we can help. Australia has always had a bushfire season but the climate crisis has made the problem immeasurably worse. And scientists are predicting that fire prone regions of Canada and the US may soon eople around the world are duly horrified at the mil- experience more super-fires similar to Australia. lions of wild animals perishing in the Australian bushfires. The pictures and videos of the suffering of the Given that animal agriculture is the second largest coniconic koalas and kangaroos are heartbreaking as their tributor to GHG emissions globally, what we eat plays an lives and habitats are destroyed by the fires, exacerbat- important role in this equation. Globally, more than 70 ed by global heating. Australian scientists estimate that billion land animals are slaughtered for food every year. one billion wild animals have died as a result of these This means that more than two million animals are killed devastating fires, a number so huge that it is difficult to comprehend. every second. More and more consumers are becoming concerned about the climate impact of a meat-heavy diet, Concerned citizens everywhere want to help. Millions of dollars in do- animal welfare and the environmental damage inherent in nations to fire fighting efforts, animal rescues and aid for people forced the factory farming system. But meat eating is still expected from their homes are pouring in. It is laudable and necessary to help to rise given the expected significant population growth by those in need. But, looking at the bigger picture, this is a predictable 2050, and a growing middle class in developing countries band-aid response to treating a symptom of a huge underlying prob- who aspire to eating meat as they become more prosperous.
P
lem, not the cause.
For the wild animals that have survived the fires, they face the deadly combination of loss of habitat, the threat of starvation and dehydration, and are vulnerable to predators. Australia is home to many unique and rare species that may be wiped out by this fire season. This biologically diverse ecosystem will struggle to recover, Australia’s Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie, says that 125,000 and many species of flora and fauna will sheep and cattle have died in the fires so far. Media stories about the be lost forever. There is a more effective way to solve it but one of the difficulties is that our brains are hardwired to think about these issues in certain ways. Why do our hearts go out to some animals and not others? While we are all concerned about the fate of the wild animals, what about the fate of the thousands of farmed animals that have also succumbed to the cruel conflagration?
impact of the fires on the agriculture sector tend to focus on the loss of livelihood for the farmers involved, not the animals. Although some stories tell of tormented farmers, struggling with the task of shooting and burying their injured animals. And surviving animals are being sent to slaughter early because of shortages of feed and water.
Globally, we can make a difference to the climate crisis and help save wild animals by giving a thought to farmed animals, reducing the meat in our diets and lowering the carbon footprint of our food.
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Photo by:Mark Williams
Photo by Mark Williams
Spiritual Speak vs.
Spiritual Mastery By Phyllis King
M
ost of my clients are spiritually oriented people. They consider themselves seekers of truth. Many accumulate rooms full of books, DVDs and audio courses. Many have consumed the information in the materials. The missing link for those who still struggle is the piece of implementing what they read or watched. We have to integrate the information from the mind into the body and make it ours. It is human nature to desire relief in a moment of discomfort. When we open our minds to read or learn something it’s a quick fix, an immediate stimulation. Yet, we don’t apply what we learn. Why is that? From what I see it is that we want an immediate result. The stimulation of buying a book or a course makes as feel good for the moment. We are temporarily relieved of our discomfort because we take an action we believe is good for us. Yet we stop short of completing the learning cycle when we don’t apply what we learned. I speak to many people who have mastered spiritual-speak. They haven’t yet mastered spiritual practice. Spiritual mastery eludes us because it requires stillness and attention. It requires self-reflection. It requires patience and the ability to hear the inner voice. Human beings are ravenous for external stimulation which drowns out the inner voice. We fall for the lure of “if I just get…” or “if I just reach…” I will be happy. Until we take into our consciousness that happiness cannot be discovered outside of us, we will struggle. The answer to our inner angst is always found in our inner universe. Not sometimes. Not 98% of the time, 100% of the time.
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We live in a culture where stimulation is everything. Consumerism has created a contest like environment. Creative minds spend all their time generating newer and better ways to stimulate the public. Technology keeps us plugged in and stimulated more than ever. We look for stimulation from what we eat, to what we wear, to what we purchase, to what we view on television or read. We now have been trained to be stimulated in order for content to have any value to us. From that vantage point the unconscious is easy prey to a gravitational pull that causes us to orbit our lives around avoidance. Avoidance of what is real and true in our own lives. In order to break the stimulation addiction we have to discover what it is we so want to avoid. Is it fear? Are we afraid of losing something? Do we fear we may have to make a change? The answer to “what do we fear?” is different for everyone. I believe that underneath all of it we are afraid of feeling powerless. If we have to change we may become overwhelmed by the change. If we have to let something go we may experience pain during the “losing” process. That is the very definition of a scarcity consciousness. The negative “what if ” drives the internal dialogue. Behind “I feel powerless” and a scarcity consciousness is the point of view that we are making life happen. It’s the ego. The ego says “I am in charge.” “I am doing it.” “It’s all on me.” Everything we have in life comes to us through the grace of the divine design. We are merely conduits of her bounty. The best goal for any of us is to set an intention. Then to go about the business of being clear vessels in which to channel divine grace. That’s it. The more we surrender to that awareness the more spiritually fit we become. The more life flows for us. The struggle evaporates. It is when we attach ourselves to the notion that “I’m doing it” we exclude the abundance and ease we desperately seek. How do we know when the ego has us by the throat? 1. Our Natural Barometer Our bodies and emotions are natural barometers. They give us real time feedback that reflect how we are responding to life. They reflect what we believe is true. If we are stressed, frustrated or otherwise resistant to our life in the moment we are in, ego has us by the throat. Divine wisdom knows that we can’t be given a learning experience we don’t need. Otherwise it 30 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
wouldn’t be allowed to touch us. When we live in that knowing, we can relax and trust. 2. The Either / Or Proposition If we only see two choices, either this or that or my life won’t work out, we are looking at life through the ego’s lens. The divine design is unlimited. There are more possibilities to answer our dilemmas than we can imagine. When we learn how to surrender to divine wisdom, we free fall into the knowing that we are loved and protected. Whatever befalls us is for us. Nothing else. When we live from the vantage point that life is conspiring for our highest good a very in teresting thing happens. Life conspires for our good. Quantum physics has proved what we perceive to be true influences tangible matter. Perception truly does become our reality. Time is going to pass one way or another. We can be in resistance to it, or in the flow with it. If we break the addiction and the dance between stimulation and avoidance everything will become easier. Every day, no matter what befalls you choose to trust that life is conspiring for your highest benefit. It takes 30 days to change a thought pattern. Test it for yourself. I assert that the inner work you do to maintain your view from trust is the most important work you will do to live a life filled with happiness and ease.
Known as the Common Sense Psychic (tm), Phyllis King has worked with tens of thousands of people in 25 countries. She is known for her practical and down to earth approach. She has been featured on, ABC, CBS and NBC TV, radio programs across the country, and has been published in over 70 print and online publications. She has four books, including Bouncing Back, Thriving in Changing Times, with Dr. Wayne Dyer. Her latest book The Energy of Abundance is available in bookstores now. Phyllis holds a B.A. in Sociology. www.phyllisking.com
Photo by Patricia Tseroshova
Dogfighting Goes Global
The Unfortunate Relationship Between Social Media and Blood Sports By Nina Jackel 32 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Dogfighting is an illegal blood sport in which two dogs are pitted against each other in a fight to submission, exhaustion, or death. Spectators watch these tragic events for pure entertainment value or to gamble on one side in hopes of profiting off the winning dog. The struggle to survive tends to last one or two hours. In 2019, a Lady Freethinker undercover investigation revealed that social media is allowing the cruelty to proliferate, with dogfighters promoting their practice and unscrupulous breeders even selling puppies into dogfighting, shipping the young dogs worldwide. On one platform, we found more than 2,000 posts promoting dogfighting or trafficking animals used for fighting. The dogs - most commonly American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, bull terriers, and bulldogs in the United States - are subjected to harsh training programs designed to encourage aggressive behavior. From bait-chasing drills to testosterone injections, these dogs spend every day learning to fight and kill, a skill dogfighting trainers call “gameness.” Beginning with controlled fights termed “rolls” or “bumps” to ensure their profitable killing machines aren’t too badly injured, the dogs eventually graduate to more grueling tests to examine their behavior when exhausted and hurt. If the dog refuses to submit, he or she is ready to fight. Despite a nationwide federal ban, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that at least 40,000 people are involved in the breeding, transporting, or staging of dogfights domestically. A recent report from the UK-based Royal Veterinary College acknowledges that such estimates could be drastically low due to frequent unreported incidents and inadequate reporting methods. Similar to underground drug operations, dogfighting rings are difficult to infiltrate. Members of each dogfighting organization communicate via coded language, stage events in hidden locations, and rarely allow their ‘pets’ to be seen publicly. The difficulty involved in apprehending these criminals is often compounded by inadequate state laws. Unfortunately, the new digital landscape makes it easier than ever for criminals to communicate across large distances undetected. A recent 2017 BBC investigation found that breeders and trainers discuss particular dogs and events on various social media platforms, specialist closed forums, and private messaging applications. These websites, platforms, and applications promote user security and enforce strict privacy policies, despite the clear promotion and execution of illegal activity by their us-
ers. Global communication networks are supposed to be designed for good, not the advancement of violent and unlawful enterprises. Similar to hate crimes and human trafficking, businesses and organizations have a clear responsibility to block the transmission of information that has the potential to lead to life-threatening outcomes. They are also obligated to work in conjunction with law enforcement agencies to actively pursue leads and provide evidence that could result in the reduction of organized crime. Counteracting dogfighting is about more than animal welfare. Animal abuse is directly related to various other violent acts, especially domestic violence and child abuse. This relation is well documented and typically referred to as “The Link.” In 1983, researchers found that in 88% of home-based child abuse investigations, investigators also discovered animal abuse. In 1997, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Northeastern University conducted a study and concluded that animal abusers are five times as likely to harm other humans. In 2013, another study found that 43% of people that committed school massacres also committed animal abuse. In 2017, 89% of women with companion animals in abusive relationships reported abusive behavior towards the animals. Ignoring or downplaying acts of cruelty against animals further perpetuates similar acts against humans -- especially women and children. With increasingly strict user security and privacy policies, who are these social media organizations and messaging applications protecting? Criminals, especially those blatantly utilizing products intended for positive global communication and advocacy with mal intentions, should not be afforded the same protections as ordinary law-abiding citizens. As soon as organized crime is allowed to circulate the Internet in the name of digital freedom, a dangerous precedent is set in which the facilitation of harmful - even deadly - transgressions against both human and non-human animals are safeguarded from law enforcement officers. There is no stopping the globalization of crime. Criminals will always use tools intended to positively impact the world for evil. We can, however, do our part to fight back against that evil. How we, as a global community, respond to the modernization of the dogfighting industry has massive implications. We must be better, and that includes the businesses and organizations that create the technological tools necessary for both global progress and malfeasance. www. LadyFreethinker.org
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Totem Tapping Dr. Leanna Manuel I have always loved animals and felt a strong connection with them. There are stories of me singing to a box turtle as a child to get it to come out of its shell. I’ve always had at least one dog and also used to have a dream of becoming a zookeeper. I spent hours watching the polar bears at the Columbus Zoo, and I was ecstatic when I went through the Penguin Encounter at the Newport Aquarium with my daughter-in-law and actually got to meet some of the penguins. On a trip to Washington, DC, I spent an entire day at the National Zoo watching the pandas. On a different level, I’ve been attracted, as have so many other people, to animals in the media. I feel a kinship with the Winnie the Pooh characters and adore The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and other animated classics. I grew up with TV shows such as Lassie, Flipper, and Rin Tin Tin. In both my personal life and in my favorite media, animals have always been present.
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Certain animals stand out as being lifelong objects of fascination, including polar bears, pandas, Canada geese, dogs, wolves, and hawks. I have also had strong aversions to spiders, most insects, opossums, and sharks. Other animals became important to me for shorter periods of time. I was once obsessed with frogs, and another time, it was turtles. For me, these were times of total immersion, and I now know that these animals had a message or something to teach me at that time in my life. During my adult years, I met my dear friend Zach, who introduced me to the basics of Shamanism and totem animals. I was already aware of the Chinese Zodiac, some Egyptian mythology, and some Celtic symbology. This prepared me to more fully understand the connection between animal behavior, animal totems, and human existence. I have found comfort listening to the guidance of my totem animals and that of other animals that wander in and out of my life.
Photo by Aris Rovas
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When I was writing Tap It Away: 10 Minutes to Freedom with EFT, I decided to utilize some of what I knew about totem animals to write a chapter called “Animal Wisdom.” My purpose was to demonstrate how tapping doesn’t have to be a stern and serious endeavor in order to get more work done. I also wanted to illustrate how challenges don’t always need to be tackled head-on. It was perhaps the most enjoyable chapter that I wrote. I decided then that I would someday write another book that was entirely dedicated to tapping with totem animal characteristics. This book is a product of that longago decision. Tapping and Totems Together Mention any animal. I dare you to avoid conjuring an image, feeling, or characteristic associated with it. Animals are a powerful way to become aware of subconscious associations, personal motivations, and intrinsic desires because of the relative ease in eliciting these common representations. If I say that someone was a mouse, I’m sure you get an image of someone who is small or timid. If I refer to someone as being a real shark, you instantly have a reaction. More often than not, your reaction or association is going to be somewhat similar to mine, particularly if we are from similar cultures. These animal stereotypes exist for a reason. The Native American Medicine Wheel was used, in part, as a method of self-knowledge and self-realization (Meadows, 2002). The word medicine in this context translates to energy or vital power. Therefore, a being’s medicine was an expression of its energy system. We can use this energy to understand ourselves, discover our potential, find meaning or purpose in our lives, or simply take control of our destiny. Obviously, there is not sufficient room within this book to include tapping examples for all of the animals, birds, and insects on this planet, and my purpose in writing this book is to stimulate you to unleash your own primal power. It would be impossible for me to guess what animals might be important to your growth and development. I considered using only animals that have been important in my own journey but eventually chose to include animals based on some more random factors, such as animals that happened to pop into my mind, literally ran across my path, were visited at the zoo, or were a favorite of someone I love. Keep in mind that the primary goal of this text is to demonstrate how to use the animal totems for tapping, not necessarily to focus on the actual animals themselves. I believe there are enough examples to assist you in getting the hang of this.
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If you already know what your animal totems or spirit animals might be, grab a piece of paper and write them down. If you don’t already know what your totems or spirit animals are, write down your three or four favorite animals, your three or four least favorite animals, and perhaps an animal you have seen recently that isn’t common in your usual daily life. Those all have a good chance of teaching you something important. I would encourage you to tap along with all of the examples, whether you think they might be your totems or not, because there may still be something to gain.
Dr. Leanna Manuel received her B.S in psychology from Wright State University, and her Psy.D. from the Wright State University School of Clinical Psychology in Dayton, OH. She has been responding to the needs of others since her teen years and participated in a youth disaster team, responding to the devastating tornadoes in Xenia, OH. After nursing school at Kettering College of Medical Arts she practiced as an RN in a variety of hospital settings, including the emergency department and oncology research. Later, after receiving her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, she managed a private psychology practice and holistic health center for children and adults for many years before migrating to New Mexico. Although traditionally trained, Dr. Manuel has always blended innovative strategies, such as Reiki, tapping, and therapeutic martial arts with individual and group therapy to improve outcomes and help people move to higher levels of functioning and satisfaction. Her work has been featured on “MTV: True Life, “when the program filmed her doing therapy over the course of a year with a male stripper. To learn more about the author and her book please visit, www.unleashyourprimalpower.com.
Photo by: Matthew Henry
An excerpt from “Wake Up Your Fairy Grandmother Within!
You’re Never
Too Old
to Be Young at Heart By Jacqueline Thea, PhD.
The following is an excerpt from, “Wake Up Your Fairy Grandmother Within!: You’re Never Too Old to Be Young at Heart” by Jacqueline Thea, PhD
My grief seemed to melt. Deep within, the presence of my precious Prince began to stir. Joy filled the hole in my soul. My true heart’s desire had been granted. Prince had come home to live in my heart. My dark night of sorrow transformed into a new day. I felt so alive. Just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, when Glinda, the good witch, magically appeared, I wanted to click my heels together and dance. When I heard the leader say, “Pass on the blessing,” I knew that the right vehicle had arrived for me. I believed that most people would love to be touched by a magic wand and experience their true hearts’ desires. I could do this. I wanted the whole world to be happy. The inspiration fired my imagination! Envisioning a new mission in my old age, I imagined myself dressing up as the fairy grandmother, carrying my magic wand to spark joy, and sprinkling a little fairy dust around senior centers, retirement communities, and assisted living facilities. Woohoo! During my career in the helping professions, I began as a nurse’s aide and later studied to become a registered nurse. As a vocational rehabilitation counselor, I assisted clients with disabilities to return to work. For many years as a professional guardian and conservator appointed by the courts, I protected incapacitated persons, especially seniors with disabilities, mostly women. As a volunteer with several hospice organizations, I sat with the dying and offered emotional support to their families. I knew what difficulties aging and life could bring in its wake.
One glorious autumn day in 2018, a fairy grandmother sprang forth in my imagination and sparked joy in my life. At the time, my soul ached with grief from the recent passing of Prince, my beloved greyhound, and longtime companion. Just five days Having slow danced through a few sorrows of my own, before, I held his regal but worn-out body as his spirit slowly I knew the territory. In 2009, I had lost my supportive, loving husband. In 2013, my oldest son, who had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. His loss left a hole in my soul. turned his life around after his drug rehabilitation, died The enchanting emergence of my fairy grandmother occurred from complications of hepatitis C. In 2018, my youngat a gathering of about fifty women who came together to est son lingered near death following a three-day coma and continues to suffer the aftereffects. Also in that celebrate the power of the sacred feminine and share their concerns for the plight of the planet, our Mother Earth. In my year, I lost two precious cats in addition to Prince, my beloved dog. But life still held magic. Having felt this grief, I almost didn’t attend. joy of discovery, I wanted to share the inspiring world As we gathered in small groups to share our personal expe- of enchantment with others. riences, I wept, speaking of my sorrow in losing my beloved companion. The group leader told me she could actually sense the presence of Prince in the room, but all I sensed was my loss. Later, all the women stood to receive an empowering blessing. We placed our hands on each other’s shoulders and in prayer, asked the loving spirits of older women to bless us and grant our true hearts’ desires. As I received my blessing, a radiant lifelike figure, surrounded in a luminous aura, came out of nowhere and floated above my head. Although unable to see her face, I felt the effects of her magic wand. She was my fairy grandmother.
Where to begin? I wondered. How would the fairy grandmother introduce herself to the community? What would she say? What would people think? Should she go to schools where young children still believed in fairies? Could she suddenly appear at the door of a senior center or in the halls of a nursing home with her magic wand and say, “I’m here to spark joy and grant your heart’s desire”? Some people might think her crazy or call the cops and lock her up.
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A dilemma! An idea popped. Aha! The fairy grandmother needed a hook! She couldn’t just wander into this world alone. She needed companions with inspiring stories to tell. Since I had a Storyteller’s License, I could write a book from my own life experiences! I could tell the story of Prince, my charming greyhound, and his connection to the miraculous appearance of the fairy grandmother in my life. A book would make the whole story legitimate. Then the Dandelion Fairy, an outrageously funny little fairy who wanted to be the star of the Pixie Circus, came to mind because she reminded me of the cute little kid who lived inside me and always wanted to show off and be the star. The story of the Dandelion Fairy could join Prince in my book. The epiphany continued. I remembered Little Sunshine, another part of my inner world. I called her my wounded soul child. The exciting story of her healing would be another great addition. The book would introduce the fairy grandmother and her companions, her gang of three—Prince, the charming greyhound who crossed the Rainbow Bridge and returned; a hotshot, funny Dandelion Fairy who wanted to show off; plus a sad Little Sunshine, a wounded soul child who hid in my heart. I knew their magical tales would touch many people, especially lonely older women who suffered loss, disappointment, or depression. The book’s bits of wisdom could spark joy, transform grief, give hope, and stir healing. These stories are based on my own life experiences. If someone asked, “Is the fairy grandmother real?” I’d answer with another question: “Is joy real?” You can’t see it, but you can certainly feel it. I believe in two kinds of reality—ordinary reality and non-ordinary reality. Ordinary reality includes the physical senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling. No ordinary reality transcends the physical senses. It includes the spiritual realms and Dreamtime, where we see and hear with our inner eyes and ears. I walk between these worlds of reality. I believe we all have an inner world, which can be referred to as the imaginary world or the imagination. Our inner world waits to be explored. I believe we all have an inner child, a part of the self that remains in our inner world even as we age and mature. This part of our personality, formed in our early development, continues to influence our behavior as adults. The inner 40 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
child, and there may be more than one, is sometimes called the magical child, divine child, or soul child. This child holds our trust and innocence, still believes in Santa Claus and fairies and may have imaginary friends. I believe we all have a delightful spirit of joy within who anxiously awaits to wake up and make us happy. This spirit of joy is your fairy grandmother. I believe we all carry our own personal stories that call for remembering. my true heart’s desire is that telling my stories will help readers remember and tell their stories. In order to access the many dimensions and layers that might lay hidden in these childlike tales, this book—Wake Up Your Fairy Grandmother Within! —offers different ways to discover and utilize its many bits of wisdom. “Your Fairy Grandmother’s Wake-Up Call” will help readers recognize their own fairy grandmothers and discover their own inner worlds. The imagination opens a whole new exciting realm to explore. “The Fairy Grandmother’s Meditation” encourages readers to go within and expand their own inner wisdom. “The Reader’s Guide” proposes questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion. Readers are also encouraged to remember and give life to their own stories. Since residents in retirement or assisted living facilities often find themselves alone and/or lonely, these questions can encourage conversation, group discussion, comradery, and storytelling.
Jacqueline Thea, Ph.D. is an expert in her fields of psychology, healing and shamanic studies. She is a licensed psychotherapist and dream counselor. Also, Thea is a former professional guardian/conservator, registered nurse, and practitioner of harp therapy. With her background in mental, physical and spiritual health paired with her extensive life experiences, she developed her book, “Wake Up Your Fairy Grandmother Within!: You’re Never Too Old to Be Young at Heart,” to help spark joy in their lives of others. To learn more, please visit www.jacquelinethea.com.
WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
Bahara Golestani Her Journey from Afghanistan to America
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Bahara walked an untraditional path to achieve Hollywood success. She grew up in a creative household; her father was an artist, and her mother was an actress, so she always had a natural passion for performing and for pursuing the arts. She grew up playing the violin and loved performing in school plays. At the young age of four, she and her family were forced to flee the country and became war refugees in Moscow. Their lives were completely transformed as they had to leave their home abruptly with nothing and led a refugee life with no stability. They ultimately were sponsored by the UN in Moscow, helping her and her family move to America, eventually residing in Phoenix, Arizona, to start a new life. Golestani had a difficult childhood adapting to America as she didn't speak a word of English. With the help of the hit television series "Friends," she was able to learn the language and at the same time, became enthralled with acting. After high school, she pursued modeling, successfully landing several magazine covers, but always knew her true passion was to act. From the moment she stepped foot into the Stella Adler Academy in Hollywood during a campus tour visit, she knew this was where she belonged. To make money for the costly tuition, she worked diligently for two years on multiple jobs and finally saved enough money to move and enroll herself in the Academy. Upon graduating from Stella Adler, she persistently went out on auditions and worked as a professional fitness model, even successfully placing first in female bodybuilding competitions. After landing roles in various short films, Golestani has since appeared in TNT’s “Animal Kingdom,” CBS’ “Madam Secretary” ID TV’s “Betrayed,” and film AN AMERICAN FUNERAL, before landing her breakout role on the newest season of NBC’s "This Is Us." When Golestani isn't busy acting and continuously honing her craft, she can be found working on her fitness, continually bettering herself both physically and mentally. As a speaker of five different languages (Farsi, Russian, Dari, Pashto, and English), she has worked as a translator/consultant on film and TV sets. She has also completed voiceover work in films like 6 UNDERGROUND. Bahara has enormous compassion for refugees of war and is very proud of her Afghan roots. Ultimately, she would love to become a role model to those in similar positions to her when she was a child and plans to become even more active through various charities and organizations. 42 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Photo by Andy Rooney
You were born in Afghanistan and were four years old when you and your family were forced to flee and became refugees in Moscow. How did that change your life? It forced me to grow up quickly. My family went through a lot of pain. There were things that I saw as a child that affected my spirit. While I didn't choose my upbringing, it taught me courage, forgiveness, and resilience. One of my favorite quotes is "Smooth Seas Never Made A Skilled Sailor," and I can definitely relate to that. What inspired you to become an actress? I was always interested in storytelling. I am fascinated with the idea of walking in another person’s shoes. I got involved in theater at a very young age. My curiosity and love for the arts just grew. While pursuing my degree at Stella Adler, my passion ignited even more. How does your family feel about you becoming an actress? My immediate family, like my parents, have always been extremely supportive. I'm very lucky to have their love and support but to be completely honest, I have received a lot of backlash from other family members, not approving of my choices because of their religious beliefs. I have just learned to mute all of that chaos and follow my heart. You currently have a role in the television show "This Is Us." Tell us how you became a part of the show. As an actress in Los Angeles, you audition a lot. I went through a traditional auditioning process, and I was very excited from the beginning because I've been a huge fan of the show for a very long time. How does it feel to be part of some very popular shows like "This Is Us," "Animal Kingdom," and "Madam Secretary"? Very grateful and humbling. This is a very hard industry to break in to, and I've been working hard on my craft for years to be able to work with great materials, amazing showrunners, writers, and directors, which is extremely humbling. Which of the shows mentioned above resonates the most with you? Why? My life experiences have given me a unique and versatile perspective that allows me to connect with each project on a personal level. Each character that I have portrayed has been extremely rewarding, although being cast as Dr. Asmaan on “This Is Us” has been such an honor to represent a strong, powerful Afghan woman that risks her life for a good cause. You also do voiceover and modeling. Tell us about it. Fitness has always been a huge passion of mine, and I really enjoyed modeling. Working with publications and companies, such as Sports Illustrated and NPC, made working in that industry a wonderful experience. Voice over work has allowed me to portray certain characters, to explore my work as an artist, and helped me to tap into my creativity in a different way.
Photo by Andy Rooney
When you came to America, you didn’t speak a word of English. How difficult was this in your life to try to learn the new language and culture? It was not easy. I had many days where I would come home from school and cry to my mom, telling her that I didn't have any friends and that no one wanted to even eat lunch with me. I think it was also extremely difficult because I was approaching my teenage years, and it was just a lot of change all at once. It was an experience that shaped me and made me very strong. I have always been proud of my background. Growing up, I was certainly an outcast. It took some time, but I am now more comfortable in my skin than ever. I'm so appreciative to have a platform where I can speak my truth. Are there any charities or causes that are close to your heart and why? I truly respect the United Nations for what they did for my family. I would love to work with them in the future and contribute towards how they impact others' lives. I also admire the work done by UNICEF and "Save the Children." I recently had the pleasure of volunteering at "The LA Mission," and it was extremely rewarding. For some time now, I have been donating to the "Humane Society," and I’m looking forward to continuing my support. 43 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
THE WAY I SEE IT
By Joe Santos, Jr.
FAST
FOR WARD
TO RE WIND 44 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
FAST FORWARD
I used to be the person who would always be looking forward to things. What I mean by that is, anticipation. As a kid, I couldn't wait till school was over and for Summer to begin. I couldn't wait for Christmas or my Birthday to arrive, a vacation, or a planned weekend away with friends! I was always excited about everything. It's all I'd think about. "Hurry up and get here!" I can't wait to get my Drivers License, can't wait to graduate, get my own apartment, a car, whatever! Guess what? As long as it felt it took to arrive, is as quickly as they were over, gone, just to become a distant memory I rarely visit. We hear people say all the time, "live in the moment." Well, it's never been more true and essential to living our best life. Consider the thought process alone. When we are focused on one thing, how many other things around us become invisible, immaterial, unimportant, unnoticed, or even dismissed? Think about the opportunities, nuances, moments, and people we missed, even avoided simply because of our preoccupations, "selfishness," or inability to just be in the moment. Yes. Be in the moment. When I was a kid, I remember my Grandmother calling me "impatient." Now, I'm sure there are more clinical terms. A.D.D. perhaps? Maybe not. However referred, the fact is I've learned the art of "chill." What is ahead of us is ahead of us for a reason. The reason being, so that we can arrive prepared in mind, body, and spirit. More importantly, to show up present so whatever the contemplation, anticipation, or expectation, it is met with the best of intention. Tomorrow is precisely that. "The near future."
When we think of it, that way, it should make us think more responsibly. It does me. It's not as literal sounding as tomorrow. It sounds more distant and unsure. Maybe we would start living by our moments more, taking them in, and taking more time to look not only both ways but all ways. One foot in front of the other, both eyes ahead, one heart open, one God served. We rush to get everywhere. Across the street, across the world. And what do we think about when we get there? We start to think about how we get back? We spend half our lives chasing our tails. "Fast forwarding to rewind." Think of those who are unable to rewind. My Grandmother, after a magnificent life of experiences, successes, world travels, five husbands ( and she called me impatient?) left this world no longer able to remember her own name. But, as I "rewind," I remind myself of all the lessons I continue to learn along the way of my own journey as I take my sweet time getting to "where-ever" and "ever-where"‌‌." Impatient" no more.
Joe Santos, Jr. is a Celebrity Chef and Life-Stylist. He joins The Eden Magazine as a writer sharing his unique view on life, death, love, and the avoidance of mediocrity. Follow Joey on Instagram @jojoboy13
FAST FORWARD
TO REWIND
TO REWIND
45 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
A Conversation
Antemedi & You:
with an Extraterrestrial Spirit Guide
In this excerpt from my book, “Consciousness and the Alien Mind: A Spiritual Journey to Other Dimensions�, my spirit guide Antemedi gives some background to his understandings. He explains that knowing the way we think enables him to know much about us. He provides a brief insight into our development and evolution, which currently excludes consciousness and inter-dimensional involvement.
Photo by Clarisse Meyer
By Robert Lomax
’Hello, I would like to get to know you,’ or as we Andromedans say, ‘Conapaney.’ That may sound odd when you were probably thinking you would like to get to know me, particularly as I am the one reaching out to you. In any event, there are so many of you, how could I possibly know you as a separate individual? That depends upon the definition of ‘you’. Most of you know and accept that you plug into your earthbound collective consciousness. It is a consciousness that reflects and adapts to your thoughts and feelings. As an extension of you, it includes each and every one of you that contribute to it. It is you; it is your neighbor and the whole world. It is singular and plural at the same time. It is one or the other depending on how you look at it. If I am connecting to it – it is me as well as you the many. Thus, I am aware of the many, the totality or the few if I wish. I know you well, but there is always more to know. I am part of a group that has specifically studied other cultures. We have our own school of learnings. I do not use the word ‘teachings’ because we learn or become aware in different ways to you. You might like to think of us as an ‘evolving university group’. We research and provide guidance for contact with other races. This does not impinge upon the free will of anyone to interact with you in the way they wish. The guidance is given in love and is accepted as information that can be used. Our prime objective is to understand humanoids to the best of our ability before encountering them. Though that’s not always the case.
Part of my outreach is to show each of you what communication you are capable of as individuals and how you may interact with us. Some of those ways I will mention in due course. Before undertaking them, reading to the end of the book will be useful. If you accept you are a full part of the wider ‘us universe’, this will allow you to feel you are a member of a much bigger family. This may help when we talk about co-created relationships and a brief synopsis of your unknown history. I believe the level of these explanations has been set so that no one is excluded from understanding them. Every person who reads this material will have different capabilities, and I am conscious not to lose anyone while explaining my perspectives. At the same time, I hope it will be stimulating for those who are more familiar with other alien disclosures. I can, however, promise some new insights for them. The aim is: to advance communication and benevolent interaction with other cultures. We can do this with you because we have connected mutual pasts and futures. So, introductions and aims completed; perhaps we should look at your initial thoughts. After all, I did claim to know your ways for many reasons! The subject of contact with aliens comes loaded with many preconceived ideas. Your first thoughts are likely to be where is the proof that I actually exist, and is it really me talking to you? It is a very valid question that should rightly be asked.
So, we can know you by knowing how you think and what makes you think the way that you do. There are certain elements that are common to the way you process things. You choose from a range of possibilities and formulate your own program, which gives you your modus operandi, personality and individuality. You may not fully appreciate how we can claim to know you so well – in some cases, know you better than you do – the you as the plural, which still contains the singular being you, the reader.
Proof may seem to be a simple yes or no. You see it or don’t see it, experience it or don’t experience it. Consensus beliefs are not proof for or against alien existence. While there are a few physical contacts, the majority of experiences are mental and emotional. How many individual accounts will there need to be to make facts tangible? Perhaps no figure will suffice because it is still not your proof – not your individual experience. If you put aside your personal need for proof, can other people be believed?
In addition, we are also connected to many of you at higher soul levels. We have a union and communication there. At those levels, we are some of you and some of you are us. But who is who and what does this mean for you in your plural or singular? I have a perspective on this, and I am happy to share it with you.
The problem with that is it takes us back to ‘believing’ as a method of proof again. The current consensus is not helpful, either – it both accepts and disregards those that have alien experiences. Ultimately, it is your personal choice to accept or reject other people’s experiences.
Robert says existing contact between humans and aliens already exists, much of which is at soul and mental levels. However, your governments have secret space programs and have direct communication with different species. The amount of contact is hidden from the populous. You have plenty of researchers and experiencers on earth who are well versed in a wide variety of alien facts. I will not add to those for it would distract me from my purpose.
If you accept you are a full part of the wider ‘us universe’, this will allow you to feel you are a member of a much bigger family. This may help when we talk about co-created relationships and a brief synopsis of your unknown history. 47 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
None of what I have said is proof – what can be measured and against what? Should proof be ‘apparent truth’, which your media informs you according to their agenda? Perhaps mass sightings – but you have already had these. Why should so many people lie about personal experiences? Is it a phenomenon in the collective consciousness, a deeply held desire for more, or is it a glitch in your program? Perceptions and interpretations are involved when you look for truth. If I am sad, could I prove that to you? You will perceive me by using as many of your information receptors as possible. You would look at my demeanor, my face and perhaps the way I hold myself. An understanding of my circumstances and the reasons why feel this way would help. I say I am sad, and the supporting information appears to support this. Because you compare it to your own experiences of sadness, you accept that I am sad. You have used your comparable feelings and knowledge on the inside of you, but it is not proof that someone else is sad. You superimpose your personal judgements and, on balance, accept it as proof. You may empathize and your ‘heart will go out to me’; this will create a deeper emotional experience for you, but the emotional intensity can cause a blindness. It’s happening to you and it’s your reaction to me, but it is not actual proof of my feelings. It’s compelling enough and it might be a truth. What I am saying is, I cannot prove to you what I am thinking or feeling.
Photo by Ashkan Forouzani
You can interpret and make your own conclusions based upon the general context. But even that is incumbent upon what you think as a weighted balance. The feeling of truth is something that can be trusted but only you can gauge that. So, I hope you will begin to feel that through the experience of encountering me and the others who will participate in this communication. As I speak ‘in Robert’ – he is typing my words to you – the words that flow are mine as if they are his. I share my sight and my experiences with him as if we are the same you as each other. Robert Lomax gives his time freely to help bereaved people and provide spiritual healing to others. He also creates art inspired by the conversations with his spirit guides Antemedi and Orlacka. Lomax and his wife live in Norfolk and have three children and a grandchild. Read more about the conversations with his spirit guides in his new book, “Consciousness and the Alien Mind.” Check out the book here: www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/801899-consciousness-and-the-alien-mind. Also add the following sentence: To see the artwork inspired by spirit guides Antemedi and Orlacka go to www.roblomax.co.uk.
Have you seen Gretchen?! Missing since 11/11/2016 Please contact us
info@theedenmagazine.com
Photo by Kirill Sharkovski
Why
Does Daddy Always
Look So Sad? Jude Morrow
When I first went to a night club I felt the same as I did whenever Iwas five years old. So many people doing different things; the crowded bar in one side and a whole dance floor on the other. I just couldn’t fit into the situation, and it frightened me as much at sixteen as it did when I was five. I never spoke of this fear to anyoneat the time. How could I? I suppose my Asperger’s came to the rescue. I found it difficult tomanage the loud, optical experiences nightlife brought and my flight response triggered. I would worry a lot, even now. I alwaysbelieve that those who do not worry become complacent and proneto error. Situations such as these would cause me to panic and I always left, with or without excuse.
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Every school year showed positive academic progress, and at sixteen, I sat the last of my compulsory school exams. I passed every test with flying colours and went back to school for the final two years. I gained the confidence and ability to sit in an examination hall and complete my exams like everyone else. For any readers outside of the UK and Ireland, sixth form as it isknown, is unlike to the American Senior High in that it is not compulsory and we can leave school at sixteen. I decided to remainat school as I wanted to go to university.
Photo by Jack Sharp
So the once non-verbal aggressive child with significant behavioural and sensory issues returned to fight another day! It was when I was seventeen I started to realize and query my condition for myself. I asked my Mum what the nature of my condition was and what it was called. I don’t remember her actually telling me at this stage. I didn’t participate in as much destructive behaviour and set myself a goal to go to university. As I had grown up as part of a year group, I decided that I wanted to become a social worker. I had completed many training courses that I used to support my application.
Imagine that! The person in the youth group with the most social difficulties actually wanted to become a social worker. Of all the careers I could have chosen, the one most unsuited to my limitations is the course I decided I wanted to pursue. I still don’t understand my logic in this regard, even though I have been doing the job for seven years now. When I discussed my preferred option to the
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careers advisor, she encouraged me to pursue this as she saw that I was quite a capable leader and decision maker. Those two years brought me a wealth of experiences. I was asked to become a group leader at my youth group, to which I must say I am still indebted to for their kindness toward me. I relished this challenge and was very well supported by the other group leaders. They knew I wasn’t like most others but that I could learn from them. I applied for and worked in two summer camps in the summers of 2007 and 2008. I loved travelling and meeting new people. I got a kick out of it. The summer camp structure suited me and every day was the same. When other staff got bored of the routine, I very much enjoyed it. I learned to water-ski, rock climb and drive on the other side of the road. My youth group and parents saved my life. I didn’t belong anywhere, until my youth group allowed me to be myself and used my quirky traits to their advantage. When I took on projects I threw my heart and soul into them and I didn’t stop until I got the outcome that I wanted. I would encourage parents of all abilities to seek out groups for their children to attend. My therapies throughout school taught me specific skills that no doubt helped, although being at a youth group helped me to learn about people.
Jude Morrow presented with communication and social difficulties early in life, which led to a diagnosis of Asperger Type Autism at the age of 11. Despite having educational challenges, Jude progressed through secondary school and graduated from the University of Ulster with an honors degree in social work in 2012. Jude now works as a social worker and is a motivational speaker and advocate for all things autism. When not speaking, writing, or social working, Jude loves spending time with his son, Ethan, enjoying the outdoors, cooking, and reading.
SOUL COURAGE By Tara-jenelle Walsch
CL
reating uck
luck doesn’t just happen, randomly. Good things aren’t sprinkled down from the heaven’s like fairy dust, and lucky are those who just happen to be the landing pad.
Luck. A myth and old wives’ tale from the ages that justifies good things happening with the reasoning of simply being in the right place, at the right time.
we don’t have to wait for the stars to align in order for Lady Luck to shine our way. Yes, we’re in luck—we can actually create it for ourselves!
The thing is, luck doesn’t just happen, randomly. Good things aren’t sprinkled down from the heaven’s like fairy dust, and lucky are those who just happen to be the landing pad.
Luck is a point of view Surprisingly, a large part of luck is believing that everything goes our way. It’s a powerful point of view that trusts we’re already lucky, right now. So much so that we expect good things to happen and carry the personal motto, “Good things always happen to me.”
And likewise, luck isn’t partial to certain people. There aren’t angels keeping a tally on who is worthy of luck and who isn’t, herding all of the goodness one way or another. And that’s good news, because it means
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The moment you turn a bad thing into a good thing you become lucky. What you see, is what you get.
Luck is a decision Luck is a decision to see everything as beneficial, in some way or another. One man may find a quarter on the street and think he’s the luckiest man in the world, while another may see it and keep walking. We have the choice on how we will view things, and deciding to view good things flowing to us as a way of life defines us as lucky. It’s not something that you always see, naturally, it’s a conscious decision. Luck doesn’t always look lucky in the moment The sneaky thing about luck is that it doesn’t always look lucky. Don’t look for evidence to show you luck—evidence, or lack thereof, is deceiving. Evidence very often has nothing to do with luck, especially so in the moment. You may find out three years later that the casual meeting of a particular person at a party was the luckiest thing that ever happened to you. And the reverse is true, as well. When something happens that appears to be evidence of horrible luck, don’t fall for it. Some of the most powerful people in the world have turned lemons into lemonade. At first glance, an unfortunate event may seem like you’ve run into bad luck, but when you look inside the experience, you’ll find the fortune.
It’s a simple question, but brings immediate results. And the more you ask, the more you find. And the quicker you ask, the better. Creating luck is largely based on reducing the time it takes to see what’s good in the situation at hand. The sooner you see the gifts, the less space there is for the negative to squeak in, which strengthens the positive. When we shorten the time lapse between the time of the event and the time that we see its gift, we begin to master the art of creating our own luck. Give it a try and see for yourself. If you’re not as lucky as you think you should be, aren’t you lucky to have read this article? RoadMap to Creating Luck 1-Luck doesn’t happen randomly, we can create it 2-Luck is largely a point of view 3-Luck is also a decision 4-Luck doesn’t always look lucky in the moment 5-Find the good in misfortune, it’s there 6-The positive current strengthens the sooner you see the gift 7-This flows goodness to you, creating luck
You can literally make your own luck by turning your thoughts around in a so-called unlucky moment and choosing to find the gift therein instead of defaulting into a negative spiral. In the very moment of a what looks like a mishap, shift the way you think by asking yourself, “What if this wasn’t a bad break? What if this was actually the best thing that happened to me, but I just don’t know it yet?”
Your Soul Mission…should you choose to accept: The next time an event occurs in your life that appears to be evidence of bad luck, name three ways that you could turn it around and create it as a lucky event in your mind.
There’s not a person in the world who hasn’t had something that appeared to be unfavorable happen to them, only to discover years later, the valuable role that event played in who they are today.
Tara-jenelle Walsch is a monthly columnist for the Eden Magazine. She is the author of the book, Soul Courage, and the founder and spirit behindthe Soulebrate greeting card company. You will also find her speaking publicly about emotional and energetic awareness, and a sacred formula which she believes has the ability to enrich the world at large.
By deciding that every circumstance, event and situation in your life has seeds of benefit, you’re seeing life differently and you become part of co-creating what happens from that point forward. Your now shifted train of thought energetically paves the way, generating a stronger current for even more good things to happen. Most of us aren’t living at such a level of mastery that we see the good in everything the moment it happens. I’m certainly not. But I keep an awareness around it and constantly challenge my negative thoughts. A great tool that helps with this in the aftermath of anything that’s happened in your life is to simply ask yourself, “What’s good about this?”
Tara-jenelle was raised in Annapolis, Maryland and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Towson University in Baltimore. She currently lives in the beautiful hills of Ashland, Oregon.www.soulcourage.com
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An interview with Peter Tabichi
A science teacher from Kenya. A Champion for Children in Conflicts and Crisi
Peter Tabichi won the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019 at a ceremony in March hosted by actor, singer, and producer Hugh Jackman. Peter teaches at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Pwani Village, situated in a remote, semi-arid part of Kenya’s Rift Valley. Here, students from a host of diverse cultures and religions learn in poorly equipped classrooms. Their lives can be tough in a region where drought and famine are frequent. Ninety-five percent of pupils hail from poor families, almost a third are orphans or have only one parent, and many go without food at home. Drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, young marriages and suicide are common. Turning lives around in a school with a student-teacher ratio of 58:1, is no easy task, not least when to reach the school, students must walk 7km along roads that become impassable in the rainy season. Undeterred, Peter started a talent nurturing club and expanded the school’s Science Club, helping pupils design research projects of such quality that 60% now qualify for national competitions. Peter mentored his pupils through the Kenya Science and Engineering Fair 2018 – where students showcased a device they had invented to allow blind and deaf people to measure objects. His students, who had never stepped on a plane before, went on to win the UN Sustainable Development Goal Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona this year. Despite teaching in a school with only one desktop computer with an intermittent internet connection, Peter uses ICT in 80% of his lessons to engage students, visiting internet cafes and caching online content to be used offline in class. Mr. Tabichi thank you for your time, please tell us about your mission of global education charity. Having grown up in and now teaching in poor parts of rural Kenya where 95% of our children are from impoverished backgrounds, I know the limiting effect such circumstances can have on the young. But despite the harsh and challenging conditions, I have seen the promise of Africa’s young people – their curiosity, their intelligence, their belief. Now Africa is a continent bursting with the promise that I see every day in my classroom. In my students I see raw talent and great creativity that refuses to be held back, I also see hard work, a determination to defy the odds, and be the best they can be. The world is becoming a smaller place every day, so it is incumbent upon all of us to think globally, act locally, and try and level up the playing field so opportunity is shared equally, and it all starts with education.
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Having come from a family of teachers, who I admired because of their humility and their selfless dedication to students in the classroom and the wider community outside, and because my father is a staunch Catholic, I was motivated to become a teacher myself and a Franciscan Brother, a member of the religious order founded by St Francis of Assisi and an international religious organization of the Catholic Church. It is dedicated to empowering the rural poor through education, sustainable agriculture and peace building.
You won the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019 at a ceremony in March hosted by actor, singer, and producer Hugh Jackman. How is this achievement helping you to allow you to pursed further with your dream. During my teaching career I have used different teaching approaches suitable for different learners and for different circumstances, and now the recognition of winning the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize means I can amplify and spread these principles around the world.
Science and technology are the future of education, both in content and delivery, never to replace teachers, but certainly able to help ensure quality education can be delivered despite a lack of resources in locations like rural Africa. As well as prioritising STEM education, we have to teach our students to become true global citizens with the 4 Cs: Creativity, Critical thinking, Collaboration and Communication, as this will be central to how they live their lives and tackle the big challenges of conflict, food insecurity, water shortages and climate change. As I travel the world now campaigning to support STEM education in Africa and advocating for Education Cannot Wait to ensure children whose lives have been blighted by war and catastrophe are given their birthright of a decent education, I have also recently launched my Science Challenge while visiting the United States. I met with tech giants in Silicon Valley including Google, Facebook and Cisco, to ask them to support science learning among young people in Africa, as it is in their interests to help Africa develop their science and technology base. This can be where they, or in fact any company, can fund training for STEM teachers in Africa, scholarships for African students to study science at top global universities, launch programmes to encourage more African girls to study STEM subjects and open internships for African students in their own companies.
Winning the Prize has given me this wonderful global platform and generated enormous interest from many people who are interested in hearing about such methods and also invested in the positive change that education can deliver for children and society in general. This includes the transformative effect science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, coupled with 21st century collaborative and critical thinking skills, are able to bring to the continent of Africa and the world more widely. I am now able to advocate even more strongly for STEM education and work with other partners, both locally and internationally, to achieve this. I would like to become involved in STEM exchange programs with local and global institutions. 57 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
I know it is tough being a teacher in many parts of the world today – not just here in Africa because of a lack of teacher status, low pay and a lack of even basic resources provided to schools. Education must be prioritised and teachers given as much support as possible. With a huge increase in the youth population, teachers have never been more important than they are today. Only they are able to equip young people with the skills to fulfil their dreams and our continent’s promise. Without education this dream will be put on hold and we just cannot afford for that to happen. 58 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
As Education Cannot Wait's first “Champion for Children in Conflicts and Crisis” I am also campaigning to ensure children whose lives are scarred by war and catastrophe can achieve their birthright of a decent education. I also just launched my Science Challenge while visiting the United States. For this I met with tech giants in Silicon Valley such as Google, Facebook and Cisco, and asked them to support science education for Africa’s young people, as it is in their interests to help us develop, broaden and deepen their science and technology base. They can fund training for STEM teachers in Africa, scholarships for African students to study science at top global universities, launch programmes to encourage more African girls to study STEM subjects and open internships for African students in their own companies. In Pwani Village in kenya where you teach children, where their lives can be tough in a region where drought and famine are frequent. Ninety-five percent of pupil’s hail from poor families, almost a third are orphans or have only one parent, and many go without food at home. Drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, young marriages and suicide are common. How you feel we can make a difference on their lives. On one level it is about alleviating poverty and providing the tools for communities to help themselves become
more self-sufficient. On another level it is as partners in ensuring we provide all children with the very best education possible. Only when we work together can we find the right solutions to tackle a societal problem of poverty and use education to help our young people face their future with confidence. I know it is tough being a teacher in many parts of the world today – not just here in Africa - because of a lack of teacher status, low pay and a lack of even basic resources provided to schools. Education must be prioritised and teachers given as much support as possible. With a huge increase in the youth population, teachers have never been more important than they are today. Only they are able to equip young people with the skills to fulfil their dreams and our continent’s promise. Without education this dream will be put on hold and we just cannot afford for that to happen. In your own words, how we can help eliminate poverty in our world? It begins with education and the equality of opportunity to have a good education. It is why I am very keen for girls to increasingly play an important part in this story, but it will require a huge shift to get there because of the 131 million girls around the world who currently don’t get the opportunity to go to school, many of them are from Africa.
One of the key messages I have been promoting in my Science Challenge is that the fates of prosperous countries in the developed world such as the US and Europe are linked with Africa. Today’s African refugees from climate change, political upheaval, famine, war and hardship will be tomorrow’s migrants on America’s doorstep. It is Africa that supplies the cobalt, mined at great human cost, to power the smartphones that underpin US corporate connectivity and its modern economy. It is no longer just enough for Western companies and governments to provide aid to lessen the hardships faced in the Global South. They also need to help Africa produce homegrown scientific talent who will come up with fresh solutions from fresh perspectives that can only be cultivated at the coalface. No one country can tackle the existential threats that the world faces today, it is only by sharing the resources of knowledge and human capital that we have a chance. Thus, my idea for American companies to help Africa develop talented minds that can join US scientists in solving the world’s greatest challenges is a win-win for both continents. How can we build a self-esteem in our children? Our clubs at school in Talent Nurturing, Science and Peace, have seen our students explore and develop ideas, confront difficult topics and work their way through, boosting their collaboration, confidence and accomplishment. Our Science Club has seen children develop what they have learned in class into real life innovations and inventions which they have taken on to great success in science competitions nationally and now internationally. Our other students know what little their classmates have had in the way of resources or facilities, but have seen how their resilience and passion has won through, so they share in this triumph and everyone’s confidence and sense of pride at the school is encouraged. Our Peace Club proved very successful in breaking down historic tribal rivalry between our young people and offering models of behaviour and thinking that lead to greater cooperation and collaboration. Some of the topics discussed include climate change mitigation, deforestation, conflict, gender-based violence, and how to curb them both in school and the wider community. This helps promote global perspectives, creating insights into how other people in other countries deal with things and face up to the challenges confronting them. This helps our students appreciate the world around them, along with each other’s ethnic background and culture. Our students get to debate with each other, develop their ideas and their personalities. You see their confidence grow
in conjunction with their knowledge. These are all good pathways for using education to build self-esteem in our children. How our readers can help with your foundation? They can encourage any businesses and leaders they are connected with to embrace the ideas of the Science Challenge and support science education for Africa’s youth, encourage the funding or sponsorship of training STEM teachers in Africa, the provision of scholarships for African students to study science at top US universities, help programmes that encourage more African girls to study STEM subjects and open internships for African students in their own companies. This leveling up of opportunity is something that policy makers, governments, NGOs, civil society and the voluntary sector can all engage in in one way or another. Everyone benefits by helping spread educational opportunity and equality of opportunity. Please share with us a story of one day at the school with children in Kenya. As a Maths and Physics teacher I always try and incorporate ICT or some apparatus into my lessons, as it connects with, engages and inspires young minds, helping learners to visualize scientific concepts. We only have one computer at my school and poor Internet connectivity, so to get round this I will download material from a local cybercafe to use in the classroom or even use something as basic as a box of matches to demonstrate the principles of friction. I use peer-to-peer teaching to foster collaboration. I use a science quiz where students work in teams to solve questions about the theory they have been taught, which helps broaden their minds and perception. Most of my time is spent at school, or leading activities in our various clubs. Collaborating with other teachers in our school, we have designed a programme called “Academic Clinic” to assist low achievers. Students whose performance is very poor in science are “admitted” to this clinic conducted before/after the start of the classes during the school days and over the weekends. I work in a team of four other teachers to facilitate one-to-one tuition sessions to such students in mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics. Every weekend, I make sure that I visit at least two different students at their homes meeting their family members. Through this, I am able to identify the challenges that they face and what measures we need to take to help them.
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RECLAMING YOUR TRUE SELF By Angela Dunning
Finding Purpose in Pain None of us want to be in pain, emotionally or physically. Quite naturally we do all we can to avoid it or when we do have pain, we try to immediately medicate it away. This has become our way of relating to both our physical bodies and our emotions. We want to just feel good, happy and healthy all of the time. This is, of course, understandable as pain is unpleasant; it hurts! It slows us down; sometimes to the point of stopping us in our normal daily life altogether.
“To be in my body also means to suffer.” ~Marion Woodman
When in chronic pain, or through a sudden accident or illness we find that our normal daily life is utterly disrupted. We might break a limb and suddenly have to take time off work, be home-bound, depending on others which we might find incredibly difficult. If we are striving for a more conscious life we might dive into this experience and explore all of our feelings and thoughts, resistances and anxieties about being suddenly out of our normal, busy routine and instead, plunged into an immediate and intimate relationship with our body, which we normally over-work and take for granted. But, it’s easy to also miss this as the opportunity it could be, seeking only to recover as soon as possible so that we may resume our usual hectic externally-driven lifestyle once more, glad to be out of pain and back to full health. I came across this quote recently by philosopher Gerard Heard: “Pain is excess energy crying out for release.” This really struck a chord with me as I have been suffering from physical pain for much of the past two decades, primarily in my back and more recently my pelvis, and I have always had an inkling that there is an underlying psychological/psychic reason for my pain. That it was somehow trying to illuminate my core and chronic struggle in this lifetime to become and live who I really am, including all of my true potentials. I suspect this because I know I have kept myself small and safe for most of my life, only daring to grow from time to time and I have long suspected, especially since having long-term back pain, that I do not fully inhabit my true height and power. I have kept myself both physically and metaphorically smaller than I actually am capable of being.
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Photo by Sam Burriss
I have been studying the relationship between the body and the mind/psyche for some time now, and I’m slowly learning how this intimate and complex relationship plays out in our lives. And, energy seems to be the central element of both as well as the dynamic between these two parts of ourselves. So, if I have been curtailing my energy, which I know I do, then it makes sense that that energy has to try to find a release somehow, and physical pain could well be the route my psyche has chosen. It has to come out somehow… Being in pain is a strange experience and we all relate to this most intimate experience with ourselves in different ways. Many of us fall into line with how society tells us to deal with pain by taking ‘pain-killers’, or having other body-based treatments to alleviate physical pain. However, if we stick with Heard’s perspective for a moment, we can see how utterly life-destroying and cruel it is to try to ‘kill’ our pain if the pain is indeed excess energy trying to find expression and release. We’re literally removing or killing our own life-force energy! Others, on the other hand, succumb to their pain and wallow in the attention it brings, allowing them to regress back to childhood when everyone around us took care of us and we were absolved of all responsibility. I know people like this and indeed, at times I too have fallen into this somewhat comforting approach to dealing with pain. We can use our pain as an excuse to further keep ourselves out of life; in our comfort zone and refuse the call to grow through consciously suffering and thus, developing. The alternative to either of these common routes is to turn towards our pain. To learn to relate to it and to ask of it what it really wants of us. To stay present with our pain, breathing into the contracted part of our body and allowing ourselves to consciously suffer so that we may understand our whole being and our life’s particularly trajectory more intimately. Instead of refusing or denying our pain, to embrace it as an integral part of our individual journey. To let our body and its expressions speak to us. And to open our eyes to the metaphorical and symbolic wisdom our body is trying to impart to us. As I shared in my own experience, we could instead, explore what our body is really trying to help us with, and what our core journey is in this life that we are resisting but is our destiny to experience. We might discover that our pain is unexpressed grief, sadness, loss, or it might be rage turned inwards, or unknown joy and pleasure just dying to be experienced if we would only let go at last...
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“This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, the grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known.” ~Marion Woodman.
I’ve found that turning towards my pain and learning to meet my body in such an intimate way can lead to so much self-discovery and insight about both my own struggles and that of others. It’s also enabled me to deepen my ability to empathize with other people and animals and to extend more compassion to myself and others having gone through the fires of physical pain so often and for so much of my life. Since inhabiting my own vulnerability, limitations, and struggles through my pain more consciously, I am able to understand why others suffer too and find ways to gently support them through their own experiences. Ultimately, I can now see that pain has its own intrinsic purpose and value, if we would only just listen, we might finally discover what this means for our own journey in terms of releasing our vital energy, so that we CAN begin to live the fullest sense of who we truly are in this lifetime.
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/and Patreon: www.patreon.com/angeladunning You can learn more about Angela and her work helping people and horses at: www.thehorsestruth.co.uk
25 th
Annual
LA ART SHOW
A
s the 25th Annual LA Art Show came to its conclusion, the producers are proud to announce the dates of next year’s fair. The LA Art Show, recognized as the most comprehensive international contemporary art fair in America, will return to the LA Convention Center from February 10 - 14, 2021, coinciding with Frieze LA. The combined power of two of the most anticipated art shows in Los Angeles will serve to solidify the city's position and standing as a global epicenter of art and culture. And for the first time in LA’s history, this will establish an unprecedented Art Week for art collectors and the art-loving public, both locally and abroad.
“LA is one of the most creative cities in the world, and it has been my dream for us to be recognized as a true arts capital, not just the center of the entertainment industry,” says LA Art Show Founder and Executive Director Kim Martindale. “When I created the LA Art Show 25 years ago, there weren’t any big art fairs here. My intention has always been to use this fair as a platform to grow the LA art market into one that people are proud to buy from. It’s truly rewarding to see that mission accomplished on the 25th anniversary of the LA Art Show.” 64 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
The 2020 edition of the LA Art Show featured exhibitions by over 130 international galleries, museums, and non-profit organizations from 23 different countries. As the most comprehensive international art fair in America, the LA Art Show provides space for the full diversity of movements and mediums from the global art landscape. More than 55,000 attendees experienced the four day event.
atrocities of the Japanese-American concentration camps during World War II, and a celebration of the heroes who fight for equality and democracy for other marginalized communities to this day. This year’s programming in DIVERSEartLA was centered not only recognizing the diversity of artists and art movements that influence the LA market, but highlighting the ways institutions continue to implement diversity within their organizations. The Broad presented I See You, I Am Seen: On the Impact of the Diversity to shine a spotlight on efforts to incorporate more diversity into art museum staff.
FEATURED EXHIBITIONS this year included Walker Fine Art’s MC Escher Experience, which showcased his complete series of his iconic self portraits together for the first time ever. Kazu Hiro, who was nominated for an Oscar for his special effects makeup work on “Bombshell,” unveiled two new ICONOCLASTS sculptures of Audrey Hepburn at this year’s fair, presented by Copro Gallery. His photorealistic recreations of Abraham Lincoln, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, and Jimi Hendrix drew admirers before they even entered the show. Robert Peterson’s showcase, presented by Patrick Painter, proved to be one of the standouts of this year’s fair, with patrons admiring his portrait entitled, “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black.” DIVERSE art LA, curated by Marisa Ciachiolo, drew a crowd with the spectacle of the floor-to-ceiling MOLAA Pride Flag created by artists Leo Chiachio and Daniel Giannone. Next to this was Viktor Freso’s “The Birth of the Niemand,” featuring 16 larger than life statues that patrons could walk amongst and pose for photos with.The Japanese American National Museum booth drew patrons in with Taiji Terasaki’s “TRANSCENDIENTS: Heroes at Borders” exhibition, an immersive meditation on the 65 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
The gallery work was equally varied including showcases by CORE, a dedicated space for galleries from around the globe recognized as leading the way in contemporary art, MODERN + CONTEMPORARY, representing the vast spectrum of contemporary painting, illustration, sculpture and other artforms from around the world, ROOTS, honoring the voices and art movements of the past that continue to be informative of modern and contemporary art, INK, showcasing the continually evolving movement of East Asian ink painting, WORKS ON PAPER, exhibiting photographs and other pieces not on traditional canvas, DESIGN LA ART, showcasing high concept furniture and functional art, and PROJECT SPACE, dedicating exhibitions to specific artists from leading galleries Attendees were wowed by the breadth of art featured in the new European Pavilion gallery section, featuring over a dozen galleries from Spain, Italy, the UK and
beyond, in celebration of the profound influence that European art has had on the world. On Wednesday, February 5, Hollywood, fashion, and artworld stars alike gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the Opening Night Party of the 25th annual LA Art Show. Golden Globe nominated actress Sofia Vergara was the gracious host of the evening, and the star-studded party was attended by Charlize Theron, Emma Roberts, Cameron Monaghan, Jared Harris, Joe Manganiello, Tig Notaro, Sir Brodie, Brandon Boyd, KaDee Strickland, Andrew Howard, Lauren Sivan, Brittney Palmer, Josh Pence, Joanna Cassidy, Rebecca Metz, Meredith Salenger, Elizabeth Chambers, Jason Behr, Stephanie Allynne, Manolo Vergara, Ava Cantrell, and more. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales went to benefit the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Photo by Jack Sharp 68 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Prayer
from Ego-Centrism to Geo-Centrism
By Jayita Bhattacharjee
P
rayer is the harmonious and synchronized interaction of the conscious and subconscious states of mind as they both are directed for a specific purpose. While praying, you must be aware of what you are performing and why you are performing it. You have absolute faith in the law of healing. There is a science in prayer. You consciously choose a definite idea, picture or plan that you so long to experience. You then convey this idea or mental image to your subconscious mind. As you remain faithful in your mental belief, your prayers will be answered. Prayer is a definite mental action for a definite purpose. Prayer does not merely mean going out, but it also denotes going in and it is woven deeply as a rich tapestry of science, psychology, and metaphysics and ultimately faith. Prayer is the absolute setting of your intention. It does not represent a plea but a resolution that may take many forms. From a psychological perspective, the psychology that underlies prayer reveals two distinct perspectives. In one perspective, God can represent an external construct a higher power “out there”. On the other, God can represent the interior archetype, the higher power “in here”. In most religions, God is a divine power “out there”. So, it is prayed to in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. On the other hand, in Sufism, Kabala, God is referred to as “in here: which resonates with the notion of self as divine, that within one’s own profound self is hidden the divine. In the major Eastern traditions, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, we refer to the “in here” construct. When looked at from this perspective, prayer is something that is introspective and very akin to meditation.
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But the one type of prayer that is omnipresent in all, is the prayer of blessing. Blessing showers when the prayer shifts from the egocentric (praying for self ) to the ethnocentric (praying for you/us) and geocentric (praying for all of us). Like meditation, prayer influences your state of mind and that in turn influences your state of body. It kills your anxiety, lifts your depressed spirit, stabilizes your sleep pattern, and impacts the breathing. You pray in faith. While it influences our body-mind, it also influences our way of thinking. This induces a shift in the habits of the mind and accordingly in the patterns of behavior. In turn, these changes induce changes in the brain which in turn influences our objective and subjective experiences of this world and our participation in it. As we pray collectively, there is a shift in us from the egocentric to the ethnocentric to the geocentric. There is a transformation of the interior landscape with the power of prayer. Prayer brings a revelation to you, an opportunity for you to exhale and to stop trying to control the uncontrollable. Your ego gets silenced and you are no longer convinced of the futility of prayer. Your relationship with prayer may be turbulent and if you practice it consistently with a leap of faith in the higher power whether “ out there” or “in here”, it will shape you and transform your inner landscape for the better with peace and harmony. The unsettled part in you begins to settle down the restless in you seems to find rest. And this quashes your rebellion. It expresses a desire to live along the spiritual lines, to choose compassion and surrendering instead of dwelling in hate and resentment, to pause when agitated, to stop when aggravated, and allow your responses to be gentle rather then you being defensive and critical. Whether God is “out there” or “in here”, somewhere within you, that distinction dissolves where the power of prayer and its transformative effect is brought into focus. Something happens, some transformation takes place during the moments of a silent, wordless prayer. At the biological level, the brain waves change and the two sides of the brain: the ego-driven, rational, reasoning, materialistic hemisphere and the silent, altruistic, poetic, intuitive hemisphere begin to communicate more harmoniously with one another. The emotional blockages dissolve reducing anxiety, healing from loss, and leads towards joy and peace. You attune yourself to the infinite, you experience the majestic and divine in this universe and the profound sense of being cared for and loved for. An awareness comes for kinship with each other with the universe as a whole and mankind, through collective prayer. Nothing stands in the way to the seamless connection between the higher power, people and creation. It becomes a real and lived experience through this type of spiritual awareness which arises from contemplation and prayer.
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There develops a profound level of awareness and a connection with the higher power. We recognize the constant presence of the divine that calls us to pay attention inwardly to feel that presence. And we feel his mercy and majesty in everything we behold. We soften from the intellectual, argumentative side to the compassionate ones. There comes a humble recognition of the gift of life bestowed upon us. Through prayer and reflection, we are connected with the spiritual fount of wisdom and compassion. In the face of loss, sorrow transforms into joy and anxiety softens into peace and harmony. And we begin to see loss as a part of natural law and the divine will. We live and grow through suffering. Call the higher power near your own heart, so you may feel the radiance of the divine presence. Invite yourself, invite your soul to experience this situation which is immediately available within as you go inside any moment. It is a moment of direct, intimate connection and it is impossible to make a distinctive separation between the self and the emanation of the divine presence as the “self ” that you call “yourself ” gradually dissolves and disappears as you begin to the prayer of your heart. you use your very breath as the waves move in an ocean. And you say the words as they roll out of your heart, “O Lord, have mercy on me”. These words cause a deeper intimacy and vulnerability to arise within you. Then you feel your inner landscape. The prayer is like a very tiny seed whose humbleness holds all the potentials to be a towering tree. It refines your heart so you may recognize and blend with awareness in your spiritual heart and soul which is your real essence. To chant the prayer of your soul, be comfortable and sit in a posture of meditation and engage in breathing to enliven the prayer until your entire being partakes in its sacred utterance. First inhale and on inhalation utter the first part of the soulful prayer, “ O Lord” and then pause and hold the breath, then gradually exhale and mentally utter the second part of the prayer that arises in your heart” Have mercy upon me”. Finally, pause for a moment after you hold the breath following the exhalation. Become calmer, and more interiorized, go within and feel the divine presence luminating you from inside. Your inner openness is essential in going deeper and deeper. As you open your heart and inhale, you open yourself to Christ Consciousness. You feel this conceptually and then emotionally. With further prayer, the deeper and more intimate your connection becomes, with inhalation there comes a fullness, a filling of your empty vessel with Christ Consciousness. To understand this recognition, it is essential to be very calm in your body and mind, so in time all other thoughts
will fall away, and the radiant, luminous divine presence will be experienced very intimately. There will be a soulful communion between your soul and the heart of divine, so no distinction will remain, and your essence will be the divine essence. That is the rising of consciousness. While holding the air inside your lungs, rest inside in stillness, in the radiant luminosity of the heart. It is the awareness of the dissolving of your “self �, your identity, your ego. You are melting away. With time, the dissolution becomes complete as you begin to open and surrender further and further. As you dissolve, your unfolding happens, and your petals uncurl beautifully. The soul inside flowers. The scent arises in the air. you realize his essence becomes your essence. There is no distinction between the divine essence and yours. You have melted in him. You radiate in his presence and no barrier keeps you away from him. You experience a fusion with the
Allow yourself to be loved and just fall in love with yourself. You have expressed an act of openness. It is an unconditional act of love and compassion towards yourself. You love your entire being, just the way you are, your strengths and weaknesses. light of the higher power, with his grace, and you become love. It becomes a moment of deep intimacy, a soulful merging, an intuition of Christ Consciousness. As you exhale, love and simply love. Allow yourself to be loved and just fall in love with yourself. You have expressed an act of openness. It is an unconditional act of love and compassion towards yourself. You love your entire being, just the way you are, your strengths and weaknesses. The gates of heaven that reside in your heart begin to open and the light of falls rains on you from all corners. It becomes an act of embracing love and forgiveness. Your personal self completely surrenders in openness while the Christ Consciousness bestows its grace. When you hold the breath after exhalation, rest in the peace of nonbeing. It is emptying yourself. You become ready to receive the grace of Christ’s divine presence. It is an awareness, a recognition of peace and stillness at that moment when ecstasy floods you from within as you have joyfully surrendered to him. It endows you with powers of the mind as it enlightens your intellectual reasoning, gives you an understanding of your reasoning and accompanies your rationality with light, in a blended balanced mix. When engaged in prayer, the whole being comes to steadiness, it comes to serenity with the things that cannot be changed, accepting the way they are, and knowledge in such accep-
tance there lies the grace and the joy of ultimate living. All the limitations fall away, all the walls easily dissolve and reduce to the dust. Every limit disappears and the limiting self becomes limitless and the wisdom of the subconscious mind becomes infinite and unbounded. There is a light that emits from this wisdom and consciousness of this light knows no shadow. The thinker has become the seer, the sage. Every reason has melted, and wisdom has fallen into its place. The lotus unfolds so beautifully. The petals that once stay curled, now uncurl in this light. The darkness disappears, and the reasoning mind knows its limitations. The wisdom appears embosomed in beauty, the light radiates the soul and falls along your path. The trail is lit from within, the pathway is revealed, and you know by going inward, you arose in the light. The heart and the head, the feelings and the intelligence can be together in a perfect blend upon living a reflective, introspective life, that points the guiding star in the sky. So, you can aim at the human development on all the planes, and you unfold in all sides, or else you become one-sided, narrow, fanatical and short-sighted. The intellect must be developed along the spiritual lines. So, your shell existence of narrow selfishness gradually melts away. The longing for divine vanquishes the animal cravings. The lamp of wisdom is lighted in your heart.
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."
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LOOKING GOOD & FEELING GREAT
Photo by Oz Seyrek
By Margaret Tomaszewicz
Importance of Recognizing Causes
and Treatments for Hyperpigmentation 72 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
What Causes Hyperpigmentation?
There are several reasons why hyperpigmentation occurs in the skin. Some diseases and ailments can cause hyperpigmentation. Some of these health conditions include Cushing's disease, Graves' disease, and Nelson's syndrome. However, it's more common for people to experience hyperpigmentation due to many of the following factors. 1. Sun Exposure Sun exposure is the top reason why hyperpigmentation happens. Think about a person who goes tanning regularly. When they sit in the sun to tan, they intend to get darker. That's the whole point. However, when you're in the sun, the sun doesn't know if you're tanning or not. You're going to get darker when you spend time in the sun rays. When your skin exposed to the sun, it will impact any preexisting issues such as acne, previous scars and more. This is the main reason why SPF is so important. The sun activates the melanocytes in order to produce more melanin. 2. Acne and Incessant Picking Many people are tempted to pick and prod at their pimples. If it's not cared for correctly, the pimple-popping can backfire by leaving a mark. If you don't have a proactive strategy for getting rid of your dark spots, this can lead to a breakdown in your self-esteem and confidence. Acne scars are never fun to look at in the mirror. In most cases, people pick at their acne because they want to see the acne bumps or pus go away. However, there's a way to handle it. 3. Melasma While there are men who experience the woes associated with melanoma, it's typically common among women who are pregnant. While the bodies adjust to the increase and decrease of various hormones, many women end up with skin issues. Whether they deal with bad breakouts, rashes or hives, there are times when the aftermath leaves a trail. When pregnant women experience discoloration and itchy patches of hyperpigmentation, it's typically due to the pregnancy. With the right treatments, the melanoma can go away. It's usually just a temporary discomfort.
How Do You Prevent Hyperpigmentation? 1. Avoid Sun Exposure
If you already know that you'll be spending a significant amount of time in the sun, it's best to protect your skin with SPF. It's best to wear SPF 30 at the very least. You'll want to wear more if you're going to be outside for a long time. However, it's best to wear SPF 30 on a daily basis. Even if the day looks cloudy and overcast, the sun is still doing its work. You have to protect your skin at all costs. Too often, people underestimate the damage the sun can do to the skin. Skin cancer is a very real issue that can be deadly. 2. Leave Your Pimples Alone When it pertains to acne and picking the scars, you can do some damage. The key is in knowing how to eliminate the acne. Whenever you see that a pimple is formed, consider the depth. If you can't see pus, a whitehead or a blackhead forming, leave the pimple alone. If you try to pop a pimple before it's ready, you'll end up creating more damage that leads to long-lasting hyperpigmentation. A pimple is typically ready for extraction when the pore is open enough to push any pus through. It's important to treat it methodically to avoid scarring.
Photo by: Samantha Hurley
For many people, it can be really hard to resist a pimple-popping session when one shows up on the face. Unfortunately, instant gratification can lead to long-term effects. One of those long-term effects is hyperpigmentation. If you've ever indulged in the popping of a pimple, you know that it'd be nice to look in the mirror without seeing remnants of the pimple-popping session you had a few months ago. Learn more about the causes, prevention methods and treatment solutions of hyperpigmentation.
When you see that a pimple is seemingly ready for extraction, head to your shower. Once you've taken a shower, the steam will open your pores a bit more. This is why it's best to moisturize shortly after a shower. You want to lock in the moisture. Now, when your pores are open, use a warm washcloth or q-tips to pull the skin taut. You're going to pull the skin that's surround the pimple. While you'll want to pull it taut, it's essential that you do so gently. When you're not gentle, this can aggravate the skin and cause more damage. As you pull the skin taut, the pus will start to push through. Then, it's okay to gently push the skin surrounding the pimple in order to get more of the pus out. Once all of the pus is cleaned out of the infected area, use a benzoyl peroxide treatment as a topical treatment. There are plenty of effective, over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide treatments that will medicate the area and close up the pore. As you properly medicate the area, you're less likely to see scars because you handled the pimple with care and medicine. 73 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
3. Dealing with Melasma If you're dealing with melasma while you're pregnant, there isn't much you can do to change that. It's really about riding through the wave of pregnancy hormones. However, you can prevent the situation from worsening by limiting your access to the sun. A little Vitamin D is good for the body so it's still good to go outside. However, when you do, keep track of the time you're outside. Plus, wear a high SPF each time you're out there. When you're already dealing with the effects of melasma, it's all about making sure things don't get worse. Besides, once the pregnancy is over, you can start taking some medication to help the melasma dissipate if it doesn't do so on its own.
How Do You Treat Hyperpigmentation?
Truthfully, hyperpigmentation can be challenging to get rid of. It's also a different experience for those who have more melanin than others. While it might seem like a steep, uphill climb, consider the following ways you can actively work on treating your hyperpigmentation. 1. Wear SPF At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this tip can't be stressed enough. If you try to incorporate all of the other healing methods but skip SPF, the sun has the power to reverse all of your efforts. Always make sure you're wearing an SPF cream. It's even a wise idea to walk with an SPF spray that you can use to touch up every few hours. Many women purchase foundations and powders that have SPF in them. This is an excellent idea to consider as well. The more protection you have, the better off you'll be. 2. Exfoliate Regularly Gone are the days where people would scrub their skin with harsh scrubs in order to exfoliate. While this might be a nice method for your body, it's best to be extremely gentle with your facial exfoliation process because you want to avoid the possibilities of skin aggravation. Instead, you can exfoliate regularly by using a product that contains glycolic acid, alpha-hydroxy acids and/or beta-hydroxy acids. When you use acidic products on your skin, they will encourage skin cell turnover. Once you use the product long enough, the darker skin cells will eventually fall off. Bright, new skin cells will take their place. It's also an excellent idea to visit a dermatologist or an esthetician to receive professional-grade chemical peels if you'd like to experience a more intense yet quicker turnaround process. 3. Use the Right Products at Home It's always best to have a morning routine and a nighttime routine for your skin. In the morning, your moisturizer will consist of SPF. In the evening, you won't need SPF since you're going to bed. However, it's wise to incorporate the right serums at the right times. There are plenty of people who are under the school of thought that says it's not wise to use Vitamin C serums during the day. This is because the 74 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
sunlight can counteract the power of Vitamin C which can irritate the skin. It's okay if you decide to use your Vitamin C serum at night. Just make sure it's a part of the process. Vitamin C serums are great for maintaining a bright, healthy glow. They can also help to speed up the process of eliminating hyperpigmentation. In addition to a Vitamin C serum, it's really good to find a serum and a cream that is specifically committed to eliminating the scars and discoloration. There are plenty of products that promise to do this. Unfortunately, very few products actually follow through on that promise. Thankfully, the WODA Skincare Luminous Brightening Creme and Radiant Brightening Serum can deliver results. Before you use these products, pick a test area on another part of your body to see how your skin reacts to it. Then, gradually incorporate the serum and the creme into your weekly routine. When you're dealing with issues like hyperpigmentation, it's best to treat your whole face instead of specific spots. As you even the skin tone and develop the right regimen, your entire face will glow. In addition to adopting the right regimen, it's important to remain consistent. Always maintain consistency in order to see results. It's also a great idea to take "before and after" pictures. As you make progress, it'll be easier to stick with your results. As you achieve those results, it'll be a lot less tempting to pick pimples because you know how extensive the process is in order to get rid of the scarring left behind. I hope this information will help you in understanding and treating hyperpigmentation. To your health!
Margaret Tomaszewicz is a licensed esthetician with over 25 years of experience.She is the owner of European Skin and Massage Studio in Santa Monica, California and has developed the Organic WODA European Natural Skin Care Line. Her products are available on wodaskincare.com and on Amazon.com For every product sold WODA Skin Care plants a tree. Margaret can be reached at 424-279-9771 or europeanskinandmassagestudio@gmail.com wodaskincare.com
Live
P Grief
ast
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon
By Sasha Gary
How does death affect us and how can we learn to live past grief? Lately, there has been a large-scale effect of death that I have seen its effect on the masses. Death has affected me deeply with the passing of friends. I felt shocked, disbelief, sadness, and overwhelming exhaustion.We don’t understand why death comes knocking when it is your time, and no one is escaping this. It can be shocking and it wakes us up to the fact that we are not invincible. Our lives journey will come to an end. It’s a matter of time, whether it is a short or long journey, it will come to an end.
How do we cope with life after death? Grief is a natural response to loss. Going through grief varies from one person to the next and you should take your time to deal with what you are going through. There are 7 stages of Grief 1. Shock and Denial 2. Pain and Guilt 3.Anger and Bargaining 4. Depression, reflection, loneliness 5. The Upward turn 6. Reconstruction and working through 7. Acceptance and hope Whether you are religious or spiritual we have been taught that we go on to the most amazing place. Our souls return to the ether. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. After the passing of legendary Laker Kobe Bryant, we bore witness to men being in touch with their feelings more than ever on a mass scale. He was their hero. Men also embraced and glorified their status as a girl dad everywhere. It was beautiful to bear witness to so many men open up their emotions and vulnerability. Acknowledging your feelings will help in the stages of grief. What can we do to help support the survivors of someone who has passed? This has been a difficult one for me as I just feel helpless and unsure of what to do. The best thing we can do is be a support system for them. Offer your help in making dinners, picking up the kids, calling them and being there for them. Letting them know they are loved, supported and not alone. We must take the time to celebrate the life of the person who has passed. Although they are not here with us, acknowledging their life and how amazing it was, is a great way to honor them. You can name a star after them, plant a memorial tree, write to your loved one and tell them how much you loved them, get a tattoo, host a celebration, create a memory book, toast your friends and loved ones, even turn their ashes into jewelry. Listening to your intuition as a guide is important too! Twice my intuition told me to call a friend and go stop by and say hi to another. I drove past my friends' job and I thought to myself, I should stop by and catch up for a quick coffee and I didn’t. She was on my mind. I wasn’t even sure why? We weren’t that close. Just someone I liked and would see on social occasions. Not long after I found out she took her own life. It was heartbreaking to hear. I wish I listened. I wish I could have done something to
help. Just being there for someone. It was too late. The second time I had a nagging feeling to call a friend. This time I listened. I called and he couldn’t talk at that moment. I said okay, call me back! Make sure you call me back so we can catch up! I really wanted to catch up! Strange, when I think back on it. I was insistent. He did call back and we laughed and spoke for an hour. I said call me when you are out of the hospital, and he said he would. He got great news for his recovery from his doctor! Woo! Hoo! I was so happy for him. Just a couple of nights later a mutual friend called late at night. I thought it was strange to hear from her as we weren’t particularly close. She told me the news…..he passed. Very unexpected considering he was told the good news. That was it. Gone! I was so happy we spoke. I knew from the last conversation we had closed a chapter in our friendship. There will be good days and there will be hard days. Left behind is the family who lost their father, mother, sister brother or child. Missing their loved ones, not knowing who they truly are. That is the most difficult part of all. As hard as living with life after death is, you will make your way through even the most difficult of situations. You will live a full life and spend time cherishing the memories and creating new ones. The honor to live your best life is exactly what your loved one would have wanted for you. You will find a new sense of purpose for living!
Sasha Gary is an actress, writer, and Transformation Life Coachat www.balancedbellasonline. com is a 16 week online health program for women that shows you how to implement small sustainable changes one by one to help you with whole food nutrition, self-love and a conscious movement. Sasha is a yogi of 25 years, a crystal healer, and an avid sound bowl meditation participant and lives in Venice California!
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Photo by Jamie Street
A Not so Subtle Introduction
TO SELF-AWARENESS BY NAOMI MCDONALD
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Driving each of our personalities, our desires, our places of comfort are original innate patterns of behavior. Identifying these subconscious patterns or templates helps us navigate our own circumstances and be more understanding of others.
Philosophers have sought to understand our innate nature from the time of Plato and before. These inner tendencies can be our guides if we learn to listen. Touching New Memoir of One Woman and Her Beloved Dog Offers Layers of Discovery, Wonder, Inner Peace Author, Shamanic practitioner and professional animal communicator Naomi McDonald shares her personal journey of empowerment and deep soul connection with her Border Collie Away to Me, My Love – A Sheepdog’s Tale of Two Lives presents the touching true story of fate that led McDonald to impulsively buy a shy Border Collie pup named Luke and how this decision changed her life forever. In the book, McDonald chronicles her personal journey of empowerment by weaving in stories of childhood trauma into life changing and challenging experiences as an adult with Luke. This allowed her to recognize how the earlier trauma unknowingly affected her life later on which ultimately led her to find healing during the process.
From the earliest times, philosophers have used the idea of universal personality forms—sometimes referred to as archetypes—to describe and understand how humans interact with the world and with each other. Plato introduced the idea that when a person did not engage properly with one’s original forms, mistakes were inevitable. The Western Mystery Tradition, Qabalah, identified these forms in levels of the Tree of Life known as archetypes. These archetypes became the twenty-two major arcana of the Tarot. Later, Swiss psychologist Carl Jung described the universal archetypes in human personality present in all of us. His teachings form the basis for many current modes of psychological healing and recovery. Archetypes have much to teach us about our true selves. When we resonate or are in harmony with these innate patterns of behavior, the result can be a fulfilling, purposeful life. When we ignore or misunderstand our archetypes, imbalances can manifest in our health, finances, relationships, or professions. If you’re confused about archetypes, you’re not alone. My new autobiographical book, Away to Me, My Love: A Sheepdog’s Tale of Two Lives, describes how my entering the fascinating world of shepherding with my dog, Luke, became the gateway to discovering and embracing my own archetypes.
Driving each of our personalities, our desires, our places of comfort are original innate patterns of behavior. Identifying these subconscious patterns or templates helps us navigate our own circumstances and be more understanding of others.
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The following excerpt from my book describes my first experience with the idea. After months of frustration working with my seemingly untrainable Border Collie, Luke, I had arrived at my first sheepherding event drowning in selfdoubt. In the scene, a new friend at the clinic, Chris, helps me deal with my overwhelming feelings of confusion and inadequacy. Instead of engaging with my obvious emotional state, he explains what archetypes are and how they apply to my situation.
we make.” Chris’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “The Queen/Shepherd in you feeds on authority and leadership—your kingdom must be protected, directed, and nurtured. The artist wants it all beautiful. The horses are your throne, and the cowboy wears spurs. Here”—he waved his hands out wide to encompass the dog clinic—“you’re unsure of yourself and your abilities. I would say you haven’t felt that way in a long, long time.”
I felt tears rising but blinked them back. I would not cry. I would not. “I don’t know what the heck I’m doing here. Right now, I’m so outof my element and confused, I don’t know which way is up. I couldn’tmake a competent decision about which socks to wear if I had to.” I blew out a huff of breath, then wondered why Chris was lookingintently at my truck. He smiled, a warm understanding in his eyes. “I don’t know many women who drive a one-ton diesel duallyaround. You said you trained horses for a living. What kind of horsetrailer do you pull?” “A white aluminum four-horse gooseneck.” This man was drivingme crazy with questions. For the measure of a few heartbeats, I didn’tcare if he saw the irritated expression cross my face. He just smiled again. “Horses can be around eleven hundred pounds, so you are handlinghuge animals every day. Your rig is the size of many commercial carriers. You have a western profession mostly occupied by men. Yet”—Chris held up a finger—“your dogs were bathed before you came, and both had matching collars and leashes. I would say you’re suffering from Queen/Cowboy/ Artist-archetype syndrome.” He leaned back, crossed his muscled arms behind his head, and took on a self-satisfied look that said, “I hit the nail on the head.” “An arka-what syndrome? What are you talking about?” “My wife (and I) were both practicing psychologists for several years (before I became) a rancher. One of my heroes is Carl Jung. His theories of archetypes helped me understand my patients on so many levels.” “But you didn’t tell me what an arka-whatever is.” “An archetype is an unconscious inherited pattern of thought.” “How does that relate to queens and cowboys?” “There are primary archetypes—king, queen, princess, prostitute, child, victim, nurturer, rescuer, hero, teacher. The list goes on. You’re a queen and a shepherd combined. There must be a dose of the teacher in your psyche too. These subconscious patterns can influence every decision
This not so subtle introduction to archetypes pulled me from a self-sabotaging state of emotion (that Plato would call not engaging properly) to a place of self-awareness. It wasn’t the lack of ability or preparedness that caused my alarm it was being out of balance with my natural state. Knowing that I was responding to the unmet inner need of Queen allowed me to relax and think through the situation objectively.
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For those who may not have a retired psychologist to introduce the concept, we can identify our innate patterns by reading a Tarot spread, taking an archetype course, or joining a like-minded group. The wholeness, empowerment, and freedom that result when one delves deeply into our subconscious patterns are like emerging from a long dark tunnel into daylight. We have a view of life we’ve never seen before.
Naomi McDonald is dedicated and committed to promoting balance, compassion, integrity and love among all beings. A former horse trainer and sheepherding competitor, McDonald is a professional animal communicator and certified shamanic practitioner and teacher. As a graduate of the Four Winds Healing the Light Body School, she takes great joy in helping humans and their pets connect and understand each other on a deeper level. McDonald holds workshops in which she uses a unique combination of quantum physics, metaphysics and the healing traditions of the ancient medicine men and women to create powerful opportunities for self-discovery. She currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her wonderful husband Mac, two dogs and a cat. To learn more please visit, www.naomibmcdonald.com.
Start a New Decade
With these Easy, Heart-Healthy Eating Tips
By Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS
I
t’s a new decade and many people are using this new start as a reason to make positive changes to their eating habits. Maybe your end goal is to lose weight and finally keep it off. Or, perhaps you’re trying to change your diet so you can avoid getting heart disease. Whatever your goal, just make sure you’re basing your new eating plan on valid (and not outdated) information. If following a heart-healthy diet is important to you, the big news is about carbs and fats. I’ve been saying for years that fat has been wrongly demonized. If anything, it’s sugar – not fat – that’s causing us to go off the metabolic rails. And now there is more proof that we aren’t doing our hearts any favors by eating a high-carb diet. A new 12-month cross-sectional study involving 577 participants conducted in Malaysia reveals that healthy adults who ate higher proportions of carbohydrates (compared with the amount of proteins or fat they consumed) tended to develop several elevated risk factors for cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure and more plaque-promoting small LDL cholesterol particles. And while high-carb/low-fat patterns of eating were strongly associated with the worst outcomes, eating higher proportions of dietary fat was not associated with elevating these risk factors. In fact, fat intake didn’t move the needle one way or the other. A hormone called insulin and a condition called insulin resistance are at the core of pre-diabetes, and are turning out to be early warning signs for heart disease. And the results of this study showed that insulin measures were considerably better when people ate diets with a lower amount of carbs, and that was true regardless of the amount of fat consumed.
Easy, no-fail heart-healthy eating tips Whatever your reasons for changing how you eat, set yourself up for success with small, reasonable goals that you’re able to keep. Instead of resolving to completely overhaul your diet, try making a few easy changes that may have a healthy impact on your heart. You’ll be more likely to develop habits that will stick.
· Dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa on the label):
Chocolate contains cocoa flavanols; beneficial plant-based phytonutrients that support cardiovascular health.
First, remove these items from your kitchen:
· Corn oil and canola oil. These seed oils are filled with omega-6 which is very pro-inflammatory.
· Sugar. Let’s be realistic. I know you’re probably not going
to give up your favorite sweets entirely. But be kind to your heart by restricting those high-carb goodies to just a few days a month.
· Canned soups, salad dressings and pasta sauces. These are often loaded with hidden sugars and a ton of sodium. In stead of relying on these cooking shortcuts, do an inter net search for simple recipes you can make from scratch.
· White flour and white rice. These are heavily processed
and raise your blood sugar almost as much as pure sugar.
This year, you can finally make heart-healthy dietary changes that are easy to achieve. These tips will help you take better care of your heart throughout the winter and may become heart-healthy habits you’ll want to follow all year long.
Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, also known as “The Nutrition Myth Buster” ™ is a nationally known board-certified nutritionist and expert on diet and weight loss. He has appeared on the Dr. Oz Show, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS as an expert on nutrition has contributed to articles in The New York Times, Forbes, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Vanity Fair Online, Men’s Heath, Prevention, and dozens of other print and online publications. Then, add these items to your panty:
· Palm oil. You can find this online and in specialty
markets. Millions of people around the world use it as their everyday cooking oil. Malaysian certified palm oil is rich in nutrients such as brain- and heart-healthy vitamin E tocotrienols.
· Stevia and monk fruit. These are natural sweeteners that have no effect on your blood sugar.
· Nuts: People who eat more nuts have lower BMIs. Their diets are higher in magnesium, higher in fiber, higher in poly- and monounsaturated fats, all of which can have a profound effect on your health.
Dr. Jonny is the best-selling author of 15 books including The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Living Low Carb (now in its fourth edition), and is the co-author, with cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, of the controversial best-seller, “The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease and the Statin-Free Plan that Will”. His latest book, Smart Fat: Eat More Fat, Lose More Weight, Get Healthy Now!-written with PBS star Steven Masley, MD--- was published by Harper Collins in January 2016. www.jonnybowden.com | @jonnybowden
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Hollywood Celebrates
Doris Bergman's 12th Annual Valentine Romance Pre-Oscar® Luxury Lounge & Party at Fig & Olive
West Hollywood -- On Saturday, February 8, 2020, Fig & Olive – THE newly remodeled Hollywood Hotspot on Melrose Place which features gourmet cuisine from the French and Italian Rivieras – opened its doors to commemorate Doris Bergman’s 11th Annual Pre-Oscar® Style Lounge and Party honoring the 92nd Annual Academy Awards. Over 100 of Hollywood’s finest turned out to celebrate and pay homage to the film industry’s Oscar® Nominated actors, former Oscar® winners, presenters, stylists and industry VIPS. This highly anticipated invitation-only event, hosted by BeautyStat Cosmetics and presented by Buywine.com & Precious Vodka, featured an incredible array of fashion for him and her including couture gowns, men & women’s active wear, hand-rolled cigars, fabulous fragrance, vegan leather bags, the finest in beauty, skin & hair care, outrageous CBD products, stunning jewelry collections, gorgeous accessories, Napa Valley wines, hand-designed scented candles, Fig & Olive signature cuisine, Bulgarian vodka, delectable gourmet sweets, including, Viennese Chocolate, Gold Medal epicurean honey and much more. 84 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Award-Winning Actors in Oscar-nominated films -- Bruce Dern (“Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”). Sean Carrigan (“Ford vs. Ferrari”) joined Anthony Anderson, Christopher McDonald Bill Duke, Judd Nelson, Mark Rolston, Vincent Spano, Dee Walllace, John Brotherton, Diedre Hall, Donovan Carter, Khandi Alexander, Lou Ferrigno, Maria Conchita Alonso, Rebecca Metz, Shari Belafonte, Sofia Milos, Stacey Dash, Tichina Arnold, Mark Rolston, Titus Makin, Blanca Blanco, Tristan Rogers, Kheng Hua Tan, Patrika Darbo,
Michael Campion, Petri Byrd, Norman Nixon, Renee Lawless, Kim Estes, Lotte Verbeek, to name a few, were among the cadre of celebrities and industry VIPS who were treated to the best of the best! In the spirit of giving back, guests & sponsors made monetary donations and/or donated unwrapped gifts for young adults (ages 13-18) for a Post-Holiday Gift Drive benefitting ‘Wednesday’s Child’ -- a weekly segment airing on KTTV FOX 11 News, Los Angeles, with Anchor Christine Devine. ‘Wednesday’s Child’ highlights ‘harder to place’ children in the LA County foster care system who are in need of adoptive families. “In Los Angeles County, there are over 35,000 children receiving child welfare services, says social worker, Dr. William Wong. “Wednesday’s Child is a adoption recruitment program that focuses on finding forever families for children in foster car. While some have special needs, many face more barriers finding adoptive families simply because they are older or are a part of a larger sibling group,” adds Dr. Wong. Bergman always invites beloved foster children to join in on the festivities and experience what it feels like to be treated as a VIP. www.foxla.com/wednesdays-child.
Gifts and services were provided by: BeautyStat Cosmetics, BuyWine.com, Precious Vodka, IFGfit, Shann Christen Salon,Club Afficianado Cigar Bar, Appletinies, RevealU Skincare, Pia Gladys Perey Designs, Pachamama, The Apothecary Stores, Cherisa Noel Jewelry, My Saint, My Hero Blessing Bracelets, Twisted Silver Jewelry, Timmy Woods Designer Handbags, Hint Water, Nikki Bruno, Founder of The Epic Comeback™,Sue Wong Couture Gowns & Fragrance, Milena’s Boutique, True Gold Honey, Inc., Realtor Debbi DiMaggio, Beauty Kitchen, Author Cherisa Noel “Itchy Feet, Happy Soul”, The Apawthecary, Kam Shield, Popcornopolis, Bulamu Lip Care, Emmy’s Hope,Dog TV Gift Cards, Rock Your Hair, “Wednesday’s Child” and VIP Gift Bags provided by Buywine.com and Popcornopolis.
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LANGUAGE OF SPACE
By Michael White Ryan
A NEVER
ENDING STORY
SILENTLY EXPERIENCED
Welcome back, I invite you to accept allow these humble words to express new horizons. Let us together explore this ever so fascinating subject area? Defining one’s learning, within experiences, may be overwhelming. Like you, I find it difficult to contemplate the magnitude within one’s mindset. And to top it off, science now tells us, that our mind may exist outside of the brain. This blows any mindset way beyond preconceived boundaries. As a singular collective consciousness, what we blindly put ourselves through, in trying to contemplate the length, depth and infinite breadth of one’s experience-diversities is fascinating, to say the least. 2020 energetically requires us to understand who and what we are, while living, engaging in this 3D state of beingness as we travel headlong through these apparently, never-ending infinite galaxies of space-time experiences. Seemingly all lined up in a row. It’s beginning to feel like, riding a wave, pierced by a pole, stuck on a circus carousel. Yep, the world functions in cycles. Cycles, it’s such a nicer way of saying chaos, don’t you think, helps avoid the drama of forcing ourselves to face one another and our surroundings. Experience is the mother of all we have become. Why why do we need experiences? What did we do or not do, to invite unawares, such vastness into human existence? It arrives silently, dressed in many colors, shapes, persons, to reawaken self, in finding the his-her way back to one’s original path. Experiences are the masters of pure perfection! A gift for the I am, designed for each human, alone! Designed by who or what?
Photo by Miguel Bruna
Do you not find it difficult, to smell the roses hiding under endless black highways, tomatoes under housing estates? Yes I know, this may sound like a pessimistic outlook, negative statement, only according to a well-trained mindset, knowledgeable in the rules of engagement! Which, unfortunately, is a mindset totally maintained by way of hand-me-down learned logical-reasoning, devoid of why experience existed in the first place. 86 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
The news is out, the elders have spoken, our simple mind, now has three sets of consciousness. Goody goody gumdrops, let us triple the confusion and expand an idea into a greater number of consumables. You gotta love progress, it serves all humanity? At dawn, as the Easterly sunrises, mankind moves in well-rehearsed cycles of motionless discipline. At the coming of the Westerly darkness, a man rests in efforts well-rehearsed. It’s interesting to think, that after all manner of times, our energetic beingness, having traveled over multiple centuries, lost our abilities to transform, to be the creations we were born to do. Having transgressed all the hardships we invited into our life-existence, has in fact culminated in, temporarily distracting us from who and what we are! These creator abilities have not been lost, oh YES BABY, they have only been sleeping, awaiting our return to new states of motion. It’s fascinating to investigate, how we process, in order to have different exposures to personal experiences. Think! We live in a world where we know who someone is by their clothes, that earthy color a naturalist wears. You can spot a backpacker a mile away. The style of a well-kept modern woman, those entrepreneurial men, and so on. Our sight determines before we meet, who that person maybe if we want to interact with them, and above all, we distinguish if they are good or bad. Our conscious mind is now in servitude to our vision, that’s an evolution with a plus!?! We live in a world of associated focused-experiences, and discover the, who am I. Unfortunately what you are, is constantly being threatened by others, friends, systems, endlessly distracting one from ever even contemplating, the most profound ideas and understandings of, “what am I”? The deliberate world chaos surrounding us at this very moment is expanding. Inviting our conscious mind towards ideas of just how connected we are external. Living inside this 3D dimension, natural material laws state, all opposites attract. This external state of being has now activated our internal world, exposing our relationships, connections, individually and collectively to the world we live in. There is much to do on the horizon, coming for those who can see, feel, hear, the language beyond the five senses! Here we stand right now, inside 2020’s incoming energetic forces. Nature has arrived on every individual,
doorstep. Politely inviting us to expand our self-imposed personal relationships, to move past the fringes of existing knowledge and do as Columbus did, imagine, set sail, and discover what exists beyond the realm of a mind, set-instone. Imagine boundless life, open unclassified freedom, expressed beyond known waters, where magic dwells in an unknown way. Being here, we are blessed beyond words describable, surrounded, immersed in intervals of musical sounds and silent languages unheard, while feeling separated from all that is. We did reach out, gather the delusions necessary not to be alone, being safe, good, and responsible. Our one life dance temporarily experienced, lost in all times accepted, rested in one-hour sessions we are, our "areness" successfully self-chosen a duality state-of-being attempting unity, love and world peace. The social Pied Piper now leads us silently! It’s a never-ending parade! Willingly, we follow one’s goals, wants needs and desires, to leaner greener pastures. It’s a story not of an old, man born from not so far in the backwoods. Take the first experience, gluten-free as food, it’s your silent never-ending story. Blessing from this one…. Michael White Ryan is a co-founder with his wife Pamela Edwards of Language of Space. They are leaders in sustainable business growth via PerformanceDesign and Performance Code. Sustainable design encompasses both Western and Easternphilosophies including advanced Feng Shui principles, Environmental Design, Buildings, Alternative Health, Business Advisory Consultants and 20 plus years as entrepreneurs. Recognized in the top 100 globally and are Americas Leading Feng Shui Business Consultants. They are on faculty at CEO Space International one of the oldest business organizations in America today, currently operate in 7 countries and reside in Australia. www.languageofspace.com
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High Road to Humanity
Photo by Jake Thacker
By Nancy Yearout
Honesty
& Sincerity
Nadine and I met when I was in my late twenties. Some friends had invited me to a psychic party where she was the Tarot card reader. She was an older lady with white hair all wrapped up in a bun on top of her head. She had sparkling blue eyes and a warm smile. We met when I needed an honest and sincere person to talk to. It’s funny how when you are in need, the man upstairs provides. I did not realize it at the time but as you grow older you begin to recognize these occurrences in your life and start to call them blessings. When Nadine and I met, I was in an unhappy marriage with two small children. Nadine was kind, yet brutally honest when she spoke to me during my tarot card reading. It must be the way she looked at me when she read my cards that made such an impact on my soul. She could see that I had gotten myself into a bad situation. As Nadine shuffled the cards then placed each one carefully on the table she explained each card and its meaning as it related to my life. I realized that she was spot on with what was going on in my life at that time. I had gotten myself into an unhealthy relationship and she picked up on that immediately. She did, however, tell me that there was light at the end of the tunnel. She saw me in the sunshine and happiness. She explained that her abilities came from our creator and not from her. I understood as my abilities were beginning to emerge at that time also. Nadine explained to me that even though I was in a tough marriage now that one day I would meet the right man for me. She said your white knight is coming and you will have a wonderful relationship down the road. She spoke about believing in something bigger than myself. Nadine reminded me of the saying; God does not give us more than we can handle.” These words gave me hope! I realized driving home that evening that I did not have to live in an unhappy environment. That maybe there was light at the end of the tunnel as Nadine had said there was. I drew from her strength and realized for the first time that I was not stuck in this situation.
Now a story that demonstrates the impact honesty and sincerity can have on a person’s life.
My family had moved out of state years earlier so when I did decide to end my marriage I had very little support. My good friend Sherry lived next door was there for me and Naomi. I called Naomi on Sunday’s for moral support. She had become a good friend to me. Because of the divorce times were tough for me financially. Even with a good 89 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
"Believe that when you open yourself up to serve others the reward is limitless." Proverbs 11:16-17
job, taking care of two children and paying daycare expenses with no child support was difficult. There were weeks that the money was so tight that I did not have enough for groceries. When Nadine realized that we were in trouble she invited the kids and me to her home. She said she had some things she wanted to give me. It is important that I mention that Nadine was also on her own with an adult disabled son that she cared for. She too struggled to pay the bills on a small retirement pension from the telephone company. Reflecting on those days, I recall arriving at her home late in the evening. She invited the girls and me downstairs to her basement. This is where she kept an overflow pantry and her freezer full of food. She explained that she bought food in bulk as it was more cost-effective and that there was plenty to share. She gave me bags full of groceries to take home for the kids and I. Nadine helped me with groceries several times until I was able to get on my feet. It was difficult to accept charity as I had my pride, but the kids had to eat. Naomi never judged me. She did not make me feel bad about the mess I had gotten myself into. She was however consistently honest and sincere when she spoke with me. This was at a time that I did not want, to be honest with myself. She did not sugar coat things for me, she was a wonderful mentor at that time in my life. Who knew this lady that I met at a psychic party would impact my life so dramatically, but she has! As the years passed Nadine and I remained great friends. Even after I had moved several states away we still chatted every Sunday on the phone. When my business took off I was able to send her money periodically to help her. This was my way of paying her back for her kindness to me Ten years earlier. Time went by quickly and before I knew it Nadine was in her late seventies and in poor health. She was such a kind soul who had taught me many life lessons about faith, kindness, and love. My gratitude for these lessons was so strong that when Nadine took a turn for the worst I immediately booked a flight to go see her. Even though her own children were with her I felt as if we had become family. I wanted to say my goodbyes in person. It was the proper thing to do. After arriving, I was able to see her and speak with her for only a short time as she was weak. I thanked her for being such a wonderful friend to me and told her how much I loved her. It was difficult for me to leave her, but I was happy that I
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had gone to see her. Only a couple of weeks passed when her son called and told me she had passed away. I cannot tell you what an impact this kind soul had on my life. If only we could all impact someone else’s life as she did mine. A New Mindset: Know that there are many good people in this world who help others unselfishly. Become one of these friends. Friends like these are invaluable. They teach us that giving unselfishly will open our hearts and our minds to giving to others.
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. Today she is happily married to the love of her life. Nancy Yearout Hosts a Radio Show/ Podcast every week on Toginet radio and iTunes called High Road to Humanity. Visit her website www.NancyYearout.com or her Podcast www.Highroadtohumanity.com
O Find Y ur True Purpose ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ ~Nelson Mandela
by Bernardo Moya
‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ —Nelson Mandela
their negative influence. Changing yourself is easier than changing others.
Believe in what you are setting out to do. Ask the questions that will get you there. So, is personal development, professional growth, and getting on in the world and taking charge of your life really so simple?
So start asking those empowering questions that will get you thinking in the right direction:
In many ways, yes, it is. If you start becoming aware of your internal dialogue, that voice inside your head and (for those who are questioning if you have a voice or not—that one, that’s the one I am referring to) then you get the chance to control it; to take it in the direction you want to go and to make a whole new reality and consciousness with it. How do you do this? The first step is to become aware of your inner voice. What you say to yourself is of extreme importance. But it’s not all internal. It’s also vital to surround yourself with positive, loving people. Ditch the bad voices and questions and the negative people in your life. Do it soon, no looking back, no regrets. You have a choice: —it’s up to you to spend all your life trying to change those who are having a negative effect on you, or to become the person you want to be at a distance from 92 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
What are you here for? What are you here for personally? What are you here for professionally? What are you here for globally? We are only getting started. My job is to coach you. To make you think. To help you find your meaning, your passion, your mission in life. The questions you start to ask yourself as you read this book, and over the coming days and months, are best when designed to steal the agenda away from that voice that once controlled your direction. You don’t need more of the same. You need more of what will make you ‘jump out of bed in the morning’ like when you were a kid, remember? We Need a New Approach! You agree, don’t you? (See what I did there?) The first thing to remember is that we will stay on track and won’t be deterred.
Photo by JJ Jordan
I believe we should use a combination of a steadily applied optimism and positive attitude— of doing what’s right locally to influence what’s happening globally—to make things change. Being ready to act and getting your own head in gear can make that happen. Aligning your needs and your desires with what’s good for all of us, so that you don’t live in a vacuum separated from others, is part of that journey. Though you are one person, you can make a difference, but it’s through combining many of us that we can all together make a massive difference. I believe personal development is the way to free up so much potential in the world and make the world a better, a happier place. And I think we can all agree, we need that! I’ve spent many years working in the personal and professional growth industry because it’s my passion. I’ll share with you more about my journey in the next chapter. For now, it will be helpful for you to know that I am one of a large disparate group of people wanting to help others become the best versions of themselves. There are many of us, many people who help millions around the world. I’ve been in the personal development business since 2006. I’ve read so many books, attended countless seminars, interviewed and studied with so many great people; and now I feel a new approach is needed. That’s why I created my company, The Best You. I meet with successful people and interview them for broadcast on The Best You TV programme and print their interviews in The Best You Magazine so the word can get out about what the most extraordinary and talented people do in the world today. That’s also why I organize The Best You Expos in Europe and America—to give people the chance to connect up with each other. To enable people who really want to help others to share platforms and ideas. Because who knows what greatness and positivity can come from that? It’s said that in the world of personal development there is a lot of ‘personal shelf-development’ going on. People buy books and attend seminars, but then leave the books and ideas on their shelves, or take really important notes and then leave them hidden in a drawer. Does this sound familiar? My mission with The Question is to really help you think, to help you find your deep passion and then hold on to it. It’s simple, its straightforward, no seven steps or 22 steps, no acronyms.
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It can be summarized in the words: The Best You – A Better World. Let’s stay positive. Does being negative help? Does worrying help? The answer is No. With self-development we can at least take charge of our lives; to have the tools to live fuller and happier lives with more meaning and get that message out to as many people as we can. The Question is: What is your true purpose in life? Stan Lee, my hero and the creator of Spider-Man, said through Peter Parker’s uncle, "With great power comes great responsibility." Whereas in Mark Manson’s book states that with "great responsibility comes great power." You, me, us. We all have the power. . . I believe you hold a great responsibility to find your true purpose. As a fellow dweller on our planet, you have obligations to the world and everyone in it. You’re not alone. Billions and billions have come before you and risen to the challenge by answering their version of The Question. It’s worth looking at just how far we’ve all come and how amazing you, we, and those who went before us, really are. Bernardo Moya is an editor, author, publisher, TV producer, editor-in-chief of The Best You magazine and CEO of NLP Life Training (the world’s largest Neuro-Linguistic Programming organization.) Moya has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years, author, speaker, publisher, TV producer and seminar promoter. He has unrivalled experience in the world of self-help. He is the architect behind the UK’s biggest annual personal and professional development event - The Best You Expo held in London and California. Through this event and the Best You Legacy Clubs, in the last 10 years, Bernardo has promoted more than 600 personal development leaders. These global events feature speakers, workshops and seminars from the industry’s biggest names and reach audiences of over 100,000. For more info please visit; www.thebestyouexpo.com/us/
Photo by Ramiz Dedakovic
By Lavandaia & Marco Nunzio Alati
A Moment
of Miracle
Today, Lavandaia danced with gratitude, as her gorgeous tabby cat, Tigra was finally ready to birth her magnificent little creatures. Everything was ready, creation set in motion. Lavandaia stood there, in blissful anticipation, with towels and cloths in hand, drenched with respect for this sacred moment, as it all resonated. And it was in this sacred moment, Tigra’s soul spoke:
kittens together, purring a low melody in synchronistic unity. As the kittens instinctually began suckling,
“As Spirit, I am in a state of praise, all the time! As you enter a different state of consciousness and different spiritual realm, you will find the beauty of the feminine principle. Sometimes you call it Venus, sometimes Virgin Mary, sometimes Ishtar or Isis. This glorious principle is coming through, please allow yourself to witness and enjoy its beauty and perfection! Labor has started!”
In that precise moment, Lavandaia’s eyes began to well with tears. She brought her hands to her heart and held herself in a state of gratitude for existence, for witnessing such a miracle and for Tigra being the divine mirror of her own beauty, strength and divine femininity.
Lavandaia immediately felt tremendous magnificent energy spreading through Tigra’s every cell. She felt the power of immensity and the power of infinite potential merging with divine beauty and trust. This incredible creature was glowing, she was beautiful beyond description, as she was embodying pure femininity. Lavandaia quietly watched her, thinking back to her own labor and her mind wandered in that remembrance of joy and purity. Then Tigra’s aura became enriched with clear and bright colors, forming a field of immortal glory. Contractions began coming through like waves in the ocean, like a bright blue and deep blue light immerged from all of her little creatures. This divine light continued to change from blue to silver, exactly like the stars, flickering in the night sky. The love and compassion she put forth towards all her kittens embraced and protected them all. What a mystery! -Lavandaia exclaimed. She was enriched with grace and devotion while witnessing the magnificent influence of the Divine feminine that is present in every labor on this planet. The feminine principle gave Tigra and her kittens' ease and harmony as a loyal and firm guardian of their emotions and feelings. Lavandaia was in awe, filled with love and wonder. It was a moment of pure expansion, what an honor, she thought, what a true honor! What a special moment, indeed. Yes, there was pain, but this pain was deeply rooted in a state of indestructible calmness and peace. There was equilibrium - a prosperous and natural equilibrium. Tigra and her kittens became immersed with potency and spiritual brightness. The labor was finally over. The feminine principle slowly retired and harmoniously dissolved into a different dimension. Both mother and
Tigra fell asleep, exhausted from the immense effort. Still, she was clearly powerful and strong, as her eyes gave one last glance to Lavandaia before closing in a deep state of sleep.
And it was in that moment she whispered to all, thank you, thank you, thank you…
After graduation in Industrial Biotechnology, Marco played a key role in international research projects in Canada, Austria and Spain. He stumbled upon the Reconnection by mere chance and it enlightened him in ways he hadn't realized he needed. Three months after that unique experience, he left his job in biotechnology and embarked on his journey to become a full time Reconnective Healing Practitioner, and one of the two Italian Mentors and Teaching Assistants of Eric Pearl’s direct Team. He is currently living in Los Angeles and collaborating with a number of independent scientific studies that are exploring Reconnective Healing and its extraordinary benefits. For info contact marco.alati@gmail.com 323-617-2289 “Description” is all in the eyes of that who is experiencing, thus “description” of “who” becomes irrelevant. And the truth is, that describing Lavandaia using “words” is like trying to catch a fragrance. Scent cannot be caught, it can only be enjoyed and discovered through the experience itself. Who Lavandaia “is” is her mission, Giving clarity and divine knowledge to those who are willing to move forward in life and explore how to express their highest self. For more information visit www.lavandaia.org, or contact us at paola.seed@gmail.com
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How to
Improve
Your Self Worth By Kimberly Mueller, M.S.
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A groundswell in awareness and consciousness is arising as women become more financially and emotionally independent. Women are often the primary wage earners, raising children, trying to stay fit, and all the while maintaining meaningful relationships. As women are trying to “do it all” like no generation before them, women’s self-worth has been too intricately tied to how they “measure up” on extrinsic markers of success. SheWorth believes women need to turn the compass inward and understand that no matter how they are doing on the outside, or how they measure up to colleagues, friends, family members, or within their own harsh minds, they are WORTHY just for being alive and doing the best that they can. Unfortunately, the movement is not happening fast enough. The SheWorth movement aspires to be a catalyst to help “speed up” the necessary increase in women’s feelings of worthiness. There are several important steps to get a woman there, and SheWorth is committed to helping each woman find their path. What began as an observation in a Psychologist’s office became an idea between two girlfriends from very different backgrounds. Kimberly Mueller is a Psychologist who primarily works with women in their 20-50s and she observed a concerning trend amongst intelligent, beautiful, soulful, helpful, and successful women in her practice. She observed that many of the women were tolerating less than optimal treatment from their partners, friends, colleagues, and bosses. As this trend emerged, she began to notice peculiar similarities amongst most of the women, most of them had low self-worth and didn’t realize that they were worthy of NOT tolerating less than ideal treatment. Lara Smith is a successful entrepreneur and dear friend of Kimberly who herself was struggling with her own moment of reckoning finding herself in a relationship with a man who was not respectful and loving or made her feel worthy. Lara, on the outside, “had it all” as a successful founder of a luxury pajama line called Lusomé, and yet on the inside, she tolerated this destructive treatment. As the two girlfriends continued to support each other as girlfriends do, they realized that this message needed to get out to all women.
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As they quietly began to share their experiences with others, the stories began to emerge and they had common rings of truth amongst them… “I struggle to say no.” “I don’t have time for myself.” “I feel anxious a lot of the time.” “I feel empty and lacking in purpose.” “My own beliefs about myself make me feel like a failure or not good enough.” How could so many women who on the outside, appeared to be strong and powerful, be feeling this way? The SheWorth movement began and is gaining ground as women find their purpose and believe in their own self-worth. An important distinction began to emerge between self-worth and self-esteem. Many think they are one in the same, but SheWorth defines them differently with the following distinction: Self-Esteem- how we measure up to others. Self-esteem is the feeling we have about ourselves based on how we measure up to “extrinsic” factors such as job status, weight, relationship status, etc. Self-Worth – how we feel about ourselves. Self-Worth is an inside job and is the belief that in spite of what we have on the outside, we are worthy just for being alive. The SheWorth movement aspires to show women that they can stop using the measuring stick to see how they measure up to others and start to go inward and believe in themselves. When women begin to cultivate a loving relationship toward themselves…they become unstoppable. The SheWorth platform utilizes science-based tools to help women become self-aware and ultimately improve or maintain their self-worth. One of the most important tools they use is the Big-5 Personality Test. It is a cross-culturally valid and reliable personality test to help people understand where they score on 5 major personality traits based on the acronym OCEAN.
O-Openness to Experience C- Conscientiousness E-Extraversion vs. Introversion A- Agreeableness vs. Disagreeableness N- Neuroticism.
this for anyone who comes across a journal, a live event, or the online community.
One of the most important traits that women need to know where they score on is the trait of Agreeableness. The definition of Agreeable (as opposed to disagreeable) can be distilled down to “people pleasing,” wanting everyone to get along, “easy-going,” not wanting to rock the boat, and generally, easy to get along with. While this trait is a wonderful trait and can be seen as a strength, it can also be a weakness. Women who have low self-worth tend to score high on Agreeableness and they do not consider themselves or their needs as important as others' needs. Therefore, they “go along” so that people will like them and then they struggle with stress, anxiety, depression, resentment, and despair.
Fall in love with yourself; it will be the greatest love story of your life.
Women who are highly agreeable need to be made aware of their score on this important personality dimension. Once they become aware, they can learn strategies and tools to not compromise themselves and feel more worthy of creating a boundary, saying no, doing self-care, or ultimately pursuing their dreams and purpose in life. A SheWorth journal is a tool that SheWorth developed to help women improve their own self-awareness and self-worth over 30 days. It contains research-based information and 30 days of “prompts” to help women remember their self-worth and pursue their dreams and goals. Examples include remembering to tell yourself every night “I told myself I was worth today,” and information regarding neuroplasticity and mirror neurons. Brain science can help women understand that it is possible to change and live in alignment with the person they know they are or aspire to be. In addition to the SheWorth Journal, the SheWorth movement has an online community for women to take the Personality test, gather with others who desire to improve their self-worth, as well as LIVE SheWorth events throughout North America. The LIVE SheWorth events include an evening of elevated experiences and meaningful discussions. The panel part of the evening is the highlight and a chance for women to take the time to hear from other women’s experiences of improved self-worth, consider themselves, and the direction they would like to go in life. As loneliness is an epidemic and an earlier predictor of death than smoking and obesity, SheWorth sees the need for women to feel ”not alone,” and seeks to cultivate
As you read the SheWorth mission statement, you are invited to consider the possibilities….
Brain science can help women understand that it is possible to change and live in alignment with the person they know they are or aspire to be. Imagine a world where every woman will know her value and not feel compromised in her relationships, her career, her community or her life. Imagine a world where women get the big jobs…50% of the time. Imagine a world where women founders of businesses get the capital to grow their business when they need it. Imagine when women take time to travel, go to yoga class, and take a trip with their girlfriends…without feeling guilty. Imagine a world where women don’t measure their worth in the number of likes on Instagram. Imagine a world where all women feel safe, adored and respected in their intimate relationships. It starts with us; we hold the power…we always have.
Kimberly Mueller, M.S., is a Registered Psychologist and champion of women's mental health. Kimberly works in private practice and is the co-founder of SheWorth.org. With a passion to understand what is really impacting women and how to best support them, she has co-developed a platform for all women to benefit from increased self-awareness, community, and science-based strategies to live a life of purpose, meaning, and worthiness. Learn more at www.sheworth.org
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One Minute Meditation
Photo by Jasper Boer
Take this moment to close your eyes and consider the following possibility...
路 How you feel about yourelf now? 路 Do you believe every thought you think? 路 Who (or what) always makes you laugh? 路 What things do I value in life?
Travel
Maldives
A Paradise unto Itself By Augusto Valverde
I
f the mind is endlessly complex, then our imagination is even harder to decipher. Have you ever noticed how easily we can imagine ourselves into certain emotional states like fear or hope? Walking alone on a magnificent beach located on the private island of Emboodhu Finolhu where the renowned Taj Exotica Maldives hotel is located, I stared past those enamoring turquoise waters at what seemed to be a growing cluster of gray clouds looming off in the distant blue horizon. Now, these clouds weren’t your average puffs off in the distance. These were significantly further, yet had a foreboding sensation to them. When you’re in the Maldives, you’re on these paradise-like islands in the middle of an ocean. You’re so far away from land that the horizon looks different from any other place you’ve ever been to. How different? There can be a monsoon or storm system hovering over the Indian Ocean thousands of miles away and you can see it blur the horizon. Our imaginations work the same way as this anomaly - situations in life might be somewhere in the distant horizon and we fathom they are so much closer because we allow our minds to operate in a negative way (even if in paradise!)
that day. Suddenly there was a dark shift in my mood. My brain imagined what type of creatures could be gliding under the blue calm water extending so marvelously before me. My brain told me there were all types of potentially hazardous predators waiting for me the moment I’d jump into these idyllic waters. One-step and a creature would make me the first tourist to vanish without a trace at this five-star paradise. I was in a literal paradise and here I was fretting about non-existent creatures. If that weren’t enough, I began to imagine those the looming horizon clouds making landfall over me with whiplashing winds battering my villa, lightning strikes all around, a literal wall of water cascading around me. Paradise lost. What in the world was my imagination doing!?
For better context, the Maldives is made of a thousand coral islands and every place you visit and stay at is an island unto itself. When I call it paradise, I mean it. From the moment you land, you’re greeted with smiles and a placid breeze. When I walk into my ocean villa, the view is beyond your wildest fantasies without even breaking a sweat. Every day I’d wake up and hit the gym with a 360-degree view all to myself, only interrupted in the gentlest of ways if I’d like a special detox tea, (which of course I would!). The reality was far from this vivid anxiety. The scuba trip put in perspective that the creatures beneath the surface I had trepidations about are going about their A nice perk of where I stayed is they offered fifteen lives and don’t seem to pay much attention to my presence and are completely different types of breakfasts themed after differ- harmless. The sharks I imagined are actually all babies and the grown-ups eat fish ent countries. This morning I felt puckish for an no larger than a hand. We actually look way scarier to them than they do to us. I Indian and French breakfast. Why not? I’d burn can’t vouch for sea turtles, though I hear they’re harmless. the calories during jet ski lessons and scuba diving 104 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
As I was browsing through a magazine on a sea hammock, I could see the welcoming team throw flower petals at new arrivals; these perfumed kisses greeting their cheeks to paradise made manifest. The looming storm swirling off on the horizon would be dealt with when it finally hung overhead. I took a deep breath and remembered what I should be grateful for: the present moment. The storm I was fretting finally arrived in due time, but it wasn’t doom and gloom wrecking this island oasis. We ended up staying three extra days because of the storm! What I was worried about actually ended up being a blessing! Isn’t that how it usually goes? importantly let’s remember that either way you’re not going to drown in it. Life goes on and no storm lasts forever. Properly harnessed, imagination always leads During those extra days, I got to experience snor- to inspiration. We must learn to have self-control over our dark and wild imagkeling in clear waters, a sunset champagne toast as inings so we can use it for our benefit! So take a plunge into the adventure that we sailed along with a pod of dolphins, an Ayurve- is your own life! I’m sure you’ll find some amazing moments on the other side of da spa massage treatment, and freshly caught lob- the fears and wild imaginations. ster burger over a brioche bun. It also meant three more days on a secluded island where you’ll rarely run into another guest unless you want to. Thanks to this storm, I had overtime on this beautiful and bountiful island.
I came to the realization that imagination left rampant can quickly become a cruel master if we allow it to lead us everywhere it wants to go. Now, I’m still not one of those ‘let me jump into the ocean anywhere without consequence’ people yet I’ll say that my Maldives experience opened my mind to the possibility of letting go for a moment. There’s a bible verse that says, “as a person thinks so they become.” Another saying goes something along the lines of “watch your thoughts for they become your words, watch your words for they become your actions, watch your actions for they become your habits, watch your habits for they become your character and watch your character because it will become your destiny.” What I’m trying to say is if I’m going to think about any given scenario, I’d rather choose hopefulness. Look, seeing life as a glass full of water is always better than half empty but even more
Augusto Valverde is the creator and host of the Amazon Prime show,Global Child. He mixes travel destinations and Influencer stories to inspire people and give back through life lessons, charity, and positivity. The series plays inflight on American Airlines, Delta and British Airways, showcasing destinations 5 star accommodations across the world. It's just you and him and the camera. Each episode is an uplifting life lesson unwrapped through laughter and adventure as we bring back the human element to a genuine travel experience. to watch each episode; www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07K81YXQM?ie=UTF8&language=de_DE 105 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020
Thank you for
10 years supporting us
Please leave wool out of your wardrobe.
Photo: Michael Muller • Grooming: Saisha Beecham, with Cloutier Remix
Joaquin Phoenix
98 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2020
F OR
VEGAN WOOL SUIT BY BRAVE GENTLEMAN