The Eden Magazine January 2021 issue

January 2021

EDEN T h e

Magazine

The Extraordinary

Mark Terry

EXPLORER, SCHOLAR, FILMMAKER, JOURNALIST & AUTHOR

BECOMING

A VOICE FOR WILDFLOWERS

by Rob Badger

SOIDOG

FOUNDATION A non-profit organization for the welfare of stray dogs and cats

THE AGE OF AQUARIUS

by Sasha Gary

SELF HEALING IS PLANETARY

HEALING

by Angela Dunning

WHY LOVE

WILL RULE IN

2021

by Phyllis King

Table of Contents 10

YOU ARE NOT THE TIGER'S LUNCH

MARK TERRY

By Dina Morrone

18

26

YOU ARE NOT THE TIGER'S LUNCH

By Kjell Tore Hovik & Jennifer Love

22

SHUNIA

Music that spread seeds of empowerment & hope

26

SOIDOG FOUNDATION

A non-profit organization for welfare of stray dogs & cats

18

36

32

JOURNEY INTO 2021

By Shelly Wilson

36

SUBJECTIVE REALITY

By Darren Timms

40

BECOMING A VOICE FOR WILDFLOWERS

SHUNA

By Rob Badger

52

48

7 SUREFIRE WAYS TO DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

By Kain Ramsay

52

SELF-HEALING IS PLANETARY HEALING

By Angela Dunning

56

22

OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL OF THE REVELATIONTHE DOORWAY OF VISION

56

By C.S. Warner

Cover Photo by Jackie Pearce

Happy New Year 60

WITHOUT PLANTING MORE TREES IN THE TROPICS, WE CAN'T FIX THE CLIMATE

By Edward Mitchard

60

64

WHITE EAGLE SHAMANIC INITIATION INTO THE ARTS

By Dayle McLeod

68

WHERE DID NICKY GO?

By Lucy Geddes

74

PM: MAN'S JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

64

By Paula Polcini

78

WHY UNCENSORED EXPRESSION LEADS TO HEALINGS

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

82

78

THE AGE OF AQUARIUS

By Sasha Gary

98

RIDDLE ME THIS, HOW ARE WE?

68

By Joey Santos J.

100

WHY LOVE WILL RULES IN 2021

By Phyllis King

PM: MAN'S JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

74

98 100

3 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

EDEN T

H

E

Since 2010

MAGAZINE

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 COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST GLORIA KISEL-HOLLIS 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 The Eden Magazine reviews article content for accuracy before the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials, and all other content is published in good faith.

4 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2021

DINA MORRONE

Maryam Morrison

VITO TROTTA

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.

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

MARIA ELENA INFANTINO

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

GLORIA KISEL HOLLIS

TARA-JENELLE WALSCH

ANGELA DUNNING

NANCY E. YEAROUT

SHERI DETERMAN

GREG DOHERTY

MICHAEL WHITE RYAN

MARGARET TOMASZEWIC

ISABELLE RUEN

6 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e February 2020

SASHA GARY

SHELLY WILSON

JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE

JOE SANTOS, JR.

MARCO NUNZIO ALATI

PHYLLIS KING

7 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e March 2020

THE EDEN MAGAZINE

10th Anniversary

By Dina Morrone

On December 19, 2020, The Eden Magazine celebrated a milestone that was cause for quite a celebration - the tenth anniversary of the publication.

Hosted by

Sandro Monetti

Sasha Gary

From its inception to today, the journey has been one of incredible experiences, enlightenment, and growth.

Over the years, we have had the pleasure of meeting so many exceptional people who have been a part of the magazine and contributed in different ways.

Every single contribution, big or small, has been greatly appreciated. It has enriched the magazine and helped us become who we are today with a global readership of over one million.

We have also had the honor of meeting some genuinely inspirational individuals that we interviewed, featured on the cover, and shared their extraordinary stories.

With 2020 being such a challenging year, we wanted to make sure we did our part in ensuring our readers would have an opportunity to read pieces that guide, inspire, uplift, educate, and comfort through such dark and uncertain times.

ning by engaging our worldwide audience with their vibrant personalities, stories, and professionalism.

The evening kicked off with a performance of Beethoven by the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, conducted by the extraordinary conductor, Carlo Ponti Jr. That was followed by a breathtaking vocal performance from international superstar recording artist Pia Toscano.

Special Guests, who delivered inspiring speeches, included Jean Michel Cousteau, Ed Bailey Jr., Shohreh Aghdashloo, Susan L. Taylor, Keith Mitchell, Dr. Mark Terry, Mark Hertsgaard, Scott Fifer, Gay Browne, Nancy Yearout, and Andy Maradian.

Other outstanding musical performances included Paulette Dozier, Farzad G, Maria Elena Infantino, and Karina Nuvo.

A special thank you to all of our sponsors and guests who supported the tenth-anniversary virtual event celebration. We are humbled by their generosity and were honored by their presence.

The initial goal for our tenth anniversary was to host a Live Gala. Due to the pandemic, the plans changed, and we created a magnificent virtual presentation.

Thank you to ibentos and their fantastic team for the virtual production and Talaya Thomas for coordinating the evening. And of course, many thanks to all our readers for supporting us over the past ten years.

Our hosts for the event were Sandro Monetti (CNN & BBC Host) and Sasha Gary (Actress, contributing writer). They hit the right note for the eve-

If you missed our event, you can visit our website to watch the entire program. www.theedenmagazine.com.

8 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Jean Michel Cousteau

Keith Mitchell

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Nancy Yearout

Karina Nuvo

Ed Begley Jr.

Pia Toscano

Carlo Ponti Jr.

Dina Morrone

Mark Hertsgaard

Andy Madadian

Gay Browne

Mark Terry

Farzad G.

Maria Elena Infantino

Paulett Dozier

GO CAMPAIGH

NATIONAL CARES MENTORING MOVEMENT

Susan Taylor

Scott Fifer

9 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

T M MARK

Terry Explorer, Filmmaker, Scholar, Journalist, & Author

By Dina Morrone 11 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

C

anadian, Dr. Mark Terry, is an explorer, filmmaker, scholar, journalist, and author who focuses mostly on climate change. His documentary The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning made such an impact that The United Nations invited him to show the film to world leaders. He has been honored with a Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Sustainability Award Leadership Award, and Audience Choice Awards at the American Conservation Film Festival for his films The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning and The Polar Explorer.

Dr. Terry is a Research Fellow with the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research at York University in Toronto. He also teaches in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York and in the Faculty of Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, both in Canada. He has worked throughout the global Arctic, serving as the Scientist-in-Residence on a circumnavigation of Iceland in 2018, making the first documented film of a crossing of the Northwest Passage, The Polar Explorer, and lecturing at universities around the world, including St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. He has also worked in Antarctica documenting the research of the British Antarctic Survey and the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine. For the United Nations, he serves as the Executive Director of the Youth Climate Report, a film program for youth.

At York University's eco-campus, Las Nubes, in Costa Rica

On November 27, 2020, Dr. Terry was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. The society honors scholars, scientists, and artists elected by their peers as the very best in their respective fields. The inductees are individuals from all branches of learning who have made extraordinary contributions in the humanities, sciences, the arts, and in their Canadian public life.

Congratulations, to Dr. Terry, on his remarkable career! It's a real honor for The Eden Magazine to feature him in this January 2021 issue.

Some boys say they want to grow up to be a firefighter, a doctor, or a hockey player. As a young boy, what did you want to be?

Not many people actually become what they say they want to be “when they grow up", but I did. I always wanted to be an explorer, as far back as I can remember. As a young child, I went to the park and dug a hole under the concrete bleachers to get inside. It was a place "no-one had been before" – the essence of exploration. I called this place my "fort" and would go there with a sandwich and have lunch there. There was a six-inch slot that I could peek through and watch the world go by. I had similar forts under the stairs at home and on the roof at school. I deeply admired people like Sir Edmund Hilary and Sir Ernest Shackleton for finding their own "forts" where "no-one had ever been before”. I like to say that “the destination of discovery begins with a journey of exploration”.

Canadian Party Delegate, Paris Climate Summit, 2015 12 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Please tell us what it was like growing up in Toronto, Canada?

It was a very pleasant time growing up in Toronto in the ‘60s and ‘70s. We lived in a neighborhood known as East York, Canada's only borough. Many Italian immigrants lived here, so most of my childhood friends were Italian, and many of them remain my adulthood friends today. Since it was a time before computers, we spent our free time either playing sports or going to the cinema for 35 cents to watch three first-run Hollywood movies back-to-back. I spent my Saturdays doing that and the rest of the time playing hockey in the winter and tennis in the summer. On TV, we watched with curiosity the significant events of the day – the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassinations, the Charles Manson murders, the Kent State shootings, the race riots – from a safe distance here in Canada.

When did you first realize you were passionate about the environment and climate change? And what did you do at that point to take action?

I guess I was always passionate about the environment without knowing that I was. It was just a way of life for me to prefer to spend a summer at the lake, hike through the Don Valley, swim in Lake Ontario, and play hockey in the freezing cold winters at Dieppe Park. This was second "nature" to me as it was with most of my friends and family. My advocacy for the environment was formalized in 2008 when I decided to make the documentary film The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning to report on International Polar Year research in Antarctica. I realized that no-one else was going to do this – not because they didn't want to,

but because it's painfully challenging to arrange passage there and prohibitively expensive for most independent filmmakers. I was determined to go at the age of 50, as I believed this was significant research that the world needed to know as we began to become familiar with the term "climate change".

Having made the film, I was comfortable with spreading the news it presented to the public through film festivals, television broadcasts, and home video sales. What I didn’t count on was the interest the United Nations had in this project. That began my relationship with the UN as a media provider that continues to this day.

As a professor, you play an essential role in educating future documentary filmmakers focusing on the environment. What are you learning from your students that surprises you and impresses you?

I am surprised by the extent of the knowledge of all environmental issues – not just climate change – that today's students have. Clearly, they recognize this as the global issue of their lives and their future, so they are deeply committed to learning about the problems and finding viable solutions.

What surprises me in the classroom is their comfort, skill, and talent with geomedia. I teach them a remediation of the documentary film – the Geo-Doc – a multilinear, interactive, database documentary film project presented on a platform of a Geographic Information System map of the world. They end up teaching me new techniques, functions, methods, and approaches that enhance the technology and make it more robust as an effective communications tool for environmental policymakers.

The new generation of Youth Climate Reporters 13 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Of all the films you have worked on, which project taught you the most about yourself and why?

I’d have to say The Antarctica Challenge. It taught me that I can indeed do anything as I managed to complete a film that so many said couldn't be done. And then to have that film go on to become one of the first films ever, specifically invited by the United Nations to serve as a data delivery system for policymakers. This awoke in me a realization that there is a different path to activism, one that is more direct than protests and letter-writing campaigns. This approach involved the policymaker as a collaborator. They were revealed to me as co-operative colleagues embracing progressive change, not stubborn enemies resisting it. To see the policy process incorporating my films forged in me a commitment to continue to provide the visible evidence the policymaker needs to assist in the creation of effective policy, a visual tool that provides additional context to the scientific papers they usually use as resource material.

Not many people actually become what they say they want to be “when they grow up", but I did. I always wanted to be an explorer.

Not many people can say they are a polar explorer. You have had quite an adventurous life and seen places most people only dream of seeing. Please tell us one of the places you are still hoping to visit? Explore? Vacation?

I’d like to explore the European Arctic, especially Russia’s far north. I’d like to compare it with what I have experienced in the North American Arctic of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. I did visit the University of the Peoples of the North in Saint Petersburg, Russia. I was fascinated by the variety of cultures among the Indigenous people there.

I was also impressed by the university they had built for themselves and the unique curricula you're not likely to see in any other university. As far as vacation destinations go, my favourite place to relax and recharge is the Bahamas, the antithesis of the polar regions.

I am in awe of your work as a documentary filmmaker.

Not just with the size and scope of your projects, but more importantly, the fact that you make breathtakingly beautiful films that enlighten, educate, and entertain. How do you choose which projects you want to pursue?

There are two motivating factors in my decisions to make a documentary film. The first is it must excite me. It must entice the explorer in me. I want to go to a place that not only I haven’t been to before, but also a place that few people have ever been to before. By selecting such a place, I will be able to share images of far-off lands that my audiences can see, perhaps for the only time in their lives.

The second consideration is the United Nations. They have come to expect objective reports of environmental research in my films provided by the testimony of embedded scientists working in these places. Knowing that my films assist 14 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

the policymaker in advancing solutions to global issues like climate change makes my work a rewarding vocation, a calling.

The Changing Face of Iceland is your latest documentary - the third film in your Polar Climate Change documentaries' trilogy. Please tell our readers about this new film and also where and when they can see it.

The Changing Face of Iceland is the third film in my polar trilogy (the other two being The Antarctica Challenge and The Polar Explorer). In this film, we look at the impact climate change has had and is having on this island nation at the edge of the Arctic Circle. Glacier decline is a genuine concern at both ends of the earth, but here there is an additional threat: volcanic activity. As glaciers melt in Iceland, they relieve the pressure on underground magma rivers.

This flowing lava can now move more freely with the ice cap removed and this is feared to lead to substantial eruptions in the near future. We also feature an interview with Iceland’s first female prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who addresses the changes Iceland is going through with an encouraging and positive perspective. The film also features some of the most spectacular drone footage and breathtaking scenic vistas you’ll ever see on film.

More and more people worldwide are finally jumping on board with a mission to stop global warming. For those who have still not joined the movement, how can they be convinced to do so? And what can the average person do today to help with our current global environmental crisis?

On a grand scale, people can start to adopt significant changes in their lifestyles with respect to energy. Electric cars are not only becoming commonplace but actually affordable as well. Tesla is set to announce a $25,000 fully electric car next year. For homeowners, look into going off the grid and replacing your electrical energy needs with solar power.

You'd be surprised to learn that many governments (municipal, state/provincial, and federal) have incentive programs that provide grants for making the switch. More surprising is that many people using solar power today produce an excess of energy that they can sell back to the conventional grid. Not only does your electric bill go down, but you can make money at the same time. On a small scale, the average person can support projects intended to showcase research in climate-based solutions like the Youth Climate Report, a not-for-profit organization supported by four UN agencies (UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP, and UNESCO). This interactive Geo-Doc film project currently showcases more than 450 documentary short videos produced by the global community of youth on all seven continents. I curate this project and train young environmental filmmakers from around the world through a program called the Planetary Health Film Lab. You can support this initiative with a secure PayPal donation here: http://youthclimatereport. org/donations. For those looking to be more involved and to associate their business with this UN program,

Humanitarian Award, Canadian Academy Awards, 2011

sponsorship information is available here: http://youthclimatereport.org/sponsorships. For general information on the Youth Climate Report project, please visit this website: https://unescochair.info.yorku.ca/networks/youth-climate-report.

Please tell our readers about the impact the Montreal Protocol has had (initially signed in 1987) in stopping the use of substances that deplete the ozone layer?

The Montreal Protocol is arguably the most successful international environmental policy to date. It marked the first time every nation on earth collectively came together to sign a single piece of legislation. This happened again, of course, with the Paris climate summit in 2015 until the US decided to opt-out when Trump took office. The Montreal Protocol effectively banned ozone-depleting substances such as Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) through a phasing-out process that all the countries in the world agreed to. Since then, the world has seen CFCs drop by as much as 98% in the atmosphere.

This has allowed the ozone holes over the poles to repair themselves. In 2019, we saw the smallest ozone hole since 1982; however, on September 20, 2020, the annual ozone hole reached its peak area at 24.8 million square kilometers (9.6 million square miles), roughly three times the size of the continental United States. Why Antarctica's ozone hole went from near-complete recovery to one of the biggest declines in just one year is not yet known, and this surprising turn of events has thrown NASA's previous models indicating complete recovery by 2040 right out the window.

many, and more to come, please tell us what makes you the proudest?

The films I’ve made hold a special place in my heart as they have been recognized for excellence worldwide and opened a direct path to contributing to global environmental policy creation for me with the United Nations. But I am particularly proud of my academic achievements. As the oldest graduate in my class, I realize that returning to school to earn a Ph.D. is not something most 60-year-olds do. With this degree, I now have the credentials to teach others what I know and what I have experienced, to encourage and inspire them to pick up my mantle and run with it. My knowledge base is not just academically theoretical in nature, but professionally practical as well, informed by my career as a documentary film practitioner. Ultimately, this combination of theory and practice provides a more well-rounded education for the student in the areas of documentary film production, social activism, and environmental advocacy. I am also very proud of my book, The Geo-Doc: Geomedia, Documentary Film, and Social Change, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2020. This is my first book. It represents an extension of my dissertation and a summary of my career as an environmental filmmaker. But honestly, what makes me the proudest are my two remarkable children, Herb and Mary Anne.

Visible Evidence: The Plastic River in La Zursa, Dominican Republic

The films I’ve made hold a special place in my heart as they have been recognized for excellence worldwide and opened a direct path to contributing to global environmental policy creation for me with the United Nations.

What do you do in your free time when you are not working, traveling, or exploring?

Well, I could say that when I'm not doing those things, I'm thinking about doing those things, but seriously, my free time is minimal, and I enjoy reading and watching TV like everyone else. I will often play with the digital scrapbook known as Facebook as well. I particularly like visits with my children, their partners, and my grandson Nico who will turn three in January.

Of all your significant accomplishments, and you've had

Filming in a warming Antarctica 15 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

The Terry Family: From left, son-in-law Ricardo; son Herb; grandson, Nico; daughter-in-law, Melissa; daughter, Mary Anne, (Photo by Tony Morrone)

Among your many published books, your latest, released in July 2020, is entitled Pandemic Poetry. At what point during the pandemic did you decide you had to write this book? And please tell us a little bit about the book?

Pandemic Poetry was written in July 2020 following four months of restricted isolation. During this time, I was able to reflect on this unprecedented global event in the lives of almost everyone on the planet. Much was being written about our reactions to the pandemic and our various difficulties and challenges with what was fast becoming known as the "new normal," and I sensed much despair and hopelessness as people I knew lost loved ones. While a foreseeable end to the pandemic either by a vaccine or by nature was not evident, I realized hope was in short supply, so I decided to explore areas where I might find encouragement for the troubled masses. I could have written a book of prose, a journalistic article, or an academic paper on this subject, but I believed the vehicle of poetry would reach more people in a more accessible manner. The poems touch on many of our experiences during this dark time: the Black Lives Matter protests; the missed personal and joyful experiences of holidays: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and birthdays; the reclamation of nature over our anthropogenic footprint; and the perspective of wildlife now comfortably walking our city streets. All subjects present an objective observance with an underlying message that this, too, shall pass and that life as we used to know it will one day return.

What's next for you, Mark?

I plan to expand the training workshop for young filmmakers I’ve developed called the Planetary Health Film Lab to include the Indigenous youth of the Circumpolar Arctic. This project

16 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

will provide the theoretical approaches and the practical skills for creating documentary short films aimed at informing and influencing the environmental policymakers of the United Nations. I’m excited about amplifying the voices of this under-represented global community at the annual UN climate summits.

I am also eager to explore new horizons, as always, expanding my experiential education so I may share it with others in my never-ending efforts to make the world a better place for all of us. http://youthclimatereport.org/donations http://youthclimatereport.org/sponsorship https://unescochair.info.yorku.ca/networks/youth-climate-report

"The destination of discovery begins with a journey of exploration."

Photo by Alexander Hafem

~ Mark Terry

18 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eJanuary 2021

YOU ARE NOT THE TIGER’S LUNCH When your Body’s Natural Stress Response Kicks in, Call Your Mind to Attention

By Kjell Tore Hovik, Psy.D., Ph.d. & Dr. Jennifer Love, MD

O

ur automatic response for perceived danger evolved long ago in order to prevent us from becoming some animal’s lunch. It was not intended for dealing with complex modern crises such as pandemics, chronic pain, family upheaval, or an existential meltdown. The danger of encountering a saber-tooth tiger was more life threatening, but today’s contemporary crises pose long-lasting threats to our well-being and have a serious impact on our attentional resources.

Since the brain and body are wired for reacting fast and furiously, our natural response system actually hampers our ability to deal with complex threats, and demand a more sophisticated approach. The good news is that there is a way to gain control over your automatic response system and override it.

The first step is to Get a Grip and take power over a key brain function that will open a treasure trove of possibilities: our attentional resources. This isn’t the type of mental focus you have when you knit a loop stitch for the millionth time, watch a sporting event on TV, or are out driving. These examples involve fixing your eyes in a certain direction and diverting a small amount of your brain’s attentional capacity to what you are looking at; most of your mind is still full of thoughts and emotions. This type of superficial attentional focus is part of the brain’s system of parallel processing, the ability to apply several layers of attentional focus on both conscious and subconscious levels.

Attentional focus integrates as many attentional levels as possible. Not only what you see, not only what you smell, not only what you hear, not only what you are thinking about doing later in the week, not only the uneasy feeling you woke up with in the morning—all levels!

I remember the first time I read a word in Norwegian. I was about six years old, sitting on a toy box we had brought from Norway to California, on top of which my mother had glued a bright orange piece of itchy shag carpet. It was a warm day, so in addition to the carpet scratching my skin, it was also making me warm. I was intensely studying drawings in a book of traditional Norwegian folktales that I got as a birthday present from relatives back home. I noticed strange letters in the text that aren’t in the English alphabet: Æ, Ø, Å.

Weird, I thought. Just like the shag carpet prickling my bottom was “weird.” I kept looking intensely at the storybook, at the images and lettering. And, by the way, what was that wonderful smell coming downstairs from the kitchen?

My mother used to read to me from this book at bedtime, so I had heard the stories verbally a number of times. Suddenly, I found myself reading the letters and words in the storybook. “Imagine that, I can read Norwegian,” I thought, while at the same time irritated about the hairy shag carpet prickling my behind. I moved over to the other side of the room to continue reading in a more comfortable place, as the shag carpet was pulling attentional capacity away from my interest in finishing the story.

19 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Thoughts of that experience are suffused with sensory memories—the feel of the carpet, the smell of my mother’s cooking. It’s a clear example of the different levels of attentional focus that can happen in the same instance.

Remarkable! This is the type of attentional focus we want you to have to manage stress: as many attentional levels aligned in the here and now.

Take Control of Your Attentional Focus A technique we use to help patients take control of and integrate their attentional focus so they can perform a task optimally is to ask how are you feeling right now? It can work like a reset button. Your body, heart, and mind (focus) need to be fully with you for you to function optimally in the present moment.

My friend Sigurd, a successful ski jumper, climbed out onto the beam at the top of the K120 hill for the second round of ski jumping at a national championship in Lillehammer. He was already in the lead after the first round, so he only needed a long second jump to secure a win.

In the waiting area before he climbed out onto the beam, the jumper in second place wished him luck and said he hoped that his knee injury had healed (wink, wink).

Sigurd hadn’t been thinking about his knee injury at all, but now he was! The competitor’s comment brought to mind the pain of his knee injury in the last World Cup, when he crash-landed spectacularly at the bottom of the hill at over sixty miles an hour. This made him also think about what he would say to the press if he lost his lead because of a catastrophic second jump. All of these distracting thoughts were swirling in his head as he was climbing into position for a jump that needed perfect mind and body synchronization to successfully fly him four hundred feet down the hill.

Luckily, Sigurd recognized what was going on in his mind, so he went into his preset routine to integrate his focus. He started with deep, rhythmic breathing. Then he let unhelpful thoughts wash over him like waves at the beach. His focus became the here and now. He scanned his body, sensed his mind and body coming together to unite with his honed skills to get into his flow zone. This routine was easy for him because he had practiced it a thousand times before. He signaled to his coach he was ready, his coach signaled back that the wind conditions were safe, and he was off for one of the best ski jumps of his career.

Integrating attentional focus can help a person perform at his or her best on a specific task in the moment. Crises can be even more chaotic, with a multitude of thoughts and threats that prevent you from integrating your focus, not to mention irritating distractions like the telephone 20 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

ringing as you’re trying to make a deadline, or the chaotic noise of a hospital emergency room.

Here’s another exercise: Imagine that all the interactions, insults, outbursts, and pain swirling around during your crisis are symbols—letters or words—on a chalkboard or on a canvas. It’s up to you to choose to give them meaning or not and to link them together or not. Imagine they are on the outside of your mind and body, not inside.

They can enter but can only stay if they are invited. You decide which ones are invited to come inside and “sit by the fireplace” with you (as we say in Norwegian). Space by the fireplace is limited, so only invite one set of letters making up one word or issue at a time.

Integrating your attentional focus in this way will help you separate the relevant from the irrelevant, and put you in control of your attentional focus. All the other letters that are not needed for your purpose can wait outside in the cold and cool off (it can be very cold in Norway, so sitting by the fireplace is a big thing here).

Kjell Tore Hovik, Psy.D., Ph.d. is a clinical neuropsychologist who has authored and co-authored more than 16 peer-reviewed academic articles and book chapters. and is associate professor of psychology at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences in Lilleham-

mer, Norway.

He has trained professional athletes to use mental techniques to boost their peak performance potential.

Dr. Hovik is Editor-in-Chief of Nevropsykologi, which is the peer-reviewed journal of the Norwegian Neuropsychological Society. https://www.lovehovik.com/ about-us/.

Dr. Jennifer Love, MD is boardcertified in psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Addiction Medicine. She attended medical school at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and completed her internship, residency and subspecialty fellowship training at the University of Hawaii. She served as chief resident and as clinical faculty at the University of Hawaii Department of Psychiatry before returning to California where she is currently in group practice with the acclaimed Amen Clinics.

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SHU

NIA Music that Spreads Seeds of Empowerment and Hope www.shuniasound.com

By Lisa Reagan of Shunia

I

have always been naturally drawn to art, nature, music, and mystery. Some of my earliest memories are of being in nature and sensing the incredible intelligence that was all around me.

There was a knowing that I recognized.

I began my music studies at the tender age of 3, and I think that also contributed to the development of my spiritual side because music can be a great portal to the divine.

As the years went on and I grew up, the challenges of life became greater, and I found myself looking for ways to make sense of this often-difficult world. Sometimes I struggle with melancholy and depression, which can be quite debilitating. When my heart feels heavy, I go into the woods and allow the stillness and peacefulness there to feed my soul. It works every time. Even when I feel the most lonely and sad, if I connect with nature, that connection always brings me comfort. I feel like mother nature "gets me," and I can share my heart with her.

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In my early twenties, I found yoga, meditation, chanting, and being a very spiritual person and a singer; I was immediately drawn to every aspect of it. You could say I was sort of a natural. I was living in a world of classical music and in the world of chant. It was in the world of classical music, where I met Suzanne Jackson, the other member of Shunia. We got our master's degree together in opera performance from the University of Maryland's Opera Studio, and we were both resident members of the Washington National Opera for 25 years. We spent a lot of time together over the years and were both very interested in the power of yoga and chant.

One day at an opera rehearsal, we realized that we loved the same chant (Sa Re Sa Sa) and decided to sing it together.

That's when we first experienced how good our voices sounded together outside the world of opera. This desire to sing chants together eventually led to forming the band Shunia. When we were putting together our latest album, Shunia, we wanted to include the chant "Sa Re Sa Sa" because it has a special meaning to us.

"Sa Re Sa Sa" is such a joyful mantra that we decided to create uplifting music in a major key that would make people want to sing along and maybe even get up and dance. The words to the mantra "Sa Re Sa Sa" are: Sa re sa sa Sa re sa sa sa rung Har re har har Har re har har har rung The meaning of this mantra is, infinity is everywhere, creativity is everywhere. Sa is the infinity of God. It is the element of ether and spirit. Har is the creativity of this Earth. These sounds are woven together in this chant and then projected out through the sound of Rung. This mantra is connecting your body to the heavens and the heavens to your body in a beautiful circle of energy.

As you chant these different mantras over the years, you develop a personal relationship with and interpretation of each one of them. Each one has its own special place and meaning. For me, chanting acknowl24 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

edges the divine spirit and all the mysteries.

It allows me to experience the transformative power of God here on earth.

One of our big passions as Shunia is to create beautiful sacred music. We believe we've accomplished this with our self-titled second album, Shunia, produced by Jamshied Sharifi. Jamshied is a New York-based composer, producer, keyboardist and arranger, who has produced and/or performed with many artists. Most notably for Shunia, he has produced and performed on several albums for Mirabei Ceiba and also produced Snatam Kaur's GrammyÂŽ Award-nominated album, Beloved.

The brilliant musicians Jamshied brought into the studio to play on this album gave our music a whole new sound. Many of them being "world" musicians who play instruments like the kamancheh, bansuri, sintir, sitar, and others. These ancient instruments gave our music a feeling of antiquity, timelessness, and mystery.

When we were creating the music for "Sa Re Sa Sa", Jamshied thought of the idea of bringing in renowned Moroccan artist Hassan Hakmoun to sing over the chant. This turned out to be a brilliant idea. His improvisational singing on this track took everything to a new level of joy and inspiration.

Hassan is singing in Bambara, a language spoken by the Gnawa people of Morocco, thanking God for the beauty of this earth and for this life. He told us that the melody he sang came to him so clearly when he first heard our recording of the chant that he never needed to change anything after the first take. Fortunately, he was able to join us for the making of our "Sa Re Sa Sa" music Video, where we all came together in gorgeous gardens on a 150-year-old farm.

The mantras we are chanting on this album have been chanted for thousands of years.

The intonation in each word has its own vibrational frequency. The chants are in a sacred language that carries the seed sound of humans. We believe that music is the most universal and ancient language. We wanted to create music for these mantras that would empower and inspire.

The meaning of this mantra is, infinity is everywhere, creativity is everywhere. Sa is the infinity of God. It is the element of ether and spirit. Har is the creativity of this Earth. These sounds are woven together in this chant and then projected out through the sound of Rung. This mantra is connecting your body to the heavens and the heavens to your body in a beautiful circle of energy.

In addition to the mantras on this album, we also created a song using the language of a beautiful poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell. Don't go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the doorsill, where the two worlds touch.

The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep.

I believe the lyric, where the two worlds touch, speaks to our experience here on earth; we are both spirit and human. Shunia's video of "Breeze at Dawn" is a beautiful journey into nature.

Watch as it takes you walking in a field early in the morning while the earth is still wet under your feet and the smells of nature invigorate all your senses. This poem is a reminder that life is such a gift.

The creation of each song and the performances of each musician has filled this album with pulsating life and energy. We are

personally so grateful for all the talented musicians who played on this album.

They each brought their own talent, heart, and soul to this project, and you can hear it on every track.

Jamshied Sharifi, Shunia’s producer

My prayer is for everyone on this planet to one day finally see who they truly are, which is a sentient being. I would love for everyone to understand what a precious gift this life is. As Shunia, we want to be chanting with audiences around the world, all sharing our joy of the divine connection. Hopefully, the virus will be behind us soon, and we can once again be together. That will be a time of true joy and gratefulness for our human family.

Everything: https://linktr.ee/shuniasound Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shuniasound/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVvsZECVFyfF5OFCS5VWJCw 25 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Foundation

A nonprofit organization for the welfare of stray dogs and cats

O

n the surface, John and Gill Dalley seemed like any other couple retiring to the Thai island of Phuket in 2003. After years of the 9-5 routine, they were ready to change their lifestyle and give something back by helping the street dogs and cats that roamed the island. Little did they know in those early days that they were laying the foundations for one of the largest and most well-known animal rescues in Asia.

Over the past 17 years, Soi Dog Foundation – "soi" being the Thai word for "street" – has rescued, rehabilitated, and rehomed thousands of street dogs and cats, neutered and vaccinated over half-a-million more, and successfully abolished Thailand's brutal dog meat trade. And they maintain that this is only the beginning.

In this interview, John Dalley MBE discusses Soi Dog's humble beginnings, the ongoing fight against Asia's dog meat trade, and his hopes for a brighter future for the homeless animals of Thailand and beyond.

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What did Soi Dog look like in its early days?

At first, we were feeding dogs at temples, running small mobile sterilization clinics, and taking sick and injured dogs to the local vet for treatment. We had a handful of volunteers, some dog catchers, and a "shelter" in a disused restaurant!

Initially, our mission was to focus on Phuket because that's where we lived, and the problem was huge. We wanted to get to the root cause of street dogs and cats' overpopulation through a program of CNVR [Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return]. We knew it would take years to see a difference because of the sheer numbers – there were approximately 70,000 street dogs on the island back then – but we were doing what we could. We certainly never expected it to become what it is today.

bred] puppies at markets and the dumping of unsterilized animals on the streets. It's a battle, always.

What challenges has Soi Dog-faced over the years?

Rarely a year goes by without a crisis! Some of the biggest challenges and crises we've faced have been natural disasters. Firstly, the 2004 tsunami displaced thousands of animals, not to mention the human tragedy. But out of something bad, something good happened as we were

CNVR has always been at the forefront of Soi Dog's operations. Tell us more about the program.

We're currently neutering and vaccinating over 10,000 stray dogs and cats a month across Thailand. When you compare that to just over 1,000 in the first 18 months we existed, it's a huge growth curve. We're treating more animals than any other organization in the world now by a long way.

Although the [street dog] population has shrunk in Phuket – to around 7,000 – it's a case of continually keeping on top of it. You've got to have a maintenance project as I describe it. The problem is always being fed by selling [pure27 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

able to expand Soi Dog with the help of vets and volunteers who came from overseas to assist. The Bangkok floods in 2011 and 2012 were a challenge, too but helped us to establish ourselves there. We now have a clinic in the city as well as six mobile sterilization teams.

Do you count the Covid-19 pandemic among those challenges?

Covid has been a massive challenge because of the sheer number of abandoned dogs coming in who need help.

With adopted animals unable to fly to their new homes overseas because of travel restrictions, we now have more animals in our care than ever before – around 1,400. We've had to raise funds to expand our shelter to continue to take in these animals who have no one else. But again, out of something bad came something good as Covid has highlighted the dangers of the wildlife trade and the dog meat trade.

Abolishing the dog meat trade in Thailand helped put Soi Dog on the map. How was this achieved?

The trade was already illegal in Thailand due to the Rabies Act, which prohibited dogs' transporting across borders without proper paperwork. But it wasn't enforced; hundreds of thousands of dogs were being smuggled out of Thailand across Laos into Vietnam every year.

– many of the dogs are stolen pets who are brutally tortured – we've found it more effective in Vietnam to focus on the health risks, such as rabies and cholera. Covid is only the latest disease. The more we impact animals' habitat, the more we breed them, the more we kill them and use them for food, the more likely it is that we're going to get more and more of these zoonotic diseases.

In your continuing efforts to end the trade in Asia, you're often met with the question: "But isn't dog meat part of their culture?" How do you respond to this?

I tend to shoot that down in flames! Culture is something that countries are proud of. People advertise their culture.

They show it off. But during the Winter Olympics in South Korea and the proposed Formula 1 race in Vietnam, dog meat was completely taken off the streets. They didn't want people seeing it.

There's also absolutely no place for cruelty in culture. If there's cruelty involved, it doesn't matter which country it is – whether it's stealing and butchering dogs in Vietnam or bullfighting in Spain – it must be banned. Cultures change as people develop. That's why we've seen China signal an end to the trade. They've come to recognize that dogs have a long history of being companion animals.

With the Royal Thai Navy and Police's help, we were involved in identifying shipments of dogs, intercepting trucks, and having smugglers prosecuted. I lost count of exactly how many dogs were rescued, but it was well over 20,000. Eventually, the dog meat traders' business suffered, and it was no longer profitable. We also lobbied the military government to introduce the country's first Animal Welfare Act, which made it illegal to kill dogs and cats for meat within Thailand.

Soi Dog is now focused on fighting the trade in Vietnam. Do you have hope that change is possible there?

Absolutely. I didn't expect to see an end to Thailand's trade in my lifetime, but it happened in four years. In Vietnam, now is the best opportunity that we've got, and it's because of Covid. While we do point out that the trade is inhumane 28 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Among the thousands of sick, injured, abused, and neglected street dogs and cats Soi Dog has rescued, are there any particular cases that will always stay with you?

Street animals all have a story, but the ones that stay with you are the ones you rescue yourself. Shiver always sticks in my mind. He was a puppy we found in a gutter with a horrific skin infection. He was frightened of people, and there were only one of our doctors who could touch him.

Eventually, he recovered and went to a rescue organization we partner with within the USA. Cola was another special one. He was fitted with prosthetics after having his front legs hacked off with a sword. My late wife Gill [who was fitted with prosthetics after losing her legs] had a bit of a kindred spirit thing going on with him, and so he came home with us.

There's also absolutely no place for cruelty in culture. If there's cruelty involved, it doesn't matter which country it is, it must be banned.

At times, we've had 13 dogs of our own at home as well as cats and foster dogs. I'm down to five dogs and four cats now.

You have to become hardened. Otherwise, you'd be adopting them all! Having said that, I still have moments at the shelter where I think, "Ooh, should I take you home?"

In December, Soi Dog reached half-a-million animals neutered and vaccinated since 2003. A huge milestone.

What other milestones would you like to see in the near future?

I would love to see an end to the dog meat trade in Cambodia, China, and Korea as well, but I'm a great believer in not spreading yourself too thinly. Another goal is expanding our education program. At the moment, our education team visit schools across Phuket and nearby Phang Nga, but I'd love to see animal welfare become part of the national curriculum here. In terms of end target, I'd like to see that Soi Dog doesn't exist anymore because there are no more homeless dogs anywhere in the world.

I would love to see an end to the dog meat trade in Cambodia, China, and Korea as well, but I'm a great believer in not spreading yourself too thinly.

What's the best way for people to support Soi Dog at this time?

The same as always: donate! Any charity can only do as much as the funds they raise. We believe we're very good stewards of the donations we receive, and we maximize them to directly treat more stray animals than any other organization in the world. The more donations we receive, the more we can do, and the more animals we can help.

It's as simple as that.

For more information, visit www.soidog.org

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I lost count of exactly how many dogs were rescued, but it was well over 20,000. Eventually, the dog meat traders' business suffered, and it was no longer profitable.

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Journey into

21

By Shelly Wilson Trust yourself.

Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.

Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. ~ Golda Meir

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1

A

s the days and months progress, it often seems like we start rapidly wishing the time away as we prepare ourselves to embark on a new year before the current one has ended, especially when we have been faced with extreme challenges. Undoubtedly, 2020 has been a tough year physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially for numerous individuals. Many of us were ready for 2020 to make a quick exit even before summer began. Others were curious to observe these experiences from a Higher soul perspective to truly understand the lessons being presented to us.

disappointing to come into our conscious awareness as well. Honoring each one as we honor ourselves is essential. During this process, it is beneficial to acknowledge any emotions being felt as they arise and be with them as long as necessary.

Regardless of the viewpoint, 2020 has provided us with a perfect opportunity to gain clarity and create consciously. 2020 has been a time to become more aware and in tune with who we are and what we desire. As a universal 4 year according to numerology, 2020 was a year inviting us to return home to ourselves, which entailed building a future for ourselves that aligned us with a more stable and secure life, self-growth, and creating our own reality.

In addition, we are also being reminded to tune in more to our bodies. We need to become more aware of our emotions because the emotions are weighing us down and causing inflammation. If you feel led, you may keep an emotions/feelings journal or just check in with yourself periodically. Literally, ask aloud or in your mind to your body/soul – How do you feel? What do you need? How can I support you in the best way possible? What energy and emotions have I been holding onto unknowingly?

What do I need to release? There may be some other questions you are guided to ask as well.

Life is a continual learning process, and we are each a work-in-progress. Subsequently, it’s time for each one of us to pause and reflect, especially during this transformational time. We need extra support and encouragement as so many of us have been evaluating our current state of being for quite some time.

Releasing the Old As we say our final farewells and close the proverbial door in 2020, spending time in reflection may be beneficial to us as we welcome the arrival of 2021 with its new energy. What we choose to do individually creates a ripple and ultimately affects the collective consciousness.

With that said, each one of us may want to pause, breathe, and become more present. Then, we may choose to do a mini life review and take a stroll through the experiences of 2020. Instead of dwelling in the energy and attempting to recall each of the moments we deem significant, simply let unfiltered thoughts, emotions, impressions, and memories rise to the surface. Also, we can allow memories we may have deemed unpleasant, frustrating, or

After taking a deep breath in and exhaling audibly, we may be guided to enable ourselves to see the blessings within any challenging situation. These blessings can be spoken aloud, recognized in our minds or even written down. When we choose to communicate thankfulness, we should note that the energy of gratitude is one of high vibration and assists with the flow of abundance.

As we let the doors close, new windows of opportunity will open up for us. We can gratefully receive the gift of endings so that we can have fabulous new beginnings!

"The intent to live your best year yet will generate an energetic force that will pull you toward the results you desire.

This intent holds power to change the fallow soil of undirected energy into the potent, fertile ground where you can plant the seeds of your desires and watch them blossom into reality. " ~ Debbie Ford of The Ford Institute.

Embracing the New 2021 is a universal 5 year, which acknowledges personal freedom and change. This energy invites us to recognize our power of choice. In those instances that we have no control of, we still have the ability to perceive and choose how we wish to respond.

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cooning process, which involves self-care. Self-care practices may include devoting time to what brings us joy, exercise, yoga, cooking, being creative, massage therapy, reflexology, daily meditation, relaxation, acupuncture, and any other modalities that may resonate with us personally. Since everything is energy, including each of us as an energetic being, cocooning for clarity is a beneficial and essential resource for our physical health and mental and emotional well-being.

"When you load the intent to have the best year of your life, you are choosing to bring into existence a life filled with love, laughter, success, and fulfillment."

Photo by Vanessa Glad

~ Debbie Ford of The Ford Institute

As we journey into 2021, begin by allowing yourself the opportunity to bask in the fresh energy in order to truly create a new beginning or at least a new outlook.

Rather than declaring resolutions, we may be guided to begin the new year with setting intentions. We can start by focusing on how we want to feel and then let the Universe work its magic on our behalf. To create consciously, we must be mindful of the energy we are emitting into the Universe with our thoughts, words, and actions since this energetic emission can be reflected back to us. Recognizing everything is energy and has its own frequency and vibration, what we focus on can become our reality. Our self-talk and the other thoughts running through our minds are similar to radio signals.

For intention setting to be effective, practicing nonattachment to the outcome is essential, as well as focusing on being adaptable and flexible instead of being rigid and stuck in our ways. In other words, we can allow ourselves to go with the flow, especially when presented with those unexpected life detours, or we can sabotage ourselves by depending on those facets that no longer serve us or exist.

We may even choose to cocoon to attain guidance and the clarity that we seek. In essence, cocooning involves pulling our energy in as we become more aware of energy drains, whether it be people, places, or things.

Choosing to honor our physical health as well as our mental/emotional well-being is an aspect of the co34 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Once we feel centered and at ease, we can spend some time and allow all of our desires, dreams, aspirations, and intentions for the coming year to fill our conscious mind. As you feel led to do so, write down the words and ideas that have formed within your mind. Now, read what you have written and see how you feel when reading it. Release the manifestation details, such as how it will happen and when it will happen, and do your best to practice non-attachment to the outcome.

Become mindful of your energetic emission and choose to infuse the intentions you’ve declared with love, compassion, grace, gratitude, and trust rather than the energies of fear, worry, doubt, and lack.

As this journey into 2021 begins, I wish you peace. I wish you love. I wish you joy. I wish you happiness.

Additionally, I am setting these intentions for you: May you journey into 2021 with optimism, hope, and clarity, while feeling loved, valued, appreciated, and empowered. May you live the kind of life you imagine for yourself - a life you love. May all your dreams for the year be achieved and all your wishes fulfilled.

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

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SUBJECTIVE REALITY

By Darren Timms

The image of the world around us, which we carry in our heads, is just a model.

your outcomes? What you failed to start when you said you would…

We have all heard the words ‘Well, that’s their opinion’ to describe how someone makes sense of the world they live in.

What you promised yourself and others yet were unable to deliver… what you did start and complete, and all scenarios in between.

But what does that really mean? Have you ever contemplated how you arrive at your outcomes?

How you think and why… your personal beliefs and ideology… the relationships you attract… the jobs you have or lean towards… what you eat and what you drink… your health, financial success or failure, and everything in between.

Would you agree that what you do or don’t do distinguishes

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You can point the finger at external conditions and hold any number of people responsible for your outcomes, but those are false accusations; your results are directly correlated to the actions you did or did not perform.

So, if actions are responsible for outcomes, what inspires the actions? It’s your emotions and mental state that determines what you do and how you do it.

Photo by Stewart MacLean

Everybody knows how it feels to be in a flow state… when life meets your every step but never stands on your toes… when you walk around with a smile on your face, a spring in your step, and get stuff done effortlessly.

Is it any wonder why depression and anxiety are at alltime highs? I don’t know about you, but I am very keen for my digestion, immune system, and my intelligence to be all switched on and working for, not against me.

You also know how it feels not being able to think straight or get things done… angry, agitated, distressed, disturbed. We have all been there, but for some, it’s their default; it’s the emotional home.

Hence, the quality of your emotions will affect the quality of your actions and lead to either favorable or unfavorable outcomes.

What types of results would you assume those who operate from the default of procrastination and distress achieve versus those who spend the majority of their time in flow?

If we are speaking in terms of majorities, which we must do when making an assessment, the answer will be obvious.

The unconscious mind drives up to 95% of your daily behavior via the robust psychological programs it created in childhood, and unless questioned and reworked, the behavior and the meaning-making process remains the same.

There are exceptions, yes, but those aside, we can state with confidence that folk who live with a smile on their face, have uplifting energy, and live with high levels of integrity get better results than those on the other side of the equation.

Why is this? Well, you cannot access your highest intelligence or be at your resourceful best when angry, agitated, distressed and emotionally disturbed.

Why? When in these states, we activate the survival mechanism, known commonly as fight or flight. Now the body and mind is on high alert, preparing for battle or to flee as fast as possible.

All other functions are temporarily turned off, including the immune response and our digestion, as priority is given to the presenting threat to our existence!

Whether or not the threat is real or perceived, our bodies respond as if the threat is genuine.

What if I told you that the majority of Human beings are operating in the world today with their fight or flight mechanism switched on. Especially now, with the pandemic of fear being perpetrated and shared with what is going on in the world.

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So, suppose our efforts are driven by the emotional state we are in at any given time; what stimulates the emotions?

The answer is, your beliefs and childhood conditioning… or better expressed, the meaning you applied to every single experience, memory, event, and circumstance that life afforded you as a young child, namely between the ages of 0 and 6, when the commanding unconscious mind was being formed.

The unconscious mind drives up to 95% of your daily behavior via the robust psychological programs it created in childhood, and unless questioned and reworked, the behavior and the meaning-making process remains the same.

Sure, we are continually changing as we age. Still, the fundamental beliefs which were conditioned by our early childhood experiences are the drivers of all we do.

(This is a complex topic, which I will cover in greater detail as we proceed.)

That, in a nutshell, is the filtering system that close to eight billion people use to make sense of the world, each using the above process to create a unique and subjective reality. That means we don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.

The external world is but a mirror of our internal reality.

Looking at the equation Beliefs => Emotions => Actions => Outcomesand applying common sense, we can conclude that to change the outcome; we must address the root cause, where the beliefs are stored.

Until we apply new meanings to our experiences, events, and circumstances, and to the triggers that initiate the repeated actions, then expect more of the same.

That isn’t rocket science; that’s plain common sense.

By changing our beliefs, our emotional responses change, which influence our actions and transform our results. It all making sense. Good. But it doesn’t stop there. Within the equation above sits a further filtering process that needs to be understood.

Massive amounts of information continually arouse our sensory organs and nervous systems. The numbers differ according to different sources, but the last time I checked, our nervous system and conscious awareness receive, via the five senses, about twenty million pieces of information per second that need processing.

Some believe it’s up to four billion chunks of information, so be it twenty million or four billion, the numbers are unfathomable.

The information is narrowed down further by generalizing, deleting and distorting anything that sits outside of my belief system or anything that represents a threat to my carefully constructed self-image until what remains is ‘MY REALITY’ – a reality which I believe in wholeheartedly and, unless I’m inspired to change it, will stay the same.

To attain this reality, I must distort and delete almost all the information until I end up with less than a hundred and thirty pieces of data from the twenty million per second that are available.

And this is all done instantaneously.

Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say?

Well, let’s explore a little further and see how empowering or disempowering this is before we decide.

In laymen’s terms, this filtering system is designed to detect what’s familiar and to prove itself correct in any given situation.

We become so convinced of our truth and what that truly means, our unique existence is as real as it gets.

In fact, we rarely question it, and unless challenged, an alternative version is rarely, if ever, contemplated.

This subjective and perceived truth creates repetitive feelings and is thus responsible for the quality of our lives.

We are unaware that we are not directly encountering the quality of our lives, but rather the quality of our meaning-making process through this filtering system.

Unless we disturb the cycle, we will continue to get what we have always got, meaning that our comfort zone will maintain the status quo, regardless of the outcome. To change one’s reality, the filtering system must be modified to see things differently and hence apply a different meaning to the information.

To do this, we must break the habit of being ourselves; otherwise, we will continue to seek out that which is familiar and therefore continually arrive at the same destination.

All well and good if the outcomes, dreams, and desires are fulfilling. However, it is not so good if the results fall short of what is needed to stack the odds in favor of a productive existence.

The good news is that each of us can experience ‘brain plasticity’, which means the brain’s ability to modify its connections or rewire itself. Each of us is capable and proficient, if we so desire, in the act of radical change and in the transformation of experiences that keep us stuck in life.

We were not born with belief systems that cause and maintain disturbance and suffering; they were created, and that which was created can be uncreated.

Similarly, that which was learned can be unlearnt.

If that type of world resonates and makes sense, and you would like to learn more, grab a beverage of choice, get comfortable and enjoy the ride as I attempt to bridge the gaps between human behavior, spirituality, and the world we live in.

Darren Timms is a qualified RSCI life coach, NLP practitioner, hypnotist and counselling psychologist who specialises in helping others become their greatest version.

He resides in Dubai, UAE, where he has a successful practice as well as being a regular contributor to lifestyle magazines in the area. Darren has an insatiable appetite for life and applies his infectious energy and tremendous knowledge to every client.

His expertise comes not only from books and coursework but from his rich, real-life experiences which he draws upon to make sense of why we do the things we do and what to do about them.

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Becoming a VOICE

for Wildflowers

By Rob Badger

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Introduction from Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change On a warm and windy spring day in 1992, I witnessed what was then a rare and spectacular wildflower display in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, a state park in the western Mojave Desert. I was awestruck by what was before me. During twenty years of photographing the West’s dramatic, iconic landscapes, I had never seen the desert so alive, shimmering with such an explosion of color and life. Experiencing such intense beauty was magnetic, intoxicating, and almost overpowering.

That evening I called home to Nita, my sweetie and fellow photographer. I described as best I could how it felt to see the wind move in waves across a vast sea of glowing, orange California poppies and purple bird’s-eye gilia blossoms.

Hearing my excitement, she knew she had to see this for herself. Because these flowers would soon disappear in the drying winds and growing desert heat, I quickly returned to San Francisco, where Nita was between photo assignments. We immediately drove back to the poppy reserve to enjoy and photograph this unbelievable beauty together. We did not know then that this was the beginning of a lifetime adventure exploring and photographing what we believed to be a limitless world of wildflowers.

Nita and I share an intense desire and commitment to using our work in ways that benefit both nature and humanity. For decades, her photographic projects have celebrated human diversity and helped members of underserved communities feel a much-needed sense of pride. For many years, my own work focused on both land conservation and the environmental destruction caused by human activities such as development, logging, and mining. I was becoming discouraged and emotionally burned out by what I witnessed and documented.

Photographing wildflowers opened up a new world for both of us. It allowed us to collaborate in many different ways and brought us closer together as photographers and as partners. Our photography now included both the grand landscape and a variety of ways to capture the world of a single flower. Exploring new areas, developing new skills, and learning more about native plants and where they live consistently brought joy into our lives and really lifted my spirits. Searching for new places and flowers was like a magical treasure hunt, for it seemed that there would always be new wildflowers to discover, photograph, and share.

Over time we were creating a visual story about Nature’s diverse wildflower communities, now surviving primarily on federal, state, county, or local public lands. We documented the spectacular landscapes and created intimate floral portraits—from below sea level in Death Valley National Park to naturally occurring alpine “rock gardens” above 13,000 feet in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

In 1998, Nita and I spent a glorious month photographing our first “one-hundred-year-bloom” in Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks, and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Then we documented another one in 2005, only seven years later. Our understanding is that until recently, “super blooms” were known as “one-hundred-year blooms”; they occurred only when all the right conditions came together—on average, only about once per century.

Climate change is now creating extreme swings in weather and precipitation, with more frequent years of abnormally high rainfall followed by long periods of severe drought. Although super blooms happen more frequently (as in 2017 and 2019), we learned that droughtstressed native plants and abundant rains make it possible for invasive grasses and other non-native species to move in and quickly take over the wildflowers’ habitat.

We were eager to learn more about the natural history of the flowers and our human behavior, the “beast” that was threatening them.

Concurrently, climate change research was gaining more attention.

Across the globe, a growing number of scientists studying and reporting the effects of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were making alarming predictions about the future of life on Earth. Overconsumption by an expanding human population was demanding more land and resources for manufacturing, agriculture, and development.

These demands contributed to the reduction or loss of habitats—the many native plants, insects, and animals that depend on them for their survival. Limiting the impact of climate change was becoming the single most important issue to address to prevent species extinction.

Aware of these findings, we were determined to use the strong body of work we had created to promote the protection of wildflowers, their fragile habitats, and all the life that depends on them. Our images can give you a sense of the many different types of flowers that exist and the magnificent landscapes in which they are found. But images alone cannot tell the story; a voice for wildflowers and their natural communities would need something more.

To be that voice, in 2011, we created an ongoing documentary art project, Beauty and the Beast: Wildflowers and Climate Change. It was accepted as a sponsored project by Blue Earth Alliance, an organization that “believes visual storytelling inspires positive change.”

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Our purpose was to use art to inspire hope and action—an action that reduces the impact of climate change promotes land and species conservation and encourages the creation of a sustainable population that the Earth can support.

Because people are constantly hearing about all the negative things going on in the world, we believed there was a need for \a different, softer approach to grab people’s attention and center it on the climate change story, conservation, and population issues. We chose to engage our future audiences by first inviting them to experience the splendor of the natural world through a universal symbol of beauty, the wildflower. Our vision was to create artistic coffee table books and exhibits accompanied by short, educational essays. Also provided would be descriptions of simple actions people could take to create positive change.

The first exhibit of Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change opened in 2016 at the San Francisco Public Library.

Joan Jasper, director of exhibits, invited us to create a collection of photographic prints of California’s botanical heritage. The one-hundred-image exhibit included a series of educational panels that told the wildflowers’ story and encouraged public participation in conservation and climate change issues. A traveling version of the original display is available through Exhibit Envoy, a nonprofit organization that makes affordable exhibits accessible to small and medium-size venues. As of this writing, we are proud to share that ours has been seen by more than 40,000 people.

For the next two years, we worked to create the exhibit’s companion coffee table book to present additional images and, of equal importance, informative and inspiring short essays written by a carefully chosen group of sixteen talented authors. To represent the diversity found in the scientific and conservation communities, we asked experts in their fields, including nature writers, both female and male scientists, and authors of color, to tell Nature’s stories.

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We also wanted to offer voices from a wide range of ages.

Our youngest author, Kenna Kuhn, wrote, “Hope, Joy, and Inspiration.” As of this writing, she is a twenty-year-old environmental science student and a voice for future generations— those who will be most affected by our actions or inactions. We are also honored to include Dr. Peter H. Raven, president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden, who graciously wrote our foreword and the essay “The Origins of California’s Wonderful Plants.” At eightytwo years old, he is our eldest author/scientist, and, according to Time magazine (2015), he is a “Hero for the Planet.”

We asked each of our authors to write in a personal, storytelling style to give a sense of who they are and why they do what they do. We want to connect with our readers in a more intimate, spiritual, and poetic way, especially when a piece includes important scientific information. Together with our authors, it is our desire that our collective climate and conservation messages inspire more people to act. We hope you’ll experience some of the passion and commitment we all feel for the different paths we take to protect beauty and life on our most precious planet.

We know many of you have questions about how we make our images. The “Behind the Scenes” section in the book explains how, using only natural light, we very carefully create our floral portraits while the living plants remain safe and sound in the ground. We never pick the flowers, and we photograph only plants we can access without harming them or others around them. We ask you to remember to stay on the trails and treat all plants with respect.

It is so difficult to describe what we have felt while experiencing some of the most breathtaking displays of Nature’s beautiful artistry, whether they are dramatic, multi-hued super blooms or the radiant brilliance of a single blossom.

Nita and I have created this book for three important reasons: to give you a sense of what we have been privileged to

see that remains of California’s unique botanical diversity; to make Nature’s many voices heard, and to use documentary art and the written word to inspire both hopes for the future and action. So, as you move through the pages, please take a moment to stop and admire the splendor of California’s wildflowers and where they live... and learn how you can help ensure that these magnificent flowers, and the web of life that supports them, will be here for generations to come.

As artists and activists, we ask: how can humanity ensure that all species can survive and thrive in harmony?

How do we humanely and voluntarily create a sustainable population? Some of our answers come from Project Drawdown, described on its website as “one of the world’s leading sources of climate solutions.” According to its research, many strategies (it offers 100) will help reverse global warming and reduce the impact of climate change. Two of the top ten solutions, educating girls and family planning, influence family size and global population. Drawdown states, “Education lays a foundation for vibrant lives for girls and women, their families, and their communities. It also is one of the most powerful levers available for avoiding emissions by curbing population growth. Women with more years of education have fewer and healthier children, and actively manage their reproductive health.”

We never pick the flowers, and we photograph only plants we can access without harming them or others around them. We ask you to remember to stay on the trails and treat all plants with respect.

Therefore, Nita and I envision a world where all girls and boys worldwide receive at least twelve years of schooling and where family planning is universally accepted, and available, and affordable to all. We also see a bright future in which girls and women are truly valued as equal and important members of every family, religion, and culture and are thus empowered to make their own life choices.

We believe that achieving these goals will allow our species to humanely and voluntarily shift toward a population the Earth can sustain. Our faith in humanity fuels our optimism.

Since early childhood, Nita and I have always felt a deep love for, and connection, and commitment to the natural world. Hope, commitment, and emotional energy all empower and sustain our life’s work. Our personal and professional goal and life’s purpose is to work with others to inspire conservation and climate change action. Won’t you join us?

Books available at www.wildflowerbooks.com 43 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

WOMEN'S

EMPOWERMENT Katya is better known for her covers L’Officiel Latvia and FHM Australia. She began modeling early, being signed by IMG Models at 14. She has since worked for Pacco Rabbana, Armani, Lanvin, L’Oréal, Bulgari Jewelry, Tony Ward Couture, Fernando Alberto Atelier, Lee+Lani Swimwear, and Forever Faded Denim.

After her establishing herself as a model, Katya began to gravitate towards acting and hosting. Katya has studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute. She appeared in the mega-budget action feature film, Angel Has Fallen (Gerald Butler, Morgan Freeman, and Nick Nolte) and the pilot show, Shadow Wolves (Thomas Gibson).

Katya calls Los Angeles her home, leading an active lifestyle practicing yoga, boxing, and martial arts daily. When she isn’t working, Katya enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling. She has the advantage of speaking multiple languages, including English, Ukrainian, French, and Russian. Katya holds a Bachelors degree in Economics.

You were born in Russia and discovered at the age of 14 when a scout advised you to become a model. You signed by IMG Models because of a local modeling contest. This event propelled your modeling career and eventually led to you becoming an actress in Los Angeles. Tell us more about this fairy tale journey.

Thank you for being familiar with my story, but I’d be exaggerating if I told you it was a fairy tale story. I’m truly grateful for having had the chance to work worldwide, meet new people, and work with unique 44 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

models, photographers, designers, agencies, and makeup artists. Just some talented people! But the thing is, it was a very hard path fraught with challenges, loneliness, disappointment, refusal. You become an adult at 15 years old.

Katya

BAKAT

Actress, Model & Founder of Happy Healthy Fancy

You have to take on responsibilities, makes choices decide on priorities, rather than doing what other teens are doing. At the same time, it made me who I am today - responsible, reliable, disciplined, and motivated.

You, as an actress, is working on several upcoming film and television projects. Can you get into how you ended up in the world of film?

I wanted to explore acting after modeling because I felt there was a fuller creative potential to explore.

I wanted to show my emotions, different characters. I did a stint at the Lee Strasberg Film Institute and Theatre, which prepped me to jump into moving to LA to pursue my acting career. I’ve been pursuing this ever since.

You are a world-leading media personality, actress, model, television star, theater artist, brand ambassador, and fitness expert. How do you manage such a remarkable multi-dimensional lifestyle?

That’s a strong description! Thank you, I’m flattered! I feel as if I am a multifaceted person. I believe that one doesn’t need to limit themselves or their directions. We can be professional in multiple areas.

Especially in the entertainment world, it’s all interconnected now.

Actresses are modeling and designing clothing; singers are writing books while running beauty lines

You have to take on responsibilities, makes choices decide on priorities, rather than doing what other teens are doing. At the same time, it made me who I am today - responsible, reliable, disciplined, and motivated.

and fitness brands. I think it’s beautiful that we can go in this many directions. You have a chance now to develop your talents and follow your dreams in whatever areas you wish.

I feel my interests complement each other. As a model, I have to look a certain way, and that has guided my interests in healthy living and fitness.

Acting has made me a better model. TV hosting helping with my blog and website. s What is your fitness/workout regimen?

There are a group of exercises I do that can be done everywhere and without equipment. The key to being fit is to explore different types of activity. I live in California, and I am lucky enough to have amazing sunny weather all year round, beaches, and hiking trails at my fingertips. I find hiking or merely walking daily (10,000 steps) are effective activities. Plank is a very effective type of exercise. I also practice yoga, boxing, various martial arts whenever possible. I lead a very active lifestyle!

Do you have a strict menu/diet that you follow?

I’m not on any diet, but I do have a regimen of regular nutrition. I’m not following the keto diet or intermittent fasting. I pay a lot of attention to carbs (especially simple ones). Besides, I don’t eat unhealthy food, canned food, sodas, and lactose. It works for me, but it definitely won’t work for everyone.

You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair! Are there any beauty secrets you can share with us?

Thank you! It’s hard to take care of blonde hair! Other blondes will understand this!

Haircare should come from outside and inside.

What you eat affects your skin: organic veggies, fresh seafood, fresh fruit, plenty of water. Hydration is my number one rule. Hydrate yourself in and out. Protect yourself from the sun. Sunscreen is must be, whether it be sunny, cloudy, summer, or winter.

I always want to protect my skin from harmful UVA rays. Certain supplements and vitamins like biotin and vitamin A&E are helpful for skin, hair, and nails. Hair treatments at home or the salon are of great benefit. I am regularly visiting my dermatologist, who helps me if I have any concerns about my skin. He gave me (he is a renowned celebrity dermatologist) to make cleansing essential in skincare. You need to clean your skin twice before you apply any products. Basically, start with a clean palette before you do anything.

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You are working on a fitness & wellness youtube channel on how to stay fit with a busy lifestyle. How did that come about?

This came to be as we were all went into seclusion due to covid. I got stocked in my home, and the gyms were closed. I’ve been attending the gym daily for years with a routine. I now had to explore different ways of trying to work out.

What would be effective and not just time on a treadmill? What I came up with can be done on the run or whenever I’m short on gym time, even after we’re long out of quarantine. If you’re interested in my routines, my youtube channel is HappyHealthyFancy or you can go to: HappyHealthyFancy.com.

What advice do you want to give people when approaching challenges in their life?

1. Start. 2. Don’t quit.

Success is not accidental, “Being lucky” means hard work, motivation, drive, perseverance, learning, studying, and a passion for doing what you love. Stay away from negative, destructive people who try to discourage you. Don’t ever doubt your worth.

What do you have to say to your fan base and those reading this interview?

Thank you, guys, for being with me and sharing my path. I truly appreciate all of you. I’ll be happy to encourage and motivate any of you or if my knowledge and experience can make your day better. Or even if it just cheers you up, someone feels the way you do. I’m always happy to hear your feedback! Thank you for reading my interview!

You’ve done glamourous shoots for a number of brands like Armani, Lanvin, L’Oréal, and Bulgari Lee+Lani Swimwear. What are your thoughts on your body image and within the modeling industry?

It’s a lot of self-work. See my active lifestyle as proof.

It’s a known fact that most models have a lot of insecurities with their bodies. You literally can have a perfect figure, but you still think it can be better. It’s not a healthy direction, physically or mentally.

Please tell us what charity is close to your heart and why?

It's essential to support important causes. Even small charitable donations have a huge impact. By donating to an organization, you are directly helping to remedy the problem in the world. I support two charities.

One is the Salvation Army, recognized throughout the world for its humanitarian work, thrift shops, and red donation kettles. They have centers all over the US that include children's programs, distributing food to those in need, providing disaster relief, rehabilitation, and stopping human trafficking. These programs are funded through donations and proceeds from sales at Salvation Army stores. The purpose of it speaks for itself. You can help someone in need or provide someone a chance for a better life or be in a better place.

It can lead to food disorders, depression, anxiety.

I think the everyday girl and woman knows a It's essential to support important causes. Even small charthing or two about this just being on the outside, itable donations have a huge impact. By donating to an accepting final images as truth when the reality organization, you are directly helping to remedy the probis that image of a whole model team to create, lem in the world. not to mention the work a model does to look a certain way.

The second is the Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for cancer research. Its purpose is to encourage the development of more effective therapies for patients with I’m really happy that it’s a new era in modeling. leukemia, lymphoma, and other types of cancer. Two of my friends went through Not being a super skinny body type is not a cri- chemotherapy and recovery after being diagnosed. Happily, they are both fine terion. Skinny does not equal means healthy, but now, and each of them has a beautiful family. Health is one of the top priorities you can be fit and healthy. It’s all about balance because, without it, things are so much harder. Let us do everything to find the and confidence. It all comes from inside - self- right treatments and therapies for those affected by cancer. love and accepting yourself. It also comes with understanding yourself, getting wise, and more Photos by Sarah Orbanic / Shandrew PR mature.

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47 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

The following is adapted from Responsibility Rebellion.

7 SUREFIRE WAYS TO

DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

By Kain Ramsay

L

et’s say you’re going all out for a promotion at work. You’ve put in ridiculous hours and turned in some of the most impressive work you’ve ever done. Then, all of a sudden, someone else gets the job you want.

What’s your reaction? You might pull it together at work, but when you get home, you might break down and feel infuriated, disappointed, and heartbroken. You might get in a fight with your partner and binge eat junk food while downing a bottle of wine. Needless to say, those aren’t the healthiest coping mechanisms, but we’ve come to see them as routine.

There’s a better way.

Instead of giving in to your impulses, prioritize your emotional intelligence, which is all about understanding your emotions and responding to them effectively to produce an outcome that you want. If you want to avoid the painful cycles of binge-eating, drinking, crying, and fighting—or even the less severe ones of continual disappointment—here are seven tried-and-true ways you can improve your emotional intelligence.

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manage their disappointment in you. None of these things may be true, but taking a moment to evaluate the other person's potential emotions protects you from making unwise emotional moves.

Start Pausing I'm sure you were warned as a child to think before you speak.

However, many people find biting their tongue extremely difficult when they're in emotional situations, and even fewer are capable of calmly responding internally. The second someone receives an email insinuating they've done something wrong at work; they become anxious and frightened. Or when a driver cuts them off on the motorway, they become immediately furious and filled with hatred for them.

Even for just a split second, pausing after something happens to you stops you from making reckless and impulsive decisions. The next time you feel driven to say or do something out of an emotional response, stop yourself and observe the emotion before taking ten deep, long breaths.

Photos by empathy

Identify Your Stressors Stress is the body's response to the world's demands, and everyone has different trigger points. Some people are stressed out by children screaming, whilst others are stressed by piles of paper on their desk or bills wiping their bank account clean every month.

Reflect on Your Own Emotions When people read that they should reflect on their emotions, their minds immediately go to meditation. Meditation is a fantastic tool, but you need to regularly reflect on your emotions throughout the day to make emotional management a habit. The best way to do this is to reflect on your feelings right after having an emotional response to something.

Taking the time to reflect upon your own emotional responses to particular incidents throughout the day will not only make you more mindful of what elicits particular emotional responses, but you'll also become aware of your emotional patterns, which you can use to understand yourself better.

Unlock Your Empathy Practicing empathy and opening yourself up to viewing circumstances from alternative perspectives (even if they are perhaps based on hypothetical circumstances) will help you make more rational and wise decisions that aren't emotionally led.

For example, say your boss is telling you off for incredibly unjust reasons. It would be easy for you to become upset or angry. But taking your boss's emotions into consideration, even on a hypothetical level, can break you from responding with a knee-jerk reaction.

Perhaps they're stressed at home because their spouse is sick, or maybe their anger toward you is the only way they can

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Effective emotional intelligence requires that you identify the sources of your stress and discomfort and learn how to manage your emotions surrounding these particular aspects of your life. It's not about avoiding your stressors entirely, because no one can expect to lead a stress-free life, but rather learn how to manage your stress and train yourself to become more prepared and equipped to deal with your stressors when you encounter them.

Become Mindful of Your Vocabulary Being a strong communicator is an essential element of emotional intelligence. There's nothing admirable or mature about someone who can keep their cool during stressful situations but refuses to communicate in any shape or form about how they feel to others. Keeping emotionally steady but remaining totally silent is evasive, dishonest, and unproductive.

Being able to articulate your feelings to other people helps maintain a steady emotional environment for mature discussion, protects you from stewing in your own thoughts and feelings, and allows others to experience you more authentically.

Stop Taking Offence and Learn from Criticism Criticism from anyone can be hard to swallow, whether it's on the internet, from your best friend, or from your mother, but not all criticism is ill-intentioned. The healthiest approach to negative criticism is to put your personal feelings aside and be grateful for the insight into an alternative perspective, no matter how painful or upsetting that may be. Never focus on how the criticism was delivered, but focus instead on what you can take away from it.

No matter how wildly inaccurate you may believe the criticism to be, discarding all criticism and taking offense is fatally ignorant and unproductive. All feedback you receive is an opportunity to self-reflect and learn about yourself. You can also learn a lot from your critics, such as how others perceive you, how your behaviors and emotions unintentionally come across, and how to effectively and ineffectively critique others.

Remain Proactive, Not Reactive Sometimes you will face circumstances that are capable of triggering a complete meltdown: your health takes a turn, you lose someone, your finances are placed in jeopardy, or you are suddenly faced with unemployment and job insecurity. It's incredibly difficult to channel positive thinking during upsetting and frightening times, but the only beneficial response is to acknowledge your emotions, allow yourself to feel them, and then move on.

Don't wallow in the feeling, and don't allow your mind 50 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

to become consumed with helpless and destructive thoughts. Don't complain and throw a pity party for days, weeks, and potentially years after the situation occurs. Focus entirely on asking yourself constructive questions and working your way through and out of your situation.

Keep Practicing Unfortunately, emotional intelligence is lacking in this world, and as you grow and develop yours, you will encounter many people who seem to have missed the boat. In these circumstances, it's tempting to stoop to their level, but don't break down or harbor resentment; view the situation as an opportunity to practice the skills you've learned. It's important to uphold your emotional intelligence standards at all times and lead others by example.

Emotional intelligence is a delicate balance of rational thinking, emotional awareness, and expression, and striking that balance requires continuous effort, practice, and focus. The more emotional intelligence you cultivate, the more readily people will respond to you with trust and positivity.

For more advice on emotional intelligence, you can find Responsibility Rebellion on Amazon.

Kain Ramsay is the top-ranked psychology and personal growth instructor at Udemy and founder of Achology. com, an academy devoted to teaching modern methods and principles of applied psychology. Known for his trademark teaching style, Kain delivers highly sought-after programs that include Mindfulness, Life Coaching, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In 2018, he partnered with world-renowned author Gerard Egan to produce an online adaptation of Egan's international bestselling book, The Skilled Helper.

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RECLAMING YOUR TRUE SELF

Photo by Zulmaur Saavere

By Angela Dunning

52 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COMe January 2021

SELF-HEALING

IS PLANETARY HEALING We can all contribute towards the salvation of our beloved home, planet Earth. Many of us are not activists or in a professional or political position to bring about significant change. However, the one area where we can make a big difference is within ourselves. Because of our inter-connectedness with all life on this planet and indeed the entire cosmos, therefore, by healing ourselves, we also help to heal the planet.

Our first and primary responsibility is always towards our self. Self-care as a way of living - not as an add-on when we’ve already become too stressed or worn out - and inner-work are the foundations on which we can then serve others and the world. These build the solid ground upon which we can help others and the planet.

In addition, if we are doing work that involves supporting or caring for others, then it is vital that we are skilled at our own housekeeping. That we value and prioritize looking after our body, our energy levels, our needs, and our inner, emotional, and spiritual world. Then and only then are we able to truly help others in a way that doesn’t deplete us in the process.

In these turbulent and frightening times of living daily with the reality of the climate crisis, these two pillars of self-love and inner-work are even more important. We mustn’t fall back into the old traps of giving so much of our energies and time that we drain ourselves. We can’t be entirely externally focused all of the time. We must keep coming back home to our inner-home and tending our own fires regularly and well.

Some might question the importance of inner-work, such as the work I do with people and horses, or indeed any therapeutic process right now, especially when there is so much pressure to be “out there” and to be active. However, it is futile to try and save the planet if we neglect our personal healing in the process. For our personal healing is also planetary healing. The more we clear-out and tend to our own personal history of pain and trauma, and the more we know ourselves in all our manifestations, good and bad, the clearer can be our contribution to the world.

Others will tend to listen to us, and we can influence from

a place of compassion, integrity, and wholeness, motivating others along the way.

So, I would argue that it is even more vital right now to ensure our priority is on our inner-work and that of our clients, as we carefully support them through their own healing journey. We can also find healthier energy to put out onto the planet; the land; the animals; other people who are suffering and fight the many injustices around the world.

One of our key skills to master is learning to balance this inner and outer way of living. We must be ever vigilant so that we don’t lose ourselves in the busy day to day activity, or world matters or crisis, and we must constantly return ourselves back home. We must nurture the ground we stand on and the fires of our inner-life and make selfcare the cornerstone of our daily lives, no matter what maelstrom is raging around us.

When we master this art of balancing inner and outer, we quite naturally find new energy which can be focused on issues of importance to us. Then we can contribute even more to the essential healing of the world. Then we can fight the good fight without losing our balance along the way. And, what better way to start out the New Year and decade with a firm commitment to your own health, well-being, and consciousness-raising that contributes to the healing of the planet.

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.

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Photo by Jr Korpa

56 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Opening the Sixth Seal of the Revelation

THE DOORWAY OF VISION

By C. S. Warner

I

placed my right foot on the second step of the three-tiered stairs and looked up at the Being standing in front of me.

I felt utterly discombobulated as if I had been in a horrible accident—which I had been—and my whole physical body was in fractured disarray. It felt as if all my cells had come apart and were scattered chaotically throughout my force field and out into the heavens.

I looked at Being again and tried to bring my surroundings into focus. I saw that other Beings stood around the central one, forming a horseshoe shape. All of them shimmered with a filmy opalescent color whose texture looked like a gauzy material that I could poke my finger through. They seemed weightless to me, unlike the way my dense human form felt.

Strangely, the Beings appeared to be in complete Oneness, as if being otherwise was foreign to them. They seemed familiar to me, yet I wasn’t sure who they were or their role in this part of my journey. I felt a strong urge to reach out and touch them, or at least be closer to them, but the big one in the middle wouldn’t let me take that one last step. One thing was for sure—there was no mystery as to where I was. I knew that I was home.

I suddenly realized that Being in the middle was speaking to me in a voice I couldn’t physically hear. She seemed to be downloading voluminous amounts of information into me, so I stood quietly as I absorbed every melodic silent word. After what seemed like a long time, she told me, “You have to go back now ... your daughters still need you.”

I wanted to argue. I didn’t want to go back. I was tired, and I liked this place. It was peaceful here, and the Beings felt kind, unlike the way things felt on Earth. The kindness they emitted was not a thought; it was a sensation that washed through every one of my cells like a warm, white liquid light. At the same time, I felt disappointed because I knew I would have to wait to see them fully again, and because I knew that this time I wouldn’t

get to take that last step into their realm of radiant, shimmering cool warmth that felt as if IcyHot had been applied to my insides and was radiating outward.

The thin cord that held this light, floating part of me to my physical body suddenly snapped like a stretched-out rubber band whose tension has been released. I flew backward through a dark, cool, soundless void of layers upon layers of levels of time, back into my body, as quickly as I had left it.

She’s trying to kill me, I thought. My body shot forward and then back against the seat, with my head bouncing back and forth three times against the headrest. No, no, no, I told myself. Don’t pass out. You might end up in a coma or become a vegetable! I blinked several times to clear my head. Where was I? Where have I been? How did I get back here? I don’t want to be here!

When my body stopped bouncing, I frantically braced myself with my left foot against the floor, my right foot against the wheel well, and my left hand against the console and grabbed onto the above handhold with my right hand to keep from falling down to the left.

The vehicle, which was now lying on the driver’s side after flying up in the air and smashing downward with a horrific thud, continued to hurtle through the snow. I hung there, too stunned to believe what was happening. I saw and heard rocks and beer bottles and cans screech and scrape and crease and rip metal and chrome and plastic from along the side of the car. Dirt and snow flew up in a white-and-black cloud and boiled around us before it settled back down in a dirty whisper.

Suddenly the car slid into a hiccup of a ditch, pivoted in timelapse motion, and rolled over onto its top. The roof slowly caved in, crushing and splintering the windshield with its weight. I scrunched down lower and lower in my seat and helplessly watched the windshield as it got smaller and smaller, and cowered from the roof as it crept closer and closer.

57 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Suddenly the ripping and crackling and screeching sounds stopped. Now all I could hear were dripping and sizzling sounds that came from the engine compartment. Smoke was pouring out from under the hood, and I could smell the strong odor of the hissing gasoline as it dripped onto the boiling-hot engine.

Momentarily panic-stricken, all I could think was FIRE! I’ve got to get out of here! I’ve got to get out of here! But I couldn’t. I was held taut, hanging upside down by the seat belt. I groped for the clasp and tried to release it. The weight of my body pulling against the strap held the clasp tightly. Frantically I tried the door, but it wouldn’t open.

It was welded shut by crookedness—the crookedness of a situation that I wasn’t sure I had agreed on! I looked wide-eyed over at Pam, who hung suspended by her seat belt, her legs bowed around the steering wheel, her hair hanging down and sticking straight out from the roots.

Her mouth was puckered like a Cheerio, as if it was about to release a long “Ohhh!” I caught a mostly silent snort and almost laughed out loud at what I was seeing. Even though the left side of my mouth refused to obey, the right side curved slightly upward in a half-grin.

I was about to tell her to turn off the engine when she raised her hands as if she were softening the voices of a choir and then said quietly and calmly to herself, “Turn off the engine.” She reached down and turned the key to “off.” She then searched for her cell phone to call for help and became overly agitated when she couldn’t find it. She finally calmed when she remembered that we had no reception anyway. We were on an Indian reservation, a sovereign nation that didn’t seem to be very interested in connecting to the outside world.

I looked back toward town, willing someone to come help us. As if from nowhere, a car came to a gravelly halt along the side of the road. Two young men jumped out of the car and ran to Pam’s side of the smoking car, yelling, “Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?” They frantically grasped at the handles on the driver’s side doors in a desperate attempt to get them open. When the side doors wouldn’t open, they tried the back door. One of them ran to my side of the car and tried to open those doors. None of them would open. The men had that “deer in the headlights” look, and one man excitedly said to the other, “We’ve got to get them out before the car catches on fire!

Pam and I looked wide-eyed at each other. Holy crap!

When a few seconds elapsed, and the car still hadn’t exploded in a ball of red-hot flames, we asked at almost the same time, “Are you okay?”

Pam said she was okay. - They left me alone in the curtained-off room, and in came the teeth-shattering, 58 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

bone-jarring shock. After several misguided jittery jabs, my finger zeroed in on the call button. The nurse came to see what I needed, and through my chattering teeth, I told him I was cold. He said I was in shock. He left the room and returned with some warm blankets to cover me with.

Time warped. Not only could I not sense what time it was, but I also couldn’t sense how long I had been there. Evidently, I was still on paradise time or heaven time instead of Earth time. I sure wasn’t going to tell anyone about the loss I was feeling—the feeling that something wasn’t quite right—that I felt as though I were an eighth of a turn-off and hadn’t reentered my body correctly. I didn’t want to be a burden, but most importantly, I didn’t want them to think I was nuts, so I kept my mouth shut and thought about what the Beings had told me on the other side.

My thoughts were interrupted when Pam pulled back the edge of the curtain and peeked into the room. “It’s okay.

You can come in,” I told her.

She stepped around the edge of the curtain, folded her hands in front of her, stood staring at the floor, and muttered, “I’m sorry I ruined our vacation.”

I thought that was a strange comment and decided it was her awkward way of apologizing for wrecking us. (Of course, later on, she would forget that she had ever said that).

“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “I’ll be okay.” However, in the back of my mind, I knew I’d never been the same.

C. S. Warner has traveled extensively and learned and practiced numerous religions, customs and metaphysical modalities. She has degrees in sociology and psychology and is certified in drug and alcohol counseling, criminology and corrections as well as in arbitration, mediation and negotiation. Warner is also a massage practitioner and a reiki master and is currently furthering her education with doctoral religious studies classes.

When she is not writing or studying, she works with homeless people and refugees.

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WITHOUT PLANTING MORE TREES IN THE TROPICS, WE CAN’T FIX THE CLIMATE

Photo by aiokr chen

By Edward Mitchard

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

•

Planting ‘the right tree in the right place’ is key to restoring forests and halting climate change.

•

To be effective though, planting should largely be done in the tropics, where they can grow with maximum rapidity vs northern regions (where tree planting can also add to the albedo effect, canceling out some carbon sequestration benefit).

•

Other benefits of focusing on the tropics are those that accrue to developing nations, where tree planting can improve both local environments and economies, through projects like agroforestry.

•

This article is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

I don’t know whether it’s all thanks Greta Thunberg, or due to unusually strong fire seasons in Australia, North and South America, and Siberia in the past 12 months, but there appears to be an increasing realization among the world’s politicians that

60 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

action on climate change is urgently needed.

We know what needs to be done. We must cut emissions from across our power, transport and industry sectors drastically and fast. And we must stop tropical deforestation.

But the basic physics and complex economics of climate change are clear that cutting emissions drastically and stopping deforestation, while necessary, are not by themselves sufficient. We need to also suck out massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, partly because emissions reductions cannot run fast enough, and partly because we’ve already emitted far too much carbon.

The only technology we have currently that can suck carbon out of the atmosphere at any kind of scale is growing trees. So tree planting and forest restoration are essential, and we need to scale up our current paltry efforts urgently.

Funding is available for this: governments are increasingly investing in ecosystem restoration both within their countries and abroad (e.g. the Bonn Challenge commitments), but we will not get near to what is needed without the financial firepower of companies. I believe companies should be encouraged to purchase carbon offsets to assist with forest protection and restoration, so called ‘Nature Based Solutions,’ but this is controversial (e.g. this recent article from Greenpeace).

Like miniature versions of national economies, corporations must aim to reduce their emissions to as near zero as they can, as soon as possible. This is often the source of the controversy: offsetting should not replace emission reductions. But then companies should pay to offset the residual remaining emissions.

‘climate positive,’ offsetting more emissions through tree planting for every meal sold, than is released through their entire chain. Large Scottish brewery Brewdog recently made a similar pledge, that its beer will be ‘carbon negative’ due to reductions in supply chain and production emissions, and tree planting to more than compensate for the residual emissions.

In both cases this seems like a good thing, and if consumers think so, too, the brands will benefit along with the climate.

But there are choices about where to plant trees. I imagine MAX chose to invest in tropical tree planting projects for its offsets because they were attracted by the co-benefits such planting offers. By funding farmers to grow trees on their land, they add an additional revenue stream to some of the world’s poorest families, improve the biodiversity of these landscapes, and potentially increase the resilience of these farmers to extreme events such as storms and floods.

But Brewdog, like many others, have chosen to plant their trees closer to home (in their case in the Highlands of Scotland). There are clear reasons to want to plant trees locally – companies wish to invest in their local environment and communities. They want themselves and their customers to see their new forest, and be able to explore and enjoy it rather than just trust the company about their intangible, faraway carbon credits. And some people in public life and the media are critical of planting trees in faraway places, seeing it as ‘greenwashing’ or in other ways not the same as local carbon offsets.

Focus on the tropics makes the most sense However, tree planting in different locations is not created equal. Fundamentally, trees grow much faster in the tropics, and land and labor are much cheaper there.

Photo by a Pedro Kümmel

Therefore, for a given financial investment, more trees can be planted in the tropics over a larger area, and these trees will capture carbon faster than an equivalent number outside the tropics – and far faster than in northern latitudes such as Scotland or Sweden.

MAX Burgers, a large Scandinavian fast food chain, was ahead of the curve in the mid-2000s when it started working to reduce emissions from its supply chain and operations as much as possible. But it still had residual emissions, which it offset through purchasing carbon credits that funded tree planting products in the developing world through the Plan Vivo carbon standard. It continues to offset its residual emissions now, in fact making its food

These differences are not trivial: I have seen newly restored forests in tropical Peru reach 15 m height in about 6 years, whereas a Scots Pine planted in the Scottish Highlands might take 60 years to achieve that height. This will translate directly into carbon storage, suggesting per hectare carbon sequestration rates in Scotland might be just a tenth of that in the tropics.

This not only means that costs for achieving the same carbon capture in far northern latitudes are far higher, but also that the land footprint is far greater. It does not mean we 61 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Finally, there are clear social and biodiversity reasons to plant trees in the tropics. The money will flow to some of the poorest people on the planet, and be directly used to increase the quality of their local environment.

Photo by sarah thz

Trees lower the local temperature, provide shade, stabilize the ground to protect against landslides and the damage caused by heavy rain, and potentially provide non-timber products such as fruits. Companies and the consumers of their products should be delighted to be able to invest in improving the incomes and local environment of developing countries as a side effect of capturing carbon. And further, these financial and environmental benefits provide direct resilience for these communities against some of the impacts of climate change, such as the increased incidence and severity of extreme weather events. should not be restoring forests in the Scottish Highlands: that has many values too, and will capture significant quantities of carbon in the longer term. But it does not seem to me to be an efficient use of financial resources for the majority of a carbon offset portfolio of a company – tropical forest restoration or agroforestry projects are more sensible from a financial and land footprint standpoint.

There is another complicating factor: the albedo effect.

This is how reflective the Earth’s surface is, and is one of the nasty feedback loops of climate change: as the climate warms, there is less ice cover in the oceans, and less snow cover on land, meaning less heat from the sun is reflected back into space, and the Earth warms faster. This is probably the main reason the arctic is warming so much faster than the rest of the planet.

Planting trees in the tropics has little further impact on the albedo effect – non-forest and forested surfaces in the tropics have similar albedo. But in the far northern latitudes, the impact is significant: trees are much darker than the snow that would otherwise lie on the land for much of the year. Thus planting trees in northern places, while it will still (slowly) take carbon out of the atmosphere, might nonetheless actually warm the planet more than leaving things as they are.

So I would encourage politicians, NGOs and others to encourage companies to get themselves to net zero fast. They should do this by removing emissions from their supply chain as much as possible, and all hints of new deforestation. And the residual emissions should be offset, and I believe these offsets should come mostly through a massive expansion in agroforestry and forest restoration projects across tropical regions.

Some of this can be natural regeneration of previously cleared land and some agroforestry: plantations should be expanded in the tropics too to provide timber products, but are not good at directly capturing carbon in the long term. And some offsets could happen closer to home for these companies: but tree planting outside the tropics may not actually be climate positive, and other projects such as peatland restoration may offer greater benefits.

Edward Mitchard is Professor of Global Change Mapping at the University of Edinburgh, and CTO of ecosystem mapping company Space Intelligence. Find him on Twitter via @edmitchard.

Trees lower the local temperature, provide shade, stabilize the ground to protect against landslides and the damage caused by heavy rain, and potentially provide non-timber products such as fruits.

62 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Photo Courtesy by Unsplash

We need the guidance of our ancestors to live this life.

These relationships are sacred, and we honor them as such.

64 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

WHITE EAGLE Shamanic Initiation into the Arts

By Dayle McLeod

Dayle McLeod an Actress, Musician and Shamanic Apprentice comes a unique and fascinating memoir for the American spiritual seeker that will inspire & empower the reader to transcend the harmful dogma of religion and connect deeply with your own inner compass.

Enjoy the except from Dayle's book; ‘The Big Dream: My Terrifyingly Beautiful Shamanic Initiation into the Arts’ tells a raw and intimate story about her 40-day descent into madness, ensuing hospitalization and remarkable recovery.

"She will never be the same again," White Eagle said to my mother over the phone during their introductory call.

"She's been thrown into the fires of transformation, and like a Phoenix, she will rise, reborn from the ashes of her former self."

My mother was frightened by this unfamiliar man's strange manner of speaking and inquired further about what kind of care he could provide.

"This kind of psychotic episode shows the classic signs of shamanic initiation, and guiding these transformations are my specialty. As a Jungian psychologist and art therapist, I will work with her visions and dreams and interpret them.

They will show us a clear picture of what is happening in her psyche. Then we'll work to integrate the experience into her daily life through the practicing of her creativity."

"You mean she's going to become a shaman? And what, go do more ayahuasca?"

My mom interjected hysterically, frightened by the thought of me living as some kind of insane, traveling, drug-doing gypsy.

"No. At least, not necessarily," White Eagle continued calmly. "Everyone has an inner shaman, it's the deepest self, the essence, the spirit, and the soul of a person that is emerging, and she will require great care and nurturance to bloom. How she chooses to harness the power of her inner-shaman will be up to her. But one thing is for certain; her life will never be the same again" He and my mother arranged a time for our first session the very next day.

Early the next morning, I eagerly got myself ready in the house's basement room, where no one could hear us. Right on time, his Skype call came in. He was sitting outside, on a sunny Ojai cafe patio with headphones in.

"Hi," he said warmly, smiling his big smile. "So, you had a bad trip?" he asked casually, sipping his cup of green tea.

We both burst into laughter. Oh, it felt so good to laugh.

"Yeah, something like that," I said.

"What happened?" he asked simply.

I started from the very beginning, just like I did here with you. It took me over an hour to explain, and at the end of it, he said, "I can't believe this," which made me a little nervous.

"I can't really believe it either, and I certainly don't understand it. Can you help me?" I asked.

65 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

"Yes," he said assuredly. "Yes, I can definitely help; I'm just in shock at how textbook your visions were.

I mean, with the crystals... Jung talked exactly about those gems of the mind..." He trailed off in thought.

"Everyone is telling me I'm psychotic. I don't understand; it felt so real, and the truth of what I was learning was real.

Am I crazy? Was this all truly just a result of taking drugs?" I begged him for clarity.

"I believe that what happened to you was real. I happen to know that there is a world beyond this one, where all souls who have ever lived and will ever live reside. You got in touch with the spirit that is Albert Einstein and the spirit that is Nelson Mandela. Their souls are eternal, and the wisdom they learned in their lifetime is kept alive in this invisible world."

"Really?" I said.

"Yes. I happen to be in touch with a few spirits on the other side as well. They have been a source of guidance and inspiration throughout my entire life. Western culture does not practice this kind of spirituality, but in my Seneca tribe, this is a part of our daily lives," he said.

"We need the guidance of our ancestors to live this life.

These relationships are sacred, and we honor them as such."

"What about the Illuminati? Was that real? Is the Earth really going to shift her axis, will there be four days of blackness, and will everything disappear?" I asked him.

"Well, I don't know about the legend of the Illuminati, but I suspect that Jacques' interest in them informed the hero's journey that your mind developed to initiate you into your spiritual, shamanic life," he said.

"So it was an initiation?" I asked him.

"It has the signature of a shamanic initiation written all over it," he said. "A shaman's initiation is not chosen; it's involuntary. The shaman initiate is pulled into the spirit world, where they become the hero of their own myth.

The Native American's call this shamanic experience "The Big Dream." It's where the shaman will face his or her biggest fears and have the opportunity to conquer their fears from within. It's an exercise and initiation of

66 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

the soul, to instruct one that their unique power comes from within and not from any other source. It's a dark night of the soul," He went on, "What happened in your Big Dream is the mythological, symbolic representation of the truth of your spirit. Understanding, integrating, and embodying the soul lessons in your myth will be our work together, and will be your lifelong journey," he said.

I was speechless.

"This is a lot to take in for our first session, and we are already over time. Why don't we end here for now?

Are you okay to do that?" He asked me.

"Yes. I think you're right. Let's talk again in a couple of days." I said.

"Good. We can do that. In the meantime, I want you to write down every memory you have of your experience. This is important; right now, it's fresh in your mind. Write down everything you saw, heard, felt, and tasted. I'd like you to get some colored pencils and draw pictures of the images you saw. This is also important. They aren't for anyone else to see; they are for you. Can you do this?" he asked me.

"I can do that," I replied.

"Good. I will see you in a couple of days," he said, and we signed off on our first call.

Dayle McLeod is an award-nominated Queer, Bi-Racial, Canadian actress, folk-singer and Author devoted to exploring transitions between the physical world and the metaphysical sphere; she wants to know what is beyond, and is interested in the mediums that translate between these two spheres: art.

For her, art (music, theatre, dance, poetry) is the exercising of theological questions, and her ability to capture complex cosmic truth in simple, accessible ways is what moved this experimental, independent artist into the main stream. Check out her bio, music and more at www.daylemcleod.com.

Where Did NICKY Go?

Photo by Jamie Street

By Lucy Geddes

68 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Through the use of heartwarming illustrations and touching storytelling, young readers are introduced to the universal scenario of losing a loved one, in this case, the loss of a family pet. The new children’s book “Where Did Nicky Go?” written by Lucy Geddes and illustrated by Schenker De Leon, approaches the delicate subject of death and imparts a valuable message for young children to learn from as it tells the story of a boy named Danny and his experience of dealing with grief after his beloved golden retriever, Nicky, passes away. This book is essential for all families who own a pet as someday, every child will feel similar emotions Danny experienced and likely share his struggle of coming to terms with the loss.

“Where Did Nicky Go?” demonstrates the multiple ranges of emotions Danny undergoes to allow young readers to know it is acceptable to feel these different ways when losing someone close to them.

The story also helps explain to children how to cope with difficult times which is a much-needed message these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, things begin to brighten up for Danny after he hesitantly agrees to watch his friend’s new puppy. After a few hiccups, Danny learns to find joy again, thanks to the sweet puppy and his family’s help with him coming to terms regarding his mixed feelings of sadness, anger, grief, and questioning why his dog had died.

The story touches on life after death as Danny finds closure and healing from his grief by imagining his dog happily playing in Heaven with other dogs after his mom explains to him God wants all creatures, humans and animals, to be happy.

“Lucy Geddes has written a valuable theme in a very gentle and loving book for young children to learn from in ‘Where Did Nicky Go?’” She answers the book title’s question with providing comfort and hope. Highly recommend for any age, even if no loss, separation, or major change in their life has occurred.” ~ Pacific Book Review

Danny sat on the school bus on his way home from the last day of school. He looked out the window and thought about what this summer would be like. Usually, he joined the other kids who were excitedly talking about all the things they wanted to do this summer.

He used to look forward to seeing Nicky, his golden retriever, waiting patiently at the bus stop for him. But it wouldn’t be the same now.

Suddenly, Ryan, his best friend, turned to him and said, “Danny, I know it’s only been a week since you lost Nicky, but I really need to ask you something.” Danny turned to look at Ryan. “I was wondering if you’d be able to take care of Toby for me. My family is leaving on Saturday for a week at the beach.

Mom had asked my grandma to watch him, but she can’t. So I was wondering if you’d do it. Toby liked to play with Nicky, and you know him so well. What do you think?”

“I’d have to check with my mom and dad,” said Danny. “I’m not sure if we can.”

“Can you check and let me know?”

“Okay,” said Danny.

“This is our stop,” said Ryan. As they got off the bus, Danny couldn’t help noticing the spot on the grass where Nicky used to wait patiently for him until the bus door opened.

Then he’d run to Danny and jump up and lick his face while Danny patted him.

“See ya! Don’t forget to ask your mom!” said Ryan as he ran to the the house next to Danny’s.

I won’t,” said Danny as he walked up the steps to his house. Danny entered the side door and noticed Nicky’s leash, food dish, and toys. His mother had asked him what he wanted to do with all those things. She suggested giving them to Ryan for Toby, but Danny hadn’t wanted to get rid of them.

“Danny, is that you?” called his mom.

“Yup, I’m home.”

“You must be so excited. You’re on summer vacation!” said his mom.

69 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

“It’s not going to be the same, Mom, without Nicky,” said Danny. “We used to do so many things together.”

“I know, Danny. But we can always get another dog if you want to.”

“I don’t want another dog, Mom. I want Nicky!” yelled Danny. He dropped his backpack and ran upstairs to his room.

Why didn’t Nicky get better like he usually did? Danny wondered as he lay on his bed, a tear rolling down his cheek. When he, his mom, and dad had taken Nicky to their vet, Dr. Comings said that Nicky needed an operation. But because he was older now, it would be too dangerous for him. Dr. Comings had said they should take him home, take good care of him, and give him lots of love. So they did.

However, Nicky was very tired most of the time, so he would cuddle up to Danny and rest his head on Danny’s lap. Danny would gently pat him. But a few weeks later, he died. Now Danny missed him so, so much. Nicky had been his best friend.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. “May I come in?” his mom asked as she gently opened the door.

Danny sat up in bed, wiped his eyes with his hand, and turned toward his mom. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Mom.” “I know you’re upset over losing Nicky,” said his mom, “but we can do things together. And you have Ryan and all your other friends too.”

“I know. But it won’t be the same.”

“Why don’t you start your vacation by coming downstairs and trying the cookies I baked for you this afternoon?”

At dinnertime, Danny remembered what Ryan wanted him to ask his parents. “Ryan’s family is going to the beach for a week and can’t take Toby. He asked me if I’d watch him, but I told him I’d have to check with you. It’s okay if we can’t. We don’t have any more dog food anyway.”

His mom and dad looked at each other. His dad said, “Well, I’m sure Ryan can bring some of his food over here for the week. Is there any reason why you shouldn’t help your friend?”

“I just don’t feel like it,” answered Danny.

“Does he have anyone else who can take care of Toby?” his mom asked.

“He asked his grandma, but she can’t do it this time.”

“Well, I guess Ryan knows that you’ll take good care of Toby,” said his dad. “I’m sure he wants to leave him with someone he trusts. It’s okay with us, but you’ll have to decide whether you want to or not.”

70 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Lucy Geddes is a retired elementary teacher, having taught kindergarten, Readiness, and first grade for a total of 33 years and received her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Plymouth State College (now Plymouth State University).

She is also a mother of three grown children and a grandmother of six grandchildren. Geddes had always dreamt of writing a children’s book and was inspired to write Where Did Nicky Go? based on their family dog Nicky who passed away at the age of 13 when her children were still young. Her intent was to write a story that children could enjoy and help them through the grieving process as she had done with her own children after losing Nicky. Geddes is currently working on her second children’s book; Grammy Said, “No!” that explores the expectations that Grammys always say yes to everything. However, in this delightful tale, a Grammy soon realizes that sometimes “No!” may not be the best response, and sometimes it is the perfect response.

To learn more, please visit www.lucygeddes.com.

ATTITUDE is a Canadian-based brand that you’ll want to know more about.

Crafted with natural, hypoallergenic and EWG VERIFIED™ ingredients, our entire line of ATTITUDE® products adhere to the highest quality and eco-conscious standards: they are 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and certified by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and ECOLOGO. Also, they’re exempt from potentially harmful substances according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG). ATTITUDE® products are sold in over 55 countries.

Since 2019, ATTITUDE is on an ambitious mission to reduce the use of plastic by using biodegradable packaging and Bulk sizes, strongly believing that reducing single-use plastic in our daily routine can bring real change.

CLEAN PRODUCTS, LESS PLASTIC & MORE TREES

ATTITUDE has been also allowing its clients to take part in the change to build a better future with its new reforestation program. For each product sold online or in a participating store, ATTITUDE® commits to plant a tree in collaboration with two major non-profit organizations specialized in reforestation: Eden Reforestation Projects and One Tree Planted.

The company has launched deodorants that are aluminum-free, formulated with plant and mineral-based ingredients for optimum performance. They come in cardboard tube packaging (fully biodegradable) and in such wonderful scents as white tea, red vine, orange, lemon, plus unscented.

ATTITUDE’s two-liter bulk to go eco-refills is packaging that just makes sense. It cuts down on waste and is cost-efficient. It’s an alternative to single-use bottles and reduces plastic usage by up to 80 percent! You’ll find shampoos, shower gels, laundry detergent, hand soaps, and more are available.

WE BELIEVE THAT TOGETHER WE CAN BE THE CHANGE. 72 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

Have you seen Gretchen?!

Missing since 11/11/2016 Please contact us

info@theedenmagazine.com

Paul Polcini is captivating her audience through her direct experience with reincarnation by telling personal stories through visions, dream messages and guidance that led to independent studies unfolding the truth of who an individual is and outlines how they are supposed to live. "PM" introduces a new time cycle known as The Cosmic Age, which causes a great movement to recognize all human beings' spiritual value and equality.

Polcini explains her knowledge of universal law through the true stories that goaded her to dig deeper, seeking to find the roots of suffering in a quest for better answers to life's challenges.

Photo by Arya Praditya

Polcini is helping to guide readers down a path to enlightenment in her new book.

74 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2020

PM: Man's Journey From Darkness to Light

By Paula Polcini

I met Michelle Grace right after she was born, and she looked at me like she knew me. She started to talk at a very young age. She came up close to my face, with her big brown eyes sparkling like sunbeams, and she whispered Tuca, Tuca, Tuca – her name, my spelling.

Her voice sounded like beautiful music. Where did she get that name?

There is a Power mightier than war and control by man-created fear and force. It is called love. God is Love and Love is everywhere. The principle of love is the desire to give. The law of love is a rhythmic balanced interchange between all givings and receivings.

Love multiplies the unseen and unlimited divine substance we call Life to physically manifest as we learn to express knowledge of God in our thinking. Man's lack of new straight-knowledge retards the manifestation of God's Love for Creation.

When a man creates conditions that cause him to suffer, he turns to God. It is time to reverse that process to bring permanent peace, prosperity, and happiness we all want. Love, unity with God, Father, and Mother, and all that will change everything as we go through the Cosmic Age with new straight-knowledge. Courage, patience, and zeal are necessary to arrive at God-consciousness.

Every illumined messenger ever born to earth for the purpose of uplifting the moral standards of man brought only one message, and that could be put in these words – Love Ye One Another. This message should be the source of higher educational teachings for building a moral and righteous civilization. This omission from educational institutions is the cause of the present growth of war, crime, degeneracy, and cataclysmic events. The only hope for the reversal of world degradation is to give man knowledge of higher teachings through God's messengers whom He illumines for that purpose. We must dare to address the fact that we must revolutionize the wrong thinking that humankind has programmed in our consciousness before peace, prosperity, and purpose can be established on earth as it has been promised.

Michelle Grace is my first grandchild. Her story is difficult to write in words because it introduces the Great Unseen that is the true Reality beyond our five-sense consciousness. Her knowledge of the unseen was just as natural to her as what we see. We are just beginning to know the vast unseen part of the universe. Still, we do not yet have an official acceptance or a vocabulary for our inner sensorium, our kingdom within, or a conscious connection to the Primal Source that every area

of cosmic research is revealing. This understanding is unfolding in human consciousness. That is why it is time for the Official Emancipation Proclamation of new straight-knowledge for the next stage in the development of human potential.

God sends messages through people who know God is within to inspire other people who do not know God is within the Self of man. Most people are not acquainted with the laws of Christ. States of consciousness are arrived at through physiological methods and not through hypnotic ones, nor through the agency of drugs.

Inside the body, there are latent forces that Michelle Grace came to reveal. It is time to educate new understanding for higher knowing to awaken these latent forces that will alter one's entire consciousness to begin to see things, hear things and perceive things around that you were not aware of before.

When Operation Desert Shield began in August of 1990, the prevailing negative energy triggered difficult challenges, or initiations, as they are sometimes called, for my family. It was September of that year when Jani had a psychic vision, and Michelle Grace had a vision in October. Jani's reaction was to get rid of the problem immediately before tragedy struck.

Because Michelle Grace knew only love, she could think only love to protect and uplift human weakness with her light. She knew that when we use strength against human weakness, human weakness will prevail against us, and we gain nothing but greater karma or unfinished Business in the end. When humankind gets understanding to know there is only One Life to live through many incarnations of experience for the growth of the soul, and each one of us is a unit of One Life, we too will "Bear ye one another burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Ephesians, 6:2). Every time the heart truly changes, the future is going to change. There are no structures that cannot be superseded and rearranged by the light of love.

Michelle Grace became my teacher for me to learn about Psychic Energy and the power of love – unity – to transmute the energy of tragedy.

My life experiences helped prepare me to understand Michell Grace's wisdom as she guided me with her clear knowing that has nothing to do with our present understanding of love and how to resolve conflict. When Michelle Grace was with me, it was important to do Business before we played.

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We got books, pens, and paper, and we held meetings that I didn't really understand. Her parting words to me always were Don't forget your Stuff!

Michelle Grace's classroom. Michelle Grace put a sheet of paper upon an easel. She drew a stick figure and put a red ovoid circle around it.

She asked me what is wrong with the picture. I didn't know. She scribbled through the red circle to erase it.

Then she put all the colors in the spectrum of the sun around the figure to make a beautiful aura. She said we have to erase the closed consciousness that we have and open ourselves to receive guidance from the Source of Intelligence greater than ourselves. This would seem to refer to the Red Sea of love. Fear and superstition hold us in bondage. We receive back what we give out from ourselves.

The aura surrounding our physical body is ovoid in shape.

It contains every color in the spectrum of the sun. Love is the fullness of light. Love is the light that lights every dark path. Where there is light, there is no darkness. Love is the shield and buckler in psalm ninety-one. If everyone could see their aura when they think unkind words, they would never think an angry thought, let alone speak in anger.

The tadpole has a pattern – a shadow, a force field surrounding its physical form. Before the tadpole loses its tail, the shadow loses its tail, and then the physical body follows to lose its tail. Before the legs grow, shadow shows legs, and then the flesh is incorporated. We as humans have gone from stage to stage, and mortal man must begin to know his immortality. It is here in a physical body where we have the opportunity to grow through stages to maturity. We must dissolve the molecules of our thoughts to eliminate the atoms in our bodies that hold old negative patterns.

As we learn to hold other states of mind and emotion, we can interchange and hold positive elements as the old ones are being eliminated. Love (unity that implies the oneness of spirit, aims, interests, feelings, etc.) weakens the strain of the lower levels.

Michelle Grace could see a birth before the baby arrived, she could see what was going on in a person's life, and she could see death before it occurred. Some people who are struggling with great problems do not want to stay here in the body. They need enlightened support and guidance to encourage them to accept the agreement they made to incarnate. Michelle Grace could see when a child did not want to stay. She showed me how we could use our thoughts to send love, light, and gifts from God.

Negative thoughts create a barrier to a good life. Instead, learn how to think, speak, and act in harmony with your fellow man.

It was not long before I began to know Michelle Grace could see, hear, and know things that others did not see, hear, and know. She could see the light coming down on the table when we blessed our food. She could see the color of people's thoughts and how they change with feelings. She could see truth and falsehood by the colors in the aura. She said we allow ourselves to turn the colors we become. When I was going through a very difficult time, she asked me why I allow myself to turn black! The black shows there is no love (God-awareness) in the person at this time.

Michelle Grace kept her aura's bright light because she thought in love or in union with God. Our aura is our shield of protection.

Our problems hold a certain pattern. The flesh is atoms held in a certain field, or etheric body, by our consciousness. We remain in the sepulcher of the carnal body with old negative thought patterns because our consciousness remains in these subliminal patterns, so we attract our atomic structure from a field in harmony with what we are. This is the Law of Attraction.

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Souls are reincarnating with remembrance from past lives.

Paula Polcini came into this lifetime with remembrance of a house that has everything anyone would ever want.

When she was a child she searched in the woods looking to find that house.

Throughout her life she has had visions, dream messages and guidance that led to the Great Work of independent study, volunteer work, experiment and every day experience that is unfolding remembrance of Who we are, What we are a part of, What is the Purpose of Life and How we are meant to live it. Life is for the growth of the soul. On February 15, 1979 Paula had a dream that told her there are seven Paths for the soul to grow to maturity. She was told she is here to Manifest God’s Love for Creation. Since God created man God’s still small Voice has whispered within him that God is man and man is God. Paula has heard the silent Voice many times.

Buddha Board

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

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

Buddha Board Highlights:

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

Take care of yourself, and you’ll help take care of the world with a little help from Buddha Board

Why uncensored expression leads to healing

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy 78 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2020

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

H

ow do we live as authentic beings?

Is it by running away or facing, leaving, or taking the courage to walk down memory lanes and feel that burning truth once again? Only this time, we go back in time as we allow ourselves to face the pain eye to eye with a long stare.

From it, we arise as authentic beings.

Someone crushed us very badly. It's one of those heartaches we don't see coming, but it comes anyway. It's one of those losses we don't see happening, but it happens anyway. It's one of those moments we never thought could strike, but it strikes anyway.

By staring at it right in the face, looking at it eye to eye, can you find the joy, beauty, and richness that comes with true freedom?

Which one would be more desirable? To be in a forever run or to feel it through and eventually emerge out of it. So, it helps to process the pain, release it, and transmute it into love.

To feel the emotions means to allow them to arise in the body and to let the sensations occur. Suppose we allow ourselves to be present in those emotions and do not try to control them. Pain triggers many ancient wounds that we had faced years and years back. Instead of being ashamed of any feelings that come up, allow yourself to just be in them as they do come. In the end, the love you have for yourself is bigger than the pain that you face.

And though this self-love, a day will come when the pain will wash away on its own.

No rush, no compulsion, it will happen effortlessly with the tidal wave of self-love.

Repressing anger or surfacing emotions can cause deep-seated suffering, and it won't help propel stuck energy out of our bodies. Deep breathing helps as you gradually inhale and exhale, letting out the bitterness and welcoming life back into your body. While doing that, we move through the stuck state and become unstuck.

emotions. The storm that once bent us down, we fight back to it, not through masking, but unmasking in the light sent from heaven above, having Almighty as the witness. So we no longer have to exhibit superficial courage, rather we rise in our authentic beauty. From authenticity, we reveal what is at our core, not from a beguiling charm.

Listening to music, seeing healing arts, engaging our hands in healing creativity, writing our emotions out, hiking in nature, wandering in the wilderness beneath the sky and gazing around, listening to the birds coo, and filling the heart with it—all these our body takes in slowly and breathes into your heart, and one day, subconsciously, we are healed as the weight of the pain is lifted. Life begins to flow through a thousand sounds, a thousand other sights. And its range is broadened, not narrowed when we let ourselves feel them. Through them, we begin to feel life again. And a day comes when we authentically heal, in the sense that even if we do look back, the ancient wounds do not bite us so much.

Through every receptive movement, a primal beauty makes its way into your body, so you no longer get petrified by agony. We human beings have a tendency towards denial, withdrawal, and self-isolation, and it pushes us towards silence. And such silence speaks volumes. We risk not hurting more as we think by being silent; we are skipping the pain as we are skipping the dialogues.

The uncensored speech, those uncut expressions are now allowed the freedom to flow, and healing begins to bit by bit. They no longer live within the narrow parameters of their lives; rather have the freedom to extend themselves as they stretch their hearts through the uncondensed versions of their sufferings. For the sake of an afflicted heart to heal, it's an essentiality for a suffering soul to have unparalleled freedom of expression, the one that can afford a restoration. To have a license to share our hearts without fear or denial, judged or dismissed, guilt or shame is a relieving feeling. This uncensored expression can bring out an enriching revelation.

In the end, we watch our sorrows burn as the past reduces to ashes, and the smoke rises from the story we let open in the air. Nothing has been created or destroyed; rather, the soul has gone through a transfiguration.

We shut ourselves in silence. We are hoping that the world does not see us as weak and powerless. We believe if we are frank and honest out in the open about what we feel, then the world may perceive us as weak, and from such a fear of losing our high held image, we push ourselves to a devouring silence that ultimately pushed us towards more and more silent suffering. As ultimately, what we are headed to is a major downfall that takes us deeper and deeper into the tunnel. The fear consumes us inside, leading us to think that if we exhibit our emotional weakness, then we might lose our personal power, or we are voluntarily handing it over to the world, and in doing so, we are at their mercy.

We are concerned that revealing hurt feelings might make us look so fragile that we prefer not to exhibit any vulnerability to others. But what we keep inside ultimately kills us emotionally; what we fail to realize that being unassailable is materialized when we give a chance to heal the wounded self, to voice the repressed

After all, for healing to be in motion, the afflicted hearts need to feel richly sympathized with and understood.

Rejuvenation can come when they are related to, their sufferings imagined and felt, as from there comes a genuine feeling of sharing. In the process of expression, the expression may not be right, adequate, or justified, but a struggling soul has to fully open up and divulge their deepest anxieties, their darkest secrets, as that is the way light will eventually come in. That uncensored expression fully lets out the uncondensed emotions that now have a protected space of its own, and the afflicted person now knows he/she had the unabridged emotions out in the open. The unabbreviated story comes out laid bare as the suffering soul faces with the courage to thoroughly explore the unexplored darkness in the unresolved mind.

Whatever shame, guilt, or humiliation someone has been harboring inside, however baffling, fearful his/her past experiences might have been, whatever struggles may have plagued them; they must feel the freedom to lay bare their struggling emotions, their plethora of concerns, as unabridged expression becomes the essentiality of healing. Through this uncensored revelation, he/she feels sufficiently secure.

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It's a singular way to feel secure again in an insecure mental state as the heavenly healing begins to flow.

Such uncensored freedom to let it all hang out in the open becomes essentiality so the suffering soul can have a chance and space where he/she can significantly grow by defeating the self-defeating behaviors. Therein comes the needed transformation through which an afflicted individual emerges again.

Confronting those past experiences with the unrestricted freedom of speech provides them the nourishing space, the well- ventilated room so they can rise above what is killing their spirits. They muster the courage to confidently meet the challenges of life again. They become emotionally capable of addressing the previously unaddressed issues, like the problematic anger, anxiety, and depression that were suppressing them down. They now gush forth the things they kept under wraps as they have the uncensored speech rising from a deeper compelling. And as they loosen up about their beliefs and emotions, they develop a singularly beautiful, extraordinary relationship with their own selves as they reveal their biggest vulnerabilities. They stand up fearlessly as dawn breaks upon their hearts. It develops a personal and intimate relationship with one's own soul. What otherwise was unshareable now gets shared as the unabridged version of their emotions now fly in the air through the uncensored speech. The unabridged expression finally lets out the most perplexing and agonizing problems of their lives, and the afflicted souls begin to find themselves. Their personal disclosures are now heard, felt, and understood. This way, they become more of a human and emotionally accessible to the awareness of the present moment.

Suppression makes humans cautious and deliberative.

They have the free reign, appropriate or inappropriate in the eyes of the society, and outright healing begins to flow. It helps normalize the suppressed emotions and lifts a person from a repressed state of mind.

As from repression, self-oppression begins at some point. To rescue oneself is to indulge in uninhibited expression as censorship gets in the way of rescue.

There is no fear of condescending evaluation of his/ her as the person has the freedom to speak in an unedited fashion. There remains no need to be painstakingly careful, and the story comes out in a carefree, careless manner, which unconsciously becomes the essential step to healing. This therapeutic approach is benign and need not be made sadly misunderstood.

If there is no fear of personal rejection, then an afflicted person gets the chance to have a free discourse with his/her own soul through the revelation of the

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most sensitive things deeply struggling inside. This uncensored speech becomes a prerequisite for mindbody alliance and should never be compromised.

There is no suppression of self-expression, and an individual refrains from overextending himself/herself through the unbridled vent. It allows one to ley it out what was held for so long, and the process allays the fears and brings them out of their own intimidating shadows and rebuilds their fragile self-esteem.

We remember we are humans with fears, insecurities, and stories of our own. The long exasperation ends through the most uncensored revelations. It finishes the unfinished discourses and assists one to become self -compassionate at the very end. The very self-expression builds self-compassion, granting forgiveness to one's own self, asked, or unasked. The uncensored revelation allows an exchange of thoughts and beliefs, feelings, and emotions with our own hearts. A defining characteristic of uncensored expression becomes a shift in the perspective as the thought process experiences a transition. That unabridged speech becomes a compassionate story as we learn from our authentic revelations. We grow above all that happened to us. It becomes a benefit to the crisis we once had in the past and are still holding on to it real tight. We take our leave of the past and move again. It gives us something, teaches us something, and uplifts us to be a better version of ourselves.

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."

the Photo by Allef Vinicius

Age of Aquarius

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W

hat an exciting time in history as we enter the Age of Aquarius. As we enter 2021 with newfound hope and optimism about the future, we witnessed the breakdown, the changes, the upheaval of everything we know in 2020.

Now, we move into a new time. The Great Conjunction that happened on December 21, 2020, was celebrated all over the world. Jupiter and Saturn met at 0 degrees Aquarius.

As we enter this new period, you will see and experience growth and expansion, and we will come together to make the world a better place. We are living in a global world collective.

Taking time to focus on community building, friendships that are aligned with your shared interests. Our collective consciousness is changing too!

In order for you to prepare for this new age, new year, new world, all change begins with you. Working on yourself, becoming more in tune with yourself and the world around you, and becoming more awakened to your own consciousness. Many people in the world are tuned into these changes, but for those who are uncertain, unsure on what to do, and do not want to be left behind, this is for you to have a guide of how you can also thrive into the Age of Aquarius.

As a collective conscious, we can begin with being involved with more community, humanitarian issues, and raising our consciousness with meditation, inner child healing, and shadow work. Focusing on a positive mindset and letting go of limiting beliefs. Knowing your deserve ability and worth, and sharing this with our kids, so they also go into the new age in awareness, kindness, and love.

The new age may not be easy as we are in constant transformation, but staying in the alignment of our highest selves will keep us on the right track. This is major self-care time for us, for the world, for our communities to come together in global unison. We have already been brought together in global unison through this virus, but we will come together in peace, harmony, and connection. A higher consciousness that brings love, growth, and abundance is just like the song by 5th Dimension.

“Harmony and understanding Sympathy and trust abounding.

No more falsehoods or derisions Golden living dreams of visions Mystic crystal revelation And the mind’s true liberation.

Aquarius, Aquarius” Take a deep breath, and follow your soul. It knows the way already. Let the sunshine in!

Sasha Gary is Gratitude Life Coach. actress, and writer at 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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NORTH

STAR

By Deb Richard

My rookie year was filled with both joyful and frustrating moments as I tried to win on the LPGA tour. I finished second twice and scored a top-ten finish in the US Women’s Open.

It was however a rewarding rookie year, and it cemented my belief that I could compete against the best in the world.

Winning would be the single motivating goal in 1987.

My caddie, Carl “the Machine” Laib, convinced me to play the LPGA’s Rochester International tournament at Locust Hill Country Club, in New York. I had skipped it my rookie year, and he often raved about the course suiting my game perfectly.

I trusted Carl’s assessment and I added Rochester to my playing schedule.

I did fall in love with the course from the very first round I played. It was a shot-makers’ course with small sloped greens that required strategy. It was the type of course Ron had groomed me to play.

I opened the tournament with a six-under-par round of sixty-six. I had the lead. On day two I followed with a sixty-nine to maintain my lead. On day three I stumbled to a seventy-three, but I still managed to keep my lead on the tricky course. On day four I was chasing the dream, and I was ahead of the pack.

It was a cool, drizzly, breezy day. I stood on the first tee with adrenalin rushing throughout my body. I was nervous. There is a very fine line between throw-up nervousness and adrenalin nervousness that brings out greatness. I was hoping for greatness.

Everyone struggled with the challenging conditions on Sunday.

By the time we finally reached the eighteenth tee, I had built a four-shot lead. My adrenalin was on overdrive. My thoughts were racing, and my heart was pounding. Even though I had experience winning at other levels, this was distinctly different territory. This was the lifelong dream.

The eighteenth at Locust Hill CC is the second hardest hole on the course. The hole turns slightly to the left while the fairway slopes to the right. The left rough is lined with imposing barrel-shaped fir trees with limbs to the ground while the right rough had brutally deep grass. It also played uphill, which 84 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

meant the putting surface was a hidden target.

As my heart raced, I hooked my tee shot into a big fir tree in the left rough. When I arrived at my ball, I had no swing. My only option was to take a one-shot penalty for an unplayable lie and drop the ball two club lengths from where it had come to rest. It barely got me out of the tree, but I had a narrow sightline to the green. I managed to carve a low punch fiveiron onto the front of the green. My four-shot cushion was a blessing. I needed it to calm the adrenalin rush! As we walked to the eighteenth green, the crowd rose to its feet and cheered loudly. A nervous smile was all I could muster. I had unfinished business and I tried to refocus on finishing the hole.

I had to navigate a thirty-foot left-to-right breaking putt from the lower level of the green to the top tier. I had practiced the putt during my practice rounds, but my hands and mind were not filled with this kind of adrenalin during practice. I hit the putt on a good line, but I left it two and a half feet short.

I still had work to do. Even as my hands shook and my thoughts raced, I sank the short putt and captured my first professional win. I was now an LPGA champion. I had realized the dream.

The feeling of that moment was different from every other win.

I was peaceful. I was fulfilled. I was happy, and I was reflective.

I owed this moment to so many other people in my life. Flashbacks filled my mind as I stood on the eighteenth green during the awards ceremony. I thought of Ron, Mom, Dad, Coach Ryan, Judy Bell, my brother Mike, and my caddie, Carl.

My next priority was to get on a plane to Kansas to celebrate with family and friends. Our celebrations would last throughout the week in my hometown of Manhattan. There was no containing my smiles. When you dream of doing something for over a decade, and every waking hour is dedicated to realizing that dream, the attainment of the dream is a joy beyond the English language. It is a moment to be savored.

The following May I was sitting in the players’ lounge at an LPGA event in Nashville, Tennessee with the Rochester International tournament director, Linda Hampton. As the tournament’s defending champion, I was responsible to help promote the upcoming 1988 Rochester International at a media day in a couple of weeks. In preparation for the event, Linda wanted my reflections from my first tour win to share with the media.

Photo by Jennifer Mccarren 85 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e January 2021

“It has been ten months since capturing your first LPGA tour win. It was the realization of the dream come true,” Linda said to me. “What is the single most outstanding memory from your victory?”

“My answer will surprise you,” I said with a smile. “It was meeting the little girl at camp.”

Linda’s silence told me she had no idea what I was talking about.

I continued, “When we did the Sunshine Camp visit, there was a little girl who represented all the campers in giving me flowers. She created a profound change in me.”

Two weeks after my Rochester win, the tournament organizers invited me to return to Rochester and visit the two Rotarian-funded summer camps for disabled children who were supported with tournament proceeds.

All LPGA events operate as 501(c)3 organizations. The mission is to raise funds to enrich the communities where we play.

This was the first time I participated in visiting a charity supported by an LPGA event. I was so excited to return to Rochester and visit as the Rochester International’s newest champion. I knew I was excited for the experience, but I was excited through the prism of being a new champion.

My prism changed quickly.

Upon arriving at the Sunshine Camp, I sensed something completely different than what I had anticipated. As I walked under their arched entrance to camp, I found all the youngsters aged seven to ten brought together like a chorus group. They had made signs welcoming me to camp. They sang me a camp song. And in the front row was an adorable little girl holding flowers.

At the end of the song, they prodded her to give me the flowers on behalf of all the campers. I squatted down to be eye level with her. Her little hands were shaking around the stems. I reached for the flowers and gave her a big hug to say thank you. She never said a word.

In that moment, holding the most fragile human I had ever held, I discovered a purpose in me. The course of my life would never be the same.

I finished by revealing, “However, that little girl made me realize that when I step outside the ropes, I have a platform to change the world.”

What I realized that day was that the campers had no idea who Deb Richard was. All they cared about was that someone who did something other folks’ thought was cool was taking time out of her day to tell the campers that they were special. Life outside the ropes had new meaning.

I returned to Rochester for media day to share my story in finding purpose. I now understood the value and responsibility that came with being a professional athlete. At the end of my remarks, the head of Monroe County Rotary, Elmer Conway, took the microphone and said, “Deb, we have a little surprise for you.”

All eyes turned to the back of the room where a set of double doors opened, and there stood the amazing little girl in a white dress holding a bouquet of flowers once again. There was no holding back my tears. Seeing her again fulfilled me. She gently walked my way, and I met her halfway. Her steps were measured and slow.

I squatted down and asked the question I needed her to answer, “What is your name?” “Jessica.”

I had my North Star.

Deb Richard is an Executive Coach who is passionate about human connection. Deb competed on the LPGA tour for twenty-years, winning six times and representing the U.S. LPGA in the 1992 Solheim Cup international competition. Deb is the 1984 U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion and the 1984 World Team Amateur Champion in both the team and individual divisions.

As I related a version of this story to Linda, I concluded, “The little girl taught me what it means to be an LPGA player. As much as I spend my life performing in front of thousands of people, that performance is the intensely personal side of golf. It is my sacrifice and my endless hours of practicing being celebrated.

Deb has built three non-profits from ideation to sustainability: Deb Richard Foundation provides college scholarships for physically disabled students at the University of Florida, Soaring with Eagles Foundation is a leader development course for college freshmen at the Staley School of Leadership Studies at Kansas State University, and Sports Academy Foundation provides transition experiences for socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, foster kids and military veterans.

That is the investment of the many others who have helped shaped my life.”

Deb is the CEO of Burlap Leaders, LLC and author of Trust: Understanding My Why.

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87 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2020

PLEIADEANS Astral Travel

AND

Writing with warmth, clarity and a mix of humor, author Sherryl Comeau connects with readers seeking deeper understanding of metaphysical principles in her book, A Change in Perception: Divinely Inspired by Something Greater Than Myself That Connects Us All. A devoted and experienced practitioner of holistic energy, she has helped others through her work as a spiritual teacher since 1998. Her personal experiences with meditation and other holistic energy practices encouraged her to combine her extensive knowledge and personal anecdotes in this captivating book.

By Sherryl Comeau

Taking readers alongside her sessions with her trusted Spirit Team, they are shown how the practice of meditation can replace doubt with trust and understanding. Included in this book are additional discussion about Chakras, Orbs, Food (alkaline & acidic), Dementia and more to showcase how these various practices and more can help immerse oneself in a journey to access the subconscious mind.

Through Comeau’s encouragement and spiritual guidance, readers will discover the healing benefits of getting in touch with their own Spirit Team along with the ability to connect with loved ones who have crossed over. On the subject of her book, she expresses “It is my hope that this book helps educate readers in the fundamentals of holistic alternatives and that this awareness brings upon a new perception.”

Photo by katerina plotnikova photography

With a belief that everyone has the intuitive abilities to tap into a new perception, this book provides the tools and direction to do so. In A Change in Perception, readers are beautifully taught how to work with life, not against it, and how to awaken their own belief system..

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MELCHIZEDEK AND SPIRIT TEAM COMING THROUGH Spirit Team; Divine Child of God it is time for you. As we continue this morning you will notice things about your surroundings. Notice this, they are going to shift. You will see things differently. The things you would normally take for granted; you will notice. As we continue, notice the surroundings shifting “you”, you’re slipping more into the 5th dimension frequency. You will need the tuning fork work. The Melchizedek work helped a lot this morning. The forks are still needed for much static buildup. As we continue, the book we are helping you put together is needed.

Continuing to work together, more information will come through. Love, Love, Love continue to think on these lines, it helps to pull you up. Metatron and Melchizedek are the foundation for the work you are about to bring out. It is important we talk about the work you are doing presently. Reiki was the foundation to start everything, then Sound and Melchizedek. At this juncture we’d like to concentrate on the Melchizedek work for a moment. This work has helped you continue much work. It is time to go over a bit more in that realm.

The forms of low vibration and high vibration are converging at this time.

With a belief that everyone has the intuitive abilities to tap into a new perception, this book provides the tools and direction to do so. In A Change in Perception, readers are beautifully taught how to work with life, not against it, and how to awaken their own belief system..

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Q: With free Will Divine Source, why can’t you take all as they are and simply remove what’s not needed and converge.

A: Once you have more understanding of these realms, you’ll understand.

So let’s continue, in the book there are things we need to go over with you. This book will help many. The star seeds are here to help. Love is all around you, stay with it.

Q: In Ruth Montgomery’s books, her team came thru each morning starting right in and had names. How do I refer to you the Spiritual Team or some other.

A: You will refer to us in the book as “The Spiritual Team” and there are many of us.

Q: Where are all from, same dimension etc…

A: We are all from the 8th dimension.

We know that more understanding will come to you.

Q: So where do the Pleiadeans come from, same dimension.

A: The Pleiadeans are a Life Form, we are not. We are energy, no form.

Q: Ok understood. So where specifically do they reside? A planet, a dimension etc..

A: They reside in a completely different Galaxy than your own.

Q: Do we know this Galaxy.

A: No this is uncharted as yet Q: Ok is there a way to measure distance from us, longitude, latitude, Light years etc…

A: Light years upon Light year.

Q: You once told me about zoning out.

That we are slipping in & out of the 5th dimension frequency. Are you talking about all humans that have a high frequency doing this or just talking about myself at the moment.

A: All. There were many asteroids that destroyed much of the planet they lived on. They were able to migrate to another. They have watched the Human race for centuries. They have grown as a race and desired to help. They have worked with many humans. They wish to continue conversing with you.

Q: What is the difference between Hathors and Pleiadeans.

A: Pleiadeans are more advanced technologically. Hathors work in the 8th dimension frequency free of form.

Q: Have the Hathors come to speak with me in this life time.

A: Yes many times, they frightened you, you were not ready.

Q: I remember meditating one night many years ago, when a group wanted to speak with me, but they would not give their group name or anything about themselves, was that the Hathors A: No it was not, there are many such Life Forms that wish to speak with humans. (611 words).

Q: So why did they not wish to speak of who they were.

A: They were Highly Evolved Beings, they simply wanted to make contact with you.

Q: So let me get this straight in my mind. It’s ok for these Life Forms to come thru and not give us info about themselves and possibly frighten us. My question is; “why come, why bother”.

A: They do not wish to frighten, only to open your awareness.

Q: There’s been so much talk through the years here about negative energy, dark forces, low vibration frequencies etc…Horror movies, books, and a host of much more…

My question is we live (700 words) in a duality; positive & negative. Are there low vibrations in other dimensions, galaxies etc…that can and do try to connect with us.

A: My dear Child of God these are very good questions.

It is for this reason this book needs to come out. In answer to your question; yes & no. There are low vibration as you put it, that have evolved as the Human Race has, but are still learning also. So to help with the understanding of this for instance; Low vibration from outside your galaxy some reside with no form and still others having form.

Q: What distinguishes the difference.

A: Evolution, everything grows at its own pace.

Q: So the low vibration beings from outside our galaxy and dimension are they lower than our own frequency.

A: Very good question; they are not, but there must always be a balance in the universe. Progression, levels, do you understand.

Q: I do. So at this moment in time which am I speaking with; Spirit Team, Pleiadean or another.

A: You are with your Spirit Council, your Team. They consist of Humans that have crossed over throughout time, not just this lifetime, but also Angels, Archangels, Ascended Beings.

Q: What is the difference between Ascended Beings & Ascended Masters as we term them here, are they one in the same.

A: Yes correct.

Q: Ok H.E.B. what group do they fall into.

A; The H.E.B. fall into the category of 8th dimension and above.

Q; So the Pleiadean fall into this council.

A): Pleiadeans do not, they are still of form. As we continue there is much to discuss.

Q; A thought comes to me to ask about the so-called Big Foot Being that many say they have had a glimpse of. My information on this came thru some years ago. It is highly Evolved and is here to witness, to observe and can travel between realms at a moment’s notice, thought. Is this the case.

A: It is, they have been here for a very long time. And as you were told, that is the reason they have not been captured by Humans.

Q: Can they cloak themselves so as not to be seen, but are still in the 3rd dimension.

A: Cloaking they cannot do, they slip in and out of dimension. They do not wish to harm, only observe.

Q: Why have they taken on such a primitive appearance, A: They wish to remain neutral, invisible while here, Q; Are they taking notes, do they reference our behavior on some platform for learning, educating…

A; They observe to research. They are a particular race from outside this dimension of 3D, Q; Is this what they look like where they reside, A: It is not.

Q: Ok so this now gets into dimensions as well as galaxies.

What is the difference, A; Dimensions are in all galaxies, all universes, Q: I don’t even know where to begin. Is there a particular number of dimensions per galaxy, per universe, A: Good question. There are an infinite number of dimensions, through out. As we continue there is one last, thing we’d like to discuss with you.

Q: Show me the way to stay in the flow and manifest better.

A: You have the ability to, we will help. It’s positive intention that comes through the good for all humanity. You are on the right path. Once the book comes out, people will look upon you differently. They will tell you it helped explain things to them easily. Helped them move along with difficulties they were having and helped them understand Energy Work. We are here to work with you, we will continue. Till next time Love to you Divine Child of God,

Sherryl Comeau is an experienced Spiritual Teacher and Holistic Practitioner and now Author who supports clients through practices such as Reiki, The Melchizedek Method, Biofield Tuning and the Emotion Code/Body Code. She recently moved her office after 5 years with Lebro Center for Well Being to UMASS Lowell, to a space of her own. Her talents in this field have been shared through her appearances in live webinars, volunteer sessions, and expos throughout New England. She has also produced for the last 5 years to present a monthly educational community TV segment with HC Media, “Sherry’s Metaphysical Corner”, that seeks to educate viewers on the value of metaphysical practices. Her work has been shared in various radio interviews and other media programs. To learn more, please visit https://energyworkstudio.com

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LANGUAGE OF SPACE

By Michael White Ryan

EN GARDE

Photo by Nine Koepfer

BORN TO RUN

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omorrow is a mystery; it used to be that way once upon a time amongst the roses. En Guard, we turned the corner, there is no looking back, time abandoned, memory is at the helm. We are born to Run, a builtin, natural evolutionary process, hiding under a deep well of experiences, unexplained. The natural order of time-based progression has broken new ground, and settling has arrived, is upon us all. Yes, it doesn’t appear that way when we look out into the ensuring manmade chaos. What could he be talking about, referring to? Now is the coming together-decisions, one has personally made in how one will progress forward in 2021 while engaging with the external world conditions and it’s presenting peoples.

When choosing, please be mindful the role you play may not be you will become you In a world that functions on strategies of war across all aspects of daily living, let me remind you how meaningful these two passing catch-phrases were in directing our choices and connections. Firstly, Knowledge is Power, which basically states, one can acquire future success using a collection of copycat handme-down ideas. If that’s the crutch to lean on, so be it. In the second place, As I think, therefore I AM, which comes down to, I AM. Therefore I Think, da, in this constantly changing surrounding world, it’s unfortunate when one’s processing continually remains the same.

If you were paying attention, both of these conceptual-ideals just lost out? On a global scale, Feelings very cleverly have won the battle as the consciousness now in control, positioned themselves as Number One, in the race to control the two-leggeds within our dualistic system.

As we are all collectors of knowledge, let us, for a moment, propose this one single idea to how one may perceive time-related natural progressions. We now know from various sources; for the most, nothing in this world can exist on its own. Therefore, by knowing this, our physical word functions as a dual system. For instance, have you noticed the immense power connections have over one’s Stability, Wellness, and Happyness? Hence, it stands on reason; natural

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progressions may actually function in the same way and go something like this.

For example, a mother, over a length of time, gives birth to a child, the passing on of a new human energy form. Similarly, as another example, lets us think the year 2020, also is a mother, stays with me, and over a length of time, gives birth to its child and natural progression, the passing on of its new energy form, a new year, 2021. And in a dualistic system, there exist two opposite, not opposing years functioning, cooperating at the exact same time, a Sun year and a Moon year.

Similarly, within our human system, which functions on the collection of knowledge, our thinking, which is a form of energy, has for eons had control, given birth to our feelings, another new form of energy. Now, as 2021 gains momentum, a new form of energy rising from the induced interruptions, has reversed the roles, feelings have gained power. Feelings now have control over the way in which we think and how we think. And like someone in the depths of being lost or in love, one’s thoughts emanating from mixedfeelings may defy rational logic when decisions and actions are initiated.

You may have noticed, for many, one’s current feelings have been granted expansive acceptance, worry, stress, anxiety, coupled with positive apprehension, are now very real, an everyday norm. When one is required to think, one’s thoughts are now attuned, decided upon, aligned with those unquestionable facts.

WHAT IS REQUIRED IF ONE DECIDES, ENTERS, CONNECTS, JOINS THESE TIME-HONORED NATURAL PROGRESSIONS. AS A MEMBER, ONE WILL DISPLAY A CHARACTER STRENGTH; ANOTHER’S TRUTH MAY NOT BE YOURS, YET ALSO RELATIVE.

Sprouted from superior thinking science data, as the many voices across the screen cry out in unison, we are all in this together?

Born to run, it’s an interesting scenario; humans think unity while practicing strategies of separation. As long as one views the world, observes from any dual perspective right-wrong, good-bad, them and us, or with a selective difference, one is permanently trapped. Always to find differences, separations, segregation, due to being well trained, pre-educated in believed-preconceptions.

Independence is a solo wave remember if you walk this way, conditions will apply, 2020 was an exercise in learning how one swims in the waters of life, personal experiences. Know it or not, we were all in this at the same time, together. Testing of one’s truth, your truth, my truth, what is it, that one believes in? How does one view the world when no longer attending to the needs and desires to be “I”.

Fear rushed in and gatecrashed the party. The 2020 waters tossed us, spun us in circles until we didn’t know which way was down or up. The passing over of a time based natural progression is upon us all. And now, as the fear subsides, its soul brother-sister-partner arrives to balance out that which no longer lives in this world.

Please be mindful, if one lives, remains in the past chaos, there is no passing over.

Trust has silently entered the room. Not the trust of the past, rather a silent empowering trust, selective in its number of connections. It’s like finding a new larger family, where one can safely-dance, minus the subjectivity. Yes, we do have a choice; the question is, which bucket am I drawing from! Now more than ever, it’s important to acknowledge, is one looking into the mirror of self-aware or mindlessly playing out someone else’s game?

What is required if one decides, enters, connects, joins these time-honored natural progressions. As a member, one will display a character strength; another’s truth may not be yours, yet also relative. Learn the language of when money talks. A good balance of seriousness and fun will keep one’s spirits in tune.

Learn how to think for yourself, be wise. It May sound strange, so let me ask, is cooking with google the same as cooking with a recipe book, Y or N? The answer reveals which highway one is driving down, more so, who is at your helm.

Dance, play, energize responsible, fair, considerate remain, remain open there is only new.

In renewing the finding of one’s feet, trust in being grounded will bring a sense of stability, a chance to look around, and decide what needs to go. During 2020, deep down, you probably already discovered, know, you’re just waiting for a tiny push in the right direction. When it comes, shove quick and hard, gone forever. Don’t take for granted your new role as one plays in this game called life. No expectations, role with whatever comes through the door. Any lonely lives here no more.

Like it or not, there are many variables to one’s human nature. One can follow one or a number of streams in discovering one’s state of beingness. There are many portals, to the number of available choices, increasing every year. En Garde, Born to Run, remaining fully in self-acceptance, will always carry one through the darkness. As long as one lives in a dualistic world, Ying is automatically invited when Yang is activated.

Blessings, be blessed, you are blessed.

Michael White Ryan is a co-founder with his wife Pamela Edwards of Language of Space.

They are leaders in sustainable business growth via Performance Design and Performance Code. Sustainable design encompasses both Western and Easternphilosophies including advanced Feng Shui principles, \Environmental Design, Buildings, Alternative Health, Business Advisory Consultants and 20 plus years as entrepreneurs.

Recognized in the top 100 globally and are Americas Leading Feng Shui BusinessConsultants.They are on faculty at CEO Space International one of the oldest business organizations in America today, currently operate in 7 countries and reside in Australia. www.languageofspace.com

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Playing Chess with Life

Photo by GR Stocks

By Alexia Melocchi

Nothing is more powerful than word of mouth. And in the recent months, a very unusual Netflix series called The Queen’s Gambit, became the single biggest surprise hit for the streaming giant.

The Queen’s Gambit is about the rise to fame of an orphan chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, during her quest to become the world's greatest chess player in the 1950s and 1960's, while struggling with emotional problems and drug and alcohol dependency.

Beyond the incredible slick visuals and stellar performances, it ultimately drew people into a world of strategic thinking and awakened in its viewers a newfound passion for the game of chess, which in so many ways, could be defined as the game of life.

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Chess is a very challenging mental game but has at its core some very profound yet simple principles for navigating our daily existence and challenges.

As we begin 2021, after months of isolation, and slowly get back to the business of living and interacting with other humans, even virtually, it has become more than ever essential to brush up on some strategy skills to master one's life. The principles of chess are a great resource to do just that. These are five takeaways from this emotional and intoxicating series, where Beth, the protagonist, is forced to implement in her journey to master her own emotions and her future.

I was immersed in Beth's world, and I truly related to her challenges as a female in a man's world. Still, overall, I rediscovered some great wisdom nuggets that could help The Eden Magazine readers level up our approach in the coming months. I narrowed it down to five principles.

Be the chess player, not the chess piece.

On the board of life, one can either be moving against the director of the pressure points, and exterior situations, or be looking at life as a journey with a finite destination. In chess this is called "The End Game."

We have the power to decide to make moves that will empower you and take you there, being vigilant of what the obstacles may intending to overcome them.

Chess is not about psychology. It is about good moves.

Ultimately, emotions are not something to be ashamed of. Neither are our inner demons. Though how we play the game of life can be recognized by our physiology, our destiny is not ruled by our psychology as much as by a series of good moves.

We learn as much about the games we lose as the games that we do win.

Sometimes we have to fail many times to gain perspective on our weaknesses and our innate natural resilience. Making an inventory of what works and what needs fine-tuning allows us to confront ourselves calmly and analytically and prepare for the next move.

Sometimes taking a step backward will help us take better steps forward in life.

All the pawns on your side of the board matter.

Ultimately you are the King or Queen of your existence. Just like in chess, life is not a solitary game. You

cannot be Queen or King to none. You have others on the journey with you, and you give them the level of importance on your side of the board according to how much or how little they contribute to your life. If we do not have a group to shield us or protect us or go into battle with us during the difficult moments, it will be very easy for the Queen or the King to be taken down.

One single move can change everything.

The overall theme, in fact, in The Queen’s Gambit was that Beth tried every single move in her head to predict the outcome before she even played. Thinking ahead was her way to gain control in her mind and also to manage the chaos around her life. She did that analytically, and when it came down to play her biggest competitor, it was one single move that moved her Queen to the other side of the game to checkmate.

I never understood chess. And I do not plan to learn it anytime soon. But I would not be surprised if there is a boom of the game given as a gift to children from their parents to help them with logical thinking, decision making, responsibility, and how to practice handling a loss, a win, a victory, and of course, to be strong.

Chess is not always about winning. Sometimes it's simply about learning. And so is LIFE.

Alexia Melocchi is an accomplished international film producer and distribution executive and the partner of Beverly Hills based LITTLE STUDIO FILMS. Over 25 years, she has produced 27 film and documentaries, several of which were created by filmmakers that she has personally discovered.

She is the host of THE HEART OF SHOW BUSINESS podcast and the upcoming series CHASING THE EXTRAORDINARY. Alexia attends all major film festivals and has been featured as an expert speaker on the Film Business.

As a proud mama of 3 cats, she supports environmental and animal causes. Her formula for well- being is meditation and surrounding herself with like-minded people.

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THE WAY I SEE IT

By Joey Santos, Jr.

RIDDLE ME THIS,

HOW ARE

WE?

We are approaching the one-year mark of this pandemic. How are we doing? Are we checking ourselves? Our Family, children, partner, friends, coworkers, neighbors?

Are we looking out?

Looking forward?

Looking in?

Or are we looking away?

Closing our eyes, ears, and hearts?

This is not the time to do any of that and definitely not anything less than our very best. I can say without question that this has been a beyond crazy time. So, again, how are we doing? Well, I'll speak for myself. I'm doing as well as can be expected. As "stock" of an answer as that may sound, it is far from "stock." Like most of us, the "roller coaster" we have been on has been very different for each of us. A thrill for some, a disaster for most.

(I am ready to get off the ride and leave the park forever) but until I do, I'm making sure those I love are all safe, sane, and able to get off this ride and out of the park too.

And in one piece!

The funny thing about such a situation is that it's not new, out of the ordinary, or unbelievable. Many in our lifetime have been through similar times and or worse.

Let's not forget the 80's. And, let's not forget that as much as that "situation" has been managed, it isn't gone.

So, how are we? My "stock" answer still applies to many of us right now, but let's change that. There's light. Together we can move toward that light and illuminate our hearts and minds to find calm and hope. If it's one thing we all need to have within us, it's hope. Faith helps too (although in darkness, they are hardest to find), but they are there. And, in the worst of times, there's courage.

Courage, that one thing, that at all cost can bring us together to find a way out, up and over to safety, solution, resolution, and salvation.

Courage, that one thing, that at all cost can bring us together to find a way out, up and over to safety, solution, resolution, and salvation.

We must agree, courage is something we can all use a healthy dose of right now. Even the bravest of us need more of it to strengthen ourselves further so that when we are faced with carrying the burdens of others, we will not merely survive but thrive again. And not become discouraged as we continue to face the worst of challenges and loss. In the meantime, let's dig deep into ourselves and remember the roles, kindness, generosity, and pa-

tience play in our success and victory. I said once, our world and planet are crying out for help. Do we ignore the sound of a baby crying, a dog howling? Help. It's a regret I choose not to live with. I will not pretend not to see or hear it. This world is all we have. ALL WE HAVE. We must protect it and each other. Bridge the divide for once and for all. We can get through this. When we get past this mess, and we will, how will we be doing? I'm going to keep asking. I guarantee you my next answer will not be stock. I'm going to be doing just fine. I hope and pray that we all will be.

Joey Santos Jr. was raised in NYC, Malibu, and West Hollywood Hills.

He is son to Film & Television Actor Joe Santos.

His Mother, Mary, was a former Showgirl who became a "stay at home Mom," Joey's Grandfather is World-Renowned Latin Singer Daniel Santos, and his Grandmother Rose was a Business Woman who owned Nightclubs in NYC, Havana, Miami, and LA. She also started a Record Label and a Film Studio. Early on, Joey worked as an actor. He had a recurring role in NYPD Blue's, as Officer Aiello, and also performed on stage doing live theater.Joey embarked on a singing career, recorded a couple of CDs, and performed in various venues throughout the US. His ultimate passion, however, was the result of following in both his Grandmother's and Mother's footsteps. He became a Restauranteur - (Co-owned the El Mocambo in LA, Owner and Chef of JoJo's Americana Supper-club in Saugatuck, and JoJo's Juke Joint in West Hollywood). This experience would lead Joey to embark on his own very successful private business of catering/ hosting events for the Hollywood elite.

For the past four years, he as been Private Chef to Brad Pitt. Since 2016, Joey writes a monthly column, "The Way I See It " for The Eden Magazine. He is teaming up with life-long friend (Literary Agent) Alan Nevins, to develop a PodCast called, "Two Guys From Hollywood" where they will talk about everything you always "didn't want to know!"

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Abundance Corner

By Phyllis King

WHY LOVE

Photo by Arun Anoop

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IN 2021

For spiritually oriented people, 2020 was the year of inner discipline. It was the year we discovered what information we have that truly works to keep us happy. We also got to discover where the gaps are in our personal formula for happiness.

er child, of a commitment to peace and free love. We aren’t going all the way back to the ’60s in 2021, but I expect we will absolutely move into an era of unprecedented love and connection. The timing is right. We all need it so much.

I believe with a lot of certainties that 2021 will be the year of external joy, specifically love itself. I expect with each passing day as the pandemic nears a close, we get to rejoice in every step that takes us closer to our freedom again. I also say this because of my long-standing interest in the field of quantum physics.

Although we are still in a waiting mode to have our freedoms restored, as we continue to do our inner work and become more grounded, more thoughtful, and more internally abundant, we have much more to bring to the table in our relationships in 2021. We all will do so.

Quantum physics proved decades ago that perception influences tangible matter. Further that the internal reality is the basis of external reality.

Additionally, as a life and business strategist, I have spent a good portion of the year, encouraging my clients to embrace the inner journey that the pandemic forced upon them. Rather than a lament for what we did not have and could not do, embrace the opportunity for internal growth and develop our spiritual muscles. As quantum physics proved, when we grow internally, we manifest externally. It is the natural side effect of how energy performs in the universe.

As we move into 2021, and we become free again to move about our world physically. Not only will life return to a familiar normal by mid-year 2021, but the need for connection, human interaction will be answered. Both businesses and individuals will be focused on expansion after a year of contraction. Energetically expansion always follows contraction. It is the natural ebb and flow. As we have been denied the connection, a connection will be foremost in everyone’s mind. Few people will be able to resist the opportunity to get out and be with people.

Human beings are tribal by nature.

It is truly an unnatural state for us to be apart from one another. With each passing day, week, month, and year, we will see our lives return to normal.

The inner work people we all have done over 2020 has prepared us to be more present and more intentional in relationships. It has prepared us energetically for more functional relationships. It has prepared us to appreciate connection more deeply. For all these reasons, I am naming 2021 the year that love will rule.

Anyone who lived through or remembers the 60’s remembers that love ruled. It was a time of the flow-

There are many challenges in life itself. Those challenges keep us fresh and engaged with living. Those who give their attention to the day-to-day task of maintaining inner peace will benefit the most from the energy of love and connection that will be flowing in 2021.

I am actively encouraging all my clients who want a connection in 2021, or to create a partnership, to brush up on their social skills. It is the time to bring relationship viewpoints into the present time, and once again become comfortable being vulnerable and allowing the world to see us.

We are almost there.

The pandemic will soon be in our rear-view mirror, and we can once again embrace the purest joy of being human.

Falling in love, being with those we love, and loving life itself and the beauty of its changing conditions.

If 2020 were a year for the record books, 2021 would also shatter records for different and more positive reasons. Happy New Year!

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

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

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

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

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