21 minute read
moon report
BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON APRIL 2020
by Karyn Mahrie Chabot, M.Ay, LMT, RYT
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The Full Moon on April 7, 2020, will occur in sidereal Virgo in the lunar star of Chitra symbolized by a shining jewel, giving rise to the proverbial celestial architect. This full moon will aspect Mercury in Pisces, where it can cause weak and wonky global and personal communications. Be mindful to speak and write clearly and listen with your heart. Quiet your busy mind with daily meditation, even if it’s only five minutes. Close your eyes when you can. When the eyes are still, the mind is still.
Mercury governs the respiratory track, large intestines and skin. While the moon is shining directly at Mercury from approximately April 7 through April 9, practice the ancient yogic art of alternate nostril breathing (pranayama), apply warm massage oils to your skin while in the shower and eat clean, green, vegan foods made with love.
While the moon is in Virgo, it will support your plans to exercise, eat lightly, do yoga and take walks in the beauty of nature. It’s a splendid time to focus on your health in body, mind and spirit, while aligning your thoughts, words and actions. By the light of this full moon, answers to some of our pressing questions may be revealed and truths about the coronavirus and other global issues may be unveiled. May the Divine Mother (Moon), shine her light
The New Moon on April 22, 2020 will occur in sidereal Aries, the lunar star of Ashwini, represented by the head of a horse and symbolic of the celestial physician. This new energy will herald in personal and collective healing. The world will be ready to step into a new paradigm where health takes “front and center”. Mysterious illnesses can be overcome with new perspectives or with new health practitioners or therapists.
Spring is the ideal time to detox our body and let go of what or who no longer supports us in order to invite something new and wonderful into our life. Aries is the passionate pioneer who invents new ideas and is impulsively playful. It’s a great time to start a new job, begin a new relationship or find a new playmate. Why not find a new therapist or coach that will inspire you to manifest your dreams? Remove the heaviness of winter that has accumulated in our tissues by reducing dairy, sugar, meats and gluten. Instead of going to the gym, try exercising outside in the sun, go for a horse ride along the beach, sit in a sauna or steam room, get a restorative massage, stretch more and eat only fruit in the mornings to increase your telomeres. Remember, we are all in this together and all is well in the Universe.
The difference between the tropical zodiac and the sidereal zodiac is about 23 degrees. Both systems have value. Sidereal astrologers believe the qualities of the signs are not related to the seasons, but rather to the specific portions of the ecliptic as measured against the fixed lunar stars.
Karyn Chabot, M.Ay, LMT, RYT, has her master’s degree in Ayurvedic medicine and has been an international teacher and presenter in the field of metaphysics, astrology and healing for more than 25 years. For appointments, text 401-680-3934 or visit KarynChabot.com/book. See ad on this page.
Breaking the Worry Habit
Before it Breaks You
by John Koenig
Almost half of us worry more than we wish and a large percentage of those will admit they are even worried about worrying. Typical worries include problems with finances, health, relationship issues, work as well as topics like the national political scene, global warming and the coronavirus. The cost of worry includes health issues, difficulty sleeping, loss of productivity and general unhappiness and lack of joy.
The common thread among most topics of worry is that they are about the future, either immediate or distant. Worry, by definition, is an answer to the question “What if…?” and is usually not “What if I win the lottery?”, “What if I get the girl or guy of my dreams?” or “What if the future is even better than the past?” Rather, worry is a particular kind of fear—a ruminating dread of the future.
THE WORRY HABIT Though the act of worry is completely unproductive, it gives people the illusion of being in control. A worrier thinks that by worrying they are either preparing to deal with a situation or, as if through magical thinking, the worrying will somehow erase the problem. Planning, on the other hand, is a very different activity. Planning is productive and adaptive. Planning leads to action, and action may make a difference in our life; worry won’t.
Ridding ourselves of the worry habit starts by acknowledging that the habit itself is as much, if not more, of a threat to our well-being than whatever we are worried about. Worry leads to high blood pressure, sleepless nights and, at its worst, a feeling of impending doom. Worry is worse than a waste of time—it is a destructive use of our time.
When you are ready to break the worry habit before it breaks you, apply these five simple principles to your most pressing worry:
n Start by considering (ideally write down) the worst-case outcome of your worry. Then accept it. This may sound counter intuitive. It may even sound a little crazy and insensitive. But worry is often an attempt to avoid something. By accepting the worst possible outcome, we begin to connect with our power to deal with life on life’s terms and may actually start to feel a sense of peace.
n Consider (ideally write down) alternative outcomes that are less severe than the worst case you have been picturing. Perhaps even think of possibilities where nothing bad at all happens and things turn out well.
n Accept that right now you literally do not know what is going to happen. Train yourself to live in the present instead of a negative and terrifying future fantasy of your own creation.
n Then instead of wasting energy in worry, plan (ideally in written form) on how to take action to avoid the problem, minimize its effect or develop ways to handle it effectively.
n Put a “stop loss order” on worry. Some people find it helpful to even schedule a time for worry with a beginning and, importantly, an end.
Other anti-worry measures include talking to a friend or therapist, exercise, prayer and meditation, focusing on another’s needs, watching a comedy or just going for a walk.
One of the best books on the topic of worry (and how to not worry) was written more than 60 years ago by Dale Carnegie. Carnegie’s bestseller, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, lays out simple principles designed to help the chronic worrier stop the habit of worry. He begins by suggesting that worry itself is the problem, not whatever topic the worrier thinks is keeping him or her up at night.
These principles are simple, yet powerful, but work only when—and if—they are applied, so start implementing them today.
John Koenig is a board-certified hypnotist who has helped Rhode Islanders beat the worry habit and make other important personal changes since 1998. For more information, visit GreaterRhodeIslandHypnosisTraining.com. For private sessions at his Warwick Medical Building office, email John.Koenig.Hypnotist@gmail.com. See ad on page 41 and news brief on page 10 for upcoming workshops.
by Susan De Lorenzo
When life as we’ve known it is shaken to the ground and we find ourselves in a hailstorm of worry and despair, we are often faced with uncertain decisions and choices as we navigate an adversity that has no exact end date. The change in our circumstances can feel surreal, causing us to exclaim, “This is not my life!”
Even with the belief that there is a seed of good in every adversity, we still need the strength, mindset and skills to sustain and support ourselves while the havoc plays out. We can’t deny the distressing facts coming at us when upheaval enters our lives, but we can learn to manage our thinking and practice calming techniques to keep worry and anguish from overtaking us and our well-being.
Adversity demands something new of us that may not have been accessible in calmer circumstances. Not having a choice but to deal with our monster can raise our game. Accepting our circumstances and making the empowering decision to not see ourselves as a victim sets the stage for facing each new challenge in the days ahead. It won’t eliminate worry, exhaustion and anguish, but there is a place inside all of us where we can find calm.
Like a storm out on the sea, deep down below the surface of the stormy waters, a calm can be found. It requires practice, but we have the capacity to leave our troubles at the surface and go deep into the comforting calm through various means, some of which are shared below.
Breathe: Big, deep breaths into the belly. Fear creates shallow breathing, but with our awareness and focus, we can bring ourselves back into deep cleansing breath. Journaling: Use journaling to record feelings and fears, as well as prayers and affirmations.
Visualization: We’ve been conditioned to prepare for the worst, so it takes practice to create a vision of what we would prefer rather than what we fear.
Meditation: There are many terrific sites and apps such as YouTube or the app Insight Timer that can take you from a beginner to an established meditator. Meditation places our focus on calming, life-giving mindsets, like a mini vacation from stress.
Read spiritually supportive literature/ watch uplifting movies: Take comfort in reading uplifting scriptures, poetry and watching movies that lift us up or make us laugh.
Ask for and accept help from others: Once we bring ourselves to being able to ask for and accept help, it can feel like grace pours over our life and situation, and we have more energy available to us.
Prayer and affirmations: Prayers, a ffirmations and feelings of gratitude have a different energy than prayers that plead and beg. We were born worthy. We truly are spiritual beings in a human body. Understanding and connecting with our divinity puts us in a position to feel loved and empowered. Keep negativity and negative people at a distance. Some negative people may be under the same roof; do your best to limit your exposure. The fewer people amplifying the dark time, the better. This is the time to pull in a positive team of supporters.
Music: Listen to all kinds of uplifting and peaceful music, especially when sleep is needed.
No matter what the adversity, there will be time for re-building when the dust has settled. For now, put yourself in a place that brings peace and support.
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW LONG. COME BACK TO A LIFE YOU WOULD LOVE! Has Adversity kicked you in the pants? Are you ready to get up? Susan De Lorenzo is a certified transformational life c o a c h , s p e a k e r a n d author of the upcoming book From Adversity to Awesome. For more information, visit SusanDeLorenzo.com. See ad on this page.
Susan De Lorenzo Certified DreamBuilder Coach & Author of the upcoming book Thank You, Cancer From Adversity to Awesome! Susan De Lorenzo Certified DreamBuilder Coach, Inspirational Speaker and Author WE ALL HAVE “STUFF” THAT COMES TO DISRUPT OUR LIVES. THE TRICK IS TO LEVERAGE IT TO OUR BEST LIFE.
Call: 508-736-8844 or Email: susan@susandelorenzo,com Call or go online for your free session today! call 508-736-8844 or email Susan@SusanDeLorenzo.com SusanDeLorenzo.com
The message I try to express [through my art] is that some of our best-known wild animals might, in my lifetime, no longer be on the planet. ~Josie Martin
PLANET RESCUE
Grassroots Strategies Combat Climate Crisis
by Julie Marshall
Like most kids, Azalea Morgan loves polar bears. “They’re fluffy and cute,” the 8-year-old says, and after watching a documentary on how climate change is affecting these Arctic apex predators, she badly wanted to help. Her mom, Molly Morgan, suggested she do something big, because the problem of global warming is monumental.
For nearly three weeks last September, Azalea pedaled her bike alongside her mom and 9-year-old sister, Ember, setting out from their hometown of Andover, New Hampshire, en route to New York City to attend the United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit, where Greta Thunberg and other global youth leaders marched for change. The trip was a fundraiser to put solar panels on their school and for future projects under KidsCare4PolarBears, a Facebook page that documents their ongoing efforts. While not everyone has the time or inclination to ride 250 miles and camp—some of it in the rain—or as Thunberg did, sail across the Atlantic in a zero-emissions yacht, there are steps individuals can take to combat climate change on a grassroots level, experts say, because the crisis is undeniable, as seen most recently in the catastrophic bushfires across Australia.
There are peaceful protests taking place worldwide scheduled throughout 2020 at FridaysForFuture.org and other organizations, but a growing number of individuals that want to do more are using their imaginations and creative endeavors, inspiring others to take unique action.
Students at a school in Spain wrote and performed a play and illustrated a book to raise climate change awareness, while a teen from California used her artistic skills to raise thousands of dollars for wildlife. On March 28, people around the world participated in
the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour by collectively turning off lights at 8:30 p.m. while holding eco-events, and others are joining in the global tree-planting campaign of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Reversing course may seem insurmountable, but individuals have a lot of power, says Dan Shepard, UN global communications officer: “The choices we make, the things we do, collectively matter and can have a huge impact on the world.”
STEPPING UP FOR BIODIVERSITY “I wanted to inspire other kids,” Ember says of her bicycle trek for polar bears. “I love animals and they deserve to not die.” According to a 2019 UN Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, more than 1 million species are threatened with extinction, and one of the main reasons is climate change, say experts, including Nikhil Advani, director of Climate Communities and Wildlife at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Pro tecting large predators is one key to enriching biodiversity, Advani says. “The top of the food chain has a significant impact on prey species and the ecosystem.”
But predators are suffering because of humans that are feeling the impacts of climate change, Advani says. Long droughts have forced many Kenyan pastoralists to enter protected parks and compete with wildlife for water and grazing land, resulting in lion deaths as retaliation for killing livestock. In the Himalayas, as the Earth warms, snow leopard habitat is being encroached for pastureland. In Zimbabwe, farmers have turned to chopping down trees for wood as an alternative economic opportunity. “Everybody is stressed and competing for resources,” Advani says. “It is a very severe result of climate change.”
Advani and researchers are working in tandem with local societies in 30 countries across Africa, Central America and Asia to fund novel projects under the Wildlife Adaptation Innovation Fund. For instance, they are piloting a rainwater harvesting project to help farmers get through the dry seasons and are constructing concrete and mudbrick nests to help albatross breed better in Tasmania. These special projects are based on available levels of donations that are sometimes crowd-sourced.
Raising funds for innovative projects, as well as increasing awareness of what’s happening, is an important grassroots strategy, says Elan Strait, WWF director of U.S. climate campaigns. It can be as simple as sharing updates, tagging social media influencers and instigating a rallying cry. WWF has its own program called Panda Ambassadors in which conservation activists of all ages can get tips and tools to promote specific projects they feel most passionate about.
“I love to see what young people are doing, because if we collectively use our voice to amplify the facts about climate change, we can work to find solutions,” Strait says. “And we need facts to get out there because, at least in the U.S., some people think climate change is still a controversy and are afraid to talk about it, but we should have that conversation with friends and family so we can find solutions.”
YOUTH RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Getting involved in grassroots-level strategies is empowering not only for kids, but for adults that need their resiliency and inspiration, says Janet Stringer, manager of donor relations at Polar Bears International, in Bozeman, Montana. “In my work, I hear from so many people who are feeling deep despair about the climate crisis. I draw hope from the children who write to us, sharing stories and pictures about their dreams for a future
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that includes polar bears,” says Stringer. “I think we owe it to the next generation to work as hard as we can to come together and make the necessary changes to ensure that polar bears—and all wildlife—are not a species we learn about in the pages of a book, but a wild species that we can see with our own eyes, reminding us of how special our planet is and why it deserves our respect.” One of her favorite examples comes from students at the Daina-Isard school, in Olesa de Montserrat, Spain, and their climate-driven projects with teacher Connie Darilek, who asked the Aquarium of Barcelona to help them grow plankton, an organism threatened by warming seas.
“They gave us plankton and jellyfish, and it was really amazing for the students to learn the [Arctic] food chain and how serious it would be losing the polar bear on top,” Darilek says. Students recently published the book Nanuc, a story about a polar bear that they also illustrated, now in its second printing.
Josie Martin, 13, of Solana Beach, California, has raised $8,700 for conservation of rhinos, elephants, pangolins, gorillas and polar bears by giving watercolor paintings to those that donate to charities through her PayPal Giving page at Chuffed.org/project/ peace-love-hope-for-rhinos. “Each year, I think I’m getting a little bit better at creating art which sends a strong message,” she says. “The message I try to express is that some of our best-known wild animals might in my lifetime no longer be on the planet. I think the difference I make through art is that I am helping to raise awareness for important animal conservation work.”
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EVERY ACTION COUNTS There’s no one solution to climate change, says Catherine Macdonald, TNC director of natural climate solutions for North America. “We really have to try, all of us. It’s important that everyone feel they can contribute, because everything does make a difference, and no action is too small.”
For those that are not art-inclined, one of the best things people can do is to plant trees, Macdonald says, whether it’s replanting forests or increasing their numbers in urban areas. According to a 2018 study by TNC published in Science Advances, nature-driven land management could sequester 21 percent of America’s annual greenhouse gas pollution—the equivalent of emissions from all cars and trucks on the roads today. Planting trees emerged in the study as the most significant among 21 strategies to mitigate global warming. One good way to get started is join the TNC Plant a Billion Trees program, Macdonald says; details are at Tinyurl. com/TNCPlantABillionTrees.
“Climate change is definitely a growing concern that we are facing, and as more people understand there is a problem and what the solutions are, the more influence we can have on the big decision-makers, whether that’s government or corporations that make our products,” she says. “And being aware informs voters to advance climate action.”
While Josie, Ember, Azalea and the students at Daina-Isard aren’t old enough to vote, their message is strong. “I’m worried about the impact climate change will have on our future,” Josie says. “I think people should protest peacefully for the things they believe in and that more people should exercise their right to vote for leaders who care about the youth in our world and the generations to come. I also think people should try to spend a little bit of their time taking action for what they want to see changed in our world.”
Julie Marshall is a Colorado-based writer and author of Making Burros Fly: Cleveland Amory, Animal Rescue Pioneer. Connect with her at FlyingBurros@gmail.com.
Learn to Meditate
“Patience takes courage. It is not an ideal state of calm. In fact, when we practice patience we will see our agitation far more clearly.” -Pema Chödrön
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by Wendy Fachon
The Mount Hope High School Environmental Club, in Bristol, has big plans for celebrating Earth Week April 20 to 24. The club’s new co-advisors, Jennifer Alexander and Kristen Duprey, have been teaching science at the high school for two and a half and three years respectively. The club meets before school so students can pursue other activities after school. Co-presidents from the junior and senior classes lead a membership of 20 dedicated students.
Each member lends different skills and passions to help achieve the team’s overall goal of promoting sustainable practices within the school community and beyond. Some students are eager to step into organizational roles, while others enjoy direct hands-on projects. Many students are enrolled in AP Environmental Science. Some aspire to environmental law while others aspire to environmental science, journalism or teaching.
To honor the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, the club will host events and activities outdoors in the courtyard. In early March, the club began cleaning out the courtyard greenhouse and figuring out how to put it back into use. The students are organizing a plant and seedling sale, to take place during the school lunch period, and will donate some of the proceeds to an environmental
nonprofit while keeping some to fund future club events. Additionally, they will hold a reusable metal drinking straw sale.
Club members will also set up information stations and provide snacks and beverages to draw others in and inspire involvement. This effort will help spread the word about recent environmental actions around the state and the nation. It will provide a forum for club members to share their knowl edge and educate classmates and teachers about the problems and the actionable steps everyone can take to help make a positive difference for the environment.
One example will be a table explaining H7471, the Rhode Island resolution for environmental education, a bill newly introduced at the State House. The bill resolution requests that the Rhode Island Department of Education develop a set of key environmental and climate principles and concepts to be infused in all subjects for K-12 public school students. Club members will share the details, the reasoning and legislative status of the bill and instruct their peers on how to help advocate in support of the measure. The Environmental Club is planning to use a variety of media channels to share Earth Day and environmental news and facts, including daily announcements and emails to students, as well as public service announcements through the school’s Husky News Network (HNN) that is produced by a video broadcasting class and shown daily to the school community. Of course, the Environmental Club will be promoting itself throughout all these activities as they are looking to grow their membership. They also seek to establish more connections and support from the sur rounding community of Bristol and Warren.
For more information, contact Jennifer Alexander at Jennifer.Alexander@bwrsd.org.
Wendy Fachon is a regular contributor to Sustainable Living News and host of the Story Walking Radio Hour on the Dream Visions 7 Ra dio Network. Visit dreamvisions7radio.com and search out her podcasts on sustainable living.
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