Lightworker 1.12 by Lightworker Magazine

JANUA R Y 20 1 2

THE

YOUTHFULNESS EDITION

EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTE Youthfulness: Young or seeming young. I love this definition, because regardless of our age or circumstances, we can always summon the eternal child within us and the light energy of being young again. It heals, it lifts, it energises. Remember the days of laughing until your belly hurt? Or rolling around in the grass then making daisy chains in the sunshine? Or even panting with delight after a successful mission pilfering fruit from the neighbourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orchard?! These are the memories that raise a smile and gladden the heart, they are the feelings of youth. This month, we celebrate feeling young again, as well as taking care of others who are themselves still young. Remember that as important as adult life can be, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never serious enough to bring a frown, scowl or pursed lips for too long. After all, surely life is for delighting in, for living to its fullest, and for creating with the energy and vitality of eternal youth :-p Love and light

Rachel Willis Editor Rachel@LightworkerMag.com

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E D I TOR’S EXTRA Being The Light

From within glows a core of bright, radiant light. This is your soul, and it shines forth into the world to enlighten, heal and guide your fellow human beings, animals and even the vegetation that grows around your home. This is your gift to the planet. When you allow yourself to be the light - to really radiate that light, free from the fear of the ego - then you truly deepen your life purpose and bring greater resonance to your ‘work’. Each light soul is here to shine, and doing so brings you closer to Source and the Oneness of all, for you are effectively sharing this pure light of creation from your own willing heart. It guides you as well as others. It heals you as well as others. It enlightens you more than others! Keep shining as this year draws to a close, for the next one is to awaken with joy, abundance and love.

CONTENTS FEATURES

COLUMNISTS

REGULARS

The Wisdom Of Youth

Inner Glow Awareness

Connecting With Each Of The Realms - Part IV

The Age Of Youthfulness

A Revolution Of The Heart

Under The Spotlight

Glow with Health & Wellbeing

Lightworker in Training

Lightworker Challenge

It’s OK, It’s Going To Be Alright

Moments of Light

Once Upon A Time...

Stars And Planets

Paulo Coelho

Lightworker Loves...

Words Of Wisdom

The List

Featured Lightworker

CONTRIBUTORS ANDREW WATSON

RICHARD DE MEATH

LAURA BEDFORD

Andrew grew up in an old haunted house, the site of a famous Victorian murder, he loves jam doughnuts and hopes that some day he’ll be able to grow a full beard before his hair turns completely grey.

Richard considers himself a modest person who likes to shine in crowds and loves to give parties, public speaking is one of his favourite pastimes - especially where people wake up enough to ask questions – and he fully intends to live for the next sixty years, just to piss off the pensions people!

Laura loves the outdoors, camping and mountain climbing (it’s been a few years for the mountain climbing!), loves animals/ animal communication, including horses, and has a beautiful 13-year old golden retriever mix named Simon - he is the Light of her life - and she loves to laugh, especially at herself.

FEATUR

RES

The Wisdom Of Youth ANDREW WATSON

Inner Glow Awareness LAURA BEDFORD

Connecting With Each Of The Realms Part IV FLAVIA-KATE PETERS

The Age Of Youthfulness RICHARD DE MEATH

A Revolution Of The Heart DEREK HAWKINS

Under The Spotlight RALPH MARSTON

FEATURES The Wisdom Of Youth BY ANDREW WATSON Like many men, I initially resisted the idea of becoming a dad because I thought I knew what the role would entail: in my mind, fatherhood was a life-sentence of responsibility, something infinitely more worthy and more dependable than the life I was living. I just didn’t feel ready. I didn’t feel wise enough, mature enough, strong enough, or financially secure enough. So where did that image of fatherhood come from? Undoubtedly, more influential than education, the media, friends and wider family, was my own father. He was the one who made the decisions, both big and small. He was the one who paid for things. He was the one who could be relied upon for support or advice, and who dealt with whatever others or we threw at him. He was the essence of stability and strength, even when, towards the end, his body was giving up. And in the shadow of such a role model, it’s no wonder I felt deficient. On top of that, parenting has become big business. So now, beyond the inevitable barrage of advice fired from all directions the moment my wife revealed her belly to the world, there are people like me contributing to the rows and rows of parenting magazines and books, the websites and programmes, the research and techniques, all of which only fuel the feeling that parenthood is something enormous and nigh-unfathomable that needs to be studied, an unstoppable lifelong conveyor belt of learning and fighting just to keep your head above water. It’s hardly surprising, then, that so many run from the very idea of having children. And to some extent that cliché of the reluctant dad is itself self-fulfilling, seeming only to emphasize the responsibilities involved. Otherwise what would all those men be running from? Because it’s not just the practicalities of protecting, maintaining, educating and disciplining that are so daunting. There’s something bigger that lasts until your dying day: as a parent, you want to ensure that your child is happy, that their experience of this world, for all its difficulties, is a pleasurable one. That’s an awesome responsibility, especially for one like me who finds it hard enough just to face the day in matching socks. Consequently, my terror at my impending status was driven by my own acknowledgement of the enormity of the role coupled with my own sense of inadequacy. Of course, I was aware, too, of the supposed benefits of parenthood. I’d heard the claim that having children keeps you young, which I understood as a necessity to keep pace with the changing world, whether it’s through recognizing the dangers of virtual living or simply being able to name your child’s favourite, blob-like TV character. Yet in the months following my daughter’s arrival, I felt anything but youthful. The sleeplessness dug deep bags under my eyes and left me forgetful and vague. The worry drew lines across my face and tinged my hair grey. My knees grew sore, my

BIOG Andrew Watson is a father of two and a writer and commentator on parenting issues across the media. His latest book, Down To Earth With A Bump: The Diary of a First-Time Dad is a funny and informative account of his and his wife’s journey into parenthood.

Contact www.awwa.co.uk

back stiff, from bending to change nappies, while my only exercise was in picking up discarded toys or strewn clothes. I yearned for peace and sleep, for those precious moments of undisturbed tranquility. Having a child made me feel not young, but old – physically, mentally and spiritually. In a sense, I suppose I was beginning to live up to my expectations of what it meant to be a parent: I was, I felt, at last exhibiting the symptoms of maturity.

But then… Very slowly, something changed. Perhaps it started with that perennial favourite nursery game of ‘peekaboo’. Such a simple action – hiding behind your hands, then revealing yourself again – offers a disproportionate return: it prompts a smile, or even a laugh. And the joy of being responsible for such a reaction in your own child is immeasurable. As my daughter grew – and as I grew into the role of father – I continued to do all I could to earn that laughter: I tickled her; I pulled silly faces; I made up nonsense rhymes and rolled around on the floor. I did everything that I would previously have imagined only undermined my own attempts at maturity. And I came to recognize my mistake, driven by a lack of confidence and understanding, in assuming that maturity equates to seriousness. Chasing her laughter meant connecting with her perspective on life, which in turn meant connecting with something larger than myself, a circle of life in which we each only play a complementary part, where decline is a natural partner to growth just as age is partner to youth. And that perspective, encouraged by her instinctive curiosity and amplified by her infectious enthusiasm, now regularly reveals something fresh and colourful in what long ago in my assumed seriousness had become faded and mundane - whether it’s riding a bus or walking through fallen leaves, giggling at a strange noise or recognizing again the forgotten magic of Christmas. There’s no wisdom or maturity in stealing from ourselves the chance to share a child’s pleasure in the simpler things, as though such pleasure is contrary to the assumed dignity of our role as parents. We all have opportunity enough to cry together, so why miss even one opportunity to laugh together? Of course, my aim as a parent is to raise an adult, not a child. But no adult should be without a sense of playfulness, however mature or responsible their role. Now nothing represents playfulness to me more than the life-affirming twinkle in an old person’s eye. It’s that suggestion of mischievousness that reveals their understanding of the truth, that life – like parenting – is a serious business, for sure, but it’s a serious business best not taken too seriously.

FEATURES Inner Glow Awareness BY LAURA BEDFORD As Lightworkers, we know well the adventure of trusting our own Light and helping others tune into and trust their own Light. Exploring youthfulness is a radiant way to tune in and keep our own Light - our own heart song’s - vibration strong. May you enjoy a few tools and some playful vocabulary for working with your inner youthfulness and for working with clients and partnerships in our own life… PHOTO CREDIT: HEATHER HASHIMOTO

If there is one thing I’ve learned it is to always affirm our wholeness and beauty no matter what. We are Light, perfect and bright. We are vibrating and oscillating at a rate infinitely more wondrous and stunning than our mind comprehends. We all naturally embody creativity and Light so vast our present existence on Earth can barely contain it. Trust you. I often ask children, “What brightens your inner smile? What brings a radiant sparkle to your eye? Can you feel your soul?” We can always feel our soul. As we enjoy daily Divine Self-guided moments, youth-filled moments, we experience what we are, Light.

And so it begins… Our adventure is slowing our mind to enjoy our awareness of our inner glow. When we take sacred time to lighten our mind, we tune into the frequencies, the Light, of the Divine, for better, more efficient ideas for Life. Soul-refreshing art and play brings Light to our minds. Surround yourself with quantum toys that hold the potential to trigger us into joy and inner glow awareness. Explore magnets and the concept of resonance, wiggle around in some jello to experience the plasma of Life. Play around with spheres, sound, silence, animals and the cosmos when attempting to trigger your inner glow awareness. As Lightworkers, we are vitally aware that all sensations come from within us, from mind, not from our body (body merely reflects our mind’s Light). The more we practice inner glow awareness, the more we become glow aware. Children and groups of grown-ups may enjoy drawing or painting, using art, dance, automatic writing, music or silence to become aware of the astonishing flowing wonder, the Light, the Great Rays, that we are made of and that we are immersed within. We often feel Light before we begin to visually experience the subtle dimensions that permeate and penetrate this world. Nonetheless, we are always feeling Divine Light within. On a dour day, gather radiantly colored oil pastels, crayons, paint, markers and paper. Draw you from within. Widen your perception of your inner glow on the paper. Now take the glow of you outside. Expand your glowing perception to encompass all that you see and feel. Immerse the Earth, the Cosmos and the tiniest particle of awareness within your glow. Feel this. (I often visualize the sphere of earth bathed in a glowing, translucent or opaque pink light - but this is just me.) Experiment with golden rainbow

BIOG Laura Bedford is an inner peace teacher for all ages and an author. She is also a vibrational awareness intuitive and coach. Laura encourages people to realize we have all we need within and to focus on Love to free our mind of our ego’s fear and shaming and blaming tendencies, which block awareness of unity and the Inner Light.

Contact www.radiantkids.com www.trustingourinnerlight. org www.lilywisherinnerviews. com

light - spectrums of color, light and vibration that many do not yet grasp, yet we all feel inside in every moment. Our Light knows we are fun-duh-mentally One, feeling Life always. (Our True Self perceives unity, Oneness, so simply trust Light Divine over the strivings of the unfun-mind we often call the love-craving ego, or false self.)

No time like the present! From One to infinity, where are you on the Inner Glow Awareness scale? That’s exactly correct! You are everywhere! Glowing is our Light. Only the Love vibe is real. Only the peace vibe is real. Only the joy vibe is real. When we are feeling less than glowingly, there is nothing to fear. Feel into your youth. Feel into your fullness of Light. For a memory of youth, spend time with a child. Utterly enter their world, without cause, without agenda. Focus on their Light. Focus on the transcendent nature of their thoughts. Without a grown-up’s vocabulary, a child will take us on an adventure beyond un-funderful-thoughts. Let your radiant child guide you through time. Flow and glow into the heart of you. Delight in the bright. Remember to glow into being what is already here. When we focus on what we think is lacking, we create an experience of what we are focusing on: lack. The youthful expect to be cherished and taken care of. Light only fears for its Life, when it doesn’t believe its needs are being met. Trust that your natural inner glow awareness brings forth Light. Inner joy magnetizes to us all experiences that remind us what is true (or false) depending on our Light’s focus. To feel full of youth through your days and nights on earth, glow.

Laura’s new book The Mix Up explores humanity’s temporary condition of suffering and why it matters to focus on Love and Light in all our moments to enlighten all hearts with grace and gentleness. The Mix Up is available through Amazon or by contacting your local bookseller.

FEATURES Connecting With Each Of The Realms Part IV - The Angelic Realm BY FLAVIA KATE PETERS Since September, in Lightworker Magazine, we have been exploring the different elemental beings that have incarnated into human form onto the planet; beings who have come at this critical time to help heal the planet and its inhabitants. The reason for this was to discover the identity of our spiritual realm of origin so that we can understand our behaviours and personality and where we are coming from.

BIOG Flavia Kate Peters is widely regarded as the UK’s Angel and Faery advocate. Flavia Kate is a natural spiritual healer and clairvoyant who offers angel guidance & healing sessions. She also gives workshops and talks at events such as Mind Body Spirit Festival, Tree of Life and many more throughout the year. As a successful writer, she is a regular columnist for FAE Magazine and her teachings and stories are featured in magazines & books including The Wonder of Unicorns by Diana Cooper. Flavia Kate has been a guest on TV chat shows as well as for BBC Radio. Her meditation CD ‘Away with the Fairies!’ was an instant hit for people of all ages. She is a singer with the band Daughters Of Gaia and and regularly performs throughout the UK with band founder Barbara Meiklejohn Free as a duo called ‘Heaven and Earth’. You can follow Flavia Kate’s

events diary at www. angel-lights.co.uk and contact her at mail@ angel-lights.co.uk

In the last of this series, we look at the angel realm, and there are many, many people who are incarnated angels on this earth at this time. Incarnated angels are women, and yes men, who naturally want to heal the world. These are the people who inherently put others first and who are often attracted to victims of drug, gambling and alcohol abuse in the hope to cure and heal them. Sadly, this often results in being placed in an abusive relationship and staying in it far too long before moving onto the next one, and then repeating the same pattern. It isn’t until one recognises what these patterns are - and realising why one is playing them out - that they can heal and experience a happy relationship that is equal on all levels. Those who are incarnated angels are extremely sensitive and are often prone to carrying a bit of weight. This is usually from a subconscious level and nothing to do with greed. It is all about protecting oneself from other people’s harsh energies, often taking comfort from food or building excess fat as padding to shield from others. You will find though that these angels have very pretty faces and often have (bleached or natural) blonde hair. Incarnated angels are more likely to take a career as a nurse, teacher, counsellor or flight attendant. They have a huge, open heart chakras and eyes that portray love and trust. Big, beautiful people who just want to look after everyone, but often put themselves last. Fortunately, they are surrounded by extra loving angels to help them find the peace for themselves and others that they are looking for. So, if this sounds like you, call upon these celestial helpers to give you a hand with your mission so that you can easily bring Heaven to Earth for all to enjoy. Here is a lovely meditation to connect you with the angels and assist in your healing work.

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Certificated Angel Energy Practitioner (AEP) Weekend 31st March - 1st April 2012 Oxford University, UK Are you being called to assist? More and more people are experiencing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; encounters and are relaying stories of how angels have appeared to them and/or helped them out of a situation. Angels are flocking to the planet, during these times of huge changes, and are making themselves readily available to everyone who calls upon them. The angels want to heal us from our challenges and to instil peace and love into our hearts, so that we can focus on our own life purpose. The angels wait patiently in the background waiting for us to ask for guidance and advice, to gently and lovingly lead us the right way...

Discover more and book your place on the course at LightworkerSchool.com

FEATURES The Age Of Youthfulness BY RICHARD DE MEATH Life is a journey of secret delights, something we learn through the medium of hindsight, which diabolically means we are forced to learn everything backwards. Fortunately, the secret of youth and happiness exists for those who anticipate the future with a keen sense of curiosity and expectation of joy. No matter how you look at life, age is not a factor, which quickly became apparent when I approached a hundred friends and acquaintances for their view on youthfulness and what it means to them. The consequences of this research are now contained in the book, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;101 Ways To Stay Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. What I learned from each writer - ranging in age from nine years to ninety-three - gave me deep insight into the human psyche. Their stories provided rich reading, many choosing to adopt a humorous approach, while others provide the practical approach, some of which I felt compelled to adopt. Did this experience change my life? You bet it did, and moreover it has hugely broadened my horizons to the point I introduced several pleasant new regimes that have added to the richness of my daily routine.

Lessons of youth I was taught that it does not matter what stage of life you are at right at this moment. I learned the wonder of life can be so compelling that it is possible for every day to bring fresh joy. I also discovered it is possible to choose, instead of living life as some sort of penance that must be endured until the day you die. By the simple tactic of adopting a youthful approach to everything you do, it becomes possible to hold onto the magic within, to reacquaint with the inner child who refuses to grow up, and like Peter Pan, to live in expectation of some new adventure waiting to be found around the next corner. Setting achievable goals is important, rather than fantasizing about the unachievable that is doomed to nothing but disillusionment. Also, I have learned to leave the past where it belongs, and now refuse to carry baggage that acts as a barrier to lasting happiness. For this reason, it is necessary to begin the day in the expectation of doing something I never did before; to try something new and forgive my mistakes, regardless of their size. Growing old is a necessary part of growing up, and it is how we choose to reach this goal that provides us with the greatest opportunity to make the most of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exciting journey.

Within the heart of a seventy-seven year-old still beats the heart of the seven year old child. Once upon a time, that child was part of their life experience. By applying a small conscious effort, it is possible to recall the childish emotions of that time, to evoke some incidents that were filled with meaning and again relive them. It is this wonderful facility of the mind that encourages us to be grateful for the small things, to stop worrying about the seeming large mistakes, knowing in the fullness of time they are destined to be consigned to the dustbin of history. I have a friend, Gladys, who will soon be 101 years old, born before the launch of the Titanic, and she remains both spry and full of good humour. She rises early in the morning filled with the expectation it is possible something exciting might happen. Gladys seeks for some new experience to enliven her day, and before she retires for the night, is sure her day will have given her something to laugh about. That is the greatest secret of all – learning to laugh at life, regardless of its misfortunes. A healthy mind looks on the bright side of life and refused to bow to the pressures of other, less happy, minds. There we have it, 101 different viewpoints on various approaches that help to keep us younger for longer. For my part, I hugely enjoyed reading every contribution. This book has already affected the way I live, educated my opinion of what I eat and encouraged me to increase my intake of water (filtered). I no longer keep food beyond its sell-by date. The changes I adopted are small but essential to a long and healthy life. I am convinced that what I learned will along the way add to my pleasure from life, and encourage a healthier lifestyle. As one writer suggested, in order to retain one’s sense of the joy of life, it is necessary to surround yourself with the happiest people you can find, and behave accordingly! One hundred and one people cannot be wrong, especially when they find general agreement on one specific theme… Each and every one of them agrees that laughter and sharing their joy provide them with their greatest happiness. It is this outlook that helps them to look forward to tomorrow, and from there to anticipate tomorrow’s tomorrow! To purchase the book ‘101 Ways To Stay Young’ logon to www.richarddemeath.eu

FEATURES A Revolution Of The Heart Uranus - A Flame Of Awareness In A World Of Revolution BY DEREK HAWKINS

Uranus - ruler of Aquarius and the leading planet of the Aquarian Age - entered Aries on 12th March 2011. Aries governs action, initiative and new beginnings. The influence of Uranus is setting in motion major changes for us personally and globally. Uranus last occupied Aries between 1927 and 1935. During this period, the Great Depression provided the climate in which many revolutionary and radical ideals were implemented, with varying consequences that ultimately shaped the modern world. Aries is the sign of independence and Uranus is urging us to use our initiative and be more decisive in our actions. In areas of our lives where we have been dependent on other people, and vice versa, we may have a desire for change, especially where it is in the best interests of those concerned. Uranus is given rulership over many things, among them the worlds of Science and Technology. Advances in research may take a few surprise turns in the coming years, especially in the areas of genetic engineering and DNA sequencing. Aries is associated with energy and the innovative influence of Uranus may inspire revolutionary advances in transport, which in turn could have a positive impact on global resources such as oil and gas. Humanitarian issues are also governed by Uranus. With increasing world media coverage, many of us in the West are kept informed of changes happening around the globe. The challenges and opportunities faced by others affect and can touch us all. As we watch the struggles for independence and survival, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope the consciousness raising qualities of Uranus will help us to choose peace and diplomacy over war and aggression, thus avoiding the painful paths we have taken in the past.

A Revolution of the Heart: The Uranus Pluto alignment 2012 - 2015 At the time of writing, December 2011, the square alignment between Uranus and Pluto is more than 6 degrees from being exact, giving us a slight respite from this powerful influence. However, the strength of this challenging aspect will be maintained as Uranus and Pluto keep up the pressure we experience on Earth, which includes the very structure of our planet. In 2012, the pressure will steadily grow as this alignment reaches the first of a number of peaks around the 24th June. Over the last year, I have spoken about the forces for change and renewal in the world and their challenge to existing power bases. This was related to the Jupiter-Pluto square, this aspect between Uranus and Pluto we are now experiencing is much stronger and more powerful in relation to the changing times in which we live.

BIOG I describe myself as a counsellor, healer, and teacher working through the medium of astrology. I was introduced to Experiential Astrology in the 80’s and it became a passion. I have since developed my own method of using the experiential approach to teaching. I have been the resident astrologer to Kindred Spirit magazine since the early 90’s. I run workshops throughout the UK and in Europe. My practice is based in Hungerford Berkshire. Much of my individual work is by post or telephone appointment, which does not require the client to be present, although I do also see people in person by appointment.

CONTACT www.derekhawkins. com

The revolutionary nature of Uranus is bringing disruption and challenges to the outmoded traditional power bases that no longer serve us, nor the planet we live on. The financial and political institutions that run this world need to reform. Uranus also governs humanity and the days when people kept quiet and were easily led are going, going, soon to be gone. There will be growing resistance and opposition to the continuing misuse of power in the political and financial worlds and an ever-increasing demand for change. With regard to the environment, humanitarian needs, government and financial institutions, we still we have the options and the choice to change, but these matters are becoming far more immediate, and one way or another change will happen. We are still enjoying the moderating influence of Saturn in Libra, the sign of peace and diplomacy. In October 2012, Saturn moves into Scorpio, so it is therefore even more imperative to act now, address the problems we face, and find positive solutions. Leo is the opposite sign to Aquarius. The Age of Leo was typified by the Incas and Egyptians with their huge statues and love of gold. Humanity worshipped and served those who held positions of authority and power. Now we are turning our attention from the politicians and financiers that seek to govern our lives. As Uranus makes us aware of our uniqueness we develop compassion, first for ourselves and then others; if we see the splendour of our own being then we can recognise it in others. Compassion is understanding through the heart, and responding with love. The self-development and personal growth movements take us to this place of recognising the sacredness of who we are. Our work in these changing times is to share what we have found with others, through being true to ourselves and allowing our love to shine.

Personal Astrology Readings with Derek Hawkins ‘How are the planets affecting you personally? What areas of your life are they influencing?’ How best can you respond to the opportunities and challenges of this time? If you are interested in learning about the personal challenges and opportunities Uranus is presenting you with, you may be interested in a personal reading of your Birth Chart with Derek. This can be done by telephone, post or in person. Please see www.derekhawkins.com for details.

FEATURES Under The Spotlight RALPH MARSTON What motivates you to get out of bed every day? At my core, I am motivated by possibilities. The possibilities that arrive with each new day are what compel me to get up and get going every morning. With any situation I encounter, I don’t waste a lot of time wondering about how it got that way or who is to blame. Instead, I project it into the future and consider where it can lead. I focus on the possibilities, and they are what give me energy. Each person’s life is an enormous, growing bundle of possibilities. It pains me to think that someone’s best possibilities might go unrealized. As such, in my work I seek to remind readers of the best of what is possible in life, and encourage them to follow those possibilities with passion and commitment.

How do you stay committed to ‘the art of positive living’ and make sure you align with positivity not negativity wherever humanly possible? Well, for one thing, it’s my job! Being negative would be terrible for my image and my career. Yet even before I became known as the person behind The Daily Motivator, I was already a very positive person. It is indeed a commitment that must be reaffirmed again and again. I am helped immensely by a loving and supportive family, and so I know without any doubt whatsoever that there are people who will love and accept me no matter what. I fully realize that is a luxury many people do not have. I am also a very logical, practical person and am absolutely convinced on an intellectual level that negativity simply does not pay. Even when the surrounding world is highly negative, the most reasonable, effective, workable strategy is always to focus on the positive possibilities. Being positive does not mean being unrealistic, or oblivious to the challenges and difficulties. In fact, being positive means fully embracing reality, confident in the knowledge that within that reality are powerful, positive possibilities.

What creative activities make you feel like a child again? This may sound hopelessly geeky, but what makes me feel like a child again is making things work. We tend to assume that creativity must take some sort of artistic or literary form, but there are countless other ways to be creative. When I was a child I loved to build radios and run telephone lines, and I built and launched model rockets. I repaired bicycles, lawnmowers and, when I was a little older, automobiles. I installed tape players and speakers in my friends’ cars. I’ve always been fascinated by how things work, because when you understand how things work you can see many new possibilities for what to do with them. Nowadays, I love helping friends and family set up and troubleshoot computer systems, smartphones, and other home electronics. It’s the kind of thing I will happily spend hours and even days doing without getting paid anything, so I’d say that pretty much qualifies as making me feel like a child again.

BIOG

If you had one piece of advice you could give all teenagers, what would it be?

Since 1995, Ralph Marston has written The Daily Motivator, one of the web’s most popular places for inspiration. He has published more than 5,000 original daily motivational messages, as well as books, audio programs and video presentations. His brief, commonsense messages have positively influenced millions of lives around the world.

Don’t abandon the curiosity and sense of wonder that you have as a child. It may seem like it’s childish and unsophisticated to get really passionate and excited by things. But what’s truly childish and unsophisticated is to be so obsessed about what people think of you that you just act like the world is boring, that you’ve seen it all before, and that nothing really excites you. Let go of your worries about what your friends might think. The way to be the most impressive is to be you, to be in awe of what excites you, and to follow your passions.

CONTACT

What has been your biggest challenge in life so far?

www.greatday.com

My biggest challenge has been to make a living by doing something that I love and that I know is of value to others. Early in my working life, I had a job in which I made a very good income, but it was not a secure income and, more importantly, I did not feel like I was providing any substantive value in return for what I was being paid. After about ten years I left that job and started doing something I enjoyed -- publication editing, layout, and electronic prepress work. Although the work was very satisfying, I had difficulty making enough income to support my growing family. My earnings were limited by the amount of time I could work, and there are only so many hours in the day. I started writing The Daily Motivator not as a way to earn a living, but just because I saw the opportunity to reach people through the Internet with a positive daily message. Once it began to grow into something that thousands of people depended on daily, there were all sorts of difficult, yet invigorating, challenges. After five years filled with 12- to 15-hour workdays, I got to the point where I was beginning to earn enough from The Daily Motivator to pay the bills. From there, through many ups and downs, it has grown to the point where I earn a very good living by doing what I love and by offering real, positive value to others.

Who is/was your greatest role model? I’m fortunate to have parents who have both been superb role models. My father is the most honest person I have ever known. He had a very successful career as an independent sales representative, and he did it with the utmost integrity. My mother is kind and compassionate, and without fail she seeks to find the best in people. By their examples, my parents taught me self-sufficiency, honesty, perseverance, commitment, and a whole lot of other great values that are absolutely priceless.

If you could be anyone for the day, who would it be and why? Sir Richard Branson, for a couple of reasons. First, it would be fascinating to see the inner workings of his various businesses and his fascinating lifestyle. I’ve sailed past his Necker Island and would love to spend some time there, and am fascinated by his Virgin Galactic space tourism business. Plus, for me it would be a personal challenge to deal with all the things he must have to deal with on a daily basis without becoming completely unglued.

FEATURES How did your school teachers describe you at school? Some teachers loved me, and others hardly noticed me. I was a great student when I wanted to be, when the course interested me. But there were also courses that bored me at the time, though now I wish I had given them more of a chance.

What inspires you? I am inspired by nature: the ocean, thunderstorms, all the stars in the night sky. I am inspired by achievement, by stories of people who transform difficult challenges and passionate dreams into beautiful and useful manifestations of great value. I am inspired by music, particularly soaring passages of classical music. I am inspired by motion. Some of my best writing is done as dictation. I record my thoughts in a stream of consciousness fashion while driving alone on country roads. I love to look out the window of an airplane in flight or stand on the deck of a boat as it moves through the water. I take long walks almost every morning with my wife and treasure those times immensely. I’m inspired by tiny details as well as by grand vistas. I’m inspired by beautifully designed, elegantly functional products. And I am inspired by watching people live their lives, each person in his or her own unique way.

What did you want to be when you ‘grew up’, and why? When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut. The movement, the logistics, the technology, and the epic nature of manned space flight captivated me as a child. I was fourteen years old when the first astronauts landed on the Moon, and had passionately followed the space program for many years by that time. Though I never did become an astronaut, I my interest in the space program instilled within me a valuable sense that anything is possible, that any challenge can be transcended when you commit enough passion, energy and resources to it.

What would you say is your key to success with the Daily Motivators? Honesty, authenticity, and reliability. I never write anything in the messages just to give lip service to it. I write what I honestly know to be true in my life. Because of that, by far the most common comment I get from readers is that they each feel the messages are written specifically and personally for them. I think that comes from the fact that my writing is inspired by what’s going on in my own life. It is also due to the fact that we’re all connected, in some ways that we know of and in many other ways that we don’t fully understand. Although The Daily Motivator messages almost never deal specifically with current world events, the particular zeitgeist of any given day does indeed enter into the words I write. For that reason, I try not to write the daily messages too far in advance, even though for practical purposes they do have to be written at least a few days before they’re published. What I strive for, though, is maximum relevance, so I write what I feel. It does seem to work for the thousands of people around the world who get a brief dose of inspiration each day from the messages.

COLU

Glow With Health And Wellbeing STU GATHERUM

Lightworker In Training HETTA ROGERS

Lightworker Challenge KAY GILLARD

It’s OK, It’s Going To Be Alright HENRY CUMMING

Moments Of Light TOM EVANS

UMNISTS

KN OW health Youthful Looks By Stu Gatherum Stu is a passionate and focused Strength and Conditioning specialist who is committed to delivering outstanding results in fitness, nutrition and total health and wellness.

CONTACT STU www.stugatherum.com Twitter: @stugatherum +44 7816 240137

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I hope this one turns out to be prosperous in mind, spirit and of course, body! I am going to use the irony I see in the fact that ‘Youthfulness’ has landed on a month when so many of us have highlighted that we don’t get younger via the use of the sentence ‘where has the time gone?’ when celebrating a ‘New Year’. I make it a habit here at Lightworker Magazine to talk each month, at length, about the virtues of exercise and how it keeps you in shape, young, energetic and healthy. This month, I am going to explores these virtues through a means that, for some, seems ironic. People will never fail to make (and break) New Year’s resolutions to ‘get fitter’ or to ‘lose weight’. It seems to be an automatic assumption when January 1st comes around that people will hop on the treadmill and attempt in vain to ‘burn off the Christmas excess’. The problem is that, as a rule, as we age our metabolic rate decreases, meaning we don’t burn calories at the rate we once did, making it easier to gradually gain weight. This fact is painfully evident around New Year as everyone tends to take stock of their waistline at a time they generally have the poorest discipline when it comes to nutrition. This year, in an attempt to hark back to a metabolic rate you haven’t been privy to since youth, I recommend taking a different approach and aim to lower bodyfat rather that ‘scale weight’. See, the scales will tell you how much your body weighs but will neglect to tell you what your body is made of. I think it’s fair to assume in most people’s eyes being 80kg

GLOW WITH HEALTH AND WELLBEING in weight is better than being 85kg in weight. But if you are 30% bodyfat at 80kg and 20% bodyfat at 85kg then it is more desirable to be the latter. Even given the same bodyfat % it may not be best to be lighter. Let’s say you weigh 80kg at 20% bodyfat and you hold the same 20% bodyfat at 75kg. To the naked eye this would appear to be a great result for anyone on a New Year’s resolution. However this would represent a loss of a fairly significant amount of muscle, and as muscle is by far the most metabolically active of our tissues, it is likely that bodyfat will accumulate at a rate that will return our subject to the previous weight with an even more sluggish metabolic rate... And so they begin again next year. Break the mold this New Year and remain youthful by adding some resistance to your workout routine and see what it can do for you. Just don’t listen to those scales, they are not helping!! Best of luck! For more useful reading visit www.t2fitness. co.uk. Have a fantastic start to 2012!

KN OW education Youthfulness By HETTA ROGERS Hetta’s background is in Art History and Literature. After spending seven years training to be and working as a lawyer, she left all that behind to go travelling, but has now returned to the bright lights of London to work in the communications industry.

CONTACT HETTA hetta@lightworkermag. com

I spent my teenage years longing to escape the clutches of childhood; to be regarded as older and more mature. And yet now, as I creep gingerly into my fourth decade on this Earth, my youth is the one thing I cherish and celebrate above all else. And by youth, I don’t mean physical beauty or looks; I mean youth of spirit. That irrepressible vitality, energy and sense of adventure that exists in us all. Retaining it – keeping it alive – takes practice and effort. But it can be carried through one’s life like a trusted companion and its positive effects can be life-changing.

The ultimate gift horse? When I was at law school nearly ten years ago, one of my tutors – a fun, anecdote-filled, inspirational sort of chap – told us a story. To this day, I still don’t know whether it is true or not, but the message has remained with me. He recounted a tale of a large, international law firm that had offered a select group of law graduates $80,000 a piece to delay the start of their training programme by a year. Yes, that’s right: $80,000 to do with whatever they wished. You’d take it, wouldn’t you? You could travel anywhere in the world in search of new experiences; you could give up your time for free and work for a charity; you could even take a course and learn something new. Whichever way you look at it, your options would be fairly broad. Yet, according to my tutor, this offer was rejected by each and every graduate to whom it was offered. Why? One can only speculate (as my tutor did) that, despite their brilliant brains and burning ambition, the graduates didn’t have enough vision or imagination to know what to do with $80,000 and twelve months of unwritten adventure ahead of them. It was George Bernard Shaw who quipped that “youth is wasted on the young”. With this little tale in mind, I think he had a point.

‘Tis the season to be jolly Christmas is usually a time for re-connecting with family and friends. For me, it also acts as an annual reminder that, when given the space and time to step back into my youth, I rediscover parts of my spirit I had neglected (or, worse still, long forgotten). Blessed with liberal and open-minded parents and step-parents, our respective homes have always been filled with laughter, music, games, activity and time spent outdoors.

LIGHTWORKER IN TRAINING This Christmas was no different – we all delighted in spending an entire day in our pyjamas, watching backto-back movies and eating what can only be described as ‘junk’.

Take me to the beach Doing this sort of thing every now and again frees something in me.

A different type of resolution The month of January, the youth of a brand new year, is a time for new beginnings. Join me in making this year one we dedicate to our own youthfulness: to adventures, to fun and games, to making new friends, to seeing the joy in all things, to spontaneity, to happiness. Most of all: to reconnecting with our best selves. I’ll raise a glass to that.

I got the same sense of self-discovery when, one summer’s morning last year, I decided to get up at dawn with a group of friends and drive down to the coast to spend the day on the beach. It didn’t require days of planning and effort – just a collection of souls with a mutual desire to go in search of an adventure. I remember sprinting along a sandy beach as fast as my legs could carry me, chasing after a ball that someone had brought with them, and feeling as though my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I know of no rule to say that such a feeling must cease as one becomes an adult.

From the sublime to the ridiculous My father – whose capacity to remember limericks, rhymes and amusing stories is unrivalled by any other person I know – used to sing a song to us when my sister and I were small. “Busy Doing Nothing” was made famous by Bing Crosby and came from the 1949 film “A Yankee In King Arthur’s Court”, based loosely on a Mark Twain story. As a child, I thought it was silly and, in my most sanctimonious way, used to tell my father that its contradictions made no sense. Of course, that was my naivety talking. Now, it makes total sense and captures perfectly that air of blissful abandonment and untroubled whimsy of youth; when ‘doing nothing’ meant whiling away the hours in a timeless day-dream, creating elaborate games and losing oneself in endless imaginations. This is its delightful chorus: We’re busy doin’ nothin’ Workin’ the whole day through Tryin’ to find lots of things not to do We’re busy going nowhere Isn’t it just a crime We’d like to be unhappy, but We never do have the time.

KN OW relationship Work Hard? Play Hard! By KAY GILLARD Kay Gillard is a shamanic healer and teacher based in South East London. She takes clients in person and at distance, working to restore the true authentic self to power. Kay currently teaches and gives talks throughout the south of England as well as working as a writer and broadcaster.

CONTACT KAY w w w. s t a r f i r e a l c h e m y. co.uk www.kaygillard.com

As adults, we’ll often find that some of the sheen of youth has dulled because we are busy thinking about important things. No time to play when we are busy with the important business of being a grown up! And this shows the most in our relationships with the world, particularly with our significant others, our work and the places where we live. When was the last occasion you took time to play with those things, instead of thinking about the serious side? I hope it was recently. Like, today.

Schedules and box ticking In the case of significant relationships, I often see people forgetting about the fun side of things because they are so busy getting through the list. Happy children do not interact with the peers by referring to a list of where the interactions are going to take them, and yet so many of us as adults choose this approach to our relationships. I am a 32 year old woman so I am seeing a lot of people I know becoming quite obsessed with ticking two boxes in particular: marriage and babies. So many of them are living on schedules now, something that doesn’t chime at all with the freedom of youthfulness. ‘I want to be married before I’m 35.’ Shouldn’t getting married be because you want to be married to a person, not because you made a list and you’re sticking to it, and the clock’s ticking? Being in your 30’s is not a good reason to get married. In fact, no age is a good reason to do anything as far as I can tell. The baby schedule often seems the same. Don’t get me wrong, babies are lovely and I can see why so many of my friends want to have one – I may even have one myself one day! But I’ve recently known people decide to have a baby because ‘we’ve been married for a year

LIGHTWORKER CHALLENGE now’. Procreating because it’s next on the list is a bit of a baffling way to view life, if you ask me. And of course for those who are trying to have children the very act of lovemaking can also be relegated from playtime to work. By timing a sex life according to ovulation, it’s like one of the only remaining ‘play times’ many adults have is lost, overshadowed by schedules and box ticking.

Strive to work with the energy of play As a lightworker, you can remember the energy of what you are striving for. We know that energy is love and that it flows, so rigid schedules and ticking boxes don’t really speak to our souls. If you want to have a baby, it is essential to remember why that is, and focus on the love in your heart and your love and attraction to your partner. It is there you will be in the moment, as a child is, and find the energy of procreation – not in fertility charts. If you want to reach a position in your career, remember why and what you are trying to achieve for the world. Become present and absorbed in the work towards it as a child is when concentrating on a drawing or building their imagined goal out of lego. In this way your work can be important play instead of a drudge towards getting a new title or more money. If you’re planning a wedding, remember the joy and creativity that went into parties and events as a child. Remember the doll’s tea parties? There was love in every detail. I have known some bridezillas in my time and it is extraordinary that a celebration of love can be arranged using a tired, haggard energy that is anathema to it. It’s your party, which means it is your play time!

more in touch with the youthful energy of play. We build a framework of goals that are based on what we truly desire to create and how we want to feel (this allows us to be more flexible on how the goals are attained). We set boundaries that will stop energies unhelpful to our creating from coming into our space. We commit to what experiences we will accept so we can remain in a vibration which is in alignment with our goals. And that’s the grown up bit over – because from there, happily existing within that flexible and joyous framework, we are free to play. That freedom to play is essential. What our grown up minds often do is get so focused on the pursuit of the goal that we leave no room in our hearts for the childlike energy of excitement, wonder and love. Instead of deciding if your relationship will fit in to your time line, why not see if you can really play and co-create together? Instead of doing something because it is next on the list of what you think you should do, remember what you would love to do. Instead of being a slave to your list, remember the idea you first had that led to the list and enjoy every magical detail of making it real. It is that sense of childlike wonder and that desire to create something from our imagination that birthed the goals we strive for in our lives. Honour that by following your childlike heart and playing hard to achieve your goals.

Setting goals creates space to play I have a sort of schedule. It says things like: I’m really going to push myself to achieve X goal this year because I will feel proud of that act of creation. It says: in the next five years I will find a way to visit Y destination, because it will be a once in a lifetime experience and I will love it. It says: Before I die I will have achieved Z, because that will be awesome. I believe that if we know ourselves and our heart’s desires, and commit to achieving our goals, we can be

KNOW living Embracing Our Youthfulness By HENRY CUMMING Henry is a natural born psychic and healer. He is a clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient which basically means that he can see, feel and hear ‘Spirit’. He is also a very powerful natural healer both for people and animals. Henry, despite his gifts is a very ‘down to earth’ guy and appears refreshingly normal.

CONTACT HENRY www.henrycumming.com

A session with Henry, whether its a sitting or healing, is a clear, compassionate, non judgemental and above all lifting experience. His approach and easy going nature ensures you get a huge amount of detailed information and guidance from spirit in a relatively short period of time. He has a reputation for imparting accurate information and is a also good with ‘timing’, as a result his clients keep returning. He also specialises in locating missing people and animals as well as lost objects. Remote viewing is also something else he does and has assisted Police authorities with some of their searches Only the other day, I was sitting with my Grandmother helping her to celebrate her 96th birthday. She looked incredible… 96 years young, that’s what I say. It really is a simple case of, ‘You’re only as old as you feel’ and that it is why it is so important to hold onto our youthfulness. The amount of people I meet who seem to have given in to their battle with ageing, complaining about the fact that they aren’t as fit as they used to be, or resigned to the fact that they will continue to struggle with the waist on their trousers or the zip on the back of their dress, that is the way life tends to work as we grow older. However, it doesn’t mean that we have to let go of our youthfulness, that lovely purity that we have as a child, the very clear almost innocent outlook that we have and the unconditional love that we apply to our friendships with our peers as we grow up. During the short time that I’ve been here in this life, I’ve started to become a lot more observant of other people’s reactions to life; how people connect with one another, how they arrange their priorities, how they decide to live their life. It is absolutely fascinating. Even as a child I used to be quite happy being left in the back of the car as my mother went off shopping, sitting there, watching people go about their lives. ‘People watching’ - more exciting than any television programme, something that we as

IT’S OK, IT’S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT a race can’t resist doing, gauging ourselves on other people.

Reconnecting with youth Recently, I have been hearing more and more stories of people finishing their long term relationships and marriages and re-connecting with their childhood sweethearts and picking up where they left off. Linking back in with that simplicity and purity of heart where there are no conditions, where we trust one another and ultimately share a love with each other that just ‘is’. Something that once started out so pure but was abandoned for ‘another model’ or maybe didn’t fulfill the expectations or criteria of our nearest and dearest, something so readily done by just about everyone in the early stages of their love life. But gradually, society seems to be getting more lenient on our moral compasses and loosening up on our roles and duties as well our expectations held by our families and social group, that people are trying to get back to that purity and energy that we possessed as youngsters ,scraping away all the baggage that we needlessly collect through our life, all those priorities that we felt were so important at the time, abandoned, because we simply don’t need them.

start to help others to do the same. Fact. I truly believe that one of the main reasons for my Grandmother’s longevity is quite simply a combination of keeping herself as physically fit as possible and for her to get the most out of her life, meaning surrounding herself with people and activities that have kept inspiring her over the last nine and a half decades. That doesn’t mean to say that it’s been a smooth ride for her, to the contary, she’s had a very challenging life for sure, that’s what living is all about. Retaining the hunger for a ‘full life’ is also an excellent ingredient for holding on to our youthfulness. ‘Live everyday as if it’s your last, because one day you’ll be right.’ So true. So going forward, reset your ageing expectations and put in some waypoints to help you to steer your way through. Realistic goals with a touch of optimism tend to work well. One last thing, my Grandmother can still touch her toes, will you?

Life for a lot of people feels like a hamster wheel in that we start off on our path and for various reasons we can’t get off that path, it seems to grows more complex and harder to leave, as we start to forge our way into a career, a marriage, children, social groups, living areas. That is why it is so important to try to keep connected to that purity of heart that we are born with. Just understanding and acknowledging this is enough for us to be able to alter the energy that is associated with our whole ageing process. Physically speaking, we are getting older. Fact. Mentally and emotionally, that is entirely up to you. Doing things that we love and surrounding ourselves with people we love and acquaintances that inspire us can shave years off us. Fact. Some of us don’t want to change who we are married to or who our friends are, that doesn’t have to happen, as the slightest adjustment to our own mindset will in turn

KN OW source YouthFull-ness By TOM EVANS Tom Evans is an author, wizard of light and healer. His new Oracularium service is designed to help people uncover and see new visions of their reality: see www.tomevans.co for more details. CONTACT TOM

It is both an illusion and misconception that as we get older, our faculties degenerate until we shed this moral coil.

A good sign that you are buying into this consensual myth is when you find yourself castigating ’the youth of the day’. The media are prone to report yob Tom has written a free culture, student debt and a general dumbing down. Rarely reported is the ebook called Goals of brilliance and genius exhibited by the next generation of youth. www.tomevans.co

Learning which you can download without even giving your email address away here.

Each generation builds and learns from the past, both from inbuilt learnings embedded in DNA and RNA and from learned, acquired and accumulated knowledge.

Another common misconception and potentially even more intriguing myth is that the metaphor we call The Tarot is a tool for divination and fortune telling. While many people get great insights and benefits from using it for this purpose, there are deeper riches available for those explorers with keen minds who like unlocking a conundrum. Indeed, one of the treasures it holds is the secret to ’eternal youth’. It should be noted that age, like many things, is a state of mind. This holds especially true for Workers of the Light. The Fool is card zero in the Major Arcana and holds a special place in the deck of 22 cards. It is both the first and last card and is a pointer for the notion that the Tarot is better represented as a circular not linear deck.

MOMENTS OF LIGHT The Fool is also referred to as Aleph, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet and Ruach, the scintillating intelligence or Life-Breath. The face of the Fool is both youthful and somewhat androgynous. He carries his wallet or purse at the end of a stick outside his jacket. He is walking carefree towards a precipice with a dog by his side. The dog is important and represents the unconscious, and ever watchful, mind. Both the Fool, the dog and indeed the precipice are illuminated and warmed by the Higher Mind represented by the Sun. This combination of forces is both unstoppable and wondrous. Being in such a permanent state of light and illumination is what keeps us forever youth-full. The Dark cannot simply get a look in.

Ever youth-full All of this is of course a metaphor for our existence and how to keep ever youth-full. We should go forward mindful of the past but not held back by it. We should also move forward fully knowing we are not cogniscent of any dangers that lie in front of us but trusting we will be warned and guided of them in good time. By doing this we can fully immerse ourselves in the joy and exuberance of the current moment - much like a toddler.

It is this structure that is the Lost Arcana and it is known as the Cube of Space. The Cube contains hidden pathways not viewable in three dimensions. One of these pathways is represented by the Fool. It is signifies The Obvious and its wisdom is delivered to us in the form of light bulb moments. Other pathways still show us how to evolve and indeed ’reincarnate’ without having to endure the tedium of death and rebirth. All roads are Paths of Return and lead to The Obvious. Tuning into a permanent state of light bulb moments is the Key. Tom Evans is known as the wizard of light bulb moments and is also the chief tour guide for the Cube of Karma, a modern day interpretation of the Cube of Space and indeed, the Lost Arcana. Find out more about Tom and his writing at www. tomevans.co and more about the Lost Arcana at www. cubeofkarma.com

In such foolishness lies great wisdom and power - especially when the Fool is driven, guided and ‘sustended’ by the other 21 intelligences represented by the other cards in the Arcana. The toddler is not necessarily aware of these connections. As adults we will have seen glimpses of how they operate even if we’ve never held a Tarot deck. These forces are immutable, ever pervasive and all around us. It has been postulated for many years that the Tarot has a Missing or Lost Arcana and finding it gives the gift of eternal youth and thereby eternal life. The best secrets are those hidden in plain sight - that is, right in front of our eyes. It is time for this secret to be revealed as we now approach The Shift. The true wisdom of the Tarot deck can only be represented by a four-dimensional cube, or tesserract. Its true structure is simply not comprehensible when viewed in the ’normal’ two dimensions of a Tarot spread.

REGULAR

Once Upon A Time... NICOLAAS VERGUNST

Stars And Planets ZOE HIND

The Warrior Of The Light PAULO COELHO

Lightworker Loves ANNE GEDDES, DAVID WELLS, KIVA

Words Of Wisdom The List Top20 BABY NAMES

Featured Lightworker DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD

REGULARS Once Upon A Time... Revisiting The Past: Ancestral Voices And The Karmic Novel BY NICOLAAS VERGUNST

Biog Born in Cape Town of emigrant Dutch parents, Nicolaas Vergunst (1958) has worked as an artist, teacher, designer, curator and journalist. After a longstanding career with the national museums of South Africa, he resigned to write this novel and has since lived with his wife Ellen, a diplomat and historian, in Kiev, Kinshasa and Strasbourg.

Five hundred years after Francisco d’Almeida and his sixty compatriots were murdered at the southern tip of Africa, a new story emerges as independent individuals ‘hear’ and ‘see’ the event. Their story challenges the historical record and is told here for the first time.

‘The massacre of Viceroy Francisco d’Almeida, 1 March 1510’ by Angus McBride, 1984. Courtesy of the Castle Military Museum, Cape Town.

“Having been displaced from his position as the Portuguese Viceroy of India, Francisco d’Almeida sailed for Lisbon in peril of his life,” began the clairaudient, speaking slowly, as he described what had happened five centuries before. I stood beside him on a desolate beach below Table Mountain, Cape Town, as near to the murder scene as was still possible today. Most of the old beach was now covered by tons of landfill. I knew the passage from India to Portugal had been a long and dangerous one, even for this veteran Viceroy of the Seas, but not that he feared being killed by his own men. Nor that the conspirators had even planned to assassinate him. And yet there seemed to be more to this story? After all, the poet laureate of Portugal, Luís de Camões, recorded how the witches of Cochin had predicted Almeida’s inglorious

death at the Cape — then the southernmost portal to his empire (The Lusíads 1572). “It was thus at the Cape of Good Hope that the conspirators struck,” continued my companion, looking toward the mountain, “carrying out an order of execution, disguised as a prophecy of doom, in which Almeida would not pass beyond the Cape. The ambush was carefully orchestrated as an altercation between the sailors and the irate natives. Yes, that much is still true. But the Viceroy was already dead, and his supporters wiped out, when the conspirators returned to seal their atrocity—ritually piercing Almeida through the throat with a lance of steel. And so they silenced him forever.” This was the first of several messages I would receive from the clairaudient, Dr Laurence Oliver, a practising psychiatrist in

Cape Town. It was he too, above all others, who provided the esoteric background to the historical research for my book: Knot of Stone: the day that changed South Africa’s history (2011). I met Laurence, or Laure as he calls himself, at the end of 2004 while preparing to leave South Africa. I had recently married a Dutch diplomat, Ellen Berends, and was thus free to choose an entirely new career for myself. That is, we’d be moving from country to country every four years or so. I’d considered putting my knowledge of art, culture and museums into a coffee-table book on early Cape history, but that changed as Laurence spoke, giving new direction to my writing: “I’ve never heard of this Francisco d’Almeida before,” he said, “but I believe you’ll know what to do and how best to use the information. I only hear what they say. You can speak for him.” Soon after we parted I stumbled upon an obscure note in which a Waldorf schoolteacher described a dream he’d had in 1924. Walter Johannes Stein was an Austrian Jew working in pre-war Germany who, during what seems to have been a “retrospective vision”, saw himself being murdered by a man once known to him as a friend. Aided by an esotericist, Stein identified the event as the historical death of Francisco d’Almeida at Table Bay. It seems the unmistakable mountain profile helped place the event, geographically and historically. Stein’s vision is all the more remarkable since he describes the murderweapon as a flamberge, a flame-bladed metal spear, the kind used by sixteenth-century European mercenaries. Thus not a wooden assegai as invariably recorded — and never questioned. I asked Laurence if he could confirm this, to which he later replied: “Francisco d’Almeida was the same soul as Walter Johannes Stein, an associate of Rudolf Steiner, and had previously been Count Hugo of Tours at the court of Charlemagne. He was indeed ambushed by the natives on the beach below Table Mountain. The ritual piercing with the lance, however, was done by his own men afterwards.” He paused, “About Almeida they may yet have more to say.” I was struck by an extraordinary coincidence. I’d heard the same story from an itinerant priest twenty years before which, at the time, seemed to be at odds with the historical record. I still possessed a rough set of notes by the priest and began writing in earnest, around Easter 2005, enthralled by the concurrence and the realisation

that I, alone, knew of these three independent stories. Beside the witches’ prophecy, of course. Yet destiny and fortune still had other plans for me. One Sunday morning while I was out mountain biking along the Congo River, Ellen had a serious horse riding accident in a nearby forest. She was found in a critical condition and had to be air-evacuated to Johannesburg, for which an emergency flight was arranged. While the doctors tried to stabilize her, I had half-an-hour to rush home and pack one small travel bag. I grabbed the necessary clothes and toiletries, a book to read in hospital and, of course, my manuscript. Arriving safely, Ellen was immediately admitted to ICU. As the first days passed, however, her condition deteriorated. It was during the long waiting hours between visits that I, fearing for Ellen’s life, began to read about transpersonal lives, reincarnation and karma. While I found no proof, I had no reason not to believe in a metaphysical existence. Anyway, this period proved to be a turning point in the writing of Knot of Stone. From here on and to the end my research acquired a far broader, deeper and more personal perspective. Since then Knot of Stone strove for a coherence between science and sorcery, rationalism and belief, philosophy and prophecy, as well as between European textuality and African orality. It has traced Africa’s recoverable past in relation to Europe’s esoteric history—both the forgotten and the unseen. While such mystery literature was made famous by Umberto Eco, Dan Brown and Paulo Coelho, Knot of Stone is essentially a work of a new genre: the karmic novel. To this end, my narrative draws on diverse sources: recorded histories, official documents, private letters, diaries, oral testimonies, dreams and prophecies— including the clairaudient voices of our ancestors. I am no medium or psychic myself, but merely a novelist who tied the loose ends together. On completion of the project, in January 2011, I spoke to Laurence one more time, asking what else may be said about Almeida: “I’m also curious as to what more they still have to say, naturally, but it seems they planned it that way and would not have intended it otherwise. With their blessing your book will play its part. Have faith and boldly go ahead...” Having played my part for now, I hope this book proves worthwhile to others.

REGULARS Stars And Planets BY ZOE HIND

The secret to life is good timing.

By tuning into the energy of the planets we can all live more harmonious lives. Every month I will be choosing a reader question to answer, so email your enquiries about Astrology to astrology@lightworkermag.com

WHAT DOES THE SIXTH HOUSE REPRESENT? The Sixth House The Sixth house is the section of your chart that sits at the 3-4pm position. This house is all about involvement. Some say that it is all work and productivity and this is partly true, but more importantly, the sixth house speaks of our desire to be included, appreciated and contribute to the group. This is a social place where love and talent can bloom. Interconnectivity creates magic in the gaps. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In your own chart, the sign that rules the sixth house and the planets therein, show you where you can apply yourself on a daily basis, the type of environment you will need to succeed and where you will receive your due rewards. For example, if you have Pisces as the sixth house, you will feel happiest spending time in the psychic and healing realms, Sagittarius would suggest productivity in the field of education, and Capricorn would thrive in any business like structure with goals and plans to work towards. If you have Mars in the sixth house you will easily apply yourself to the task and often create the opportunities for yourself. You may be easily promoted, as your leadership skills will be strong. Mercury here indicates exceptional communication skills and the likelihood of becoming a writer or speaker of some sort. Virgo is the natural ruler of the sixth house and her motto is – if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well. By choosing to do what you love, day-to-day life can be lived to the fullest. For more information on the houses click HERE.

CAPRICORN

Building a strong base gives you the leverage to reach for the stars. The recent New Moon in your sign helped you to complete the final preparations and now you are ready for take- off. Strap yourself in, set the co-ordinates to your desired destination and start the countdown.

PISCES

Venus enters your sign for her annual visit on January 15. Whereas Librans love to love, Pisceans are in love with Love itself. Express your true emotions bravely and purely. You are stronger than you think and with Venus on your side, the odds are in your favour.

TAURUS

If you have been burning the candle at both ends recently, running around and trying to achieve far too much, now is the time to slow down or even stop. Regenerate. Get plenty of sleep and eat well. The pace will soon pick up again so take this chance to rest and relax.

CANCER

Your year begins on your terms. A Full Moon in Cancer on 9th looks like it will bring rewards for something begun last July. Recognition is always welcome, especially when it leads to further opportunities. Stand tall and take the applause. You deserve it.

VIRGO

Step out of the logical brain and fantasize a little. It may seem like a waste of time but it is in these moments that great ideas are born. This is no ordinary year. Let the list go unticked and the dishes unwashed. To prepare for a whole new way of life you need to dream it into being.

SCORPIO

Partnerships, both personal and professional receive a boost as Jupiter beams at you from your opposite sign of Taurus. Reconciliation is paramount for any misunderstandings that have caused distress in the past months. Older and wiser you can now make significant progress towards harmonious and mutually rewarding connections.

Aquarius The New Moon in Aquarius starts the Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Water Dragon and will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. Normal territory for Aquarius! Choose how you want your year to be. Our expectations turn into intentions, which then become reality.

ARIES

Saturn remains opposite your sign, which has been the case for a couple of years now and is due to last until October. Relationships are great teachers and you have learnt a lot about yourself, compromise and your shadow side. Saturn brings rewards to those who do the work. The phrase that comes to mind is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;character building.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

GEMINI

With your ruling planet chasing the Sun in Capricorn you have the opportunity to complete tasks methodically instead of flitting from one thing to another. This is a great time for you to make a sensible plan to act as an anchor through the year when distractions take you off course.

LEO

Taking risks can be scary but not when you are onto a sure thing. Something around you is about to take off. You are ready, with a full tank and your sights fixed on the prize. It may have taken 3 years to get here but your time has finally arrived.

LIBRA

This time last year your world looked totally different. By this time next year, even more will have changed. We live in the constant flow of Universal energies and learn the most in times of rapid change. Peaceful acceptance and reflection help you to tune in even further this month.

SAGITTARIUS

Reality or illusion? This may be a useful question to ask yourself on a regular basis. Much of what we have been taught is wrong. Re-education is necessary to excel in the modern Universe. In such a powerful year, deep exploration of science and spirituality will open your eyes to a whole new world.

REGULARS Capricorn Climate The Sun passes from the Zodiac sign of Sagittarius into Capricorn on 22 December at the time of the Winter Solstice when the Sun is reborn. 2 days later, the Moon is reborn at the New Moon in Capricorn. With all the planets in direct motion from 27th December to 24th January, there is a lot of positive energy around. This should be almost tangible. Fresh opportunities, expanded potential and the dynamic energy to follow our dreams are all bundled into this time frame.

BIOG Zoe works with your own unique birth chart and compares it with the positions of the planets today, revealing and explaining the windows of opportunity that are opening up around you and how to make the most of your time. Her insights help to give you a better understanding of yourself, your purpose, your loved ones, your talents and the best timing for effortless success in all areas of your life. Zoe also provides full chart interpretation services as well as running classes and workshops.

CONTACT ZOE

2012 begins on a high note. Pluto close to the New Moon offers power, strength and transformation to those who seek it wisely. The North Node near the Sun requires the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Uranus begins this prophetic year at the first degree of the Zodiac and Neptune prepares to go home to Pisces for the first time in over 140 years. As above, so below – the big planets are lining up for a big year... As we enter 2012 I will be offering a personal chart Readings for the Year Ahead zoehind7@gmail.com

Full Moon – 9 January – 18 degrees Cancer There is a marriage of opposites here. The old and the new come together in harmony for the first Full Moon of 2012. Mercury and Pluto in Capricorn, both holding a masculine frequency, are at a beneficial angle to Venus and Neptune in Aquarius representing the feminine. With all the planets in direct motion, and the eclipses over for another 6 months, there is a gentle hopefulness on this night and we can begin to dream of a better future.

+44 7984 825928 www.astrozo.com

New Moon – 23 January – 2 degrees Aquarius Personal responsibility features large as the Sun and Moon stand together in the first house to light the flame of Aquarius. There is a warm glow felt deep inside that can carry us through the final cold months and into Spring. Like the Hermit card in tarot, it is our inner light that guides us. Find your courage, your knowing and your heart’s true tone. Be unique.

NA LE

DI TI ON

Next Month’s Edition

Bounce like Tigger with a zest for life. Care for your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual selves to feel fully invigorated and alive. Including: - Beth Reacher’s career styling - Orna Ben Shoshan’s inspiring images - A special farewell from our columnists

ZEST Available from 6th February at lightworkermag.com!

REGULARS Warrior Of The Light BY PAULO COELHO Why women believe that we love them We men love women because they still feel they are adolescents even after they grow old. Because they smile every time they pass a child.

CONTACT PAULO www.warriorofthelight. com/eng Twitter: @paulocoelho

Because they walk down the street erect, always looking straight ahead, never turning round to say thanks or return the smile or compliment we make when they pass by. Because they are bold in bed, not because they have a perverse nature but because they want to please us. Because they do everything necessary for the house to be tidy and perfect, and never expect any recognition for the work they have done. Because they don’t read pornographic magazines. Because they don’t complain about the sacrifices they make for the sake of the ideal of beauty, facing up to waxers, Botox injections and menacing machines in gyms. Because they prefer to eat salads. Because they draw and paint their faces with the same concentration as Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel. Because if they want to know something about their own appearance, they ask other women and don’t bother us with this type of question. Because they have their own ways of solving problems, which we never understand, and that makes us mad. Because they feel compassion, and say “I love you” precisely when they are beginning to love us less, to make up for what we can feel and notice. Because sometimes they complain about things that we feel too, such as colds and rheumatic pains, and then we understand that they are people just like us. Because they write love stories. Because while our armies invade other countries, they remain firm in their private and inexplicable war to put an end to all the cockroaches in the world. Because they cry their eyes out when they hear the Rolling Stones singing “Angie”.

Because they are capable of going to work dressed like men, in their delicate little suits, whereas no man would ever dare go to work wearing a skirt. Because in the movies – and only in the movies – they never take a shower before making love with their partners. Because they always manage to find a convincing defect when we say that another woman is pretty, making us feel insecure about our taste. Because they really take seriously everything that is happening in the private lives of celebrities. Because they manage to fake orgasms with the same artistic quality as the most famous and talented of movie stars. Because they just love exotic cocktails with different colors and delicate little ornaments, while we always have the same old whiskey. Because they don’t waste hours thinking about how they are going to approach the pretty young man who has just come on the bus. Because we came from them, will go back to them, and until that happens, live in orbit around the feminine body and soul. And I would add: we men love them for being women. As simple as that.

Why we love men We love men because they can’t fake an orgasm, even if they wanted to. Because they will never understand us, yet even so they go on trying. Because they still manage to see our beauty, even when we ourselves no longer believe it. Because they understand equations, politics, maths and economics, but not the feminine heart. Because they are lovers who only rest when we have had (or pretend to have had) pleasure. Because they manage to raise sport to something bordering on religion. Because they are never afraid of the dark. Because they insist on fixing things that are beyond their capacity, and dedicate themselves to this with the same enthusiasm as an adolescent, and get frustrated when they don’t succeed.

REGULARS Because they are like pomegranates: most of them is impossible to digest, but the seeds are delicious. Because they never comment on what the neighbors might think. Because we always know what they are thinking, and when they open their mouth they say exactly what we imagined they would. Because they never dreamed of torturing themselves wearing high heels. Because they love to explore our body and conquer our soul. Because a 14-year-old girl can leave them speechless, and a 25-year-old woman can tame them quite effortlessly. Because they are always attracted by extremes: the opulent or the ascetic, warriors or monks, artists or generals. Because they do absolutely everything possible to try to hide their weaknesses. Because a man’s biggest fear is not being a man (it never crosses a woman’s mind not to be a woman). Because they always eat everything on their plate, and don’t feel guilty about it. Because they take great delight in completely uninteresting matters, such as what happened at work, or different makes of automobiles. Because they have shoulders where we can rest our heads and sleep without much effort. Because they are at peace with their bodies, except for small, insignificant things like growing bald and getting fat. Because they are incredibly courageous in front of insects. Because they never lie about their age. Because despite everything they try to demonstrate, they can’t live without a woman. Because when we tell one of them “I love you”, they always ask us to explain exactly how. Plus, from a female insight… 1 – We women are born detectives. In our eyes, all men are suspect and their adventures will end up being discovered – it’s just a matter of time. 2 – Even if we are not in love with you, hearing “I love you” is a balm to our souls. And if you don’t say it, we will notice and become sad.

3 – The same thing happens with “you are beautiful”. It takes less than two seconds to say these three magical words, which can change our nightmares into real fairy tales. 4 – If we ask what clothes we should wear, don’t be annoyed if we put on exactly the opposite of what you chose – that’s part of our nature. 5 – At a party we are capable of scanning the whole room in less than a minute to find out what interests us. Just watch. 6 – We think of sex with the same compulsion as men - or maybe even more so. The only difference is that we don’t show it. 7 – If we don’t accept immediately an invitation to dinner or a first date, don’t worry – we just need a few days to lose the extra kilos that we always feel are ruining our lives. 8 – Women always remember everything. If you ask when we met, none of us will say: “at a party”. We will say: “it was a Tuesday, right after a dinner where they served salad and chicken broth, and you were wearing a black blazer and designer shoes,” and so on. 9 – However much love we are capable of giving, there are seven days when we want to be far from everything and everybody. You have two options: tie yourself to a lamppost and wait till the storm is over, or else go the nearest jeweler’s and buy a present. We recommend the second option. 10 – We have as much power of reasoning as men do. But we don’t need to make this evident, otherwise you will feel insecure. Women who do that end up alone. 11 – We love all kinds of hair on the male body, although waxing is our favorite torture. 12 – We hate making love when we don’t feel like it, but we do it anyway, and you will never be able to notice the difference. 13 – Play with our pets and our children, and we will play with you. Ignore them, and we will ignore you too. 14 – Women are equipped with X-ray vision. We can look at hard, dark eyes and discover the child hiding behind them. We can stare at angel-blue eyes and discover the demon that lies there. We know when men are pretending to be sleeping from tiredness or – more obviously – when they are pretending not to be sleeping with someone else. 15 – Not all women want marriage and children. Many just want orgasms and pets. 16 – When delicateness is genuine, it can melt our hardened hearts. 17 - If we have some problem to discuss with you, don’t try to give us the solution, we already have one. It’s just a pretext to prevent the relationship ending in boredom. Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication

REGULARS LIGHTWORKER

LOV E S ANNE GEDDES CUTE just doesn’t do justice to Anne Geddes’ creations; calendars, books, apps and more based on beautiful images of babies in various poses. Today, Anne’s awardwinning images have been published in 83 countries and her books have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide.

YOUR ASTROLOGICAL MOON SIGN BY DAVID WELLS Curious to learn more about your emotional self and what makes you tick? This book is a great insight into you, your relationships, your health, your spiritual lessons, your stumbling blocks and, of course, your compatibility with other signs!

KIVA We LOVE this charity who facilitate the process for you to make loans to third world countries, stay posted on the progress of those you support, receive repayment from the borrower, and then reuse this money to finance another worthwhile opportunity. Money making money with minimal ‘leakage’ – how clever, hurrah!

REGULARS WORDS OF WISDOM

“Good parties create a temporary youthfulness.” Mason Cooley “Youthfulness is connected to the ability to see things new for the first time. So if your eyes still look at life with wonder, then you will seem young, even though you may not be chronologically young.” Goldie Hawn “An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young” Oscar Wilde “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” Sophia Loren

REGULARS THE LIST TOP 20 BABY NAMES

Girls 1. Isabella 2. Sophia 3. Emma 4. Olivia 5. Ava 6. Emily 7. Abigail 8. Madison 9. Chloe 10. Mia 11. Addison 12. Elizabeth 13. Ella 14. Natalie 15. Samantha 16. Alexis 17. Lily 18. Grace 19. Hailey 20. Alyssa

Boys 1. Jacob 2. Ethan 3. Michael 4. Jayden 5. William 6. Alexander 7. Noah 8. Daniel 9. Aiden 10. Anthony 11. Joshua 12. Mason 13. Christopher 14. Andrew 15. David 16. Matthew 17. Logan 18. Elijah 19. James 20. Joseph Source: FamilyEducation.com

REGULARS Featured Lightworker DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD Inspire

www.myoo.com

David is the British adventurer and environmentalist who inspires others to become more aware, act lovingly toward the planet and fully step into their custodial role on Mother Earth. In recognition of this, he was awarded the accolade of “Emerging Explorer” by National Geographic, appointed an “international ambassador” by NGO Clean Up The World and nominated as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum.

Challenge The mission statement for David’s innovative, progressive and lightworking organisation, MYOO - committed to raising awareness about climate change - says it all: “We like to be curious, in fact so curious, we live by a simple philosophy called the ‘Equation of Curiosity’. It’s a philosophy that takes root from recognizing that nothing’s really more powerful, inspiring and game changing than acting upon dreams, undertaking adventures and telling compelling stories in order to raise awareness of environmental and social issues while driving innovative, real world solutions.”

Educate As head of MYOO, David leads by example, so he and a crew of five recently sailed across the Pacific on a catamaran partially made from 12,500 reclaimed post-consumer plastic bottles named “The Plastiki” to educate the world about the perils of marine debris and how we view waste. “Maybe plastic is not to blame,” he says, “maybe we are just not using it correctly.”