2022 July

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From the Editor

New approaches to live well…

That is what this issue is about! I am so glad to find that more physicians worldwide are starting to discover new fields in medicine that are embracing holistic approaches in their traditional practices by focusing on helping individuals achieve a healthier life based on longevity and wellness rather than shortterm ‘fixes.’

More often, we hear how professionals and individuals are getting educated about wellbeing and wellness approaches these days to help improve lives, and for the body-mind-spirit community, that is amazing! That is why we like to share topics like these to encourage you to continue looking for best practices

on how to help your mind-body-spirit achieve its potential, helping you to identify what can be changed and how to go about that change this season. Life is a heck of a journey with a lot of ups and downs on the way, and I hope these topics can help you explore your choices to achieve a long and healthy life.

Have an insightful reading,

Roberta G.

Roberta Gazzarolle

Music with Vision

Editorial

DAVID & STEVE GORDON

10TH YEAR IN NEW LEAF’S TOP 10! GRATITUDE

Retailing Insight Magazine is a bimonthly trade magazine specializing in the conscious living retail market. The magazine is published exclusively for qualified retailers and small independent businesses in the United States. Our mission is to share one on business advice, product reviews, advertisement from top sellers and makers in the industry, and exclusive topics to help business continue to thrive.

Editor-in-Chief

Roberta Gazzarolle

Copyeditor

Sean Ruck

Designer

Relaxing Native American Flute Music

WINNER! 2017 COVR ICONIC MUSIC AWARD

Marina Avila

Digital Media & Sales

Karen Johnson

The #1 selling Native Flute album. DRUM MEDICINE

Contributing Writers

Melinda Carver

Dudley Evenson

Lindsay Fauntleroy

Dyan Garris

Maureen J. St. Germain

Megy Karydes

Lesley Morrison

Madame Pamita

Jacki Smith

Tracee Dunblazier

“The Gordon’s have simply outdone themselves with this melodic Shamanic global-fusion sound!” – Retailing Insight

“Our #1 selling label is the Gordons’ Sequoia Records.” – New Leaf Distributing “David & Steve Gordon create the music customers want and their CDs are top sellers at White Swan.” – Selena, Sales Mgr, White Swan

©2022 New Way Publishing, LLC.  All rights reserved. ISSN 2372-7977. Volume 36/ Issue 4/ July-August 2022. The magazine is published bimonthly/ six times a year (January, March, May, July, September, November) by New Way Publishing, LLC. 4117 Park Road, 12252, Charlotte, NC 28220. Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to Retailing Insight Magazine, P.O. Box 12252, Charlotte, NC 28220. WWW.RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Retailing Insight Magazine is published by New Way Publishing, LLC. P.O. Box 12252 Charlotte, NC 28220 circ@retailinginsight.com

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Soul Medicine

USING THE ELEMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE CYCLES AND RHYTHMS OF YOUR BODY, MIND, AND SOUL

WATER, WOOD, FIRE, EARTH, AND METAL represent five movements, stages, and transformations. They represent the stages of visioning and manifesting your heart’s desires, and the organic life cycle in which all things are conceived, birthed, expanded, and ultimately die. The five elements are a guide and a system for organizing all that we experience as the manifestations of a greater universal pattern. Whether you find this to be scary or exciting, tapping into the flow of these five currents offer us a great potential for change. You can work with these energies to create the life you want. Take a minute, right now where you’re sitting, to think about the healthiest person you know.

Go ahead, I’ll wait… Got it?... Awesome! Now for the next thirty seconds, write down all the words you would use to describe this person…

I’ve posed this question nearly a hundred times over the past 10 years of leading workshops and retreats. And you know what? No one has EVER described the healthiest person they know as “free from a particular disease.” Ironically, sometimes the opposite can be true: the healthiest person we know might be battling cancer or struggling with a degenerative disease like lupus or multiple sclerosis. And sure, you may have thought of a person who inspires you with their dietary regimen and exercise game. But most likely, the person who came to your mind is healthy because of how they move through their life — not because of their physical body.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: LINDSAY FAUNTLEROY is a licensed acupuncturist and the founder of The Spirit Seed, a school that offers personal and professional development courses that are rooted in ancestral understandings of health, humanity, nature, and the cosmos. She is also a certified instructor for the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), as well as a facilitator of the Flower Essence Society’s global practitioner certification program. Her approach to soul medicine emerged through over 15 years of clinical practice, Doctoral studies of Indigenous and African Diasporic psychology, and her commitment to community wellness. Also, she is the author of In Our Element: Using the Five Elements as Soul Medicine to Unleash Your Personal Power, published by Llewellyn. Visit www.thespiritseed.org to learn more.

Maybe they are positive and upbeat, and make you feel better about your own life just from being around them. My friend Keiana is like that. I swear it doesn’t matter what the hell I tell her, she will always empower me with some affirmation that helps me see that my life is unfolding as it should. She has the unique ability to find the good in every situation without being annoying about it.

Maybe the person you thought of can approach whatever you throw at them with an air of calm and

composure. My friend Trena is like that. I remember doing a walkthrough with her as she prepared for a high-stakes event. She had single-handedly organized a conference, which invited over 3,500 students from all over New York City together for performances and workshops. Community politicians and stakeholders all had their eyes on her. In the moments before showtime, I was practically having an anxiety attack at the sheer enormity of it all. But Trena didn’t break a sweat. She redirected every crisis thrown at her as if she were directing planes on a runway. Needless to say, the event was an incredible success and one of the highlights of her career.

Maybe the person seems to have it all together. Their parenting, their career, and their love life all seem to flow. My friend Lurie is like that. She manages to host a radio show, raise a baby and a teenager, and be kind and loving to her husband, all while having her hair and nails done. I thought her trade-off was in domesticity, but nope! One day I came over for dinner and found her making zucchini noodles. From scratch. Did I mention she’s also an attorney? And that she finds time to respond to my random texts about way less important things, like the exact shade of brown of my new boo? I get heart palpitations as I consider her daily to-do list.

We all know amazing people who laugh often, have a positive outlook, and move through the world with grace and ease. The point is, we know that true health is not just about how we feel in our physical bodies, but also how we feel inside of ourselves. The healthiest people we know are

tapped into something that is beyond just physical health and material success.

Soul Medicine is About Energy

Soul medicine is any medicine that helps us heal the subtle, intangible aspects of our being that are necessary to feel healthy, happy, and whole. There are plenty of resources out there to get physically healthy — the sumthin’ sumthin’ that makes our lives flow. And that something has a name: qi. Qi is the animating life force that makes everything move from our thoughts and feelings to our bones and muscles. Qi is what makes some people feel like they’re giving off good vibes, and why we feel “at home” in certain places. Qi is what makes us suddenly stiffen when someone walks a little too closely into our personal space, and it is what makes us melt into the arms of a lover. Qi makes plants grow and seasons change. Qi is an invisible current of energy. It is everywhere, all of the time.

Qi flows like a river. When a river gets blocked with debris, you get a buildup of too much stuff on one side of the blockage. Swamped with gunk, things get mushy, stagnant, and overwhelmed. On the other side of the debris, there’s not enough water. Things on that side of the blockage wilt and die from the dryness and heat. Nothing can really thrive until that debris gets removed and

the river can flow smoothly. That pretty much sums up the whole science of acupuncture, as far as I’m concerned. Acupuncturists use those tiny needles to clear the body’s qi rivers, called meridians. Then, every organ and cell can get the qi flow it needs.

When qi is flowing properly, we experience good physical health. When qi is not flowing smoothly, we experience pain, inflammation, and disease. But that river can get blocked in any aspect of our life, not just our body. We can feel stagnant and blocked in our relationships, our finances, our creativity, our parenting, our career, etc. Over the years, I have found that my clients are drawn to soul medicine to harmonize their qi in one (or more!) of the following areas: money, honey, or health.

Honey

Healthy “honey qi” brings pleasure and sweetness to our experience. It includes self-love and appreciation, connection to a spiritual source, and a sense of loving kindness in our most important relationships. When our “honey” is right, we enjoy our lives and feel a sense of connection.

Money

Money is not just about financial abundance. When our “money qi” is flowing, we are able to live ‘on purpose’ and discover ways to bring our gifts and talents into the world. We experience abundance and prosperity in the form of resources, time, love, children or accomplishment.

Health

Health is not just physical. Good health also includes mental clarity — knowing what to do and when to do it. We have the vitality to experience the joy of being alive, as well as emotional self-awareness and equanimity.

There are hundreds of ways to work with the elements to create mind, body, soul, and spirit wellness rituals that work for you. I’d like to introduce a few allies for exploring, living and aligning with the elements on your path to personal discovery and transformation. I encourage you to personalize this process: pick and choose what works for you and expect that even that may change over time. •

IT’S NO SURPRISE that many of us are dealing with stress regularly. While stress isn’t always bad, it can take its toll if we don’t learn how to manage negative stresses that come into our daily lives — whether it’s in the form of irate and irrational customers, an employee not arriving on time or simply not having enough time to get things you want done during these months leading up to the ever-important holiday season.

Our business is often seen by others as retail therapy. A place to visit when we’re seeking something special for friends, loved ones, or as a treat for ourselves. Wholesalers love to share unique products with their customers. But where are we supposed to turn to when we need some support in the health and well-being space?

Energy and other forms of alternative therapies can be incredibly powerful if we take the time to consider how to best incorporate them into our lives. Rather than consider them a “treat” when we have time, why not intentionally add them into your life as you would any other important item you want to prioritize, like eating healthy or exercising?

Reiki

Most of us think of Reiki (pronounced ray-key) as a form of energy healing. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Reiki is an energy healing technique that promotes relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety through gentle touch. Reiki practitioners use their hands to deliver energy to

your body, improving the flow and balance of your energy to support healing.”

One study published in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care in 2019 showed that Reiki treatment can help create feelings of peace, relaxation, security and wellness.

Sound Bowls

Many types of energy healing techniques allow you to bring your body and mind to a calm state without having to do anything but receive the experience. In addition to Reiki, sound therapy is another option.

“Sound healing or therapy is the use of sound frequencies to affect the brain and the autonomic nervous system — calming the “fight and flight” response and resulting in relaxation, healing and individual enrichment,” explains Joanne Dusatko, a sound healing and therapy practitioner and founder of Illinois-based Sound Healing Remedies.

The practice uses the vibrations from the instruments, whether it’s singing bowls, bells, tuning forks, gongs, or other items, to help relax the mind and body. Dusatko believes sound therapy is effective because our bodies are 70% water and water is an excellent conductor of sound. Also, everything is in a state of vibration including our bodies. Like Reiki, all you need to do is approach the experience with curiosity and an open mind. Lie down and simply let the sounds produced by the practitioner wash over you.

Acupuncture

If you’ve never experienced acupuncture, you might picture the image of thin needles around someone’s forehead and wonder if those needles hurt.

The practice is done by penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles which are then activated through gentle and specific movements of the practitioner’s hands or with electrical stimulation, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system,” the information shared on the Johns Hopkins Medicine page on integrative medicine continues. “This, in turn, releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These biochemical changes may stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.”

It’s used to treat everything from major medical issues including asthma and osteoarthritis but equally compelling is the practice can help those suffering from emotional issues such as anxiety, depression and insomnia.

It’s best to consult a healthcare practitioner to discuss these treatments before scheduling one to make sure nothing in your health history might prove problematic. For example, it is not recommended to participate in sound bath therapy if you’re pregnant as no instruments should be placed on the body. Or, if it’s advised, be sure to find an experienced and conscientious facilitator. •

Always remember that you are absolutely unique.

Just like everyone else.

- Margaret Mead

TheFour Bodies Part 2:

The Etheric Body

EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US can receive help from the Universe to cleanse, clarify and magnify our four lower bodies. You might call to the Great Divine Director to align your four lower bodies. Your etheric body is the source of your beautiful threefold flame of the heart, (of love, wisdom and power). Even the Earth has an etheric body, that protects and supports life on this planet.

The etheric body holds the memories and experiences throughout all your lifetime. Initially, it is meant to protect the physical body, and is full of love and light along with a beautiful blueprint for your lifetimes. It encases your soul when you die. Your

etheric body is identified with who you think you are, based on your history and experiences. It colors your self-perception.

Yet, over time, it can become tainted with your pain and trauma that you haven’t healed. You may wish to use any practice of forgiveness. One practice is to write a list of people you need to forgive every day for 45 Days. You start with a clean piece of paper each day, (having shredded or burned the prior one). As you progress, day by day, some names will fall off your list. New ones will appear. This is you clearing out the etheric body! You keep doing this every day for 45 days. Or you may forget, and if you do, just pick up where you left off. Finally, if you forget that you forgot, you are done!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MAUREEN J. ST. GERMAIN is the founder of Transformational Enterprises and has led trainings in personal development and spiritual awakening in more than 24 countries. The founder of Akashic Records Guides International, she is also the author, musician, and producer of more than 15 guided-meditation CDs. An internationally recognized teacher and intuitive, she is the author of several books including her latest release Mastering Your 5D Self. Visit www.stgermainmysteryschool.com to know more about her.

Another lovely practice is the Hawaiian practice of forgiveness which is simple and easy. Known as Ho’oponopono exercise (I’m sorry, please forgive me, I love you, thank you). This practice is repeated over and over when you are ready to unhook from your own pain and suffering. There are also many books and resources to help you with forgiveness.

In addition, your negative thoughts, or negative view of life also wear down your etheric body, which is the closest to your physical body. This may lead to poor energy or fatigue or worse, illness. Many of us have carried multiple behaviors from one lifetime to another. We are meant to change the behaviors and learn quickly to disengage from familiar, but detrimental patterns to produce a healthy experience, by choosing differently.

How can you fix it? A healthy diet, good exercise, both outside in nature, as well as an energy balancing exercise like Qi Gong, and of course the forgiveness exercises provided above.

The white fire core of the heart of Source can help you cleanse and clear your body. Can you imagine your threefold flame to fill you with wisdom and compassion? Can you let your newfound awareness of the etheric body act as a source of perfected memory, and reclaim your original blueprint of your threefold flame? Yes. You can do this today, right NOW. Ask the master of the Ascension Ray,

Serapis Bey, for the ability to do this, and ask for his assistance to ensure your success.

Another powerful way to heal the flaws of the etheric body is to repeat a popular violet flame decree substituting purple, (for violet) thus, “I am a being of purple fire, I am the purity God desires.” Repeat this 36 times, daily if you can.

Each one of you have a home in the etheric plane, your mansion in the sky! You can ask to journey to this special place in your meditations and dream time. Consciously ask to be taken to this wonderful place, your very own mansion in the sky, where you can be refreshed and renewed. Especially when you are depressed or suffering disappointment or despair.

Spend 15 minutes before bed, calling to your Holy Higher Self and the Higher Self of your Twin Flame to reunite on the etheric plane in your mansion in the sky. Prepare to be amazed. •

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LIFESTYLE

A Conversation with Maryon Stewart author of Manage Your Menopause Naturally

IN 2020, MORE THAN 50 MILLION women are going through menopause in the United States, and it’s estimated that one billion women around the world will be experiencing menopause globally by 2025. And while more than 75% of these women will experience symptoms for a decade or longer — issues like hot flashes, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, and loss of sex drive — 55% won’t do anything to try to alleviate them.

In Manage Your Menopause Naturally: The Six-Week Guide to Calming Hot Flashes & Night Sweats, Getting Your Sex Drive Back, Sharpening Memory & Reclaiming Well-Being, published by New World Library, the world-renowned healthcare expert and author Maryon Stewart shares with us the secrets to managing menopause naturally and outlines a comprehensive six-week natural menopause solution.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MARYON STEWART is the author of several books including her latest of Manage Your Menopause Naturally, published by New World Library. A world-renowned healthcare expert, she has helped tens of thousands of women around the world overcome PMS and menopause symptoms without using drugs or hormones. Visit her online at www.maryonstewart.com/book

Retailing Insight: Why do women get symptoms during perimenopause and menopause?

Maryon Stewart: There are two main underlying causes of symptoms at the time of the menopause. We know that billions of women around the world have low levels of important nutrients that affect brain chemistry and hormone function, and this gets progressively worse as we age. In addition, as we enter perimenopause and head for menopause itself, we have very little estrogen in our system as the ovaries have finished their mission.

RI: What percent of women suffer from menopause symptoms and how long do they last for?

MS: It’s thought that 80% of women suffer with symptoms at the time of the menopause and they can last for 10 years or more. Perimenopause is the eight years leading up to menopause. The menopause is the first anniversary of your last period, and postmenopause is the rest of your life.

RI: What advice do you have to offer women who are having hot flashes?

MS: It’s possible to turn off hot flashes completely and fool the brain into thinking we have normal circulating estrogen again. We need to learn to fill the hormone receptors in our cells with naturally occurring estrogen, little and often, restoring our hormone balance and effectively turning back our biological clock. In addition to controlling hot flashes and night sweats, satisfying these receptors also helps to keep our hair and nails in good shape and has even been shown in clinical trials to decrease the depth of our wrinkles.

RI: Is there anything that can be done about the loss of libido that happens during menopause and will it return on its own once menopause is over?

MS: The good news is that it is possible to reclaim your mojo at menopause. Women are running on empty when they get to midlife. Their nutrient levels are often at an all-time low and they have low levels

of circulating estrogen. In our relationship survey, 75% of women reported having low libido and over 50% were suffering with vaginal dryness which made penetrative sex painful. Libido won’t magically return after menopause because our ovaries are never going to work again. However, if we learn to have what I call a ‘midlife refuel’, it’s possible to restore the vaginal tissues as well as lubrication and those tingly feelings we had before menopause to be restored. Women go on to have great sex again after menopause, which has many health and emotional benefits.

RI: What are some of the lesser know symptoms of menopause?

MS: As women enter perimenopause, they often don’t realize that their inability to sleep well, their increased levels of anxiety, aches and pains, extreme fatigue, and brain fog that make it hard to retain thoughts are associated with menopause. Mostly they feel too young to have reached menopause, so it

doesn’t really occur to them or most of their doctors. They stay silent and feel isolated and scared.

RI: What do women need to know about the connection between their diet and menopause symptoms?

MS: Good nutrition is essential for all women around the time of the menopause because what we eat plays a big part in health and hormone function. Research indicates that hormonal balance can be affected by the levels of nutrients in our body, as well

as the amount of fat and fiber in our diet.

One key nutrient to include is magnesium, which we found to be in short supply in 50-80% of women. When taken together with other essential nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and fatty acids, it has shown a positive influence on brain chemistry and hormone function. Good sources of magnesium include fresh fruit and vegetables, especially green ones.

Essential fatty acids like those found in vegetable oils and oily fish, like salmon, also play a big role in hormone health. Those who consumed a diet rich in omega-3s had less mood swings, better libido, and far more energy.

RI: Regular exercise is one of the recommendations you make in your book. Why is that important?

MS : Exercise is very important at this time of your life as your metabolism (the rate at which your body burns calories) tends to slow down as you get older. When you were young, you could probably eat what you liked without gaining much weight, but now you only have to look at

a doughnut to pile on the pounds, especially around the middle.

Exercise helps in several ways. Firstly, you burn calories while you’re doing it, and it can also increase your metabolic rate for up to 24-hours afterwards. Plus, it helps to oxygenate the brain making us more alert and releases endorphins, the hormones that make us feel good. Active women tend to suffer less from menopausal symptoms. Sustained, regular aerobic exercise, such as swimming, walking, cycling and running, tend to work best.

RI: You also recommend that women do some kind of a relaxation session daily. Can you give us an example or two of what that might look like?

MS: Being able to be still, experience gratitude, and appreciate beauty in our surroundings is Mother Nature’s gift to us. We can all do it and it costs nothing, and it pays huge dividends because 20 minutes of formal relaxation per day has been shown to reduce hot flashes by more than 50%. When we are feeling stressed and wound up, relaxation may not come easy or we often feel that there is no spare time. Relaxation rests our brain, making it more efficient and rest gives us an energy boost. Two recent studies show that mindfulness and related cognitive therapies can help with depression and hot flashes. Another report suggests that mindfulness is particularly helpful in addressing insomnia.

RI: What do you most hope women will take away from your book Manage Your Menopause Naturally?

MS: I hope it gives them hope above everything else! I am amazed, frustrated, and angry that women are still in the dark, fending for themselves, with so little direction at such a crucial time in their lives — especially when many of us have busy and challenging work and home lives. Manage Your Menopause Naturally contains all the science- based secrets and tools and gives step by step instruction on how to manage symptoms at perimenopause and menopause. By following the recommendations, women understand what’s going on in their bodies as well as how to reclaim their wellbeing without having to resort to drugs or hormones. •

Special Event

Source: Coalition of Visionary Resources

THE COVR VISIONARY AWARDS have become the premiere Mind, Body, Spirit awards program, showcasing the best of the best in products, jewelry, music, digital assets, and books in the bodymind-spirit marketplace. Saturday June 11th, 2022, the Coalition of Visionary Resources held their long-awaited, in-person, awards banquet at the International New Age Tradeshow in Denver, Colorado. Andrew Toplarski, the INATS show producer remarked, “After two years away, and the lingering pandemic malaise, I was so thrilled to see even more banquet attendees then 2019. We are enthusiastically working on next year’s show.”

The COVR Visionary Awards program director, Alex Fernandez, said “ We had the largest number

of hits to the voting website ever, more than 10,000. They didn’t all result in actual votes as members and voting public must complete the entire ballot for the vote to be submitted, but it was evidence of the deeply held enthusiasm and need for all the MBS products COVR supports.” Tracee Dunblazier, COVR President, and the general manager of the awards commented, “The pandemic revealed, in an unrelenting way, the cracks in every part of our lives, from the system we live in, to the beliefs we’ve held about ourselves, our lifestyles, and

relationships. It left so many of us struggling to find acceptance and peace that we’ve had no recourse but to begin an even deeper journey of self-discovery, for which the members of COVR lead the charge with their array of products, books, and music to help the process.”

In addition to revealing the winners of the 72 BMS themed categories, COVR also gave a special appreciation award to past president, Karen L. Stuth of Satiama Publishing, for all her hard work in the organization. The top Visionary awards, out of the over 200 given went to:

The Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) is a not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to supporting independent retailers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and publishers of visionary books, music, and merchandise. To know more, visit www.covr.org

Product of the Year

Hummingbird Wisdom Oracle Cards, Ellen Valladares (author) & Yasmeen Westwood (illustrator), Red Feather

People’s Choice Product Winner

Hummingbird Wisdom Oracle Cards, Ellen Valladares (author) & Yasmeen Westwood (illustrator), Red Feather

Industry Choice Product Winner

Hummingbird Wisdom Oracle Cards, Ellen Valladares (author) & Yasmeen Westwood (illustrator), Red Feather

Jewelry of the Year

Moondust Glow Aura Quartz Necklace, Chakuna Machi Asa

People’s Choice

Jewelry Winne

SoulPoseidon, Michelle & Roger Welch, SoulTopia LLC

Industry Choice

Jewelry Winner

Power Ring, Tracee Dunblazier Dunblazier Arts

Audio & Visual Product of the Year

Temple of the Maya, Lia Scallon

Audio & Visual People’s Choice Winner

Sounds of Light Jonathan Goldman, Jonathan Goldman’s Healing Sounds

Audio & Visual Industry Choice Winner

Sounds of Light Jonathan Goldman, Jonathan Goldman’s Healing Sounds

Book of the Year

Artist Shaman Healer Sage, Katherine Skaggs, Satiama Publishing

People’s Choice Book Winner

Tarot by the Moon, Victoria Constantino, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Industry Choice Book Winner

Artist Shaman Healer Sage, Katherine Skaggs, Satiama Publishing

One of the big winners of the night, publisher Llewelyn Worldwide, had this to say, “Not only was it great to be back together again, but the 2022 COVR banquet was the best in years.” – Bill Krause, Publisher & Acquisitions Manager Llewellyn Worldwide.

The night opened with the classical guitar Jazz/Flamenco stylings of Mito De Soto, and ended with host, Tracee Dunblazier, and guest host Darlene Koldenhoven co-presenting the 39 book awards and announcing the coveted Book of the Year award. Newcomer, Vialet B. Rayne says

“The ceremony was organized, and our group really enjoyed seeing and connecting with the creators. I will definitely attend again in the future.”

We would like to thank the formidable CVA team and all who made the 2022 COVR Visionary Awards possible: Alex Fernandez – Awards Director, Tracee Dunblazier – COVR President, awards GM, Debbie Krovitz – COVR Treasurer, Andrew Toplarski – INATS Producer and COVR Advertising Director, Jess Arsenault – COVR Board of Directors, Mama Kiki – COVR Member, Andrea Womacque – COVR member, John Latta – COVR Member, Sandi Eaglin – Volunteer, Aimee Pittman – Volunteer. •

Doug Dillon

Divination &Decks

LIMITED SERIES

Everyday Magick

WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK of witchcraft and magick, they think of elaborate spells, dramatic rituals and complicated rites. I don’t blame them. After all, isn’t that what movies and TV have shown us for decades? Big splashy spectacle makes for ratings and reviews, so the pop culture version of magick is always a little “extra” – impressive and even a bit excessive.

For people who are new to a magickal practice, the flipside of all that pageantry is that it

becomes intimidating and feels inaccessible. If you’re like me, big complicated things have a habit of getting put on the back burner for when I have time. Those important dramatic displays have their place, but the reality is that the vast majority of people who practice magick and witchcraft do small rituals every day that keep us connected to our beliefs and our practice. If you or your customers are new to witchcraft, I suggest getting started in ways that are easy and do-able.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MADAME PAMITA is a Ukrainian diaspora witch, teacher, author, candle maker, spellcaster, and tarot reader. She has a popular YouTube Channel for teaching witchcraft, she hosts the Magic and the Law of Attraction and Baba Yaga’s Magic podcasts. She is the author of Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, The Book of Candle Magic, and Madame Pamita’s Magical Tarot, and she is also the proprietress of the online spiritual apothecary, the Parlour of Wonders in Santa Monica, California. You can find her at www.parlourofwonders.com.

Potions

Do you need eye of newt and toe of frog like MacBeth’s witches to make an effective potion? Well, actually you do. Those descriptives were actually the folk names of medicinal herbs. Eye of newt is mustard seed and toe of frog is buttercup. While you probably don’t want to drink a cocktail made of mustard and buttercups, you can make your own potion simply by looking in your collection of herbal teas.

So many of the herbs that are tasty to drink also are believed to have

magical properties. For example, chamomile is great for bringing in prosperity, while hibiscus is thought to invite a sexy passionate love. When you pour your cup of tea, hold your hands over the steaming cup and focus on what you want to bring into your life through a visualization or by speaking your wish out loud.

Want to dive deeper? Grab a book on magical herbs, like

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs or a specific potions book like Blackthorn’s Botanical Brews and look up the meanings of the herbs and get to brewing.

Oils

Plants are traditional support for our wishes and intentions. We even see this in non-magickal beliefs – roses representing love, for example. Essential oils are the concentrated essences of plants and one of the most versatile tools for supporting our magick.

Essential oils are too strong and concentrated to be used at full strength, so if you’re going to use an essential oil in a spell, be sure to dilute it in some way. Add a few drops to the water of a bath or to a lightbulb diffuser, for example. If you’re going to apply essential oils to your skin, use a carrier oil such as sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil or jojoba oil

in a ratio of 9:1 – 9 parts carrier oil, 1-part essential oil.

If you want to take the research and guesswork out of the process, you can also purchase essential oil blends that are formulated for specific magickal intentions such as Abundant Prosperity, Powerful Protection, or Magnetic Attraction. Oils made by reputable manufacturers have been blended with real herbs and essential oils and are generally safe for applying to skin.

As you are getting ready to start your day, apply a few drops of these oils to your palms and apply to your skin with a prayer or affirmation for your good outcome. For example, you can apply Grand Success oil to yourself with the affirmation, “All my endeavors today are successful”.

Soaps

Liquid or bar soaps are another almost effortless way to bring magick into your day. Choose a soap made with real botanical herbs or add an appropriate

essential oil to a liquid soap or shampoo for a magickal concoction that will cleanse your body as well as revive your spirit.

Lemongrass soap is excellent for clearing and cleansing negativity, lavender soap can be used for inviting peaceful love, and peppermint soap can be used for intentions of prosperity and protection. Whenever you wash your hands, hair or your body, imagine all the negativity of your day-to-day life washing away and the power of the plants infusing you with the blessings aligned with the herbs.

Remember that witchcraft and magick are not a religion. People of any spiritual path can begin taking back their own power and creating powerful and positive change in their lives. These tiny rituals can easily be incorporated on a regular basis without breaking the flow of your day and with daily practice can even make a bigger impact than big showy magick done once a season. •

" Nothing is forever except change."

FEATURES

Energy Healing for Businesses

I KNEW THE UNDERSTANDING of energy management and the impact of personal energy on goal setting was widely accepted in the entrepreneurial world, but I didn’t realize it had become the global norm until I attended the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a global leadership conference. Hosted in Washington, DC, I met hundreds of business owners from several countries. As the introductions went; name, where you are from, and type of business, I had the most fun stating “I have a candle factory in the Detroit area where I make intentional candles that help your focus your energy to manifest your goals.” Every entrepreneur replied with a variation of “I believe in that! I have my own spiritual practice.”

I was not expecting to hear from multi-milliondollar business owners, from construction to finance and IT backgrounds, about their energy management techniques and how their attention to health, spirit, and compassion was the key to growing their business. No longer the outlier in my philosophy, I was

smack dab in the middle of like-minded people. How did that happen? How did I not notice this change was happening in the mainstream everywhere, taking root and transforming the world? Entrepreneurs have always been the risk-takers, innovators, and change-makers, of course, they would be the group who normalizes the management of energy, spirit, and emotions in the business world.

As a retailer, you are seeing the growing trends of astrology, crystals, personal energy management, energy healing, and all the tools that go along with that. There is a growing trend of magic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JACKI SMITH is the co-owner of Coventry Creations. Her passion for personal empowerment and small business has been the driving for ce in her success and her journey of lifelong learning. Jacki is a regular contributor to the magazine and loves sharing her experience, successes, and cautionary tales.

and witch culture as I see the shelves of indie stores stocking up with unique makers of items that support these trends.

I am also seeing business owners feel the stress of the past two years of market turmoil. You may think your stress is a secret, but your family, friends, staff, and customers feel it. Their responses will probably reflect that stress back to you and now the energy loop is complete. Stress reflects stress, and burnout follows. To break this energy loop of stress and burnout, energy healing for your business is needed and that starts with you. When my business gets rocky and the circumstances around me are pushing me towards burnout, it’s time to look at my roots. Checking my energetic foundation to make sure all is well there before I take on a more high-level approach ensures that I am working from a solid base and that my success will have fewer personal obstacles.

As a leader, when you balance and heal your energy, you are affecting the energy and culture of your business. Owner or a manager, you are the change-maker, for good or bad, and have an influence on the health of your company.

The team will take their energy cues from you, most specifically the negative ones. If you are not paying attention to your energy management, no one else will, or worse yet, the ones that are paying attention will leave your business for a healthier work environment. When you are modeling healthy energy management through personal balance, it is easier to balance the energy in your company. Finding the leaks, blocks, weaknesses, and strengths that are keeping your business from being the ideal vision you have for it becomes a natural part of managing the energy.

| First, The Foundation

The four-energy foundations for manifesting your goals are the elements of creation: air, water, fire, and earth. They align with the natural part of your process of going from idea to reality, as they follow:

AIR (IDEAS) WATER (EMOTIONS) FIRE (VISION) EARTH (ACTION)

When they are out of balance, your path to manifesting is disrupted. When you are on the path to burnout your weakest element will break down first and will cause you the greatest frustration.

Air/Ideas – Ideas are critical to getting things rolling. Without the seed of an idea, there is nothing to plant or act on. Ideas live in the ether and have no substance. It takes a special person to pluck an idea from nothing and communicate it in a way that is understandable to others. Communication within a business is as important as breathing. Information comes in and out, exchanged between you and your customers, between you and your team, and between staff members. Stopping the flow of communication quickly suffocates an area of your business.

Yet, we cannot live on air alone. We all have met the idea person. They are quick with inspiration, new ideas, and answers to problems. They seem like a natural leader, speak up quickly, and have a seemingly unending source of answers in their pocket but if you can’t connect (water) with your customer base or people, you can feel like a complete failure.

Water/Emotions – Having feelings about the idea (air) is the next step toward manifesting. Ideas must inspire feelings, or they will poof into nothingness. The seed of your idea needs water’s instinctive reaction of emotion to germinate into something more. It’s this emotional connection that will allow

your idea and communication to flow to the wider world. Emotions are the engine of manifesting your goals. They are the critical bridge between the ether and the earth.

Admiration, love, delight, anger, envy, or disappointment, either side of the emotional spectrum can be used as the engine and once you start in either direction it’s near impossible to change. This

is also where setting the intent for your goal can take a wrong turn. Rather than the logic of air setting a clear intent, emotions that are unclear or hidden can disrupt the flow of manifesting. The balance of air and water is needed for a clear and powerful intent. Emotions unbalanced run the risk of drowning you and the heat of instinct and future vision of fire.

Fire/Vision – Fire and water are often confused due to powerful emotions like passion and anger. Intuition is part of the foundation of fire as it opens up visions of the future that propels future action. Fire’s transformation is where you can begin to see your idea’s potential of coming into being. Without the vision of what can be and the desire to strive for something greater, your idea cannot come to fruition. It won’t have enough fuel to make it through the hard work of action. The foundation of the fire element brings potential and possibility and is present when you dream about your future and build your strategy. Yet you can also burn out here too. Burning the torch of the future brightly and not taking the action (earth) needed to see your vision through to the end. Planning without action gets you stuck in potential and that is an idea unfulfilled.

Earth/Action – This is where the hard work lives, the sweat equity. This work needs the fuel of fire to keep moving forward to completion with the engine of the emotions that are driving you forward. The final cornerstone needed to create the foundation for your idea to manifest is earth. This is where many of the doers and scrapers of the world stay, in the place of hard work. If they are not working hard and everyone around them working as hard as they are, then success will never be. This is also the element where most put the definition of success, financially, yet as you see, that is only a quarter of the story. There can be financial success coupled with a hard physical burnout from working too many hours and not asking for help.

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.

The elements in balance create a smooth path to manifesting. The idea is connected to the emotional engine and fueled by the future vision so action can be taken to manifest the idea in full. Any one of those elements out of balance can stall or even stop the process.

| Elemental Burnout

Looking at the leading causes of employee burnout, they quickly align with these elemental foundations. The top factors in burnout are:

Unfair treatment at work –water element unbalanced

Unmanageable workload –earth element unbalanced

Lack of role clarity – air element unbalanced

Lack of communication and support from manager – air element unbalanced

Unreasonable time pressure –earth element unbalanced

AND…

Workload – earth element unbalanced

Perceived lack of control –air element unbalanced

Reward – earth element unbalanced

Community – water element unbalanced

Fairness – water element unbalanced

Values mismatch – fire element unbalanced

Look at where you see your own and your business’s weaknesses or elemental needs. A good old SWOT analysis is a solid place to start. Quarter a page and put in the four quadrants: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. As you list them, think about how they align with the elements. You may find that an element rules a quadrant in your SWOT analysis. Any element heavy in one quadrant runs the risk of burning out, even the element you are strongest in. Look for patterns and learn a bit about your elemental makeup and what may be slowing down your manifesting process and contributing to your unbalanced energy and potential burnout.

| Energy Balancing = Energy

Management

Balancing your own elements can be fast-tracked through energy healing and then anchored by actions you take in your daily life. Not everyone has an energy healer at the ready for this process and you can start this on your own by how you are spending your energy in your daily life. Looking at your SWOT analysis, there will be a few red flags that you will want to start managing. You have time to wrangle all of this and do not need to fix everything at the same time. Just like you don’t clean every room in your house at the same time, you can’t fix every issue at once. It can be overwhelming to take too big of a step in this journey. Focus on the smaller steps that will motivate you or break down the big overwhelming steps into smaller steps that have a common goal. That is a perfect example of energy management.

An article published on Entrepreneur identifies seven ways to get from burnout to balance that speak directly to balancing the foundation of your elements:

1Find your ‘balance’ (all elements) – This is not a teeter-totter of balance, but more of a soundboard. Sometimes you need more bass or sometimes more treble,

depending on the song or the goal you are going for. Your balance will change as your life circumstances change.

2

True answers (water element) - Check your energetic bandwidth. If there is any hesitation or “maybe” energy, the answer really is no. Only say yes to the “hell, yes” moments of the world.

3

Manage your time (earth element) – How are you spending your energy? Are you going to every meeting, fielding every question, dealing with every random thing that pops up? Managing your calendar and time better (remember saying no?), knowing what is really urgent for you, and empowering others to deal with the smaller issues will allow you to focus on the important task at hand. Delegating is part of the secret sauce here.

4

Start your day with intention, not emails (air element) – You have a rough idea of what your demands of the day will be before you open your inbox. Set your intention and goals for the day before the urgency and stuff from others totally derails your energy. Doing this gives you the power of choice as the day progresses.

5

Draw a line (water element) – Boundaries, although flexible, help you keep your energy intact and available for your use when needed. When you blend or break those boundaries too much, your energy is used up on things you were not intending. Discernment is key here, as sometimes you choose to spend that energy in an unexpected direction and it’s worthy.

6

Turn off devices (fire element) – I put this as a fire element as it will steal your energy, intuition, passion, and focus faster than any distraction in history. The calls, texts, and notifications can destroy the intention you set for yourself that day. If you can’t set it down, manage the notifications and make it work for you and not the other way around.

7

Self-care to avoid burnout symptoms (water & earth elements) – This is a combination element as it takes both to accomplish self-care, the emotion, and the action. This is not a one-and-done. Self-care is a practice and commitment. Start small, if need be, like oncea-week lunch on your own to collect your thoughts, or a massage once a month, maybe 30-minutes of quiet time before you start your day for gratitude and contemplation.

Go through your own list of needs and think about your own energy management technique you want to use. Two of mine are to say good morning to everyone in the factory and light my personal candles every day. These help me connect (water) with my team and take a moment to think about my future (fire). As you balance your elemental energy, you will start to see the subtle ways you can balance the energy in your business, creating the work environment that not only feeds your soul but the soul of your team and customers as well.

Energy healing is no longer the sole domain of the shaman and spiritual healers. It can be part of your daily life and bring ease and balance to your journey. You will also be amazed at how fast your goal manifest when you pay attention to what element is lacking in the journey and bring that back into balance. •

CARD DECKS

Summer Soul Shine

FINDING THAT SHIMMERING FEELING

SUMMERTIME’S ENERGY is playful and radiant. Your customers will be in search of decks that inspire and guide them into that joyous feeling of shimmering in the sun. Inspire them to feel that shine deep in their Souls with these new decks!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MELINDA CARVER is a Spiritual business expert and an awardwinning author, psychic medium, and speaker. She is the president of the Church of Radiant Lights located in Cleveland, Ohio. Visit www.psychicmelinda.webs.com to find out more.

Oracle of Light & Dreams

By Scott Howden

Published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

ISBN: 9781646710829/ 49 cards + 104-page booklet $22.95

Elves, fairies and magical beings infuse this playful deck, seeking to spark your imagination and intuition. Fantasy artist Howden’s art and booklet urge you to feel hopeful on your path forward out of the dark. A light-hearted deck for Fae devotees!

Oracle of the Radiant Sun

By Caroline Smith & John Astrop

Published by Red Feather

ISBN: 9780764357152/ 84 cards + 144-page booklet $29.99

Merging symbols and astrology, this vibrant deck allows you to follow the Sun’s path through the challenging and easier times in your life. Smith and Astrop’s book provide easy to use astrological charts and forecasts to predict your future. A tempting and insightful deck for astrology and intuitive students in search of accuracy.

Soulflower Plant Spirit Oracle

By Lisa Estabrook

Published by Findhorn Press

ISBN: 9781644114766/ 44 cards + 176-page booklet $30.00

Estabrook’s deck is a vibrant introduction to the flowers and plant spirits that provide us wisdom and guidance. Those in search of blooming into their full potential will enjoy the book’s personal growth ideas. Showcase to customers that are gardening enthusiasts and herbalists.

Holistic Medicine

FEATURES

IN 1979, WHEN WE FIRST started selling our peaceful music at swap meets, people would come back the following week with unexpected feedback telling us that the music helped them relax or deal with chronic pain. Practitioners in the newly forming massage field were among the first to appreciate the benefits of this music which appeared to enhance their patients’ healing process. Women used it during labor to deal with their contractions. A children’s cancer ward reported that the music supported their young patients in having less anxiety during their treatments and a Texas clinic said our album Ocean Dreams was the only way they could reach a certain child with autism.

Our curiosity led us to investigate how and why the music was having such beneficial effects.

We learned about the process of entrainment which explained how the slow pace of the music helped entrain breathing and slow down heart rate and lower blood pressure. The sub audio Earth Resonance Frequency (ERF) which we later included under the music even helped

entrain the brainwaves to the Alpha Theta brainwave state which deepens relaxation.

Sound healing or music therapy is one of many emerging treatments that people seek out to deal with various kinds of physical or mental conditions. We live in stressful times, and it turns out stress is one of the primary causes of certain diseases. The stresses of old (lions and tigers and bears) are no longer a danger to us so we allow the worries of the world or personal struggle to activate our fight or flight adrenalin to give us heart attacks or cause us to develop habits that decrease our survival rate. Perhaps because of the very nature of our current diseases, we have had to create a new way of healing ourselves.

When our back goes out we get a chiropractic adjustment or when pain is too much and we don’t want to pump ourselves with opioids, we get needles poked in our meridians. When our digestion or our gut is troubling us, we consult a nutritionist or a functional medicine practitioner. For structural issues or strength building we study tai chi or somatic movement. For other issues we might call a Chinese herbalist, Ayurvedic doctor, or Native American shaman.

As I researched for this article, I delved into not just alternative

healing modalities, but a bit of history of mainstream conventional medicine or biomedicine as it is also called. In the process I learned about time-honored traditional medicine from various cultures. All these modalities and systems have emerged from a common intention of seeking to heal illnesses that plague us. In the early days of medicine, Greek philosopher Hippocrates offered his Oath to Physicians which said, “I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgement; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it.”

For over a half century, we have watched the use of alternative medicine grow from a fringe concept to overall acceptance by millions of people searching for solutions to their health issues. Studies show that a third of the American population has sought ‘alternative’ treatments. The story of how alternative medicine has evolved and what it means to people today parallels the story of our human yearning to control our lives and our health. In the late ‘60s, young people were becoming disenchanted with modern, mainstream culture and its focus on consumerism and technology.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DUDLEY EVENSON along with her husband Dean are sound healing pioneers who co-founded their label Soundings of the Planet in 1979. Their award-winning music has streamed billions of times and now reaches millions of people worldwide. Their books and popular YouTube channels are other ways they reach out. Visit www.soundings.com to learn more.

They were seeking a more natural way of living and along with that movement came interest in holistic ways of healing.

It is ironic that the materialistic culture created by our parents as a reaction to their struggles — the Great Depression and the horrors of World War II — wasn’t received that well by their children. The post-war 1950s had been a boon for production and consumer gadgets beyond anyone’s true needs. Unfortunately, that thrust of technology spilled over into food production creating vast industries of processed foods or feed lots of cattle pumped with hormones and antibiotics. What had been created to make people’s lives easier evolved into unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, or days lacking meaningful activity. In the 1970s, the realization came that after years of producing more and unfortunately, eating more, we were seeing an increase in diseases which were susceptible to lifestyle choices.

Something was wrong and our quest for understanding went into high gear.

Additionally, the 1970s were a time of a newly connected planet. News was traveling around the world faster than ever — although not as fast as today! Seeing the early NASA images of the Earth in space helped to transform people’s understanding of their place in the universe as well as the finite nature of the planet itself. When thoughtful people investigated the state of human health, we saw that when people got sick, the mainstream medical profession could often only treat the symptoms. Conventional medicine was somewhat successful in diagnosing the condition, often

overly good at prescribing drugs and medications, okay doing surgery or radiation, and usually good in an emergency. However, we saw that little attention was made toward shifting the course of certain illnesses. The ‘70s were also a time when many people were taking back their power from churches and institutions and choosing to become more responsible for their own health.

Mainstream or conventional medicine as we know it today is actually fairly new.

In the 19 th century, the Industrial Revolution had created rapid economic growth and scientists were making progress in identifying and preventing illness and beginning to understand how viruses and bacteria work. During the 1918 pandemic, medical schools were only just being established and the push for a vaccine was unsuccessful. Other diseases that had plagued humanity for eons were being eradicated though. Finally in the 1950s, the Polio vaccine triumphed. But soon cancer was on the rise and heart disease and diabetes were becoming epidemic. Some people took notice that lifestyle, environment, and habits were direct contributors to those conditions.

As conventional medicine was unable to deal with certain aspects of the growing number of chronic and pain related conditions, that gap was quickly filled with a surge of therapies and healing modalities.

Some systems of traditional medicine were deeply rooted in ancient cultures and time tested over many generations. Others were being newly developed. This was a time of people finally honoring the unity of body and mind and coming to understand that what we think influences how we are.

What we decide and how we act is how we will live.

What many of the modalities have in common is an interest in seeing the whole person and not just dealing with the symptoms.

In the early 1990s, after decades of growing interest in natural healing systems, Congress

BOOKS & DECKS for the Spiritual and Healing Journeys

established an Office of Alternative Medicine within the National Institutes of Health. A few years later, that office expanded into the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Its budget was dedicated to researching treatments that didn’t involve pharmaceuticals or surgery as well as traditional systems like acupuncture, Ayurveda and esoteric things like homeopathy and energy healing. In 2015, Congress removed the word ‘alternative’ from the NCCAM’s name, renaming it the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Integrative doctors in the field often see themselves as part of the medical

now from Simon & Schuster and Wholesalers Nationwide

establishment indicating the mainstream acceptance of such approaches which often focus on chronic disease and helping the patient to create a state of overall wellness. In the process, they’re analyzing many therapies that were once considered alternative, subjecting them to the scientific method and then using them the same way as any other evidencebased medicine.

So whatever field of therapy you choose, someone hopefully is verifying that it works. •

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Female Archangels Oracle A 44-Card Empowerment Deck and Guidebook

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Books

PRINTFINEPRINT

BY THE EDITOR

A curated selection of new & upcoming releases in body-mind-spirit

Into the Lonely Woods Journal: A journal of blessings & solitude

By Lucy Cavendish & Dan May

Published by Llewellyn Worldwide

ISBN: 9780738774138

Pages: 220 I Price $23.95

Venture into the lonely woods and find the greatest gift of all — your true self. With premium quality, cream-colored, wood-free paper and a combination of lined and unlined pages, this tender, empathetic journal is designed to provide sacred space for all facets of your self-expression. Uplifting messages, quotes, and art reproductions are interspersed throughout for inspiration.

Ignite a Shift: Engaging Minds, Guiding Emotions and Driving Behavior by Stephen

McGarvey

Published by Morgan James Publishing

ISBN: 9781631958052

Pages: 314 I Price: $34.95

The ability to persuade and influence is the cornerstone of success. In Ignite a Shift, internationally acclaimed speaker Stephen McGarvey explores the subtleties of effective communication and highlights the essential fact that thinking impacts emotions which drive behavior.

Ignite a Shift is the quintessential guide to communication, positive persuasion and influencing with integrity. It reveals the proven techniques that the world’s most effective leaders are using to motivate themselves and others to excel professionally and personally.

The Night School: Lessons in Moonlight, Magic, and the Mysteries of Being Human

by Maia Toll, illustrated by Lucille Clerc

Published by Running Press

ISBN: 9780762474295

Pages: 272 I Price: $24

For anyone interested in spirituality, folklore, mysticism, witchcraft, healing, and self-exploration, The Night School is a highly creative journey into the magic of the night. Organized as an enchanted course of study, with semesters and subjects for exploration – ranging from Midnight Foundations (Philosophy 101) to Divining the Night (Divination 101) to Harnessing the Celestial Tides (Energetic Engineering 101). This illuminating manual offers short nightly lessons complete with reflections, exercises, homework, and even extra credit to help readers connect with the power of the night and explore the deeper mysteries of being human. In an era when our daytime hours are increasingly uncertain and people are turning inward to reevaluate what really matters, The Night School encourages us to slow down and contemplate our dreams, relationship to the natural world, and the ancient traditions of mystical thinking – all by the light of the moon.

Live Life in Crescendo: Your Most Important Work is Always Ahead of You

by Stephen R. Covey, Cynthia Covey

Published by Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 9781982195472

Pages: 304 I Price: $27.99

Stephen R. Covey spent his long and storied career inspiring millions of individuals to make their lives more effective, compassionate, and meaningful. Near the end of his life, Covey felt there was a final component to his work: How to live your best life no matter your age? How to best respond to life-challenging experiences? How to approach the challenges and opportunities of middle to later life — like raising children, caring for your parents, leading and inspiring others, staying on top of your career, contributing to your community, and what follows next? Live Life in Crescendo is Covey’s answer to these questions, outlining his vision for those in the prime of life, whatever age you may be. Covey urges all to “live life in crescendo,” continually growing in contribution, learning, and influence. In the same way that music builds on the previous notes, life too, builds on the past and unfolds in the future. This crescendo mentality urges you to use whatever you have — your time, talents, resources, gifts, passion, money, and influence — to enrich the lives of people around you, including your family, neighborhood, community, and the world.

Playlist

REVIEWS OF GREAT MUSIC TO SELL & ENJOY

THE PASSENGER

CALL OF THE DESERT

Samer Fanek, indie artist www.samerfanek.com

This is the fourth album from multi-instrumentalist and composer, Samer Fanek. The piano-driven album came out of Samer’s sincere, heartfelt longing for Jordan, his homeland. Along with piano and string orchestration, the album incorporates some exotic Middle Eastern instrumentation such as the oud, tabla, qanun, ney, and riq. The music on 10 tracks is rich, multifaceted, melodic, and flowing, perhaps not unlike a soft desert breeze at times. Evoking images of both East and West, in an amazingly successful merge, there is much more here, and the music is calming and relaxing, with a truly extraordinary beauty and heartbeat throughout — outstanding.

PASSINGS

David Franklin, indie artist www.davidfranklin.com

David is a multi-instrumentalist, as well as being a licensed psychotherapist. He believes music is one of our most powerful tools for healing. Passings is a 15-track collection of acoustic guitar and piano songs written about the many transitions that occurred in David’s life over the past few years. The album features the fretless bass master, Michael Manring, on nine tracks and David’s son, Alex, on two tracks. But Passings is not just about David. The music conveys a sense of profound peace that pours out softly onto us all, as well as seeping deeply into the collective soul — beautiful.

Cheryl B. Engelhardt, indie artist www.cbemusic.com

The creativity of composer, songwriter, and music business success facilitator, Cheryl B. Engelhardt, never ceases to amaze. This brief EP — 32 minutes, nine electronic ambient tracks — is the latest example of ingenuity from this brilliant musical artist. This is the first album we know of that was composed and produced entirely on a cross-country train trip. From the train, as the “passenger,” Cheryl sent music files to collaborators, including Gammy®-winning artists Lili Haydn, Sangeeta Kaur, and Danaë Xanthe Vlasse, worldrenowned flutist, Sherry Finzer, and the Dallas String Quartet. Nine days later, 216 hours spent in a train “roomette,” The Passenger was birthed — astonishing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DYAN GARRIS is an award-winning New Age recording artist, award-winning author, and music reviewer, who has recorded and produced 14 albums. Garris’ recordings include a series of independently tested music and meditation CDs that earned The National Health & Wellness Stamp of Approval. Her music is found on Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, SiriusXM, Muzak, Music Choice, airlines, website, and more. Visit www.dyangarrismusic.com to know more.

For over 30 years sharing resourceful stories with retailers like you!

5 Tricks to Using Good Design for A Successful Business

MOST OF US put a lot of energy into creating a home we love. We may obsess over throw cushions and curtains and follow Pinterest for new ideas to bring warmth, comfort and peace to our personal space. Good design in any space is a combination of several elements that must work in harmony to create a lasting impression of balance and well put togetherness, but it isn’t limited just to the hearth and home.

If you happen to be a business owner, it can be tricky to pull this off because there are so many different types of people to please. Your diverse clientele, as well as staff, must ultimately feel as though your shop is a place worthy of spending their time and money in.

But how do you create that feeling, exactly?

As a designer and former gift shop owner, there are a few tips I have gathered over the years to help you craft a store or business that will keep people wanting to

come back for more. Creating the right atmosphere can work wonders in making your business a staple in the community.

TIP 1

CLEAN & CLEAR

This is always my first tip for any decorating, design or renovation project. A space that is not clean, clutter free, and organized will have people turning around at the front door (if they don’t trip on something first.) For many small businesses, space is a precious commodity, so ensure that your floorspace is kept free of boxes, overstock, and the mop you were using that morning. There is a fine

line between keeping stock looking full and making your store difficult to navigate. I myself love shops with plenty to see, but if there are so many things that moveability is hampered, reconsider a stock rotation or you could end up with customers either breaking valuable items, or too afraid to touch anything. Do a daily sweep of dust also, and each day you open up the doors invite blessings in by sweeping the entryway and visualizing a busy, prosperous day.

TIP 2

FLOW

This ties directly into tip 1 and has a lot to do with keeping the energy

THE

is a kitchen designer on Vancouver Island, Canada, and has been working with the world of

for nearly two decades. Her passion for interiors has merged with her love of

producing an approach to design that is both spiritual and practical. While most of her time is spent creating dream kitchens for her clients, she also works closely with people looking to create meaningful spaces in and around their homes. Her newest book, In the Spirit of Home: Practical Ways to Create Your Perfect Haven published by Llewellyn is a guidebook for creating meaningful spaces.

ABOUT

AUTHOR: LESLEY MORRISON

interiors

nature,

moving around your business. Just like in your own home, you should be aware of how the flow of energy is working in your business space. Not only will this make you and your staff feel good to be at work, but it will also increase the incoming of good fortune by moving out stagnant, old energetic “stuff” to allow new things to enter. In order to create good flow, play around with the placement of furniture, displays, and stock items and practice walking through your store to seek out those spots where things seem to grind to a halt. Many small stores have those “back corners” where there is no way to go through, leaving an awkward place where customers cannot share space comfortably.

TIP 3

REFRESH

As a business owner, keeping things fresh is a key to success. Stores that keep stock exciting are likely to bring new customers regularly, and keep the regulars coming

back. Rotate items seasonally to create interest and line up with people’s natural desire for change at key times of the year. While it’s nice to be known for some continuity of staple goods, a little something new here and there is a key to business success. Variety is the spice of life, after all!

TIP 4

LIGHT AND AIR

Every room needs fresh air and good lighting, and the effects of this on mood, mental health and overall happiness has been well documented. While some businesses are blessed with big windows, others are cramped and will rely on good overhead, task and ambient lighting. Make sure you assess your space at all times of the day during your business’s open hours and see that there are no dim sections hampering the visibility of your products or taking away from the store’s overall impression of accessibility.

Be mindful of air quality indoors as well, and if opening windows daily is not an option, ensure your building is up to snuff (and code) for proper ventilation and air flow.

TIP 5

AMBIENCE

This is a great chance to really capture the mood of your business and let your customers get a sense of what you have to offer. A store that is properly lit, clean, but also knows how to stimulate the senses is going to make people feel welcome each time they walk through the doors. Having music playing is one of the easiest ways to achieve this, and rarely will you ever go into a retail business that isn’t playing their favorite soundtrack. You might also consider the role of scent in your store — assuming it is not food based — by using essential oils subtly throughout. If you sell product that is highly scented, make sure you’re not overwhelming customers and keep it to a minimum where possible. Keeping plants in your retail space is another wonderful way to keep the air clean and provide a calming environment.

Look at your business as an opportunity to create not just wealth, but a place to attract positive energies and share your passions with others as well. By making small adjustments on a regular basis, you can keep the flow of good things coming and realize your greatest potential as a business owner. •

The Right Frame of Mind from

Red Flame Woodland Mushroom

Fishing Gnome

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

Robert Louis Stevenson

•

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Benjamin International 61 800-488-4699 | www.benjamininternational.com

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