The Infinite Field Magazine September 2009 Issue

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the

INFINITE FIELD MAGAZINE

Exploring the infinite field of possibilities that lies in each of us...

WAITING FOR AUTUMN

SEPTEMBER 2009 ISSUE 2


T HE E R V I N HY P NOSIS CENTER The Ervin Hypnosis Center is dedicated to helping people succeed in reaching their maximum potential through the use of hypnosis. Each person is unique and requires individual attention. Hypnotist, Richard Ervin, consults with the client to understand the issue and to tailor the session to fit the individual's need. Richard studied hypnosis while working on his undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Memphis. His studies continued while pursing his Masters degree in Management and Human Relations at Webster College. Richard later attended the Southern Institute of Hypnosis to complete the course work required to gain his certification and the title of Master Hypnotist.


Synolve Craft Editor-in-Chief & Publisher Milton Craft VP, Business Solutions Music Manager Executive Producer

the

INFINITE FIELD MAGAZINE Exploring the infinite field of possibilities that lies in each of us...

Terri Lee-Johnson Assistant Editor/Social Media The Spiritual Bookshelf TIFM Blog Rhonda Jones Assistant Editor Contributor Acquisitions Alexzandria Craft Teen Editor Editorial Assistant Evan Craft Assistant Producer Creative Team Business Office The Infinite Field Publishing 5865 Regents Village Drive Winston Salem , NC 27103 p. 336.529.6762 Advertising The Infinite Field Publishing Display Advertising, Classifieds, Directory Advertising advertsing@theinfinitefieldmagazine.com p 336.529.6762 Submissions The Infinite Field Publishing Display Advertising, Classifieds, Events Advertising info@theinfinitefieldmagazine.com p 336.529.6762 Copyright 2009. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS MAGAZINE OR ANY ARTICLE HEREIN MAY BE REPUBLISHED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR AND THE INFINITE FIELD PUBLISHING (TIFP). Individual articles may be downloaded for personal use; users are forbidden to reproduce, republish, redistribute, or resell any materials from this MAGAZINE in either machine-readable form or any other form without permission of TIFP or payment of the appropriate royalty for reuse. This magazine is not intended to provide medical advice on personal health conditions, nor to replace recommendations made by health professionals. The opinions expressed by contributors and sources quoted in articles are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher.


THEINFINITEFIELDMAGAZINE September 2009

Table of Contents Feature SYNOLVE CRAFT

SCOTT BLUM 46

Articles REV. ALAN ROWBOTHAM

HOW TO PRACTICE THE PRESENCE OF GOD 12 SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS DENNIS MERRITT JONES

THERE IS NO TIME LIKE NOW TO LAY YOUR STORY TO REST 8 THE ART OF BEING SUSAN MAREK

LETTING GO MEDITATION 25 MEDITATION LESLIE LOVE

VISIONING 27 VISIONING

34

TERRI LEE-JOHNSON

MEGAN’S WAY 30 THE SPIRITUAL BOOKSHELF JANICE GIRGENTI

FENG SHUI THOUGHTS FOR THE FALL 32 FENG SHUI PETER C. ROGERS, D.D., PH.D.

THE ALL IN ALL 34 THE ULTIMATE TRUTH MILTON CRAFT

MUSIC 15 CREATIVE PROCESS, MUSIC JOHN MADSEN

TOWARDS A NEW SEASON 73 CREATIVE PROCESS, ART

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20

JAN BOWERS

THE FIVE-SENSES APPROACH TO BRINGING GOD AND NATURE INTO YOUR HOME 20 MAGNIFICENT YOU! TONYA PARKER

AGAINST THE GRAIN 42 MAGNIFICENT YOU!

42

RHONDA JONES

SOMETHING TO PONDER 57 MAGNIFICENT YOU! CARLA GOLDEN, LMT

THE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PLAN 69 MAGNIFICENT YOU

YOGA FROM THE HEART 61 MAGNIFICENT YOU!

JEN ALY

LEARN HOW TO SURF THE WAVES OF RELATIONSHIPS 60 MAGNIFICENT YOU! ROBIN MARVEL

RAISING CONFIDENT CHILDREN 10 CONSCIOUS PARENTING

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JUDI ROSSABI, RYT

38

LORI SAITZ

DAILY GRATITUDE 18 THE GRATITUDE JOURNEY VALERIE LOVE

WHAT TYPE OF FINANCIAL HARVEST ARE YOU PRODUCING 54 SPIRITUAL FINANCE RHONDA JONES

HOLISTIC WAYS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM AND PROSPEROUS LIVING 64 SPIRITUAL FINANCE

ADEOLA FEARON

JOURNEY 63 POETRY LIARA COVERT, PH.D.

DEVELOPING AN EXPANDING VISION OF YOUR AUTHENIC SELF 36 MAGNIFICENT YOU! LAURIE MARTIN

SPIRITUAL EATING - RAW FOOD DIET WITH THE FAMILY 38 MAGNIFICENT YOU! JENNIFER HOPPER

LAWS OF LIFE FOR KIDS: THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT 16 KIDZ ALEXZANDRIA CRAFT

HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT: ONE GREEN BAG AT A TIME 59 TEENS

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DARNISE C. MARTIN, PH.D.

CALLING IT IN 26 MAGNIFICENT YOU! DOREEN P. SWEETING, MD

BE HERE, NOW PART 1 33 MAGNIFICENT YOU!

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z A Note from the Editor z

Dream

Step Into Your Dream

The most important key to making my dream come true is me. It's not someone else out there. It's not something else "out there." It's me. I need to be my biggest cheerleader, my biggest coach, my best team member, and my best team leader.

Dream The second most important key is to Dream Right Now! That means I must do it right now. My dream is not for "someday" it is for today.

Dream Change my perspective. This is huge. It's important that I regularly challenge my actions, thoughts, ideas, presumptions, behaviors, beliefs, and habits to see if they continue to "serve" me in positive ways. I have to ask myself a couple of questions: Do these things hinder me or move me forward? Are they obstacles or do they propel me in the direction that I want to go?

Dream Let it go. If it does not serve me, help me, or aid me in my life's goals, then I must let it go. No discussion. It may be a person, place, thing, idea, or action. Whatever "it" is, if it is not helping me, then it can not exist in my life.

Dream

Forgive. Yes, forgive others. But most importantly forgive myself and then.....move on.

Dream I am not alone. The universe really does conspire with me on my behalf. God really does love me and wants me to succeed. Mother nature really is on my side.

Dream If I am open, life will open like a flower to give me everything I need. When I resist life, life closes up and resists me. When I am open and trust freely, life trusts me with its greatest and deepest treasures.

Dream All I really need is to believe that in everything and in everyone there is love. There is no situation too big, too hard, too difficult, too sad, too unknown for love not to solve. There is no problem without a solution. Love is always here...always with me...I am never alone.

Dream Happy is a state of mind. I choose my state of mind. I choose to be happy. It is a choice. It is my choice.

Dream Reach. Dream. Live. Keep reaching for your dreams. Keep dreaming especially when you're awake. Keep living even while you're dreaming. Don't stop living while you're waiting on your dream. Life is like a relay race. The more you move, the farther you will go.

Synolve

The Infinite Field Magazine

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There Is No Time Like Now To Lay Your Story To Rest “When we drop down below our stories, we are led back to the mystery of here and now.” Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart

Last Saturday, I had the honor of conducting a day-long Mindfulness and Meditation Retreat at a beautiful farm in Moorpark, California. The ultimate purpose of my Retreats is to offer tools and techniques to attendees that will assist them in aligning their minds and their bodies in the present moment, where the mystery and magic of life is waiting for them to open to Presence (also known as God, Spirit, Life, etc.) I believe that our minds are so obsessed with the future and the past that the “stories” we tell effectively keep us in both the past or the future and, thus, we totally miss the power of Presence available only in the present moment. We become so addicted to the story that even when we are not orally telling our story, the tape still runs incessantly in our mind. The stories most of us tell that keep us from being in the present moment are generally about something that happened in the past that generated much drama or pain, or something that may or may not, should or should not happen in the future. Some of our stories are so old and we have told them so passionately so many times that they have actually taken on a life of their own, defining who we are, while some may be more recent. However, what they all have in common is the energy of either resentment, sadness, disappointment, regret, victimhood, judgement or fear (or all the aforementioned) wrapped around them. This is not to say that some of our stories are not sincerely legitimate and worthy of telling, once. Well, okay, maybe twice. <smile> The question has to be: “does continuing to tell the story (to ourselves or others) help us presence ourselves in the moment and find the peace that awaits us there?” As a way of assisting those who attended this Retreat in fully “being” present, I created a mindfulness ritual that allowed them to put their stories to rest. At the beginning of the event I placed a small box in front of the group and shared a brief guided meditation on release. I then invited attendees to write on a piece of paper whatever story or issue they may have brought with them that day that would keep them from being fully present at the Retreat. Then, as a ritual, I invited them to mindfully place the paper in the box, which I referred to as the “Great Box Of Release.” However, I did not tell them what we would do with the box. At the end of a full day of mindfulness practices designed to open us all to Presence, I told the attendees that the box was really a miniature coffin, wherein, I requested they join me at a freshly plowed field in which I had previously dug a hole. I then performed a brief Memorial Service for all of the stories and affirmations of release placed in the box, which, by the way, included hundreds of other sheets of paper that had been faithfully entrusted to me by many wonderful individuals all around the country who had attended my workshops in the past few months. Not wanting to dig up the grounds of every Church and Center I visited, I promised them all that I would include their intention sheets in the Memorial Service at the farm this past week. The Infinite Field Magazine

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During the Memorial Service, I reminded everyone that what they had each placed in the box was really the energy of their story and the intention to let it go, knowing that it was something that helped bring them to this moment in their life. Once we release pent up energy we make space for some new form of energy to flow into our experience based on our current state of consciousness. As I concluded, I invited the attendees, if they wished, to take the shovel and help bury the box both for themselves as well as everyone else who had entrusted their papers to me. There were some tears and some joy in the process, but mostly, there was a very strong sense of that sacred peace that reveals itself so effortlessly when we surrender to simply being present in the moment, in the Presence of Life.

How about you? Do you feel a calling to drop down below your stories that no longer serve you in a healthy way, so you might be led back to the mystery and magic of here and now, where the peace that passes all understanding patiently awaits your return? If so, all you need is a piece of paper declaring your intention, a small box, a shovel and a bit of dirt. I say go for it. Claim your peace. Peace, Dennis Dennis is a universal speaker who is equally comfortable speaking to an audience seeking spiritual inspiration or to those seeking a purely secular motivational message that moves people toward specific goals and fulfillment of their desires. He has a deep understanding of universal principles and draws on wisdom from both eastern and western philosophies. Dennis believes that there is a new consciousness of unity, cooperation and reverence rising in humankind where the value of all life is sacred. He believes this consciousness of unity, cooperation and reverence for all life will be one of the most significant spiritual influences upon society, helping to ground a realistic, spiritually mature approach to the challenges of 21st century living. For more information, please contact Diane@DennisMerrittJones.com. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Raising Confident Children!

Robin Marvel Robin Marvel is an author, Empowerment and life positivity coach and motivational speaker for children and adults as well as the senior editor for Marvelous Spirit Press. Using tools from her “Awakening Consciousness� book series she is expanding creativity and self awareness in beings everywhere. Robin is Leading Out Loud as the owner of Marvelous Empowerment. Providing a variety of workshops to encourage empowerment in all ages. More information on Marvelous Empowerment can be found at www.aurasenseguide.com, a website designed to strengthen your being while encouraging Universal Awareness. Check www.aurasenseguide.com for upcoming lectures and workshops. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Showing your confidence sounds simple enough but if you are never taught self love and inner strength then you are unable to accept the marvelous person you are. You have a remarkable effect on how your children see themselves. The confidence you display will have an astounding effect on the confidence your children have in themselves. If you display low self esteem and lack self confidence then it is passed on to your children. You must take the time to develop your own confidence and self worth as all children learn from example. You are that example shaping their self image. "You are amazing." "You are changing the world with each moment of your life." These are confidence building statements that most people have a problem accepting. How many times have you received a compliment just to disregard it as truth? From a young age limitations are placed on children's confidence. They are taught that being confident is the same as arrogance. Being confident does not mean treating people like you are better than they are. It does not mean always trying to be number one. It means looking within yourself and knowing you hold the power to be a confident, honest, capable person. A great way to start building your confidence is to find gratitude in all parts of your body: your eyes, your nose, your ears and hair. You also need to have confidence within your true inner-being. This is the part of you that really shows who you are. This is the part of you that is easy to forget because focusing on the outer takes over. Ego based beliefs have a tendency to fool us into thinking what we have is all we are. Taking the time to build your confidence in who you are will overpower those ego beliefs. Everybody wants to keep up with the neighbors and be the best at the game, but all you need to do is be the true you from the inside out. Strengthening your inner being helps you to forget about all that competitiveness you have been taught and helps you to focus on who you are. As a parent being confident allows you to guide your children in knowing who they are and, more importantly, loving who they are. Remember it, accept it and BE CONFIDENT!! A great exercise to help build your confidence as well as your children's is to write positive affirmations to encourage you to love all parts of you. Carry these affirmations in your pocket or tape them to your bathroom mirror. The more you recite these positive affirmations the sooner you will start to believe them. Use the affirmations below to get started, then create your own that will encourage your confidence. My hair is____________________________________________ My eyes are__________________________________________ My ears are__________________________________________

The Infinite Field Magazine

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How to Practice the Presence of God We often say that life is consciousness, but true life is much more than that. True life is a real awareness of the presence of God in our lives. Jesus said, “I am come that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” He is not talking about mere existence; he’s talking about a vibrant, vital life where we have a sense of awareness of God. If we don’t have at least some sense, or some awareness, of God’s presence in our life we are not really alive. We need to awaken to the realization of God’s presence in every part, every event, and every moment of our life. God is ever-present; there is no spot where God is not. Even though we are inundated with outside influences we can move toward the realization of the greater influence of the power of God present in our lives.

Although we may be influenced by all the many things that we are involved with every day such as work, family, etc., we can also realize that God is also present. If we realize God’s presence, we can be influenced in a greater way and turn to the greater realization of God’s good in our lives. Meditation is really important, because it is what connects us to the realization of God’s presence.

(Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a native of England, moved to the United States in 1967. An ordained Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, he is now retired from full-time church ministry. Rev. Alan publishes a blog and a free inspirational e-mail newsletter, www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com to which he invites you to subscribe. Please feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.) The Infinite Field Magazine

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We make a direct connection in meditation, in stillness, in the Silence, and our prayers of course keep us connected to the realization of God’s presence in our life. Taking a moment to sit in the silence and concentrate on God's presence within us or just allowing our minds to float freely, gives us a simple way to instantly connect with God. We have the power to experience the presence of God all of the time. It is important to understand that we can maintain the presence of God in the midst of our everyday activities. You may find it easy to connect with the God within or to have a realization of God’s presence during meditation when there’s nothing disturbing us. In these times, we feel centered, peaceful, and attuned with God’s presence. But then we go out into our everyday world and sometimes get so caught up in the experiences of life (i.e. work, family, finances, etc.) instead of living and enjoying life itself which is the life of God within us, moving through and underlying every experience. We sometimes forget that God is present in our lives, and that God’s presence is always there. A great animal cry rose up in my throat and, so, how do we begin to maintain that awareness of God’s presence in the midst of our everyday activities? I remember one occasion when we had Janie and Sig Paulson come

to share with us at our Unity of Roanoke Valley church and Janie was giving the meditation. She used a scripture that has always stuck in my mind in regard to this need we have of keeping and maintaining an awareness of God’s presence:

We can do it very easily in the midst of our everyday activities when we remember God is ever present and with us all of the time. Then as we are going about our daily activities we can know that we are listening to God and being guided by God at all times.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’” (Psalms 91:1-2) During the session, she meditated over and over again on the words, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High."

2. Remember that God is always present by talking to God throughout the day. You might start first thing in the morning when you wake up. Instead of saying, “Oh God, it’s morning!” Awake with the realization, “Oh God . . . it’s morning. What are we going to do today together, God?” Awakening with a positive attitude instead of dreading the day ahead and seeing God as your friend helps to make us conscious of God's presence.

As she did this, it brought about a sense of being present all the time, and that we dwell in this aweinspiring presence of God at all times even when we are afraid or lonely. God is always present. Most of us go in and out of the realization of God’s presence. But in the realization of God as our refuge and strength and our trust in God then we begin to abide in it, we dwell in that consciousness, we dwell in the shadow of the Most High all of the time and not just special moments when we are practicing the presence.

3. Get our families, children, friends, and the people around us to help us by teaching them to dwell in the presence. We can teach our children to enjoy the presence of God, and we can have them join with us. Make it a fun game where God is present in everything. We can see God in the flowers, in the birds and animals, in the breeze and the sunshine, in the water we drink and the food we eat, in the old man on the park bench, in the children playing on the swings, in the experience we are having right now, in the letter we receive from a friend, in the laughter and in the tears.

So how do we abide in that consciousness? 1. It’s a good idea to start with ourselves, affirming that, “There is only one presence and one power in all the universe, God the good, omnipotent.”

Doing these steps will help you to not only feel, but know the presence of God at all times. These steps can help you and your family dwell in the presence of the most high. The Infinite Field Magazine

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EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A BOOK COMES ALONG THAT TOUCHES YOUR SOUL..... "Waiting for Autumn is a warm and revealing book about personal transformation. Its narrative reveals the honesty of one who has really walked the path of forgiveness and divine connection and found the rewards of intuition, mission, and synchronistic flow. This book will speak to everyone." - James Redfield, the author of The Celestine Prophecy

Coming April 2010


MUSIC is part of our lives..it is comprised of our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and desires. That feeling of peace, comfort, inspiration, and joy in the moment of need. That soothing voice or that soothing instrument that brings prosperity and vision in one's life. Most of us can use music to relate to an experience, to help resolve an issue, or for just plain relaxing pleasure. So, what is this thing called music? It is a symphony orchestra performing a Beethoven symphony, Miles Davis and his jazz quartet swinging, Chris Botti performing a version of No Ordinary Love..a creative expression of one's inner thoughts and ideas displayed through song or instrumentation. As a musician and a composer, I understand how music helps to create an atmosphere of peace and joy. The use of music has been proven throughout the years of being a positive and effective method of helping people to relax and unwind after a long day or a means to clear their minds so that they can focus clearly on distressful issues or situations in their lives. Music is Therapy and can be used as a source of Meditation and Creativity which always allows individuals to find a place of serenity, peace and joy. Meditation and music go hand in hand. By taking music and connecting it with the powerful energy of positive thoughts, this creates an awareness of joy, inner peace, and happiness. During this process we seek to achieve a higher state of consciousness, greater focus, creativity, self-awareness, and a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind with the assistance of music and a positive atmosphere. Habitually using music as a form of meditation allows music to be the accepted or "choice" method of comfort. Music is a magical art form. The creative expression inside of each of us that comes from our thoughts, emotions, and desires. We create it by pushing air through our mouths, by plucking, bowing, blowing, banging, or pressing various instruments (these days, computers). But once music enters the air, it becomes pure, free sound. Music travels the world -- without a passport. From Beethoven who calls it Symphony #5 to Miles Davis who calls it Kind of Blue, to Count Basie who says you must Take the A Train in order to feel it, it’s available to everyone. Music has a profound effect on all of us. The universe gives us the ability to channel our thoughts and emotions into music. Nature provides a daily venue to receive an inspirational thought for creativity. Buy listening to the birds, the wind, or the rain, you can use nature to channel your thoughts and emotions into music. Take the time to just listen to what is going on around you. Tap into your thoughts, emotions, and desires and create beautiful music.

Milton Craft

The Infinite Field Magazine

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Min. Jennifer Hopper's mission is to promote love, peace, freedom, and understanding on the planet. Currently, she provides parents, teachers, and children tools and information that support them in understanding themselves and one another. She has one daughter who allows her the blessing of learning more about Love.

LAWS of LIFE for KIDS The Law of Cause and Effect “Hi, mom, I’m home,” Trevon called out, as he walked in the door setting his backpack on the table. “Hi,” his mom replied, “how was school today?” “Well, I made a bad choice and had to go sit in the principal’s office during recess,” said Trevon. “Really, why do you think it was a bad choice?” asked his mother. “Miss Smith told me it was,” he replied. “Well, I do not believe in good or bad choices, Trevon,” his mother said. “What do you mean, mom?” He asked. “Sometimes people use the words good or bad to describe things so that they quickly get our attention. Things including choices are not necessarily good or bad because they give us a chance to learn. See, I believe that each of us has a very powerful mind. First, we think a thought. Next, we take action based on that thought. We get a result or a consequence from our action. Then, we get to see how that result feels for us. The result or consequences either feels good or not so good to us,” continued his mother. “In other words, we make a choice, see how it turns out, and then see how we feel about the choice we made and the consequences or results that occur because of our choice. If the result or consequence from an action turns out in a way that not only feels good but also has,a good result, then the next time we have the chance we can make the same choice. If it does not turn out in a way that feels good, then the next time we get the chance, we can make a different choice. Either way, we learn that each choice begins with a thought and that each choice we make has a result. So, choices are not good or bad, they are just ways to learn,” mother explained.

The Infinite Field Magazine

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THO

UGH

T

N O I ACT

“Do you want to tell me what happened, so I can help you to understand?” she asked. “I guess so,” he said uncertain. “I picked up my backpack and threw it at Devyn. It hit him in the head,” explained Trevon. “Why did you throw the backpack” asked his mother. “I thought he was ignoring me and I wanted him to listen to me,” Trevon said. “You had a thought that Devyn was ignoring you. You wanted him to listen to you, so you thought you could get his attention by throwing the backpack at him, is that right?” she asked. “Yes,” said Trevon. “And how did you feel when you saw the result of choosing to throw the backpack at him?” asked his mother. “It did not feel good at all. I felt sad that I hurt my friend. I missed the whole recess and did not get to tell Devyn what I wanted to anyway,” he sighed. “So, next time what would you like to do differently?” Asked mom. “Well, I guess I could think about when I might have another time to talk to him. Maybe I could tell him at recess, when he is not busy. I could call him when I get home from school,” he said. “Those are great ideas, Trevon! That thought with one of those actions may lead to a much better feeling for you!” mother said, excitedly. “I understand what you mean, mom,” replied Trevon, “the choice I made to throw the backpack started with the thought that I wanted Devyn to listen to me. As a result of throwing the backpack, I ended up missing out on recess and hurting my friend. That did not feel good. I learned that next time I would like to think a different thought, and make a different choice to do something else! It was not a bad choice because I learned from it. Now THAT feels good!

RESULT

Thanks, mom,” Trevon said as he hugged his mother. “You are welcome,” she said giving him a kiss.

The Infinite Field Magazine

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DAILY Gratitude

Have you ever struggled with gratitude? I know I have. As I write about gratitude every month for this magazine, I am on this journey of learning what gratitude is all about right along with you. Just like you, I know that there are many benefits of being grateful. And I attempt to be more grateful for all the situations and circumstances in my life. And sometimes, many times, I see only the challenge, and not the gift in that moment. There are times when I struggle with gratitude. I am struggling this month; struggling with being grateful for all the amazingly good things I have in my life. On top of that, I’m beating myself up for not being more appreciative of them. Intellectually, I look around and see that I live in a beautiful, tropical environment. I have family and friends who love me so much. I have food to eat, a house to live in and a strong, healthy body. I have most all of the toys that a “21st century human� could want.

The Infinite Field Magazine

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Daily Gratitude I’ve been reading a few books (I’m always reading a where the money is coming from to pay your credit few books!) such as Esther and Jerry Hicks' "Ask and card this month. You’re immersed in the moment, It Is Given," Marci Shimoff's "Happy For No living in the now, right where all the experts tell us Reason," and Deborah Norville's "Thank You Power." our power is. I’m starting to think that one of the reasons I’m not So if you’re not feeling the gratitude, even though feeling more grateful right now is because I’m too you know you have plenty to be thankful for, see if focused on myself. I used to taking the focus off yourself volunteer my time to teach illiterate and putting attention to adults how to read, a job that is both someone who needs your very challenging and rewarding. I Questions support is the remedy. If you also used to lead workshops to teach don't already have an outlet for other people to be adult literacy doing that, take a look on What is wrong with me? tutors. Before that I spent time www.VolunteerMatch.org to every week at a children’s shelter, Why am I not grateful? find a volunteer activity that playing with and feeding babies fits your interests. Or check in who had been taken by the state Have you ever been here? with your local United Way from parents who were not able to organization. There are plenty care for them. If you've struggled like I do from of people and causes out there time to time, here are a few tricks But shortly after I started my own that can use your help. You'll that can get you back on track with company, I dropped the volunteer discover a whole new attitude gratitude: activities to devote all my time and of gratitude. energy to the business. The plan Lori Saitz is the Founder and 1. Get out of your own head. Stop was to donate a portion of profits to Chief Executive Rabbit of Zen beating myself up for not being Rabbit Baking Company, literacy and other organizations, so I which makes the world more appreciative of the things in would still be giving back. Now six famous Gratitude Cookie™. your life. years later, I’m thinking I need to The Gratitude Cookie™ is perfect for showing get back to some hands-on time for 2. Focus on the people in your life appreciation for valued those volunteer activities. relationships, whether and not on things. business or personal. To sign When you’re involved in helping up for F.R.E.E. “Gratuities3. Refocus energy on what really Tips on Bringing More Joy to someone else through his or her Your Life” and learn more matters. Get the focus off challenges, you’re not thinking about The Gratitude yourself. Volunteer or give some of Cookie™, visit about how frustrated you are www.GratitudeCookie.com. your "toys" to someone who needs because you want a new car. When you’re reading a story to an HIVthem. positive three year-old who can’t go home because his mother is a drug addict, you’re not thinking about

The Infinite Field Magazine

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PHOTOS BY JAN BOWERS

THE FIVE-SENSES APPROACH TO BRINGING GOD AND NATURE INTO YOUR HOME Have you ever experienced a spiritual revelation in the wilderness? Jesus, Buddha, and every indigenous healer have all had revelatory experiences while fasting, praying, or meditating under the glorious stars and trees presented by nature. What the enamored authors and saints alike forget to mention, is that at some point we have to leave the peaceful scenery of nature and go back home. These days, our homes are likely cluttered, close to neighbors, surrounded by concrete, and wreathed in industrial noises. During a vacation, opening to the God Spirit is fabulous and exciting. We must remember that it is possible to channel the same experience into our everyday living at home. Have you ever wanted to ask mountains what it feels like to touch heaven, or wondered if the midnight

sun radiates warmth? Have you ever felt compelled to visit Alaska? Every year approximately 1.5 million people answer “yes” and flock to Alaska and other destinations by planes, cruise ships, and the occasional Canadian automobile in an effort to reconnect with nature. I was among the tourists in 2005, at the request of a man I had been dating for one month who would eventually ask me to marry him but first invited me on an adventure. He knew the perfect place, he said, with the laughing eyes that would make me say “yes” to both questions – I would visit him at his home in Alaska and together we would head to the Copper River to camp on mud flats and fish with dip nets for the river’s world-famous salmon. The Copper runs approximately 300 miles through southeast Alaska, negotiating the Chugach and Wrangell mountain ranges in its

path. It is fed by glaciers and gray from silt, a torrent so fast and so cold that the slightest mishap can become tragedy in an instant. The native word for the river is “Ahtna,” a name for the native people who inhabit the delta area. Three days into the trip, I was clinging to an aluminum boat trying to keep my balance against swirling currents, covered in fish blood and slime, grimy from days spent on the soot-filled flats, with heaven only knows what happening to my hair, when the Copper facilitated my inaugural conversation with God. A vast, magnificent Spirit told me to breathe, loosen my grip on the boat before I hurt it, and laugh in wonder at the landscape around me. I did, and that is how the Copper, and Alaska herself, became my home, my church, and my muse.

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It is not unusual for humans to encounter the Great Divine in Nature. Visit a local bookstore and you will find volume after volume on the subject. If you have spent any amount of time in the great outdoors, it is easy to understand why - “Nature” is simply the Holy Spirit’s pseudonym. The natural world is the ideal environment to facilitate divine communication. The key to continuing the spiritual awakening sparked in Nature is to recreate the environment that facilitated communication with the Divine. The most logical place is your home, where you begin and end every day. If you are fortunate enough to inhabit a calm, peaceful space, then you have a wonderful foundation upon which to build. On the contrary, if your home is a harbor for stress or unwanted belongings, stay tuned for next month’s discussion of how to bring a natural peace into your home. To tackle the challenge of creating the environment you need to invite God in, first close your eyes and return in your mind to the natural place where you feel most alive. For me, this place is on the trail up the cliffs above the Copper River, where you can perch and look the eagles in the eye. Next, commit to engaging all five of your God-given senses. Whether you saw or spoke to the Spirit on a mountain, on the water, in a meadow, or somewhere in between, the Divine probably appeared while you were rested, calm, and excited about the world around you in a place that aroused your sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound. •

Sound – Is your natural space quiet, or filled with noise? Perhaps you hear insects, wind, or water. Maybe birds cry or animals rustle in the trees. In nature, you do not hear a blaring television, the ring of a cell phone, or the squeal of car tires. So clear out the electronic clutter from your home, or at least shut it off for a predetermined amount of time each day. Do you live in an apartment or town home and can’t get away from the noise? One thing every Alaskan or naturalist knows is the value of a lightblocking or using noise-reducing curtains. These curtains are one of the ways to deal with around-the-clock sun or the sounds of the urban jungle. Home Depot, Target, or your local fabric store should offer a variety of both plastic and cloth options starting from around $12 per curtain.

Taste – Why does food cooked outside always taste better? No one knows, but the fresh, clean air and the relaxed state of mind it induces certainly have something to do with it. The natural world also offers us a bounty of herbs, fruits, and plants to add to our daily pleasures. The true beauty of plants to someone trying to create a more natural space is that they can be grown inside. Start with herbs such as basil, cilantro, thyme, marjoram, or oregano on a windowsill to enhance taste, color, and scent in your space. Get creative – the most beautiful window display I have ever seen was formed by the single vine of cucumbers a man in Soldotna, Alaska, grew in place of privacy shades inside every window in his living room. These herbs and veggies can not only add tremendous taste to your foods, but can also help you to add a little nature inside your home with a beautiful herb garden. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Sight – What catches your eye when walking through your favorite natural spot in the great outdoors? Green is the color most strongly associated in our psyche with Nature. Channel that energy into your home. Be bold with your color choices to stimulate your mind and emotions. Yellow is used to lift the spirit; blues are soothing; reds are empowering and revitalizing; and both oranges and purples enhance the psyche. Don’t want to spend a lot of money on canary yellow furnishings? Head to your local craft store to buy fabric in bulk for pillows, slipcovers, table cloths, or drapes, or hit up the clearance section of World Market, Home goods, and similar stores to find every color under the sun. Once you add these, you will be able to look around your home and see the beauty of nature within.

Touch – Is the rough bark of a tree or the slippery leaf of a vine something you can duplicate at home? There are more textures than the satins and cottons of our modern world allow, and unfortunately, our computer-dulled fingers no longer pay attention to the way things feel. Contrast is the key to infusing your home with textures reminiscent of tree bark, soft white sand, or even water. Fill bowls or shallow dishes with rocks or crystals; toss a bamboo or rope rug on the floor to get your feet into the action; or rest your back against down-filled pillows on the couch.

Smell – What does your space smell like? To me, God smells like fish. Now, this might not be the right smell for you. But if you are blessed enough to associate Nature with smells that are a bit more pleasant, try diffusing essential oils like pine, spruce, or cedar wood to fill your space. Many North American Indian groups believe that the cypress tree, whose branches form an umbrella from heavens to earth to shelter animals and humans underneath, is the best source of the divine. Cypress oil is readily available at most natural food stores. Don’t want to mess with oils? Yankee Candle Company offers aromatic blends like “Summer Breeze” and “Wooded Forest” that are easily found at Linens and Things or a local gift store.

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This transition can be one of the most joyous things that you will ever do. Once you let go of your ideas about what a home “should” look like, and realize that no two people have the same image of God, nor do they have the same conversations with the Spirit or think about the same thing while exploring our great natural world. If the goal is to make your space a more natural one, there is no place for concern about matching your table settings to your living room chairs to your child’s stuffed animals. Your time is better spent creating a space that makes the Great Spirit look into your home and say “well now, that is somewhere I want to be – that looks like something I made.”

PHOTOS BY MARK AVENELL

Jan Bowers is a naturopathic practitioner, iridologist, nutrition consultant, and personal trainer who calls Alaska "home." She works with both people and animals, and currently serves on the board of the International Iridology Practitioners Association. Jan writes about how to heal your mind, body, and spirit the Alaskan way. She blogs about Alaska at eaglesanddravens.blogspot.com, and also maintains the educational website www.JanBowers.com. www.JanBowers.com

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Coming Soon...Free Tele-Conference The Infinite Field Magazine presents:

7 Ego Snags That Block Financial Abundance: How To Allow Spirit To Be The CEO Of Your Life Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 8:00 PM EST (60 minutes) hosted by Valerie Love Financial Contributor for TIFM & Author of God Is In Love With You

Stay Tuned for More Information

Other events with Valerie Love: Science of Getting Rich 40-Day Coaching Program begins Wednesday, October 7, 2009 www.liveyourdestinytoday.com


LETTING GO MEDITATION Minute Meditation

WITH SUSAN MAREK

It takes only a minute to read and breathe. This meditation may be used at any time to center and refresh your energy. I encourage you to first call on your angels and guides to be at hand and to provide a comfortable, loving presence during your meditation. You may also find it helpful to record these words in your own voice and play it back during meditation. I recommend you perform this meditation sitting comfortably on the floor or a chair. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Inhale through your nose, letting the breath flow easily and effortlessly into your lungs. Exhale slowly, allowing your breath to gently flow upward and out through your mouth. Relax deeper into yourself as you take another deep breath, again letting it effortlessly flow in through your nose and out through your mouth. Visualize yourself standing on a sandy beach. The ocean is calm and the waves gingerly roll onto the sand. It is dusk, and you are enjoying a beautiful sunset. Breathe... You take a deep breath and notice how the salt and moisture refresh your senses. You begin to walk along the beach at a leisurely pace. Ahead, you see an object in the sand. It is exactly the object you were looking for. You reach down and pick it up. What is it? Notice its shape, color, and texture. The object you are now holding is the perfect receptacle for all of your present worries and fears. You hold the object in both hands and place it against your heart. As you take a deep breath, bring gently to mind all of your concerns and fears. As you exhale, allow those worries to enter the object. Again, breath deeply and release all your fears into this perfect receptacle. Breathe... It is now time to release this object, letting go of everything that is blocking your path. Letting go of everything that is not in your highest and best good. Letting go... You walk to where the waves are lapping on the sand and place your object into the water. The ocean carries your object away and all your fears, worries, and concerns along with it. You watch it float further and further away from you and the shore, breathing deeply and celebrating your freedom from these blocks. As the sun finally sinks below the horizon, your object floats out of sight. You breath deeply, grateful to the ocean and Spirit for clearing away your fears and worries. When you are ready, take a deep breath and feel the energy flowing through your body as you gently come back into the room and continue with your day, fully energized and refreshed, knowing you are moving forward free of cares and concerns. Susan Marek is a life-long intuitive who uses her gifts of claircognizance, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience to be of Divine service. She works with angels, ascended masters, and elementals to provide healing, guidance, and insight to earthly issues. Trained as Reiki Master and as an Angel Therapy Practitioner® and medium, certified by Doreen Virtue, PhD, Susan uses her knowledge to be of service to others through readings, speaking, and writing. She is the author of “A Children’s Guide to Chakras.” For more information on Susan, please visit www.susanmarek.com. The Infinite Field Magazine

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D

id you know that everything you desire is already

available to you right now? How’s that you ask? If it’s all right here why don’t I see it or have it? It is available to you in the energetic realm of spirit in which everything originates. If you have a desire, but feel you have no resources to make it happen—call it in. Calling it in means recognizing that you are spirit, all that appears to be solid matter is actually spirit or energy congealed into a specific form that someone “called in to being,” with their own thought process and focus. And you can too. Whatever you desire, large or small, hold no judgment about it, just picture it, and see if you can take 1 step toward it in your life. Then, and this is important, look up, watch for any shifts or opportunities especially if it looks scary or too difficult to do. Do It! It is the universe’s response. Do that thing and then another will be revealed. You will be calling it in by your thought and movement toward it. You are not the only one who holds that desire or who has manifested it, so if you can see that it exists in the world, you know it is available. Now just call it in for yourself. Remember for every demand there is abundant supply. If you want a new relationship or to spice up the one you have, start visualizing what this would be. Instead of focusing on what you don’t want in a relationship, focus on what you do want. Make that proverbial list of your ideal mate or situation. It may sound hoaky, but it is a very powerful tool when you do it with intention. Look at it daily and allow yourself to think that you are in fact pulling the relationship to you. Don’t go trying to figure out a solution by focusing on the natural, material world. Remember this is a supernatural, metaphysical process in an energetic universe – everything begins there. Our common mistake is that we try to make it happen from this realm. And, here’s where a lot of teachings leave us hanging; the point that they don’t fully cover, leaving many people disappointed with their results. We focus on the problem as if the solution is going to jump out from it. The solution is not in the problem. In specific terms, worrying about money, will not create more money, only more lack, because you focus upon the lack by worrying. The solution exists, but you must look up from the problem long enough to see the possibilities. Our task is to keep our minds on spirit and create from

Calling It In

By Darnise Martin, Phd

Dr. Darnise Martin, Phd is an expert Relationship and Spirituality mentor, University professor, and author of Beyond Christianity: African Americans in a New Thought Church (NYU Press). Visit her online at: www.drdarnisemartin.com www.drdarnisemartin.com for more details.

there with our minds and thoughts. Remember, whatever you focus on, grows. If you desire something focus on it, move toward it, and watch it grow into manifestation. One of my mentors says, “The Universe Brings Me Opportunities All of The Time. My Job Is To Say Yes. No Matter What.” Is that scary? You bet it is. But when we step into our opportunities more of them show up. When we withdraw in fear, we only receive more of what we have or even less. To say that you want more than what you have right now, is to agree to step into universal flow. This automatically requires growth and change. Be grateful for these shifts. It means the universe is responding to your request. You are calling it into being. The Infinite Field Magazine

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THE COMFORT SPOT

As I reflected on these thoughts and prepared for this month’s sharing, a vivid memory came forth; memories of being in the womb. We began this physical journey possessing all that we needed: safety, security, protection, comfort, and nourishment even before our birth entry. OK, so maybe you don't remember your birth as vividly, but you can: Imagine that you are floating in your mother's womb. Imagine there in those moments the simplicity of allowing as you float gracefully and effortlessly in the womb and ‘let’ or allowed your every need be met. Imagine in that sacred space knowing that all that we desired manifested in the stillness of ‘BE’ing. How divine and perfect our existence was in this space of perfection,the womb, as we trusted that all we desired our Creator had already prepared and we in each perfect moment received each perfect gift.

Visioning

V

Visioning is a gift from the Divine Creator, that supports, transforms and edifies as we evolve on this journey of purpose in becoming who we really are. Visioning is a creative process of bringing forth inner truths in connection with Inner Spirit to return to love and oneness. Where they exist is only wholeness, perfection and the reality that we already have all that we need. It is only waiting for the divinely right conditions for physical manifestation. Remember, we are not here to “get” but to “let”. We are created with all that we need to manifest all that is. We must simply trust, release the truth and allow our visioning to evolve from within and to manifest outwardly. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Throughout time, many wise sages and gurus believe that as we evolved into this world as a physical beings from the womb, all desires and needs were met. On the earth plane, our parents, caretakers instantaneously met our nourishment, comfort, warmth and security. If there was any imperfection in our world of daily ‘BE’ing, a mere cry, cooing, body movement or other bodily awareness would trigger the immediate response and resolution to whatever that need may have been. We asked and received. Is it possible that this gift of Visioning that each of us has been gifted with, is such a simple and innate present from the Creator? One that we have somehow suppressed and complicated our basic instinctive creative process of receiving all that we need and desire?

I remember that while growing up as a child in Boston, that day dreaming was one of my favorite past times. Closing my eyes, sitting in silence in my bedroom as I made mental wishes of all the things I desired. I would then quickly write down my wish list: a pink and white two wheel bike, a baby doll with a bassinet, an easy-bake oven........that was my process before I was even aware of tools for creative manifestations. These manifested because of my desire, my unwavering belief and faith that it would show up, and my allowing myself to ‘let’ it come forth. I also know that between the ages of five and fifteen I had not taken any metaphysical classes, visioning seminars or workshops, yet still innately, I knew a process of how to manifest what I desired. So, this month I would like to offer that we return to simplicity. Let’s have fun! Let’s return to a state of a dreaming and envisioning all of our hearts desires. This may be a familiar tool for some and for others, allow me to introduce you to Vision Boards. I was first introduced to vision boards many years ago by a cousin who shared with me the amazing results and experiences that had manifested through this tool and process. I was a witness and was excited to try it for myself. So what is a vision board and how do you start?

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THE VISION

BOARD

A vision board is a visual tool that allows your desires, aspirations, and dreams to visually be a focused presence. Remember the saying, “what you think about you bring about?” As you visually see a thing, you maintain a consistent energy linkage to your desires. Let's get started! 1. You will need poster board, scissors, reading materials such as magazines, glue sticks or tape. 2. Browse your materials and clip out pictures, statements, affirmations, locations, that you desire to be, do and have. Let your spirit flow and your imagination be open to creating all that you desire. 3. Create sections for your finances, dream home, personal relationships, family, vacations, your health and any other desire that you have. Be creative, let it come forth. Then glue or tape to your board. 4. Place your vision board in a location that will be visible to you consistently throughout the day, especially as you awaken in the morning and before you go to sleep at night. I spend time with my vision board, daily, right after a deep meditation while I am still in a space of peace. I have had many manifestations over the past years that have confirmed the “truth” that this process works. I hold the space for you in the present, knowing and trusting the “truth” of what you desire is already in process, even in this moment, “It Is” being created. The truth and awareness is simply waiting for the right conditions to manifest, so that you may see the physical existence of your visioning. Enjoy the Journey!

Leslie is founder and visionary of “The Comfort Spot” (Personal Chef & Catering Services providing healthy conscious, comfort food and a prism for Spiritual Consciousness teachings and ministries). She is a third year Ministerial Student at “Inner Visions Institute for Spiritual Development” in Silver Spring, MD. (founded by Rev. Dr. Iyanlya Vanzant. Leslie is a tribal member of the Occaneechi-Band of the Saponi Nation and honors her rich and diverse ancestral background through her traditional and integrative teachings and practices.

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THE SPIRITUAL

bookshelf

MEGAN’S WAY by Melissa Foster

Melissa Foster's debut novel presents a paranormal motherdaughter bond and friendships that run deep with love as well as, potentially, damaging secrets. Foster's story stems from what was originally a short story and a personal experience involving her mother. "She had lived the life she had created--and the life she had loved. As much as she thought she should feel the need to revisit her decisions, that need was not there, and something about that lack of wonder made her happy." The protagonist of Megan's Way, Megan Taylor, is an artist full of so much. She's seemingly the centerpiece of an intimate group of friends and has a teenage daughter with whom she has a true empathic connection. However, her cozy world starts to unravel when she learns that her cancer is no longer in remission. Longtime secrets begin to haunt her and her best friend, Holly. Secrets that could destroy their close-knit foursome of friends. And as Megan deteriorates, her daughter, Olivia, begins to act out her frustrations. Melissa Foster's first work of fiction is a lovely effort. She explores the bond between mother and daughter in such an intense manner. It's the kind of relationship that all daughters want with their mothers. Megan is surrounded by an amazingly loving and supportive bunch of friends. Foster has written a set of very realistic characters that are regular people. They each have their own issues ranging from commitment woes to a haunting sacrifice. Exemplifying the group's bond through an annual ritual, the author presents ideas of spirituality in a way that's not obnoxious but is unapologetic. All the while, everything is set against a picturesque Cape Cod. This makes even the toughest moments in the book a little more palatable than had they occurred anywhere else. It adds to the warm and fuzzy feeling that much of the book exudes. The author's language and characters are accessible. All of the imagery is wonderful without being weighty and including a scene that brought a level of discomfort was very smart. At its core, this is a story that depicts love transcending everything. Megan's Way proves to be a moving read and a solid debut for Melissa Foster.

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A WRITER’S

Q A

bookshelf

The Infinite Field Magazine asks new author, Melissa Foster: What's on your bookshelf and/or what books have led you on your spiritual journey?

"I have just completed The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am currently reading What The Dead Know, by Laura Lippman, and I have the following on my To Be Read list: The Wednesday Letters, The Book Thief, Shangai Girls, and The Lace Reader. My spiritual journey has been one of introspection and experience, more than driven by the books I have read. However, there have been certain books that have touched my soul in many ways. Mitch Alboms's Seven People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, and Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, have touched on elements that I believe in. Other books have brought critical areas of life to the forefront, such as the strength and bonding of women in The Red Tent and A Thousand Splendid Suns. The path we each choose is unique and often driven by a vast number of different variables and influences. I try to learn something from each book I read." Check out my debut novel, Megan's Way, http://megansway.com Watch the video trailer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oq6wSElskU Join me & escape your chaos, The Women's Nest, http://thewomensnest.com Stay tuned to our blog, www.theinfinitefieldmagazine.wordpress.com, for our giveaway of a copy of Megan's Way.

Terri Lee-Johnson is Assistant Editor and book reviewer for The Infinite Field Magazine. She also reviews books on her blog, BrownGirl BookSpeak.

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Feng Shui Thoughts for Fall

by Janice Schneider Girgenti

Autumn is Harvest Time. The natural energy is the work to gather crops, or that which we have grown from planting in early spring. We share this abundance and celebrate! After the languid days of summer, the vital life force – or chi begins its motion again, consolidating its strength in preparation for winter. The direction is west, the element metal (attraction), and the body part is lung (allergy season?). I envision the vibrant hues of the autumn leaves and white represents the blending of all these magnificent colors! IT is a season of celebrations, when the work is complete; we cheer our wealth and growth with harvest festivals, good food and great friends! Towards the end of autumn, personal shifts pull our thoughts back to that which we have gathered. This prepares us for the winter months when movement is slow, most consolidated and limited. We begin to start centering our thoughts, our belongings, and ourselves. Feng Shui suggests we enjoy the movement of the fall. It’s a great time for organizing interiors, de-cluttering closets and drawers and see all that you have collected through the past few seasons! Make a scrapbook of these objects, a fun project to create memories in an orderly fashion. Think of creative ways to showcase all that you have worked toward this year. Plan a gathering for friends to enjoy the beauty of nature and all that life has provided for you! This is a most colorful, joyous time of year. Granted, there is work to be done, but once your desks are clear, kick back and enjoy the cornucopia of energy that surrounds us! Many Blessings!

The energy source for Feng Shui Studios is Janice Schneider Girgenti. She invites you to explore your path. She holds certifications as a Feng Shui consultant and teacher from Shambhalla Feng Shui Institute, and as an interior decorator from Philadelphia University. Please visit Janice at www.fengshuistudios.com. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Be Here, Now Part 1 by Doreen Sweeting, MD There is such beauty in the phrase, “the truth will set you free.” The ultimate truth is that you are right here right now. You can go anywhere from here. Absolutely anywhere. But first, you have to acknowledge where here is, so that you can move over there. It is a basic rule of navigation. Find yourself on the map, find your destination and figure out how you want to get from point A to point B. Do you want the direct or the scenic route. Each has its benefits. So, where is here? Ask yourself a few questions. Are you in a state of lack? Are you in poor health? Are you in a bad relationship? What is it that you don’t like about your present state of being? And exactly where would you like to be. Notice that I don’t ask you to focus on how you got to where you are. That knowledge is only helpful when used appropriately. By appropriately, I mean examined briefly to acknowledge your part in the equation so that you understand that, now, you can do your part to get a move on. I call it, “ THE HOW.” This is the story of, “ THE HOW”, you got here. It is everyone’s story. And it requires very little depth of examination to be useful. Based on whatever was going on with you when you were there, you took certain actions which brought you here. Those actions seemed like a good idea at the time, or you wouldn’t have taken them. Period. No matter how crazy or ill advised they seem now, at the time, they seemed necessary for your survival. No use beating yourself up about that huge bag of chips you ate last night or about the decision to give your dysfunctional relationship one more chance. You did whatever it is that you did to save yourself. And now, here you are, ready, willing and able to do just that. So, congratulate yourself. The good news is it’s all about you. Your brilliance, your power and your ability to make things happen brought you to this wonderful state of awareness. The next step. Conscious manifestation! Dr. Doreen Sweeting is currently working on her new book Musings of a Medical Mystic. She is the founder of Psychosomatic Wellness Intuitive Life Coaching. Doreen is a medical doctor with a specialty in Internal Medicine and Acupuncture. She has studied in the United States, Asia and India. She is also a medical intuitive and energy healer. Consultations are in person, by Skype and by telephone. Visit Doreen at www.GOD-AS-ART.COM

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The All In All Dr. Peter C. Rogers, D.D., Ph.D Matter is defined as the formless substratum of all things which exists only potentially and upon which form acts to produce realities. Matter is also material substance that occupies space, has mass, and is composed predominantly of atoms consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons, that constitutes the observable Universe. Knowing that God is pure energy and the source of all things, it is safe to say that based upon physics, that God is the nucleus which comprises all things as the All-in-All. Pantheism is a belief system derived from the Greek: 'pan' = all and ‘theos’ = God, it literally means "God is All" and "All is God.� Suffice it to say that everything is everything. Wallace D. Wattles says in The Science of Getting Rich (2005), that everything we see on earth is made from one original substance, out of which all things proceed. High energy physics says that if we reduce matter down to its smallest particle regardless of what the thing is, we will find the same basic substance or subatomic particles. These particles are the basic units of chemistry and biology and the building blocks out of which we and everything around us are made. These particles are simply balls of pure energy vibrating at a particular speed or rate.

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The All In All We are all the same thing. Nothing that exists is without these fundamental molecules. The entire Universe is all the same stuff, mass, which consists of billions upon billions of minute quarks and subatomic particles that are simply balls of energy. As matter, we each have a unique partnership with all that is. Through our material make up, we along with everything else in creation are virtually one in the same. We carry within our being both negative and positive charges that create a balance holding us all together. These charges are electromagnetic pulses which generate electrical energy. We are an electromagnetic force which has a definite influence on our surroundings. The ability to consist of both positive and negative charges in our molecular structure is exemplified in our nature. We possess both negative and positive qualities that poise us much like the yin and yang principle of opposites and balance. Being one with the All-in-All, we are the whole amount of all that there is: the alpha and the omega of all things. We are the elusive God particle that physicists the world over have searched for. In our essence we are everything that is, was, and forever will be. We are subservient to nothing and all is subservient to us through the Divine Intelligence that animates our being, illuminates our consciousness, and lives and moves and has its being through us. Diamonds, rubies, and pearls are our kinship and the qualities that we possess are far more precious than any other form of being. We are the envy of all inferior forms of existence through our God centered mind and Divine nature. We are the Absolute: perfectly embodying the nature of all things. We are the Divine emanation that pulsates through our radiance and all things are directly affected by our charisma. We leave an everlasting impression that registers on everything in our wake. Our sheer existence forces those in our company to raise their energy to meet that of our frequency. We are the All in everything because all that is in us is all that ever existed. We are the Absolute and the epitome of all things. Emphatically, we ‘are’ the All-in-All carrying out existence on this planet through Creative Intelligence.

Dr. Peter C. Rogers, D.D., Ph.D Author/Motivational Speaker/Life Coach Ultimate Truth: Book I

Dr. Peter C. Rogers, D.D., Ph.D is a Light-Worker, a Motivational Speaker, a Life Coach, Metaphysician and Spiritual Practitioner under The Universal Church of Metaphysics, where he also received his ministerial ordination. He is the founder of TRUTH Dynamics which is a spiritual counseling service. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Develop an Expanding Vision of Your Authentic Self

Liara M. Covert, Ph.D. Books

Many people continue to ask the timeless questions, “Why am I here? And what is my mission?� A lack of insight into the authentic self can prevent you from having more solid health and well-being in your life. This is because energy imbalance is perpetuated by emotions you create inside; i.e., tension, anger, frustration, worry, confusion, depression and fatigue etc. What can you do about it? The moment has arrived when you have reason to feel more confident. It is possible to reconnect with your own inner knowing. You are encouraged to review your belief systems. Even now, different parts of the mind are deciding which beliefs to keep, to adjust or to dissolve altogether. As you raise awareness, and realize you create the life you experience in order to learn lessons, you can also choose to make your choices more consciously. You can learn to foresee where you desire to be and choose to feel as if you are already there. This is part of a process that helps you eliminate unwanted thoughts and visions. As the result, you dissolve unwanted thought energy. You are also building courage and experiencing advantages at each stage of this process. In essence, you are expanding in ways you do not see. You begin to realize that how you feel about self is often controlled by ego. From this view, feeling worthy is grounded in having a self-centered sense of direction. That means, you make choices with personal benefits in mind. You convince the conscious self that you engage in relationships and other situations to help you. The question is, do they always? The Higher self has a more expanded understanding of what is going on. It grasps that what you interpret as crises and problems affect your internal energy flow by blocking your understanding of truth. Deeper parts of the mind are aware of what is good for you. Everyone is invited to bring new wisdom to the surface. Consider these points on your learning journey to develop and expanding vision of yourself:

Self Disclosure: Changes from Within (Strategic Book Publishing, March 2009)

Excerpt available on Amazon.com Ebooks Harness the Energy of Your Dreams (expected completion before end of August 2009)- TOC can be provided (includes astral, lucid dreaming, dreamwalking, exercises) http:// blog.dreambuilders.com. au/bio/ Ph.D. in area of psychoanalysis and international relations. Transferable skills now applied to dream

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Whom or what do you love? From birth, the conscious part of you is unaware of how deeply you can love and appreciate others. You temporarily forget. Selective amnesia. People tell you what is acceptable or not, and initially, you adopt what they do. Those people, places, situations and things you come to love are all sending you valuable messages. Everything is a meaningful mirror. As your awareness grows, you become more honest. You learn whether you love unconditionally or whether your love comes with strings attached. Right now, you choose to sense deeper significance in each of your choices. Deciphering why you love and when you place limits on it connects fragmented pieces of the psyche. What do you fear? Struggle is often expected as part of the human learning curve. By identifying and exploring possible reasons for your fear, you raise awareness of the root causes. As you discern uncertainty, it is not meant to be fully understood by human faculties, this invites you to reduce stress and adapt the best you can to whatever comes. You learn about opportunities to shift focus and know benefits of viewing through timeless filters of compassion. As you learn the mind creates illusion, you can also learn what it takes to move beyond them. What do you seek to control? Adversity serves to help you narrow focus and refine a purpose for this moment or life stage. Every reaction offers insight into patterns and inner wounds inviting attention. In terms of people or circumstances, part of you feels controlled by some force outside yourself while another part already feels completely liberated. It is very illuminating to work through your need or rationale for control. What you view as arbitrary and reason to antagonize are all inviting you to see through the intensity of your emotions. Why does it make sense to trust? Each person has options to explore different levels of consciousness. This opens you to have faith in intuition and divine guidance. You may be in process of or feeling the urge to investigate how you could serve others. You begin to sense that your concept of purpose may in fact be extremely limited. Rather than assuming your mission is to achieve or do something in particular, you may come to realize that learning what it means to be present in the moment and to forgive your own misguided notions empowers you to find different levels of fulfillment. How does the true self speak through your dreams? As you release the need to use the logical mind to explain why things happen, you begin to sense meaning in metaphors. You are open to detecting new levels of significance in multi-sensual messages. Certain things grow more perceptible. You learn to see beyond reason to understand the wider possibilities. Certain questions are not answered in words but through what is felt during practical experience and the energy vibrations of intuition.

Do you conceal how you feel or who you really are? The Infinite Field Magazine

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SPIRITUAL EATING - A RAW FOOD DIET WITH THE FAMILY! An Interview with Ka Sundance by Laurie Martin I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Ka Sundance. He is the founder of The Raw Food Family TV show, www.therawfoodfamily.com/ home. Ka is a raw food coach, author of an e-zine called "Raw Secrets", and an e-book called, “How to Start Your Raw Food Journey,” which he is generously offering as our Infinite Field Magazine giveaway (Check:

www.theinfinitefieldmagazine.word press.com for more details). And a 50% discount in raw food coaching! He and his family currently reside in south west England. Ka Sundance, his wife Kathi and their three beautiful children- Ronja age three, Jaro age five and Benny age seven, have been on a raw food diet for four years. Before that, they ate a normal diet like most people. Jaro, their 2nd child was sick with asthma and was very unhealthy. When Jaro was a year old, his mom Kathi, while visiting her mother, coincidentally, of course we all know this was divine help, picked up a German book titled, “If You Want to Be Healthy, Forget About Cooking!” What a great name! She and Ka read the entire book, and decided to begin researching a raw food diet. The book made sense to them and through their desperation of healing their son Jaro; they began researching a raw food diet further. After just three days of Jaro being on a raw food diet, his asthma went away! Ka has been witness to many other healings similar to this one.

His friend had multiple sclerosis and was in a wheel chair relying on others to take care of her, after she changed to a raw food diet, she regained usage of her legs, and now walks, runs and is fully mobile and living a healthy life. There are also subtle changes that occur for many people, such as no more: headaches, acid reflux, indigestion, allergies, hay fever, arthritis, depression, and many other positive health occurrences including loss in weight. The philosophy of a raw food diet is to eat raw foods that are nutrient rich dense foods, to get the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals that are easily absorbed and used by the body. It’s about eating smarter! A raw food diet consists of raw unprocessed living foods which are: greens, vegetables, nuts, sprouts, fruits, seeds, and wild green edibles. There are other raw foodists who do eat raw meat, and raw goat cheese, but the most common is the raw foodist. I’ve researched this topic for a year now, and I’m deeply fascinated by the many stories of people healed by changing their diets and eating raw organic live foods, juicing, blending and detoxifying. I use a juicer and blender daily, but have not yet gone completely raw. I spent an hour interviewing Ka asking him a series of questions to extrapolate the most beneficial information about a raw

The Infinite Field Magazine

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Q&A

Laurie: What are the best foods to begin with?

pressure on yourself. Focus on adding some raw food items into Ka: “From my experience, it can be your diet with your family, like a green smoothie with spinach, hard for people to stop eating the way romaine lettuce or kale, apple, they have their whole lives. Look for banana, with a little raw honey and the joy and your pleasures, and start almond breeze or try juicing romaine there. Eat what you like in raw form. lettuce, carrots with a little spinach. We begin our day with a green smoothie. Dark green leaves are the Laurie: Since you have been on a best source, which are highly raw food diet for four years, what concentrated with vitamins and were your immediate physical minerals. And, you don’t have to eat benefits? that much food to get a large amount Ka: “You don’t have to lose or give of vitamins and minerals.” up anything if you go raw! You just gain more health, more vibrant skin Ka says the best way to begin a raw and more beauty! It’s more of what food diet is to think about your favorite foods. And, see how you can you leave out of your diet such as animal meat, white sugar, alcohol, eat them in a raw form or substitute them for something enjoyable that is wheat, gluten, pasteurized diary products, and cigarettes. Now you raw. For example, if you love will just have a living raw food diet. chocolate ice cream, you can eat a You will look younger, feel more wonderful raw cacao pudding made emotionally stable, your aura is more out of raw cacao, avocado, agave vibrant and your mind is more nectar, dates, almond breeze and creative. You will gain positive things vanilla. When he serves this to by doing the raw food diet. You can people, everyone wants the recipe, heal all sorts of diseases when you and can’t believe it is made without eat all living foods. We have never white sugar. been to a doctor during the last 4 years. We did not need to.” There are many gourmet raw food recipes that are very delicious which can be found in Raw Food Ka suggests trying desserts with cookbooks. these various sweeteners instead of Laurie: How does one succeed on a toxic white refined sugar: agave syrup, yacon, dates, raw honey, and raw food diet? figs. Ka: “Substitute the things you like to eat with a raw food recipe. The need and craving will slowly fade away.” Ka suggests people take it slow and have fun with it. He says not to put

Laurie: How long does it take for the body to adjust to changing to a raw food diet?

Ka: “Take it slow, it’s a transition because of our emotional addictions to food, and the process will be different for everyone. If you go 100% raw-- expect some detoxification symptoms. I feel the best when I eat 100% raw foods.” Laurie: Are there people who shouldn’t do a raw food diet?

Ka: “Not from my experience. Unless you just don’t want to do it. Laurie: What about people who have food allergies?

Ka: “Food allergies comes from an incorrect diet and you can heal these allergies by eating raw foods.” Laurie: How did you introduce it to your children?

Ka: “Do the raw diet yourself, and the children will try it, and notice they feel better.” Ka and his wife Kathi were very clear on the benefits of eating a raw diet, and because they were so clear, it was not a big deal to introduce this way of eating to their young children. He suggests keeping it fun, without stress and no pressure. He does admit it was easier for him and his wife to change the children’s diet because his eldest was only three. It’s the emotional bonding to cooked food that a child can hold onto. By creating new family meals and family traditions with raw foods, parents can definitely help children to bond to new foods and create long-lasting

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Laurie: I understand your three kids are home schooled, but when they are around other kids for play dates or holidays at other people’s homes—do they want to eat other foods?

Ka: “The interesting thing is the

teeth became white and healthy. Laurie: Do you use a juicer and blender too? What are the differences using a juicer vs. a blender?

Ka: “When we use a

others kids wanted to eat what my children were eating and not the other way around. And, the other kids asked their parents if they can have the raw foods in their lunch box.” Laurie: How do you control what your kids eat when they are not with you?

Ka: “We do not want to control our kids. They are free to eat what they want. They simply do not have the need to eat processed food right now. If that would change, we would allow them to eat differently.” Laurie: What secrets have you learned?

Ka: “When we first started a raw diet, we began by focusing on fruits and that was a mistake because my kids experienced teeth problems. They did not shine white anymore. That’s when we added the mineral rich raw greens into the family diet, and within a few days the children’s

blender, we are getting all of the plant fiber plus the vitamins and nutrients. The plant fiber functions like a broom and cleans out the gut.” And, when we are using a juicer- we are getting the highly concentrated vitamins, water and minerals without the fiber.”

You and your family can learn how to incorporate a nutrient rich raw food diet into your life. To get support or information contact: Ka Sundance and his family, visit his website: http:// www.therawfoodfamily.com/ Please sign up for the free eZine called "Raw secrets" at www.rawfoodcoach.net Email: contact@therawfoodfamily.com

they lack Vitamin D, and so they supplement the three children and Drinking a green vegetable juice – themselves with Vitamin D in the the minerals, water and vitamins are winter time, and Vitamin K2, and absorbed into the body in a matter of Vitamin B12 occasionally. Ka is a minutes. And a blended green big supporter of super foods such as smoothie, it can take four to five the ones I mentioned above: goji hours to digest. I switch off between berries, maca, raw cacao and he the juicer and blender daily. added coconut and hemp. Thank you very much Ka Sundance for sharing Laurie: Does your family take your love and knowledge of raw vitamin supplements or other food with us! super-foods like maca, goji berry’s, ocean alive or raw cacao? I was very surprised by Ka’s answer to this question, very interesting to me! Because they live in London, they don’t get a lot of sun , therefore

Laurie Martin is the author of an inspirational published book, Smile Across Your Heart, The Process of Building Self- Love. She is passionate about helping people live an empowered life through their heart. www.smilesacrossyourheart.com contact Laurie Martin, visit, www.SmileAcrossYourHeart.com

The Infinite Field Magazine

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What is Spiritus - The Spiritual Marketing Directory? My name is Shelagh Jones, and I want to tell you a little about how Spiritus - the Spiritual Marketing Directory, came to be created. Business Promotion First, being involved in internet marketing myself, I was a member of several social networking sites, where the prime intention was to relationship with other people. But behind this intention was another intention, the intention to attract people to my business. And sometimes this secondary intention got in the way of the first intention, and I began to think to myself - What if there was a business directory where people could openly and cleanly promote their business to like-minded people?

Law of Attraction – like is attracted to like A second place was from my work with small businesses, helping them to build their list of customers. A common cry was - I wish I could find more customers who are just like me. People who have the same values, who think like me about how to live a life, how to run a business, how to have business interactions work out to the best advantage of all involved. And often I would introduce suppliers to customers and see a business relationship flourish because of the shared values of the people involved.

Market from Spirit A third place was meeting people who were operating in industries which have a poor reputation for customer service but who were choosing to do things differently, to do what felt right and good to them, not what everyone else was doing. I thought - what if there was a place where people looking for a company in that industry could find out about the values of businesses, about what motivated them, before starting a business relationship with them? Out of these three ideas, Spiritus - the Spiritual Marketing Directory was born. www.spiritus-thespiritualmarketingdirectory.com


M

Against the GrainBy Tonya Parker

My paternal great-grandfather was a dunseni or

pasta. In other words, “the whites” are our comfort

medicine man who used natural herbs to heal

foods. These foods are high in the glycemic index,

illnesses, sicknesses and diseases. Eduardo Lopez

meaning they are digested and absorbed quickly,

changed his name to Eddie Loper when he came to the

releasing glucose quickly into the bloodstream. This

states from somewhere in the West Indies. He is the

causes rising and falling of insulin levels, which can

excuse I use when folks give me that “there goes the

lead to overeating, weight gain and insulin resistance.

crunchy granola/tree hugger” look. The desire to use natural herbs and to connect with nature runs in my

What would the tree have

blood. The earth and her creatures speak to me: rocks,

me eat instead? Well,

trees, animals. No, I’m not Dr. Doolittle. And no, I

there are the whole grains,

don’t need medication. As a mental health therapist, I

such as dense whole grain

spent years making a living sending folks to

bread, basmati and brown

psychiatric hospitals—I know the difference. I am just

rice, barley and quinoa.

used to going against the grain.

Also good are sweet potatoes, vegetables and

One day while participating in a shamanic circle, we

fruits, beans, legumes and

meditated with the trees. The purpose was to obtain

nuts. These are minimally

wisdom from the tree that called out to us. Well there I

processed foods that are

sat, under a young tree of some sort (I didn’t say I was

digested more slowly than

a botanist). As directed for this phase of the

refined carbohydrates, and contain vitamins, minerals,

meditation, I asked the tree, “What must I give away

and fiber. They do not typically cause rapid blood

to clarify my mind?” I listened for a few minutes, and

sugar spikes and should be the focus of our

I heard in my mind, “the white foods.” So basically,

carbohydrate intake. Yes, I still eat white flour bread

my tree friend was validating food plans that had

once in a while. I also continue my love affair with

worked extremely well for me in the past for weight

pasta. However, when I cook it, I most often use the

release. It also confirmed a psychic reading that

brown rice or whole-grain versions, and many

indicated white foods were blocking my developing

restaurants now offer whole wheat pasta options.

my full intuitive potential. Although the optimal nutrition plan is individual for What are “white foods?” More refined, processed

each person, I have done very well by following the

foods such as white sugar and all-purpose flour,

tree’s advice. If you tend to seek comfort in carbs, but

including most snack foods and baked goods,

would like to make healthier choices, then consider

processed grains, most bread, sweetened dairy

going against the grain by trying out whole grains

products, or starchy foods such as potatoes, rice, and

with the fun and flavorful recipe below.

Visit Tonya at www.mindbodyandspiritworks.com and www.facebook.com/NaturalSistah.

The Infinite Field Magazine

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CURRIED WHOLE-GRAIN SALAD

above, left: Roasted Butternut Squash Farro Salad above, right: Curried Whole-Grain Salad

INGREDIENTS 1 cup quinoa, millet or whole-wheat couscous, uncooked 1 cup bulgur wheat, uncooked 1 cup barley or brown rice, uncooked 1 bunch spring onions, sliced thinly 2 mangoes, peeled and diced ½ cup dried cranberries ½ cup golden raisins ½ cup pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, toasted 1 jalapeno pepper, minced 1 pt. orange juice 3 TBS curry powder 3 TBS lemon juice 2 TBS honey ½ tsp sea salt DIRECTIONS Cook each grain separately according to package directions. Drain and cool. Stir remaining ingredients into a large bowl to make a dressing. Add the cooled grains to the dressing and mix thoroughly. Serve alone, over salad greens, or with your favorite entrée. The Infinite Field Magazine

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THEINFINITEFIELDREVEALED

Q &

A

Artwork by Dora Taggett

an interview with Scott Blum Scott Blum is the author of Waiting for Autumn and co-founder of DailyOM. Read the full article on Scott Blum on page 46. The Infinite Field Revealed provides quick and easy tips, suggestions, and examples to help you live in the Infinite Field. Listen to Scott Blum on YouTube.com. Click on the links below. Part 1 Part 2

The Infinite Field Magazine

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I am Here to Help! Allow Me to provide MUSIC for your next project: Website Book Trailer PodCast Multi-Media Production YouTube Video Film TV Ad Original Scores Background Music/Tracks Special Event

MILTON CRAFT Musician & Composer www.miltonwcraft.com


Waiting for Autumn An Interview with Scott Blum by Synolve Craft

You are on the verge of a spiritual awakening, and Iʼm here to help you through it. Thankfully, many people are on their way, now more than ever. Itʼs finally time for this planet to wake up so we can collectively progress to the next level. ~Waiting for Autumn It’s time for a great story. If you’ve been looking for a great story to read, then just let your mind relax and enjoy, Waiting for Autumn by Scott Blum. Scott Blum weaves a story filled with mysticism and ancient wisdom that is done in the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix, and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. If you’re reading this, you have already been awakened or your soul is on the verge of an amazing spiritual journey. In a lucid transmission, Spirit downloads this beautiful story and it is my pleasure to share it with you. As I began searching for a feature for this month, it occurred to me that after you get “The Tap” (see August Issue for more information) where the Universe shares with you an amazing gift, talent, plan or opportunity that the next step is to naturally wonder when your ship will come in. God Spirit gives you this wonderful idea, product, company, organization, or service, and you’re excited and full of enthusiasm. But if your dream doesn’t happen for you immediately or just a little time elapses before everything naturally begins to fall into place

surrounding you and your dreams, then the mind starts to wonder: What’s next? When will my season come? When will this happen for me? Maybe your dream is to have wealth, a family or relationship or to find true love. If it is, you might find yourself wondering from time to time: When will my dream come true? I know that God gave this to me, but when...when do I get the chance to actually do what I’ve been called to do or to have what I know that I can have...What I know is mine? Like most of us, at some point and time in our lives, the main character Scott is waiting for his season...for his time of reaping the harvest time to show up in his life. After reading the first couple of lines in this book, I realized that Scott’s story would help me share the process of how we can find our own season the same way that Scott finds his Autumn. Although anytime is a great time to read this book, September is an amazing time spiritually to focus on Autumn.

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Autumn is the time when children go back to school, and we begin packing up our swim suits and summer clothes waiting for autumn to appear. Our senses become acutely aware of the changes in the air as the cool morning air becomes brisk and shallow and the mornings become dark and full of wonder. As the leaves begin to change colors while nature offers its bounty, we often become reflective in our thoughts as the year nears to a close about our failures and accomplishments. Depression can set in if we do not recognize that “the process� this natural process of going from one season to another from our summer to our autumn is an important part of our experience. Those moments that may feel like a wilderness experience are actually moments in our growth experience that are crucial to our learning and promotion to the next level. In reading the book, it is evident that Scott had planted plenty of seeds in lots of different places, but nothing has truly manifested into his truest desires that is until his Autumn appears. Waiting for Autumn is all about the process that we each must go thru for us to get to the other side where our dream is in full harvest. This book revels in the process or the journey that will either make us stronger or make us stronger. The process gives us no choice. We either grow or die. That’s the truth. If you choose to grow, then there is so much waiting for you on the other side of the process.

Joy. Abundance. Peace. Goodness. Love. All of this just waiting for you to go thru the process and to take on the journey to live. Waiting for Autumn gave me several gifts that I will share with you. One of the most amazing gifts was to love the journey...the process.

Love the Journey As I near my 40th birthday this year, I think about my own journey to The Infinite Field. It is easy to think that I could have gotten here sooner or that I should be farther a long in my own journey. Metaphysically, looking at the 40 year journey of the Israelites, I know that everything happens for a reason. Nothing is an accident. It is all divine. What I know for certain is I am exactly where I am supposed to be and everything happens in divine Order. And so it is in your life as well. The key is that you will not move forward until you trust and love the journey that you are experiencing right now.

Release & Let Go There are people, times, and seasons that are truly here for your growth and learning. To think otherwise is a gross misinterpretation of how the universe works that will only cause you pain. If you hold onto them, and do not release them, they will only cause you pain.

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I live in a perpetual and constant state of release. I am always releasing people, places, and things. It is not easy, and learning to do this has been the hardest thing that I have ever had to learn from Spirit. Many times, I wish that I could give this lesson away. And because I had such a difficult time learning it, I was destined to repeat this cycle over and over again. But one day, I woke up and was able to release. I can now say: ‘Spirit if you do not want this in my life, if this is not supposed to be here, then I release it.’ One of the things that the main character in the book, Scott, had to do was to release the death of his girlfriend before he can move forward. Once he goes through several heart-wrenching moments, Scott is finally able to release his girlfriend and can move forward. This release also allows his girlfriend to move into the spirit world freely where she belongs. What a beautiful lesson because when we hold on to something or someone for our own selfish purposes we are actually keeping them from their own spiritual path and spiritual destiny which is where they belong...on their own path and not ours. I learned much from reading the book. For example: The character Scott, like many of us, has gone thru pain in his life, and this must be dealt with before he can move on to the flow of his life. This pain leads him on a spiritual journey where he not only awakens, but finds a new purpose and reason to live. Continued on page 50

But I needed to know more. I needed to hear from the author. I needed to learn more about how Scott Blum came to this amazing story woven in Spirit and guided by the awakening of soul. So I set out to talk with Scott Blum and to spend some time with a literary genius.

So after you received this amazing download, what did you do next? Scott Blum “I did what most people do when called by Spirit. I tried to ignore it. I’m not a writer perhaps it was cross-wired and came to me. Until it was almost physically impossible to keep it inside of me.” Synolve This is your first book, although it really feels like you are on your third or fourth novel. So had you been writing before in other areas or is writing something that is totally new for you?

Synolve How did this book come about for you? Scott Blum One day after my wife Madisyn moved to Ashland, we began working on our house. Construction workers were working on our house and I woke up and the entire book downloaded to me in about 1 1/2 seconds from beginning to end. Synolve Most of us have no idea what to do with that kind of powerful transmission from the universe.

Scott Blum Writing is new for me. Madisyn is responsible for all of the daily content on DailyOm. She is the writer in the family. She had a book out previously and I am responsible for all of the Technology and business side and Marketing for Daily Om.....Wife is an award-winning author, and there is really no need for another writer in the family. Never had a desire to write a book. It wasn’t something I had the time for or really had the desire for. It wasn’t like I had been wanting to write a book or had ever thought about it. Synolve Well, you had to figure out how to actually get the words onto the page. What was your process for moving Waiting for Autumn from a download transmission to actual words on a page?

The Infinite Field Magazine

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Scott Blum I started waking up at 4:00 in the morning just to get it out of me. Not that I really wanted to write a book, but I just needed to get it out of me. So I sat down in front of a keyboard and began to write. I wouldn’t read anything until it was all out of me. First of all it felt good to get it out of me. Then I finally read it. So I said to myself, ‘This is very important. I took it as a Spiritual duty and a responsibility to share it with as many people as possible; and to do everything I could do to protect the energy transmission that was coming through it...the book. I was very fortunate to work with Hay House which is a fabulous publisher. Synolve How close is this to your own story? Scott Blum Many of the experiences in the book especially the more intense metaphysical experiences did happen to me. But it took place over a period of 20 years, and I used an element of fiction to tie it all together.

workbook or manual or nonfiction. I do know that there is a big shift in terms consciousness and I believe that it is time to begin telling stories again so that the material can resonate with people in different ways.

Synolve The characters in this book have some intense spiritual moments. How do we keep moving forward without getting mired down in the process and intensity of our own spiritual journey? Scott Blum Robert, Dawn, Martika - Each one of them had their own path. It’s best to honor what ever experience comes to you whether it’s cancer, loosing someone very close to you or to lead a charmed life like Bill Gates. He is doing some incredible spiritual work. He was in a position in his soul contract to make a lot of money so that he could help other people by setting up these incredible charities.

Synolve I think this is the genius of what you have done to weave this download from Spirit into a book using your own life story as a backdrop. The character Scott has a crucial wilderness experience in the book. Is it important for us to go through a wilderness experience in our own spiritual journey or awakening? Scott Blum Everybody’s spiritual awakening is completely different and we are presented with things that are part of our own personal destiny that are in alignment with our spiritual contract that we make before we are born so that certain things that we need to accomplish we are given different experiences and tools so that we can accomplish our contract. Some people, like me, who have more of a wilderness experience or a more literal journey have much work to do and great lessons to share. Perhaps, the reason I had that wilderness experience is because my destiny was to write books and to become a story teller. I never thought of myself as a story teller, although it seems like that is starting to manifest itself in my life. Using these journeys that I’ve had, I’m just essentially trying to tell my own stories and to relate to people in a way that is easiest for me. It seems to come across in more of a storytelling way as opposed to creating a

“We all have different paths and so it’s important to not only honor our own journey to honor the journey of others.”

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Synolve One of the huge lessons that I took from the book is to honor your own journey because conventional wisdom says ‘You don’t want to go into the wilderness,’ and tries to help us stay away from those painful experiences as much as possible.

Honor your own journey Scott Blum One of the things that’s been misinterpreted in popular spirituality is -Follow your bliss- That what you really want to do is to follow the things that make you happy; and to be happy as much as possible. And again if that’s your path, then that’s fine. But with myself and with many people that I know, Spirit often times gives us these difficult experiences as gifts. It’s not the experience itself that is the gift, but it’s the wisdom that comes from having that experience that is the gift.

Most of the time that is going to be much more important to your overall objective and your end goal of walking an enlightened path than having a happy day. Synolve Reading the book did help me to begin Re-thinking Bliss. Meaning, What is bliss? and How helpful is bliss to my own spiritual journey. Another lesson is trust and surrender. Scott Blum has to do both of these in the book. Scott Blum Surrender is probably the most difficult thing we have to do on our spiritual journey. Surrendering to the universe is really one of the most important things that we need to do.

Waiting for Autumn

Until we trust that there is a plan and that we are here for a reason, we have a tendency to let our intellect try to lead why we are here and what we are supposed to be doing. Which is ultimately not very If you don’t have a difficult experience, then you fulfilling because our intellect is really good at don’t obtain that wisdom. If you don’t obtain that balancing checkbooks or remembering vocabulary wisdom, then you’re no longer progressing on your words or something like that. But as far as journey. So there’s nothing wrong with being happy, identifying our spiritual path and finding out what and if you’re happy most of the time that’s really our personal destiny is and really living life to it’s good. At the same if you’re having a difficult fullest, that takes many other tools. The key one is experience, it’s really really good to look at the Intuition and Relying on our intuition is very experience as a gift that the universe is giving to you. important.

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"Waiting for Autumn is a warm and revealing book about personal transformation. Its narrative reveals the honesty of one who has really walked the path of forgiveness and divine connection and found the rewards of intuition, mission, and synchronistic flow. This book will speak to everyone." - James Redfield, the author of The Celestine Prophecy

Intuition: Relying on intuition is really important. Once informed by intuition, then what you need to do is to surrender to the universe knowing that the guidance that you’re getting might not always follow traditional logic that your brain might recognize or understand. One of the most difficult things you can do is to surrender and Trust that the universe has a plan that really is in line with your own path. That might take the form of a homeless man. It might take the turn of turning right when you want to turn left when you’re looking for a parking space. There are many different ways that intuition presents itself. For me, I get signs from the universe and only about 25% of the time are they logical and that’s just random, and so you need to trust the universe so that you can live as a fulfilling life as you can. Synolve How can our readers trust and surrender to the universe more so that they can live a more fulfilling life as they can as you’ve discussed? Scott Blum Part of living a conscious lifestyle is to be able to hear those messages from the universe and being led to where you need to go. Honor the experience and give it a very important part of your life. You will find out why, but you may not find out immediately. But trust and know as you honor it, you will come to the knowledge and when you face the situation again in a more literal sense that you will know exactly what to do.

So ultimately what we want to do is to live every single moment of every single day as consciously as possible. So instead of having 1 or 2 conscious experiences or goals or paths that we follow, I look at it as having an infinite number of paths as many paths as there are moments..because every moment should have a unique and distinct opportunity to express ourselves in a spiritual and conscious way. So of course it’s going to be many different experiences and many many different ways of expressing our spirituality because eventually, it will become a part of your every moment. My time with Scott Blum came to an end much to soon just as it did while reading Waiting for Autumn. Waiting for Autumn is such an amazing read, and I am grateful to Hay House for bringing Scott Blum and I together for this interview. I am also extremely grateful to Scott Blum for listening to his intuition that guided him to the creation of this book. If you are as captivated and enthralled as I am by Scott Blum and the character’s in Waiting for Autumn, then you’ll be excited to know that Scott Blum’s new book Summer’s Path will be available April 2010 and then a third book will follow in 2011. Both are additions to the series Waiting for Autumn. Scott Blum is the author of Waiting for Autumn and Co-Founder of Daily Om. To learn more about Scott Blum, visit www.Scott Blum.net and to learn more about Waiting for Autumn visit the Hay House website at www.hayhouse.com. For your dose of daily inspiration, visit www.dailyom.com.

Synolve What is the goal of living a spiritual life? Why should we even be interested in the process? Scott Blum Enlightenment is not destiny, but a journey. I look at Enlightenment as a path that we walk on daily.

Synolve Craft is the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of The Infinite Field Magazine.

The Infinite Field Magazine

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Coming in December...

Share Your Heaven With Others !

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Look for exciting giveaways and chances to win! If you’re a business owner, author, or have a product or service, please email info@theinfinitefieldmagazine.com for more information on how you can participate.

a feature by Milton Craft


What Type of Financial Harvest Are You Producing? By Valerie Love In my decades-long study of financial markets and my even longer spiritual practice of studying the world's spiritual systems, here's a principle from Kabbalah I'd like to share with you: All thought is a seed. Your harvest is determined by the condition and nature of your seed. If the seed is defective, the harvest will suffer. If your seed is healthy and robust, you will receive a healthy and robust harvest, according to the nature of the seed you planted. In your life, your thoughts are the seeds you are planting and you will reap a harvest according to the condition and nature of the seeds you've sown.

You are a farmer. You are the cause in your life, not the effect. You are a powerful creator—able to plant and reap whatever you desire. Each day, just as a farmer does, you plant seed. And just as surely as you’ve planted, you're reaping some kind of harvest. There are two important things to take note of here. First, most people don’t know that they're creating every aspect of their lives and as a result, may have inadvertently created financial difficulty. Until now, you may have been tempted to place some (or all) of the burden for any financial difficulties on other people. By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you will have another way to view your finances. Second, most people don’t like what they’ve created with regard to their money—their financial harvest hasn't turned out as well as they had hoped. For instance, if you’ve planted seeds of lack, poverty and limitation, you may be living paycheck to paycheck and are stressed about money because there never seems to be enough. This is the harvest of those who plant seeds of lack. If you’ve planted seeds of ‘just enough,’ then right now you have just enough, but never anything left over or extra. This is the harvest of those who plant seeds of ‘just enough.’ Conversely, if you’ve planted seeds of living well and being financially prosperous, then that’s the harvest you’re now reaping, and you may be well pleased with it. We plant seed continually with our thoughts. What we think about all day long today is what we become tomorrow. I am living proof of this fact: any and every thing I consistently pictured in my mind about myself has come to fruition. Now that I know how to use this vast power that’s right at my fingertips, I’ve learned to create some amazingly good things in my life, such as: • • • • •

Vibrant, radiant, good health Spiritual connection Relationships that help me grow Healthy, happy kids Fruitful Money Trees, and more being planted Fully internalizing the fact that you are the farmer in your life is at once frightening and liberating. It's frightening because when we look at unfavorable money situations that have developed in our lives, we ask: if I am responsible for what I create, why did I create something I don’t want? I cannot tell you how many times I asked myself this question until I discovered the power that was in me all along to create what I really wanted. The Infinite Field Magazine

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The fact that you are responsible is also liberating, for if you created what you have right now, then the power to create resides within you, which means you can create a new reality—one that aligns with what you really want for yourself and your kids’ kids: financial freedom through limitless income streams. The harvest or the tree cannot be different from the seed. Whatever you sow, you reap. Here are the most common negative financial harvests that are produced by faulty thinking (unhealthy seeds): • • • • • • •

Living paycheck to paycheck Being overextended and deep in debt Having bad credit No 3-6 month cash reserves No financial plan No disciplined savings plan Income from only one source: a job

It is said that 5% of the people in America control 95% of the country’s wealth; while the remaining 95% of the population controls only 5% of the wealth. Here’s how the numbers break down. At age 65, out of 100 people: 1 will be financially independent with a net worth of $5 million or higher 4 will be wealthy with a net worth of between $1 million and $5 million 41 will still be working (because they have to) 54 will be broke (dependent on the state or others to help provide for them) One of the reasons I wrote this is so that if you’re currently in the 95% segment of the population, you can learn how to change your thinking and your life in order to become financially independent, or to become a member of the ‘5% Club. How do you begin to change your thinking, so that your thoughts create the income streams you desire? There are 4 major ways to change your thinking: Let's look again at the four ways to re-shape your pattern of thinking with regard to money, along with ways to implement these ideas so you'll have actionable information at your fingertips. Remember, these steps work, but they need you to work them:

Valerie Love is an Abundant Living Enthusiast who teaches the simple truth that we can truly have it all, by using a proven 5-step simple system in each of the 7 major areas of life: Faith, Fulfillment, Family, Friends, Fitness, Finances & Fun. Valerie is an Author, Inspirational Speaker and the creative voice of the online blog: www.LiveYourDestinyToday.com

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1.

2.

Empty your mind of all counter-productive thoughts—which could mean a total brain dump for some people. A meditation practice is vital here. You may wonder what meditation has to do with financial abundance. A lot. Meditating quiets the mind so the truth can be profoundly known. Meditation reminds us of the greater good that sustains us all. Meditation eliminates sick patterns of thinking, by making us more aware. Once you are aware of negative patterns of thinking (seeds that will yield an unhealthy harvest) you are empowered to change. Put your mind on a stringent and healthful diet. Turn off the T.V. Do a 30-day diet of no television, radio or outside noise. Your subconscious mind is recording every single thing that's happening in your world, good, bad or ugly. It doesn't know which is which, and it doesn't ever turn off the recording. And, your sub-conscious mind is always in receptive mode: open to whatever you are feeding it. It has no discriminating faculty. So, you must be ruthlessly mindful about what you allow to enter your consciousness. No news of recessions, or bailouts, or anything else that is not harmoniously aligned with Truth: that abundance is your natural state of being and is everywhere.

3.

4.

5.

State positive affirmations loudly, clearly and often. There are 50 Affirmations for Supernatural Abundance at my blog at www.LiveYourDestinyToday.com. Feel free to use them fervently and often. Infuse your sub-conscious mind with pictures, images and visuals of what you desire to create. Create a vision board, or a binder of your ideal financial life. Mentally hold the picture of yourself as a financial success. Create an inner mental movie of you doing things that you imagine financially successful people do. Remember, you will never rise above the mental self-image you hold of yourself. Always and continuously expand and grow the mental image you hold of yourself. Change your habits, or patterns of behavior. This is not easy work, but it's critical work for anyone who wants to become a financial success.

Your goal is to plant seeds that will reap a grove of money trees, in the form of streams of income. Before you can plant a grove of Money Trees, you’ve got to change your money paradigm.

Your consistent pattern of thinking is the key to and the origin of any generational riches you create; in fact, your thinking is the key to and the origin of anything you create, not just riches. Everything that’s now in existence, and I mean everything, started as a thought, or an idea. It began in the invisible, unmanifest world, and took shape over time and developed and gained momentum to eventually come to life in the manifest world. TO ILLUSTRATE, WHAT YOU CONSISTENTLY THINK (AND FEEL) ABOUT YOUR MONEY IS BEING REFLECTED TO YOU RIGHT NOW IN:

Your Bank Accounts

Your car

The size of your investment portfolio & what it’s invested in

Your retirement assets

Your credit card statements

Your paycheck

Your house

Your business income

Your net worth

You are responsible for, and you are the creator of the condition of each item on this list. They are all just one big mirror; reflecting back to you your dominant thoughts about money—conscious and subconscious— and how much of it you think you deserve. Good fortune! Valerie Love The Infinite Field Magazine

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SOMETHING TO PONDER So….I’m out at the park the other day writing my confessions to God, so that I can release the anxiety, caused by my own thoughts, when this lady sits down on the bench beside me. I noticed her and then returned to my writing. I began to write more confessions of worry, fear, shame, and doubt. All of a sudden, I heard a little boy of about three years old yelling excitedly atop a bench where he was sitting with his mom. They were surrounded by about 30 ducks and geese. The little boy appeared very happy to be feeding the birds a loaf of bread. I watched them for a few moments more, smiled, and it was back to writing more confessions. I began writing about the fear of not having what I needed, mainly the fear of trusting God to provide the things that He promised. I continued with my fear based confessing until another little boy, about ten years old, rode his bike up to the lady seated beside me. He told her that he wished that they had brought bread for the birds because he also wanted to feed the ducks and geese. As I watched him admire the three year old, the lady stated that next time they would have to bring the birds something to eat. I again watched the three year old feed the birds until the food was gone. When the bread was finished, the birds seemed to understand and left. They left the area of the boy to do what ducks and geese do. Some returned to the water and floated along carelessly, others remained on land, and some flew to another part of the lake. As I recalled how the birds eagerly came to be fed, filled themselves, and then went back to lead their lives without a single worry of where their next meal would come from, it showed up again. Soon after the first meal the next group of people came with a new loaf of bread and the birds repeated their cycle of being fed and then leaving content and without worry. I contemplated how the birds just went about their daily lives without fear or worry and were still taken care of. It was in this moment that I realized how I had been behaving. I had been in fear and confession about the things that I need not showing up and went into worry about it instead of surrendering it to God. I just needed to release the how to God, as the birds did on a daily

basis. After all, their needs were constantly being met. Instead of going with the natural flow of life and allowing God to show up and provide in my life, I had been focusing on and confessing what had not been going 'right' instead of focusing on the things that I desired. I was putting the emphasis on the fear of not receiving and thus that is what continued to show up, lack. By doing this I was blocking the natural flow of life. So I decided instead to focus on the things I desire to attract them to myself. One positive thought led to another positive thought which led to the manifestation of the money that I needed or the experience I had been praying for. With a flip in the way that I was thinking I was able to attract my desires to me. Where are you blocking your flow? -When you feel pressure or anxiety ask yourself, what am I thinking? -Then ask yourself, what am I telling myself to make me feel anxious or stressed? - Next pivot your thoughts to the opposite of what you were previously telling yourself. This brings about a shift and puts you back on track to attracting your desires to yourself. Are you aware of what your thoughts are drawing to you? Just something to ponder.

Rhonda Jones is the assistant editor/contributor acquisitions for The Infinite Field Magazine. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a degree in Media Studies. She is currently a Ministerial Student at Inner Visions Institute of Spiritual Development, Rhonda can be reached at Iziz108@gmail.com.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT EACH YEAR IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 500 BILLION TO A TRILLION PLASTIC BAGS ARE CONSUMED WORLDWIDE ACCORDING TO THE EPA? ALSO, DID YOU KNOW THAT 380 BILLION SACKS , WRAPS , AND PLASTIC BAGS ARE FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT IS THAT PLASTIC BAGS REQUIRE LESS ENERGY THAN PAPER BAGS DO. USING YOUR OWN REUSABLE BAGS IS HEALTHIER AND WILL ALLOW YOU TO SAVE THE WORLD AND BE STYLISH. GREEN BAG LADY INSTEAD OF USING PAPER BAGS OR PLASTIC, THE GREEN BAG LADY USES OLD FABRIC AND OTHER MATERIALS TO MAKE BAGS. THE GREEN BAG LADY MAKES BAGS FOR PEOPLE FROM THE UNITED STATES TO LITHUANIA. IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHO THE GREEN BAG LADY IS HER NAME IS TERESA VANHATTEN- GRANATH. TERESA MAKES THE BAGS BECAUSE PLASTIC AND PAPER BAGS ARE HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT. THE GREEN BAG LADY MADE ME A GREEN BAG. YOU CAN GET A GREEN BAG IF YOU PROMISE TO USE THE GREEN BAG INSTEAD OF USING PAPER OR PLASTIC BAGS. SHE ALSO LETS YOU SEND IN A PICTURE OF YOURSELF USING THE GREEN BAG. THE GREEN BAG LADY NEEDS MORE FABRIC. SO SEND IT IN. TO LEARN MORE OR TO SEND IN FABRIC VISIT WWW.GREENBAGLADY.BLOGSPOT.COM. WAYS TO USE THE BAG ONE WAY YOU CAN USE THE GREEN BAG IS TO PUT GROCERIES IN IT. BY PUTTING GROCERIES IN THE GREEN BAG YOU ARE SAVING ENERGY AND NOT POLLUTING THE AIR. STORES LIKE HARRIS TEETER GIVE YOU A SMALL DISCOUNT FOR BRINGING YOUR OWN GROCERY BAG. CHECK OUT WWW.HARRISTEETER.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION. YOU CAN ALSO USE THE GREEN BAG FOR PUTTING YOUR CLOTHES IN WHEN YOU SLEEP OVER A FRIEND’S HOUSE. WHEN I GO OVER MY FRIENDS HOUSE, I USE THE GREEN BAG BECAUSE THE GREEN BAG SAVES YOU FROM HAVING TO GO OUT AND BUY A WHOLE NEW BAG. YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT TO USE IT FOR PUTTING BEAUTY SUPPLIES IN OR TO PUT YOUR GYM CLOTHES IN. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PLACE FOR PUTTING YOUR HAIR SUPPLIES OR MAKEUP, YOU CAN USE THE GREEN BAG. THIS IS JUST TO NAME A FEW, BUT THERE ARE A BUNCH OF OTHER WAYS THAT YOU CAN USE THE GREEN BAG. HAVE FUN USING YOUR GREEN BAG!

Alexzandria Craft is Teen Editor for The Infinite Field Magazine. The Infinite Field Magazine

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Learn How to Surf the Waves of Relationships Currently, I'm experiencing a really big wave of change. This major transition affects my lifestyle and work. It's a wanted and welcome change, but things are chaotic as I adjust to the newness of it all and learn how to ride the wave. During this time my partner, James, has been absolutely amazing. In the midst of supporting me on an almost daily basis, he’s also been doing a lot and is a bit burned out. Just as he watched me experience a lot of discomfort from being overwhelmed, now I get to watch him withdraw and rest which are all symptoms of stress from being overwhelmed.

HappilyEverNOW™

My inner control freak projects on him that what he really wants is attention. As a woman who almost always wants loving attention when I feel down, I want to go to him, to nurture him, and to do anything but leave him alone. Yet, I know what he really wants is to be with himself, so I hold myself back. John Gray has a name for when men withdraw; he says they go into ‘the cave.’

In my past relationships when men began to withdraw, I made it about me. What did I do wrong? What could I do to make them happy? I was basically assuming something was wrong and was asking, “How is this my fault and how can I ‘fix’ it?” This lends to a sort of needy and anxious feeling.

I noticed myself doing that recently with James, asking him “What’s wrong?” But when I realized that he simply needs space, I was able to back away without getting defensive. I didn’t make myself wrong for my recent chaos or blame him for helping me too much. Ideally, preventing burn out is the way to go. However, one doesn't always see it coming.

It's like being in the ocean and if you're not on your board, and the big wave is approaching, you may not be able to get out of the way or on your board in time. I was emotionally ‘triggered’ a bit by his burn out. I took it personally and made it about me. When I don't feel connected to James and we aren't as affectionate as usual, I feel on edge and watch him closely to see if I can figure out what is up. It feels like something is wrong between us. But when I remember to not take things personally and give him space, or take space for myself, it almost always shifts. When I take "me" time, it makes all the difference in the world. I feel refreshed and ready to take on new challenges. And while I am naturally a raging extrovert, there are moments when I can use some alone time. The trick for both of us is creating it or asking for it.

When the waves get rough, what can you do to stay afloat or even surf them? By simply taking a deep breath and asking yourself how you can flow through your circumstances, you may come to an answer you hadn't considered before. Do you need to ask for or create space for yourself? Do you need to communicate something that is unspoken? If you see that your partner is struggling, simply ask, "What do you want/need right now and how can I support you?" Learning to ride the waves of your life and your relationship may not be easy, but it is more than worth it. Learning to surf is one thing, but when you are learning to surf…tandem, it is more challenging and exhilarating. Happy surfing! Warmly, Jen Jen Aly, M.S.

Receive a copy of the Happily Ever Now Guide to Creating Your Conscious Relationship Agreements. Visit my blog and enter your email HappilyEverNow.com.

"To love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive - to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before." -- Rollo May The Infinite Field Magazine page 60


Yoga from the Heart

In the days of autumn, we find ourselves going back…back to school, back to work, back to the things that are necessary in our lives. As we return to the ‘real world’, and the lazy days of summer recede to a more frantic fall pace, returning to the yoga mat can be a great way to find balance. Whether you are brand new and have just heard how good yoga can be for you or whether you are more experienced, but have taken a long hiatus, your yoga mat can be a welcome place of refuge from the hectic pace of coming back from summer. So pour a cup of tea, take a deep breath, exhale and learn how you can get back to the mat.

Beginner Yoga is always a great place to start. A positive attitude is the most important thing that you can bring! In working with hundreds of students in thousands of classes over the years, I have noticed that one’s attitude is the key factor in learning yoga. Your yoga practice will eventually come from the heart. Some lucky students are able to access yoga from the heart as they walk in the door; others will relax and find their heart center as they learn and explore this ancient art. As you walk into your class, often fear will come up. Worries may surface – am I dressed right, maybe everyone else will know everything and I will stand out.

Maybe I'm too big, too inflexible, too old to do yoga. In my studio in Greensboro, NC, I was blessed to work with a wide variety of yoga students, ranging from every body type you can imagine, every culture, every race and most importantly every age and many different physical conditions. I found that yoga is for every body and every body can do yoga. I have been honored to work with a ballerina from Connecticut, an attorney from the Bahamas, a neurologist from Durham, yoga students from as far away as Malaysia and China and most of all, honored to work with the folks from around Greensboro.

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The following five postures are the ones that are perfect for the beginning or returning yoga student. 1. Breathing in easy seated position. Place one or two folded Mexican blankets on your mat. Gently sit down cross legged. If your hips are tight, extend the legs a little until you are moderately comfortable. Remember sitting on the floor is not our customary position in America and this will become more comfortable over time. Sit up very straight, chin level, and inhale to the count of 4, exhale to the count of 6. Repeat 3 times total. Body Benefits: Gently stretches inner and outer hip muscles, tones abdominal core and upper back. 2. Rocking side to side in reclining knees bent posture. This simple posture will warm up back muscles, rejuvenate the muscles around the spine and prepare the hips and shoulders for deeper work. As you gently make your way to the floor, keep knees bent, place one elbow at a time on the mat, lower your back and then head gently and draw the knees in to the chest. Hug them in and gently rock side to side five times. Return to center. Body Benefits: Work muscle groups up and down the spine and hips. 3. Bridge Pose. From rocking side to side, return to the center and gently lower the feet. Place your feet shoulder width apart and walk the heels close to the buttocks. Arms come down by the side body, palms face the floor. Press gently through the feet and lift the hips to a comfortable distance. This is a basic bridge. Inhale and exhale completely 3 rounds, then lower the back body slowly on the exhale one vertebrae at a time. Body Benefits: Helps tone buttocks and thighs, strengthens neck muscles and builds core strength for more difficult postures. 4. Mountain Pose. From Bridge, return to a comfortable position with the back and hips resting gently on the ground. Carefully roll to one side and make your way to a standing position. Find a sensation of being grounded, and place the feet about one inch apart, with the toes closer together than the heels. Bring the awareness from the soles of the feet up through the body becoming very straight and grounded. Move your body into alignment. Heart center is open and chin is neutral. Take 3 complete breaths. Body Benefits: The positive benefit to this is learning to consciously reduce stress reactions in the body. Many people hold stress physically in the body by clenching the jaw and tightening chest muscles. Mountain pose will help bring awareness to release this reaction to stress. 5. Deep Forward Bend. From Mountain Pose, gently release the sacrum and keeping the knees relaxed, lower the head and shoulders carefully (like you are touching your toes). Remain at a comfortable place for your back, relax the neck and let your head hang down. Don’t try to press deeper than your body is comfortable. Take two breaths. Gently place the hands on the thighs, inhale to a flat back and slowly come back to standing position. Body Benefits: Deep forward bends stretch hamstrings and provide a fresh flow of blood to the brain, helping with reduction of stress and depression. These five postures are simple to learn, and will lay a foundation for your body to begin to develop more strength, balance and flexibility. Now that your tea is finished, let’s get back to the mat!

Born in Virginia and raised in North Carolina, Judi is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Judi received her national certification as a yoga teacher from the Yoga Institute of Houston in 2004 and studied with Lex Gillan and Stan Hafner. She is a Reiki Master Teacher and studied with Margo Ross and Dale Stacy, 4th Dan. She has a lifelong love of movement and healing. Relax your mind...tone your body...renew your spirit. website: www.theyogacafe.biz

Judi Rossabi, RYT

In later columns, I will address yoga for special needs. There are times when a person needs to begin their yoga practice in a sturdy folding chair. This is fine and is a great place to start.

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Journey The portals are open The journey begun Homage to the Ancestors Homage to the Divine Homage to the Guardian Angels We lay in the garden Support, solid as a rock Entering transformation of thought Mind, body, spirit awaken We take a golden journey A while Embraced by the sunlight Trees waving and dancing To our song it is a gift we share Looking into the horizon We move, we choose The birds call our names To start The real adventure To awaken the fire inside We experience death Making way for birth A new tree of beauty stands Firmly planted and strong Rooted Replacing old thoughts and ideas We now spring from the warm earth A freshly wiggling reaching creature We continue observing ourselves In the Divine Plan It is time to release, reactivate reclaim Recapitulate, if you please Discover, cooperate Taking us to new heights Crossing through Mother To drink the water of life Ever pure, a bonsai In this heart we beat Reclaim our strength Reaching new plateaus We climb To Be

Adeola Fearon

POET - WRITER - ARTIST ACTRESS - MAKER OF SACRED GIFTS Myola_Creations@yahoo.com

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Holistic Ways to Financial Freedom and Prosperous Living By Rhonda Jones In my personal search to relieve the financial fear and anxiety that I had allowed into my world, I did not have to look far. I had previously been given a business card to Obsidian Institute For Financial Literacy. When I visited their website at ObsidianInstitute.com I was thrilled to see that they offer a Holistic approach to money. I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, I just knew that I wanted to check it out. What I found excited me as well as gave me a better perspective of the root cause of financial and life challenges. Reverends Alicia Hill and Aina-Nia Barkley are the Principals of Obsidian Institute For Financial Literacy. They have two offices, one located in Baltimore, MD and the other in Toronto, Canada. Reverend Aina-Nia has spent many years as a successful certified planner and financial educator and brings her expertise to the institute. After making it through some serious financial challenges of her own, Reverend Alicia decided to take the knowledge that she gained to help others with their money challenges. They are both recent graduates of the Ministerial program at Inner Visions Institute for Spiritual Development, founded by Reverend Dr. Iyanla Vanzant, located in Silver Spring, MD. With their mix of knowledge, experience, and Spirituality, they bring a refreshing and in-depth look to what is really going on with their clients finances.

Reverends Aina-Nia and Alicia Obsidian Institute for Financial Literacy Inc. www.obsidianinstitute.com 888-223-8101, ext. 705 (Toll Free) 443-927-3585 (Maryland Local) 416-243-0854 (Toronto Local)

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HOLISTIC WAYS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM AND PROSPEROUS LIVING OBSIDIAN INSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY

RJ: I noticed on your website that it states that you give, "a holistic approach to your finances and your prosperity." Tell me what a holistic approach is and how it's different from a non-holistic approach. Rev. Aina-Nia: Financial educators, [the non-holistic approach], think only of money. They look at financial security, money, and the physical aspect. The Holistic approach considers all four levels, Spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional, and works to integrate all aspects into teaching us to get to our core beliefs [those deep rooted beliefs that keep us from attaining our desires] first, to get to know what is really going on with the client. There are three levels other than the physical and money is much more than the physical level. The Holistic approach is also based in Spiritual Laws. The client understands this first. We work with the energy of money/prosperity‌..not just the physical object. RJ: Who are your typical clients? Rev. Aina-Nia: We serve mostly women, from their late 20's to mid 40's. Ninety-eight percent are either entrepreneurs or are looking for Spiritual enlightenment. We get a lot of clients who are in the New Thought movement and they come to us because they are ready to experience 'newness' in their lives. We have clients from all over the world. RJ: What are the different types of products and services that Obsidian offers? Rev. Aina-Nia: We offer products that support our clients in releasing debt. We offer weekly webinars that help with debt release every, Monday and Wednesday at 7:30pm and Saturdays at 11am, all est. We require that you preregister on-line and the sessions last approximately one hour. We offer a Money Merge Account software that allows our clients to release debt in 1/2-1/3 the normal amount of time. This software works with all types of debt including car and credit card loans as well as mortgages. We are very passionate about this product. Its results have made grown men cry. We also offer coaching for a three month period and that can be done virtually. [In the coaching sessions]We integrate seven Spiritual and financial principles with the main seven chakras for healing. We support our clients with meditation CD's that can be downloaded or hard copied as well as our E-work-book, Purpose, Power, and Money. We also offer a Telecom system that by-passes all borders and boundaries. It's not just a phone. It also has cable and internet services available. You could be in Peru and call to the US from a US number at no additional charges. It's being used in over 200 countries and decreases your regular phone bill by 50-95%.

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HOLISTIC WAYS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM AND PROSPEROUS LIVING OBSIDIAN INSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY

RJ: It's great to know that Obsidian has such an abundant variety of products and services to help heal its clients. In conversations with my family and friends, I hear talk of fear surrounding today's economy. What are your thoughts on the economy and what holistic advice can you offer? Rev. Alicia: We live in an abundant Universe. We feel based on our thoughts. While healing on an individual basis, we are also healing collectively. We are re-balancing. We went from one extreme to another. We are [simply] overcorrecting to get back to balance. Rev. Aina-Nia: Everything is good because everything is God. Even in this environment, it is good. While some seem to not be doing well, some are. So much greed and overspending took us into a place of un-love. Now, we are going into self-reflection. Unemployment is a time to self-reflect. One can live simply and abundantly. If we view it differently, miracles happen. Shift your views. It’s not that businesses are closing but it is happening so that we can flourish.

It can appear chaotic. But it is just a washing, a clearing. Rev. Alicia: Money is never lost, it just moves hands. That’s all that’s happened. The same amount of money still exists, it just has shifted hands. Nothing is lost. The Universe expands whatever is moving……..it may be time to re-evaluate who you are. Rev. Aina-Nia: By 2012, we will have shifted completely into an Inspirational Age. Spirituality. Industries are bringing in more Spiritually inspirational people such as Iyanla Vanzant, [to motivate their employees]. We went through the Informational Age of technology information. Before that it was the Industrial Age of factories. We are just experiencing the natural shift into the Inspirational Age. RJ: I know that Obsidian is a powerful stone with many wonderful attributes. According to, The Crystal Bible, Obsidian is a stone without boundaries and limitations. As a result, it works extremely fast and with great power. Its truth-enhancing, reflective qualities are merciless in exposing flaws, weaknesses, and blockages. Nothing can be hidden from Obsidian. Point out how to ameliorate all destructive and disempowering conditions, Obsidian impels us to grow and lends solid support while we do so. Are these traits why you chose the name Obsidian? Rev. Alicia: Obsidian symbolizes the precision of taking away what is not working for you and keeping what you need. The obsidian stone is what the Aztecs used as surgical objects. It is also what is used by glass cutters because it is the sharpest cutting object on the planet. As a reflective quality, we are a reflection to the client. What they see us do, they can do. Rev. Aina-Nia: Obsidian, cuts into old erroneous beliefs [core beliefs] so that shift can occur. RJ: Thank you ladies, for sharing your expertise and helping out the masses by giving a fresh new perspective to the economy, money in general, and helping to shift our thoughts from the negative to the positive. What appears to be going on in today’s economy reminds me of the saying that what we call chaos, God calls change. The Infinite Field Magazine

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For those of us who could use a deep and precise cut into those beliefs that block our flow to money, then I would suggest that you check out Obsidian. If you would like to attract prosperity without boundaries and limitations, just as the stone suggests, then Obsidian is a great place to begin. By becoming more aware of all four levels at work here and a willingness to live a more prosperous life without debt, Obsidian impels us to grow and lends solid support while we do so. For more information on the products and services that Obsidian offers, please visit their website at www.obsidianinstitute.com.

Obsidian Institute for Financial Literacy is a cutting-edge non-traditional financial education school with a clear mission to teach a holistic approach to money; one which addresses money as an easily accessible tool to create what you desire by simply focusing on your internal power rather than some external force (society, culture, family, etc.). So that you can create wealth and build a legacy that heals generations before and empowers generations after you – FREEDOM. Obsidian has been supporting people in overcoming limited beliefs, building bigger visions and getting extraordinary results in their lives. They were interviewed by several USA based radio stations and highlighted several magazines including Heart & Soul Magazine for their powerful integration of Universal Principles, Reiki, Yoga, Connective Breathing, Martial Arts and time-tested Financial Principles and tools. Obsidian’s client-base spans throughout the U.S.A. and Canada. Reverend Aina-Nia and Reverend Alicia R. Hill, owners of the Obsidian Institute for Financial Literacy are trained spiritual life Coaches, holistic healing practitioners and ordained ministers of spiritual consciousness. These women are masters at supporting people to tap into and stand in their vision while implementing the steps necessary to bring their visions into fruition sooner rather than later. Read what their clients have to say about their experiences with Obsidian at http://www.obsidianinstitute.com.

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Life With Clarity Assisting in the journey of life Allow Dorothy to help you push past the fog in your life – the things that impede you from reaching success – and help you clarify your goals and your authentic life path with clarity.

Dorothy Gourdine, MA Certified Life Coach For more information: 717.649.6647 lifewithclarity@gmail.com

Playing with Life


The Healthy Lifestyle Plan! By Carla Golden, LMT Many of us have a desire to become more conscious of how and where we spend our money, especially when it comes to FOOD. Although a financial crisis is a perfect time to assess priorities and start voting with your harder-earned greenbacks on those items you want to see survive the economic downturn, anytime is a good time to start a plan that will get you and your family on the road to long lasting change that will help save the planet and the environment. First, we need to get comfortable with the notion that what we buy now - today - we need to purchase with the realization and acceptance that in doing so we are helping to create this to become our only choice tomorrow. We vote with our dollars and the one with the most votes wins. The items that we buy today create our choice for tomorrow. What does this mean? If you buy conventional tomatoes shipped from Chile in November, while in the back of your mind promising that you'll go back to the organic and/or local tomatoes when the economy gets stronger, you are possibly voting away your choice to have organic or local options in the future. If you don't support the markets that match your values now, they may very well disappear. If money isn't your issue, perhaps the state of the environment is. The two are intrinsically intertwined in their problems and their solutions. Whenever, we make a major life change, it's natural to wonder what the real impact will be on ourselves, our wallets, and our planet. To answer those questions, I have put together a list of guidelines The Healthy Lifestyle Plan below to help all of us become more conscious with our food choices. Let's put our mouths where our values are, and create lasting change!

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1. Buy local and regional foods. If not local, then organic. If not local or organic, then the option with the least packaging. YOU: Studies have shown that ingesting pesticides, herbicides and fungicides is detrimental to overall health. (Want more information? Check out: http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/pesticides) WALLET: Local foods are often less expensive because large transportation costs are eliminated. Also as the demand for organic foods increase, the prices will decrease, and non-profit farmers markets do not have to charge sales tax. PLANET: Less transportation, chemical and waste pollution. 2. Purchase more raw and bulk foods and fewer processed foods + drinks. YOU: Foods in their most natural states or slightly cooked offer the greatest nutrition. Eating food with their natural enzymes intact and not destroyed by high cooking temperatures are easier to digest and their nutrients easier to absorb. Avoiding trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, excessive sugar and salt and artificial sweeteners, colors and flavorings is crucial to long term health. WALLET: Packaged and prepared foods as well as boutique drinks are costly. The less packaging, the less the company is passing that expense on to you. PLANET: The fewer the ingredients, the less transportation and production pollution. 3. Bring home (or to work or send with my children to school) all my food in reusable bags in reusable or recyclable containers (preferably not plastic). YOU: The less contact your food has with plastic, the better, especially when heat is involved. Food warmed or heated in or on plastic causes some of the toxic plastic chemicals to migrate into the food. WALLET: Begin using your own reusable bags and make it a healthy habit before more companies follow the new trend of charging for disposable bags. PLANET: The less non-biodegradable plastic in landfills, the better for the future of Earth. One plastic bag buried in a landfill can take on average 500 years to decompose. (http://climate.weather.com/articles/dclandfill2009.html? page=3) 4. Eat less: smaller portions, fewer meals. YOU: Possible fat storage loss, increased energy levels and more efficient assimilation of nutrients (not to mention the decreased chances of lifestyle diseases like Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol) WALLET: As prices of food go up and your consumption goes down, your bill remains about the same. PLANET: The fewer resources your mouth demands, the less taxing the resource production and processing on Sweet Earth. 5. Eat less meat. YOU: By reducing meat consumption your body remains less burdened by these toxic additives. WALLET: Meats can be quite costly. Cheap meats should be avoided because the quality is too questionable. PLANET: A disproportionate amount of land, corn, soy and antibiotics are consumed by the meat production industry whereby creating an inordinate amount of run-off water pollution and greenhouse gases. Less demand for meat means less planetary deforestation and pollution, whereby preserving natural resources and re-establishing biocultures. The Infinite Field Magazine

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6. Eat out only in restaurants that serve wholesome, nutritious food. YOU: The higher quality food, the more nutrition potential. Cheap food is made from substandard ingredients and mysterious additives. WALLET: In support of independently owned, local restaurants, chose those which offer vegan, vegetarian, organic, raw and/or local food options. PLANET: We vote with our dollars. Each time you choose a healthy restaurant, you are telling companies using healthy products and NO ADDITIVES is what is important. Your vote will ensure that healthy food choices are available in every city and every town throughout the world. Now how's that for an impact on the planet? You be the judge. 7. Breast feed infants until they can comfortably eat what I eat (mashed or diced). YOU: Greater connection between mother and baby, nature's perfect food for a growing baby complete with immunity and healthy fats, chemical chain reactions to stave off post-partum depression, aides in maternal weight loss and hormonal balance. WALLET: It's free! PLANET: No harm is done as no man-made disposable products are used. 8. Drink more filtered tap water. YOU: Less exposure to plastic (exposed to heat in transportation) is crucial to the health of your water. Filter your tap water to keep it available and relatively clean. If we don't use it, we'll lose it and municipal water should always be flowing to the citizens. Yes, there is some ICK! in tap water, but do your research and find a great filter - ideally for the whole home/office/school. WALLET: Bottled water is so much more expensive than utilizing reusable bottles of tap water. PLANET: Bottled water has been one the worst paradoxes of recent times: polluting the planet with discarded plastic in the name of ingesting clean water. Even recycling the plastic (which happens to a very small ratio of plastic bottles) still requires unnecessary and pollutive plastic production. 9. Explore your emotions (stress, anxiety, fear) rather than turning to food, drink or recreational drugs for comfort. YOU: Stable, healthy emotions will get you much further in life than another round of sweets, fats, salts, booze, beer or smoke. Have fun in moderation by choice, not by dependence. WALLET: Vices aren't cheap financially as well as emotionally. Your hard-earned money is better spent on the investment of psychotherapy, journaling, self-help books or a healthy, harmless habit. PLANET: Discarded toxins and packaging from excessive, non-vital consumption is just polluting the planet as well as your body. Excess and garbage are not wise choices for little babies or great Mother Earth nor anyone in between. 10. I AM what I eat YOU: Everything that you put into your mouth becomes a part of you. So choose wisely. Make healthy choices that are best for your health which is an integral source of your individual wealth and prosperity. WALLET: You are your wealth and prosperity. Making healthy choices will keep your wallet healthy and your body happy. PLANET: R-E-S-P-E-C-T is R-E-S-P-E-C-T! As you honor yourself, you honor the planet.


These items are a start to add some life-changing benefits to our health, our wallets and our planet. May we all decrease our budgets, increase our energy, maintain a healthy body weight, live happier and with greater health for ourselves and our planet. Live Light, xo-C

Carla's individual wellness journey began in 1985 when she became a full-fledged, malnourished bulimic at the age of 15. She is now a healthful, whole food vegan and in hot pursuit of a PhD in Holistic Health and Healing from the University of Natural Health. In addition to being a busy wife and mother, Carla is also a practicing licensed massage therapist specializing in the use of therapeutic grade essential oils, the author of a wellness blog OneHealthyGirl.com and the founder of the holistic directory WellnessDestinationsCentral.com. Carla Golden, LMT is OneHealthyGirl.com

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Towards a New Season by John Madsen Years ago, when I first sought help with depression, my therapist gave me a list of suggestions that would help me start a new season in my life. One suggestion was "talk to a pet." We have a black lab mix named Gus. He came to us as a young abandoned animal. Per his Lab genetics, and his own doggy trauma, he was very high-strung, but intensely eager to please, and took his responsibilities as a guardian seriously. Sadly, I used these as fodder for teasing him. When I began the "talk to a pet" instruction, he was about five, and settling down somewhat. I sat on the floor in front of him, and thanked him for being such a good dog. I thanked him for watching over us so carefully, and that we knew he'd be willing to accept harm to protect us. He sat before me, his eyes locked on mine. I apologized for having teased him, and found myself admitting that I had been less of a friend to him than he had been to me. Through my conversations with Gus, I became aware that this inarticulate creature was being supportive of me, in the only way he knew how, as I unburdened myself to him, acknowledged my flaws of character, and formed a resolution to change. I wondered then, and wonder now, if he didn't understand my pain better than I did. At that point in

my life, language and its attendant concepts were of no use to me whatsoever. I had no context. The only context that made any sense involved a view of the universe within which all the attributes by which we define ourselves as superior to creatures were of little value. Without computers or architecture or brainwave mapping, the animal extended compassion. The animal was in the moment - it was me that was at sea. As his eyes stayed on mine, I realized I knew less than I could possibly have imagined. It's been some years since that moment. I have new friends; I make very little money - but I make a lot of art. We have acquired two other rescue dogs, and I will soon have a second grandchild. And I found god one day in the soil from which I was pulling weeds; waiting for me with infinite patience and mercy. Gus is an old dog now. He likes to lean against my leg and have me hug him. He is still an excellent watchdog, and takes the responsibility to protect us seriously. I am older, too; I have lines in my face and grey in my hair. I am content to know less than I once thought I did, but know it with more certainty. It's just that time passes a little more quickly, and I treasure individual moments. I strive to achieve compassion. Sometimes I love this season of senses and skin and creatures, this place of cycles and renewal and orbits to the point of tears. Gratitude. Gus's season will close soon; mine will at some point and there will be other seasons again. And so it is. Amen. Namaste, you-all.

John Madsen is a celebrated craftsman artist who designs and creates the finest original glass enamel jewelry creations. He has written articles which have appeared in Art Jewelry Magazine as well as The Sanctuary Newsletter. John named his company for his precious grandson Dylan Blue. His website is www.dylanblue.com.

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the

INFINITE FIELD MAGAZINE Exploring the infinite field of possibilities that lies in each of us...

Advertise with us. Ask about our 50% discount special. Advertising@theinfinitemagazine.com Subscriptions are $24 per year. Info@theinfinitefieldmagazine.com For More Information: info@theinfinitefieldmagazine.com www.theinfinitefieldmagazine.com Would you like to receive a print edition of this issue? Visit us at www.theinfinitefieldmagazine.com for more information. THE INFINITE FIELD MAGAZINE A New Thought for A New Day AUGUST 2009 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Playing with Life

Manifesting Abundance


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