The evening will include:

• Teachings Talk – what yoga says about you and your life, and explanation of some of the key sutras and teachings, as well as how they apply to modern life.
• Discussion – questions and answers on the teachings or on any subject.
• Namasankirtana – the traditional call-and-response chanting of Sanskrit mantras which is especially beneficial before meditation and is an experience of pure joy.
• Meditation – Swami Nirmalananda will lead you into the inner experience that yoga promises, including basic instructions for those who are new to meditation.

For more information, contact Bhakta (Leslie) Johnson at leslie99johnson@hotmail.com or 612.408.0434. Donations for Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram will be accepted with gratitude. Visit the ashram website at www.svaroopavidya.org. Visit Highland Yoga Center at www.highlandyogacenter.com.

His workshops are from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Ave. S., Minneapolis. Register at 608.658.6718 two weeks before before each respective workshop. The cost is $69 each or $59 when two or more register together. Add $20 for late registration. Attendees may enjoy discounted optimal private sessions.

Each workshop will include “Power Play!” in which each person in a group of five will receive healing. Omar will demonstrate time-tested techniques to melt energy blocks, heal mind and body while boosting consciousness, energy level, joy, love, freedom, intuition and enthusiasm. Four people play with each team member, using 50 synthesized energetic Body-Mind-Spirit modalities. Advanced Energy Healing raises vibratory energy of people, and opens and heals chakras, glands, joints, meridians, muscles and organs. For more information, visit www.omarstouch.com.

Farmer has been a student and a teacher for more than 35 years and has studied with some of the leading Tai Chi teachers, but his number one teacher is the late Grand Master Chi Chiang Tao, president of the Taiwan Tai Chi Chuan Association and Senior Instructor. As well as the Eastern traditions, he has studied with more contemporary teachers like Richard Moss, Ram Dass, Douglas Harding and Emmanuel. He also works as a healer from his home in the UK. In addition, he has worked with many groups to bring the principles and the healing benefits of Tai Chi to many, including those with breast cancer, MS, Parkinson’s Disease and patients with brain injury and strokes. He is currently involved in developing training programs within the National Health Service of the UK to train others to teach these movements and principles.

His workshops, sponsored by Natural Step School of Tai Chi of Minneapolis [www.naturalsteptaichi.com] will be at the Open Book Literary Arts Center, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis. Tickets are $55 for each event or $135 for all three. Spaces are limited and all places must be booked in advance by e-mailing Colin Snow at naturalsteptaichi@msn.com. His workshops are:

• September 28 from 7-9:30 p.m. – “The Eye of the Hurricane” – To learn, know and practice how to rest and find stillness in our daily personal lives is a great gift and a much sought after skill in modern, uncertain times. Richard will explore how you do this in an effective and simple way.
• September 29 from 7-9:30 p.m. – “Live and Let Go” – The art of relaxation and the ability to let go of that which no longer serves our well-being is available to us in each and every moment. Richard will illuminate why practicing this skill is essential for personal growth and offer practical advice on how to release ourselves from negative conditioning.
• October 1 from 7-9:30 p.m. – “The Healing Heart” – When the heart of you is present, all is well. But most of us have forgotten who we really are and what is truly important. Richard will help you to refocus your energy towards remembering the nature of your true self and live through all aspects of life wholeheartedly.

During these three evenings, Richard will share with you the fruition from 35 years of investigation into what really helps us to live life authentically. With his humor and wisdom, Richard will share the essential spiritual teachings of Tai Chi that allow us to be truly free, happy and fulfilled. These talks are open to anyone with or without experience of Tai Chi. For more information on Richard Farmer, visit www.RisingDragonTaiChi.com and www.SoulMoves.co.uk.

• September 12 at 4 p.m. - Julie Doxsee and Paula Cisewski, two great poets – one from Istanbul, one from Minneapolis – read from their new poetry. Born in London, Ontario, Julie Doxsee is a professor of writing and literature at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. She is the author of Objects for a Fog Death (Black Ocean, 2010) and Undersleep (Octopus Books, 2008). Ghost Fargo, the second poetry collection by Paula Cisewski, was chosen by Franz Wright for the 2008 Nightboat Poetry Prize and released in the spring of 2010. She is also the author of Upon Arrival (Black Ocean, 2006).

• September 16 – William Gibson, the author of the cult hits Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive, returns with a new novel, Zero History. Gibson will meet fans and sign copies of his new novel at 5 p.m. at Magers & Quinn, and he will read from his new novel Zero History at 7:30 p.m. at The Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Ave. S., followed by Q & A and booksigning. Tickets ($5) for this reading are available at Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

Gibson is the author who coined the term “cyberspace” and whose novel Mona Lisa Overdrive sparked the cyberpunk movement. His new novel Zero History is set in the present day, but is no less visionary and thought-provoking. Hollis Henry worked for the global marketing magnate Hubertus Bigend once before. She never meant to repeat the experience. But she’s broke, and Bigend never feels it’s beneath him to use whatever power comes his way – in this case, the power of money. When a Department of Defense contract for combat-wear turns out to be the gateway drug for arms dealers so shadowy that even Bigend, whose subtlety and power in the private sector would be hard to overstate, finds himself outmaneuvered and adrift in a seriously dangerous world. Gibson lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his wife. He is the author of Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Burning Chrome, Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Pattern Recognition, and Spook Country.

• September 19 at 4 p.m. - Poets Richard Terrill and Joyce Sutphen will read from their new poetry. Terrill reads from his new collection of poems Almost Dark. Terrill’s previous collection of poems, Coming Late to Rachmaninoff, received the Minnesota Book Award for Poetry, and his memoir Saturday Night in Baoding won the Associated Writing Programs Award for nonfiction. His essays and poems have appeared in journals including North American Review, Tampa Review, Iowa Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, and New Letters. He has taught as a Fullbright professor in China, Korea, and Poland, and currently teaches writing in the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Joyce Sutphen grew up on a farm near St. Joseph, MN, and currently lives in Chaska. Her book, Coming Back to the Body, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award, and Naming the Stars won a Minnesota Book Award in Poetry. Her most recent book is First Words (Red Dragonfly Press, 2010).

• October 4 at 7:30 p.m. – Sena Jeter Naslund reads from her latest novel Adam & Eve. One of the most imaginative and inspired writers of our time, Sena Jeter Naslund delivers her most ambitious and encompassing tale yet. The New York Times bestselling author of Ahab’s Wife, Four Spirits, and Abundance returns with an audacious and provocative novel that envisions a world where science and faith contend for the allegiance of a new Adam & Eve. When Thom Bergmann discovers extraterrestrial life with his wife, Lucy, they fear that the world is not ready for proof of life elsewhere in the universe. Upon Thom’s untimely – and highly suspicious – death, Lucy keeps the secret, until Thom’s friend, anthropologist Pierre Saad, contacts Lucy with an unusual and dangerous request about another sensitive matter. Pierre needs Lucy to help him smuggle a newly discovered artifact out of Egypt: an ancient codex concerning the human authorship of the Book of Genesis. Offering a reinterpretation of the creation story, the document is sure to threaten the foundation of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions…and there are those who will stop at nothing to suppress it. A native of Birmingham, AL, Naslund is a Distinguished Teaching Professor and Writer in Residence at the University of Louisville; program director of the Spalding University brief-residency MFA in Writing. A winner of the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writers, she is the author of seven previous works of fiction.

A number of area professional psychics, healers and other professionals have volunteered to pay it forward and will be donating their services at this event. They will be offering free bodywork and energy healing, as well as intuitive readings directed toward helping people find their direction out of crisis. People may also bring their resumes to have them reviewed and classes will be offered on a variety of topics selected to help the unemployed and those who are in crisis.

Event coordinator Deb Battenfeld notes:

“‘A Day of Healing’ is soon approaching. I have received calls from people wondering if they need to reserve a spot. You do not. I take a moment and listen to their story. I sit across from a woman who has not worked for three years and still helps and feels for those who have less. Do we know what less really is? Can we imagine it?

“I hear the worry in their voices. I feel the tension, the tiredness in their bodies. Some have taken money that matters and spent it on trying to find help. Trying to find peace of mind and a ray of hope. Turning to us, the holistic community, for answers. We open and connect. We feel their heartache and fear. There are visions of a better time to come. We feel their spirit lift and see their eyes fill with hope. We give them messages of love and comfort from higher realms.

“This is what ‘A Day of Healing’ is about. Giving those in need a message of hope. An insight to a better day, a better time to come. Healing their losses, their fears, their stress. The holistic community coming forward. Giving back, paying it forward. A day where money is not needed.”

There is still time to Pay it Forward and help out those who have been affected by an economic crisis. Please consider and give us a call. And please, to any of you who need a ray of sunshine, a glimpse of a better day, please join us at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community on September 11 for “A Day of Healing.” For those wishing to Pay it Forward by volunteering to help those in crisis, please call Connye LaCombe at 651.334.8151 or Debra Battenfeld at 612.805.3402.

In addition, learning how to access the Akashic Records will be presented in two levels in October by Davenport and Boni Oian, a certified consultant and teacher of the Akashic Records, and a Shamanic, Access and Trance Dance practitioner, a personal coach, Reiki Master and director of All Encompassing Retreats. Akashic Records are the individual records of a soul from the instant it leaves its point of origin until the end of time. Learning to access the Akashic Records is a life-transforming experience.

The class is offered in two levels in October. Level I meets from 4:30-9:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2. Level II meets from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3. Both classes meet the Art of Healing, 10901 Red Circle Dr., Suite 110, Minnetonka. The fee for each class is $250. Contact Stacy Davenport at 512.836.4036, or email stacy@stacydavenport.com to register.

Sleep wasn’t coming easily tonight. Getting appropriate rest on a firm bench in a hospital room was always a challenge. The room was sterile and cool with bright light and noise filtering in from the nurse’s station just outside our door.

My young daughter, Raegan Aria, lay motionless a few feet away, connected to numerous monitors and machines. We had been there for weeks, recovering from surgery to place a stomach tube. It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Raegan wasn’t doing well. Her brilliant smile and joyful laugh had been absent for days now. The doctors just kept repeating that special needs children are at greater risk for complications when undergoing medical procedures and she would take longer to recover.

You see, Raegan had been born with a rare brain malformation three years earlier, leaving her without the ability to walk, talk or develop normally. Although her initial prognosis and life expectancy were quite grim, this beautiful, angelic child had been thriving, despite her many physical and developmental limitations.

Things just didn’t seem right to me. I understood what I was being told by the medical team, yet I just kept feeling as if something was being missed. My pleas for more tests were met with condescending remarks about over-reactive parents, and I was advised not to question the wisdom and experience of a gifted surgeon.

As I sat there in the dark, physically and emotionally exhausted, the phrase “It’s growing” popped into my mind.

“What’s growing?” I asked out loud.

“In my throat, Mommy.”

I leaped from my position on the bench to my daughter’s side and said to her in a teary voice, “Are you trying to tell me something, Angel Baby?”

A resounding, “Yes,” was the reply that flooded my body. She remained sleeping with no physical indication that she was communicating with me. I knew it was Raegan, as we had similar moments at other points earlier in her young life. I didn’t know how she was doing it, however I decided at that moment and believed with all my heart it was the Truth she was conveying. I would press for immediate medical intervention.

Raegan was correct. A surgical stitch had been misplaced during her procedure and caused scar tissue to grow, blocking her esophagus and leaving her unable to swallow. This fact was confirmed by a simple test we insisted on being performed. She was required to have additional surgery to correct the problem. In fact, she had numerous procedures to try to reverse the harm done.

Throughout the many months she was hospitalized, Raegan continued to teach me how to use our hearts to talk. This unusual form of communication seemed especially acute during times of crisis and when we were both sleeping. At that point, I decided I would no longer make any decision regarding her care without checking in via our heart connection. It seemed to me, Raegan was operating from a higher place.

Where exactly was that place? Telepathy, channeling and heart communication are not typical topics when discussing care modalities for special needs children. Yet, as it was in our case, this “out of this world” information may be invaluable to a parent facing their child’s medical crisis. I was fortunate Raegan chose to share words, symbols and pictures in my mind’s eye to provide clues for fast action. Now I knew the phenomenon existed, still I was left with many questions. How is it done? Could it be expanded and implemented further? What was the science behind it? Is this something that could be taught? If I could utilize this heightened “mother’s intuition,” surely others must also be able to do the same.

My questioning mind and unique experience with my own child led me to dive head first into an unknown sea. I sought out other intuitive families and furthered my education, exploring scientific research and case studies on metaphysics, theology, psychic ability and energy medicine. Although I had known from a young age I was highly intuitive, here was an ideal opportunity to use the ability for something truly remarkable…enhancing communication for families. It was my belief this was a chance for children to greater express themselves and improve their quality of life in countless ways.

Like Raegan, a child reaching out would be heard by those listening with their heart. Training and education of this ability would empower parents to unlock their own potential in the healing energies, yielding growth and understanding of the miraculous power inherent in all of us.

Scientific research on energy medicine and intuition is expanding and gaining greater credibility in conventional circles. Compelling evidence suggests the brain and heart operate in conjunction – receiving, processing and decoding intuitive information. It is thought to be a complete body process in which many human systems are involved, and it further indicates how knowledge about future events emanate from an energy field.

This was the scientific evidence I was looking for to explain how my daughter and I communicate. It wasn’t fantasy. Our real, concrete experience had an energetic explanation. In basic terms, our energy fields were able to exchange information in an accurate, appropriate and timely manner because of our loving connection to one another. Raegan saved her own life by telling me what was wrong, and she did it by using her subtle energy system. My own sensitivity allowed me to hear her.

Scientific data is now beginning to substantiate experiences known to humankind for centuries. The discussion of telepathy can leave the genre of the supernatural and become an accepted method of communication. Imagine a future in which this natural ability is nurtured, developed and celebrated for the enrichment of all.

Through vibrant demonstration, Raegan has shown me how children intuitively draw upon their innate energy source and bring forth awareness to those willing to listen with a loving heart. This same source emanates through us as well, and can be firmly established into our consciousness by our thoughts, decisions and actions. Guidance comes to us openly and freely; it is we who must use energy expertise to decipher the message being delivered through our hearts.

Raegan is now 10 years old and flourishing. Although her chronic medical condition poses many challenges, it also gives us great opportunities for learning and growth. Our journey together has led me to develop an intuitive parenting program. Its mission is to empower parents to be an instrument of healing for their families by employing their intuitive hearts as a powerful tool. By opening their hearts to love, their minds to energy and being more receptive to the subtle clues of inner knowing, a caretaker can perceive, interpret, and act on information not accessible by other means. Life takes on a new dimension when feeling the glow of an intuitive heart.

Several of my clients whose children are considered by doctors to be on the “Autism Spectrum” report their kids as having a sensitivity and fondness for vibration in appliances, stones and specific places on their property. I have found it is best to let children take the lead and support what they are naturally drawn to. One child in particular collected rocks and felt comforted by them. It wasn’t until the mother took a closer look did she realize each rock had bits of quartz embedded somewhere in them. It was then easy to acknowledge that her child naturally gravitated toward these healing stones. I have seen similar traits in other children with regard to shells, leaves, shapes and colors.

My client, Don, not only uses his intuitive energy skills with his children, but also with his father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Slowly watching his dad deteriorate in awareness and communication abilities at a nursing facility has been painful for Don. Constantly striving to remain connected, he brings in items from home, realizing the energy of certain favorite things stirs a reaction from his father and even stimulates conversation about their past. A beloved religious medallion seems to provide the most comfort and healing for them both. Their shared energetic connection, called the Field of Intuitive Harmony, is there for all to explore, regardless of whether you are the parent – or the child. Don demonstrates this beautifully by tapping into the vibrations and honoring the energetic connections with items from his life, and that of his father.

Remember, everything has a vibration. Your resonance with an object, person or thing may offer you a unique opportunity to tap into Divine energy. Here are some suggestions on how you can experience good vibrations:

• Decorate yourself and your home with natural stones and crystals for their beauty and healing properties.
• Use a quartz crystal, tuning fork or vibrating massager to activate your own or your family’s energy centers.
• Play with rocks! As a family, collect and track your sensitivity to certain stones. Why do you like them? How do they make you feel? Head out on a field trip to a rock museum or a local quarry.
• Go for a walk in the woods to tap into the Earth’s energies. Dowse for water, minerals, or even caves. Make it a fun outing for the whole family.
• When you feel resonance within your body, ask your higher self for more details and expect the answer to come to you. Resonance is often experienced as the lift in our heart, the bounce in our step or even a subtle all-over vibration. It is a feeling of deep connectedness.

It might be better said to ask, “How can we not?”

For this article, I spoke with my husband, ex-husband and my daughter’s grandmother to find out what it means to raise our daughter holistically. This article is the culmination of our ideas.

Our entire lives are holistic. Everything we do and say is a reflection of our beliefs and attitudes, and this is no more apparent than when raising a child. Many of us have experienced that moment when a child reflects back a shadow aspect of our darker self or a weakness that we would rather not see. I have both wept and smiled to see aspects of myself revealed to me through my daughter. Yet, I also understand that she is a unique manifestation of her own experiences.

Raising a child holistically means to become conscious of our patterns and the interwoven nature of our lives together, and with our planet. It means facing our shadows and recognizing the part that our attitudes and beliefs play in the manifestation of our outer experiences, like our bodies and our relationships. It also means being forgiving of ourselves and our humanity to allow us (collectively) the space to move on.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that is no less true today in our fractured society than it is in the tribal cultures of indigenous countries. The tribe who raises my daughter is me, my husband, my ex-husband, her teachers, her extended family and her friends.

Raising our daughter holistically means to be conscious of how we treat ourselves and the other caregivers in her life. It means having respect for her relationship to others in such a way that we allow her to live out her issues with others without unnecessary intervention, as much as possible. When I find myself criticizing another caregiver in her presence, a part of me shrinks – knowing that this will only build walls between us and does nothing positive for her relationship to the other person. I really try to avoid this as much as possible. It isn’t always easy, but I am at least grateful for the ability to recognize its importance.

Another interpretation of holistic living is to incorporate the body, mind and spirit into your everyday living. With children, the teachings of the body involve investigating our relationship to food and how we handle the messages our bodies send us when things go wrong. How does our family handle illness? What is our relationship to our bodies? Discussing these things and bringing them to light is a great way to live holistically. Allowing for differences in opinions is also good. It inspires our children to think for themselves and be tolerant of other people’s beliefs.

All things contain a spiritual aspect. In our household, we are influenced by Eastern philosophy, so witnessing the spiritual aspects of life is an integral part of our everyday life. When we cook a meal with love, we are imbuing a bit of our spirit into the food. When we appreciate a walk together and our connection to nature, we are teaching our children that spirit lives in all things. The only real way we can teach this is through modeling.

Examine your beliefs and see what is there. Consciously bringing our best to the table gives our children a wonderful foundation to view the world holistically and to carry that on for generations to come.

My eldest is already a healer, she’s already a reader. In womb, my Master Reiki teacher assured me that my baby wanted to be part of the ceremonies that led me from a level 1 practitioner to Master level. I agreed – it made sense to me. Unsurprisingly, from the time she was born, my child has been a peacemaker, easy to have around, healing in nature.

As she’s grown, she’s integrated the practices that she’s seen at home. I’ve talked to her about faeries, about angels, about God. Consequently, she talks to the faeries, the angels, to God. This past weekend, a baby bird (fallen from its nest) hopped directly onto her knee, where it sat peering up at us both. My daughter begged the angels to help it – and her prayer was answered – in the form of a refuge for wild creatures that need veterinary assistance. It took her dad three hours to get the bird there, but my daughter’s desire to help and her belief that the bird would be saved, propelled him forward – in spite of the twenty chores we had at home. Such is our daughter’s faith.

And she knows about manifesting. Of course, I haven’t used that word for it – it’s too long – but I’ve told her about how to program her brain and she’s used it to during tests, to help with running races, in a swim meet. She told me at her last swim that she hadn’t manifested until she realized that she was in last place. Then, “I programmed my brain – I told myself I could do it, and mum, I came back from the back and finished first!” Yasmin teaches her brother how to manifest, too. Manifesting for her is like turning on the tap. The results are instantaneous. If she wants something, she makes it happen for herself – and fast. That’s flow – and it’s beautiful.

Of course, my daughter is fortunate, for she’s been somewhere in the vicinity of my work as a medium and healer since she was young. Back in Denver, she’d sit with the owners of Sage Moon (the metaphysical store out of which I worked) staring at all of the beautiful crystals and cards and statues and t-shirts that they carried, acknowledging people as they entered the store. She was born to a spiritual trade.

Funnily enough, it was only this year, however, that she understood what readings were. Apparently, she had thought that people would visit me and I would “read” to them about the world of heaven. A good guess! Her understanding of my work has grown naturally. She welcomes the group to my workshops and circles, where she likes to give out gifts. Seeing me work with crystals has encouraged her to excavate her own crystals, clean them and write messages about the properties of the crystals, which she gives to guests. After watching her mother do Reiki and Reflexology, Yasmin began to do her own form of healing on people. If I’m tired, she’ll come around me place her hands on my shoulders and gently squeeze, running her energies. She knows about the power of healing and she uses it to help others – silently, without asking and with great love.

In recent months, I’ve noticed that she’s grown more inquisitive about symbolism – the meaning of colors, of totem animals, of dreams. Yasmin would ask about what each color meant and why she was drawn to one thing or another. I caught her reading my Ted Andrew’s bibles on totems and she’ll ask me what a particular dream means, and then she makes her own interpretation.

This beautiful daughter of mine is in tune. She’s in tune with herself, with the world around her and the world within her, and there is a flow about her that she has achieved effortlessly – and which I achieve some days and can only strive for, on others.

Children come into this world knowing so much – and sometimes we dumb down their experience so that it is just about Dora, or Thomas or Hannah Montana. Keeping that spirituality alight in them is a gift. Keeping our children open is a must. Always encouraging their questions, asking for their insights and trusting them with their truths is integral to their flowering. Oftentimes, our children have an intuition, an insight, a precognition that is as astute as it is accurate, and that must be honored, for while they are children, they are also souls – and these new children, whether they be crystals or rainbows or indigos, have a lot to teach us oldies, who have been birthed into a different era, with different ideas, and different ways of doing things.

And so, as you journey on with your own child, and in between Baby Einstein and Polly Pockets and Star Wars, make sure that you keep that light burning. Be their guide. Talk to them about heaven, share about nature, ask about their vibes, about their feelings, read about animals, teach about manifesting, give them healings, interpret dreams – but above all, give them love – and then watch how they grow.

Raising children holistically means that we believe that all experience is education for the soul. We coach instead of censure. We focus on the lesson learned rather than the mistake made. We shape rather than shame behavior. I am a grandmother who proudly sees her children doing these things as parents.

Earth is a planet of duality. So people will hold opposing viewpoints that often lead to verbal conflicts. We need to help children navigate these verbal conflicts.

In her book Tongue Fu!, Sam Horn gives ideas to guide children to find solutions rather than fault: When young children start fighting verbally, hold up your hand and ask them to “make silence.” Separate the children, explain that their behavior is inappropriate, and ask them to play by themselves until they are ready to treat each other with respect. If a child pipes up with an objection, raise your eyebrows, not your voice. Put your hand up and open your eyes wide as if to say, “You really don’t want to do this, do you?” Your refusal to dwell on why a fight started shows children that actions, not excuses, are valued.

You can tell older children that if they find themselves in a war of words, they can put their hand up, with fingers pointing skyward and palm facing forward, and stop what’s happening by saying, “Let’s not do this.” Then say, “Let’s work together to find solutions.”

* * *

Here’s a story from conflict resolution trainer Jamie Notter you can share to show that it is wise to take time to find out what problem a conflict is really about and avoid rushing to solve it:

One time Jamie’s two daughters came running to him in a panic.

“Dad, this is the last orange in the refrigerator and I need it” the older one said.

“No, I need it!” the younger said.

Before the older one could start the never-ending debate about who needs the orange more, Jamie interrupted them. He went and checked that there were no more oranges in the house. He found out that the neighbors didn’t have any oranges and that the stores were closed. There was indeed only one orange, and they both said they needed it.

So he got a knife, cut the orange in half, and told them to share it. His solution was a complete failure. His daughters each took their half of the orange and ran crying to their bedrooms.

You see, it turned out that the older daughter was baking a cake, and the recipe called for “the peel of one orange.” When he gave her half the orange peel, she thought the cake would be ruined. The younger daughter, on the other hand, was very hungry. She thought that a whole orange would tide her over until dinner, but a half would leave her frustrated.

His daughters had been so focused on winning that they didn’t see that they both could have what they wanted. The peel could have been taken off the orange for the older daughter’s cake before the younger daughter ate it.

* * *

Here are some conflict resolution principles to share with children:

• Avoid rushing to conclusions or solutions. Ask questions to find out what the problem really is about.
• Treat others respectfully and practice loving kindness. Avoid even passive violence that disrespects others or ourselves – name-calling, judging, criticizing. Passive violence is when we do this silently.
• Listen generously – with our heart, as well as with our brain. Avoid the urge to make the other side wrong.
• Ask God to help us see what lesson we can learn from this experience.

• Be consistent. Always changing your position on things will create inner turmoil and confusion. Mom and Dad should try to establish a unified program and mutually support each other.
• Work at being positive. Try to build up your child’s sense of the good in life. Don’t look for faults or be unduly critical. Praise your children often.
• Be honest in all your dealings. Children will pick up at an early age what is truth. Help them to be honest.
• Be reasonable and understanding. Explain why you choose a certain path. Don’t use anger as a regular practice. It is a powerful tool and used rarely will be much more effective.
• Provide meaningful boundaries and restrictions. Kids will usually push to find their limits, but they really appreciate knowing how far (how late, etc.) they can go.
• Be flexible. You don’t have to be unbending and hard-nosed to keep it straight with your kids and being flexible will keep everybody on their toes.
• Accept their point of view. In fact, encourage their opinion and involve them in the decision-making process of the household. Enjoy the harmony consensus can bring. Rules will be more readily obeyed if they help formulate them.
• Trust your children. Believe in them. Be on their side. Let them feel your support. Let them start life knowing they are loved.
• Don’t nag. Help them develop their own sense of responsibility so the burden of their homework, clean room, the chores, and other have-to-do things is not on your shoulders. Let them hear the firmness in your voice. Once should be enough.
• Develop good habits. Regularity can be healthy, but of course allow for deviation from time to time.
• Be available. Don’t get so caught up in your own reality that you neglect your communion with your children.
• Balance your love for your own children with your love for all children. They are your special ones, but don’t forget to be loving and fair to others.
• Don’t put your kids on the spot in front of other people. Try to work out your thing with them on a one-to-one basis unless, of course, a group interaction is more beneficial.
• Help direct your children toward a creative exploration of life. Support them in opening up to their unique potential as human beings.
• Be a shining example of love for your children to follow. Don’t gossip about your neighbors or play favorites. Everyone will benefit by your unconditional love.
• Inspire in your children a reverence and respect for all life. Instill in them an attitude of thanksgiving, and open them up to exploring their spiritual path.
• Be patient with yourselves. Avoid feelings of guilt even when you feel you aren’t measuring up to your expectations as parents. No one is perfect, but you can try your best.
• Guide, console, discipline and, above all, keep a sense of humor. May the spirit of harmony and crystal-clear communication bless your family.

I would talk about these things with my children. Once one daughter was working on a project for a physics class, to make a strong structure by gluing toothpicks together. The teacher would then pile up weights until each structure collapsed to see which structure was the strongest.

We talked about different structures. Then one of the kids said, “Why don’t you ask the angel?” So I did. I asked the angel, and got some principles and a design. We had great fun putting it together. The design wasn’t the strongest in the class, but was better than average, and better than we would have done without the added input.

I loved being with my children. I would look at them, see what they were feeling, and connect with them, like seeing how afraid they were and what support they needed at the top of a long slide. I would try to challenge them, find the fun, surprise them, and try new things on walks, on bike rides, or in books at libraries. Sometimes we would make up stories together around the fireplace. When they were older, we would laugh and run and play tag together as it was getting dark in hilly parks.

Once I got a new calculator that would work with scientific notation. We talked about measuring the universe, and how this little calculator could compute unimaginable distance in light years across the seemingly infinite expanse. This became a memory that we would vividly recall thirty years later.

It wasn’t my Catholic devotion, or my talking to angels and God, that made the impact upon my children. After my children were grown, one year for a Father’s Day present my adopted Korean daughter gave me a framed picture of her at about age 4 with her legs around my waist, us holding hands with arms outstretched, twirling and laughing, looking in each others’ faces. Somehow that picture captured our loving, fun, mutually approving, precious relationship.

And as I see another daughter with her two children, what is awesome to me is not their spiritual practices similar to mine, but how she loves to be with her children, enjoying them at every age, with fun and endless patience. I am proud of her, and her family, and myself as a father.

My precious memories of my children are of our personal, fun, loving interactions. And we continue to this day, making more of these memories whenever we are together.

The Barn Dance is James Twyman’s 13th book, and his most personal to date. Though known internationally as The Peace Troubadour and the author of many bestselling books like Emissary of Light and The Moses Code, the Twin Cities native became even more well known when the news of his former wife’s murder outside Chicago was reported around the country. Nearly five years later, Twyman is releasing a book that not only chronicles the tragedy, but dives into the mystery of life after death, and direct communication with loved ones on the other side of the veil.

The book has already been called a triumph, and in the few short weeks since its release, has inspired thousands. Neale Donald Walsch, the author of The Conversations with God series, said: “Once in every generation a book comes along that changes the way we look at life itself. This is one such book.”

Now, in this very personal interview, Twyman explains why he felt inspired to tell such an intimate story, as well as how he thinks it will help people who are also suffering from the loss of a loved one.

First of all, it must have been a very difficult story to tell. Clearly Linda meant a great deal to you and you felt compelled to honor her memory through The Barn Dance.
James Twyman: Linda did mean a tremendous amount to me. She was my first love and I never stopped trying to win her back. She was actually considering moving out to Oregon to be with our daughter and me when she was killed.

You’re right when you say that I wanted to honor her with this story, but there’s also a deeper reason. I wrote this book because I knew that everyone would be able to relate to it, regardless of whether they’ve suffered a similar type of loss or not. We’ve all had to say goodbye to loved ones, and we’ve all had to experience grief in our lives. But the idea that there really is a magical place in-between Heaven and Earth is very deep in our subconscious. We all would love to meet someone we’ve lost, someone who is on the other side of the veil, and The Barn Dance is a way for us to realize that dream.

There seems to be a large word-of-mouth campaign happening around this book. Are you finding that people are passing the book on once they’ve read it?
JT: That’s been one of the most satisfying things about the experience so far – all the positive feedback I’ve been getting. I’ve received so many letters from people saying that they couldn’t put it down once they began reading, often from people who say they rarely finish books they begin. They’re also passing it on once they’ve finished reading, which is what any author wants. That’s how a book becomes a best seller, by touching an emotional chord in people. I think of The Shack, an enormous bestseller that never really had any advertising. It was all through word of mouth. Of course I hope the same thing happens here, because I think it’s a story that will both entertain and inspire. I didn’t want to write a book about life after death. I wanted to write one about my experience, one that deeply impacted my life. And if people relate to my experience, then it will be a big success.

You mentioned The Shack, which was a huge success. Are there any correlations between that book and The Barn Dance?
JT: No, I really don’t think there are. Both books begin with the protagonist experiencing the murder of someone very important to them, but I have to say that that’s where the similarity ends. At the same time, The Shack challenged the way people view God and our relationship with the Divine. In that sense, they have a similar theme. The Barn Dance is really challenging our ideas about what happens when we cross over, and the possibility that we can have true, even face-to-face contact with the loved ones we’ve lost. In my story I find a place where Heaven and Earth seem to blend together and people from the other side find their way back to the physical world, even if it’s just to have a great party.

Has anyone told you that you might be taking advantage of her death by writing this book?
JT: It’s something that I’ve tried to be aware of, even though I’m very secure in my reasons for releasing The Barn Dance. First of all, this is a story that will inspire people, and one that they probably won’t be able to set down. That was my primary objective…to show that death is not an end, but a beginning. But the other reason is definitely more personal. I wanted to write a book that would honor the woman who changed my life and taught me about love and how to be a good father. I also hope that it will continue to bring attention to a case that is still very much unsolved. That’s one of the reasons I’m very interested in getting The Barn Dance into every bookstore in Chicago, as well as around the world.

The story really develops when you find out that someone has been arrested for her murder. Is that true?
JT: Yes, it’s very true. And yet at the same time, the police are being very careful, which we all understand. One of the things I was really impressed with was how personally the police and detectives were taking this case. It was almost as if Linda was their sister, as if the same thing could have happened to someone they love.

How much of this story is actually true? It’s one of the most magical books to be released in a long time, but there are bound to be questions about whether this is fact or fiction.
JT: That’s a hard question to answer since the story takes place at different times and on different dimensions. To me it’s completely true, and I’m never going to back down from that. What I can say for sure is that every detail about Linda and my life with her is not exaggerated, and as far as the barn goes, that’s something people are going to be asking about for a very long time.

If there’s only one lesson you hope people walk away with after reading this book, what would it be?
JT: I want people to believe in magic, and to know that life is not something that ends with the death of the body. Of course, most of us believe that already, at least mentally, but to have a tangible experience of that, even if it’s through a story like The Barn Dance, makes it very real. I really do believe that there’s a place between Heaven and Earth where the magic never ends. For me that was in a secluded barn in the middle of a magical forest. For the rest of us, it could be anywhere and everywhere. We just have to open our eyes to see it.

Yoga is not just for yogis any more. ¶ There was a place and time – and there still is in parts of the world – where certain yoga practitioners known as “Sadhus” renounced the world and subsisted solely through the charity and kindness of others. They were clad in meager attire that bore a striking resemblance to the fashion of Bam-Bam from the Flintstones. Sadhus existed only to serve the Lord through yoga and meditation.

As I write this article, I am in Jamaica and have just left a session with my yoga student, Brother Richard, whose Franciscan-Catholic path is strikingly similar to that of the Sadhus. Richard is young, bright-eyed and clear-skinned except for his apple red beard, and he has taken the Vow of Poverty.

Everything Richard owns could fit into one backpack, he tells me, and if his parents or well-meaning parishioners should give him a laptop or six colorful yoga mats or Jockey underwear, he would have to pass those material goods on to someone else. He explains that if he needed those items for his work in any capacity to serve the Lord, he would have to find a library with an internet or borrow the yoga gear and props from somebody else, returning them when finished (I wonder, as he explains with passion the rigors of his path: could he perhaps keep the underwear?).

Vow of poverty
Recently, my Vedic Astrologer told me that I have an aspect in my chart that incurs poverty. In fact, it holds the combination of planetary action that “10,000 doctors can’t even fix.” Apparently since the Moon, ruler of my 11th house of friends and profits, sits in my 6th house of enemies and antagonists right next to benevolent Venus, I am not able to discern the difference between friends and enemies and, thus, love them all with equal aplomb – and subsequently suffer loss and poverty by being overly generous with the latter and former alike.

“I’m not surprised,” I replied, explaining to Vic that when I was a plaid-jumpsuit beanie-headed convent school 7th grader, I snuck into the sanctuary and joined the novice nuns in taking the Vows of Poverty & Chastity.

(And, of course, my distress stems from keeping one of them.)

• • •

On a snappy November night in 1993, I was walking home from Gurumarka’s Kundalini Yoga Class in Santa Fe, NM, where he had admonished me that my job in the world was to teach people to give. Being my own best teacher, I promptly took the $100 I had earned doing readings earlier in the day and gave it to the homeless shelter. When I arrived home, I found that the electricity had been turned off in our little studio alcove apartment due to non-payment of the bill. My teenage son was exasperated, yet lovingly accepting of the situation, even in the morning hours when the cold bit into his bones.

Now I admonished myself: What’s the matter with me? Giving is one thing, but being “generous to a fault” is another entirely. Other people, such as my son, suffer because of that faulty wiring inherent in me.

Changing their lives
Fourteen years later in October 2007, I was watching a beautiful Kundalini Yoga teacher leading a group through a prosperity yoga class at the Midtown Yoga Festival in Minneapolis. I was helping Lifetime Fitness Yoga Teacher Gary Heyer hand out more than 4,500 SoyJoy bars to the retinue of people who came for the festival or to simply shop at the Global Market, unaware that they were in the midst of an event that would change their lives.

People came for a myriad of reasons: To watch the Bikram yoga competition; to get thin thighs in 30 days through the offerings of Hatha yoga classes, or to dance Salsa and appreciate the spiritual practice of IFA under the guidance of Renee Thompson and Annette Williams. Maybe they came to chant Kirtan with the Hare Krishnas or Sat Purkh Kaur or to teach or sell their merchandise or get to know other yoga studios in the Twin Cities.

The people were as eclectic and abundant in variety as were the dozens and dozens of boxes of SoyJoy bars, which seemed to keep tumbling out of the store room.

Meetup members, small studio owners, staff from the PR firm and students volunteered their time selflessly. Volunteers from the healing community, such as acupuncturist Amy Nystrom and Motorcycle Bill, donated more than 100 combined hours to set up, facilitate and break down the event. Sponsors and donors supported the event with more than $3,500 in cash contributions and in-kind support; Chase Manhattan, Discover and MasterCard and I anted up another $4,500. Vendors at the Global Market had their second best day of revenue ever.

But my stamina and finances were depleted for six months afterwards. There was a nice feeling in me when I overheard a taxi driver speaking to someone else of the event, but I saw my reflection in the window and I looked worn and tired still.

I carried that same pattern of over-giving of my own energies and finances into the 2008 and the 2009 Festivals and part way into the birthing of the 2010 Yoga Festival, until my friend and colleague, Susan, called me on my attachment to lack and bringing poverty thinking into the community by over-giving of myself and under-charging for events that cost people to produce. It was an attachment that was making me physically, spiritually and emotionally ill.

Visiting the Bush Doctor
But now I am in Jamaica, getting ready to drive to Mandeville tomorrow to see a bush doctor/healer who will help me with my chronic fatigue, body pains, confusion, and MS-type symptoms by first “protecting me from my enemies” with an amulet and a blessing.

This I will do and receive, while our team of Organizers and Production Experts work on bringing the 4th Annual Twin Cities Yoga Festival to fruition on October 23.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to change my insistence on not owning things; same as Brother Richard adheres to his protocol. But I do know that by letting go and letting God, letting go and letting Others, we will have a successful, delightful, vibrant Yoga event.

The Festival has become incorporated to bring a sense of community to the creation of the gala, and nearly all the yoga studios in the Metro area are volunteering time and energy to promote and carry the burden and the joy of presenting Yoga to the people of Minnesota and the Midwest.

More than a dozen musicians and more than 15 teachers from around the globe are donating their time, airfare and energy to come and inspire, uplift, poke, provoke and unify us.

I believe that as a community we will be led, and we will teach ourselves and one another how to have a new relationship with Yoga and Prosperity and Thin Thighs.

Can the Bush Doctor in Mandeville do for me what 10,000 doctors cannot? I don’t know. But I know that in Minneapolis, we can do for ourselves together what 10,000 doctors could not.

In your work as a publicist, do you have a sense that the media reflects what the general public really wants, or does the general public drive the media?
KH: I think the media – and I would include publishing as part of that – has been profoundly arrogant. I remember a really long time ago listening to a panel of publishing people from New York saying, “We don’t really care what the people think, we’re the ones who make the decisions.” I thought that was profoundly arrogant. I think that has changed, because we’re now all reporters because of social media, Facebook and Twitter. We’re all so much more woven together.

The media shifted to relying (reluctantly) on iReports during the Green Movement on the streets of Iran. Nothing has been the same since that event. If they wanted to tell the story, the media were suddenly compelled to rely on people on the street getting messages and images through on cellphones. And that event legitimized the reporter on the street. I participated in this firsthand by spending two full weeks, several hours a day, passing along images and messages from people in the streets of Iran to the public, via Twitter. It was a very intense time, but enormously important and very empowering for citizens seeking change in repressive conditions. I was glad to have helped.

CNN was saying, “Well, these are the only images we have.” And they were kind of apologetic and embarrassed because they were iReports, but then somehow they had to legitimize it and now they’re using it regularly. Just within the last year that has shifted dramatically. They are now competing with the individual. They can’t do those power things anymore. It’s not going to work.

How did promoting such books as Creative Visualization and Way of the Peaceful Warrior influence your life?
KH: I don’t think it was an accident that the first book that I was asked to promote was Creative Visualization. I was there at the inception of that publishing company (New World Library). Shakti was basically self-publishing her book. She did exactly what I am now doing. They hired me and said, “Be the publicist.” We were all winging it and figuring it out in this house in Mill Valley (CA), so long ago.

Shakti and Marc Allen were teaching workshops and they said, “Maybe we should write this down.” They did another book first, called Reunion, before I came around and before they actually started the publishing company. Then Shakti did Creative Visualization and they said, “Promote this book!” At least I had a degree in English. I had something to rely upon, and I was innovative, and I had background in booking because I had been a professional singer in Europe, so it worked.

Creative Visualization was important to me because I was already doing that, but once I read Shakti’s book I thought, “Oh, okay.” It solidified what I was already doing. It brought to full consciousness how I was already living my life. It connected the dots in a much more solid way.

Dan Millman was just part of the scene at the time. He was published by H.J. Kramer, and I promoted some books for them. Dan’s always been in the background in my life somehow. We’re very similar in certain ways. We’re both Pisces. He’s just part of my extended network, but also I like him very, very much. He’s a wonderful person.

When did you get the inkling that a book was in the works for you personally?
KH: I got the idea for the book when I was completing a major task in my life, which was raising my daughter as a single parent. I was so ready to just be by myself. She went off to college and I went to live in the woods next to the ocean in a very quiet place. I looked around where I had brought myself – to Little River, just south of Mendocino (125 miles north of San Francisco) – and I thought, “I need to start a garden.” This was 20 years ago. I started seeing that what was true about working with the earth was also true in my life, so I started taking notes, and then I started writing.

Clearly you are a natural storyteller, and if you don’t mind I’ll mention some topics and I’d love to hear a condensed version of a story related to that. First, describe a special relationship you have with a special plant.
KH: The first thing that comes to mind is nasturtium. I always have nasturtium around me, always. It’s a very simple, very happy flower, and it comes mostly in oranges and yellows and reds. It grows in almost any kind of soil, so it is completely adaptable. It doesn’t care, it’s not fussy, but it gives so much. It has a charming energy around it and it always makes people happy. You grow it in big bunches, so it just fills up the space and it climbs and it twines around things and has its own mind and people always respond to it favorably. They always just stop and look at it and they love it. You can even eat it. You can put the flowers in salads. Apparently you can eat the leaves. I have done neither, but I know it’s a possibility. I always have this little survival thing in the background of my mind: “Well, if it gets bad I can eat the nasturtium.”

Describe your connection to chickens. You seem to like them.
KH: I love chickens. There is the story in my book about Chanticleer, a rooster that I found when I was living on four acres of land up near Santa Rosa, CA. At the bottom of the dirt road where we lived, this rooster shows up with a partner, and the neighbors were just so completely blasé about it. I couldn’t believe it.

I was like, “It’s a rooster!”

They went, “Yeah, so?”

I started feeding him. Within days, I went down and there were just feathers everywhere so I knew his little partner had been captured in the middle of the night by an owl or a hawk. There were so many things that could have eaten it. But I was worried about the rooster. So I put a cage at the bottom of the road and put some corn inside the cage, which he really wanted, and then I tied a string to the door. Eventually he was so hungry and wanted the corn so much that he went into the cage and I pulled the string and captured him and got help to bring him home.

I just loved him. He was beautiful. He was a bantam, so he wasn’t that big, but I was scared to pick him up because I didn’t know if he would bite me. I knew that some roosters were mean. Eventually I found a 4-H guy to come to my house and he showed me how to pick him up. Upside down.

So his name was Chanticleer. And then I got a beautiful bantam hen for him, whom I named Henny Penny. They were so utterly charming. They would scratch around in the daytime and then at night I had to keep them safe someplace, right? So I put them in a dog kennel and popped the dog kennel in the back of my Explorer so that nothing could get them, which was pretty funny, but it worked. I had them until I moved to North Carolina and then I had to very tearfully give them to a neighbor.

Are chickens loyal? If you let them out during the day will they stay around your house and not run away?
KH: No, they never tried to run away. They stayed right by the house. I was always worried because there were turkey vultures and hawks everywhere, but they would hide. They are intuitive and would hide under bushes. I just loved them. They were just so dear. I love chickens so much. I think it stems from when I was a little girl and had chickens.

And for the animal-lover in you, you must tell us about Sweet Pea, the kitten.
KH: Oh, Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea came to us out of the woods. I always say, “The woods giveth and the woods taketh away.” That’s what I think. If you live in the woods, you know what I am talking about.

Sweet Pea came and was sitting in the driveway, and I told Moxie, my Border Collie, to chase her back into the woods because I didn’t want her fighting with my outdoor cats. But she didn’t. She rolled up on a step and put her feet up in the air, and I thought, “Oh, God, she’s got rabies of something. This is not good!”

And so I called my dogs in the house, and I just watched her. And then, of course, I put food out to see what would happen, and she came closer and ate. Eventually she would let me get maybe 10 feet away. I would sneak up on her, and I played this game with her for days and days, trying to build trust with her.

Then one day I found her asleep in the sun. She was a little kitten, not very big, and I said, “Kitty?” And she didn’t move. So I said it louder, and she didn’t move. I clapped my hands and I said, “Kitty!” Then I realized that she was completely deaf. That’s why she’d been throwing her head around and acting so strangely. The only way she could protect herself was to slink around.

This went on for six weeks, just very slowly getting her to trust me. One day I took these feathers and tied them to a stick and stuck them underneath the cabin. There was a guesthouse on that property where she used to hide underneath. I stuck the feathers underneath and she was grabbing at them, and I thought, “Okay, this is kind of scary, but this is good,” and then she came out and she let me pick up her little feet. She’s still with me. Sweet Pea has been an incredibly loving addition to my life.

Tell us why scarves now mean more to you than they ever did before.
KH: It was my experiment, a very unexpected result in exploring the possibilities of using a blog for a social project. I read the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time. I can’t remember how I learned about it, but I was really inspired by Greg Mortenson’s experience in Pakistan, starting schools in Pakistan for girls. If you haven’t read it, you should. I couldn’t get it out of my heart. Somehow, it just really captured my imagination and my heart and I wanted to help those girls.

I had already reviewed the book on my blog, and I wrote to my readers and said, “What if we knitted some scarves for those girls?” I thought maybe I would get a dozen scarves, but what happened is that people kept writing to me from all over the world, from the UK, from Canada and from all over the United States, asking, “How big? What should we use?” I got this amazing response, and then I’m going to the post office and every day or two I’m getting another beautiful scarf from someone from somewhere. That was extraordinary until I had about 100 scarves. Then I had the task of how was I going to get them to Pakistan.

I contacted Greg Mortenson’s office and I thought they would say, “Oh, that’s wonderful,” but they didn’t. They said, “We can only take cash.”

I thought, “Oh, God, what have I started? How will I do this?”

So, I went online and I found Nazir Sabir, the head of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. He is wonderful. I read that he had experience in helping to get supplies to earthquake victims. I wrote to him and he said, “I would love to help you with this.” We packed everything up and then I had to raise money to send the package. People sent me checks, and my next door neighbors gave me $100 and made me cry. It was so sweet, this elderly couple next door.

We mailed the scarves to Pakistan, but then they couldn’t get through because the Karakoram Highway was closed for winter. So those 100 scarves sat with Nazir Sabir for a many months, and when the snow melted they took them up to Askole village where we were sending them. I managed to connect with a woman who was a doctor from Italy who worked in a tiny clinic in Askole village. When she was able to get through the Karakoram Highway and up to Askole village, she wrote me to say, “The girls are coming into the clinic and they are telling me how much they love the scarves.” Oh, it was so dear, so dear. So, that was an incredibly moving experience and shows the power of using a blog for social change.

What is your next project?
KH: I’m not completely committed, but I have a feeling what it will be. There is a big sign in this town where I live that says, “Future Home of Skateboard Park,” but that sign has been there for five years. I’ve been talking to the kids on the street who are on skateboards, saying, “What’s the story with this skateboard park?” What the locals are telling me is they have been talking about it for decades. Because I am a person who makes things happen, I told them, “I can’t do it this year, I’m working on a book, but next year I’m going to get this skateboard park built!” So, let’s see if my inner guidance agrees with that assessment and I make it happen.

I think little boys should have a place to safely come together and not be risking their lives on the streets and being chased out of parking lots. The land is there; let’s build it.

She is now the author of the book, Plant Whatever Brings You Joy: Blessed Wisdom from the Garden (Estrella Catarina), in which she draws on over two decades of gardening experience to share 52 life lessons from the garden. Her relationship with The Edge magazine has been a long one, making possible many interviews that have appeared in these pages during the past 15 years. She spoke with us about her personal writing from her home in Northern California.

You are now a well-known gardening blogger, but your book, Plant Whatever Brings You Joy, isn’t really a traditional gardening book at all, is it?
Kathryn Hall: No, it really isn’t. It’s a Trojan horse. Because I’m known as a gardener and a gardening blogger, people will buy the book thinking it’s a gardening book with life lessons from the garden. Remember “Everything I Needed to Learn I Learned in Kindergarten?” This is “Everything I Needed to Learn I Learned in the Garden,” but I’ve taken it a much bigger step further. Some people will love it and get it, and others will not get it, or be surprised.

The book is a collection of metaphors. It was originally conceived as one line on a page, because at that time it was popular to do that in the media, in the publishing world. The book was originally called “Metaphors From the Garden,” but “Metaphors From the Garden” is a little esoteric for the mainstream, and I wanted to write for mainstream. I wanted to write from my heart. The book was written before the blog got started, really.

If you were a plant, what variety would you be?
KH: Oh, I never thought about that. Many gardening bloggers have this test that asks what flower are you? I’ve never done it. The very first thing that comes to mind is rose. It is really my favorite flower, for all the obvious reasons. It’s just so gorgeous, but you asked what am I. Hmmm, I’m pretty fussy. I am going to say a rose because I am so drawn to them and I am very particular and I’m always kind of over-dressed for the culture. I can’t help it. I was a hippie in the 1960s, you know what I mean? It’s like, I love beautiful things.

As the reader moves through your book, he or she moves through your life. Tell me about the process that led you to believe that your life had something to say to the rest of us.
KH: Well, I’ll just be honest. I’ve been promoting other people for a really long time, and I’m known for being incredibly picky and selective about the messages I am willing to put out there. Sometimes I was promoting people and I’d think, “Hmmm, I could say something about that.”

It just became obvious that I had something to say, because I haven’t exactly just been promoting people. I’ve been traveling and learning and growing and studying and reading and working with different people for a really long time. I became consciously awake in 1964. That’s the God’s truth. I was a hippie in San Francisco in the 1960s. I’ve been committed to change and transformation and helping the planet since the mid-1960s. I know at a deep level I promised to do this in this lifetime, so here I am showing up, listening to Spirit and having the courage to follow through.

How would you describe the transformation you have seen in our culture during that span of time?
KH: You’re asking the right person, because I have been working with the media, changing the story, staying in touch with the conversation for three decades, so I have a very good barometer.

Now, creative visualization is no big deal. When I first took Shakti Gawain’s book Creative Visualization to the media, most people thought I was completely out of my mind, except for the Olympic trainers who knew what I was talking about. It was very interesting that someone out there understood what I was talking about and was utilizing it as a tool.

I worked a lot with the New Agers in the beginning. I worked with The Tarot Handbook for Angeles Arrien. I worked with Helen Palmer (noted teacher of intuition and psychology), with Dan Millman and Shakti, with Shakti’s mother, a book about dolphins.

And then I went to grad school – as I talk about in the book – very unexpectedly. I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You are done with this. You need to start taking change and transformation into corporations.”

And I said, “What?! What?!”

But, that’s exactly what happened, but the clients I attracted were people like: David White and taking poetry into corporations; Michael Jones, taking music and piano into corporations; Peter Block; and launching Meg Wheatley’s Leadership of the New Science, comparing Newtonian science and quantum physics. I’ve been able to track change and transformation by the receptivity of the media to the material that I’m taking to them – and, I’m happy to say, it’s a huge change.

You have lived a rich life with much travel, companionship, and variety. Please share with us the secret to your happiness.
KH: Listening to my heart, taking big risks, believing in myself, listening to my Spirit, being grounded in Spirit, and trusting that.

Why do Yoga?

The classical techniques of Yoga date back more than 5,000 years. In ancient times, the desire for greater personal freedom, health and long life, and heightened self-understanding gave birth to this system of physical and mental exercise, which has since spread throughout the world. The word Yoga means “to join or yoke together,” and it brings the body and mind together into one harmonious experience.

The whole system of Yoga is built on three main structures: exercise, breathing, and meditation. The exercises of Yoga are designed to put pressure on the glandular systems of the body, thereby increasing its efficiency and total health. The body is looked upon as the primary instrument that enables us to work and evolve in the world, and so a Yoga student treats it with great care and respect.

Breathing techniques are based on the concept that breath is the source of life in the body. The Yoga student gently increases breath control to improve the health and function of both body and mind. These two systems of exercise and breathing then prepare the body and mind for meditation, and the student finds an easy approach to a quiet mind that allows silence and healing from everyday stress. Regular daily practice of all three parts of this structure of Yoga produce a clear, bright mind and a strong, capable body.

There are more than a hundred different schools of Yoga. Hatha Yoga focuses on the physical movements and postures, plus breathing techniques, and this is what most Americans associate with Yoga practice. However, others such as Raja Yoga (incorporating exercise, breathing, meditation and study), Jnana Yoga (the path of wisdom), Bhakti Yoga (the practice of extreme devotion) and Karma Yoga (all movement and work centered on a personal concept of God) have been practiced for centuries.

Yoga probably arrived in the United States in the late 1800s, but it did not become widely known until the 1960s, as part of the youth culture’s growing interest in anything Eastern. Yoga is not a religion. It has no creed or fixed set of beliefs, nor is there a prescribed godlike figure to be worshiped in a particular manner. The practice of Yoga will not interfere with any religion. Many Yoga students continue to follow the religious traditions they have grown up in or adopted without conflict.

As more became known about the beneficial effects of Yoga, it gained acceptance and respect as a valuable method for helping in the management of stress and improving health and well-being. Many physicians now recommend Yoga practice to patients at risk for heart disease, as well as those with back pain, arthritis, depression, and other chronic conditions.

Sources: Wikipedia, American Yoga Association

Yoga’s ancient techniques promote balance today

Why do yoga? The short answer is that yoga makes you feel better. Practicing the postures, breathing exercises and meditation makes you healthier in body, mind and spirit. Yoga lets you tune in, chill out, shape up – all at the same time.

For many people, that’s enough of an answer. But there’s more if you’re interested.

For starters, yoga is good for what ails you. Specifically, research shows that yoga helps manage or control anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, headaches, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, stress and other conditions and diseases. What’s more, yoga:

• Improves muscle tone, flexibility, strength and stamina
• Reduces stress and tension
• Boosts self-esteem
• Improves concentration and creativity
• Lowers fat
• Improves circulation
• Stimulates the immune system
• Creates sense of well-being and calm.

And that’s just the surface stuff. In fact, most of the benefits mentioned above are secondary to yoga’s original purpose.

Developed in India, yoga is a spiritual practice that has been evolving for the last 5,000 years or so. The original yogis were reacting, in part, to India’s ancient Vedic religion, which emphasized rituals. The yogis wanted a direct spiritual experience – one on one – not symbolic ritual. So they developed yoga.

Yoga means “union” in Sanskrit, the classical language of India. According to the yogis, true happiness, liberation and enlightenment comes from union with the divine consciousness known as Brahman, or with Atman, the transcendent Self. The various yoga practices are a methodology for reaching that goal. In hatha yoga, for example, postures and breathing exercises help purify the mind, body and spirit so the yogi can attain union. Pranayama breathing exercises help clear the nadis, or channels, that carry prana the universal life force, allowing prana to flow freely. When the channels are clear and the last block at the base of the spine has been opened, Kundalini rises through the spine, through the central channel called the sushumna-nadi, and joins the crown chakra. According to the tradition, the release of Kundalini leads to enlightenment and union.

If you do yoga, will you become enlightened? Well…you might (of course, it could take a few lifetimes of diligent practice). But then again you might not. But it doesn’t really matter because yoga is a process, and there’s a lot of good to be had along the way.

What if you don’t believe in talk about enlightenment, spirit and the rest of it? That’s okay, too. Yoga doesn’t discriminate. Even if you don’t believe in the spiritual side of life, you can still do yoga. Whether enlightenment, nadis, prana and Kundalini is literal truth, metaphor or myth is irrelevant. If you do yoga, chances are that you will feel its psycho-physiological effects.

Moreover, the concept of union has a powerful down-to-Earth meaning. Yoga helps us get in touch with our true selves. Between work, home and all of the demands and stresses in between, it’s easy to lose touch with who we are, that core essence with which we were born. Rushing around all day it sometimes feels like the “I” inside is simply the result of the things we do all day – or the effects those things have on our minds, bodies and spirits.

Ever say “I am hungry” or “I am stressed”? We identify with our conditions. It’s like “hungry” or “stressed” is a name (Hi. I’m Stressed. What’s your name?) As a result, our identities shift with our moods and conditions. In truth, however, we are not the conditions we experience or things we do. We are not our jobs or the thousands of tasks that make up our jobs. We are not the sensations or emotions we feel. We are not the car we drive or the house we live in. We are not “S/he Who Must Pay Bills.” We are not Mr. and Ms. Stressed.

Strip away the emotions, sensations and conditions and somewhere deep down inside you are still there. Strip it all away and you find out who you really are.

The techniques developed by the yogis to transcend also help us strip away the things that try to mis-define us – the emotions, sensations, desires, achievements and failures of daily life. Through yoga we learn to develop a greater awareness of our physical and psychological states. As a result, we’re in a position to better manage our reactions to the thoughts, feelings and responses we have to the various situations we deal with every day.

With greater awareness comes the sensitivity and skill to find and remove the physical and psychological blocks that often keep us from our true selves. We no longer identify with our conditions. Instead of saying, “I am stressed,” we begin to say, “I feel stress,” or “stress is present.” It’s a subtle but powerful difference.

Or better yet, we say “I feel anxiety and fear, and that’s causing stress – and in particular, it’s causing tension in my neck and shoulder.” So we breathe deeply to soothe the anxiety. We review the events that led to the onset of those feelings, and in the process they lose their grip on our nervous system. We intentionally relax our shoulder and neck to prevent the stress and tension from building into a permanent condition.

Yoga gives us control of ourselves. It helps cut through the layers of mis-identities that arise in response to our actions, experiences and feelings. It calms the frenzy, clears the clutter and allows us to get back in touch with ourselves.

Yoga is union with self. Or, as Patanjali, one of the great yoga sages, said: “Yoga stills the fluctuations of the mind. Then the true self appears.”

However, yoga is not about self-absorption. Yoga is about being in the world. Although most books, videos and websites focus on yoga postures, breathing and meditation, the tradition also emphasizes love, compassion, knowledge and right action as paths toward union.

Whether you pursue yoga as a spiritual path or for its psycho-physiological benefits, yoga is a methodology for developing a deeper experience of your self and the world. And it makes you feel really good.

In Walking Between the Worlds, Braden defines this shift as “…both a time in Earth history as well as an experience of human consciousness.” He continues: “Defined by the convergence of decreasing planetary magnetics and increasing planetary frequency upon a point in time, the Shift of the Ages, or simply, The Shift, represents a rare opportunity of collectively re-patterning the expression of human consciousness. The Shift is the term applied to the process of Earth accelerating through a course of evolutionary change, with the human species linked, by choice, to the electromagnetic fields of Earth, following suit through a process of cellular change.”

During this same time period we have seen more and more interest in spirituality and ancient sources of wisdom, as well as participation in practices to achieve transcendence and higher states of consciousness. Primary among these traditions is the practice and study of Yoga. People across the globe are searching to find a new and deeper “connection” to higher consciousness and spirit. This pursuit of a deeper understanding of God, love and the universe has drawn millions of people to reexamine this ancient science. As of 2004, it was estimated that there were more than 15 million Yoga practitioners in the United States alone, according to a Harris Poll conducted in conjunction with Yoga Journal. Clearly, interest in this ancient practice is vital, alive and growing.

A complete science
According to Swami Vishnu Devananda, Yoga is: “…A complete science of life that originated in India many thousands of years ago. It is the oldest system of personal development in the world, encompassing body, mind and spirit.” The ancient yogis had a profound understanding of man’s essential nature and of what he needs to live in harmony with himself and his environment. The yogi attempts to achieve a state of Yoga, or union. In yogic philosophy, this is described as the union of the three aspects of the self: physical, subtle and causal. This is “The Whole” – or said another way, it is “the connection of the physical and mental self with God/The Universe or Brahman.”

In 1993, Dr. Eric Pearl, a Los Angeles-based chiropractor, went through a personal energetic shift. When he did, he began to access a new spectrum of healing frequencies that is now called Reconnective Healing. This unique hands-off healing art works with a more comprehensive bandwidth of healing frequencies that may well be accessible here on Earth for the very first time. These frequencies bring us in direct contact with God/Love/Universe, thereby facilitating a “download” of light and information known as Reconnective Healing (and The Reconnection). It reconnects us to the fullness of the universe as it reconnects us to the fullness of our beings and of who we are. This can help us to connect to our perfect blueprint of health, helping to facilitate healing on all levels of our being, from the physical to the spiritual.

Once properly trained, everyone has the innate potential to access and bring in this new spectrum of healing frequencies, simply by interacting with them. More than 60,000 practitioners have been trained worldwide, in more than 60 different countries, as a stand-alone healing modality, supported by an entirely new and more comprehensive bandwidth of energy, light and information.

This frequency has been validated by research such as that conducted at The Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health, at the University of Arizona.

Reconnective Healing Frequencies join us to a higher power; the words are interchangeable: God, Love, Universe, Higher Self…Brahman. Whatever we pursue, whatever level of consciousness with which we work, whatever path we are on: we are enhanced, deepened and expanded with the help of The Reconnective Frequencies. By coming into contact and working with this energy, we are in a more direct contact to that force that drives, and perhaps even is, the universe.

Transform and transcend
Clearly, we see how the goal of these two modalities – Yoga and Reconnective Healing – is the same: to join the individual to the vastness of the universe and to transform and transcend with the information accessed with this union. This is the goal of both Yoga and Reconnective Healing and in recognizing this common goal, we can begin to realize how they can potentially come together and be integrated into a new practice.

This new program marries the two disciplines with amazing results. Introducing Reconnective Healing frequencies and the light and information of The Reconnection into the practice of Yoga is a powerful and transformative vehicle for concentration, meditation and healing on all levels. The incorporation of the healing frequencies takes the Yoga practice, literally, to a quantum level of connection with Self and the Universal Mind. The frequencies can flow in a directed way to help heal the body, while the yogi flows through their practice. Often the intelligent frequencies “turn on” without conscious intent, responding directly to the needs of the body. It is as if the intelligence of the body works with the intelligence of the universe to help heal the yogi while they are in practice.

When the yogi consciously invites the healing energy of The Reconnection into the yoga practice, they literally begin to vibrate at a frequency that helps to change the structure of the body, muscles, organs and perhaps even DNA, and this transforms them at the cellular level and beyond. Embracing the expanded physicality of movement with these frequencies, combines the physical element with the subtly and grace of the intelligent universal energy, helping to transform the practice at the next level of alignment and connection with the universe.

Energy, light, information
What separates Reconnective Yoga from other forms of practice is its dramatically enhanced access to and use of energy, light and information. And its instructors also become healing practitioners along the way.  Through those instructors, and assisted by the intelligence of the universe, our Yoga studios now truly become the new healing centers of today.

The benefits of repeated Reconnective Yoga practice are a stronger connection to higher self and a deeper, healing connection with Spirit. This profound level of healing Yoga practice teaches awareness beyond the basic five senses to enhance, deepen and enhance the path to healing and evolution. In class, the yogi learns to feel the frequencies of Reconnective Healing and make them an integral part of their yoga practice, as a restorative return to the perfection and originality of the universe, to achieve true health and enlightenment.

Currently Reconnective Yoga is offered in two formats. First, for any yoga student at any level of practice who wishes to explore Reconnective Yoga, there is the Open Class. An initial three-hour workshop, where the concepts and basic uses are introduced to students, is followed by a series of classes, offered daily, utilizing the frequencies in practice. The second format is a one-day teacher training for existing yoga teachers (200 hours minimum) who have also taken The Reconnective Healing Seminars, Levels l/ll and lll, introducing ways in which the teacher can utilize the Reconnective Healing Frequencies in their classes. Various uses are explored such as hands-off healing during asana, hands on spotting, and charging or conditioning the room prior to classes.

Three days after Thanksgiving in 2005, the woman I married when I was 23, raised a child with and considered my best friend, was murdered in her apartment outside Chicago. Linda was the type of woman you couldn’t help but love, and I wasn’t the only person who felt that way. I always said that if you didn’t like her, then there’s something wrong with you, not her. In many ways she was the example of how to live a loving, service-oriented life. Her senseless death was more than a blow; it was the type of shock I was afraid I would never recover from.

“You’ll never get over this, but there will come a day when it’s no longer over you.” Those were the words spoken by my friend Neale Donald Walsch, who flew to Chicago the day after the tragedy to stand at my side. Three and a half years after Linda’s death, I realized he was right. The clouds seemed to be parting, and even though I still missed her, the profound sadness seemed to have lifted.

The fact that this realization only lasted a matter of hours surprised me, though. An email came with news I didn’t expect: “Someone just confessed to Linda’s murder.” I went from feeling healed to diving back into the thick of despair.

The story centers around an experience my daughter and I had when we were traveling from Chicago back to Oregon immediately after Linda’s funeral. While driving along a small highway in Nevada that hugged the side of a terrifying cliff, we found ourselves caught in a blizzard and nearly went over the edge. Several years later, when I first heard that someone was in custody for Linda’s murder, I felt compelled to return to that cliff, and though the thought seemed alien and strange, I decided to follow.

I drove five hours to the remote highway and hiked to the bottom where I ultimately discovered a remarkable barn, a place where dreams came true. Imagine finding a place where the barriers separating the physical and spiritual dimensions begin to blur, and you suddenly find yourself dancing in a barn with people who are not meant for this world. And imagine if, in the midst of that amazing gathering, you met the one person you thought you would never see again, the person who held the key to the greatest lesson of your life. This is what I encountered in the wilderness of Nevada, and though it will seem impossible to some, to many more it will be the answer to a prayer.

Since then I’ve tried to find ways to help others make similar connections with their loved ones. In a recent scientific test called DreamDancing, over 50 percent of the people involved had at least one connection with a loved one on the other side of the veil, an actual face-to-face conversation that they were able to verify at a later time. Over 300 people participated in the study, and I believe we’ve begun laying the groundwork for a whole new exciting field. In the past, we thought we needed mediums or psychics to help us make contact with the other side, but now it seems to be possible for almost anyone. Because of the success of the study, we’ve decided to open it up to the general public, giving everyone the possibility to connect with loved ones they thought they had lost [visit www.dream-dancing.com].

The events I describe in The Barn Dance changed my life, and the book is already touching thousands of people in a similar way. The magical adventure I experienced is something everyone can relate to, because we’ve all lost people we love, tragically or otherwise. The experience of grief is the same, and so is the hope that comes when we realize our loved ones never have left at all, but are still with us in a way that is intimate and real. That was what I learned from Linda, and now it’s the only thing I want to share.

People will ask about the adventure I wrote in The Barn Dance, wondering if it’s a completely true story or simply one man’s need to heal his heart through a fantastic and magical tale. I’ll answer that question even before you begin reading: To me this story is completely true, but in a way most people will find surprising. If you believe that we really do live in a magical universe and that dreams do come true, then you’ll probably believe every word you read. If not, then that’s fine, as well.

As for me, I believe that there really is a barn in the middle of a secluded forest where Heaven and Earth meet, and where we really can stand side-by-side with our loved ones on the other side of the veil. I should know, because I’ve been there.

Ray Roybal, a noted Chicano artist and leader in the Twin Cities since the 1960s, is a descendant of Ignacio Roybal, who in the 1600s served with the Spanish military in the New Spain territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (New Mexico and Arizona today). His family tree also includes indigenous Native Americans. Roybal descendants who lived in Mexico did not arrive in his family’s history until around 1848. “My people down in New Mexico don’t consider us Mexican Americans, but rather Spanish Americans, because the real source of our heritage is from Europe.”

His concern now is the border war between the United States and Mexico in Arizona. He believes the United Nations may need to send troops to prevent an escalating international incident. “What also bothers me now, as a Chicano, is that we are not getting the respect as far as our identity is concerned, as American citizens. We’re all Americans, not just some of us…. I’m concerned about the freedom for all people, because we run into it every day. I’m not naming names, but I went to a bank the other day and was given a hard time for being Mexican American. I have money in the bank and they didn’t believe I was who I said I was, because my name is Ramon Roybal.”

The artist lived in San Francisco in the late 1950s and was inspired by the creativity of the Beat movement. He was educated at the University of Minnesota and has worked as a cartoonist for local media, as well as an art educator. He spotlights our nation’s discrimination in his work, using caricatures and Picasso-inspired imagery to shine light on a culture that “attacks its own poor and dehumanizes its individuals, denying them the basic rights of human dignity and freedom.”

Ray Roybal’s work in oil, acrylics and mixed media is on display at Golden’s Deli, 275 E. 4th St., in downtown St. Paul, one of the newest distributors of The Edge magazine.

Religious suppression is gradually being replaced by spiritual freedom; a freedom that has opened the door to the “Self-awareness” movement. Unfortunately, the pendulum has swung too far. Many of us run to the latest “new age,” self-help, inspirational best seller, searching for the answer. We seek the most popular healer and run from astrologer to psychic. We turn to Oprah to find the latest noteable “guru du jour,” searching for the key to life. Where is it? Who has it? How can we get it?

The answer lies in an allegory in one of the most famous children’s stories of all time, a story that has been passed down through four generations. Although it is highly probable that L. Frank Baum did not intend The Wizard of Oz to hold such a powerful inner meaning, we can find the key to life by turning this timeless tale into a personal metaphor.

Dorothy leaves Kansas to flee the oppression of her challenges. She’s caught in a horrid storm of chaos and dropped into an uncharted mystical world. She asks for help and a guardian appears and tells her to follow the path. She meets like-minded travelers on her journey who are seeking to fill their own emptiness. Together they trek a perilous road to Oz in search of the wizard who allegedly has their answers. The path to Oz is riddled with distractions and challenges, but they eventually arrive at their destination, expecting the wizard to provide the answers they seek.

The wizard portrays himself as the all-knowing, all-powerful being who has the key to everything they need. He sends them away, demanding they do particular deeds to win his favor; only “then” will he give them what they came for. Their journey leads them to conquering their greatest adversaries, only to return to the wizard, who they still believe holds the key. The wizard accidentally exposes his true self and finally, in a moment of personal honesty, divulges that he too is just a man on a journey. He graciously explains that he doesn’t have their answers. He tells them that what they have been searching for is already within them.

Dorothy, the heroine, is happy her companions have found what they came for, but she is still no further along then when she started her journey. She feared her only hope in returning home was gone. She cried for help and her guardian appeared. In one of the greatest spiritual moments of this children’s fairy tale, the Good Witch, Glinda, told Dorothy the power was with her all along. She didn’t need the wizard or anyone else. All she had to do was…you know the answer…click your heels three times and repeat… “there is no place like home, there is no place like home, there is no place like home.”

Our soul is our ruby slippers, and it has always known the way home. Whatever journey we take ultimately leads us home to the wisdom within. It isn’t wrong to seek mentors to help guide our path. The challenge is that we are inundated with self-help information and Hollywood gurus who seemingly have an answer that we don’t. We start to believe that they, those we consider more evolved, have the key to our life. If we are constantly seeking to find our inner wisdom by believing that we can’t find it, we won’t find it. We will follow a path that continues to lead us outside of ourselves, and the voice of our soul will become distant and faint, replaced by the chatter of those we think have our answers.

We are the offspring of a Divine Power that created the universe and everything in it. We may never be able to label it, or define it, but we can intuitively feel it, hear it and know it. Since we are the creation of something Divine, the DNA of that “great something,” whatever you want to call it, lives within US. That Divine DNA is our soul and it has a voice, an intuitive inner voice that is constantly trying to reach us.

The voice of our soul may guide us through mentors who have wisdom that can help us on our path, but we are not meant to rely on someone else to unlock our own inner wisdom. Books, healers, intuitives or whomever we may seek point us to the understanding that WE have the answers. We are not meant to put someone else on a pedestal, believing they are the great wizard of Oz, the answer to our dreams.

Learning to unlock our own inner wisdom IS the key to life. The voice of our soul is connected to the Divine wisdom that lives (over the rainbow) beyond the veil of this earth plane. Our spiritual guides, guardians and loved ones are waiting to help us on our soul path. They are waiting to help lead us home; not to die, but to live our Divine potential.

Detach from the chaos of life by shutting down technology for a brief time every day. Stop running from person to person to find your answers. Access the Divine wisdom of your own soul. Spend quiet time listening to its advice. Seek only those who reinforce your own ability to find your answers. If the chaos of your adult life has created such a serious path, return to the wise child within. Watch The Wizard of Oz and find the powerful inner message of this timeless tale. This time, let your soul quietly repeat the profound message Glinda spoke to Dorothy: “You’ve always had the power.”

If the focus for health is on evading symptoms and prevention, we are still fixated on what we do not want through an avoidance strategy. The current biomedical model views health as an absence from having symptoms – the symptom is a problem, and it must be gotten rid of. This paradigm is the Restorative Therapeutic model proposed by Donald Epstein, D.C. With this model, there is a basic premise that “something is disturbing the way I feel and live my life.” This model seeks cause and blame and returns someone back to his/her prior state by labeling the disturbance as “wrong” and stopping it. One knows success has been achieved because there is a return to a previous state before the symptom manifested.

Epstein likens this model with trying to drive forward in your car by looking in the rear view mirror, knowing that is where you do not want to go. Where is the focus? How well will that work?

He proposes a new model of wellness and holism to create a structure that will facilitate a paradigm shift: Reorganizational Healing. This model seeks connection and depth of meaning to create new life possibilities. It is essentially a humanistic or social science and can be applied in any model that seeks higher order and a more efficient configuration.

In Reorganizational Healing, there is still the underlying premise as in Restorative Therapeutics that “something is disturbing the way I feel and live my life.” However, with this model, the focus shifts compared to where it is with the Restorative model. The disturbance is now a means to suggest that some sort of life change is necessary. The symptom, although uncomfortable and disruptive, is a means for instruction. It is meant to interrupt existing patterns of behavior and create adaptive strategies in the individual. With Reorganizational Healing, success is achieved by creating a new-ordered, energy efficient state at a higher level of organization. New actions, new consciousness states, change and adaptability are desired outcomes. Symptoms and crisis have little to do with the internal experience of wellness, and new resources can be fortified despite crisis or symptoms. A new standard for life is established.

We can compare the two models when looking at the example of a messy, disorganized closet. Perhaps there is one box that falls out every time you open the closet door. Every time the box falls out you squeeze together the other closet inhabitants to make a little more room and restore the box to where it was before. Lo and behold, a few weeks later, the box falls out again, and the process continues.

One day you decide, “Enough of this.” You take the box out – along with all the other items in the closet! A huge chaotic mess ensues, but you begin to sift through and get rid of that which no longer serves you. You can reorganize the closet into a more ordered, efficient arrangement so the box can never fall out again – and maybe you will then discover exactly where your high school yearbook is in the process!

Donald Epstein’s original article on Reorganizational Healing appeared in Volume 15, Number 5, of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2009.

The crisis in the Gulf was foremost on everyone’s minds and we felt helpless and angry, as well as compassionate for the wildlife, the degradation of Sacred Mother Earth. “Perhaps a meditation about visualizing the healing of the Gulf region would be helpful,” I suggested. “Let’s do a meditation while holding something round to remind us of the globe.” Cary responded by saying she could gather up large river rocks use as props.

In the center of the Moon Dome, Cary created an altar with flowers, candles, crystals and special objects given to her. Around this altar she had placed 20 river rocks. We were subdued, tuned in to the suffering caused by this traumatic tragedy happening within our Gulf coast. I suggested that we each choose a rock and hold it in our hands the way we would hold a precious child. As we deepened our breathing, in our calm meditative state, I led us through imagining a golden cascade of light coming down through our crown chakras and flowing along our spines to connect us with the earth, then flowing along our hands to encircle the “globes” we held.

I said to visualize ourselves as the Great Mother, sending love through our fingertips to caress the earth: the mountains and forests, streams and rivers, oceans and deserts, the four-leggeds, the winged creatures, the sea creatures, the rocks, trees, plants and flowers. “Imagine the Gulf region, the incredible blue waters, the beaches, the turtles, pelicans, dolphins, fish, shrimp, as whole,” I told them. I asked the women to visualize the beaches as sparkling and the waters cleansed, beauty and majesty restored, gorgeous and vibrant with life.

Then we repeated three times: “I am your mother and I love you.” The power in the room was palpable.

Afterwards, the women spoke of how they felt hopeful for the first time, how they felt relieved of a crushing burden of despair.

This meditation impacted me in a way I did not expect. For five years I had been carrying the guilt of my son’s death from suicide. Although I used healing tools from prayer retreats and counseling, rituals to honor his life, joyful arrivals of grandchildren and books published, and support from my spiritual community, I still carried a burden. This simple meditation of loving Mother Earth with my own body, my own hands, golden light sent from above as a gift, freed me from that guilt.

Later as I walked quietly through Haelan Circle, these words came to me: “This is the time when we are called upon to enact our greatness. We are the Ones with the power in our hands and our hearts to reach out, to bind the broken, to cleanse with our tears, to demand change with our anger, and to heal with our love. We are the emissaries sent forth to do the work of mending the web. We are the web and we are the Light of Divine Compassion. We are not alone. Ask and you shall receive – Living Waters, the chalice of over-flowing Grace. Out of many will come a single voice – a blend of the cry of grief and the cry of rejoicing. There is no separation between the Divine Within and the Divine Without. We are one and our love for creation is our love for ourselves. As we believe it, it shall be.”

Learning to visualize wholeness where there has been damage, brokenness and pain is a task of repairing the world – and in the process, ourselves.

Heal the Earth, a celebration in poetry and music of our connection with Mother Earth, will include musical interludes by Eunice Collette, a blessing by healer Chrisma McIntyre and poetry by Amy Unger-Weiss, Wendy Brown-Báez, Nancy Cox, Nicole Lynskey, LouAnn Muhm and Zilla Way. Heal the Earth, a free event, will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, at Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, 6666 E. River Road, Fridley, MN, as part of Art at Rice Creek Festival, and it will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at Healing Within Wellness Center, 3200 N. Lexington Ave., Shoreview, MN. For more info, call 612.437.3355 or visit www.wendybrownbaez.com.

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Long before self-help gurus Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle, there was Ernest Holmes. Hailed as the architect of the modern self-help movement, Holmes and his Church of Religious Science continue to attract a growing fellowship with an emphasis on the unity of all life and the importance of positive thought processes. For years, several of Homes’ most important texts have been unavailable. This fall, Tarcher is bringing back three titles as part of its Ernest Holmes Library.

A New Design for Living, by Ernest Holmes (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin), $14.95, 304 pages, www.ernestholmesnet.com
In its scope, and in its effect on readers, A New Design for Living is second only to Ernest Holmes’ magnum opus, The Science of Mind. In this cherished spiritual classic, Holmes demonstrates that wishes – from health, love, and friendship to the career and home of your dreams – are not only possible to realize but are within each person’s very reach. At last available again, this galvanizing book teaches how to turn mind-power into an infinitely positive force – the very force of creation itself. Harmonize with the beauty and intelligence of the universe, watch the magnificence of life transform before you, and awaken to the nature of reality. With this new-found power of transformative thinking, every goal is attainable.

Discover a Richer Life, by Ernest Holmes (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin), $12.95, 160 pages
Is something missing in your life? The quality of our life’s experience, from health and success to prosperity and happiness, stems directly from our relationship with the Universe and the patterns of thought that it inspires. In this beloved inspirational guidebook, Holmes provides the tools and blueprint for the foundation of a new and more successful life, grounded by and centered on the nature and meaning of reality. The world is ripe for discovery, and Discover a Richer Life is the map that will guide readers on a great adventure to a vibrant, fully realized life.

Living Without Fear, by Ernest Holmes (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin), $12.95, 160 pages
Does fear stop you from living your life to the fullest? In Living Without Fear, Holmes brilliantly navigates the reader through and away from anxiety, despair, and stress and toward the path to a richer experience in living. Learn to think constructively and creatively and to liberate yourself, finally, from all limitations so you can lead a life of greater health, happiness, and abundance. Living Without Fear is your guide to a life of peaceful self-actualization, free from the fear of what you don’t want in your life, as well as from the fear of not receiving what you do want. This courageous, luminary book puts the power back into the reader’s hands. Here is the end of fear.

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The Crystal Experience, by Judy Hall (Godsfield Press Ltd.), $14.99, 256 pages, www.octopusbooks.co.uk
This is a fascinating book that gives you a personalized, practical and direct experience of the thought-provoking wisdom that crystal healing has conveyed to thousands throughout the world. Going far beyond a reference guide, The Crystal Experience is more like a personal tutor, leading you through the key ideas and concepts of crystal healing via inspirational and holistic hands-on exercises and rituals. Interactive exercises in this book help you to tailor the book to your needs. An exclusive CD featuring meditations and inspirational music will bring you into a receptive state for deeper work.

The Angel Experience, by Hazel Raven (Godsfield Press Ltd.), $14.99, 256 pages, www.octopusbooks.co.uk
This book provides a personalized, practical and direct experience of the profound healing that can be yours when you connect with your angels. Going far beyond a reference guide, The Angel Experience is more like a personal tutor, leading you through key ideas and concepts via inspirational and holistic hands-on exercises and rituals. Interactive exercises of this book help you to tailor the book to your needs. An exclusive CD featuring meditations and inspirational music will bring you into a receptive state for deeper work.

The Meditation Experience, by Madonna Gauding (Godsfield Press Ltd.), $14.99, 256 pages, www.octopusbooks.co.uk
Practiced throughout the world and within many different religions, meditation has long been a pathway to spiritual harmony and enlightenment. This fascinating book provides you with a personalized, practical and direct experience of meditation, and demonstrates the powerful healing that can be achieved by mastering this art. The Meditation Experience is more like a personal tutor, explaining how to meditate and access the benefits it offers including stress reduction, greater awareness and spiritual development. Interactive exercises of this book help you to tailor the book to your needs. An exclusive CD featuring meditations and inspirational music will bring you into a receptive state for deeper work.

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The Divine Life of Animals: One Man’s Quest to Discover Whether the Souls of Animals Live On, by Ptolemy Tompkins (Crown), $22.99, 256 pages, www.randomhouse.com/crown/
A journey through 20,000 years of history and myth in search of the answer to a single question: Do animals have souls? Anyone who has ever mourned the loss of a cherished pet has wondered about the animal soul. Do animals survive the death of the body, or are they doomed to disappear completely when they leave this world behind? Both scientists and religious authorities have long scoffed at the idea of animals in heaven. Yet the question endures. In this wise, immensely readable book, Ptolemy Tompkins embarks on a quest for the answer – taking us on a top-speed tour of the history of the animal soul. Equally at home with mainstream and alternative spiritual philosophies, Tompkins takes us from the savannas of Africa to the earth’s first cities to the early days of the great faith traditions of both East and West. Along the way, he shows that, despite what many of us have been taught, the world’s various spiritual traditions all have profoundly meaningful things to say about the animal soul, if we simply know where to look. The Divine Life of Animals offers a compelling and timeless vision of the relationship between humans and animals that will have you looking at the animals in your life with new eyes.

Healing, by David Elliott (Hawk Press), $18, 288 pages, available as a free PDF download at www.davidelliott-healing.com
What if you could heal yourself of any illness, addiction or chronic condition? How much freedom would you experience if you were not dependent on health care? How empowered would you feel if you had the keys to healing, not only on the physical level, but on emotional, mental and spiritual levels as well? Healing, the second book by healer and author David Elliott, is a comprehensive and thorough exploration of the limitless potential within you to discover the healing you have been searching for. David Elliott’s unique understanding of energy helps him guide clients, students and trained healers past their fears so they may discover their own inner ability to heal. His simple message of self-love and exchange has allowed thousands from around the world to derive life-changing benefits from the teachings of this formerly reluctant healer.

I AM: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are, by Howard Falco (Tarcher/Penguin), $15.95, 352 pages, www.howardfalco.com
At age 35, former investment banker Howard Falco found himself asking the fundamental question, “Who am I?” In his illuminating new work, I AM: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are, Falco reveals how a sudden and dramatic shift in his awareness helped him discover answers to the existential questions that we all encounter. Insightful and highly readable, I AM takes readers on a life-changing journey where they will discover that the doorway to eternal peace, happiness and fulfillment lies in a complete understanding of the self. I AM helps readers realize that they have the power to create the existence that they have always wanted.

The Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and Wealth, by Mark Fisher (New World Library), $13.95, 144 pages, www.newworldlibrary.com
Do those who succeed work harder than those who only dream about success? Are they smarter, luckier, more ruthless? And does financial success bring happiness? These perennial questions are perhaps more timely than ever. The Instant Millionaire answers them in the unforgettable voice of a very wise and wealthy old man. Known as the “Instant Millionaire” because he grasped the true secret of making a fortune overnight, this sage mentors a young man with frustrated dreams and nine-to-five disappointments. In practical, ready-to-implement lessons, he reveals the ideas and actions that can give anyone the mentality of a millionaire. This simple, yet powerful, mental shift paves the way not only for financial success but also for profound personal fulfillment and well-being.

Knock and the Door Will Open: 6 Keys to Mastering the Art of Living, by Jeffrey A. Wands (Atria), $18, 224 pages, jeffreywands.com
Embark on a wondrous journey of discovery and harness the power within. The author believes that each of us is a giant treasure chest waiting to be filled with the gifts that we’ve been given, but most of us have not summoned the courage to open ourselves up to discover our personal treasures. When you are brave enough, you can change your mind and change your life. Here, Jeffrey breaks the process down into six simple, easy-to-follow keys:

1. Evaluate Yourself
2. Gather Your Soul Mates
3. Make Sure Your Home Is Your Castle
4. Bring More Prosperity into Your Life
5. Seek More Spiritual Strength
6. Maintain Your Emotional and Physical Health

These six keys will allow you to dig deep inside, to look at every aspect of your life, and to achieve your greatest potential.

Notes from the Edge Times, by Daniel Pinchbeck (Tarcher/Penguin), $23.95, 208 pages, www.realitysandwich.com
Often referred to as a Timothy Leary for our current age, Daniel Pinchbeck is known for examining current issues from an intelligent and countercultural perspective. In his highly anticipated new book (release date October 14), Pinchbeck explores the “edge realms,” touching upon topics ranging from the financial collapse to our need for a new media paradigm to the meaning of 2012. In the process, he challenges readers to consider some pressing questions:

• “[A]t a time when war has become a ‘permanent social relation,’ and the planet’s life support systems are in jeopardy,” can we really cut ourselves off from political and societal involvement?
• Does our monetary system require a fundamental redesign?
• How can the millions of us who currently practice disciplines such as Buddhism, Yoga and Shamanism apply our spiritual ideals in a spiritual movement?
• Can we overcome deeply ingrained cultural stereotypes to spark a new sexual revolution defined by self-awareness and acceptance?

Pope Annalisa: Book One of the First Souls Trilogy, a novel by Peter Canova (Trimountaine Publishing), $26.95, 472 pages, www.popeannalisa.com
What forces were at work when the unthinkable became reality and an African nun was elected the first female pope? Amid conflicting prophecies of destruction and renewal she came. She is a healer, a miracle worker, a captivator of men’s souls. But when demonic-looking symbols begin appearing around the Vatican upon her arrival, were her enemies correct about her being the prophesied figure that would destroy the church and lead the world order to ruin? As the world nears nuclear holocaust, four people must race against time to learn her secret. As sinister hidden forces from within her own church and terrorism from without rear their heads, one thing becomes crystal clear – Pope Annalisa is at the very center of all the deadly plots within plots in a world where nothing is as it seems. And though it was a miracle for a woman to become pope, it will be a far greater miracle if she survives. Peter Canova has written a trilogy entitled The First Souls, concerning the first awakening of spirit into materiality in the form of human consciousness. Pope Annalisa is the first book of the series.

When Prayers Aren’t Answered: Opening the Heart and Quieting the Mind during Challenging Times, by John E. Welshons (New World Library), $14.95, 296 pages, onesoulonelove.com
In the depths of grief, some find solace in their faith while others wonder why God has deserted them. In this gentle and wise guide, a beloved spiritual teacher counsels that prayer works – but not always in the ways we expect. Welshons, who has worked closely with Ram Dass, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and Stephen Levine, confronts life’s most challenging experiences directly, acknowledging both the reality and inevitability of suffering. Then, with insights gathered from the world’s spiritual traditions, he demonstrates how to use painful circumstances as fuel for enlightenment. Welshons shares stories of transformation from his own life and the lives of those he has counseled. With the empathy of experience, he lights a path toward the communion, peace, and even joy possible not in spite of suffering, but through it.

“They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird.” – George Orwell in

The Earth is not flat nor is it the center of the Universe nor was it created in seven days nor is there a man in the sky running things! There are some things that are not open to interpretation. Such as, if you physically, mentally or emotionally abuse a child, it will be scarred. It is simply wrong. Period! Here, let’s get this out into the open. Priests that have sex with children should be castrated, hung and/or the whole religion that they represent should be shut down. It is probably a good thing that I am not yet in a position of power, because I have a storehouse of whoopass to deal out. At times I feel like a voice in the wilderness crying, “What the hell are you people doing?”

It doesn’t make sense that people are hungry or that they can’t get health care, when in simple board, role playing or video games we are taught to redistribute resources for the individual and collective. It doesn’t make sense that we gave a Nobel Peace Prize to the president of a country that is still waging war and not finding solutions of peace. I want to create a “No” directive. And here is how it would go. Whenever some company or government, which really is the same thing here in the U.S, decides to do something stupid, I get a call and simply tell the company/government “No“…end of story.

Do I think I am a god or that I should be given a certain amount of power? No. But I am bold enough to say that something is stupid and that we shouldn’t do it. You see, I don’t care if I have been someone else in a different life, or if I descended from the stars, or if some dude’s house has many mansions. Right here, right now, I can point at something and say, “That is wrong!” and not blow smoke up everyone’s butt saying, “There is no right or wrong,” which placates the predators of our times and absolves them of their wrongdoings.

Religions condone suffering to keep its slaves in line; this should not be a world design. The law is crooked because it releases the guilty. Suffering, war and pestilence happens because we are not listening to the obvious. We have all witnessed a gaping hole deep within the Earth spewing oil. The Earth was bleeding and we were not upset at this? In the CERN Laboratories they are smashing particles together, trying to replicate “The Big Bang.” If they are successful, this planet and the space around it could fold in on itself. If they make larger mistakes than they already have, they can open up a black hole right here on our planet with the same results.

What we are saying is that it is perfectly okay to rape the planet, anything or anyone!

So let’s just say, for the hell of it, that we decide to actually deal with what is happening: global warming, world hunger, child abuse, holes spewing oil, war, crime, murder, just to name a few. Then, let’s say, just for kicks, we realize that we are living on a freaking planet that is feeding us. You simply don’t poop where you eat. It is not healthy. Let’s say that we let go of the judgments that separates us from ourselves, each other and this planet. Would that be so bad?

There is so much that our conditioning allows us to gloss over – the obvious human atrocities. What if everyone who has the eyes to see, at every turn, said, “No!” and took a stand when they saw something wrong going on. Obviously I don’t have the space here to voice all that is happening, but you get my drift.

I am sure that there are those who say that if you focus on it, you just make it worse, just like those who ignore the cries of their children so that the family’s name is protected…you know who you are. All I am asking is that you wake up and don’t use culture, religion and spirituality as a veil to blind you and pretend that everything is okay. Speak you mind! Hell, shout it!

Each month, this column features a “Message from Love” with an action step and meditation. Each message gives examples of what Love might say and do in various circumstances. So, whenever you find yourself feeling scared, angry or uncomfortable, instead of letting fear have its way, practice asking yourself:

What would Love say?
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

What would Love do?
Hold any pain or suffering in your heart. Let it be soothed with love instead of fear.

Meditation for Love:
Sit quietly for 10 minutes. Place your hand at your heart and breathe into it. Focus all your awareness on welcoming the energy of Love. Place any kind of suffering inside your heart and let it be held by Love. Tell your suffering that it is okay to feel what you feel and that everything will be all right.

Since being reintroduced to the eightfold path, I find that I have been practicing some of its elements without realizing it. This is the final of six columns devoted to exploring their value in today’s world.

Pratyahara
Pratyahara is “removing the tentacles of consciousness from the world.” We detach our attention from the world outside of us and let go of our thoughts about these externals. By concentrating on your breath to the exclusion of all else, you have already begun the practice of pratyahara. If you’ve ever become so totally absorbed in a task or project that you lost all track of time or consciousness of activity happening around you, you’ve experienced something very like Pratyahara. Pratyahara is a vital step toward disentangling yourself from the world of illusion and a bridge to meditation in the final three limbs of yoga.

Dharana
In dharana we reach out to the divine with the tentacles just removed from the world. We concentrate all of our attention on the infinite. If you don’t understand what it means to reach out in this way, try using the word AUM (or OM) as a focus of concentration. AUM stands for the Creator who transcends the limitations of time (A: the beginning, U: the middle, M: completion).

Dhyana
With dhyana, the effort involved in focusing our consciousness dissolves and we are conscious only of our own existence and the existence of the object of meditation. This state is often described as “bliss” and it is not something we can just choose to “do.” It comes unbidden when we are “doing” other things like pranayama, pratyahara or dharana.

Samadhi
Contact with God is the goal of all eight limbs of yoga, and the state of union with God is samadhi. It is the final step in meditation where the consciousness of being separate from the divine dissolves. One need not be Hindu or practicing yoga to experience samadhi. We can be transported into union with the divine without seeking it. It comes to us most often in nature when we are awed by the mountains, the sea or the opening of a flower.

The Value of Meditation
Meditators experience less stress. Meditation helps us respond to events in our lives in healthier manner and to enjoy life more, because we are more present in the moment. A lesser-known benefit of meditation is that the calm is catching. Business meetings become more productive and family disagreements less volatile. A study in India (mentioned by Deepak Chopra in one of his books) showed that if just 1 percent of the population meditates, violence in that area decreases significantly.

I hope these columns about the eight-fold path (or the eight limbs of yoga) have made the concepts more accessible and useful to you. Namasté (the spirit in me salutes the spirit in you).

If you regularly read my column, you probably know that all of my columns are, in some aspect, very personal. One of the trickiest parts of writing these personal stories is that so often, it is not just my story. If it involves someone else, I am always cautious, as it is not only my story to tell.

In C.S. Lewis’ A Horse and His Boy, as the great lion Aslan reveals his role in the unfolding of events to each person, each character has questions arise regarding things that have happened to other individuals in the story, and to each of these questions, Aslan replies, “I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”

Here is an example: I have a friend who, in the past, was a regular and relatively frequent dater. The thing about dating a lot is that it increases the likelihood of bad dates, and she’s had some doozies. Some of these stories are jaw dropping, others hilarious. There is a huge temptation to share these stories with others. Are these my stories to tell? This is the kind of question that I started to ask myself when I started writing this month’s column about some personal dynamics (unrelated to the woman mentioned above) that I thought might provide some interesting insights, but really reached into the edges of what is my story, and what is not, and the ethics of speech.

One of the behavioral guidelines in Buddhism is most often translated as “Right Speech.”

We teach children right speech principles all the time: “We don’t lie.” Or “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Or the big one in my house right now, “Don’t take that tone with me.” Like everything we learn as children, these rules continue to apply as we become adults, but also like everything else, they become more nuanced and complex.

Right speech is often expressed in terms of things we should not do, and involves avoiding what is defined as harmful speech. Four types of harmful speech are traditionally described:

• The first example above falls under the first category of harmful speech to avoid, lies, which are defined as words spoken with the intention of misleading or misrepresenting the truth.
• The second type of harmful speech is divisive speech, which is language that has the intention to create division among people.
• The third type of harmful speech is to abstain from using harsh words with the intent of hurting another person.
• The fourth type of speech to be avoided is usually referred to as idle chatter; a useful “catch-all” description if ever there was one. This one I fear may be the most important, dangerous and slippery of all. Gossip, in its most pure, refined sense of the word, is, of course, easily qualified as idle chatter. But where does the line come between chatter and useful conversation? When we tell someone that we’ve heard a friend has bought a house, does that qualify as chatter? What about telling others that a friend’s mother is dying?

I decided that I needed to spend some time contemplating the question of Right Speech. The outcome was that although there were many ways of delineating right speech, the first and best measure is to question its intent. Intent is the determining factor at the root of so many things; it sets the stage for determining how something should be done and, more importantly, whether it should be done at all. Choosing whether to use words, what words to use and how to use them is a very good place to examine intent behind the action.

Being thoughtful of your speech provides the opportunity to honestly examine and consider what it is you want to say and why you want to say it. Armed with this information, you are in the position of deciding whether to say it at all.

Examining your motivation in speaking can be an uncomfortable, even painful, experience as you are confronted with some of your less-flattering behaviors, but I think it’s better to squirm silently for a moment than publicly for much longer.

Many of us spend our days buzzing about from one activity to the next without awareness. We’re in a frantic pace most of the day. While we continue to move at such a rapid pace, we only allow more time for more things to fit into our schedules. It’s an endless cycle.

To slow down the pace of our lives, we must actually slow down. When we slow down, fewer things will be able to fit into our lives. The things in which we engage then gain our full attention and become more enjoyable, because we are more relaxed and less distracted.

The best time to begin to slow down your pace is during vacation. Without normal commitments, you can create a simple agenda. Sleep as much as you want. Soak in the bathtub. Savor each bite of your meal. Be a sloth. Move slowly, aware of each and every movement. Take naps. Seek the depth in nature. Take long walks. Lie on the earth. Watch animals. Do nothing.

Move through your days with ease. Make your travel arrangements so that you can have a day or two at home to transition into your regular life, while maintaining the harmony you found on vacation. Continue to apply these principles of living gracefully. Stop overbooking and under resting. If you are contemplating adding to your schedule, check to make sure everything aligns with your passions.

You don’t need to do everything that comes your way. Say no to things that will add stress or complicate your life. Keep life simple. Listen to your intuition to guide you to the right answer.

Give yourself time

Unless you have absolute clarity and certainty that you should immediately accept an offer, wait to respond. Give yourself some time, perhaps a day, before you agree to do anything to avoid being overwhelmed with opportunities. Think about what things you really want to do.

Check in with the pace of your present lifestyle. How can you establish a slower rhythm in your day? What is one thing you can change in your daily routine to gain more energy and peace in your life? Do you take breaks? Take the opportunity for a break right now. Close your eyes and relax. Take a few deep breaths. By taking several breaks throughout the day, you will not only be calmer, but more efficient, as well. It is a beautiful paradox that by slowing down, you will be more effective. Allow your thoughts to slow by focusing on your breathing. Release distractions and everything that you cannot control; give your attention only to what you can.

Moving through life at an amazing pace is fine, as long as that speed allows for ease and peace. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to slow your pace. With breaks, you gain greater efficiency. By removing unnecessary tasks from your life, you gain time. If you still find there’s too much on your plate to eliminate a hectic, harried lifestyle, delegate your tasks to your partner, co-worker, friend or child. The more activities we try to squeeze into our day, the more irritable we become. How joyful or aware can we be when we rush from one activity to the next without transitioning or enjoying ourselves?

A day as a cat

Imagine a day in the life of a cat. It wakes up when it’s hungry, eats and saunters about its space, allowing whatever captivates its attention to be its total focus.

Can you imagine spending day after day like a cat? No books, televisions, computers, cars or work. If someone supported you, fed you and cleaned up after you, how long would you be able to do nothing and enjoy it?

The idea seems ridiculous, doesn’t it? But if it’s appropriate for animals, why isn’t it appropriate for us? There aren’t many chronically stressed cats. But nearly all adults are walking around stressed every day – waking to alarm clocks, surviving on prescription medications and caffeine, fighting between anxiety and insomnia.

Tips to remove stress

Why do we allow this stress in our bodies and our minds? How do we eliminate it?

The first step to removing stress from your life is to get present by slowing down. Weigh every single action in your day with two questions:

1. Is it absolutely mandatory that I do this activity?
2. Is this activity going to bring me more peace and joy?

A negative response to either question gives you your answer. However, it does not necessarily mean that you should not do your activity, if not doing it will create greater consequences and stress for you than doing it. Consider altering the activity in some way or change your perception of it.

Remember to relax. The slower and more conscious you are, the more ease you will cultivate in your life.

Every single day I marvel at the incredibly complexity of reality, the layers upon layers of dimension that make it possible for us to even be alive. It’s not just a collection of muscle cells that allows your heart to beat, nor just a collection of neurons that allows your mind to think. And how do you explain emotions and synchronicity and the transformation of a chrysalis into a butterfly?

On a very mundane level, I understand that what makes the internet work are the links that connect everything into a single web. These links are like the spaces that connect the words that make the sentence. Like the silence that connects the notes that make the song. Like the nails that connect the boards that hold the house together.

What I am beginning to realize is that there is not one thing out of place. The father’s anger teaches the son the value of peace. The fallen tree is now shelter for a family of squirrels. The shadow of a newly risen skyscraper darkens the corner office across the street, giving solace to a migraine sufferer who fought the sun every afternoon for twenty years.

Acknowledging the interconnected totality of all that is, we are led to Sir Isaac Newton, who told us that for every act, there is an equal and opposite reaction. From a holistic perspective, that means that every action affects the whole. The prime directive for time travelers is to not disrupt the space-time continuum – if you change the way things are, then the way things were will never be the same.

And then we come to the prime directive for the rest of us: the Law of Karma, which tells us that similar actions will lead to similar results, or what comes around, goes around.

All of this leads me to share with you a video that I had ordered via Netflix, one that sat near our television for several weeks, neglected I guess because it had the potential to be forgettable. Last night I said to my wife, “I guess we should watch that movie so we can send it back.”

The video, Home, a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, is a history of Earth. It reveals how the metals in the Earth’s core are the stuff of stars, and how Homo sapiens (Latin: “wise man” or “knowing man”) is one of the newest species of life on the planet. And then it proceeds to show how this new species, in a relatively short amount of time, has proceeded to do what nothing in the history of Earth had ever done, destroyed the incredibly complex balance of nature.

Link by link, it has been broken.

While the facts about our environmental crisis are just as upsetting in this film as all the others, Home hits home by reminding us how much we are nature. It reveals the Earth’s incredible beauty, and reminds us that the imminent danger we face is an opportunity for us: It is not a time for pessimism.

I encourage you to watch this film, and allow yourself to be moved by it. I was, to my core.

Question: I’ve heard spiritual teachers and facilitators promote a practice for those on a path of spiritual growth and development that involves us realizing that we are “in the world, but not of it.” I would appreciate more clarity on these concepts.
Answer:

1. Taking responsibility for our divinity by embracing and aligning with our identity as co-creative emanations of Source.
2. Separating restrictive beliefs from the living truth; sifting through the beliefs we’ve embraced as truths, allowing for the possibility that some, if not many, of the truths we’ve been holding are now holding us.
3. Exposing distortions currently being perpetuated in many secular and spiritual belief systems.
4. Casting aside all outmoded notions and detaching from restricted beliefs that do not contribute to our destiny of transformation.
5. Embodying the living truths we remember and recognize.

From the perspective these steps afford, we can continually release attachments to any form of blind submission to information that comes to us from external sources and rely more and more on our inner promptings. This leads us in the direction of remembering, reclaiming and embodying the living truth.

Truth is so powerful that it can re-organize every aspect of our being and qualitatively changes our lives. However, recognizing and reclaiming living truths, whether these emerge from within us or are presented to us by another, can have an effect similar to regaining one’s memory after a protracted period of amnesia.

Touchstone practices that take us to our sacred center (the center point of consciousness within us) can both assist us in overcoming the effects of amnesia, as well as fortify the establishment and maintenance of our spiritual adulthood platform. I refer to our sacred center as the Cosmic Heart Communion Chamber, because our hearts are the guardians of our intuition. Our intuition is our profound inner knowing, our instinctual inner acuity, and it is a permanent plug into truth, understanding, knowledge and wisdom that is hardwired from the heart through the soul to our Macrocosmic or Essence Self (aka/Higher Self or Oversoul). It is through intuition that our Macrocosmic Self speaks to us, with our soul functioning as a translator or interpretive bridge.

Furthermore, connecting with our intuition is the key to unlocking the truths encoded within us, and we effortlessly rouse and consciously connect with our intuitive knowing from this center point of consciousness. And these encoded truths are our Holy Grail. The more we remember, reclaim and embody these truths, the more we experience ourselves as being “in this 3D reality but not of it.”

I have previously written about the end of Duality, how judgment creates perceptual splits within that system, and made observations about the nature of the New Living Field. The New Living Field is what I call the new matrix of consciousness into which we are now making the “shift of the ages.” This matrix is where Light and Life, the spiritual and the material, have merged into a unified field along with all other polarities.

I often say we are installing a new operating system. The implication is that differences exist between the old and the new, and like our experience with computers we may find that many changes are required in us to accommodate the new system. To continue this metaphor, our bodies are the hardware and the new matrix is the software, and both are being upgraded. The challenge for most of us is that no user manual exists for the new system, and some of us feel we are writing it as we go. In this case, the act of writing is literal – and I’d like to expand on one emerging feature of the New Living Field.

Last month I listed mutuality as a quality of the New Living Field. By mutual, I mean that energy always moves in ways that do not create imbalance. In Duality, we had numerous experiences where energy imbalances were created by non-mutual exchanges. We had winners and losers, and takers and givers. Once we became entranced with money as a substitute for Life, we concocted endless ways to manipulate people for its acquisition. As Duality breathes its final breath, we see maximum polarization in that old field and gain clarity about the mechanisms that have extracted energy from the body of humanity, and most of us are happy to be moving beyond such a life-diminishing experience.

Mutuality might be thought of as the outcome of perfect synchronicity. Consciousness within the New Living Field orchestrates the movement and interconnections of all parties to the synchronicity. The field has been created to fulfill the authentic soul or heart desires of all participants, and to do so seamlessly and without effort. This quality of orchestration is why most of the training about using the mind to direct energy is now irrelevant. In the New Field there is no hierarchy, no necessary manipulation of energy and no dominance of mind.

A personal experience illustrates the gifts of mutuality in action. Last spring my partner Michele and I decided to buy a house after renting for several years. Our lease would end in August, so we began a search by monitoring MLS listings for anything of interest. We had our list of desired home features, including distance from work, price points and certain geographic boundaries. Months went by in frustration as we found nothing that seemed to fit.

Finally, at a recent dental appointment the hygienist asked Michele what was new, and she explained we were looking for a house. Suddenly, a sequence of events went into motion as the hygienist spoke of a very nice home near her own, and very motivated sellers being relocated out of state. We were unexpectedly led to a home perfect for us in an area we weren’t looking and at a price that had fallen from a number we wouldn’t have considered. The sellers were thrilled to get buyers who would love the home as they had, and the closing date matched up with the end of our lease.

Then, our landlady asked me to show the rental home to a person who not only was perfect for the house, but who needed furniture and bought everything we didn’t want to take with us. I could write pages about what aligned in this process, but I can only say that the numbers of mutually supportive events were profound. In the end, we were delayed in buying a home until perfect timing arranged a 15 percent drop in price, a reduced interest rate and a series of personal connections that were surprisingly satisfying as well.

Everybody involved received an experience beyond what they were expecting, which is a hallmark of mutuality in the New Living Field. You do have to initiate the process of engaging what you wish to create, but if you can relax beyond expectation, you will receive beyond imagined limitation. Whatever the struggle to release from Duality, I promise you it’s worth the effort.

Recently I was honored to speak at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community Center’s Sunday Service about conflict resolution and honoring all walks of life.

Some people think that a holistic community shouldn’t have disagreements, disputes or conflicts. However, no walk of life is immune to emotions. It’s how you handle them that counts. In fact, many people gloss over anger and disputes, because they think it will make the situation worse. However, it’s by finding the underlying fear that will help people find new awareness and create growth.

In the Ultimate Frisbee world, we have what’s called “The Spirit of the Game.” There are no refs, no umps. We self-officiate. In the highest levels of competition (Nationals, Worlds), there are sometimes “observers” to help mediate disputes, but given the number of tournaments played, these count for a fraction of a percent.

So, as players, we call our own fouls and we try to not create fouls. We can contest fouls. And we have a series of rules that mediate disputes. The goal isn’t to prove right or wrong. It’s to reduce dangerous play and maximize playing time. In other sports with refs and umps, some athletes rely on the “don’t get caught” style of play. They will push the bubble, knowing they can get away with quite a bit.

I often credit the “The Spirit of the Game” and Ultimate Frisbee with helping me gain confidence over shyness and anger and navigate my professional life. I’m not always perfect, but I’m always grateful for the opportunity to improve and contribute to this community and others.

In fact, based on some concepts from Ultimate, here are some anger and dispute perspectives that help me navigate and mediate my life:

• Best Perspective (Broadest Perspective) – When there is a “wrong,” ask yourself: What is the biggest, broadest, best explanation of understanding something? Is there something that you don’t know about this person or situation that might help? Is there a way to jump to the best assumption versus the worst?
• Play On (It’s Not Personal #1) – Often a foul is a foul, but it wasn’t intended. Given the chance, they would not want to do it again.
• Play On (It’s Not Personal #2) – Sometimes it’s not about you, but you’re a convenient foil or canvas. When we interact with others, we’re talking to their family, friends, ex’s, bosses and interacting with their history (commonly known as baggage). If the volume of anger seems out of proportion to the transgression, then don’t own the anger, but listen to the words.
• Out of Bounds – Bringing up the past and grudges is not allowed (unless they have not been addressed nor respected). Keep the discussion focused on the situation at hand – and recognize that there may never be a solution!
• Time Out – If someone’s anger is so loud that they can’t listen and they are repeating themselves over and over, ask for a timeout. Anger closes ears.
• Time Cap – Although games are usually to a certain score, that’s not life. Sometimes we run out of time. Do you want a particular argument to be the last thing you did in life?
• Wins/Losses – There is no scoring in relationships or life. Ask yourself, is the disagreement more important than X or Y or Z? Ask yourself why you are attached to that feeling or emotion. What entitles you to it, and does it serve? By assessing priorities, we can decide whether we want to expend our energy in a particular way.
• We’re a Team – What is good for the individual is not always good for the team. We participate in activities because we want to be a part of a greater community or family. This can take patience, especially because we can project our anger on the people who care the most. Also, what we don’t like about others are the characteristics we carry ourselves. Ask yourself, is there an attachment that doesn’t address the greater good? Have I done this to other people? How can I resolve this within myself? By taking this step, we can become both team players and coaches at the same time.

Ultimately, when disagreements happen, don’t run. Slow down time and see what is yours, what you can mediate and what you can transform. By understanding our fears and being more proactive in leading and following, we can create a beautiful team of humanity. Play on!

Question: What is fear and how do I deal with it?
Answer:

Fear also arises around future imaginings. It is possible to create fear or anxiety by imagining what might happen in the future, even though there is nothing to fear in the present moment. There is another kind of fear that I have observed. When people are unwilling to feel their feelings fully, particularly feelings of hurt or anger, they disconnect from their feelings. This creates a feeling of inner separation, which gives rise to fear. This often manifests as anxiety or panic. When they allow themselves to feel the feelings fully, the fear or anxiety disappears.

So what are you to do about fear? The obvious answer is to be more present in your life and fear will rarely arise. Also, if you feel your feelings fully and express your feelings responsibly, fear will not be an issue for you.

I thought of this when I recently read a newsletter sent out by Feng Shui expert Carole Hyder.

In her article, Carole talks about people who save things just in case they might need them later. Whether it is your “skinny” clothes that you might fit into again one day or the tool in your basement you never use but might just need, Carole says the message you are giving the universe is the same. As Carole puts it: “If you keep something with the thought that later (next month, next year, after weight has been lost, after the kids leave, after you retire, next time you go to Hawaii, next time there’s a costume part, etc.) you may have a use for it, you’re making a proclamation and an affirmation that you will not have the money to buy what you need when you need it. If this is your mindset, this affirmation of ‘not having enough’ will surely program itself into your life.”

I think Carole is right. And, I think, this mindset goes way beyond possessions to many other areas of our lives. After I read her article, I thought about other things I have kept in my life “just in case.”

For years after I was positive I would never again practice law, I dutifully continued to keep my license up to date, taking continuing legal education courses that had absolutely no relevance or interest to me. Why? Because of my fear that I might someday need to return to the active practice of law.

I have been known to keep up relationships in the same fashion. Even though both the person and I know that we really have nothing in common, we continue to “have coffee” once a year or so. It is as if we are keeping a friend “in reserve” just in case we might need one. (Not a pretty thing to admit, but I suspect I am not alone in doing that.)

I have seen people stay in marriages or other more intense relationships in the same way. Fear of not being able to find another lover keeps a lot of bad relationships going.

As we enter into an era of massive change and new beginnings, it seems more important than ever to look at what we are clinging to out of a fear that we will not be able to replace it with something equal or better.

As a society, we are clinging to a lot of things that are no longer working. We are afraid to let go.  Many of our most treasured institutions (a job with benefits, a retirement plan, a single family home) may, in fact, not be the norm for people in the new age. We are, as a society, terrified of letting these things go from our lives, even though they are being yanked away from more and more people.

Why? Because we don’t know what is going to take their place. We are afraid that without them we will not have what we need. And, as Carole so aptly described it, “If this is your mindset, this affirmation of ‘not having enough’ will surely program itself into your life.”

I am not certain what the solution is, but I am positive that this mindset is keeping us from joyfully entering into the new era. We are beings who always have enough. We are born into a world that joyfully gives us what we need. Embracing and believing those truths is the challenge of 2012 and beyond.

When the show began, I looked at my computer switchboard showing me who was calling in (called a “STAC”) and to my surprise, there were no calls. I announced the call-in number again, and after another five minutes, there were still no calls. I was amazed. Then I realized I was facing a fear that one day I would present a show and no one would call in. So I simply went on with my talk about prosperity principles, including the idea that prosperity may be right at your door, but you can keep it at bay with a tiny thought of lack.

The first 25-minute segment of the show went by without even one caller. Over that time I became more relaxed about no one calling, and I settled into what I felt was a good talk.

During the commercial break that followed, I commented to the engineer in the studio, “I guess there are no callers today.”

“Are you kidding?” he replied. “The switchboard was all lit up. Didn’t you see it?”

When we analyzed the situation, I realized that I had input the wrong URL code for the web page that showed the STAC. I refreshed the screen with the correct code, and there I found about 10 callers, some of whom had been waiting half an hour since the beginning of the show!

My error proved my point: A wealth of callers were there, but I missed them by one small digit! When I corrected that one digit, they all poured in, and we enjoyed a marvelous dialogue during the second segment of the show.

Likewise, there may be a wealth of money, love, health or the passion-filled career you desire, just waiting at your door, but you just have to make a slight adjustment in your mind to allow it in. Abraham-Hicks talks about “vibrational escrow,” describing the abundance of good things you have requested, but have not received because you believe that your wealth is not available, or you don’t deserve it, or others have taken it from you, or you have to struggle to get it. Each of these thoughts represents the one-digit difference between seeing an empty switchboard and finding one lit up with enthusiastic callers.

When I related my experience to a friend, he pointed out to me, “It’s interesting that you had a fear of doing a show with no callers. In a way, your fear of no callers created the experience of no callers. You expected that might happen, so when it looked like that was happening, you accepted it. Someone who expected callers might have communicated with the engineer after a few minutes, and the issue could have been rectified quickly.”

In a way, the whole scenario was perfect, because I got to face my fear and walk through it. I found a way to relax into giving a quality talk even if there were no callers. Several listeners reported that they enjoyed the segment of lecture without callers. Then the callers showed up, so ultimately we had the best of both worlds.

Imagine that you water your garden daily by means of a hose connected to a 10,000-gallon water tank. One day you open the hose nozzle and you notice just a few little drops of water trickling out. Immediately your mind goes to worry and lack. “The water ran out!” you exclaim, or “Someone diverted it.” You feel empty, poor and victimized. Then you look down and you see that you are standing on the hose.

Allowing prosperity may be summed up very simply: Get off your hose. The universe has created everything in ample, even extravagant supply for everyone, but not everyone is open and ready to accept the supply offered. While you cannot choose for others, you can choose for yourself. You do not have to create prosperity. All the prosperity there ever was or will be has already been created. You just have to let it in.

Such a momentous reception can be as simple as shifting one thought, or changing one digit on the URL of your consciousness. Take a moment to think about what you would most like, but have not been able to manifest. Now imagine that precise wealth, life partner, stimulating career, glorious home, or vibrant health is already available, just waiting for you to claim it. Further imagine that such a manifestation does not require struggle or sacrifice, but simply a tweak of your awareness from fear to love; lack to abundance; from worry to trust. Now you have your dial set to the station you would like to watch, and watch it you will.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)…You start off the month still under the influence of a perplexing energy that reminds me of The Hanged Man in Tarot. Use the Virgo New Moon on the 8th to get clear on what you need to let go of. If you allow yourself to be purified and cleansed of old misconceptions now, you enter a powerful new realm of mind freedom and the power to act with purpose in the world.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)…You might not know your own strength this month, so think twice before knocking down walls or reading someone the riot act. You have tremendous energy, but it’s more important than ever to clear your decisions with your intuitive self. Things come into sharper focus on the 23rd, when the Aries Full Moon lights up your relationship house. This is a powerful moment, so get clear on what you want.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)…The middle two weeks of the month are your power alley. The rest of September is more suitable for dreaming and visualization. That’s fine with you, because you’re aware that your goals are changing. A dream you’d never taken seriously is revealing itself as an actual possibility, if you’re willing to own it.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)…Time and energy invested in getting organized and retooling your career strategy will pay off exponentially in the years to come. You’ve reached a new level of confidence and competence; use this month’s Mercury retrograde to update your message and your public image so that others can see the healer you’ve become.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)…You learned some important lessons in how to connect with your intuition and why you need to trust it over the last three years. You’re pushing hard to finish a project or build on your momentum as the month begins, but don’t be fooled – your best investment continues to be in your spiritual practice.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)…Career opportunities sparkle once Mercury goes direct. In fact, the second half of September looks as if you are waking up from a long, fuzzy sleep. What did you dream about while you were hidden away? Your dream is starting to manifest now. P.S. It looks like you’re finally dumping some moldy relationship baggage. Congratulations!

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)…With Mercury retrograde in your 7th House to start the month, you’re rethinking how you do relationships. You’ve learned how to hold your own ground in the last three years; now is the time to set boundaries and establish win-win agreements. The Full Moon on the 23rd brings powerful money news, as a creative or child-related project comes to fruition.

Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)…According to systems theory and quantum physics, there are no objects in the universe, only relationships. Your chart keeps emphasizing that achieving the success you want depends on your mastering the art of relationship. Like any other skill, this takes dedication, intention and perseverance.

Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)…You start to emerge from a period of doldrums around the middle of the month when your planet Venus and relationship planet Mars waltz into your relationship house together. Your intuition continues to be a major project; you’re discovering that not only do you possess psychic gifts, these talents need nurturing. So learn how.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)…You may finally get resolution for an emotional, home or family issue that has challenged you since 2007. At the same time, you’re learning to be responsible to your creative gift this month. Is it time to drop a time-wasting activity or “friendship” that really just isn’t that rewarding anymore? Invest that energy into mastering your talent instead.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)…You’ve come through this summer’s cauldron and you’re still alive and kicking. The Full Moon in your 10th House on the 23rd brings important career news that could impact your relationship and where you live. Meanwhile, use this Mercury retrograde in your 3rd House to identify negative mental patterns and learn how to release them.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)…The focus is on money this month. You’ve come such a long way in both your thinking and your behavior about the green stuff in the last three years. With Mercury activating your money house all month long, it’s time to get serious about translating your wisdom into increased cash flow. Patient, persistent attention brings major rewards.

The Edge invites you to ponder this question and then post your response, as a comment below. We encourage you to return often to this page to read all of the comments shared by your holistic community.

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