EARTH STA R - onecellonelightradio.files.wordpress.com · dec / jan 2014 conscious living in the...

DEC / JAN 2014 CONSCIOUS LIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURYEARTH STAREARTH STAR

EERRIICCHH VVOONN DDAANNIIKKEENNEERRIICCHH VVOONN DDAANNIIKKEENN

I’M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!I’M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!

DR. WAYNE DYER

SUZANNE SOMERSSUZANNE SOMERS

MANIFESTING DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS - SRI MRINALINI MATA

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

REMNANTS OF THE GODSREMNANTS OF THE GODS

DAN MILLMAN & SIERRA PRASADADAN MILLMAN & SIERRA PRASADATHE CREATIVE COMPASSTHE CREATIVE COMPASS

SONIA CHOQUETTESONIA CHOQUETTEARE YOU TUNED IN OR TUNED OUT?ARE YOU TUNED IN OR TUNED OUT?

MANIFESTING DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS - SRI MRINALINI MATA

DR. WAYNE DYERI CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

www.earthstarmag.com2 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

www.earthstarmag.com DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 3

Contact Christopher for a remote Divine HealingDivine Healing session,by phone or Skype

4 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 www.earthstarmag.com

ON THE COVER

16 Are You Tuned In or Tuned Out?by Sonia Choquette

27 I Can See Clearly Nowby Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

34 Life Extension® Interview with Suzanne SomersI’m Too Young for This!

49 The Creative CompassDreaming in Dialogueby Dan Millman and Sierra Prasada

54 Manifesting Divine Consciousness in Daily Life by Sri Mrinalini Mata

57 Remnants of the GodsImpossible Buildingsby Erich von Daniken

FEATURES12 Down To Earth Astrology

by Tim Gunns

22 Beat Back the Flu with... Garlicby Dr. Joseph Mercola\

38 3 Steps To Heart-Based LivingDive in, Tune in, Lighten up!by Ronna Prince.

40 Traditional Thai MassageTeaching and Practicing with Integrityby Bob Haddad, RTT

43 Harried Holidays? - Your Aura Colors Signs of Stress & Tips to Be Happyby Pamala Oslie

45 The Exodus RealityStrangers in a Not-So-Strange Landby Scott Alan Roberts and John Richard Ward

51 The Soul’s Journey Between Livesby Lorraine Flaherty

60 Who on Earth Are You?by Nick Inman

63 Die to LoveLongingbyUnmani Liza Hyde

DEPARTMENTS5 Up Front

18 Book Reviews

EARTH STARCONTENTS DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Page 27

Page 57

Page 34

Cover Art The Inspiration

by Jean-Paul Avisse

For further information,contact

Prestige Art Galleries, 3909 W. Howard, Skokie,IL 60076. (874) 679-2555,www.prestigeartskokie.com

.

For a free color brochure,please send a S.A.S.E.

Jean-Paul Avisse

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 5www.earthstarmag.com

Earth Star Up FrontCompound In Compound In Broccoli Offers Protection Offers Protection Against Radiation SicknessAgainst Radiation Sickness

C ruciferous vegetables like broc-coli, cabbage, and cauliflowerhave a wealth of health bene-

fits. But like all plant foods, we are justbeginning to understand the many bene-fits they offer. Researchers have recent-ly discovered that a compound withinthese vegetables could protect againstradiationsickness and the death that usu-ally follows.

The study published in PNAS,looked at the protective qualities of 3,3’-diindolylmethane, or DIM and found itto protect mice and rats from otherwiselethal doses of radiation.

According to a press release from

Georgetown Medical Center (GUMC),the researchers suggest DIM could pro-tect normal tissues during radiation ther-apy (a destructive form of cancer treat-ment) or protect them in any case ofradiation exposure.

“DIM has been studied as a cancerprevention agent for years, but this is thefirst indication that DIM can also act asa radiation protector,"” said Eliot Rosen,the study’s corresponding author.

Rats in the study were given lethaldoses of gamma ray radiation. Then,they were treated with DIM injectionsfor two weeks, beginning only minutesafter the radiation. All of the rats who

were not treated withDIM died, but morethan half treated withDIM survived 30 daysafter the exposure.Radiation results in a

dramatic loss of redblood cells, whiteblood cells, and bloodplatelets in cancerpatients. The micetreated with DIM did-n’t see the loss of theselike those exposedwithout DIM treat-ment. The benefits ofDIM were the samewhether the rodents

received DIM 24 hours before radiationor 24 hours after.

The scientists are particularlypleased with the fact that DIM protectsthe healthy cells of the bodywhile stillleaving cancerous cells vulnerable toradiation annihilation. They hope thismeans it could be used in cancer patientsto protect them from the many sideeffects of dangerous radiation therapy.

Next, they hope to duplicate theresults in humans, something thatshould come fairly quickly as DIM isalready approved for humans and avail-able as a nutritional supplement.

DIM could be applicable in otherradiation scenarios though, importantfor people who don’t have cancer andthose who wouldn’t opt for convention-al treatments if they did. In the case of anuclear meltdown or bomb, for instance,DIM could still serve as a protectiveagent.

Heavy radiation from these sources(like radiation treatment) also causes thebone marrow to stop producingimmune-protecting white blood cellsand clotting agents. It also damages thegastrointestinal tract. Both of these canlead to death. DIM could provide theneeded solution. Best of all, it’s found ineasily accessible cruciferous vegetables.—Natural Society

CC ALIFORNIAALIFORNIA VVALLEYALLEY SS OLAROLAR RR ANCHANCH

C onstruction of the CaliforniaValley Solar Ranch, one of twocommercial photovoltaic plants

on the Carrizo Plain, is complete.And the plant is now fully opera-

tional, delivering 250 megawatts ofpower to PG&E. The plant was firstproposed in 2008; construction beganin September 2011 and was completedlast month.

A larger solar plant, the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farms, is alsounder construction on the CarrizoPlain. Completion of that facility isexpected next year.

During its two years of construc-tion, the Solar Ranch project employed700 people. The energy generatedannually by nine separate arrays over

4,700 acres at the plant is equivalent tothat used by 100,000 homes annually.

“Into its nine photovoltaic arrays,C V S Rincludes awater recy-cling plant thatm i n i m i z e sannual wateruse and a planfor protectingand conserv-ing more than12,000 acresof land in andaround thefacility,” saidR a n d yHickok, senior

vice president of plant owners NRGSolar. —San Luis Obispo Tribune

www.earthstarmag.com6 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

EARTH STARThe Leading Magazine for Holistic Living

in New England

EDITOR/PUBLISHERCody Bideaux

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ASSOCIATE EDITORTim Gunns

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ADVERTISING OFFICES828-452-9378

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ADVERTISING MANAGERSTim Gunns

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DESIGN & PRODUCTIONEarthstar ProductionsJay Scott Hackleman

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Echo Bodine • Sonia Choquette Erich von Daniken • Wayne Dyer

Lorraine Flaherty • Tim Gunns • Bob Haddad Unmani Liza Hyde • Nick Inman

Sri Mrinalini Mata • Joseph MercolaDan Millman • Sierra Prasada • Ronna Prince

Scott Alan Roberts • Susan Shumsky John Richard Ward

SUBMISSIONSManuscripts, artwork, and photographs

must be accompanied by a self-addressed,stamped envelope. Earth Star Magazine

cannot be responsible for loss ordamage of unsolicited materials.

Earth Star Magazine is not responsible for advertising claims.

Earth Star Magazine, Copyright © 2014by Earth Star Magazine Incorporated,

All Rights Reserved. No articles may be used without written permission of the publisher

Volume XXXVI No. 215 — December / January 2014

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Earth Star Up FrontDomestic “Internet of Things” Begins to Merge With The Industrial Smart Grid

O nly one year after DavidPetraeus referred to the pub-licly emerging technological

structure of Web-connected appliancesand in-home devices as the “Internet ofthings” (IOT), applications are nowmerging with the smart grid. It is a dreamcome true for the intelligence communi-ty looking for opportunities to spy on theaverage American in their homes, whileglobalists simultaneously advance aneco-fascist Agenda 21-based energy con-trol system throughout the world.

This is being accomplished by thefact that the new IOT expansion isextending from domestic in-homedevices such as refrigerators, toasters, andtelevisions, and is moving toward theindustrial sector such as oil and gas, windpower, airlines, health care, and railroads.This new IOT application would allownot only for the connection of machinesto the Internet, but to each other.

General Electric, the companyblazing the trail of the industrial IOT,recently “doubled the vertically-special-ized hardware/software packages itoffers to connect machines and interprettheir data. The company hopes to makeits mark by significantly reducing theamount of ‘unplanned downtime’ thatindustrial equipment undergoes, therebybringing about economic benefits.”

Yet GE is not the only major corpo-ration that is jumping on board with theIndustrial IOT. As Singularity Hubstates, “the company has partnered with

some of the usual enterprise technologysuspects. Intel is providing processorsand management tools for the motleycrew network. AT&T provides theInternet service, and Cisco softwarehelps tackle the big data. GE bringsknowledge of the industries and theirequipment.”

Brian Bradford, the marketingdirector of Smart Grid Solutions in GE’sDigital Energy division, in an interviewwith Singularity Hub, stated “At the endof the day, we see our strength in how tooperate these systems, how the hard-ware and sensors work on these sys-tems, and how you can take informationand turn it into something that can addmore predictive value for the [industri-al] customer.”

For those who are unaware of whatthe terms “Smart Grid” and “SmartCity” mean, the Smart Grid is essentiallya computerized system that allows themonitoring and control over energy usefrom power at the plant source to everyappliance in the home. Smart Grid tech-nology is a major part of UN Agenda21, the United Nations’ plan to herd adrastically reduced population into“human habitat areas,” meaning ultra-modern super cities with stack ‘em andpack ‘em dwelling structures and zerocontact with nature and the outsideworld.

Regardless, two of the new SmartGrid products being offered by GE arethe PowerUp program and the

GridIQInsight. PowerUp is largely ded-icated to the upgrades of software andhardware of wind farm operators.

GridIQInsight, however, is themore wide-ranging program of the twoas it exhibits most of the aspects ofAgenda 21 by monitoring “electricalusage, weather history, and equipmentperformance.” In addition, asSingularity Hub reports, “the systemcan forecast problems that a utility gridmight face, ideally resulting in feweroutages and thinner margins of surpluspower.” —TheDailySheeple.com

8 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 www.earthstarmag.com

Earth Star Up FrontSea Cucumber Extract Kills 95% of Breast Cancer Cells and Shrinks Tumors

A new study has shown that seacucumber extract kills up to95% of breast cancer cells,

90% of melanoma cells, 95% of livercancer cells and 88% of lung cancercells in vitro. The extract also stimulatesthe immune system against cancer andimpedes key processes required formetastasis. While the science behindthis is very new to Western medicine,the sea cucumber has been used inChinese medicine for centuries.

In previous studies, extracts of seacucumber have demonstrated potentcytotoxicity against pancreatic, lung,prostate, colon, breast, skin and livercancer cells as well as leukemia andgioblastoma. Researchers have identi-fied a key compound responsible for seacucumber’s anti-cancer properties: atriterpenoid known as frondoside A.

A new study has now confirmed theanti-cancer effects of frondoside A at awhole new level. In the lab, it has killedup to 95% of ER+ breast cancer cells,90% of melanoma cells, 95% of livercancer cells and 85-88% of three differ-ent lines of lung cancer. But the benefitsof this compound don’t just stop atdirectly inducing programmed cell death(apoptosis). It also inhibits angiogenesis(the ability of tumors to grow new bloodvessels to get their food) and stops cancermetastasizing by impeding cell migration

and invasion. Even more intriguing is theability of frondoside A to activate ourimmune system’s natural killer cells toattack cancer cells. This has been shownfor breast cancer in particular but mayalso apply to all cancers, because itinvolves the immune system and not can-cer cells directly. This may partiallyexplain why frondoside A was so effec-tive at shrinking lung tumors in mice thatit rivaled chemo drugs in performance.

Frondoside A is potently cytotoxicto three different types of lung cancer invitro, including NCI-H460Luc2,LNM35 (non-small cell lung cancer)and A459 (epithelial adenocarcinoma).And when given to mice with xenograft-ed human non-small cell lung cancer, itshrank the tumors by 40% in 10 days.This compares very well with theshrinkage of 47% obtained with a stan-dard chemo drug. But the similaritiesbetween the two compounds stop there.The chemo drug used in this study isknown to damage DNA and carry potentnegative side effects, such as kidneydamage and immunosuppression, and itmay actually induce leukemia in thepatient. Frondoside A, however, actuallystimulates the immune system, potentlykills leukemia cells and produced novisible side effects in the mice, accord-ing to the researchers—all at a fractionof the price of chemo. But the most

impressive part of this study was thatthis was achieved at a very small dose offrondoside A—equivalent to less than asingle milligram for an adult humanweighing 75 kilograms. It is also note-worthy that frondoside A given togetherwith the chemo drug shrank the tumorby a remarkable 68%.

Sea cucumber extract is a highlypromising natural medicine for cancer.There are currently two clinical trialsusing it (with other natural extracts)against myeloma and multiple myelo-ma, but more trials against breast andlung cancer are clearly called for, as astart. In the meantime, dried and pow-dered sea cucumber is available in NorthAmerica in over-the-counter health sup-plements aimed at inflammatory condi-tions (such as arthritis), because seacucumber also happens to be a richsource of chondroitin.—DrLeonardColdwell.com

Radio-Beam Device Can Disable Car and Boat Engines From 50-metersRadio-Beam Device Can Disable Car and Boat Engines From 50-meters

E 2V has developed a non-lethalweapon that can disable theengines of motor vehicles and

small boats at a distance of up to 50min under three seconds.

Dubbed RF Safe-Stop, the unit,which weighs approximately 350kg,has so far been integrated into NissanNevara and Toyota Land Cruisers andis designed to temporarily disable avehicle’s electronic systems and bringit to a halt. Such systems are said to beparticularly suited to stopping vehiclessuspected as being used as car bombs.

Andy Wood, product manager ate2v, told The Engineer that RF Safe-Stop can be fitted also into ground,fixed base installations, rib-type boats

and that there are ‘blueprint’ ideas tointegrate it into a helicopter.

Such non-lethal systems generateintense RF (radio frequency) pulsesand Wood euphemistically said thesepulses ‘confuse’ a vehicle’s electronics,rendering them temporarily inoperable.

But if this allegedly “non lethal”technology is able to stop one vehicle,what happens to all the vehicles aroundthe stopped car, traveling at normalstreet or highway speed?!? Do thosevehicles simply crash into the immedi-ately stopped car, because there was noway to see the stop coming?

Unless that vehicle is completelyout of traffic, this looks like a way ofcreating infinitely more hazard on the

roads, and subjecting drivers and pas-sengers to more danger.

And how soon does this technologyget mandated into new cars in the US?

Because THAT mandate willalmost guarantee that millions ofAmericans will only buy older carshenceforward, and adopt a Cubanmechanic! —WhatReallyHappened.com

Sea Cucumber

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 9www.earthstarmag.com

Earth Star Up Front30-M30-MINUTEINUTE EEXPOSUREXPOSURE TTOO 4G C4G CELLELL PPHONEHONE RRADIAADIATIONTION AAFFECTSFFECTS BBRAINRAIN AACTIVITYCTIVITY

T he peer-reviewed journalClinical Neurophysiology hasjust published research showing

that 30 minutes of exposure to LTE cell-phone radiation affects brain activity onboth sides of the brain.

Researchers exposed the right earof 18 participants to LTE radio frequencyradiation for 30 minutes. The absorbedamount of radiation in the brain waswell within international (ICNIRP) cellphone legal limits and the source of theradiation was kept 1 cm from the ear. Toeliminate study biases the researchersemployed a double blind, crossover,randomized design, exposing partici-pants to real and sham exposures.

The resting state brain activity ofeach participant was measured by mag-netic resonance imaging (fMRI) twice,once after exposure to LTE radio fre-quency radiation, and then again after asham exposure.

The results demonstrate that radiofrequency radiation from LTE 4G tech-nology affects brain neural activity inboth the closer brain region and in theremote region, including the left hemi-sphere of the brain.

This study is important for two rea-sons. Firstly because it is the first one tobe carried out on the short-term effectsof Long Term Evolution (LTE), fourthgeneration (4G) cell phone technology.Secondly, because of the rapid rate ofadoption of this technology.

According to the Global mobileSuppliers Association “LTE is thefastest developing mobile system tech-nology ever”. The United States is thelargest LTE market in the world. ByMarch 2013 the global total of LTE sub-scriptions was already 91 million sub-scribers. Over half of these, 47 million,were American 4G subscribers.

This study establishes that short-term exposure to LTE radio frequencyradiation affects brain activity. Thelong-term effects of these exposureshave yet to be studied but there isalready considerable evidence linkingthese exposures to a myriad of adversebiological effects including:

• Sperm damage• DNA breaks• Increased glucose in the brain• Weakened bones

• Genetic stress• Immune system dysfunction• Effects on unborn children

More worrying is the link betweenthese exposures and a long list of dis-eases such as:

• Alzheimer’s disease• Autism• Brain Tumors• Breast cancer• Brain cancer

More research is needed on theeffects of LTE and other forms of cellphone radiation but the evidence isalready compelling. Many scientificand medical experts are sounding thealarm. —GlobalResearch.com

A BBLALACKCK BBOOXX IN YOUR CAR?

T he devices would track everymile you drive—possiblyincluding your location—and

the government would use the data todraw up a tax bill. As America’s roadplanners struggle to find the cash tomend a crumbling highway system,many are beginning to see a solution ina little black box that fits neatly by thedashboard of your car.

The devices, which track everymile a motorist drives and transmit thatinformation to bureaucrats, are at thecenter of a controversial attempt inWashington and state planning officesto overhaul the outdated system forfunding America's major roads.

The usually dull arena of highwayplanning has suddenly spawned intensedebate and colorful alliances.Libertarians have joined environmentalgroups in lobbying to allow governmentto use the little boxes to keep track of themiles you drive, and possibly whereyou drive them—then use the informa-tion to draw up a tax bill.

The tea party is aghast. TheAmerican Civil Liberties Union isdeeply concerned, too, raising a varietyof privacy issues.

And while Congress can’t agree onwhether to proceed, several states arenot waiting. They are exploring how,over the next decade, they can move to

a system in which drivers pay per mileof road they roll over. Thousands ofmotorists have already taken the blackboxes, some of which have GPS moni-toring, for a test drive.—Los Angeles Times

1 0 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 www.earthstarmag.com

Earth Star Up FrontMozilla's Lightbeam Tool Will Expose Who Is Looking Over Your Shoulder on the Web

J ust who is looking over your shoulder when youbrowse the Internet? In November, web userswere given a new tool to shine a light on the

commercial organisations which track your everymovement online.

Lightbeam, a download produced by Mozilla, theUS free software community behind the popularFirefox browser, claims to be a “watershed” momentin the battle for web transparency.

Everyone who browses the Internet leaves a digitaltrail used by advertisers to discover what yourinterests are.

Users who activate Lightbeam will be able to see areal-time visualisation of every site they visit and everythird-party that is active on those sites, includingcommercial organisations which might potentially besharing your data.

Mozilla wants users who install the Lightbeamadd-on to Firefox, to crowd-source their data, toproduce the first “big picture” view of web tracking,revealing which third-parties are most active.

Lightbeam promises a “Wizard of Oz” momentfor the web, “where users collectively provide a wayto pull back the curtains to see its inner workings,”Mozilla claimed.

Mark Surman, Mozilla’s executive director, said:“It’s a stake in the ground in terms of letting peopleknow the ways they are being tracked. At Mozilla, webelieve everyone should be in control of their user dataand privacy and we want people to make informeddecisions about their Web experience.”\

Mozilla already offers users the ability to disable“cookies”—small files that download from websites onto acomputer, allowing advertisers to target users based on theironline activity—an option taken up by 18 per cent of UKFirefox users.

Lightbeam will reveal the source of the third-partyadverts, scripts and images stored on a web page which arelinked to servers in other domains. An expanding graph visu-alises the interactions between the sites a user intentionallyvisits and the third parties which may not be welcome.

Mozilla has come under “tremendous pressure” fromtrade bodies over its mission to bring transparency to the web,said Alex Fowler, the company’s Privacy Officer.

The software company said it was responding toincreased privacy concerns following the revelation that theUS National Security Agency (NSA) had tapped directly intothe servers of Internet firms including Facebook, to trackonline communication in a surveillance programme.

Firefox released a security upgrade after it emerged thatthe NSA was exploiting vulnerabilities in the browser to gainaccess to computers using Tor, a sophisticated anonymity tool.

But Mozilla insisted that Lightbeam itself will not com-promise the privacy of users who agree to upload and sharedata. Lightbeam will not log IP addresses, the information

will be aggregated anonymously and the software can beuninstalled, Mr Surman promised.

Lightbeam initially will only be available for desktopbrowsers. Apple has reportedly rejected from its store apps bydevelopers which incorporate “cookie tracking” technology.“The whole mobile environment is closed,” Mr Surman said.“You have to go through Google and Apple for apps.”

Mozilla, which is developing its own tablet, Mr Surmandisclosed, is hosting its UK Mozfest this weekend, a brain-storming “hack”, attended by 1,400 people.

Mr Surman said: “Our focus in on building a web basedon openness and transparency. Our dream is a world wherepeople know more about how the web works and take controlof their lives online. We need a posse of people to get involvedand make that happen.”

He accepted that some cookies can help consumers navi-gate sites by providing content relevant to the user but said itwas important that tracking happens with a person’s knowl-edge.

Lightbeam was released ahead of “Stop Watching Us,” a“rally against mass surveillance” in response to the Snowdenrevelations, which was held in Washington D.C. on November2nd. —The Independent, UK

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 1 1www.earthstarmag.com

Earth Star Up Front

S ince Monsanto, Dupont,Syngenta, the FDA, and CDCnever asked us if we wanted to

eat genetically modified foods, I think itis high time we take the advice of thisincredible town who didn’t even wait tobe told ‘no.’ One forward-thinking townin the North of England, calledTodmorden, decided to forget the lawand do things their own way to becomemore food sovereign. Without permis-sion from Big Government, Big Ag, andBig Pharma, they transformed theirtowns landscape into a giant food-producing. edible garden.

With the help of Pam Warhurst,people have transformed the landscapein almost every conceivable space in thetown. She calls it ‘propaganda garden-ing’ and there are fruits, vegetables andherbs popping up all over the place. Youcan find these ‘propaganda’ gardens infront of a health center, at a railway sta-tion, across from a police station, andeven a ‘spouted’ cemetery. Warhurstsays, ‘the soil is extremely good.’ Theyeven have tourists who come to checkout what they are doing—to observe therevolution happening in North England.

Food is a universal language, andonly three people sitting around thekitchen table came up with this plan—no reports, no planning, no excess any-thing. She decided to get the ‘community

plates’ spinning so that the idea couldbuild resilience, and grow, without a‘single strategy document or asking anycommission to give it approval.’ Shealso says they weren’t daunted by thearguments that ‘small actions’ are use-less. She knows differently.

If you aren’t inspired by this incred-ible transformation of a town whichstarted with a seed swap, and a kitchentable gossip session, then you may wantto check your pulse.

Restoring local ecosystems withedible gardens and planting regenerativelandscapes, even on small scale, can rip-ple out like a pebble thrown on a lake’ssurface to ensure that rich, unpollutedsoil, and unaltered seeds nourish unbas-tardized crops that can flourish for gen-erations to come in every corner of theplanet.

Although our governments have notdeclared a formal war against the people,they seem to have been so completelyenamored by GMO companies that theyare allowing them to plant crops thatcause numerous health issues. While weshould keep speaking out againstMonsanto and educate people who aren’tfamiliar with the near-catastrophic stateof our food supply, the ‘victory’ justmight be in taking up a shovel and plant-ing some heirloom seeds. —Natural Society

D utch company EsBro is plan-ning a 150,000-square-meter(490,000-square-feet) green-

house for growing organic tomatoes forexport on the outskirts of Grindavík inSouthwest Iceland, creating 125 jobs.The plans for the greenhouse, whichwill be the size of 20 football fields, isin the final stages.

“We are convinced that the green-house will happen,” said MichaelVeisser, the company’s representative.The project is estimated to cost ISK 5-6.5 billion (USD 42-54 million, EUR31-40 million).

EsBro has already reached anagreement with suppliers in the U.K.,who, among other vendors, provide the6,300-store chain Tesco with products.

The company’s representativesrecently held a meeting withthe inhabitants of Grindavík.Locals are concerned aboutlight pollution, but Veissersaid measures to counteractlight pollution will be taken.

“We will try and cooper-ate with Grindavík inhabi-tants as much as we can—it’sfor the interest of both par-ties,” he commented.

Others who have raisedconcern are Icelandic tomatofarmers, who reason it will betough to compete with EsBroon the local market in caseexport doesn’t work out.—Iceland Today

Iceland's Half-Million Square Foot Greenhouse

TTown In England Town In England Transforms Landscape Into Giant Edible Gardenransforms Landscape Into Giant Edible Garden

/www.earthstarmag.com1 2 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

December’s new moon arriveson the 2nd, in 11° Sagittarius,and is a celestial reminder toreview or upgrade your educa-tional objectives, and expand

your occupational horizons. Connect with pro-gressive people or groups with whom youshare common goals or beliefs over the nextfour weeks. Bold new beginnings and sweep-ing changes are in the wind!

Steady progress can be made in business,commerce, and legal affairs followingMercury’s arrival in Sagittarius on the 4th(till Dec 24th). Get plenty of mental andphysical exercise during this intellectuallystimulating transit.

Mars enters Libra on December 7th for a pro-tracted transit of nearly seven months, due to arare retrograde phase, which begins on March1st. Avoid unnecessary competitiveness andimpatience during this time as egos are moreeasily bruised. Productivity may depend on thecooperation or approval of others. Indeed, wecan learn much about ourselves through ourinteractions with others during this period.Strive to maintain a balance between personalneeds and the needs of others.

Giant Jupiter forms a precise trine with theringed planet, Saturn on the 12th, when amodest expansion of business activities issupported. Consider important financial deci-sions now. Research business or educationalopportunities. A wave of spiritual inspirationbegins to flow around the planet, deepeningour awareness of the sea of consciousnesswithin which we all swim, regardless of raceor creed, fostering greater understanding,empathy, faith and compassion.

December’s full moon culminates on the 17th,in 26° Gemini. One’s everyday physical

circumstances may in some way come intofocus in the days around this lunation. Somemay be contemplating a change of surround-ings, while it could even be forced upon others.Release associations that may no longer haverelevance. Observe how you communicatearound this juncture for ways in which youmay improve interpersonal relations.

After five months in retrograde, Uranus, plan-et of innovation, stations direct later on the17th, in 09° Aries. Ambition is powerfullykindled at this time, goal setting is favored,while the spirit of revolution abounds. There isalso heightened potential for geophysicalactivity and unstable weather for several daysaround this potent planetary station.

The winter solstice arrives on the 21st, as the sunleaves outgoing Sagittarius and enters the cool, cal-culating domain of Capricorn, where the creativeenergies of the sun are constrained, disciplined andfocused on achievement in this Saturn-ruled sign.Over the next four weeks, try to get a handle onwhere you’re going, career-wise, and focus onyour professional aspirations. Determine whatresources you will require to attain your objective.

Venus makes a rare retrograde station lateron the 21st, in 29° Capricorn, for a six-weekperiod in which a friend, lover or partnerfrom the past may reappear. However, avoidmaking new partnership commitments,launching business ventures, or indulging inmajor purchases or investments until theplanet of love and money resumes directmotion on January 31st. Instead, evaluateexisting relationships, financial considera-tions and priorities, and income sources. Ifappropriate, consider alternatives.

On Christmas Eve, the 24th, Mercury leavesthe expansive realm of Sagittarius and entersCapricorn (till January 11th), when thoughts

can turn toward business, career, and practicalconsiderations, even amid the joyful festiveactivities. Ambition is fueled, while patienceand discipline are easier to come by during thenext three weeks.

A highly volatile opposition between Marsand Uranus becomes precise on ChristmasDay, the 25th, when irritability or excessiveagitation could lead to accidents, or heatedarguments. Exercise caution while driving,and avoid acting on impulse; take the time toconsider the consequences of your actions.

When Mercury sextiles Neptune on the 26tha moment of awareness could provide thesolution to a problem, while spiritual ormetaphysical study—for those not partying—can bring both inspiration and enlighten-ment. New ideas or experiences may comeyour way now.

When the sun and Mercury align in conjunc-tion in 08° Capricorn on the 28th, you’ll bemore inclined to express your thoughts andviews. Indeed, this is often a planetary transitthat coincides with important announcements.Be on the lookout for business or educationalopportunities.

Mercury then squares Uranus on the 29th,when mechanical or systems failures arepossible. Therefore, be sure to back-up com-puter files, or get your vehicle checked outbeforehand. Postpone important decisions orsignings for a few days, as mental processesmay tend to be somewhat erratic. This is agreat time to brainstorm, though.

The Sun also squares Uranus on the 29th,which, potentially, can be a real earth shaker!Flow with any changes in circumstancesbeyond your control, but this is not the timeto rebel, or initiate change based solely upon

ddeecceemmBBEERR -- jjaannuuaarryy 22001144

www.earthstarmag.com DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 1 3

a desire for greater personal freedom orindependence. Nonetheless, creative inspi-ration abounds now.

Do work requiring sustained effort whenMars squares off with Pluto on the 30th.Avoid confrontations at all costs during thisvolatile transit, as well as attempts to controlothers, or of placing yourself in precarioussituations. Think before you act!

The year concludes with another note oftension when Mercury squares Mars on the31st. An extra measure of patience may becalled for now, while communications ortravel could prove frustrating. Avoid jump-ing to conclusions, impulsive actions, orblurting out something that you may laterregret. Instead, keep the intellect gainfullyemployed, to avoid irritability and thepotential for angry outbursts. Tact may beconspicuous by its absence just now.

2014 begins with the first of two new moonsthis calendar month, in the early hours ofJanuary 1st, in 11° Capricorn. With thislunation conjunct Mercury and planetarypower broker, Pluto, in serious-minded, suc-cess-oriented Capricorn, much creativeimpetus exists for planning practical, ambi-tious new business ventures now, and in theweeks ahead. However, as the lunation isinvolved in a grand square configuration—in opposition to expansive Jupiter, with thataxis crossed at right angles by Mars opposingUranus—you’ll need to be patient with col-leagues, and be prepared to settle for meas-ured progress for the time being, in order toeventually attain your lofty objectives.Definitely avoid rash moves at this time.

When the sun conjuncts distant Pluto precise-ly later on the 1st, in 12°Capricorn, willpowerand assertiveness are greatly intensified.Watch out for ego clashes, or attempts at coer-cion now. A glimpse of the darker side of life,or of oneself, could be revealed as a result ofthis potent planetary union.

The sun’s annual opposition to Jupiter per-fects on the 5th, when the wise will strive toavoid impulsive behavior. Act only aftercareful deliberation, as you may feelinspired to try something that you normallywouldn’t consider. Exercise great care anddiscernment with real estate investments orstock market speculation now.

Mars squares Jupiter on the 8th, signaling a

time for caution, and to examine materialmotives. Beware of biting off more than youcan chew, taking too much for granted, orrushing into new ventures without fullyassessing all the ramifications. The wisewill exercise moderation in all activities.

The sun aligns with retrograde Venus onJanuary 11th, 22° Capricorn, heighteningthe need for peace and harmony in all rela-tionships. Show appreciation for those youlove. Express yourself creatively. This isgenerally a “good times” transit, but finan-cial extravagance and self-indulgence couldeasily drain precious resources.

Mercury moves on from Capricorn’s realm ofrules and tradition and enters revolutionaryAquarius later on the 11th (till Jan 31), a tran-sit that is especially favorable for creative writ-ing, conceiving progressive ideas, and for thestudy of metaphysics, science, and astrology.

January’s full moon culminates on the 15th,in 26° Cancer, suggesting that domesticresponsibilities may be pressing, while theneed to take care of business will also bestrong. Strike a healthy balance betweenhome and business or career needs.

Sensuality is heightened as Venus squaresMars on the 16th, when desires are power-ful, and love, or more likely, lust, maybloom. Extreme emotional reactions can betriggered now simply by a thoughtlessremark. Avoid financial extravagance,

The sun enters forward-looking Aquarius onJanuary 19th, a time to assess whetheryou’re "up to speed" with the techniques ortechnologies that can keep you at or get youto the head of the pack in your chosen field.Consider your goals and ambitions over thenext four weeks. Align with organizations,groups or friends who share your objectives.

Deal with tasks requiring great concentra-tion when Mercury squares Saturn early onthe 25th, Banish fleeting worries or pettyfrustrations; just keep your mind focused onthe job in hand and you may actuallyaccomplish quite a lot.

January’s second new moon on the 30th, in11° of progressive Aquarius, will inspire boldnew objectives in some, while others may findthat they require a greater sense of freedom.As all new moons are imbued with the energyand attributes of Aries, new beginnings of one

form or another will likely be in the wind.However, resist the urge towards excessiveexpansion or expenditure at this time asUranus, the Aquarian ruler, is aligned in a ten-sion laden t-square to an opposition betweenJupiter on one side, and a Venus-Pluto con-junction on the other. Consider your options,keep a tight grip on your purse strings, and beprepared for a possible course correction.

The Chinese New Year of the Horse becomesofficial at sunrise on January 31st, followingyesterday’s Aquarius new moon. Horse years,perhaps not surprisingly, are often lively andhigh-spirited, in which things can happenquickly, and events unfold at a hectic pace. Itmay therefore be necessary to rein in and paceoneself, to avoid exhaustion or falling at thelast hurdle due to excessive tension or nervousoverstrain. Self-confidence soars and a “cando” attitude will prevail this year; yet we mustalso curb an inner restlessness if we’re to besuccessful. As the year unfolds, we may bearwitness to an economic upswing, as trade andcommerce gather momentum to a steady can-ter, fueled, hopefully, by a more commonsense approach to financial matters, and betterplanning. Equine years, while not particularlystable, can inspire noble actions, good humor,and greater consideration for the needs andplight of others.

Giant Jupiter opposes tiny Pluto preciselyon the 31st, when high levels of tension willexist, inciting clashes of will, power-plays,and vigorous saber-rattling, as beliefs andviewpoints are more forcibly expressed. Aheightened incidence of seismic and geo-physical activity is possible now. Used pos-itively, this aspect’s influence can help us toeliminate outworn belief patterns andphilosophies that have little relevance today,to be replaced by a worldview that bettersupports our growth and development.

Also on the 31st, Venus, planet of love andmoney, stations direct in 14° Capricorn,after a six-week retrograde period in whichfinances, and at least some of the ties thatbind may have come under much closerscrutiny. Progress can now be made increative endeavors, affairs of the heart, part-nerships, and money-matters.

Following is a general overview of how theplanetary trends for December/January,2014 apply to each sun sign. If you knowyour rising sign (Ascendant), read that, too,for additional insights.

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www.earthstarmag.com1 4 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

DDoowwnn TToo EEaarrtthh AAssttrroollooggyyAries (March 20—April 19)

In December you are keen to broaden yourhorizons in bold and innovative ways. Some

adventurous Ram-clan members will be planning a trip todistant climes, while others may be renovating ordecorating their homes, or even moving. Your professionalaffairs take a turn for the better, which can mean additionalincome, acclaim for your work, or both. However, don’tcount your chickens before they’re hatched, byoverextending yourself financially. While new doors couldopen, brightening your career prospects, you may facechallenges with a partners or significant others over someof your plans, particularly where money is concerned.Resist acting in haste, and pay attention to the needs oradvice of other key players in your life drama.

Taurus (April 19—May 20)

Your creative enterprise could inspire newprofessional objectives in December, but

you’d be wise to keep your enthusiasm in check. Be surethat you can deliver on any promises you make, beforecommitting your time or resources to a new venture. Withyour sign’s ruling planet, Venus, turning retrograde on thewinter solstice (Dec 21) till Jan 31, you would benefitmore by clarifying the finer points of your grand vision ofthe future in the meantime, particularly in regard to therole that a partner or colleague may play, and by stayingon top of any legal paperwork or formalities. Seek adviceor feedback for your ideas during January, when laying thegroundwork and networking would serve you better thancharging ahead unprepared.

Gemini (May 20—June 21)

A new alliance or partnership is possible inDecember that could be helpful to your goals

and future plans. Make sure that you’re clear about thedetails of a financial agreement, particularly if you have tosign a contract. While there is a good possibility that youcould add to your income during this forecast period, youwill need to guard against overoptimism, or of committingresources to a project before they’re even place. Spendwisely, or not at all. It’s possible that an old flame mayreappear in your life, or that you rekindle a former passionfor a particular subject, discipline or belief. Move forwardcautiously with a creative project or joint venture. Allowothers the flexibility they will likely need.

Cancer (June 21—July22)

The possibility of a new work assignmentcould spark excitement about your career

prospects in December. While the big picture may besomewhat unclear to you at present, you are, nonetheless,

keen to begin making plans for the future. It might beprudent, however, to tread carefully with partners orcolleagues, as you could encounter some opposition, andeven hostility, to your plans. Using tact and diplomacy,you can help others to see the value and wisdom of yourproposed course of action, but you may need to be patient,and to take on board some of their ideas or advice in theprocess.

Leo (July 22—August 23)

Your creative drive shifts into high gear inDecember, when you’re inspired to broaden

your horizons by pursuing a goal or ambition you’ve longdreamed of achieving. Support for your quest can comefrom family, friends or a partner, who may be keen to giveyou some wise words of encouragement. Be sure toadhere to a strict budget, however, and keep expendituresunder control, as it will be all too easy to get swept up ina wave of exuberance amid the joys and activities of thefestive season. If a new employment opportunity inJanuary sounds too good to be true, that may very wellprove to be the case, so think twice before severing tieswith your current employer. Bide your time, as greaterclarity, and more information, will subsequently comeyour way.

Virgo (August 23—September 23)

A long-range plan begins to take shape inDecember, when news you’ve been awaiting

arrives. Though some of the details may remain unclear,you are now able to move ahead with a personal project.The winds of change are blowing through your domesticaffairs, and a sudden move to a new location could occurfor some, while others may be making room in theirhome for an office or work space. In January you maybecome deeply involved with a creative project, one thatcould have a dramatic impact on your financialfortunes, and out of which new work opportunitiescan arise.

Libra (September 23—October 23)

You feel excited by the possibilities a newcareer path can provide, one that allows

you to bring forth elements from your past, toincorporate into a stimulating new venture. Be sure tonote, for future reference, all the good new ideas thatcome to mind during this intellectually fertile period,as you may be able to take some of them to the bank.With action planet, Mars, in your sign for the nexteight months, you will have the enthusiasm, energyand courage to pursue personal goals that hold deepmeaning for you. In the process, you may encounter


DDoowwnn TToo EEaarrtthh AAssttrroollooggyyelements from your past that could have held you backin life, that inhibited your growth or somehowundermined your confidence, which may havesubsequently impacted your approach to personalrelationships. What you learn during this period canhelp you turn your life around.

Scorpio (October 23—November 22)

You may have good reason to feel more hope-ful about your financial fortunes in

December, when new avenues of income could becomeavailable to you, via a partner, friend or family member.This, in turn, could inspire new goals or objectives, asyou seek to broaden your sphere of professional activi-ties, and move closer to a personal ambition you mayhave harbored for some time. Communications andactivities close to home increase dramatically inJanuary, and you will need to prioritize tasks andresponsibilities, in order to honor all of your commit-ments. Be sure to allow yourself adequate time to restand regroup, to recharge your batteries, and to takestock of the progress you’ve made.

Sagittarius (November 21—December 21)

You feel energized, empowered andambitious in December, when you are keen

to accept any offers of additional work, or overtime, thatcome your way. You are motivated to increase yourincome now, perhaps to help finance a personal project,or a creative venture that aligns with a specific goal. Youmay have bold plans for the future in mind, for whichmore resources will likely be required. Be sure to keepyour enthusiasm in check, however, so as not tooverextend your household budget. Spend only whatyou can afford in January, and sock away as much aspossible. While there’s money to be made, at present, itwould be wise to anticipate those rainy days.

Capricorn (December 21—January 19)

Rein in your enthusiasm to expand yourinterests in December, and consolidate what

gains you may have made in recent months. Whileyou’re keen to broaden your sphere of activities, itwould be all too easy to over-commit your resources,in your desire to advance a personal agenda. Instead,revisit your grand vision of the future and, ifnecessary, recalibrate key points of your plan, to makeallowances for financial fluctuations, and theavailability or suitability of others on whom you maybe counting for support. In January you will be highlymotivated to make your mark in your particular fieldof professional endeavor, yet it may be necessary to

juggle your career aspirations with domesticcommitments and activities closer to home.

Aquarius (January 19—February 18)

Your keen intellect combines well withemotional resilience now, to help propel

you towards an ambitious goal. Ever the progressivethinker, you may have some innovative ideas in mindfor boosting your work or career prospects, whichyou are highly motivated to implement. Be tactfuland diplomatic in your interactions with superiors,lest your enthusiasm be misinterpreted as a threat to,or disrespect for, their position or authority. Take thetime during January to fully assess your progress anddirection, to make certain that you're still on theright track. Too much haste now might not be to youradvantage, whereas consolidating any gains certainlywould be.

Pisces (February 18—March 20)

A new career opportunity could have youdreaming about the possibility of furthering

a personal ambition in December, or a creative projectwith which you’re involved could inspire similarthoughts. Your passions become more intense now, withthe arrival of Mars in your solar eighth house for alengthy eight-month stay, and you feel powerfullymotivated to set new goals for yourself—objectives thatmight transform your professional landscape, giventime. Education might also be a part of the big picture,either to add another string to your bow to enhance yourcareer prospects, or perhaps to share your own wisdomand knowledge with others in some way. You might alsobenefit now by aligning yourself with friends, groups orprofessional associations with whom you resonate.

Tim Gunns is an astrological consultant,conference coordinator and producer,and formerly program director of theLos Angeles Conscious Life Expo, andthe nat ional Whole Life Expos.Tim prepares personalized no-nonsense inter-

pretations of Natal Horoscopes ($40), Future Forecast TransitReports ($75 for 1 full year), and Relationship CompatibilityReports ($45). Shipping is free. Send: Name (as you'd like it toappear on the chart), Date of Birth, Time (as close as possible),Place of Birth (city/country, etc.) for each person, and your returnaddress, phone# and check to: Tim Gunns, c/o110 Hilltop Drive,Waynesville NC 28786. 828-452-7885. Consultations byphone may also be scheduled. Payment can be made via Paypalto [email protected] http://www.earthstarmag.com


1 6 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Thankfully, these days more and more peo-ple are committed to living a spirituallyempowered, authentically grounded, intu-itively guided, positive, and peaceful life.We’re generally becoming much more

willing to accept the idea that we are spiritual beingswho create our own reality and aren’t simply victims ofcircumstance, as evidenced by a huge surge of interest insuch things as quantum physics and mind-body medi-cine. We’re more willing to explore and discuss our richinner lives and our ever-expanding intuitive experiences.And yet, in spite of these encouraging signs, we’re stillsuffering with, and causing some of, the worst personaland worldwide violence and earthly destruction thathumankind has ever known.

Incidents of suicide and drug addiction have spiraledout of control, for example. The environment is undersiege. Our relationships with each other (and amongnations) are blasting apart, sometimes tragically withguns and weapons. So even though the idea of spiritualawakening and personal empowerment sounds appeal-ing and even possible, the actual shift in consciousnessmost of us need to make in order to go from victim ofcircumstance to Divine co-creator has yet to occur for

most of us. We all must take a big step forward—if notan actual leap—to jump-start the transformation thateveryone speaks of and desires . . . and the world so des-perately needs. Our inner peace contributes to theworld’s peace.

A life where we believe that we aren’t making ameaningful contribution feels like a life wasted. Peoplein this state tend to find negative ways to distract them-selves and deaden the emptiness they experience.Whether this leads to destructive behaviors or emotions,frequent accidents or illnesses, career stalls or chronicunemployment, or outbursts of rage or social withdrawal,soon the problem becomes other peoples’ problem aswell. All paths are interwoven, we are connected to oneanother, and one person’s misery eventually affectseveryone else. Therefore, not only is tuning in to ourinner guidance an essential personal need, it’s also aprofoundly important familial and social need.

Listening to the voice of your intuition instead of thevoice of your fears and other peoples’ wishes andinstructions will bring about, over time, a deep-seated,unwavering sense of profound integrity, creative inspira-tion, and grounded soul purpose. Tuning in to and fol-lowing your intuition relaxes your mind, puts your body

AAAArrrreeee YYYYoooouuuu TTuunneedd IInnTTuunneedd IInnoooorrrr TTTTuuuunnnneeeedddd OOOOuuuutttt????

By Sonia Choquette

at ease, and opens your heart because you eliminateinner conflict as you become more at one with yourSpirit, your true Self. Following your Spirit brings aboutan inner sense of peace, eliminates distraction, and helpsyou be more open. With such a big load off your shoul-ders, you can begin to fine-tune your awareness andexpand your creativity, gaining a more graceful, fulfill-ing, and productive rhythm in your life. With your Spiritfirmly at the helm, you flow with the deepest, mostauthentic truth of your being and experience each day asGod designed and intended you to experience it: perfect,beautiful, connected, and filled with joy. Because you’realigned with your true Self, you feel less and less com-pelled to seek approval or self-worth in how others viewyou. You stop feeling out of sync with yourself, andthat’s a huge relief.

In following your intuition and trusting your Spirit,not only do you feel uplifted, but you also uplift every-one you come in contact with. Because we are sentientbeings and are affected by one another’s energy, otherswill sense your genuine ease and consequently relaxmore in your company. Many of the typical challengesyou might expect, such as experiencing others as overlycautious or suspicious, will seem to suddenly ease,replaced with more heart-to-heart, creative, trusting, andpositive connections. Guided by your intuition, yourSpirit opens your eyes to new perspectives, reveals newopportunities, and showers you with synchronisticmoments that bring a sense of certain magic into yourlife. Even those people who have been habitually diffi-cult to deal with, such as set-in-their-ways family mem-bers or hardened bosses, won’t trouble you as much, asyour intuition also often brings with it more objectivity,deeper insight, and better understanding of others. Youbecome more compassionate, recognizing others nega-tive behavior as a symptom of having lost touch withtheir inner voice, their Spirit, so it’s easier not to taketheir unpleasant or obnoxious behavior personally. Infact, often those who are not in the habit of being easy-going will change their behavior when in your companybecause your personal vibration is generally so positivethey cant help but start to entrain with it. With your Spiritguiding, you will feel lighter and clearer, and your worldwill brighten up. You will start to really love yourself andyour life, and that’s the best reward of all.

Honoring our inner voice and allowing our Spirit tolead is the inevitable choice we must all eventually makeif we hope to live together in peace. Choosing otherwisekeeps us battling our own fears and battling others. Thischoice hurts us, each other, and our planet. Those whorefuse for whatever reason to surrender to their intuition,their heart, and their Spirit will continue to suffer, to

struggle, and to miss out on the joys of life. Like a bat-tery running out of power, unless we stop fighting andstart trusting our Spirit for guidance, our limited egoenergy will dwindle and die. I feel confident that soonerrather than later we will all come to realize the limita-tions of the ego, and accept the power that lies within ourSpirit because that is the purpose of our souls journeyon Earth.

Reaching for this book on a shelf or having it fallinto your hands in some other way is a strong indicationthat, on a deep level, you’re ready to start living ingreater alignment with your authentic Self. Maybe this isyour first step toward that end. Maybe you’ve alreadytaken steps along the path toward living your life thisway. No matter what got you to this page, deciding toallow your intuition to lead the way will soon have youleaving fear behind and enjoying the bounty and joy thatcome with living in flow.

Excerpted from the new book Tune In: Let Your IntuitionGuide You To Fulfillment and Flow by Sonia Choquette.Published by Hay House 2013 and available at all bookstoresor online at: http://www.hayhouse.com.

Sonia Choquette is a world-renowned author, storyteller,vibrational healer, and six-sensory spiritual teacher in inter-national demand for her guidance, wisdom, and capacity toheal the soul. She is the author of the New York Times best-seller The Answer Is Simple ... among other books; as well asnumerous audio programs and card decks and published inover 30 countries. Sonia was educated at the University ofDenver and the Sorbonne in Paris, and holds a Ph.D. in meta-physics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. Sheresides with her family in Chicago. http://www.soniachoquette.com

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 1 7

http://www.hayhouse.com

http://www.soniachoquette.com

Manifesting DivineConsciousness in Daily LifeBy Sri Mrinalini Mata

Sri Mrinalini Mata is president of Self-Realization Fellowship. In this inspiring andpractical book she vividly brings to life her per-sonal experiences of ParamahansaYogananda’s sublimely wise spiritual trainingand unconditional love. In exploring what itreally means to seek God, Mrinalini Mata talksabout the infinite potential of the mind, the cul-tivation of will power and evenmindedness,

and how the practice of Kriya Yoga can uplift and transform our lives.

Self Realization Fellowship. Paperback, $6.50.

Integrative HealingMerging with Modern MedicineBy Lorinda Weatherall

Integrative Healing is a term used when referringto the merging of Complementary or AlternativeMedicine (CAM) and Modern Medicine. The con-sumer benefits from taking the best of both healthworlds and using those talents to have optimalhealth. Integrative Healing: Merging with Modern

Medicine explains in common language to practi-tioners what Modern Medicine is looking for—fromus—when we engage as a member of the health-care team. Many CAM practitioners feel and know

that their chosen healing path or scope of practice can assist their clients. Itis out of this act of compassion that they want to share their skills within themodern medical community. It is a way to re-insert human-ness back intoour computerized and technical medical care systems.

AYNI Books. Paperback, $19.95.


The Old Magic of ChristmasYuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year

By Linda Raedisch

Not so very long ago, Yuletide was as mucha chilling season of ghosts and witches as itwas a festival of goodwill. In The Old Magic

of Christmas, you’ll rub elbows with veiledspirits, learn the true perils of elves, and dis-cover a bestiary of enchanted creatures.Rife with the more frightful characters fromfolklore and the season’s most petulantghosts, this book takes you on a spooky sleigh ride from the silveredfirs of a winter forest to the mirrored halls of the Snow Queen. Alongthe way, you’ll discover how to bring the festivities into your homewith cookie recipes and craft instructions, as well as tips for delvingmore deeply into your relationship with the unseen.

Llewellyn Publications. Paperback, $16.99.

Ripening TimeInside Stories for Aging with Grace

By Sherry Ruth Anderson

In Ripening Time, Sherry Ruth Anderson presentsa new perspective on aging. In her latest book, thebestselling author of The Feminine Face of God

and The Cultural Creatives invites the reader toengage the aging process through the art of innerinquiry. She guides us beyond our culture’s mindtraps through stories where elders face into thelies, the losses and endings, the tender and bitter-sweet and ferocious truths of growing old. Givingus an indispensable compass, she shows how growing into old agecan be a fruition, the genuine grace and gift of human ripening.

Changemakers Books. Paperback, $14.95.

The Exodus RealityUnearthing the Real History of Moses,Identifying the Pharaohs, andExamining the Exodus From EgyptBy Scott Alan Roberts and John Richard Ward

In this groundbreaking work, the authors reex-amine humanity’s most enduring account ofbondage, emancipation, and freedom. The GreatExodus is the story of how one man, empoweredby divine epiphany, brought the mighty ancientkingdom of Egypt to its knees. For thousands ofyears, this story has bolstered the faithful of threemajor religions, though little historical data con-

firms it. So the question must be asked: Did it ever really happen? Roberts,a historian and theologian, and Ward, an archaeologist, Egyptologist, andanthropologist, dig deeply into historical records to answer the most vex-ing questions, such as, is there any historical evidence for the biblicalaccount of the Great Exodus? Was Moses a real person? And why didMoses write about the Serpent and the Nephilim? While Roberts presentsan account that finds its moorings in the efficacy of scriptural historicity,Ward presents a new and completely unique theory for the Exodus and itscast of characters.

New Page Books. Paperback, $19.99.

The Council of LightDivine Transmissions for Manifesting

the Deepest Desires of the SoulBy Danielle Rama Hoffman

Through her advanced spiritual work withThoth, Danielle Rama Hoffman was intro-duced to the Council of Light—an intergalac-tic group of thousands of light beings fromacross the Multiverse. Their purpose is tosupport individuals as they shift into unityconsciousness and return to their naturalstate of joy. The Council transmitted theteachings in this book for those seeking toaccelerate their journey toward health,wealth, happiness, and their soul’s deepest desires. The Council’steachings reveal that by shifting your consciousness and raising yourinner vibration, you can change your daily life experience and mani-fest the life you want. This book provides practical tools to move froma life of worry, debt, exhaustion, and isolation to one of joy, abun-dance, purpose, ease, and connectedness, with a team of Divinesupporters to assist you along the way.

Bear & Company. Paperback, $20.00

Winter Reading Winter Reading


What Happens When We DieA Psychic's Exploration of Death, Heaven,and The Soul’s Journey After DeathBy Echo Bodine

With her signature wit and fearlessness, beloved psy-chic and healer Echo Bodine offers answers to life’sbiggest questions: Is there a heaven? Are there peo-ple who have been there and come back? Do wehave souls? Can we communicate with deceasedloved ones? Based on Echo’s personal experience ofobserving the souls of people nearing death and

communicating with souls who have died, this comforting book shineslight on the dying process and the afterlife. Her clear and fascinating sto-ries demystify this universal experience and demonstrate that death isnothing to fear. Echo offers practical tools for being with dying loved ones(including what not to do), for grieving, and for cultivating clear communi-cation with the deceased. Learning what happens when we die can beinspiring, reassuring, and profoundly life changing.

New World Library. Paperback, $14.95.

The Power of AurasTap Into Your Energy Field for Clarity,Peace of Mind, and Well-BeingBy Susan G. Shumsky

Thousands of people have found The Power of

Auras invaluable—especially those in the holis-tic health field who use its methods in their dailypractice. This new edition will bring the mes-sage of self-sufficiency to even more peoplewho desperately need greater strength duringthis time of change. With this book, you willlearn how to: See or sense auras, Heal andrelease dense vibrations, Release attachments

and addictions, and much more!


How to Be AloneBy Tanya Davis,

Illustrations by Andrea Dorfman

From a solitary walk in the woods to sittingunaccompanied on a city park bench to eatinga meal and even dancing alone, certain activi-ties can feel strange when you're on your own.We rarely treasure those moments, eventhough there are abundant possibilities anddelights waiting to be discovered when wehave the time to just be with ourselves. TanyaDavis’s words and Andrea Dorfman's beautifulillustrations soothe the disquiet that accompa-nies this fear of aloneness, and celebrate the power of solitude to changeour views of ourselves and the world. How to Be Alone reveals how,removed from the noise and distractions of other lives, we can find accept-ance and grace within. For those who have never been by themselves, orfor those who relish being on their own, this moving work encourages usto recognize and embrace the possibilities of being alone—and reminds usof a universe of joy, peace, and discovery waiting to unfold.

Harper. Hardcover, $17.99.

ShivaStories and Teachings from

the Shiva MahapuranaBy Vanamali

Shiva, the most ancient and complex deity of theHindu pantheon, has been portrayed in manycontrasting lights: destroyer and benefactor,ascetic and householder, wild demon slayer andcalm yogi atop Mount Kailash. Drawing from theHindu sacred text the Shiva Mahapurana--saidto be written by Shiva himself—Vanamali selectsthe essential stories of Shiva. The author alsodraws upon Shaivite teachings to illustrate thedifferences between Western science and Vedic science and theirexplanations for the origins of consciousness.

Inner Traditions. Paperback, $19.95.

In Defence of LifeEssays on a Radical Reworking of Green WisdomBy Julian Day Rose

Julian Rose presents a penetrating series of essayscalling for urgent action to overcome the perilousstate of our planet, at the local as well as globallevel. He both guides and challenges his readers toshare with him a journey through the matrix-maze,and to come out at the other end a more aware andmore self-assured human being. Drawing upon hislife experiences as a farmer, campaigner, artist andsocial entrepreneur, Julian brings to our conscious-

ness a way to break through the destructive patterns of our consumer-obsessed society and discover a simpler and more fulfilling way forward.Using essays exploring a wide range of pressing planetary concerns, hecalls upon his readers to utilise the largely untapped power of their deep-er instincts in coming to the aid of a severely depleted global environmentand in striving for the amelioration of mankind’s perilous human condition.

Earth Books. Paperback, $19.95.

Crystal Oversoul Attunements By Michael Eastwood

Foreword by Judy Hall

Designed for meditation and contemplation, thisset of beautiful cards and accompanying bookexplore in great depth the spiritual and meta-physical qualities of crystals and how to com-municate with the part of the collective con-sciousness that the crystals represent. Each ofthe 44 cards is a photographic mandala featur-ing a different crystal that conveys messagesdirectly into the consciousness of the viewer.The corresponding volume contains informationabout crystal healing and meditation practice. Together the cards andthe book build a map, representing the shared spiritual and healingpotential that these meditations can bring.

Findhorn Press. Boxed Set of Cards & book, $19.95.

Winter Reading Winter Reading


Bleating HeartsThe Hidden World of Animal SufferingBy Mark Hawthorne

Bleating Hearts is an investigation of how ani-mals are exploited for entertainment, apparel,research, military weapons, sport, art, religion,food, and more. Comprehensive and hard-hit-ting, Bleating Hearts examines the world’s vastexploitation of animals, from the food, fashion,and research industries to the use of otherspecies for sport, war, entertainment, religion,labor and pleasure. If you love animals you mustread this book!

Changemakers Books. Paperback, $34.95.

For Nobody’s Eyes OnlyMissing Government Files and HiddenArchives That Document the Truth Behind theMost Enduring Conspiracy TheoriesBy Nick Redfern

Under the terms of the Freedom of InformationAct, government agencies have declassified mil-lions of pages of documents on numerous sub-jects. But there are other files, many of a far moreintriguing nature than those the government hasalready released. They’re the ones that agencieshaven’t released. They include the files that sup-posedly can’t be found, that are suspiciously“missing,” as well as the top-secret papers that

agencies admit exist but which they are determined to keep hidden fromus. For Nobody’s Eyes Only includes fascinating new information on thelegendary Roswell UFO crash of 1947, and the Watergate scandal thatbrought down President Nixon. It will also discuss the nature of how doc-uments are deemed classified and top secret. For Nobody’s Eyes Only

picks the locks to the secret vaults “they” don’t want any of us to see.


The Syzygy OracleTransformational Tarot and

The Tree of Life: Ego, Essence and theEvolution of Consciousness

By Heather Mendel

Jung used the term “Syzygy” to describe the bal-ancing of the opposites. Astronomically, syzygy(pronounced si-zi-gee) refers to a specific conjunc-tion of the sun, moon and earth. Solar energyevolves the ego and lunar energy evolves ouressence. We learn to balance the two as we travelthe twenty-two pathways of Kabbalah’s Tree of Life.Honoring The Sacred Feminine, the spiritual practice offered here is aninvitation to recognize and welcome intuitive wisdom more definitivelyinto everyday awareness. A fresh interpretation of the traditional MajorArcana for women, here the patriarchal layering of the cards is lifted toreveal a timeless and timely revelation of intuitive wisdom in a sequenceof insightful, profound, and empowering teachings for any woman whowishes to read her own life story as more substantive than superficial.

Dodona Books. Paperback, $22.95.

Magical FashionistaDress for the Life You Want

By Tess Whitehurst

Discover how fashion can help you be your mostauthentic self, attract good fortune, and manifest whatyou desire. When your beautiful inner and outer reali-ties match, you’ll revel in the magic of each day. Farfrom being superficial, fashion with intention can be apowerful, life-affirming practice. Build a wardrobe ofitems that enhances your unique attributes and per-sonal magnetism. Put together empowering outfits forevery occasion with simple guidance on everything from color, material,and pattern to gemstones, nail polish, and tattoos. Drawing on astrology,feng shui, psychology, and more, this fun, mystical fashion guide will helpyou express your true essence and activate your happiness and success.

Llewellyn Publications. Paperback, $15.99.

Thai Massage and ThaiHealing Arts By Bob Haddad

This fascinating anthology presents a muchwider scope than other books on Thai mas-sage, and uncovers a wealth of previouslyunavailable information on the historical, spir-itual, and cultural connections to this power-ful healing art. Topics include ways to refineand maintain a healthy practice, breathworkand body mechanics, self-protection tech-niques, reading body language, acupressureconcepts, Thai medicine theory, and Thai

herbal compress therapy. The spiritual and cultural section offers mod-ern translations of ancient texts, Indian and Buddhist influences, magicamulets and sacred tattoos, and accessory modalities such as reusidat ton (stretching) and tok sen (hammering therapy). The final sec-tion features essays about practice with clients, written by therapistsand teachers from around the world.

Findhorn Press. Paperback, $32.95.

Aliens in Ancient EgyptThe Brotherhood of the Serpent and

the Secrets of the Nile CivilizationBy Xaviant Haze

The sophisticated civilization of ancient Egyptarose seemingly overnight, complete withadvanced levels of art, agriculture, astronomy,and physics. Then, with the death of PharaohAkhenaten, much of this higher knowledge waslost—or suppressed. But evidence of this formerGolden Age, the alien visitors behind its rise,and those behind its decline still exists—some ofit in plain sight. Haze examines the evidence ofaliens in ancient Egypt, such as the reptilian beings depicted in theTemple of Hathor and Thutmose III’s alien encounter. He explains theoriginal purpose of the pyramids, and explores how they weredecommissioned after the Great Flood of prehistory. He also revealshow the original builders of the pyramids foresaw humanity’s fallfrom the Golden Age and strategically encoded these magnificentstructures to wake humanity from the depths of the Dark Ages.

Bear & Company. Paperback, $20.00.


The Psychic WayFine-tuning Your IntuitionBy Barbara Ford-Hammond

Awakening and using intuitive abilities no longercauses eyebrows to rise. Women, in particular, areseeking information on how-to wake up their innerexpert. Their interests range from chakra balancingto cosmic-ordering, future life progression to self-hypnosis with plenty in-between. This book has allthe techniques that Barbara demonstrates andteaches during her retreats and workshops. Thesewere developed as a fun way to meld the esotericwith the corporate. Barbara shows how to under-

stand your mind using hypnotic meditative techniques that lead naturallyto expansion of self-awareness. Inner abilities are switched on in a funeasy manner. The Psychic Way is everything you need to know aboutbeing super-intuitive plus how to use the knowledge for pleasure or toensure success in business.

6th Books. Paperback, $19.95.

Chi Kung for Prostate Health and Sexual VigorA Handbook of Simple Exercises and TechniquesBy Mantak Chia and William U. Wei

Taoist Master Mantak Chia and William U. Wei explainhow to use the energetic and physical practice of ChiKung to not only maintain a flourishing sex life well intoold age but also reduce prostate enlargement and pre-vent prostate gland cancer. With fully illustrated step-by-step instructions, the authors provide exercises and

techniques to open the energetic pathways connected to the male repro-ductive organs and clear the energy blockages that lead to sexual dysfunc-tion and illness. They explain that while these techniques are primarily pre-ventive, they can also act to regenerate and restore function, forestalling theneed for surgery in early stages of prostate disease. The authors offer guid-ance on supporting your practice with nutritional and herbal supplements.

Destiny Books. Paperback, $16.95.

Dead SetA Novel

By Richard Kadrey

Acclaimed New York Times bestselling authorRichard Kadrey creates a wonderful, stand-alonedark fantasy After her father’s funeral, Zoe movedto the big city with her mother to start over. Butchange always brings trials, and life in the city isnot so easy. Money is tight, and Zoe’s onlyescape, as has always been the case, is in herdreams—a world apart from her troubled real lifewhere she can spend time with her closest com-panion: her lost brother, Valentine. But somethingor someone has entered their dreamworld uninvited. And a chanceencounter at a used record store, where the vinyl holds not music but lostsouls, has opened up a portal to the world of the restless dead. It’s herethat the shop’s strange proprietor offers Zoe the chance to communewith her dead father. The price? A lock of hair. Then a tooth. Then . . .

Harper Voyager. Hardcover, $22.99.

The 5 Points of Power and WisdomA Guide to Intuitive Living

By Nicola Jayne

The 5 Points of Power and Wisdom is a two-partcourse in Spiritual and Psychic Development. Part 1explores philosophy and spiritual development andalso repairing the path, removing blocks to the trueself and creating the way to intuitive living. Theemphasis is on perception, to help the reader heal anyfaults in thinking and overcome any negativity frompast actions or hurt. This helps the reader move for-ward into a loving, positive and productive future. Part2 looks at Psychic Development. It is here that theauthor provides the steps for intuitive learning and a spring board for psychicexploration, looking at topics like Psychic Protection, Chakras and SpiritGuides. The Practical exercises included are on Automatic writing, Flowerreadings, Crystallomancy, Pyromancy and Psychometry.

6th Books. Paperback, $19.95.

Remnants of the GodsA Visual Tour of Alien Influence in Egypt,

Spain, France, Turkey, and ItalyBy Erich von Daniken

In his gripping new book, Remnants of the Gods,Erich von Däniken shows in detail how wholecountries were surveyed thousands of years ago.Hundreds of Stone Age holy places are located atequal distances from one another, forming giantsquares and triangles. How was all of this possi-ble? Classic archaeology provides no answers tothese questions. Worse still, it doesn’t evenappear to be interested. Are we all threatening tobecome “camp followers of disinterest,” as Erich asks? Featuring morethan 160 color photos and illustrations, Erich reveals the secrets of“impossible buildings” in Europe and the Mediterranean region,describes “crazy facts,"” and relentlessly exposes false doctrines.Remnants of the Gods will make even strident skeptics reconsider whatthey think they know of the past.


The Creative CompassWriting Your Way from Inspiration to PublicationBy Dan Millman and Sierra Prasada

How can I become more disciplined? How do Iknow if I’m talented? Should I self-publish?These are just a few of the perennial and con-temporary questions addressed in this delight-fully different guide. The authors—from differentgenerations and writing genres—first help read-ers assess where they are on their path. Theythen walk them through five universal stages—Dream, Draft, Develop, Refine, and Share. Whilethese stages apply to writers of every stripe, the

emphasis is always on readers’ navigating their own challenges,process, and goals. Insight-producing prompts and the wisdom ofdiverse artists (from Steinbeck and Thoreau to Spike Lee, MarilynFrench, and Tom Clancy) help make every writer’s journey of cre-ation as rewarding as its destination.

New World Library. Paperback, $14.95.


If you want a simple way to increase the dis-ease-fighting power of your meals, be generouswith your use of high-quality herbs and spices.This applies year-round, but as cold and fluseason nears, you may want to consider spicing

things up more than you might normally.There is no shortage of research showing that herbs

and spices are among the healthiest you can consume.And they’re a “secret weapon” that just about everyonecan take advantage of, regardless of your budget.

Garlic in particular has long been hailed for its heal-ing powers, especially against infectious diseases likecold and flu.

This is likely due to its immune boosting effects.Fresh garlic is also a potent antibacterial, antiviral andanti-fungal agent. But its therapeutic effects may gomuch further than that.

Garlic—An All-Around Health Boosting Herb

The featured article in Medical News Today contains animpressive list of garlic’s historical use as a natural med-icine, and modern research to back up the wisdom ofsuch antiquated claims. Green Med Info has also assem-bled a list of studies demonstrating more than 150 ben-

eficial health effects of garlic! For example, studiesshow that regular consumption of (primarily raw) garlic:

• May be effective against drug-resistant bacteria• Reduces risk for heart disease, including heart

attack and stroke• Helps normalize your cholesterol and blood

pressure• Protects against cancer, including brain, lung,

and prostate cancer• Reduces risk of osteoarthritis

It’s thought that much of garlic’s therapeutic effectcomes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such asallicin, which are also what give it its characteristicsmell. Other health-promoting compounds includeoligosaccharides, arginine-rich proteins, selenium andflavonoids.

Research has revealed that as allicin digests in yourbody, it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reactswith dangerous free radicals faster than any other knowncompound.

This is one of the reasons why I named garlic as oneof the top seven anti-aging foods you can consume.Garlic is also a triple threat against infections, offeringantibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

BBBBEEAATTEEAATT BBBBAACCKKAACCKK TTHHEETTHHEE FFFFLLUULLUU

WWIITTHHWWIITTHH...... ...... GGGGAARRLLIICCAARRLLIICC


Not only is it effective at killing antibiotic-resistantbacteria, including MRSA, but it also fights yeast infec-tions, viruses and parasites. Garlic must be fresh to giveyou optimal health benefits though.

The fresh clove must be crushed or chopped in orderto stimulate the release of an enzyme called alliinase,which in turn catalyzes the formation of allicin. Allicinin turn rapidly breaks down to form a number of differ-ent organosulfur compounds. So to “activate” garlic’smedicinal properties, compress a fresh clove with aspoon prior to swallowing it, or put it through yourjuicer to add to your vegetable juice.

A single medium size clove or two is usually suffi-cient, and is well-tolerated by most people. The activeingredient, allicin, is destroyed within one hour ofsmashing the garlic, so garlic pills are virtually worth-less.

You also won’t reap all the health benefits garlic hasto offer if you use jarred, powdered or dried versions.Worse yet, at least two supermarket-brands containinggarlic powder imported from China have been found tobe contaminated with high levels of lead, arsenic andadded sulfites, according to a recent article byPreventDisease.com.

If you develop a socially offensive odor, justdecrease the amount of garlic you’re consuming untilthere is no odor present. If garlic makes you feel ill, thisis probably your body’s way of letting you know youshould avoid it.

Garlic versus Tamiflu

Garlic may be particularly useful in preparation for coldand flu season, as it contains compounds capable ofkilling a wide variety of organisms, including virusesand bacteria that can cause earaches, colds and influen-za. The respected research organization CochraneDatabase—which has repeatedly reported that the sci-ence does not support the use of flu vaccine as a first-line defense—has also reviewed studies on the alterna-tives, such as the use of garlic.

They found that those who took garlic daily for threemonths had fewer colds than those who took a placebo,and, when they did come down with a cold, the durationof illness was shorter—an average of 4.5 days comparedto 5.5 days for the placebo group.

While this may not seem overly impressive, it’s stillbetter than the results achieved by the much-advertisedflu drug Tamiflu. If taken within 48 hours of onset of ill-ness, Tamiflu might reduce the duration of flu symptomsby about a day to a day and a half. That’s the extent ofwhat this $100-plus treatment will get you. It’s virtually

identical to just taking garlic on a regular basis!However, some patients with influenza are at

increased risk for secondary bacterial infections whenon Tamiflu—a risk you won’t take by eating garlic...Other adverse events of Tamiflu include pediatricdeaths, serious skin reactions, and neuropsychiatricevents, including suicide committed while delirious.

Cold and Flu—Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency

While colds and flus are caused by viral infections, com-pelling research suggests that your ability to “catch”these infections may actually be a symptom of an under-lying vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is a potentantimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 differentantimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria,viruses and fungi. Suboptimal vitamin D levels will sig-nificantly impair your immune response, thereby mak-ing you far more susceptible to contracting colds,influenza, and other respiratory infections.

In the largest and most nationally representativestudy16 of its kind to date, involving about 19,000Americans, people with the lowest vitamin D levelsreported having significantly more recent colds or casesof the flu—and the risk was even greater for those withchronic respiratory disorders like asthma. At least fiveadditional studies also show an inverse associationbetween lower respiratory tract infections and vitamin Dlevels.

The best source for vitamin D is direct sun exposure.While it may not be possible to get enough sun exposureduring the winter, every effort should be made to attainvitamin D from UVB exposure as there are many addi-tional benefits from this route other than vitamin D. Thenext best option to sunlight is the use of a safe indoor


tanning device. As a last resort, if neither natural norartificial sunlight is an option, you may take an oral vita-min D3 supplement. However, if you do, you need to beaware of the following:

• Make sure you’re taking the correct vitamin D supplement. You want D3, not D2, as the latter may end up doing more harm than good.

• Based on the latest research from GrassrootsHealth, the average adult dose `required to reach vitamin D levels of about 40 ng/ml is around 8,000 IU’s of vitamin D3 per day. For children, many experts agree they need about 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight.

• Get your vitamin D serum level checked at regular intervals to make sure you’re taking the appropriate dose to get within the therapeutic range of 50-70 ng/ml.

• If you’re taking high dose vitamin D supplements you also need to take vitamin K2—not K1that is typically in vegetables as it will not work synergize with vitamin D. Vitamin K2 deficiencyis actually what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries. The reason for this is when you take vitamin D, your body creates more vitamin K2-dependent proteins that shuttle the calcium into the appropriate areas. Without vitamin K2, those proteins remain inactivated, so the benefits of those proteins remain unrealized.

Four Factors That Undermine Your Immune System

Again, it’s important to remember that both colds andvarious influenzas are caused by a wide variety of virus-es, not bacteria. Hence, taking an antibiotic for your coldor flu will NOT do you any good whatsoever. Antibioticsonly work on bacterial infections, such as sinus, ear andlung infections, including bronchitis and pneumonia.The latter two are potential secondary infections that candevelop from a serious bout of cold or flu, so you dowant to keep an eye out for signs and symptoms of suchbacterial infections.

At the end of this article, you’ll find some guidelinesto help you decide when it would be prudent to see adoctor.

Now, the most common way cold and flu viruses arespread is via hand-to-hand contact, so the easiest way tocut down your risk is to frequently wash your hands (seenext section below). However, the key to remember isthat being exposed to a cold virus does not mean thatyou’re destined to get sick. Again, whether or not you’llactually get sick is primarily dependent on the function-ing of your immune system. If your immune system isoperating at its peak, it should actually be quite easy foryou to fend off the virus without ever getting sick.

As discussed above, vitamin D deficiency is a majorfactor that will depress your immune function, leavingthe door open to invading viruses. Other lifestyle factorsthat can depress your immune system, alone or in com-bination, include:

Eating too much sugar/fructose and grainsSugar in all its forms takes a heavy toll on your immunesystem. One of the ways it does this is by unbalancingyour gut flora. Sugar is “fertilizer” for pathogenic bacte-ria, yeast, and fungi that can set your immune system upfor an assault by a respiratory virus. Remember, eightypercent of your immune system lies in your gastroin-testinal tract, which is why limiting your sugar intake isCRUCIAL for optimizing your immune system.

It would be wise to limit your total fructose con-sumption to below 25 grams a day if you’re in goodhealth, or below 15 grams a day if you have high bloodpressure, diabetes, heart disease, or are insulin resistantor are trying to recover from an acute illness like the flu.

Lack of sleep If you aren’t getting enough restorative sleep, you’ll beat increased risk for a hostile viral takeover. Yourimmune system is also the most effective when you’renot sleep-deprived, so the more rested you are the quick-er you’ll recover.


Insufficient exercise Regular exercise is a crucial strategy for increasing yourresistance to illness. There is evidence that regular, mod-erate exercise can reduce your risk for respiratory illnessby boosting your immune system. In fact, one studyfound that people who exercised regularly (five or moredays a week) cut their risk of having a cold by close to50 percent. And, in the event they did catch a cold, theirsymptoms were much less severe than among those whodid not exercise.

Exercise likely cuts your risk of colds so significant-ly because it triggers a rise in immune system cells thatcan attack any potential invaders. Each time you exerciseyou can benefit from this boost to your immune system.It can also help boost your immune system acutely, byincreasing your body temperature. This helps kill offinvading pathogens, similarly to the fever your body pro-duces when sick.

Using ineffective strategies to address stressEmotional stressors can also predispose you to an infec-tion while making cold symptoms worse. Finding waysto manage daily stress as well as your reactions to cir-cumstances beyond your control will contribute to astrong and resilient immune system. Effective strategiesinclude a variety of energy psychology tools, such as theEmotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

Other All-Natural Strategies That Send Pathogens Packin’

Frequently washing your hands with soap and water isone of the easiest ways to wipe out germs and virusesand reduce your chances of becoming sick. Don’t makethe mistake of using antibacterial cleansers, as theirwidespread use contributes to strains of resistant bacte-ria, or “superbugs” that render antibiotics useless.Besides, research has shown that people who use anti-bacterial soaps and cleansers often develop a cough,runny nose, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea andother symptoms just as often as people who use plainsoap and water. There’s no real justification for using anantibacterial soap when plain soap is safer, and just aseffective.

Another strategy that many report success with is toadminister a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) into your ear canal. Quite frequently, peopleclaim to have been able to cure a cold or flu within 12 to14 hours this way. Simply put a few drops into your ear;wait until the bubbling and stinging subside (usually 5 to10 minutes), then drain onto a tissue and repeat with theother ear.

There are also a number of supplements and simpletreatments that can be beneficial for colds and influenza,but I believe they should only be used as adjuncts to anotherwise healthy diet and lifestyle. For detailed instruc-tions that will help set you the right path can be found inmy optimized nutrition and lifestyle plan. Some of themore helpful options for cold and flu—besides vitaminD and garlic discussed above—include:

Zinc: Research on zinc has shown that when taken with-in one day of the first symptoms, zinc can cut down thetime you have a cold by about 24 hours. Zinc was alsofound to greatly reduce the severity of symptoms.Suggested dosage: up to 50 mg/day. Zinc was not rec-ommended for anyone with an underlying health condi-tion, like lowered immune function, asthma or chronicillness.

Vitamin C: A very potent antioxidant; use a naturalform such as acerola, which contains associatedmicronutrients. You can take several grams every hourtill you are better unless you start developing loosestools.

Olive leaf extract: Ancient Egyptians andMediterranean cultures used it for a variety of health-promoting uses and it is widely known as a natural, non-toxic immune system builder.

Propolis: A bee resin and one of the most broad-spec-trum antimicrobial compounds in the world; propolis isalso the richest source of caffeic acid and apigenin, twovery important compounds that aid in immune response.

Oregano Oil: The higher the carvacrol concentration,the more effective it is. Carvacrol is the most activeantimicrobial agent in oregano oil.

Medicinal mushrooms, such as shiitake, reishi, andturkey tail.

A tea made from a combination of elderflower,yarrow, boneset, linden, peppermint and ginger;drink it hot and often for combating a cold or flu. It caus-es you to sweat, which is helpful for eradicating a virusfrom your system.

Echinacea is one of the most widely used herbal med-ications in Europe to combat colds and infections. Onereview of more than 700 studies found that usingEchinacea can reduce your risk of catching cold by asmuch as 58 percent.


When Should You Call Your Physician?

Generally speaking, if you have a cold, medical care isnot necessary. Rest and attention to the lifestyle factorsnoted above—particularly the admonition to avoidsugar—will help you to recover quickly and, if you stickto them, will significantly reduce your chances of catch-ing another cold anytime soon.

Getting back to garlic for a moment, a previous arti-cle by PreventDisease.com gives instructions for a gar-lic soup that can help destroy most viruses and help yourecover a little quicker. Ideally though, you’d want toincorporate immune-boosting diet- and lifestyle strate-gies as soon as possible to prevent illness in the firstplace.

So, when should you call your doctor?Sinus, ear, and lung infections such as bronchitis

and pneumonia CAN be bacterial however, and if so,may respond to antibiotics. If you develop any of the fol-lowing symptoms, these are signs you may be sufferingfrom a bacterial infection rather than a cold, and youshould call your physician’s office:

• Fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degreesCelsius)

• Ear pain• Pain around your eyes, especially with a green

nasal discharge• Shortness of breath or a persistent uncontrollable

cough• Persistently coughing up green and yellow

sputum

Dr. Mercola is the founder of theworld’s most visited naturalhealth web site,http://www.Mercola.com. Youcan learn the hazardous sideeffects of OTC Remedies by get-ting a FREE copy of his latestspecial report The Dangers ofOver the Counter Remedies bygoing to his Report Page.

Colourful ‘Solar Glass’Colourful ‘Solar Glass’ Means Entire Buildings Can Generate Clean PowerMeans Entire Buildings Can Generate Clean Power

A solar power company capableof “printing” colourful glassthat can generate electricity

from the sun’s energy announced a£2m funding boost in October.

Oxford Photovoltaics, a spin-offfrom the University of Oxford, said theinvestment from clean-tech investors MTIPartners will help its solar glass, whichcan be dyed almost any colour, take a stepcloser to the commercial market.

“What we say here is rather thanattach [solar] photovoltaics to thebuilding, why not make the buildingthe photovoltaics?” Kevin Arthur, thecompany’s founder and CEO, told The

Guardian. “If you decide to build abuilding out of glass, then you’vealready decided to pay for the glass. Ifyou add this, you’re adding a verysmall extra cost. The solar cell treat-ment costs no more than 10% of thecost of the facade.”

These generally cost between £600and £1,000 per square metre, meaningthe new cell treatment would cost just£60-£100 extra per square metre.

The technology works by adding alayer of transparent solid-state solarcells at most three microns thick toconventional glass, in order to turnaround 12% of the solar energy

received into low-carbon electricity.The power can then be exported tothe national grid or used for the run-ning of a building.

“Within reason we can print anycolour, there’s a wide range of dyes,blues and greens and reds and so on.But different colours have differentefficiencies: black is very high,green is pretty good and red is good,but blue is less good,” said Arthur.

While the company is mostly tar-geting customers planning newbuildings, it also “very interested” in

retrofits on the facades of existingbuildings.

Separately, a team at theUniversity of Sheffield and Universityof Cambridge said they had succeededin developing a process to ‘spray paint’solar cells on to surfaces and, potentiallyin the future, roofs and buildings. Theteams believe the process could signif-icantly cut the cost of solar in thefuture, but currently only works on“very smooth” surfaces and is less effi-cient than conventional solar panels.

Professor David Lidzey from theUniversity of Sheffield said: “Spraycoating is currently used to apply paintto cars and in graphic printing. We haveshown that it can also be used to makesolar cells using specially designedplastic semiconductors. Maybe in thefuture surfaces on buildings and evencar roofs will routinely generate elec-tricity with these materials.”

Solar power worldwide reached100GW installed capacity last year forthe first time, up from 71GW in 2011and just 40GW in 2010, according torecent trade body figures.— The Guardian, UK

http://www.Mercola.com


It’s Christmastime 1941, a few weeks after thebombing of Pearl Harbor. America has beendrawn into war; two of my mother’s brothersare serving in the military, one in Europe andthe other in the Pacific. My father is no longer

in the picture. His persistent carousing with otherwomen, excessive drinking, and regular encounters as alawbreaker, which have landed him in jail on severaloccasions, have finally made living with him impossiblefor my mother. He has simply walked away from hisfatherly responsibilities, never to be heard from again.My mother is alone with three children under the age offive to feed. She’s taking her three boys to her mother’shouse to be watched while she goes to work for the day.

My two older brothers and I are waiting with ourmother for the bus to arrive on Jefferson Avenue on theeast side of Detroit. We’re dressed in our snowsuits, mit-tens, galoshes, and earmuffs, standing at the bus stopnext to what appears to us to be a huge mountain offreshly plowed snow. The road is littered with salt tomelt the continually falling snow, and it is one big nasty

mess. A truck drives past the four of us, spraying us sohard with slush that we’re knocked off of our feet. Weland safely but soaked on the gigantic pile of snow.

My mother breaks down—she’s dressed for workand covered with dirty, salty slush. She is exasperated.Her life is obviously out of control with the departure ofher former husband, and she’s doing her best to makeends meet. The lingering Depression, along with a worldwar, contributes to her overall situation. Work is difficultto come by, and my mother must rely upon the meagerhelp that comes from her family. They too are overbur-dened by the long-term economic downturn. It is a diffi-cult period under the best of circumstances, due to short-ages of all manner of goods, and the fog of war itself.

My two brothers are very upset, too. Five-year-oldJim attempts to console our mother; three-year-oldDavid is crying uncontrollably. Me? I am having thetime of my life. This is like a nice surprise party with abig castle of snow that we’re all lying on top of. We canhave fun! I don’t quite understand why everyone is soangry and frustrated.

By Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

I Can See I Can See CLEARLCLEARLYY NowNow

The following is an excerpt from I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, published by Hay House(February, 2014) available in bookstores or online at http://www.HayHouse.com.

http://www.HayHouse.com.


And then these words came out of my mouth: “It’sokay, Mommy. Don’t cry. We can all just stay here andplay in the snow.”

I’m the baby who seldom cries; the toddler who triesto make everyone laugh and feel good, regardless ofwhat’s going on. I’m the kid who makes silly faces tochange the environment from sad to glad. I am that littleboy who’d be sure There must be a pony here some-where if the sandbox was full of manure. I don’t knowhow to be filled with sadness. My demeanor seems to benaturally inclined to look for the bright side and pay lit-tle heed to things that make everyone else dreary.

According tomy mother, I’mthe most inde-pendent andinquisitive littleboy she and herfamily have evere n c o u n t e r e d .Apparently Iarrived with thishappy dispositionintact. I am sohappy to be herein this world. At19 months of ageI am almost thesame size asDave, who is 18months older. I try to get my brother to laugh and feelsafe, because he seems to be afraid, sick, and most of thetime, sad, but he seldom even smiles. I find the world soexciting, and I love wandering and exploring.

As I grow up, nothing seems to disturb or distressme. I look around and all I see brings me to a state ofawe and wonder. I want everyone to be happy. I want allof the despair in my family to just disappear. I am surewe don’t have to be miserable just because our father issuch a shit. I want to see my mother have joy in her soulrather than all of this distress. I want my oldest brother,Jim, to stop worrying so much about Mother and his twoyounger brothers. If I can make them happy and havesome fun, maybe all of this other stuff will just go away.

I just can’t comprehend why everyone seems sodour. There are so many things to be excited about. I canplay for hours with a spoon or an empty cardboard box.I love to go outside and gaze at the flowers, the butter-flies, or the stray cat that keeps coming to our yard. I amin a kind of blissful state of appreciation and bewilder-ment almost all of the time. I also have a very strongmind of my own. I won’t let anyone tell me what I can

or cannot do—I insist upon discovering my boundarieson my own. When I am told no, I simply smile and thenproceed to do what my inner self instructs me to do—regardless of what any big people might say about it.

I seem to be totally in a world of my own—onethat’s joyful, full of exciting unlimited potentialities anddiscoveries that I can make on my own. No matter howhard anyone tries to make me be gloomy, they can neversucceed because I came here from a Divine light, andthere is nothing anyone can do to put out that light. Thisis who lam—a piece of God who hasn’t forgotten thatGod is love. As am I.

I can’t count thenumber of timesthat my mother toldme that sloshysnow-pile story. Itwas her favoriterecollection of mejust before she wasforced to placeDavid and me in aseries of fosterhomes; while myoldest brother, Jim,went to live withour grandmotherfor the better partof the next decade.

As I look back at the earliest days of my life in thisincarnation, I can see clearly that the old maxim Thereare no accidents in this universe is a truism that appliesright from the moment of our creation, and way beforethat as well. In an infinite universe there’s truly nobeginning or ending. It is only our form that is born anddies—that which occupies our form is changeless andtherefore birthless and deathless.

As the father of eight children, I’m quite convincedthat each individual arrives here with their own uniquepersonality. We are intended here from an invisible fieldof infinite potentiality. That which has no form, has noboundaries—it’s the / that’s in the ever-changing body.All of the accomplishments that fill my personal résumébegan taking shape at the moment of my conception,throughout my nine months of embryonic existence, andas I took my first birth breath on arrival. I look back atthat little 19-month-old tyke lying on a snow bank, andnot one cell that comprised that little boy is still here onplanet Earth. Yet the / that was in that body is the sameinfinite / that recalls it all some 70 years later.

Even before I could read or write I needed a person-

I can see clearly now that as a

child I needed to feel that I

could reach out to others and

help them feel better about

themselves and their circum-

stances. I somehow knew that

attitude is everything in life


ality that would be congruous with the music I camehere to play. I can see clearly now that as a child I need-ed to feel that I could reach out to others and help themfeel better about themselves and their circumstances. Isomehow knew that attitude is everything in life—evenas a baby, so that the attitude my mother described to methat characterized my infancy was in some mysteriousway connected to the dharma that I was to fulfillthroughout this lifetime.

Lying on top of that snow bank with the rest of myfamily, seeing them in a deep state of distress, andinstantly deciding to try to make things a bit more bear-able by making them laugh or inviting them to have funinstead of being sad, is—on a spiritual level—the sameas writing books about breaking free of the trap of neg-ative thinking and enjoying life to the fullest. The formis adult with a bigger and older body, but the same infi-nite / is communicating through a brand-new set of eyesand ears.

I’ve watched all eight of my children blossom intotheir own awakenings. They all showed up here at birthwith their own unique personalities, perhaps from aseries of previous lives—the mysterious possibilities areendless. But I know for certain that the one Divine mindthat is responsible for all of creation has a hand in thisengaging mystery. Same parents, same environment,same culture, and yet eight unique individuals, all ofwhom arrived with their own distinct character traits. Ithink Khalil Gibran stated it perfectly in The Prophet:“Your children are not your children. They are the sonsand daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They comethrough you but not from you, and though they are withyou yet they belong not to you.”

We all have a mission of some kind to fulfill at themoment we make the shift from nowhere to now here,from Spirit to form. I’ve long realized how important itis to allow my own children to live out their inner dic-tates, realizing that that’s precisely what I’ve done formy entire life, based on the stories that my mother toldme of my life as a baby and then as a toddler. She wasnever surprised that my life unfolded as it did, becauseof what she observed in my infancy. Each of my childrenhad their blueprint from God as well. My job has beento guide, then step aside, and let whatever is inside themthat is their own uniqueness, steer the course of theirlives.

I know that I came here to fulfill a purpose that Idecided upon before undertaking that journey frominvisible to solid—from Spirit to hardening into a phys-ical reality. Beginning with the three unhappy peoplewith me in that slushy predicament, I was actually doingthe early research and practice for living a life in which

I could help influence millions of people. While I was inthat snowbank I was intuitively trying to get everyone tosee that we had a choice about how we looked at the sit-uation. The / inside the kid wanted the others to knowit’s not really so bad—we can turn this whole thingaround by laughing rather than being upset.

The greatest service that can be offered to childrenwho show personality traits or inclinations that mightnot be understood by the adults around them is to allowthem to express their own unique humanity. I wasblessed to be able to live much of the first decade of mylife in an environment where outside parental and otheradult meddling in my life was kept to a minimum. Iknow that I came into the world with what I call “bigdharma”—with a blueprint to teach self-reliance and apositive loving approach to large numbers of people allover the globe. I am ever so grateful for the circum-stances of my life that allowed me to be pretty much leftalone and to develop as I was so intended in this incar-nation.

Just as everything we need for our physical develop-ment is handled by a Divine, mysterious, invisible forcewhile we develop for nine months in utero, so too is allthat we need handled by the same Source for all otheraspects of our being. We come from a state of perfectwell-being—Divine love—and our creator needs noassistance in taking care of this unfoldment. It is onlywhen we interfere with this celestial programming thatwe get off the path of God-realization.

I can see clearly today this entire universe is on pur-pose. I see now that our earliest personality traits andpredilections are expressed because they represent ourhighest selves. At these early ages we are still very muchconnected to our Source, because we haven’t yet had thechance to edge God out and assume the mantle of thefalse self, which is the ego.

Reid Tracy: Your new book I Can See Clearly Now iscoming out February 2014, and it’s different fromyour other books in that it tells a lot more of yourpersonal story. How did this book come about?

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer: That was a fascinating experience.June 26, 2012 I said to my family, “I’m done writingnow for a while.” I’ve got a couple of years, you know,I’ve just published a new book, Wishes Fulfilled, did my10th Public Television special, and I said “I just feel sogreat, I can now relax” and so on. And on June the 27th,the next day, I sat down and started writing.

What has writing this book been able to give you interms of an understanding about events in your life,and what can it teach others in terms of their ownlives and what they might be going through?

Do you ever play checkers? Well, your whole life is likea checkerboard and there’s a sense that you get, espe-cially looking back on it, that you begin to realize andgain awareness that there’s something else moving all ofthese pieces around in your life, and that was really truefor me right from the very beginning.

Now, are you aware of it at the time? At the time,you might think, “Why is this happening to me?” But Iwas able to look back on it and say, “Oh, now I knowwhy I was going through that.” So I would suggest topeople that they have the awareness that, no matter whatit is that is taking place in their life, to be able to lookback on it.

In this book, you talk about all of your experiences,including a section titled “I Can See Clearly Now”where you look back on those experiences and reflecton what you learned from them and what they meantin your life. What can you see clearly now?

I realize I was this little kid that was just born into thesituation that I was born into. But as I look back on allof these things and all of the books that have come out

of it and the movies that we’ve done and the millionsand millions of people who’ve been touched all over theworld, I look back and I see that I was in some kind oftraining since I was a little boy.

It’s like these experiences are all gifts, and that’show you have to look at. Every time I wrote (all 60 chap-ters in this book), I would finish a chapter and say, nowI can see clearly why I had to go through all of theseexperiences; all the lessons that I had to learn. And basi-cally, what I learned is, the biggest lesson of all, is thatthere is something moving the checkers around. There issomething, and you connect to that and you allow it andanything can happen.

One thing that stands out in this book is thatthroughout your life you don’t seem afraid to makebig decisions. What are your thoughts on how we canmake those decisions easier on ourselves, and how wecan have more confidence in ourselves in makingthose decisions?

Listen to the inspiration, which breaks down to in spirit,inspiration. Listen to the higher part of ourselves, and toour ultimate calling. There was something inside of methat just said “You’ve got to align yourself with yourhighest calling.” And I think it’s there in all of us. I callit your excitement. It’s like living with your excitement.Just ask yourself, What is it that causes you to feel asense of excitement, like you really feel good about it?

But inside of me, there’s always been this calling tospirit, to take the risks.

You talk a lot about the “unseen forces” that affectedyour life, and have written extensively about mani-festing, attracting, and creating whatever it is youwant in your own life. Can you tell us how to noticethat and how to attract that?

People talk about things happening and it being “unbe-lievable,” and it’s exactly the reverse. It’s really believ-able, but we are so conditioned to believe that these


AANN IINTERNTERVIEWVIEW WITHWITH DDRR.. WWAAYNEYNE DDYERYER, AUTHOR OF

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

The following interview between Reid Tracy, CEO of Hay House, and Dr. Wayne W. Dyer,was adapted from the Hay House World Summit interview in March 2013.


kinds of things are just coincidences, that they’re justthings that show up arbitrarily in our lives, when the factis that all of us have this kind of guidance available to us.

I think that if you want to be able to attract this kindof guidance into your life, you have to start with anawareness that all things are possible. I think the key tothis, at least what I’ve learned through writing I Can SeeClearly Now, is when you’re doing that, when you for-get about yourself, when you get your ego out of the pic-ture, when your inner mantra isn’t “What’s in it for me?And how much more can I get?” and so on, when yourinner mantra is, “How may I serve? What may I do foryou?” and you practice living those ways, that’s whenyou attract this mystical guidance. I have found that themore I get my ego out of the picture and the more I thinkabout how can I serve other people instead always think-ing about me, the more these miracles show up.I’ve beenable to do that for almost everything in my life. That’swhy I wrote the book, and that’s why I call it I Can SeeClearly Now.

For many years, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer’s fans have wonderedwhen he would write a memoir. Well, after four decades as ateacher of self-empowerment and the best-selling author ofmore than 40 books, Wayne has finally done just that!However, he has written it in a way that only he can, with aremarkable take-home message for his longtime followers andnew readers alike, and the result is an exciting new twist onthe old format. Rather than a plain old memoir, Wayne has

gathered together quantum-moment recollections.In this revealing and engaging book, Wayne shares

dozens of events from his life, from the time he was a little boyin Detroit up to present day. In unflinching detail, he relateshis vivid impressions of encountering many forks in the road,taking readers with him into these formative experiences. Yetthen he views the events from his current perspective, notingwhat lessons he ultimately learned, as well as how he hasmade the resulting wisdom available to millions via his life-long dedication to service. As a reader, you will feel as if youare right there with Wayne, perusing his personal photo albumand hearing about his family, his time in the service, how hewrites his best-selling books, and so much more. In theprocess, you’ll be inspired to look back at your own life to seehow everything you have experienced has led you to whereyou are right now. Wayne has discovered that there are noaccidents. Although we may not be aware of whom or what is“moving the checkers,” life has a purpose, and each step ofour journey has something to teach us. As he says, “I wasn’taware of all of the future implications that these early experi-ences were to offer me. Now, from a position of being able tosee much more clearly, I know that every single encounter,every challenge, and every situation are all spectacularthreads in the tapestry that represents and defines my life, andI am deeply grateful for all of it.”

I Can See Clearly Now is an intimate look at an amazingteacher, but it also holds the key for seekers on a personal pathof enlightenment. Wayne offers up his own life as an exampleof how we can all recognize the hand of the Divine steeringour individual courses, helping us accomplish the mission wecame here to fulfill.

S outh Carolina doctorMike Vasovski hasjoined a growing

group of doctors and takenhis medical practice off theinsurance grid.

In October Dr. Vasovski wrote onhis Facebook page:

“My medical practice has gone offline. Effective yesterday, the comput-ers that contain patient’s account infor-mation including billing diagnosis,have been completely de-linked fromthe internet. Therefore, your healthinformation is completely secure.Accounting will be done in house withQuickbooks on a PC that is not con-nected to the internet. We are movingtowards a payment at time of servicemodel in which my practice does notparticipate with insurance companies.Fees will be truly affordable and yourmedical records will not be in a format

that can be accessed elec-tronically. Peace andLiberty, Dr. Mike Vasovski.”

In an interview withJoshua Cook, Vasovskishowed how such practices

could keep a free market healthcaresystem alive even as Obamacare takeseffect.

“Off grid” or “cash only” practicescollect money directly from the patientat the time of service. Vasovskidescribed two off grid payment mod-els, one in which doctors charged a permonth fee in which people could visitas often as necessary, and one in whichthere is simply a reasonable office visitcharge. Vasovski’s practice has chosenthe second model with a $45 bench-mark, and says that is enough to pro-vide most services because most vacci-nations and other shots are being pro-vided by pharmacies.

“So we’re not responsible for buy-ing those things, storing them and count-ing them and that kind of stuff.” Addingthat cost-saving development to thenearly $6000/year saved on insurancesoftware, this becomes an increasinglyviable business model. There is also ahuge number of generic drugs availablefor $4/month at major pharmacies.“That’s less than a 6-pack and it gets youa month worth of your medicines.”

The direct payment businessmodel has a number of benefits forboth practices and patients. One of themost topical is security. BecauseVasovski’s office isn’t connected toinsurance companies, he has been ableto take his entire practice off the inter-net. No hackers, Assange-like activists,or government entities can access anypatient information, like SocialSecurity numbers or health problems.—BenSwan.com

DOCTORS GOING OFF THE INSURANCE GRID TO “CASH ONLY” PRACTICE


Webster’s New World Dictionarydefines the word soul as “an entitywithout material reality, regardedas the spiritual part of a person.”The concept of a soul was some-

what elusive to me in my younger years. When I was achild, I used to say a prayer that ended with “if I shoulddie before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” Thatwas the only reference I had about having a soul.

I was in my twenties when I saw my first soul, but Ididn’t realize what it was. A friend of my mom’s, Carol,was hearing noises up in her attic, so Mom and I went toinvestigate. The world of psychic phenomena was newto us and we really didn’t have a clue as to what we weredoing, but we gave it our best shot.

There in the attic of Carol’s house were four people,but they were transparent. I didn’t really understand whythey were there or how they could be there. The adultfemale explained to us that her husband had been analcoholic when they were living and that he had fallenasleep with a lit cigarette. They and their two kids allperished in a fire. She said he wouldn’t let them go to theother side because he was afraid he would be sent tohell. Mom and I had no idea what to do or say to this

woman other than that they needed to leave. In response,they went through the wall of the attic and disappeared,but by the time we made it back to our house, Carol wascalling to say that the noises were back. We decided thenthat we needed to learn a lot more about how to handlethese situations before we went to any more hauntedhouses, because we hadn’t gotten rid of her ghosts at alland they continued to live in the house with Carol andher family.

When I was twenty-seven, I began my journey ofcommunicating with souls, and it was because of a four-teen-year-old boy who had fallen eighteen feet, hadlanded on his head, and was comatose. I have told thisstory before but retell the basics here because it taughtme so much—and illustrates so much.

The young man, Dale, was flown from Nebraska upto the University of Minnesota hospital, and his familycalled me to do healings on him. I had done several heal-ings on his stepmom for heart problems, and that’s howthey knew to contact me. The doctor had said there wasa 10 percent chance that Dale would ever come out ofthe coma, and the nurse told them that he would proba-bly be a “vegetable” (yes, that’s the word they used backthen) if he did recover consciousness.

By Echo Bodine

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I went to the hospital every day on my lunch breakto work on Dale. It was my second or third time doinghealings on him when his soul first appeared to me. Iwas standing over his body, channeling healing to him,when from behind me, I heard a male voice say, “Wouldyou please heal the speech part of my brain? I want totalk again.” It was rather startling because there was noone else in the room, but when I heard the same words asecond time, I slowly turned around, and there was ayoung man leaning up against the wall. I was takenaback because I didn’t know who he was. On the hospi-tal bed in front of me, Dale’s head was covered in band-ages, so I didn’t know what he looked like. I asked thisbeing who he was, and he very nonchalantly said he wasthe soul that lived in this body. He reiterated that he real-ly wanted to speak again and asked me if I would pleaseheal the speech part of his brain.

From then on, every day when I went to the hospitalI communicated with Dale’s soul. He told me whichparts of his body were in pain and which parts neededhealing. He taught me that when the soul is out of thebody, the body experiences very little pain, but when thesoul comes back into the body, the pain is intensified. Heshowed me by going in and out of his body. When hissoul was in, his body moved around and breathed moredeeply than when he was out. When his soul was out, hisbody remained very still and his breathing was shallow.To understand this, imagine that the soul is made up ofenergy and has the same effect on the body as if you putin a fully charged battery; the body becomes stimulatedwith energy when the soul is in.

Six weeks after I began communicating with hissoul, Dale left the University of Minnesota hospital—walking and talking.

Facts about the Soul

I have been working with people’s souls for close to fiftyyears and have learned many facts about them.

• A person’s soul looks just like their physical bodyexcept the soul looks younger and less stressed and istransparent. Souls appear in clothing. • The soul is attached to the body by a silver cord,similar to the umbilical cord. The cord is severed at thetime of death. • The soul is our personality, and it lives on afterdeath.• Each of us has the same soul in every lifetime, andit continues to grow in awareness, wisdom, knowledge,and consciousness. • The soul goes back and forth between genders; in

half of our lifetimes we are male, and in the other halfwe are female. • The soul takes many out-of-body journeys when thebody is sleeping. This is called astral projection, andyou’ll be reading about it later in the book. • When a person is in their dying process, the soulspends much of its time out of the body, preparing for itsnew life on the other side. During this time, the soul vis-its with deceased loved ones quite often and reacquaintsitself with its new (old) home, heaven. When the personphysically dies on this side, they are being born into theother side, in a sense. They aren’t born as a baby, butthey are beginning a new life. We often hear storiesabout people seeing a white light as they are approach-ing heaven. What do you suppose a newborn baby is see-ing while coming out of the birth canal? The white light,of course.• Animals have souls too. When my chocolate LabJessie died, I was very sad for days, but since his pass-ing I’ve seen him several times running around the yardlike he used to. Yes, our precious pets do have souls anddo go to heaven. They are being cared for on the otherside, and you will see them again.

Excerpted from the book What Happens When We Die©2013 by Echo Bodine. Published with permission of NewWorld Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

Echo Bodine is the bestselling author of Echoes of the Soul,The Gift, A Still, Small Voice, and most recently WhatHappens When We Die. She is a renowned spiritual healer,psychic, and teacher who lectures widely on intuition, spiritualhealing, and life after death. She also has a monthly radioshow and popular blog. Visit her online at http://www.echobodine.com.

http://www.newworldlibrary.com

http://www.echobodine.com


Suzanne Somers has been dubbed a health“pioneer” by Oprah Winfrey and been toldby Dr. Mehmet Oz that she is “crazy smart.”She is the author of twenty-four books andhas appeared on hundreds of national

broadcasts to discuss her cutting-edge views on howmedicine should be practiced. The Wall Street Journalsays she writes with “the passion of a prophet.”

In this interview, Somers sits down with LifeExtension® to discuss some of the highlights of her lat-est book, I’m Too Young For This! The Natural HormoneSolution to Enjoy Perimenopause.

LE: In your book you talk a lot about understandinghow hormone loss can affect women as they age. Youtalk specifically about a period known as peri-menopause that may make women feel very unlikethemselves. What happens during this phase?

SS: Hormonal loss can make you feel like you are goingcrazy. You don’t know who you are anymore, and youcan’t rely on feeling good each day. Perimenopause isthe transitional stage from normal menstrual periods tono periods at all. It may start in your thirties or fortiesand it will continue until you reach the final stage,menopause, probably sometime in your fifties. You aretransitioning. This process and the cluster of symptomsthat often come with it can start ten years before full-blown menopause. Perimenopause is a natural phase oflife, and in many cases it is a difficult transition. Whenyou don’t understand what’s happening and don’t knowhow to manage it, then your health and your sanity canbe challenged.

How does having low thyroid levels affect weight gainduring perimenopause?One of the most common complaints of perimenopause

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I’m Too Young For This!The Natural Hormone Solution to Enjoy Perimenopause


is unexplained weight gain. Youstart getting “thick,” especiallyaround the middle. Your bellybloats and you retain water, evenwhen you never did before. Youmay eat less and exercise moreyet you still can’t lose the weight;instead, often you gain weight.Low thyroid, a major metabolichormone, is usually the culprit.When it’s too low, you don’tmetabolize food effectively andthe calories you consume turn into fat instead of beingused for energy; this is why exercising and dieting helpsa little, but you just can’t achieve the weight loss youdesire. Low thyroid weight tends to be distributed even-ly on your body. When low pituitary function is at theroot of your low thyroid function it’s generally confinedto the area from your abdomen to just above your knees.

Other problems many women face include foggythinking and forgetfulness. Why are these such com-mon symptoms?Brain fog is a result of a complex series of events thathappens to women. First, it’s about estrogen depletion.The brain needs estrogen to function properly. When awoman is deficient in estrogen, she develops seniormoments—whatever description you can handle to takethe edge off your embarrassment with your friends andmake for a big laugh. You may be laughing off yourembarrassment on the outside, but on the inside there isnothing funny about it.

When it happened to me, I secretly harbored a fearthat that this was the first stage of Alzheimer’s, the mostfrightening of all diseases to me. Estrogen depletion alsocauses headaches and migraines.

You talk about depression relief in your book. Whatare maturing women missing other than theirhormones?Serotonin profoundly affects the brain, where it impactsbrain cells by various mechanisms. Serotonin activity isessential for enjoying a relaxed and happy brain. This isthe feel-good neurotransmitter that many women lack.

Many women may not understand the essential rolethat neurotransmitters play in vital brain function.Specifically, what are we talking about here?Neurotransmitters that become depleted as we womenage include dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. PMSsymptoms are really an indicator of serotonin deficiency,and because a woman’s levels are deficient or low, she

will experience depression, anxi-ety, insomnia, and often brainfog. Most women at this pointneed something to take the “pain”of anxiety, worry, and bodilyaches away. So they go to alcoholor over-the-counter or prescrip-tion drugs like Prozac®,Oxycontin®, or Xanax®.

It’s no wonder then that evensomething as simple as

headaches can be a result of a hormonal imbalance.Headaches, sadly, are part of the perimenopausal andmenopausal experience for so many women. Womensuffer migraines, a particularly debilitating type ofheadache, about three times more frequently than men,affecting up to 60% of all women at some point in theirlives. They occur before, during, or immediately after aperiod, or during ovulation. They range from mild to“migraine fierce.” Why do these debilitating headachesoccur more frequently during perimenopause? The brainrequires estrogen to operate optimally. Low, imbalanced,or fluctuating estrogen levels can trigger migraines;menstrual migraines are primarily caused by estrogen,and when the levels of estrogen and progesteronechange, women are more vulnerable to migraineheadaches. Too much or too little estrogen causes bloodvessels to dilate. If your progesterone is too low to bal-ance your estrogen, leaving you estrogen dominant, theswelling blood vessel dilation caused by unchallengedestrogen can be a catalyst.

You also write that magnesium intake may be relat-ed to headaches as well. How so?Insufficient magnesium levels make arteries more sus-ceptible to spasm and are another common cause ofother types of headaches. One possible reason for thisdeficiency in magnesium is a chronic imbalance ofestrogen to progesterone. This imbalance is not onlyuncomfortable, but a dangerous setup for cancer.

You recommend to your readers that getting bloodtests is of the utmost importance. Why do you feelthis way?It’s crucial to test your blood hormone levels so yourdoctor can initiate a customized bioidentical hormoneprogram that’s just right for you. After you are placed onbioidentical hormones, some doctors will suggest aurine test that monitors the amount of estrogen and otherhormones you are making over a twenty-four-hour peri-od to get a more accurate picture of where you are hor-


monally. The first step is to identifyyour baseline hormone status. This isto know the ranges of all your hor-mones and gives you and your doctorthe best picture for your symptoms. Ifyou suspect you are entering peri-menopause, it is extremely importantto test your hormone levels.

You spoke to Life Extension’s ownBill Faloon on this very topic, cor-rect?Yes. My question to him was: If awoman concludes that she is sympto-matic and her decline has begun,should she get hormones replaced without testing herhormone levels? He replied: “Think about this. . . .Would you drive your car without being able to see out-side the windshield? That, regrettably, is how most con-ventional doctors treat their patients’ problems. When awoman complains of symptoms related to sex hormonedeficiency, if she’s not with a qualified doctor, he mayprescribe the same dose of estrogen, and possibly a syn-thetic progestin drug. The doctor hopes this blindly pre-scribed dose will alleviate perimenopausal symptoms. Inother cases, the physician may not recognize the symp-toms as being a hormone deficit and instead prescribesside-effect-laden antidepressant drugs, addictiveantianxiety drugs, and/or sleeping pills. But with bloodtest results in hand, a qualified physician can determinethe best individualized dose of natural estrogen, naturalprogesterone, DHEA, and other hormones required forpreservation of healthy vitality.”

Your book, I’m Too Young for This, offers incredibleinformation, however, one of the takeaways seems tobe that mainstream medicine is falling woefully shortin terms of helping out aging women. How has thishappened and what does it mean moving forward?At present, our medical schools are teaching fifty-year-old medicine. Every answer to every disease and condi-tion has a pill attached to it. If you look around at oursenior generation, you see for yourselves that they arenot doing very well on all the pills they have been givenover the years. It’s a cruel hoax; they trusted and theybelieved that medicine knew best. We get confusedbecause we have been raised to believe doctors are sup-posed to know everything. That’s a lot of pressure foryour doctor. Stay with your doctor for the things he orshe knows, but go to the right doctor if you are lookingfor hormone balance (someone who specializes inBHRT). Doctors are good people we hire to take care of

our bodies. But they are not in chargeof our bodies . . . that is our respon-sibility.

Is personal responsibility the mainmessage you want women to takeaway from your new book?The message in this book is not to goto the doctor as a child anymore.Empower yourself with informationabout how your body works; it willallow you to discuss your healthintelligently with your doctor.Together you can decide a personal-ized plan for your ongoing health.

It’s up to you to choose optimal health. Remember, youhire your doctor! You are the contractor. As you contin-ue to age, you will hire other doctors specializing in newmedicine to manage and maintain all your other parts.Perimenopause is a passage . . . a passage into the nextphase of your life called menopause.

What has been your greatest frustration in recom-mending maturing women replace their sex hor-mones?I never worried about the criticism. I always knew theyjust didn’t understand that I was advocating a naturalindividualized approach to hormone replacement,whereas conventional doctors were prescribing synthet-ic drugs on a one-size-fits-all basis. The problem waswomen were reading my books and asking their doctorfor natural hormones, but most doctors didn’t know thedifference and either refused to prescribe sex hormonesor put women on drugs like Premarin®, Provera® orPrempro®, which are unnatural to the human body anddangerous as far as I was concerned.

So after ten years of being on the right side of the sci-ence, what is your solution to the problem of wide-spread physician apathy and ignorance?For the first time, I believe the problem in findingknowledgeable physicians has been solved. A networkof anti-aging doctors has been established so thatwomen can log onto a website (ForeverHealth.com) andfind a doctor in their area who will interpret their bloodtest results and prescribe the precise amount of naturalestrogen and progesterone to meet each woman’s indi-vidual requirements.

This would be unprecedented. For the past 33 yearswe at Life Extension have been challenged in identi-fying knowledgeable physicians to refer our mem-


bers to. If women can take their blood test results toa physician who can individually restore youthfulhormone balance, the age-reversal impact on a soci-etal scale would be monumental.That’s my dream. There are now ForeverHealth.comdoctors in most major cities with more coming on board.These anti-aging physicians are dedicated to addressingthe hormonal replacement needs of maturing women onan individualized basis. The quality-of-life enhance-ments I and other women I’ve helped have experiencedare profound. Most say they have never felt better. Allwomen have to do to see if a doctor is in their area is logon to http://www.ForeverHealth.com

That’s tremendous, Suzanne. With your new book (I’mToo Young For This!), the incredible amount of mediaattention you’re now receiving, and the availability ofknowledgeable physicians, the average female now hasan opportunity to enjoy the multiple anti-aging effects ofnatural hormone replacement.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article,or you’d like to order a copy of I’m Too Young For This!, pleasecall a Life Extension® Health Advisor at 1-866-864-3027.

Suzanne Somers is the author of twenty-four books includingnumerous New York Times best sellers.

Converted Ballistic Missiles Could Launch Converted Ballistic Missiles Could Launch Aid TAid To Disaster Zoneso Disaster Zones

I t may be the purest distillation ofthe swords-to-plowshares ideayet imagined.The best way to send much-need-

ed supplies to isolated communities inthe wake of an asteroid impact, tsuna-mi or other natural disaster may be tolaunch them atop converted interconti-nental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), oneresearcher says.

One such missile—outfitted to

land its payload softly, of course—could get thousands of pounds of foodand water, or power-providing genera-tors, to a devastated area within anhour or so, potentially saving manylives, said Huai-Chien Chang, a doc-toral student in space architecture atthe university of tokyo.

Chang isn’t sure how much such asuborbital relief mission would cost,but he thinks the availability of moth-

balled American andRussian ICBMswould take a big biteout of the price tag.

“These rocketengines are stillfunctioning. If wecould use theseengines, the costwould be very muchreduced,” Chang toldspace.com inSeptember at theAmerican Institute ofAeronautics andAstronautics’ Space2013 conference inSan Diego, where hepresented his idea

during a poster session.Repurposing ICBMs for peaceful

use is far from unprecedented. Forexample, the first three stages of thenew five-stage minotaur v rocket, builtby Virginia-based aerospace firmorbital sciences, are solid-fueledmotors recycled from decommissionedamerican peacekeeper missiles.

Chang acknowledges that reliefmissiles would fill a decidedly nicheneed, servicing only hard-hit commu-nities that are too difficult to reachquickly by truck, boat or aircraft.

“The situations would be veryrare, except for islands in the pacific[ocean], parts of mainland china andantarctica,” he said.

But meeting the basic survivalneeds of potentially vulnerable people—even if they number in the thou-sands or millions rather than the bil-lions—is still a worthy humanitariangoal, he added.

“I’d like to see something like thishappen before the next big disasterhits,” Chang said. —SPACE.com

http://www.ForeverHealth.com


It seems that now we are inundated with mes-sages about living in the heart. It’s the latestcatch-phrase. But really, what does it all mean?It means living in balance with emotions andthoughts. It means allowing one’s heart to lead

the way in decision making and actions. It does notmean letting unchecked feelings rule your life. But italso means, not letting unexpressed feelings limit yourinteraction and connection with others.

Most of us have been brought up to be logical andrational. To hide our emotionsand just “get over it”. Theproblem with this is that wereally can’t solve today’sproblems that were created byanalytical and mind-basedapproaches. I’m convincedthat the analytical approach iswhat got us to where we aretoday, in many of the distress-ing situations we see in ourown lives, communities andon a global scale.

So the question is: how dowe really embrace heart-based

living and be effective as leaders and decision makers inthese times of change? I believe we can do this byusing a heart-based approach which has been distilleddown to 3 simple steps: Dive In, Tune In, and Lightenup. It really is a simple process. It starts with a choice togo into the heart-based feelings and explore what isthere. If you can’t or won’t do that, I’ve found thatyou’re putting a veneer over the truth of your existence.Mastering our emotions through the heart is the key tothis time of intense transition. When we check into our

hearts, we tend to make wiserand more compassionatechoices. And with that, livemore peaceful and connectedlives.

STEP 1:

The first step is to have thewillingness to dive in to theemotions locked inside theheart. This does not mean re-experiencing the traumas ofthe past. Rather it is toacknowledge that your heart

By Ronna Prince

3 Ste3 Stepsps to to HearHeart-Basedt-Based LivingLivingDive iiiinnnn,,,,

Tune iiiinnnn,,,, Lighten uuuupppp!!!!


had to shut down in the past as a way of dealing with thehurts all humans experience to one extent or another. Indiving in to the heart (Step 1), we are really just allow-ing the awareness of feelings and emotions to surface. Inthis step, we dive in to touch what’s been locked inside.We follow the breath into our hearts and listen. We canask “what’s in my heart?” Usually it’s a two or threeword message that bubbles up, like: “I’m afraid”, or “becareful”, or “go for it!”

STEP 2:

The next step is to tune into the feelings behind theseinitial pearls of heart-wisdom. “What is my heart tellingme?” If you hear: “I’m afraid” or “be careful”, that’sinforming you that you need to spend some time allow-ing the associated emotional imprints to emerge. We dothat by feeling whatever is there and accepting the feel-ing no matter what it is: Fear, anger, sadness, depression,happiness, joy. Tune into it, and allow it to move andflow.

As we allow ourselves to tune into these emotionalstates, we move the energy. When energy moves, thereis room for heart-wisdom to emerge. Tuning in to theheart is what takes practice, because we’re used to turn-ing to the mind to find our answers. But the truth is, ourhearts know. Our minds will rationalize or justify. Butthe authentic tuned-in feelings of our hearts, will alwayslead us to compassionate and wise choices.

STEP 3:

The FINAL STEP in this 3 part formula is: Lighten up!This is an essential part of the 3 step process. It meansthat after we do some intense emotional healing, weconsciously choose to relax, enjoy and embrace the giftsin life. At first, we have to really focus on this and makeit a priority. Because in dealing with emotions, we caneasily get stuck in a state of perpetual healing and forgetto enjoy each day.

So in this final step, we commit to looking around us

and seeing beauty andjoy, even if it’s just asmall thing, like aflower or a bird’s songor the smile of a lovedone. Living in the heartis a balanced place,and in that balance, we make room for more joy andpeace, not by ignoring, but by embracing the wisdom ofthe heart.

Ronna Prince is the filmmaker behind the new extraordinarynew film Sacred Journey of the Heart. An Official Selection atthe LA Femme Film Festival and featured at SedonaInternational and Awareness Fest Film Festivals, SacredJourney of the Heart is a powerful and inspiring documentarythat traces the role of the heart in connecting us to our high-er selves, our spiritual essence, each other, the planet and thecosmic design. The heart is the single organ that not only cre-ates a unified field among all people, but also creates a har-monic field with the earth itself. The compelling film revealshow modern science is proving what ancient peoples haveknown all along: we are all connected—and that connectionis the human heart. Featuring such luminaries and bestsellingauthors as Greg Braden, Joe Dispenza, Mary Morrissey,Colin Tipping, Sarah McLean, plus Dr. Rollin McCraty andDr. Deborah Rozman of HeartMath, along with an array ofother spiritual leaders, indigenous elders, and scientists, thefilm is designed to give people new tools to achieve a state of“heart centered balance,” so they can create a peaceful stateof connection in their own lives. For more information, go tohttp://www.sacredjourneyoftheheart.com

http://www.sacredjourneyoftheheart.com

4 0 EARTH STAR DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Most bodywork professionals knowthat Thai massage (nuad boran, inThai language) is not massage as weknow it in the West. Its unfortunatethat the term Thai massage has

become so popular because that second word, massage,is misleading and inaccurate. The work isnt done on atable, oil isnt used, there is no rubbing on skin or knead-ing of muscles, and the receiver is fully clothed. Thegoal is not to work muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments,organs and soft tissue, though these anatomical parts arepositively affected by the work. Neither is its purpose tosimply stretch and apply passive yoga to another personon a floor mat. At its essence, Thai massage is a bal-anced blend of physical, energetic and spiritual healingtechniques and concepts. It is the skilful combination ofapplying both broad and targeted acupressure, findingand dissolving blockages in the network of energy lines(sen) that run through each of us, opening and toning thebody with yoga-like stretches, and last but not least,

allowing and encouraging the receiver to engage in aprocess of self healing, relaxation, and renewal.

Understanding the modality

An effective Thai treatment cant be given by mechani-cally following a sequence. Although sequences areimportant for beginners to learn the basics, teachers andschools that prepare students to follow proprietary, fixedsequences throughout their study and practice may behindering them from evolving into deeply sensitivetherapists.

Individualized holistic treatment is at the heart of thetraditional Thai medicine system, and Thai massageshould be administered in this way in order to be fullyeffective. An accomplished Thai therapist continuallypractices and studies, preferably with a variety of teachers,throughout his entire career. He listens to the body ofeach client as he works, learns to sense energy flowand blockages, and relies on intuition, sensitivity and

www.earthstarmag.com

By Bob Haddad, RTT

TTTTrrrraaaaddddiiii tttt iiiioooonnnnaaaallll TThaihai Massage

LLLL eeee aaaa rrrr nnnn iiii nnnn gggg aaaa nnnn dddd PPPP rrrr aaaa cccc tttt iiii cccc iiii nnnn gggg wwww iiii tttt hhhh IIII nnnn tttt eeee gggg rrrr iiii tttt yyyy

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 EARTH STAR 4 1

stillness to guide him through each treatment. Thai massage, at its essence, is a spiritual healing

art, not just a physical therapy. In Thailand, massage(nuad) belongs to one of the branches of Thai medicine,and it incorporates Buddhist healing principles.Accomplished therapists and teachers understand thepower of meditation and stillness while at work, both forthe giver and the receiver. They work slowly and in ameditative way, and they always encourage silence.

Good body mechanics and correct breathing playextremely important roles in Thai massage. An experi-enced Thai therapist works only within his immediatereach, and positions his body directly ahead of, or on topof, the area where he is working. The hara, the core arealocated slightly below the navel, is where all movementshould originate. A therapists back should be straight,the shoulders relaxed, the chest open, and in most cases,arms should be straight and locked at the elbows whenapplying pressure. Masterful Thai therapists utilize cor-rect breathing patterns as they work, they remain obser-vant of their clients breathing throughout each session,and they adjust their breathing to work most effectivelywith that of their client.

Thai massage is most powerful and effective when itis carried out, for the most part, in silence. The therapistneeds to focus his energies, observing and listening tothe body, hearing the breath, and adapting his techniquesto the needs of the individual before him. The receivershould ideally feel at peace, relaxed, spiritually cen-tered, and in a parasympathetic state, since these condi-tions always encourage good results. Excessive talkingduring a session can be a distraction, and so can music,especially if it isnt kept at a low volume. Its best to notengage clients in conversation, to comment about theircondition, or to offer excessive prompting or coaching.

The dilemma of current-day study

Among LMTs in North America, studying Thai massagehas become a popular way to fulfill requirements forcontinuing education units (CEU), but unfortunately,many people teach or practice Thai massage withouthaving adequate knowledge or study experience. Somestudy only for a few weeks or months before beginningto practice or teach. Mixing Thai massage with othermodalities such as western table massage, shiatsu, andyoga is also common. Some market and promote cours-es of study by using the word Thai, when the curriculamay not be true to Thai traditions. The word Thai hasmarketing power because it conjures exotic and excitingimages, but table work marketed as Thai, for example, isso stripped of its versatility and power that it is mostlyineffectual.

Local laws that regulate legal practice vary through-out states in the USA and provinces in Canada. In someplaces, massage boards and regulatory agencies deem itlegal only for LMTs to practice traditional Thai mas-

sage, regardless of their amount oftraining in the discipline. Indeed inmany states, LMTs can legally practiceThai massage even if they havent everstudied the discipline! A background intable massage, however, doesnt neces-sarily qualify someone to be a goodThai massage practitioner or teacher;they require two completely differentskill sets. To further compound the situ-ation, the National Certification Boarddoesnt thoroughly evaluate the creden-tials of someone who applies to be anApproved Provider of Thai massage,and this adds to the disparity of knowl-edge and expertise among Thai mas-sage CEU Providers.

www.earthstarmag.com


All of these circumstances figured among the moti-vating factors for the founding of Thai Healing AllianceInternational (THAI) in 2005. THAIs guidelines remaintoday as the only nonpartisan international standards forthe study and practice of traditional Thai massage, andthe requirements to become a Registered Thai Therapist(RTT) and Instructor are rigorous. (See http://www.thai-healingalliance.com for more information)

Finding qualified teachers

As you can see, its important for all students of Thaimassage to study only with highly qualified teachers.Check the teachers study and training history, and if itsnot listed on their web site or in their promotional infor-mation, ask them about it before you consider register-ing for a workshop. How long have they studied Thaimassage, and with whom? Have they studied inThailand? If so, when was the last time they were there?Do the descriptions of their courses use western anatom-ical language or Eastern healing terminology? Do theyblend Thai massage with other modalities? Are theyInstructor members of Thai Healing Alliance, or do theyat least meet the minimum requirements of 500 hours ofhands-on Thai massage study with a wide variety ofqualified instructors and schools? Before you registerfor a CEU course in Thai massage, check into a teachersbackground just as you would for a prospective employ-ee, or a tenant for your rental home.

Summary

Traditional Thai massage is a unique and powerful vehi-cle of healing, and it is worthy of being practiced,taught, and promoted within the context of traditionalThai medicine, not from a perspective of Western body-work therapies, Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine,or any other body of knowledge.

I encourage all students, practitioners and teachersof Thai massage to be diligent in their approach to study;to evolve slowly, patiently, creatively and respectfully aspractitioners of this noble healing art; and to dignify andelevate traditional Thai massage by studying and prac-ticing it within the framework of the traditional medi-cine, culture, and spiritual values of Thailand.

Bob Haddad, RTT has stud-ied traditional Thai massagesince 1999, mostly in ChiangMai, Thailand. He haslearned Thai healing artsfrom many teachers, butAsokananda and PichestBoonthumme are his truementors. He is the founder ofThai Healing AllianceInternational (THAI) and heteaches workshops interna-tionally. His new book, ThaiMassage & Thai HealingArts: Practice, Culture and Spirituality (Findhorn Press)http://www.findhornpress.com and is also available onamazon.com.

http://www.thaihealingalliance.com

http://www.findhornpress.com


We all know that the Holiday seasoncan be the most stressful and that,ironically, many of us find our-selves strung out and unhappy at atime when we are expected to be

our happiest.How we handle the stress of the season has a lot to

do with the kind of person we are. Knowing that, we canuse specific strategies to deal with holiday demands andmake the season what is was meant to be- joyous.

How can we know what kind of person we are? Theanswer is in the colors of our aura. Everyone has anaura- what science calls the electro-magnetic field- andwe’ve all felt them. We’ve been instantly drawn to somepeople and repelled by others, because we’ve felt theirenergy. That energy is expressed in different color bandsthat radiate from our bodies- what we call the aura.

I have learned in my work as a professional psychicwho can also see auras that our aura colors reveal veryimportant information about who we are - our personal-ity, relationship style and compatibilities, best careerpaths, potential health challenges and more. Discoveringour aura color personality type and unique coping skillsis a valuable key to knowing how to handle stress.

The quiz accompanying this article will help youdiscover your aura color. Take the quiz, and once youknow your color, read on to discover your aura colorpersonality, the signs that you are stressed, and somehelpful tips tailored to help you deal with that stress andtake the harried out of the holidays.

YELLOYELLOWW

• Yellows are fun loving, humorous, creative, physical,generous, sensitive & natural healers.

Signs that you’re stressed: You are not laughing andenjoying life. You’re avoiding, procrastinating or dis-tracting yourself with addictions (food, alcohol, TV,sweets, drugs, caffeine, etc.) Your back or knees hurt.

Tips to become happier: Spend time in nature, exer-cise, dance, eat healthy, get a massage, play, laugh, cheerup others, hang out with your dog, simplify your life,find reasons to be optimistic, smile, watch a funnymovie, and laugh some more.

By Pamala Oslie

HHHH aaaa rrrr rrrr iiii eeee dddd HHHH oooo llll iiii dddd aaaa yyyy ssss ????

SSSS iiii gggg nnnn ssss oooo ffff SSSS tttt rrrr eeee ssss ssss &&&& TTTTiiii pppp ssss tttt oooo BBBB eeee HHHH aaaa pppp pppp yyyyYYour our AuraAura ColorsColors


GREENGREEN

• Greens are intelligent and drivenaccomplishers, often business-own-ers, managers, sales, etc.

Signs of stress: You’ve become aworkaholic; you’re frustrated, criti-cal, controlling, arguing, yelling,blaming others, or being hard onyourself. You have tight neck &shoulders, heart problems or diges-tive issues.

Tips to become happier: Write a listof your accomplishments, appreciateeverything on that list, take deep breaths, organize yourspace, reduce your caffeine intake, reassess & write alist of your goals, trust yourself, and develop a plan.Then once you learn how to breathe, take action.

VIOLETVIOLET

• Violets are visionaries, leaders, teachers, artists &humanitarians who want to help the world.

Signs of stress: You’ve become overwhelmed, scattered,constantly multi-tasking, stuck, bored, restless, ordepressed; or you’re bossy, judgmental & impatient.Your thyroid may be unhealthy or your eyes may bebothering you.

Tips to become happier: Practice your favorite formof daily meditation, travel, listen to positive music &inspirational teachers, spend quiet time alone realigningwith your visions, get involved with humanitarian proj-ects, be with people who inspire & motivate you, travelagain - hopefully to foreign countries.

BLUEBLUE

• Blues are loving, nurturing, spiritual, emotional, andperpetually counseling and helping others.

Signs of stress: You’re exhausted from giving too much,you’re sad, cry a lot, feel unappreciated, feel unlovableor unworthy, feel guilty, or depressed. You may havethroat, breast or reproductive issues.

Tips to become happier: Pray, connect with a GreaterSource, walk, breath, meditate, appreciate your home &loved ones, remember all the loving things you’ve done

for others, let go of guilt, trust you areloved, learn to love yourself by doinggood things for you too, learn to sayno, help others without over doing it,spend time with supportive friends.

TTANAN

• Tans are practical, logical, patient,detail-oriented, reliable, and valuestability & security.

Signs of stress: You’re worried, anx-ious, impatient, frustrated, critical,bottling up anger or intense emotions,pessimistic, withdrawn or shut down.

You may be experiencing headaches or eyestrain.

Tips to become happier: Exercise, watch less news,take a break from the details, develop a secure financialplan, rest your eyes, breathe, read positive & optimisticinformation, find healthy outlets for your emotions(such as talking with a calm & rational friend who cangive practical & trustworthy advice), research data untilyou feel more secure.

Pamala Oslie is an author, consult-ant, radio show host, and profes-sional psychic. Pamala has writtenthree successful and popular books,Life Colors, Love Colors, and MakeYour Dreams Come True, and has avery extensive clientele, includingmany celebrities. She has been aguest lecturer at the InternationalForum on New Science, Fortune 500companies, the TEDx Talks 2012, and many seminars for pro-fessionals in the psychology, education, health fields andmore. Pam is the Founder of http://www.LifeColorsCity.com, aone-stop virtual city designed to help you create love, joy andfulfillment in EVERY area of your life.

http://www.LifeColorsCity.com


Writing any book on the topics ofMoses, the Hebrews in Egyptiancaptivity, and the Great Exodus isfraught with all sorts of challenges,ranging from dating systems and

chronologies of royal Egyptian families, to siftingthrough the available archaeological and historical data,which many times needs to have a healthy dose of cir-cumstantial speculation applied. But that speculation isnot merely the stuff of imagination and wishful thinking,as some in the academic community would like tobelieve. The route that has to be taken, in light of the factthat there is no direct evidence proving the Hebrews everexisted in Egypt, is one that needs to address whetherthe entire biblical account is even plausible. Did it actu-ally happen? Then the question needs to be juxtaposedwith possible secondary archaeological evidence thatcould possibly support the story that appears in Hebrewscripture and has been handed down for the last three-and-a-half millennia.

To put it bluntly, the biblical account of the Hebrewsdwelling in Egypt as slaves to a series of pharaonicmonarchs and their eventual emancipation under a sin-gle leader has absolutely no historical or administrativedocuments that would support any scriptural claim thatany of it ever happened in any period of Egyptian history.None. Zero. Nada.

So, we are forced to conclude on the simple meritsof the claims made within the biblical documents andthe absence of any direct, corresponding archaeologicaldata that the Great Exodus never occurred. And further,that its main character, Moses, never existed.

But that is not the end of the story, otherwise thiswould be a very short book. That is where the search forthe real story begins. Perhaps we need to consider thelikely probability that our expectations on archaeologyare simply too great. And short of an inscription stampedon a mud brick stating “Made by Hebrew Slaves,” it isextremely difficult to identify specific Israelite connec-tivity to a people who were not much more than a semi-

TThhee EEEExxxxoooodddduuuussss RReeaalliittyySSttrraannggeerrss iinn aa NNoott--SSoo--SSttrraannggee LLaanndd

By Scott Alan Roberts and John Richard Ward


nomadic tribe and a migrating Semitic clan.The story of the Hebrews’ Great Exodus from Egypt

under the leadership of Moses is, in fact, one ofmankind’s most researched and debated events in antiq-uity, and without a doubt one of the greatest historicalmysteries of civilized humanity. Make no bones about it,the presence of the Exodus event in ancient Hebrewscripture, coupled with the long memory and traditionthat elevates it as the literal history of the founding of theJewish religion and the nation of Israel, entitles it toweighty consideration. The notion that a book of faithcannot house real, historical events is the machination ofthose who would diminish the record as simple literaryinvention. And although there is an inordinate amount ofheritage-building and faith-bolstering in the existingaccount contained in the Torah, the events are repeated-ly mentioned in the Old Testament books of history andthe books of the prophets as an historical event thatfounded the nation of Israel. These cannot be offhand-edly discarded simply because they reside in a book offaith. And the historical references—as well as the lackof detailed information set within those references—needs to be explored for veracity and a determination offact over fiction.

By way of example, fast forward to the NewTestament and the Gospels. For centuries it was believedthat Pontius Pilate, the governor of first-century Judeaduring the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth,was nothing more than literary invention—a character inthe so-called “Jesus myth.” That is until 1961, whenItalian archeologist Dr. Antonio Frova, was excavatingan ancient theater in Caesarea Maritima, the first-century

Roman capital of Judea, and uncovered a cornerstonedating to that same period. It bore the inscription of one“Praefectus Pontius Pilatus,” dedicating the building asthe “Tiberiéum”—an obvious homage to EmperorTiberius Caesar Augustus. The limestone block current-ly resides in the Israel Museum, and while the academiccommunity calmly rolled with the discovery, this signif-icant historical find did not eliminate the subtext of biaswith which they continue to approach biblical history.

As this chapter will demonstrate, in order to get tothe roots of any historical mystery of this sort, we mustfirst begin with the foundations of the story. And

although we do not wish to over-burden you with a simple re-tellingof the somewhat “stripped down”biblical chronology, we feel it isnecessary to provide you with thefoundational information as itreads from the source point of thestory: the biblical record. And lestyou charge us with attempting to“prove” scripture by use of scrip-ture, we will simply admit it hereand now: Sometimes the individualbooks of the compiled scripturemust be examined as an extantsource for corroborating details.

In addition, it is also veryimportant to take into considera-tion that it was never the habit ofany given pharaoh to record hisfailures and humiliations. All you

need do is look at the existing temple inscriptions andstele to see that the pharaohs never included events thatexpressed their deeds and military actions in any sort ofnegative light. These monuments and inscribed stonesexisted for the sole purpose of recording, for all time, theglories and accomplishments of the pharaoh, trumpetinghis triumphs and vaunting his valor, sometimes even tothe point of distorting the facts and diminishing setbacks

Is this what it looked like? Moses on Mount Sinai by Ean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904). Source: Wikimedia Commons.


and defeats in order to make a perma-nent record that portrayed him betterthan he was. A prime example is therecord of Ramesses II’s glorious victoryat Kadesh inscribed on the walls of theRamesseum at the Temple of Amun atthe Karnak Temple complex in Luxor(ancient Thebes). We know from otherextant contemporary records thatKadesh was nothing more thanRamesses II narrowly avoiding anabysmal defeat.

Likewise, there is no stele thatexists whereupon one would find thecomplete and utter defeat and humilia-tion of a pharaoh at the hands of rebel-lious, fleeing slaves who routed hisstanding armies.

So, who were the Hebrews?Where did they come from?Why were they living in Egyptand how did they becomeenslaved as a whole people?Understanding these basic questions will lead to a muchricher experience when looking into the life of one of thedisplaced Hebrew’s children—a child who grew into theman honored by three major religions of the world.

The House of Jacob

According to the Old Testament book of Genesis, theSemitic family clan of the House of Jacob (who was alsoknow by the name Israel) migrated to the fertile north-eastern Nile delta region of Egypt, seeking relief from afamine in their homeland of Canaan. The biblical storyalso details the account of one of Israel’s sons, Joseph,who was sold, out of jealousy, into slavery by his olderbrothers. The account tells us that Joseph sufferedthrough hardships, imprisonment, and eventually,years later, was elevated to the highest position inthe land of Egypt as the royal vizier to thePharaoh—and all because he was able to interpretthe monarch’s dreams and lay out a plan for sur-viving an impending famine.

According to the biblical text, Joseph is giventhe Egyptian name Zaphnath Paaneah, and he mar-ried an Egyptian woman named Aseneth, thedaughter of Potipherah (Pentephres in theSeptuagint) priest of On. But, as with the story ofMoses and the Exodus, there is no evidence thatJoseph ever existed outside the scriptural account.

The etymology of the name Zaphnath Paaneah

has been a topic of great debate anddispute, as it has no direct Egyptiansource, but “looks” Egyptian and canbe loosely translated to mean “theman to whom mysteries are revealed,”or according to first-century historianJosephus, “a finder of mysteries.”Coptic has the name as “a revealer ofsecrets,” and the Egyptian translation,while having no meaning forZaphnath, contains p-ôn?, meaning“the life.” Another meaning, however,translates the name as “?e(d)-p-nute(r)-ef-on?” meaning “the godspeaks [and] he lives.” This last ver-sion of the name became popular, buthas no linkage to Joseph’s Egyptiantitle or office, and has appeared so dif-ferently between the Septuagint and

Hexaplaric versions that it isconjectured that the name wasdisfigured by the earlierHebrew scribes.

So, you can see that even the definition or transla-tion of Joseph’s Egyptian name is something that has nodirect correlation or interpretation to any historicalrecords, revealing again the problems in deciphering anybits and pieces of the biblical story. Moses, the tradi-tional author of the Pentateuch—inclusive of Genesis,Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—seemsto have either deliberately left out critical information,or said information has been distorted by later copyistsand scribes. Or, we can simply be led to the conclusionthat the entire tale is merely nothing more than literaryfiction.

So once again we are brought back to findingwhether or not the story has any secondary archaeological

The relief of Ramesses II at the Battle of Kadesh on the walls of the Ramesseum in Luxor.

© 2013 Scott Alan Roberts.


evidence that might establish connective veracity tothe scriptural account; if it doesn’t, what are the ramifi-cations?

In the book of Genesis, the entire story of Josephspans several chapters—37 to 50—and they contain thedramatic account of Jacob/Israel’s emigration to Egypt.In the story, Joseph was raised from slavery and impris-onment to a position of great power in Egypt, becomingthe man through whom Jacob and his sons must obtainpermission to settle in the Nile Delta region. Joseph rec-ognizes his brothers when they come to Egypt pleadingtheir case for resettlement, but Joseph initially hides hisidentity from them. This is the story as recorded in thebiblical account. . . . It is a finely crafted tale of immensehuman emotion and dramatic effect, laying the ground-work for how and why the ancestors of Moses came todwell in the land of Egypt. If you read the entire accountin scripture, you see from the very beginning the grow-ing, glowering jealousy of Joseph’s older brothers andfeel their seething disgust as they learn that theiryoungest brother, Joseph—the child of their father’s oldage—is the apple of the old man’s eye.

But then Jacob had to give Joseph that damnedmulti-colored cloak! The “coat of many colors,” somuch more beautiful than any of the homespun gar-ments their father had ever given them, imbued with somuch more honor and favor than they had ever seen theiraging father bestow on any of them. Joseph representedto this dysfunctional lot of men the essence of a young

punk who usurped all that they had ever wanted fromtheir father, and they grew to hate Joseph for his prizedposition as “favorite son.”

The story of Joseph is a magnificent tale set againstthe Judean wilderness and the royal households ofEgypt. But once again, the problem is that there is nodirect historical evidence of these events ever takingplace. So, again, one must rely on secondary archaeo-logical evidence to see if the story is plausible.

© Scott Alan Roberts and John Richard Ward. Reprinted withpermission of the publisher New Page Books.The ExodusReality ISBN: 978-1-60163-291-3 List Price: US $19.99.http://www.newpagebooks.com

GooGoogglele Security Exec: ‘PPassasswworords ds ArAre Deade Dead’

S peaking at TechCrunch Disrupt,Google’s Heather Adkins saysstartups should look beyond pass-

words to secure users and their data.New startups looking for ways to

keep their users secure should knowone thing: “Passwords are dead.”

Adkins, Google’s manager of infor-mation security, said that going forward,the “game is over for” any startup thatrelies on passwords as their chief methodof securing users and their data.

Adkins, speaking alongsideKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers man-aging partner Ted Schlein and authorJames Bamford, explained that lookingahead, “our relationship with pass-words are done,” and that “passwordsare done at Google.”

She talked briefly about Google’suse of two-step authentication, and thefact that the search giant has beenworking to innovate in the area of non-

standard password security. As a result,she said, any startup that still relies onstandard passwords needs to ensure thatit has an abuse team set up to deal “withcustomers getting compromised.”

Although Adkins didn’t offer anyreal specifics on how Google will inno-vate beyond today’s security, she didsay the company is experimenting withhardware-based tokens, as well as aMotorola-created system that authenti-cates users by having them touch adevice to something embedded, orheld, in their own clothing. “A hackercan’t steal that from you,” she said.

Later in the conversation, whichalso touched on the NSA scandal,cybersecurity, and the weaponizationof offensive cyber technologies, Adkinspointed out that hackers intent on mak-ing money from their bad acts had con-sistently found ways to exploit Googleusers who had yet to turn on two-factor

authentication. Essentially, sheexplained, hackers were able to get intosuch users’ accounts, turn on two-factorauthentication themselves, and lock theusers out before utilizing thoseaccounts to send spam. “They are find-ing new ways to make money off it,”she said. “Ways we hadn’t anticipated.”

Finally, Adkins argued, technologycompanies need to step up and buildproducts that protect users so “they don’trely on not getting fooled.” Ultimately,she said, anyone starting a new technol-ogy company should be sure that oneperson is designated to focus on securityand privacy, andthat one of thefirst 25 employ-ees should workfull time on secu-rity and privacy.—CNet.com

http://www.newpagebooks.com


Experienced practitioners discover in cre-ativity a fruitful conversation with them-selves, whether silent on the street (usual-ly) or loud and animated in the studio. It’sa ritual of sorts, one that can also double

as a formal technique to kick-start a new work session,provide overall direction, and generate momentum. Inour book, The Creative Compass: Writing Your Way fromInspiration to Publication, we have adopted—andadapted—an approach presented in David Morrell’sbook The Successful Novelist. Morrell himself credits atelevision interview with novelist Harold Robbins forinspiring this technique. We call it “dreaming in dia-logue.”

As an alternative to the traditional outline, Morrellproposes a written discussion between you (the “writer”)and your alter ego, which can assume the role of a fel-low writer, a trusted friend, or a future reader. You arehalf creator and half stenographer in this conversation,which may run on for pages, depending on what youseek from it, the complexity of the idea you’re present-

ing, or the complications you’ve run into. As an example, we’ve invented a few lines of a dia-

logue that might take place between you and your alterego, after you’ve exchanged greetings:

WRITER: And then my heroine will flee her uncle’shouse with his magic armor. After that I need her toreunite with the lover she’s rejected.ALTER EGO: Why did she reject him?WRITER: Because he seduced her sister.ALTER EGO: He actually did it, or your heroine justbelieves he did?WRITER: Well, I hadn’t considered the possibilitythat her sister might be lying—and that would makeher so much more complex, but . . .

An outline requires from the start the same decisiveorganization it strives to represent, but the gentle back-and-forth of the dialogue encourages a relaxed, discur-sive reflection—one that takes its intuitive order fromthe natural flow of ideas. Dreaming in dialogue is flexi-

The The CreativeCreative CompassCompass

DreamingDreaming inin DialogueDialogue

By Dan Millman and Sierra Prasada


ble enough to serve the needs of both top-down writers,who prefer to structure then write, and their bottom-upcounterparts, who generally write first and structurelater. Regardless, the dialogue will guide you onto aclear if necessarily meandering path into your work.

Through your artistic pursuits, you get to know themost creative and adaptable parts of yourself. When youdream in dialogue, you give these parts a voice that dif-fers from your own and may be able to express insightsthat you hadn’t realized you possessed. You’ve heardthis voice before whenever you answered the question,If you knew the solution to the problem, what would itbe? In addition, dreaming in dialogue counterbalancesconfused or negative thinking by redirecting the energyinvested in that thinking toward the work itself—a strat-egy you can also bring to your wider life.

Beyond the creative realm, dreaming in dialoguecan benefit anyone confronting a life challenge or a dif-ficult decision. Only the subject of the dialogue changes.When we doubt or self-flagellate, whether about ourwriting or some other more worldly challenge, we oftenforget that the same self we’re berating for its incompe-tence has on other occasions also enjoyed well-earnedconfidence, arrived at sensible decisions, and generatedgreat ideas.

Building on this insight, you can assign opposingqualities to two different selves—or, to paraphraseKipling, separate sides of your head—and then invitethem to interact with each other. In this case, one side ofyour dialogue will represent the most uncertain, tenta-tive, and concerned part of yourself. It asks questionsthat express doubts. The other side takes on the role ofwise confidant, teacher, and mentor, deploying a rangeof tactics, such as gentle pressure or steadiness of mind,in accordance with what you want from it—becauseyou’re the one pulling the strings even if you’re only halfaware of doing so. The teacher-mentor may lecture you,emphatic in its replies, or it may become an innerSocrates who answers questions with only more ques-

tions, coaxing you to devise your own answers and alteryour process as necessary.

Try it yourself. What challenge, whether creative orpersonal, do you brood over? With whom might you liketo discuss it? You could choose someone specific: AnneFrank, for instance, addressed all her diary entries to herimagined best friend Kitty. Or it may be enough to sum-mon up a nonspecific voice from within to mirror orcounter the one more immediately accessible. On a prac-tical note, if you’re working on computer, you might trywriting in plain text and putting your conversationpartner’s text in italics or bold to differentiate the twovoices.

It may take some time to call up the side that incar-nates your most hopeful moments and warmest relation-ships—the voice that tells you everything will be allright and overrules even your most panicked objectionswith an unshakable confidence that seems to hold abright future in itself.

It’s tempting to embrace the more positive side ofyour psyche, the good side, at the expense of the other—to see in one side only light, in the other only shadow—but the reality is more complex. As we come to knowourselves, we recognize in our own doubt and self-cen-sure an excess of the same qualities that underpin humil-ity and caution. The power of dreaming in dialogue liesin the revelation that we need both sides of the self inorder to live fully and to write well.

Based on the book The Creative Compass. Copyright © byDan Millman and Sierra Prasada Millman. Reprinted withpermission from New World Library.http://www.NewWorldLibrary.com

Dan Millman is the author of 17 books read by millions ofpeople in 29 languages. He teaches worldwide and lives inNorthern California. His website ishttp://www.PeacefulWarrior.com.

Sierra Prasada, a freelance journalist and editor, is the authorof Creative Lives. She lives in Washington, D.C. Her websiteis http://www.SierraPrasada.com.

http://www.NewWorldLibrary.com

http://www.PeacefulWarrior.com

http://www.SierraPrasada.com


The dictionary definition of ‘Tenacity is’:perseverance, being determined to do orachieve something; firmness of purpose.And that describes, very well, the energyof the soul on its journey.

Every individual soul who comes to earth is filledwith a longing to experience what life has to offer. Eachnew incarnation brings with it a new lesson to be learnt,a new mission to be accomplished: a mission that, manypeople are now discovering, is decided upon beforearrival. The challenge is that, once born, there is usuallycomplete amnesia with regard to those decisions….andmany end up spending their lives trying to rememberexactly what it was they decided on in the first place.

Often there is a sense or a knowing that is just out ofconscious awareness; that there is something that has tobe done…although it may not be clear what that ‘some-thing’ is. When answers are not forthcoming it can leadto frustration, dissatisfaction and in some cases evendepression; a sense of giving up.

For some of us or there are sign posts along the way;signposts that appear when we are ready; signposts that

are designed to wake us up, to bring us back onto theright path. Some are easy to read, to understand and tofollow; and some are a little more cryptic and harder tounderstand. Some people do not get to see the signs untilthey reach a crisis, a tragedy or some sort of breakdown;for some it only becomes apparent after they have had anear death experience. The spiritual journey thenbecomes visible to them and they have no choice but topursue it.

Many have had to encounter the dark night of thesoul before they wake up and really begin to understandwhat is going on around them. Thankfully, many areable to rise to the call of their soul and follow the paththey have really chosen for themselves, not the path theystumbled onto a result of their upbringing and the exter-nal choices of family and peers.

Many years ago I had a very successful career as anart director for a chain of West End hair and beautysalons. I was becoming more and more dissatisfied withmy life and was questioning whether or not to pursue aspiritual path; to retrain as a therapist and healer. Myfriends and family told me that it was foolish to move

By Lorraine Flaherty

The The SoulSoul ’’s Journey s Journey BetwBetweeneen LivesLives


away from a career that I had invested years in and thatI would regret having to start all over again.

I knew that I needed to get away, to get some clarity,so I booked a trip to Crete.

As my journey began I asked the universe to sendme a sign.

It is a wise idea to be very careful what you wish forbecause I got my sign.

It was as clear as it could get and a lot more dramaticthan I had intended because

I can assure you there is nothing like a near deathexperience to wake you up!

About half way into the flight the aeroplane lost anengine; there were other difficulties and we began toplummet towards the ground.

The oxygen masks dropped in front of us and itbecame increasingly hard to breathe.

The woman behind me was struggling with hermask and grabbed at one of the cabin crew.

“Help me” she yelled “I can’t breathe, my mask isn’tworking”

“I wouldn’t worry” shouted the steward ‘we’re allgoing to die anyway”

Not what you want to hear when you’ve just decid-ed to get your life on the right track.

At that moment, I made a decision. If I survived Iwould not waste another moment living a life that wasunfulfilled. No more compromising on a job that didn’tfulfil me or compromising on a relationship that didn’tsupport me and my values. As I witnessed the chaos thatwas going on around me, the screaming and the hysteria,I made another decision. I decided that if this was theend, if I was about to die, I was not going to depart in astate of panic.

I thought about all the things that I had learnt frommy books and from my spiritual teachers and realisedthat the most important thing to me in that moment wasbeing thankful. I entered into a state of gratitude for my

life and for the life that, I believed, was yet to come. Anunbelievable feeling of peace and calmness came overme. It was as though I was being bathed in light and astate of, what I can only call, bliss.

I remained in this state for the duration of thejourney.

Eventually, the pilot managed to make an emer-gency landing in a derelict airfield in Italy. We waited inan empty hanger for 8 hours for another plane to comeand rescue us. It gave me time to think. I studied the peo-ple who had been on the flight, I saw the fear, the sad-ness, the stress, the unhappiness in their faces and Iknew in that moment that I had to listen to my calling. Iknew in that moment that I had to re-train. I knew in thatmoment that I wanted to help. I knew that I wanted to beof service, in any way that I could. I got the message: Inthe words of Robert Byrne—”The purpose of life is alife of purpose.”

I had to make the most of every moment. I cameback and I changed my life. Now I feel blessed that I amable to do work that I love; work that is so completelyfulfilling and I can safely report that having changed mylife’s work and let go of the relationships in my life thatwere not supporting me in finding my true path. It was atough call but as I look back I have no regrets.

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be quite so drastic foreveryone. There are those of us who are able to hear thecalling of their soul. It may come as a result of an intu-itive realisation, an epiphany, an inspiration rather than acrisis. They are usually the ones already on the spiritualpath; who recognize the need for clarity and a better wayof understanding who they are, why they are here andwhat their life purpose really is. These people recognisethe need for introspection and understand that theanswers that they seek lie inside themselves all the time;answers that are not to be found in religion or anywhereoutside of themselves.


These are the people that are drawn to explore thehidden regions of the mind, the information that is onlyaccessed via the subconscious realm; whether in medita-tion, hypnosis or guided journeys.

As well as exploring past lives to gain a greaterunderstanding of previous missions and life lessonsmany people are being drawn to explore the ‘lifebetween life’ realms. This process began many years agowith Dr Michael Newton, who first discovered the statewhen regressing a client who talked about her feelings ofloneliness in this life. She wanted answers as to why shefelt this way. Having given her a simple command,whilst under hypnosis, she was able to connect with thememories of her life as a soul in the afterlife or as wenow call it the ‘space between lives’.

She described meeting her soul group and identifiedpeople that she knew as her friends, family and lovedones from other lives, these were the spirits waiting forher in the afterlife. They informed her that she had cho-sen not to bring any of them with her on her journey thistime; as her lesson was to learn to be independent and tocope with the challenges that life offered her on her own.She realised that at a spiritual level she was never alone.This brought her much comfort. Since that time tens ofthousands of people have experienced ‘Life betweenlife’ sessions; each with startlingly similar results. Myclients have been no exception.

The session begins by exploring the last life a personhas lived. Once they reach the death point people reportleaving the physical body and describe being welcomedby beings of light or their spirit guide. This informationcorrelates with the evidence from those who have hadnear death experiences; people whose hearts stopped fora time but returned to tell the tale. Dr Raymond Moodyhas documented many such cases in his book’ Life afterLife’.

In the session they usually get to meet with theirsoul group. The family of souls that usually reincarnate

together; who agree to help each other accomplish theirchosen ‘missions’. I was to discover that my Mother hasbeen with me through many lives, often volunteering toplay parts that challenge me to help me grow.

One of the highlights of the experience is meetingwith the ‘Elders’ or the ‘Masters’; highly evolved beingsthat no longer need to reincarnate. These ‘Masters’ offerguidance and wisdom; answering many important ques-tions. The information about lives that have been lived;lessons that have been and are yet to be learnt, is alwaysgiven in a loving and compassionate manner; albeit witha sense of humour that is often unexpected. The‘Masters’ can provide knowledge of soul contracts withothers, which helps people understand the challengesthey experience and this enables them to put things intoperspective; particularly when there have been chal-lenges in your life. Realising that I had chosen a paththat would be tricky so that I could learn and evolve onthe spiritual path more quickly gave me a real sense ofpower back—I was no longer a victim of circum-stances…..and that meant that my clients weren’t either.

Some might question whether the journey into thespirit realms, where there is no judgement and every-thing is based on unconditional love, might result in adissatisfaction with life on earth, but usually the oppo-site is true. Getting clarification of the true purpose ofthe current life can fully engage the tenacious nature ofthe soul, helping people to renew their commitment toachieving their goals and fulfilling their mission.

The ‘Life between Life’ journey is always an oppor-tunity for a spiritual evolutionand, as a result, this process is one that is both enlight-ening and incredibly profound.

Excerpted with permission from Healing with Past LifeTherapy: Transformational journeys through Time and Space,by Lorraine Flaherty, published by Findhorn Press.,http://www.findhornpretss.com

http://www.findhornpretss.com

In our training Paramahansa Yogananda beganwith the very basics of the spiritual path. It issaid in the Indian scriptures that the essentialpurpose of religion is to elevate humanity to aconsciousness of Bliss (which is God) by

removing man’s threefold suffering—physical, mental,and spiritual—by the roots, so there is no chance ofrecurrence.

To remove this suffering, one must understand itscauses. All suffering and misunderstanding, all our sep-aration from God, is a result of maya, cosmic delusion—which manifests in the individual as ignorance. If we

would know God, if we would pursue a path that willbring us to that high state of consciousness beyond allsuffering, then we must know how to remove ignoranceof our true nature: divine souls—immortal, blissful, free.

In this physical body, and with this physically limit-ed mind, ignorance takes many forms. It has many off-shoots, and it is very, very subtle. If we were to break itdown and analyze how to overcome it, we would cometo the very teachings Paramahansa Yogananda impartedto us through everyday life in the ashram. And these areapplicable to all, whether they live in the world or in amonastery.


By Sri Mrinalini Mata

MMMMaaaannnniiii ffffeeeesssstttt iiiinnnnggggDDIVINEIVINE CCONSCIOUSNESSONSCIOUSNESSiiiinnnn DDDDaaaaiiii llllyyyy LLLLiiii ffffeeee

The following excerpts are adapted from the new book ManifestingDivine Consciousness in Daily Life by Sri Mrinalini Mata (Copyright© 2013, Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles), reprinted withpermission. Sri Mrinalini Mata is president and sanghamata (spiritualhead) of Self-Realization Fellowship, the society founded byParamahansa Yogananda in 1920 to disseminate his Kriya Yoga teach-ings. For more information on the teachings of ParamahansaYogananda, visit http://www.yogananda-srf.org.

http://www.yogananda-srf.org


One form of ignorance thatafflicts the consciousness ofmost persons is being a slaveto likes and dislikes. Do werealize how much they gov-ern our lives? So much ofwhat we do is motivated notby understanding of what isright or wrong, but by irra-tional feelings of attractionor repulsion within us. A pri-mary tenet of a spiritual lifeis learning to rise abovethese likes and dislikes of thebody-identified ego, to allowexpression of the higher dis-crimination of the soul.

This does not mean anegation of life, or that youcease to enjoy things. Itmeans you cease to be boundby the habits created by likesand dislikes, which perpetu-ate in you the delusion ofbeing a limited, mortalhuman being.

* * *

Another one of the root causes of suffering, whichallows ignorance to govern one’s life, is lack of willpower, not using the divinely given will that is present inevery soul. Paramahansaji emphasized not only willpower to do what you ought to do, but he also coined thephrase “won’t power”—the power to prevent yourselffrom doing those things that you should not do. Hetaught (and demonstrated in his own life) that eachhuman being, being made in the image of God, has with-in him or her a spark of the infinite will of God. We cando anything that we put our minds to if we are attuned tothat will of the Divine.

* * *

Another way in which maya, cosmic delusion, keeps usin ignorance of our divine nature, identified with thephysical body and its limitations, is through the cease-lessly alternating dualities of life. This whole creation isbased on the principle of relativity, or duality—positiveand negative; joy contrasting with sorrow, pleasure withpain, light with shadow, life with death. In the con-sciousness of one who identifies with the physical

world, the experience ofthese opposites creates a dis-turbance of the thoughts andemotions. The scripturesteach that God’s presence isreflected in each of us as thesoul, our true Self; andParamahansa Yoganandaoften gave this illustration:“A reflection of the moonappears distorted in a wind-ruffled lake; similarly, thereflected soul-image in thebody is not clearly seen in arestless, sense-identifiedmind.” In order to fullyreflect the image of God, thelake of one’s consciousnessmust be perfectly still, unruf-fled by the storms of life, theconstant changes of dualitiesand relativities.

Meditation, of course, isessential for attaining thatinner stillness. And, the

Bhagavad Gita teaches, the only way to perceive Godwhile outwardly engaged in life is by practicing even-mindedness. That means keeping the lake of our con-sciousness undisturbed by emotions in the face of life’sinevitable dualities. This does not make us becomeautomatons, with no feeling. I know of no human beingwho expressed such enjoyment of life, such deep feel-ings of divine love and compassion, as Paramahansaji .He felt deeply the joys and sorrows of life; but he usedto say, “Even when I am experiencing these things onthe outside, my mind always maintains the still clearnessin which the image of God and my consciousness reflectas one perfect being.”

* * *

Another of the roots of ignorance embedded in our “sec-ond nature” or ego—keeping our consciousness limitedto duality—are the alternating moods of happiness andsorrow. These also are part of the delusion that we mustlearn to transcend….

Moods, the Guru used to say, are an expression ofbad karma from the past—wrong tendencies or desiresthat we have not spiritually overcome, but are not allow-ing to come out in this lifetime. In other words, we havenow learned that certain actions are wrong, that we


should not engage inthem. So we put up a men-tal barrier and say, “I willnot do this.” But if theseed of that action is stillwithin the consciousness,then even if one thwarts itsdirect expression, it mayvery well come out in theform of moods.

* * *

Paramahansaji taught usthat one of the major caus-es of ignorance—forget-fulness of our divinenature—is the constantbarrage of distractions inthis world, which disturbthe consciousness anddraw the attention out-ward. The mind is continually being made to think ofother things and to forget God, whereas the devotee whowould have God-realization must learn to anchor theconsciousness and the thoughts constantly in theDivine….

The greatest method of all for reaching and main-taining that consciousness is deep meditation. Throughmeditation, you quiet the thoughts and the conscious-ness and let them rest like that stilled pendulum—cen-tered in God, in the stillness where you begin to perceiveHis presence.

* * *Don’t let delusion, or maya…go on tricking you intobeing bound and limited to the little experiences of thishuman body—to physical, temporal desires and objects.Give some time to God. Out of the twenty-four hoursgiven to us each day, can we not find even one hour forHim who created us? When you first awaken, let yourthought go to God and rest in Him. Then try to carry thatconsciousness with you during the day. Again, the lastthing at night, meditate and let your consciousness restin Him before sleeping. If you give even one hour of theday to God in deep meditation, making sincere effort,you will see how your life changes.

* * *

Any person who has truly experienced even a briefglimpse of God can never again be the same—can never

again be satisfied withlimited worldly con-sciousness as before.

You do not cease toenjoy the world or itswholesome pleasures;there is just a turning ofthe awareness from theouter side to the innerside of reality. Instead ofbeing identified withphysical forms and limi-tations, attachments anddesires, likes and dislikes,joys and sorrows, you seeall of life as an expressionof God. You perceiveeverything as made out ofHis infinite light and con-sciousness.

Excerpted with permission from Manifesting DivineConsciousness in Daily Life, by Sri Mrinalini Mata(Copyright © 2013, Self-Realization Fellowship, LosAngeles), http://www.yogananda-srf.org

Photo courtesty of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles.

http://www.yogananda-srf.org


The tourist traveling from Granada, Spain,along the N342 (or from Malaga, theN331) toward Antequera should take theopportunity for an educational break andstop just before reaching Antequera. That

is where the megalithic super graves of Menga, Viera,and el Romeral are located. Curiously, the Menga com-plex is described as Cueva de Menga, Cave of Menga.Yet there is no natural cave. The Cueva de Menga isdeemed to be “the most impressive and best preserveddolmen in the world.” The alleged “cave” lies outsidethe town of Antequera and is described as a mausoleumin the specialist literature, although no corpse has everbeen found in it. This Stone Age miracle is 25 meterslong, 5.5 meters wide, and 3.2 meters high—big enoughto drive a tractor about. (Image 26)

No one knows who first entered this artificial struc-ture because, until 1842, the dark space served as a coolchamber for keeping fruit and vegetables. Of course,people started to dig—twice even, in the years 1842 and1874. The results did not yield any clues as to who builtit. A renewed attempt was made in 1904; after all, therehad to be something to find in this giant dolmen. The

hard-pressed soil finally revealed a discus-shaped stonestructure, whose purpose is unknown. No body, nobones, no sarcophagus, but below the ceiling there aresome cross-shaped engravings and a five-pointed starwith a diameter of about 18 centimeters.

The ceiling is a miracle in itself. The rear-most stoneis 8.07 meters long and 6.3 meters wide. It has an esti-mated weight of 180 tonnes—certainly no lightweight.The actual “burial chamber,” which never was one, iscovered by four monolithic slabs resting on mightystone supports. Each of these lateral load-bearing stonesis a good meter thick, the covering slabs more than twicethat. All of it just a little bit massive for nothing. Anyonewho moves and raises such monstrous stones might havetaken care to ensure that the content of the tomb wouldstand the test of time. Or at least might have attached alittle signature from the builders.

All the building materials of the Cueva de Mengaconsist of hard, tertiary Jura limestone quarried nearbyat Cerro de la Cruz, no more than a kilometer away. Thatmight not be a great distance, but still well-nigh impos-sible when transporting a slab weighing 180,000 kilo-grams! All the monoliths of Cueva de Menga are

RREMNEMNANTSANTS OOOOFFFF TTTTHHHHEEEE GGODSODS

IIMPOSSIBLEMPOSSIBLE BBUILDINGSUILDINGS

By Erich von Däniken

Image 26


anchored into the ground with smaller stones. The sur-veyor of the clan must have attended an outstandingschool of Stone Age architecture. Yet the Cueva deMenga is no more than a small step into the land of theimpossible.

The limestone mountain Cuevas del Rey Moro,“Caves of the Black King,” lies in the west of theprovince of Valencia in Spain; on its summit there is amegalithic town. Like Cueva de Menga, it is also called“Menga” although it lies somewhere completely differ-ent. The strange part about Menga is probably not men-tioned by any classical historian because no one knowswho built it and no one understands what in the worldhappened there millennia ago.Around the town of Menga, there isa “tram network” with “rails”—notrails from our time but the remainsof tracks which look like tramlinesimprinted into the stone to a depthof 15 to 20 centimeters. Yet the“tracks” near Menga are not uniqueeither.

The town of Cyrene lies 400meters above sea level in the barrendesert south of the cities ofBenghazi and Tobruk, in present-day Libya. As the teacher and writerUwe Topper reports, legend saysthat it was built by a giant calledBattos. He must also have beenpushing carts, because the “tracks”cannot be missed. Near the city of

Cadiz in Spain, too, every tourist cansee “tracks” of about 100 meters inlength in the water at low tide. Thereare several.

And on the sunnyMediterranean island of Sardinia,the attentive visitor will stumbleover numerous “tracks.” Even better,the island of Malta is covered inthem. It goes against the grain toraise all of this old hat again,because I have reported about Maltain several books. Hence a long-winded repetition is superfluous.Moreover, the pictures speak a con-vincingly on their own.

Every attentive tourist in Maltawill sooner or later see the “cartruts,” as the Maltese call them. Onceagain, these are railway track–like

grooves in the ground, which could not have been tracksbecause they are of different widths. Southwest of theold capital Mdina, near Dingli, the grooves in the groundaccumulate and appear to be coming from everywhere,like at a railway junction. That is why the area is called“Clapham Junction” (a busy railway junction inLondon). These really are strange “tracks”: they passthrough valleys, climb up hills. Frequently, several runalongside one another and suddenly converge into adouble track before abruptly taking audacious bends.(Image 36) On several stretches of coast, such as St.Georg’s Bay, south of Dingli, and Marsaxlokk Bay, the“tracks” go purposefully into the blue waters of the

Image 36

Image 39


Mediterranean. (Image 39) The Malta researcherAlexander Knörr discovered whole collections of“tracks” that go under the water. Then they suddenly endat a sharp drop. There must have been a rock slide,including the “tracks,” at such places.

There is plenty of speculation about this Maltese rid-dle. Were they cart ruts, skids of sledges? Roller bear-ings? Did the original inhabitants of Malta put theirloads on a kind of “forked branch” and drag them acrossthe countryside with draught animals? No good. Theforked branch would have been too rigid and would nothave changed the width of the tracks. Anyway, in thatcase, the tracks of the animals who pulled the heavyloads should also be evident in the limestone rock. Butthey aren’t. Or—as the researcher André Schubert pro-poses—are the “tracks” in reality the traces of quite ordi-nary vehicles which only drove along the route once buton what was then soft ground?

There has certainly been plenty of speculation. The“tracks” were a cult... a calendar... a conduit system...writing... etc. We are flooded with clever and, indeed,logical explanations, and yet an ultimate answer whichis beyond any doubt is still missing. I consider theMaltese “tracks” to be a classic case of archaeologicalmisconception and will explain why nothing can add up:

Malta must never be looked at in iso-lation. Whatever this unknown civi-lization in past millennia might havebeen, it was—as we have to realizetoday—transnational. It was connect-ed with the whole Mediterranean areaincluding the adjacent regions, fromNorth Africa to Britain, from Spain toEgypt. Track-like grooves in theground can also be found in Sicily,Italy, Sardinia, Greece, southernFrance, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, andso on. The timeframe in which theseincredible things happened is not2,000 to 3,000 years bc, but a good10,000 years or more. We today knownothing about that time; there are noarchaeologists at any university whoare studying these things. Although“pre- and early history” is still taughtat individual universities, it is withoutexception restricted to tiny geographi-cal areas. Something like a compre-hensive overview over the whole ofEurope and beyond appears to betaboo. People are valiantly investigat-ing their own little region. Giantspaces do not fit into the concept.

© Erich von Däniken. Reprinted with permission of the pub-lisher New Page Books. Remnants of the Gods: A Visual Tourof Alien Influence in Egypt, Spain, France, Turkey, and Italy.ISBN: 978-1-60163-283-8 List Price: US $19.99.

Erich von Däniken is arguably the most widely read and most-copied nonfiction author in the world. He published his first(and best-known) book, Chariots of the Gods, in 1968. Sincethen von Däniken haspublished 31 morebooks including thismost recent, Remnantsof the Gods.

Who are you? No, really? I’m notjust making idle chat. I don’t wantto hear the first thing that comesinto your head. I want to know:who on earth are you?

We get asked the question, who are you? every dayin one form or another, at shops and offices, in inter-views, over the phone, at parties. We’re so used to iden-tifying ourselves immediately and on demand that thatwe seldom stop to think about just what it is we arebeing asked and why.

When someone asks you this they aren’t issuing aninvitation to fill a blank space with whatever you want.They want a short answer that satisfies them: name,address, occupation, family background. They could justas well be asking: Please tick one of the followingboxes so that I can know whether you are of any rele-vance or interest to me; whether I can get what I wantout of you or treat you as harmless?

In response, you are expected to supply the required

information, entertainingly (if the context demands).Answer the question appropriately and it puts people attheir ease; say nothing or, worse, I don’t know, and youwill cause concern and could get institutionalised.

But what would you say if I were to ask you thequestion because I genuinely want to know the answer?What if I invite you to talk and I listen without interrup-tion or judgement until you have finished?

When will you feel you have said enough to give mea full and accurate self-portrait? Or will you never runout of things to say? You couldn’t get a shorter questionand yet the answer is potentially endlessly long. Willyou still be going on your death bed, your last wordsbeing, Oh, another thing you need to know about meis…

You can tell me anything you like about yourself,giving the information in any order without limits andwithout having to produce proof (unless you want to).What will you think it important for me to know aboutyou? How deep will you dare go? What will you admit


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AA RR EEAA RR EE YYYY OOOO UUUU ????

By Nick Inman


to and what will you hide?The thought that each of us has so much to say that

we don’t say prompted me to write a book, Who OnEarth Are You? In it I attempt to describe a humanbeing—you, me, anyone—as fully as possible; on alllevels and in all dimensions.

In writing the book I tried to put aside all precon-ceptions and look at things afresh. Although science,philosophy, religion and literature offer their own solu-tions to the puzzle, they are only ever partial explana-tions, mutually compatible but none complete in itself .

I also wanted to keep things simple but I soonrealised the subject was far from straightforward.

For a start there is a big difference between the outeryou (the demonstrable part of that you show to the restof the world) and the inner you (invisible and intangibleto everyone but the bearer). They are both covered by thepronoun “you” but there is no connection, no bridgebetween the two.

Then, of course, it is impossible to fix you in time.You don’t just exist in the present. You have a past whichhas shaped you and a memory of it (which is not quitethe same thing). You are in constant flux. Which raisesthe intriguing sub-query: how far is it safe to say thatyou are the same person you were ten or twenty yearsago?

And you don’t live in isolation. If I want to knowabout you, I need to know about the people you knowand have known and how you have interacted with them.Meet a mum out on her own and she can seem like a dif-ferent person to the flustered woman organising dinnerand bed for the mini-being she is responsible for.

Gradually, I realised, bigger questions had to befaced. I can’t answer the question, who are you? withoutfirst addressing the issue of, what are you? We are mem-bers of an animal species and this sets the limits of our

mental and physical behaviour. Isn’t all the individualiststuff I have discussed above inconsequential variation onour human theme: detail, froth, self-indulgence?

You are—let’s be blunt—no more than an organism,a temporary colony of cells, a semi-stiff bag of organsthat has arisen because of the evolution of a sequence ofcode. You might not like to think of yourself this way,but (even more brutally) you can be boiled down to aprecise biochemical formula. An electric current givesyou the sensation of being someone but don’t fool your-self that it is anything more than this. Strident rational-ist-materialists warn us to forget feelings and self-con-sciousness: they are illusions. We are illusions. We aremerely brain activity. There is no one writing this articleand no one reading it.

I don’t buy into this reductionist view, not because Idon’t want to face the uncomfortable truth but becausethere is a hollow absurdity to a clever somebody tellingme that he is nobody. The nowhere man theory doesn’tconvincingly account for the inner sensation of theinsubstantial me which is disconnected from the biolog-ical me. It denies the existence of my mind and that Imind that very much.

I prefer to think that there are many ways of lookingat us and they are all valid simultaneously. We aremarvellous, slippery, multifaceted beings. We are crys-tallizations of biology, for sure, and each a specimen ofhomo sapiens but we are also mysterious individualscapable of extraordinary and surprising things.

This is what makes life interesting: to quest to findout who we are and what we are capable of. Whether ornot life has a meaning, one of the best uses of it is to getto know ourselves. This is not just a frivolous and vainpastime. It is essential that we become self-aware are forseveral good reasons.

The first of these is that if you don’t know who youare, how can you know anything else? The entirety of


human knowledge ultimately rests on self-knowledge.You have to be aware of the boundaries and tricks ofyour own subjectivity before you can look at the worldwith any measure of objectivity. We cannot investigateour minds as if they were inert phenomena using thosesame minds unless we are at least conscious of the con-tradiction.

Another reason to look into identity is to make theworld a better place. Through self-awareness we defythe alienating forces of modernity; we free ourselvesfrom compulsive behaviours and become more effective.We learn when to act and when to shut up. In meetingsto avert climate change, for example, we can leave ouregos and greed outside the door and apply ourselves tothe common task.

Even more importantly, to acknowledge the com-plexity behind your eyes, is to recognise the same qual-ity in the other 7.1 billion people on the planet. If I grantyou an identity of equal worth to my own, it becomeshard to discriminate against you or persecute you. Onthis realization rests understanding, empathy, tolerance,trust, co-operation: the virtues that make civilizationwork.

Only by applying these virtues will we ever feelsafe. Relying instead on biometric technology to sort outgood people from impostors, criminals and terroristswill only ever keep us edgy and suspicious of each other.We will end up surrendering intimacy and privacy inreturn for constant surveillance and paranoia.

Only by treating our identi-ties as valuable and important,not to be frittered promiscuouslyacross the internet, will we beable to ride with the accelerat-ing changes we are livingthrough. We are already havingto get used to interacting withinorganic “chatbots” (softwareprogrammes designed to comeacross as human) even if we arenot aware of it. In the closefuture we are going to have toask serious questions about thedifference between natural andartificial intelligence.

But there is a bigger prize atstake in self-exploration. Icalled my book Who On EarthAre You? not just to lendemphasis to the question butbecause by asking who we areas individuals we cannot help

ask about the nature of our existence. Beyond “who amI?” and “what am I?” is, “how am I” and “why am I?’What am I doing here at all? It may be chaos and chanceOr do we carry the answer, and the secrets of the uni-verse, within the secret part of ourselves we are yet toget to know?

Who On Earth Are You? A Field Guide to Identifyingand Knowing Yourself by Nick Inman is published byFindhorn Press. http://www.findhornpress.com

http://www.findhornpress.com


When you really feel, you feel Love.Most deeply, most honestly youknow that you are Love. Love isopenness. This same openness iswhat everyone seems to be longing

for. You are this Love. You are alive as Love. Your wholebody longs to live open as Love.

Who you truly are is Love. This Love has no name.No shape. No form. Not even a feeling. It is what youalready are without you needing to make any effort. Youare Love. Love is unbound by condition, space or time.Love never knows what is next or why things happen. Itis free. You are free. You are freedom itself.

But despite all this, you behave as if you are in aprison. Perhaps you believe that there is a problem andthat something is missing. Or you feel you are not livingfully enough. You suppress your true feelings and

desires and have so many ideas of how you think youshould feel or behave. Maybe you believe you are stuckin fixed patterns of behaviour. In an effort to create safe-ty and protection in life and relationships, you may havebuilt up imaginary walls which create tension in thebody. Although sometimes these walls of protectionseem to be useful, most of the time you long to break outand run naked screaming down the street! You long, tolive without caring. To live freely in Love. To expresswhatever is in your heart. You long to surrender to thefullest passion of life. To feel and experience the Lovethat you know. You long to become as free as Love.

There is this dichotomy or paradox. Life plays at thegame of forgetting itself, then longing and searching andfinally finding itself to be that which was playing thewhole game. In the remembering or realization of whoYou really are, you realize that there actually is never a

DDiiee ttoo DDiiee ttoo LLoovveeLLoovvee

LLoonnggiinnggLLoonnggiinngg

By Unmani Liza Hyde

“Within you I lose myself. Without you I find myselfwanting to become lost again.”

—Unknown


dichotomy at all. Life is absoluteOneness. But until there is thisrecognition of Oneness, this playof believing in separation goes on.This is the longing.

This sense of separation orlonging can be a very uncomfort-able or painful sensation. There isoften a feeling of restlessness anda trying to fill this never-endinghole with whatever seems to tem-porarily soothe the discomfort.This can be chocolate, alcohol, drugs, sex and even (orespecially) spiritual books or practices. Various practicesgive you highs for a while, but then you come crashingdown and the longing begins again. Perhaps you go on apeaceful retreat somewhere and have a beautiful experi-ence, but then when you come back to regular life, therestlessness and feeling that something is missing, slowlystarts creeping back in.

This longing or feeling that something is missing,comes up in all areas of life, but longing for the perfectlover is probably the most common. You long for some-one to complete you. You long to fall and dissolve intothe other and know that there is nothing to be scared ofand no reason to protect yourself any more. You long toknow the absolute Love which has no reason to protectitself. No reason to play games. Nothing to think about.Nothing to wait for. No reason to do anything but Love.Right now, right here. Just Love for no reason. JustLove, despite all reasons.

This is the same as the search for spiritual enlight-enment. You imagine that when you achieve your spiri-tual goal, that it will give you all the sense of completionand freedom that you long for. But whenever you expe-rience anything close to it, it always seems just a littlefurther out of reach. This search is never-ending.

But in falling in Love with someone or by havingsome kind of spiritual experience, you get a taste of thereal Freedom and Love that You are. As you stare intoyour lover’s eyes, perhaps you feel yourself falling anddisappearing into them. For a moment, you become Onebeyond your two separate bodies. Perhaps in a medita-tion session, you have a moment where everything dis-appears and you are no more. Or maybe you are justwalking down the street and suddenly there is onlywalking, with no one doing the walking. These kinds ofmoments can often be the seed which eventually candestroy your so-called normal life. Slowly things willstart to crumble. Assumptions begin to be seen for whatthey really are. All that you have ever taken to mean any-thing starts to be seen as a façade.

Often after one of thesemoments or spiritual highs, whilethought is quickly closing the gapwhich has appeared in itsdefences, there can be a sense thatwhatever that moment was, it wassomehow special. It was somehowsignificant, although the mind hasno idea what that significance reallyis. Thoughts try to hold on to themoment, but as soon as that hap-pens, the moment has passed. You

scramble around trying to recreate that moment in what-ever way you can. You might try to recreate the contextor situation in which the moment happened, but aftersome attempts, you realize that it is impossible. Thatmoment has gone. You have lost it. Something is miss-ing again and the search goes on.

Even though the search goes on, and the façade con-tinues, you already know the freedom and true Love thatyou really are beyond all this. You already know thatLife is already all so easy and effortless.

In fact, this tremendous longing is actually this trueknowing or Love. Through this longing, the boundlessdepth of the Love which you are, is revealed. This feel-ing of longing is Love leading you (Love itself) to seethat all there is is Love. This yearning for truth is not aproblem to be solved, but a pull to surrender.

Excerpted with permission from Die to Love, by Unmani LizaHyde, published by O Books. ISBN: 978-1-84694-667-7(Paperback) £9.99 $14.95. http://www.O-books.com

Originally from the UK, Unmani travels around the worldoffering spontaneous and direct nondual meetings andretreats in ‘Not-Knowing’. Die to Love is her second book.

http://www.O-books.com


B itcoin, the virtual currencylaunched by an anony-mous hacker nearly five

years ago, might be more than afad. In fact, it could be a worth-while investment, according to aleading hedge fund manager inNew York.

Michael Novogratz, co-chief investment officer ofmacro funds at FortressInvestment, one of Wall Street’sbest known hedge fund business-es, made the surprising sugges-tion at a conference organised byUBS, saying he had put his ownmoney in the currency.

“Put a little money inBitcoin,” Mr Novogratz said,according to Bloomberg. “Comeback in a few years and it’sgoing to be worth a lot.”

He added that while Fortress hadalso looked at the digital currency, ithad not invested in Bitcoin.

The endorsement follows a recentjump in the value of Bitcoin after theFBI shuttered Silk Road, an onlinemarketplace that accepted the virtualcash and is alleged to have been a plat-form to buy and sell illegal drugs.

Worth around $182 in late morn-ing trading yesterday, Bitcoin is notissued by any government or overseenby a central bank or regulator. Inanother departure from conventionalcurrencies, whose volume is theoreti-cally limitless, their stock is finite:there can only be so many Bitcoins inthe world, something that critics saymakes them more akin to commoditiesthan currencies.

The way to get your hands on oneis to acquire a virtual wallet, a piece ofsoftware that allows you to store andtrade your Bitcoins. The wallet givesthe user access to the Bitcoin networkwhich, in the absence of a centralauthority, acts like a backbone for thecurrency, working much like a peer-to-peer file sharing service.

Users can either buy new coinsfrom others, or “mine” new Bitcoinsby using your computer to crack acode that releases a preset number of

coins into your wallet. The amountreleased by solving the code is adjust-ed by the network, which ensures thatthere isn’t a sudden flood of newcurrency.

Moreover, the total number ofBitcoins is limited to 21 million by2040. Currently, there are nearly 12million Bitcoins in circulation.

Mr Novogratz did not elaborateon his personal investment, sayingonly that: “I have a nice little Bitcoinposition. Enough that I’m smiling thatit doubled.” Earlier this year, Bitcoinattracted theinterest ofTyler andC a m e r o nWinklevoss,the twinbrothers bestk n o w nfamous fortheir feudwith MarkZuckerbergover the ori-gins ofFacebook.

Following an$11m invest-ment in the

virtual currency, they filed a proposalwith the Securities and ExchangeCommission, the US market regulator,for a fund that would hold and trackthe value of Bitcoins.

“People say it’s a Ponzi scheme—it’s a bubble. People really don’t wantto take it seriously,” CameronWinklevoss told the New York Timeswhen the brothers disclosed theirinvestment.

“At some point, that narrative willshift to ‘virtual currencies are here tostay’.” —The Independent, UK

HOW THE WORLD IS GETTING USED TO BBITITCOINCOIN

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