EARTH STAR JUNE/JULY 2008 CONSCIOUS LIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURY EDGAR MITCHELL THE WAY OF THE EXPLORER STOKING THE CREATIVE FIRES DR. SANJAY GUPTA INTERVIEW TWELVE MYTHS OF HEALTH AND FITNESS MOVIE MYSTIC JOHN MAJOR JENKINS THE 2012 REVELATION CHI REVOLUTION THE www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 3 EARTH STAR CONTENTS JUNE / JULY 2008 ON THE COVER 16 The Way of the Explorer by Dr. Edgar Mitchell 20 Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s Search for Biological Immortality by Philip Smith 26 The Chi Revolution by Bruce Frantzis 32 Stoking the Fires of Creativity by Phil Cousineau 36 The Origins of the 2012 Revelation by John Major Jenkins Page 16 44 The Movie Mystic by Stephen Simon FEATURES 12 Down To Earth Astrology Cover Art Interlude by Jean-Paul Avisse For further information, contact Prestige Art Galleries, 3909 W. Howard, Skokie, IL 60076. (874) 679-2555, www.prestigeart.com. For a free color brochure, please send a S.A.S.E. by Tim Gunns 48 Vision Tips by Rosemary Gaddum Gordon, D.B.O., M.A. 66 Mystical Stones Siberian Blue Quartz by Robert Simmons & Naisha Ahsian Page 26 DEPARTMENTS 5 30 38 47 49 68 72 Jean-Paul Avisse with his daughter, Marine Up Front Yoga Listings Calendar of Events Green Living Directory of Professional Services Book Reviews Classified Marketplace Page 36 4 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 www.earthstarmag.com Earth Star Up Front Food Shortages Loom as Wheat Crop Shrinks and Prices Rise T he world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies after stocks fell to their lowest levels for fifty years. The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high and could lead to further hikes in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods. It could also exacerbate serious food shortages in developing countries especially in Africa. The crisis comes after two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests, which saw production fall from 624m to 600m tonnes, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Experts blame climate change as heatwaves caused a slump in harvests last year in eastern Europe, Canada, Morocco and Australia, all big wheat producers. Booming populations and a switch to a meat-rich diet in the developing world also mean that about 110m tons of the world’s annual wheat crop is being diverted to feed livestock. Short term pressures have compounded the problem. Speculative buying by investors gambling on further price rises has further pushed up prices. Though shortages are often blamed on the use of land for biofuel crops, the main biofuel cereal crop is maize, not wheat. Farmers have brought millions of acres of fallow land into production and the FAO predicts that the shortages could be eliminated within twelve months. — The Sunday Times, UK WHEN FAT S ARE OUT OF WHACK, Our Health Can Suffer any nutritionists are concerned that our consumption of two kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acids—the omega-3 and omega-6 fats—is way out of balance these days and that our health may be paying the price. Neither one is “bad”—in fact, both linoleic acid (an omega-6 fat) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega3 fat) are termed essential—you M www.earthstarmag.com need to eat them because your body can’t manufacture them. Though needed only in small amounts, they serve important functions as components of cell membranes, and they support healthful brain function, vision and growth. But balance is important. When omega-6 fatty acids are metabolized, substances called eicosanoids are produced—chemical messengers that promote inflammation and can affect virtually every system in the body. In acute injury or illness, proinflammatory eicosanoids are a necessary signal to the body to start the healing process. Omega-3 fats result in the production of eicosanoids too, but these tend to have opposing, anti-inflammatory effects. The trouble comes when an abundance of omega-6 compared with omega-3 is avail- able from the diet, leading to the production of too many pro-inflammatory eicosanoids—and a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation. Left unchecked, damage can occur to DNA, organs and tissues, contributing to common ailments such as heart disease and cancer. What to do. Fill your plate with fresh fruits and vegetables, which provide a naturally healthful balance of fatty acids. Toss nuts into a salad for flavor, or dress it lightly with lemon and walnut oil. Eat berries, kiwi and pomegranate to get the beneficial balance of fats in their edible seeds. Most importantly, aim to reduce your overall fat intake from fried foods, sauces, dressings and baked goods which are usually rich in omega-6 fats. In doing so, you’ll save calories—which you can spend more wisely on more healthful fare and improve the overall quality of your diet. —L.A. Times JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 5 EARTH STAR Pure Home Center The Leading Magazine for Holistic Living in New England NON-TOXIC PRODUCTS * AFM Paints & Sealers * AFM Stains & Finishes * Air & Water Purifiers * Eco Wool Carpet & Pads * Marmoleum & Cork Floors * Eco Timber & Floors Rt 16/ Village Plaza at Holliston 508-429-5255 www.purehomecenter.com EDITOR/PUBLISHER Cody Bideaux ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tim Gunns tgearthstar@aol.com ADVERTISING OFFICES BOSTON 617-498-0265 email: EarthStarM@aol.com EDITORIAL OFFICE 617-498-0265 email: EarthStarM@aol.com ADVERTISING MANAGERS Tim Gunns Janessa Howard DESIGN & PRODUCTION Earthstar Productions Jay Scott Hackleman CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Naisha Ahsian • Phil Cousineau Bruce Frantzis • Rosemary Gaddum Gordon Tim Gunns • John Major Jenkins • Edgar Mitchell Robert Simmons • Stephen Simon • Philip Smith SUBMISSIONS Manuscripts, artwork, and photographs must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Earth Star Magazine cannot be responsible for loss or damage of unsolicited materials. Earth Star Magazine is not responsible for advertising claims. DISTRIBUTION Max’s Trucking Steve Rouleau ADMINISTRATIVE & EDITORIAL OFFICES Earth Star Magazine 110 Hilltop Drive Waynesville NC 28786 Earth Star Magazine, Copyright © 2008 by Earth Star Magazine Incorporated, All Rights Reserved. No articles may be used without written permission of the publisher Volume XXXl, No. 182 — June / July 2008 www.earthstarmag.com 6 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 www.earthstarmag.com Earth Star Up Front GERMANY CANCELS PLANS TO ADD ETHANOL TO GASOLINE A mid growing fears that biofuel farming is harming the environment and driving up world food prices, Germany cancelled on Friday plans to mix more ethanol made from plants with petrol. Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the decision was taken because ten per cent ethanol in petrol would rot the hoses and gaskets of millions of auto engines. But he said an order for diesel fuel to contain seven per cent ethanol remained in place. Gabriel rejected accusations of blundering and cast blame on car manufacturers for not telling him in time that three million engines were vulnerable if the current ethanol supplements were increased. www.earthstarmag.com He said he refused to force millions of German motorists to buy a more expensive, ethanol-free grade of petrol. At a news conference, he acknowledged the wider criticism of ethanol, saying, “It’s now being asked if producing ethanol actually causes more damage to the climate than the fuel it is meant to replace.” The change of mind over petrol means Germany must reduce its overall 2009 target for biofuel addition to motor spirits from six-pointtwo-five percent to five percent, as measured by energy yield, Gabriel said. But he insisted a European Union target of ten per cent overall by 2020 remained achievable. The conversion to ethanol had been hailed as an indirect way of reducing Europe’s carbon-dioxide emissions. There has been a storm of criticism of Gabriel, a Social Democrat, since he foreshadowed the climbdown recently. Opponents said he ought to have known much sooner about the ethanol problems. Biofuel plans are under attack round the world because of forest clearances and because of the recent run-up in world grain prices. India recently banned rice exports in response to the shortage. Economists say the diversion of land to fuel growing is reducing the world’s potential to grow food at a time when grain demand in Asia is soaring. — www.earthtimes.org JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 7 Earth Star Up Front BLACK GOLD AGRICULTURE’ MAY REVOLUTIONIZE FARMING ‘B F ifteen hundred years ago, tribes people from the central Amazon basin mixed their soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark. Today, at the site of this charcoal deposit, scientists have found some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world. Now this ancient, remarkably simple farming technique seems far ahead of the curve, holding promise as a carbon-negative strategy to rein in world hunger as well as greenhouse gases. At the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, scientists report that charcoal derived from heated biomass has an unprecedented ability to improve the fertility of soil—one that surpasses compost, animal manure, and other well-known soil conditioners. They also suggest that this so-called “biochar” profoundly enhances the natural carbon seizing ability of soil. Dubbed “black gold agricul- ture,” scientists say this “revolutionary” farming technique can provide a cheap, straight-forward strategy to reduce greenhouse gases by trapping them in charcoal-laced soil. “Charcoal fertilization can permanently increase soil organic matter content and improve soil quality, persisting in soil for hundreds to thousands of years,” Mingxin Guo, Ph.D., and colleagues report. In what they describe as a “new and pioneering” ACS report—the first systematic investigation of soil improvement by charcoal fertilization—Guo found that soils receiving charcoal produced from organic wastes were much looser, absorbed significantly more water and nutrients and produced higher crop biomass. The authors, with Delaware State University, say “the results demonstrate that charcoal amendment is a revolutionary approach for long-term soil quality improvement.” —American Chemical Society Scientists Unlock Frozen Natural Gas (Hydrates)—THE NEW OIL? A remote drilling rig high in the Mackenzie Delta has become the site of a breakthrough that could one day revolutionize the world’s energy supply. For the first time, Canadian and Japanese researchers have managed to efficiently produce a constant stream of natural gas from ice-like gas hydrates that, worldwide, dwarf all known fossil fuel deposits combined. “We were able to sustain flow,” said Scott Dallimore, the Geological Survey of Canada researcher in charge of the remote Mallik drilling program. “It worked.” For a decade now, Dallimore and scientists from a half-dozen other countries have been returning to a site on Richards Island on the very northwestern tip of the Northwest Territories to study methane gas hydrates. A hydrate is created when a molecule of gas—in this case, methane or natural gas—is trapped by high pressures and low temperatures inside a cage of water molecules. The result is almost—but not quite—ice. It’s more like a dry, white slush suffusing the sand and gravel one thousand metres beneath the Mallik rig. Heat or unsqueeze the hydrate and gas is released. Hold a core sample to your ear and it hisses. More significant is the fact that gas hydrates concentrate one hundred and sixty-four times the energy of the same amount of natural gas. And gas hydrate fields are found in abundance under the coastal waters of every continent. Calculations suggest there's more energy in gas hydrates than in coal, oil and conventional gas combined. 8 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 A methane hydrate mound sits on the sea floor off British Columbia, 850 metres below the surface Getting that energy to flow consistently and predictably, however, has been the problem. Using heat to release the gas works, but requires too much energy to be useful. Researchers have also been trying to release the methane by reducing the pressure on it. Earlier this year, the Mallik team became the first to use that method to get a steady, consistent flow. “That went really well,” said Dallimore. “We definitely demonstrated that these hydrates are responsive enough that you can sustain flow. We were able to take conventional technologies, modify them, and produce. That's a big step forward.” —Toronto Star www.earthstarmag.com Earth Star Up Front The Astonishing Cost of Consumer Liquids This makes one think, and also puts things into perspective: * Diet Snapple, 16 oz, $1.29 ... $10.32 per gallon * Lipton Ice Tea, 16 oz, $1.19 ... $9.52 per gallon * Gatorade, 20 oz, $1.59 ... $10.17 per gallon * Ocean Spray, 16 oz, $1.25 ... $10.00 per gallon * Brake Fluid, 12 oz, $3.15 ... $33.60 per gallon * Vick’s Nyquil, 6 oz, $8.35 ... $178.13 per gallon * Pepto Bismol, 4 oz, $3.85 ... $123.20 per gallon * Whiteout, 7 oz, $1.39 ... $25.42 per gallon * Scope, 1.5 oz, $0.99 ... $84.48 per gallon And this is a REAL KICKER... * Evian water, 9 oz, $1.49 ... $21.19 per gallon! That’s $21.19 for a gallon of WATER!! And buyers don’t even know the source. So, the next time you’re at a fuel pump, be glad your car doesn’t run on mineral water, Scope, Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, or Nyquil! www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 9 Earth Star Up Front RICHARD BRANSON’S Latest Venture V irgin’s founder talks about why fellow entrepreneurs are uniquely suited to help fight problems such as poverty, AIDS, and climate change. “A staggering half the planet lives on less than two dollars per day. Some one billion people lack access to clean water. In Africa alone, forty billion working hours are lost each year to time spent carrying water long distances. A quarter of a billion people live in overcrowded urban squatter settlements without adequate shelter. And, tragically, sixteen thousand people die every day from preventable, treatable diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria. I’m a firm believer in the power of entrepreneurship to transform the global marketplace. As entrepreneurs, we are trained to spot possibilities where others see only obstacles and to never mind the bollocks driven by bureaucracy and red tape.” Elders For a Global Village “In July last year, we launched the Elders, a remarkable group of leaders to tackle the world’s problems, including: Mandela, Graca Machel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, former President Jimmy Carter, Mohammad Yunus, Ela Bhatt, Li Xhaoxing, and Gro H a r l e m Brundtland. We hope this group will become the elders of our global village and play a role in alleviating human suffering. As Mandela put it, ‘This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken. Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict and inspire hope where there is despair.’” —Business Week World Tree Planting Drive Sets Goal of Seven Billion campaign to plant trees worldwide recently set a goal of seven billion by late 2009, just over one for each person on the planet, to help protect the environment and slow climate change. The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), an organizer of the tree planting drive begun in late 2006 with an initial goal of a billion by the end of 2007, said governments, companies and individuals had pushed that total above two billion. A Monks from Shaolin Temple plant trees during a ceremony for the National Voluntary Tree-Planting Day in Songshan, Henan province, China, 3/12/08. 10 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 UNEP said that safeguarding and planting forests were among the most cost-effective ways to slow climate change, blamed by the U.N. Climate Panel on emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels in factories, power plants and cars. Trees soak up carbon dioxide as they grow and release it when burnt or when they rot. Deforestation accounts for over twenty percent of the carbon dioxide humans generate. Millions of individuals have also taken part, including schoolchildren or religious groups. “It has given expression to the frustrations but also the hopes of millions of people around the world,” Steiner said. One U.N. official said that seven billion trees would, as they grow, soak up roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by Russia in a year. Russia is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China. Among projects, mangroves were planted in Indonesia after the devastating 2004 tsunami to help protect coastline. And the Replant New Orleans initiative sponsored plantings of fruit trees to help communities recover after Hurricane Katrina. —Reuters www.earthstarmag.com Earth Star Up Front N ew Record: Wind Powers 40% Of Spain W ind power is breaking new records in Spain, accounting for just over forty percent of all electricity consumed during a brief period last weekend. As heavy winds lashed Spain recently, wind parks generated 9,862 megawatts of power which translated to forty-pointeight percent of total consumption. Over a three-day period, wind power accounted for an average of twenty-eight percent of all electricity demand in Spain. Spain’s wind power generation equaled that of hydropower for the first time in 2007. Last July the government approved legislation that will allow offshore wind parks to be set up along the nation’s vast coastline in an effort to boost the use of renewable energy sources. While more expensive than land-based wind farms, offshore wind parks can take advantage of stronger, steadier coastal breezes. Spain, which along with Germany and Denmark, is among the three biggest producers of wind power in the twentyseven-nation European Union, is aiming to triple the amount of energy it derives from renewable sources by 2020. —www.enn.com www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 11 JUNE - JULy 2008 une’s new moon in Gemini on the 3rd is closely conjunct loving Venus and harmoniously aligned with Mars, auguring a time when healing words and thoughtful actions can bridge chasms—between friends, families, or rival organizations. Initiate talks or negotiations. Educational opportunities may arise in the coming weeks. Develop new talents and aptitudes. Begin a personal journal. J unnecessary emotional attachments or philosophical positions that no longer serve our needs. However, with Mercury still in retrograde, think before you speak your mind around this emotionally loaded juncture, and make sure your intentions are fully understood...especially by you! Don’t promise more than you can deliver while buoyed up by the excitement of the moment. Be sensitive to the needs of others. Above all, be sincere. When the sun conjuncts Mercury on June 7th, communicate your thoughts and ideas. Catch up on your correspondence, return phone-calls and email. Then, on the 8th, the sun unites with Venus, planet of beauty and harmony, making this a fine time to redecorate your office or work place, or to get some intellectual or cultural stimulation. Express your artistic talents. Cosmic messenger, Mercury, stations Direct on June 19th in 13°Gemini, and mental processes begin to accelerate, while logic becomes more reliable. Move forward cautiously with plans, sign contracts after careful scrutiny, but avoid making snap decisions as there may be a tendency towards over-eagerness. Late on June 13th, Pluto retrograde re-enters Sagittarius (till Nov 26), reminding humanity that a time of spiritual rebirth is at hand (and has been since November 1995, when Pluto first entered this expansive sign in the modern era). A global awakening is underway, wherein a fundamental understanding of spiritual principles and values continues to develop among and within all people, motivating many towards a “higher path” in life, rather than the pursuit of purely materialistic objectives. The search for truth, and answers, is on! Venus enters nurturing Cancer on June 18th (till July 12), prompting us to nurture key relationships. Friendly faces and familiar places bring satisfaction and a sense of connectedness now. A time for nest feathering, when beautifying your domestic environment can bring great pleasure and satisfaction. An immensely powerful full moon in 28° of expansive Sagittarius occurs on June 18th, conjunct distant Pluto— currently in retrograde and shortly to re-enter Sagittarius—while aligned with the Galactic Heart Center, which can help us to recognize and jettison any 12 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 The summer solstice occurs as the sun enters Cancer at 7:59pm, EDT, on June 21st, that pivotal point in Mother Earth’s cycle around our sun when the forces of light and dark, day and night, are in perfect balance. As spring transitions into summer, the emphasis of the solar energies shifts from the logic-oriented mental realm of Gemini, into the more feeling, nurturing, growth-sustaining environment of Cancer. Be more supportive of family, friends and colleagues...let them know you care! Home, family, and roots assume greater importance. Security of home, and homeland, becomes more of a concern this season. Family obligations need to be taken more seriously. However, with focused effort, much constructive growth can occur during the summer months. Mars opposes Neptune on the 21st, when escapist tendencies could make it difficult to remain focused, and excess abounds. Be alert to deception in business activities. Keep your nerves calm, passions under control, and be aware of the intent prompting your actions. Disruptive Uranus stations retrograde in 23°Pisces on June 26th (till Nov 27). Don’t take too much for granted during this unstable period, when recklessness and impawww.earthstarmag.com Down To Earth Astrology tience can lead the unwary astray. Uranus in retrograde asks us to review our ambitions and career objectives, to redefine our goals, perhaps along more humanistic lines, and to reconnect with the higher mind or “Christ principle” within when seeking guidance. Pay attention to your intuition now, learn to trust it; give your “hunches” more credibility. On a more mundane level, sudden disruptions of plans or affairs due to unexpected changes in conditions, circumstances or attitudes are highly likely. In any event, expect shocks, surprises, and a lot of nervous energy for several days either side of this station. Aviationor chemical-related events or stories may also be in the news, while unstable weather conditions are possible. When the sun trines Uranus on the 14th, a flash of pure genius may facilitate progress towards a goal or cherished ambition. Look for new ways of raising investment capital or of financing a project dear to your heart. Delve into astrological or metaphysical studies for timely insights. The red planet, now in the last degree of Leo, forms a flowing, fiery trine to Pluto on the 30th. The forceful, dynamic energies at work here can give one’s will-power a huge boost, making this an ideal time to begin a new physical exercise regimen. Improve efficiency, and recycle wherever possible. Eliminate waste and unnecessary effort. Passions and physical desires are dramatically increased now, so be aware of what’s motivating your actions! On July 22nd the sun enters its home sign of Leo, boosting self-confidence, enhancing one’s creative prowess, and encouraging one and all to reconnect with their inner child over the next thirty days. Make time to play; not only is it fun but it can relieve stress and pent up pressures. Mars enters Virgo on July 1st for a six-week sojourn, during which actions will likely stem from purely practical considerations. Be sure to get some healthy, outdoor exercise during this period. Do work requiring precision. Reorganize your occupational environment for greater efficiency. A new moon in 12° Cancer arrives on July 2nd, signaling a time to reflect upon what truly nourishes one’s heart and soul. By getting in touch with our feelings during this sensitive lunar cycle we can better determine our needs—and whether they’re being met. What does it take to nurture your creativity and growth? Your moods are an excellent barometer—finely-tuned at present—for identifying where you’re at and what you need. Mars conjuncts Saturn on July 10th, when persistence and perseverance win the day. Banish any feelings of malice or resentment—why create more karma? Set out now, undaunted by recent trials or tribulations, on your new or newly-defined path with drive, ambition, and determination. Mercury enters Cancer later on the 10th, inclining one’s thoughts more readily towards domestic issues over the next couple of weeks. Relocating may cross your mind. Emotional “buttons” are easily pushed now, while “unconscious” desires could influence decision-making. After Venus enters Leo on July 12th, affairs of the heart and creative activities are highlighted. Dramatic self-expression increases, along with a predilection for center stage. www.earthstarmag.com The full moon culminates in 27° Capricorn early on July 18th, and may herald a turning point in a domestic or professional matter ripe for resolution. It might also become necessary to set realistic boundaries regarding where work and career ends, and personal “down” time begins. Take some time out for reflection, assimilation, and future planning. Mercury, following the sun, enters Leo on the 26th (till August 10th) a transit during which creative mental work is strongly favored. Communications can assume a theatrical air. Mercury in this persuasive sign can be a helpful influence on sales, advertising or PR operations. Also on the 26th, Mars trines Jupiter, a momentous, transit when steady progress can be made in business, commerce, or legal affairs. Act for the future, but also consider the long-term consequences of your actions now. Get some physical exercise. Much can be achieved now—for those who believe in their own abilities, anything is possible! Begin a new enterprise, or a long-distance trip; it’s time for some constructive action, The sun conjuncts Mercury on the 29th. Confidently communicate your thoughts, views or new ideas. Be on the lookout for business or educational opportunities. Attend to correspondence, return phone-calls or email. Winding up July, on the 31st, Venus forms a precise opposition with Neptune, currently in retrograde, around noon, a warning sign to handle finances, and relationships, realistically. Don't "space out" while shopping or you could end up with costly items you really didn't need. When the planet of love and money opposes its 'higher octave' planet, romantic or financial matters may be subject to deception; most certainly, clarity will be lacking. Leave big decisions for another day. Following is a general overview of how the planetary trends for June/July, 2008 apply to each sun sign. If you know your rising sign (Ascendant), read that, too, for additional insights. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 13 Down To Earth Astrology Aries (March 20—April 19) You may be looking at the future more optimistically these days. Indeed, plans could be in the works for an ambitious new venture. A current need for fresh input and novel notions might be assuaged by engaging in creative pursuits aimed, perhaps, towards a noble objective. Domestic matters could take up more of your time in July, when a decoration or remodeling project might be assigned a higher priority. Pay attention to any chronic health conditions—look into natural methods to treat or eliminate any problems. You can make great strides at work throughout this forecast period, where your experience, knowledge, and confidence can stand you in good stead. Be attentive to the needs of partners, as they, in some way, could be help facilitate your progress. Taurus (April 19—May 20) Wealth-production, and novel ways to increase your income might be uppermost in your mind during June. It may be that a household remodeling project or some other domestic activity might be reasons why additional funds could be needed. And yet, a self-improvement or educational program requiring a tuition fee and/or a technology investment might also be a budget priority item. Be sure you have all the details before parting with your money. On another level entirely, look to see where you may be able to eliminate any unwanted emotional triggers or behavioral patterns that keep you rooted in the past, which may inhibit your ability to grab the brass ring of success in your professional endeavors. A romantic partnership or professional alliance can be taken to another level. Gemini (May 20—June 21) Although your sign’s ruler, Mercury, remains in retrograde till June 19th, you are not in the least deterred from pursuing several personal objectives. You sense a need to be professional in your approach. Be prepared, also, to act quickly when opportunities arise, as they may be fleeting. Your actions and decisions now may be guided by past experience. Furthermore, by being successful within the context of your chosen career, it might be possible to eliminate certain emotional constraints or counter-productive behavior patterns—now, and over the summer months—that may, hitherto, have undermined your best efforts to succeed. It may take a while for your ideas to be fully accepted by those that matter to you. However, when they are, and at least one of your projects moves forward, there could be a healthy, and likely sudden, increase in your cash flow. Be sure to get everything in writing! Cancer (June 21—July22) Cancer (June 21—July 22) Your intuition and psychic powers could be working overtime in June, when little slips by without your noticing, and especially where money is concerned. One of your current challenges is in being less of a spendthrift and more of a future financial planner 14 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 as funds come your way. Another might be in sticking to the script and doing what’s expected of you in professional interactions, with partners or creative collaborators. Be on the ball! You’re keen to add to your income, perhaps to raise money for a pet project, and the weeks following June’s Gemini new moon (3rd) look promising for you to do so. After the summer solstice (June 20), when the sun crosses your solar ascendant and enters your sign for the next month, you benefit from a boost in self-confidence, and your drive to get ahead in the world kicks into high gear. With the sun and lucky Venus in your solar first house through mid-July, your fortunes improve, while friends could provide the support you need. Leo (July 22—August 23) You’re confident, persuasive, and full of energy during June, a time when good fortune could attend your every effort at work. Devote some of your time and energies this month to mending fences in key relationships. Be more attentive to a partner’s needs. It’s easy to become myopic when you’re focused intently on a personal project, and overlook the support and encouragement you get from significant others. Recognize their efforts on your behalf; a little praise and gratitude can go a long way! Ever practical where finances are concerned, you may consider diverting funds into a savings account, perhaps to finance a work project over which you want complete control. You quickly look for ways to pad this venture capital account, or to simply increase your current income, by taking on more work, a theme that continues through July. Make some quiet time to ‘recharge your batteries’, and to consider how you’re going to manifest your hopes, dreams and wishes for the future. Virgo (August 23—September 23) Make hay while the sun shines brightly in your solar tenth house of success. It’s possible that new professional opportunities may come your way within this forecast period. However, with Mercury, your sign’s ruling planet, in retrograde till June 19th, little may be finalized before this date. Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet when circumstances allow; if you don’t let folks that can make a difference know what you can do, and that you’re ‘on the market’, they may not know to approach you with the opportunity in the first place! But be the epitome of tact. With Pluto shifting signs on the cusps of your solar fourth and fifth houses during this period, there may be some unfinished stuff from the past that now needs your attention, as it may have a bearing on your emotional readiness for success now. Appear professional, confident, and self assured—you can be a great asset to any team. Libra (September 23—October 23) An urge to travel—if only in one's mind—and to escape the workaday world will be hard to ignore during June. Some amongst you may consider taking a short trip to a distant locale. Because you are currently so open to novelty, this would be an ideal juncture at which to sign up for www.earthstarmag.com Down To Earth Astrology a workshop or educational program. You may even feel confident enough to create your own personal curriculum for self-improvement. With powerful Pluto changing signs at the bottom (nadir) of your solar chart, some unfinished business from the past could arise, periodically. An emotionallycharged issue, for example, surrounding a place and time, person, event, or occasion. In coming to terms with the issue, vast amounts of emotional and creative energies can be released, and redirected towards creative outlets. Indeed, with Saturn in your solar twelfth house, this is a time when karma can be released—that is, a karmic issue or pattern that you’ve recognized, and come to terms with. Doors may open, behind which new professional opportunities might await you. If so, choose the one that fits you best. Scorpio (October 23—November 22) What can I eliminate in order to simplify my life? You ask. Well, you might begin with ideas about who and what you are that have little bearing on reality. And that, furthermore, these notions could be undermining your best efforts to succeed. Or, you might choose to eliminate professional activities or practices that, history shows, have simply not worked—perhaps because you hadn’t followed your instincts in the first place. Now’s the time to trust your judgement, particularly where professional and financial undertakings are concerned. Put your past experience to work for you. Do what you do best, and do it well. You might be amazed by how satisfying that feels. In July, you may be planning a trip, or helping a family member prepare for one. A creative idea or sudden inspiration could make you money—if you follow through and market it. Sagittarius (November 22—December 21) Being there for the significant others in your life may seem like a full time job these days. But then, you really wouldn’t have it any other way. Such is the magnanimity of a Sagg. Nevertheless, at the drop of a hat you’d be off like a shot, to some far-flung exotic locale, if you could only get away! Talk about a full life—your regular vocational activities also seem to be keeping you busy; they may even provide you with additional income, when your on-the-job expertise garners you more responsibility—a promotion, of sorts, if you will. One way or another, your efforts in the workplace will be acknowledged and repaid. Seek ways to improve your understanding of financial management. Take a fresh look at your financial obligations, and the distribution of your assets. Are you making the most of what you have? You may be called to account for an expensive habit or luxury—or maybe the opposite applies, to a significant other, when a clearing of the air may become necessary. Capricorn (December 21—January 19) You’re ready to get to work and do what it takes to raise the money you need for a project dear to your heart. You could be an all-but-irresistible force in the market place. Or, if you’re job hunting, your skill-set of talents and abilities may be hard to find and could have significant value. Don’t sell yourself short. Not that you’re likely to. If it’s www.earthstarmag.com investment capital you’re seeking, look close to home. You may have only to ask someone you know very well. They may be only too pleased to help you out. If you can live with that, you’re off and running. For some, an already close relationship can be taken to another level in July. For others, a new romance or a creative alliance could develop, and quickly, too. Life appears to be moving at quite a pace these days, and you’re certainly up for the challenge! Aquarius (January 19—February 18) A new cycle of creative enterprise can open up now for those with vision. While it’s possible that some amongst you may be at loggerheads with a current partner or collaborator, there may be common ground to be explored in pursuing one of your visionary ideas. Pay attention to dreams and meditations, as they may contain valuable insights and guidance. Children could be a source of great happiness, especially during June, when loving Venus transits your solar fifth house. Remember what it was like to be a child; reconnect with your sense of play. Have some fun with friends. Indeed, some intellectual stimulation may be exactly what you need! Health-wise, consider beginning a new diet and exercise regimen. Pisces (February 18—March 20) There’s no place like home during June, when it becomes the focal point of activity. There’s also a healing ‘program’ that happy thoughts and feelings of home can activate within you, and to which you are currently attuned. Count your blessings—you’ve earned them! Your work appears to keep you busy throughout this forecast period. And yet, your familiarity with your present job may make you yearn for a more fulfilling application of your energies and abilities. You are feeling much more creative in July and may have your sights set on an ambitious professional objective—perhaps one more worthy of your efforts. Your friends can be a source of great encouragement and joy. Be sure to let them know how you feel. Tim Gunns is an astrological consultant, conference coordinator and producer, new age market and speaker consultant to the entertainment industry, and formerly program director of the national Whole Life Expos. Tim prepares personalized no-nonsense interpretations of Natal Horoscopes ($40), Future Forecast Transit Reports ($75 for 1 full year), and Relationship Compatibility Reports ($45). Shipping is free. Send: Name (as you'd like it to appear on the chart), Date of Birth, Time (as close as possible), Place of Birth (city/country, etc.) for each person, and your return address, phone# and check to: Tim Gunns, c/o110 Hilltop Road, Waynesville NC 28786. (310) 281-7882. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 15 hen I look back on the life I’ve lived so far, I see how it could be read as a small-scale metaphor for the course Western civilization has taken through the millennia. That is, my life and the progress of civilization have something of the same shape. In this century progress has been swift and severe, and my generation has seen the greater arc of its accelerating trajectory toward a global transition. We may be the last to witness this extraordinary human drama, as such acceleration clearly isn’t sustainable, for a number of reasons, such as environmental tolerance. When I take into consideration my austere origins on the plains of West Texas in an agrarian family whose sustenance was largely derived from manual labor aided by un-powered tools and domesticated animals, I am overwhelmed. To have begun in such a simple place and time, and to have seen so much, is at times incomprehensible to me. Likewise, when I consider the earliest agrarian humans on the planet and where we have come today as a civilization, I find the progress astounding. In 1930, space travel wasn’t yet a significant part of the science fiction literary genre, but forty years later I would travel in a spacecraft that would take two men to the surface of the moon while its sister ship orbited overhead. In the largest sense, the evolution of humankind has made similar progress. We’ve evolved from a primitive species with limited knowledge with which to fashion tools, to a civilization capable of building machines that can split the atom or fill a magic box with image and sound. Yet our civilization is still in its chronological infancy; in geological time, just a few years out of the trees. As a species we seem yet W 16 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 juvenile, lacking in vision, unprepared for our own evolution, even blind as to the direction we are evolving. In this respect we lack any thoughtful, consensus judgment to guide our conscious volition, because we are still uncertain as to whether we actually possess volition at all, if one accepts the accounts of Western philosophy, theology, and science. Late in 1972 I began taking such thoughts more seriously when a strange series of events occurred in rapid succession. Oddly enough, all of this happened just as I was preparing to leave NASA and about to open the doors to the institute (Institute of Noetic Sciences, in Petaluma, CA). These were not events that I would consider mere serendipity, but rather events governed by the mysterious cadence of synchronicity. In the fall of that year I traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas, to speak to a group at a convention—one of my first engagements of the sort. It prom-ised to be a special occasion, as my mother was going to drive from her residence in Oklahoma to meet me. At the time she was having severe difficulty with her eyesight as a result of glaucoma, and without her glasses was legally blind. Through the years her glasses gradually grew thicker, as she considered corrective surgery too risky. And now she really could not see at all without them. During the conference I met several remarkable men and women, one of whom was a man by the name of Norbu Chen. Norbu was an American who had studied the earliest form of Tibetan Buddhism, a form that was liberally infused with ancient Tibetan Shamanistic practice. He was a small man of quick movements, graying beyond his years, inscrutable, and always in the midst of controversy. He also purported to be a healer. One evening after an entire day of speechmaking, I introduced Norbu to my mother, who was at the time in her early 60s. My interest was twofold. I wanted to find out whether Norbu Chen was real or just talk, and to help my mother if that was possible, though I was skeptical. My mother, being a fundamentalist Christian all her life, had definite and traditional ideas as to how the mind was capable of influencing matter through healing—either by the hand of God, or by that of Satan. There was no middle ground. Norbu did not think of himself as either, but was quite convinced he could help. Making no promises, he merely suggested that we try, and see what would happen. I was intensely curious, and my mother was at least a good sport about the whole thing. She agreed that something good might come of it. The following day Norbu and I met my mother in the seclusion of my suite where he asked her to sit in a chair, remove her thick glasses, and relax. I watched from across the room as this strange Asian-trained man did what he claimed to have done for so many years. Then I witnessed my mother settle deeply into a relaxed state. After placing himself in a meditative trance (he claimed) through singing his strange mantra, his hands floated over my mother’s head, pausing over the eyes. There seemed to be an unspoken acceptance on her part, a silent trust in this man she had never met until this weekend. After a few minutes of this, Norbu gently announced that he was finished and suggested she go to bed, sleep well, and treat herself kindly, as though she had been through major surgery. His prescription for nourishment was grape juice and broth. As I sat there in the chair observing, there was the hope that I’d just witnessed the extraordinary. I wanted something to have happened, but at the same time I tried to be the detached, clinical observer, and not let my expectations soar. In any case, www.earthstarmag.com BY DR. EDGAR MITCHELL The Way of the EXPLORER www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 17 I didn’t have to wait long for the results. At six o’clock the following morning my mother came rushing to my room, exclaiming, “Son, I can see, I can see!” Without pausing to let me come to my senses, she proceeded to demonstrate her claim by reading from her thumb-worn Bible with glasses in hand. Then once again she said more quietly, “I can see. Praise the Lord, I can see!” Dropping her glasses to the floor, she ground the thick lenses into shards under the heel of her shoe. Needless to say, I was impressed. I am not, by this account, nor with any other anecdotal story, attempting to convince the doubtful. That can only happen when the open-minded skeptic sets out for himself or herself to view (or better, to experience) such peculiar phenomena (at least peculiar to the Western mind), and conducts a careful investigation, unbiased by traditional interpretations. This wasn’t science, but as far as I was concerned, it indicated where I personally needed to probe more thoroughly. All I can say is that it absolutely did happen in just this way. Afterward I experienced the deep-down astonishment that arises from witnessing the extraordinary. This was an event I couldn’t explain, but I couldn’t deny it either. I knew my mother’s reaction was authentic, and she hadn’t been duped about her own sight. She proceeded to drive home alone, several hundred miles, without her glasses. After this episode I was sufficiently impressed, so I invited Norbu to Houston for a visit so that I might learn a few things from him myself. He arrived a few weeks later to stay many months, during which time I came to know not only Norbu the healer, but Norbu the man. What I learned was notably unremarkable. He wasn’t especially complex, just a fellow with a peculiar capacity to 18 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 heal that he couldn’t adequately explain. A few days after returning home I learned another lesson that I wouldn’t soon forget. After going about her routine for several days with nearly perfect vision, unassisted by contacts or eyeglasses, my mother called one day to ask whether or not Norbu was a Christian. His name was clearly derived from an Asian culture, which she suspected didn’t likely coincide with her beloved faith. Though I didn’t want to tell her, she was adamant. She absolutely wanted to know the faith of the man who’d allowed her to see again. Reluctantly, and perhaps ominously, I told her Norbu was in fact not a Christian, and the moment I did, the deep pain of regret was clear in her voice. Her new sight was not the work of the Lord, she insisted, but that of the darker forces of this world. She was absolutely certain that Norbu, being of another faith, must be an instrument of evil. No matter what I said to her, no matter how I explained my own secular understanding of such phenomena, she would not be convinced. Her vastly improved eyesight was the work of Satan. Hours later, the gift slipped away and thick new glasses were required. I was both distressed and intrigued by this incident—distressed that such an incredible healing would be dismissed, and by my mother’s agony in making this personal decision. But the intrigue, the fact that the sequence of events could occur at all, left an overriding impression. How could I have been so ignorant of something so important? It set me on the search for other persons similar to Norbu, and gave me clear indication that I needed to learn something more about the role and power of belief in our lives. Whatever the clinical implications, it was clear to me that one’s internal life, the subjective life, had funda- mental importance. This was something science didn’t address; I had paid little attention myself. But at the same time I recognized a need for caution. Though I subsequently encountered many healers with similar capabilities, I also encountered many frauds. I’ve learned through years of experience that health and well-being are a product of total lifestyle. There is no panacea for illness in healers, allopathic medicine, naturopathic medicine, chiropractic, nutrition, and the like, though all can help. Looking back on these times, I see how naive I was. For several years I would continue to underestimate the power of belief in our lives because of the pervasiveness of my classical scientific training. It still puzzled me that belief could affect anything at all. But I suppose naiveté was also in large measure the impetus behind my founding an institution where research I thought important could be carried out. I believed that if other scientists witnessed such legitimate phenomena in controlled environments, they would see that it was at least worthy of further study and become excited by the prospects. But there were invisible veils that such unbridled idealism could not see. As it turned out, disbelief was one of them. It was my opinion then and it is my opinion today that disbelief prevents one from seeing what one wishes not to. My belief in the rationality of science blinded me to the equally rational consequences of disbelief. At the time I still suspected there might be a nonphysical component to consciousness, capabilities that cannot be attributed to physical laws. But more likely there were physical principles yet to be discovered. Whatever the answers, they would surely be revealed one day by a rational, thorough approach to the issues. These were natural, not supernatural events, well within the www.earthstarmag.com domain of scientific inquiry, and when validated, the impact on science would be revolutionary. But it should also change the way we addressed religion, philosophy, government, the way we saw ourselves in the universe, and the values we adhered to in daily life. Unfortunately, there were precious few who took the field of study seriously, as a number of eminent men of science had blunted their swords on these issues during the past century. But again synchronicity would arise in my own exploration. In that same year, 1972, I was introduced to another psychic, a twenty-five-year-old Israeli by the name of Uri Geller. At the time, Uri was unknown, lived in Israel, and had been brought to the attention of Dr. Andrija Puharich, an American physician with a quixotic turn of mind and several medical inventions to his credit. Similar to myself, he was looking for answers to puzzling human phenomena. After months of observing Uri in Israel and witnessing his extraordinary ability in realms of telepathy and psychokinesis, Puharich called to see if I would be interested in arranging some controlled studies in an American laboratory. I told him I was, provided I could personally do some preliminary studies to assure myself it was worthwhile. Here again was my own skepticism asserting itself. Puharich claimed that he had witnessed some positively amazing dem-onstrations of telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis—in fact, a very broad range of events labeled as parapsychological phenomena. He insisted they were the most convincing he had ever seen, and that Uri’s incredible abilities demanded our attention. In later years Uri would work with many scientists and then go on to make a modest fortune working for oil, gas, and mineral companies, successfully dowsing for deposits that lay deep within the earth. The fact that such companies don’t pay good money for failure is strong testimony to Uri’s psychic prowess at least as a dowser. But in 1972 he was just a young, impecunious Israeli, finishing his obligatory service in the army and claiming he had been doing these feats since childhood, not initially recognizing they were logical abilities under our auspices. A team of scientists would direct the work and observe the results. This, I thought, would help prompt real interest among established scientists, provided Uri could deliver on his claims. But it wasn’t Uri who would disappoint us. The key to good science in this field is always to keep the experiment totally under the control of the investigators and to use blind and double-blind testing procedures wherever possible. Because one is dealing basically with subjective events, it’s generally more efficient to let the subject demonstrate what he or she does best, then design rigorous protocols that take advantage of the ability. It was in this spirit of cooperation and open inquiry that Uri and I got down to business. He even agreed to restrain his usual showmanship and flamboyance. The resident scientists hosting the experiments were Dr. Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ, both widely respected physicists at the Stanford Research Institute. Both men Uri Geller had made their reputations in more conventional fields of bizarre—a characteristic I later science, but they too were convinced encountered frequently. After our that this was something that demandfirst meeting, which lasted several ed their attention. They designed days, I was adequately convinced (in many of the experiments we would fact overwhelmed) that his abilities conduct to test for Uri’s abilities. On were real and not simply showman- several occasions they were aided by ship or a magician’s tricks, that I Dr. Wilbur Franklin of Kent State promptly began to arrange for finan- University, a metallurgist who examcial sponsorship through Judith ined many of the materials used in Skutch and Henry Rolfs, who would the experiments. They had each been later serve on the board of directors working in parapsychological studof the institute, and to arrange for ies for some time now, and were well laboratory tests to be conducted. Uri experienced in this type of research. agreed and came to the Stanford Targ was also a skilled amateur Research Institute near San magician, which blunted the first Francisco in the late fall to partici- claim of critics—that “psychic stuff” pate in several experiments that was just smoke and mirrors. The first would demonstrate his parapsycho- effort of the researcher is always to Continued on Page 60 www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 19 DR. SANJAY GUPTA’S Search for Biological IMMORTALITY By Philip Smith urn on any television in the world—Beijing, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Rome, Los Angeles, or Tokyo—and you will find Dr. Sanjay Gupta reporting on the latest breaking medical and health news. As Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, Dr. Gupta is currently the most famous and listened to doctor on the planet. Millions of viewers learn daily about advances in medicine that can change their lives. Additionally, Dr. Gupta is assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital and associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he practices. Most recently, Dr. Gupta embarked upon a remarkable quest to investigate “new discoveries in the search for immortality to help you age less today.” For his investigation, T 20 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 he interviewed scientists around the globe from Okinawa and Russia to laboratories throughout the United States. His findings resulted in both a book and documentary titled Chasing Life (Warner Wellness). Dr. Gupta approached this broad subject from a unique perspective as both a practicing physician and as a seasoned journalist. In his search he left no subject, no matter how controversial, untouched. Chasing Life covers every imaginable topic, from caloric restriction and stem cell treatments to cryonics, resveratrol, and hormone supplementation. His goal was to assess the work of the best minds researching methods to slow aging and increase life span. Sifting through thousands of studies, Dr. Gupta wanted to present the best and most reputable practical findings that one can incorporate into their own life. The end product is a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in life extension. In his writings you can genuinely sense his excitement at the new discoveries occurring on a daily basis that will extend all our lives. He deems those who actively pursue a longer and healthier life as “Life Chasers.” As Dr. Gupta states in his book, “All over the world and right in your backyard, there are people who are steadily pushing back the frontier of aging. They are not content to simply wither away, becoming frail and feeling worthless. Instead, they are achieving a sort of practical immortality-living as long as they want to live and dying only when they are through living ... Immortality is on the horizon and it is within our reach for the first time.” In the following interview, Dr. Gupta discusses his search for the latest advances in promoting a longer, healthier life span: www.earthstarmag.com Extended longevity and the potential for immortality used to be the exclusive domain of science fiction. Now with quantum leaps in science and medicine, we are for the first time in history seeing the possibility of controlling and enhancing our life span. What were some of the more interesting life extension technologies that you came across in researching your book? You are correct ... our recent medical progress is astonishing. There’s something known as Moore’s Law, which means that we basically double our scientific knowledge every few years. What this really means is that we probably know twice as much now as we did in 1997, which wasn’t that long ago. I do believe in our lifetime that we will see the promise of stem cells, nanotechnology, and genomics able to tailormake individualized medicine. All of these technologies are going to serve a large purpose toward making us live longer and healthier. A new kind of medicine is being created that will definitely break out of the realm of science fiction and become reality. There are places around the world where people are already doing this, such as Moscow, which I discuss in the book, and certainly Korea. You spoke to a lot of scientists around the world to research your book. What one new technology seemed to be the most promising? Tissue engineering, with regard to stem cells, is very promising. We’re already able to use stem cells to basically improve cardiac function in someone who’s had a heart attack. The reason that this is so fascinating is that this therapy can now be applied and replicated, and also because cardiac cells and brain cells can now be regenerated. Previous to this technology, it was thought that www.earthstarmag.com once either of these types of cells died, that was it. This is no longer the case. And, once they have been regenerated, the person can get some of their original function back. For example, the heart function is measured by something known as ejection fraction. Ejection fractions actually improve in people who have stem cell therapies injected into their hearts. So, this looks to be a very promising new therapy. In the book you profile the futurist Ray Kurzweil and the various methods he is utilizing to live longer. In summary, his theory is that in the not too distant future, medicine will be sophisticated enough to repair or cure a number of the major degenerative diseases. His position is that he is doing everything he can to live as long as possible and avoid the big killers like heart disease and cancer until medicine can actually deliver these new life-extending technologies. After hearing him propose this, what are your thoughts? I think in the next couple of decades, we’re going to get to a point of practical immortality. It’s not true immortality, but practical immortality, meaning that we’re going to live much longer without getting sick, and as a result we’ll have many more functional years. It seems that we are going to get to the point where some people will be able to decide how long they want to live by doing some of the things that Kurzweil talks about. There is a lot of interest and activity around promising technologies such as exchanging body organs, rejuvenating cells, and even nanotechnology which will eliminate even a single cancer cell in the body before it can ever start replicating. For a lot of people these ideas are on the fringe, but frankly now that I have researched it and spoken to the scientists in the field, I believe that we are getting very close to realizing some of these fantastic ideas. I think that we’re going to be much further along in the next twenty years than ever before. However, a lot of moving pieces need to come together for all of this to really work. When we think about how long people want to live there is an implicit understanding that they will be of strong mind and strong body. We can’t be assured that even though we might be able to replace a failing heart or replace failing kidneys with perfect genetically engineered matches, that their mind will necessarily be sharp. These are all factors that need to be taken under consideration. In the last five years, it seems as if the possibilities of medicine have exponentially exploded. You can almost see the future happening right before our eyes. That’s correct. Along that line of thought, right now there is a great deal of extremely sophisticated technology that a lot of people still don’t know about or even use. For example, I have a history of heart disease in my family. Previously you had to wait until you had a coronary event to really know what was wrong or even do something about it. Now, through noninvasive means, we can look at all of our coronary vessels— all the blood vessels in our heart. Just a few years ago, this didn’t exist and could be considered science fiction. Plus, there are medications that not only stop the production of plaque that narrows your blood vessels, but actually reverse it. This isn’t a life enhancing technology or medication that you have to wait for ten years for, this is now. There are people like Arthur Agatston, who’s a friend of mine, who says, “You know what, no one in this country needs to have a heart attack again.” JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 21 That’s a powerful declaration. Is it because of calcium score? Calcium scores and even more, the CT angiograms. With the CT angiograms you’re not only looking at the narrowing of the blood vessel, but you’re looking at the health of the vessel wall itself, which is even better than an angiogram. And this is technology that exists right now. Japanese believe that the people who live the longest have a very strong “ikigai.” Every morning when you wake up, you focus on what is your sense of purpose for that day, what is your sense of purpose on earth, why are you here, what are you going to do, how are you going to better the world in someway? These are the sorts of questions that are just fundamentally a part of Given all your research into longevity and new advances in medical therapies, what personally have you incorporated into your life? I’ve actually thought about this quite a bit. There are three key areas of my life that I have changed. First of all, I never thought about mortality. Well, you’re young. I’m young and I think that for everyone, the sort of time is different as to when this becomes an issue for them. But typically, it’s associated with some life event-when they become sick themselves or have a brush with mortality, or something happens in their family. For me, it was the birth of my daughter. Her presence brought home the point that I want to be around for the milestones in her life. Not just alive, but present of sound mind and sound body. The second concept was the role of attitude and optimism in terms of living longer. There’s a phrase in Japanese called “ikigai,” which means “sense of purpose.” And the 22 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 their cultural and psychological fabric. And I don’t think it’s something that many societies, including our society in the United States, deal with very much. We are, if you will, just getting by, from an “ikigai” standpoint. Now, every morning I wake up and I really reflect and take stock. One might call it a type of meditation. I can feel myself calming down, my heart rate calms down, my blood pressure’s probably better regulated, I just feel much more content. There is enough evidence out there that this type of behavior change can make a huge difference in your overall cardiovascular health and in your ultimate longevity. There are numerous studies that show this type of mental regimen can help improve hormonal levels, including altering one’s cortisol levels. So besides realigning your mental attitude, what other changes did you make based on your investigations? In addition to my mental exercise, the second item I focused on was my physical exercise. I’m a runner—I run a lot, and I do marathons—but I never really focused on strength training. Adding upper body resistance training appears to make a huge difference for several reasons. One is that it improves your posture, which just makes you feel better. Two is that it adds a little bit of muscle mass, which changes your metabolism. You’re talking about some very large muscle groups here. Your pectoralis, your deltoids, and your latissimus—big muscle groups that if you increase their muscle mass, you’ll tend to burn more calories even when you are at rest. The third benefit is warding off osteoporosis. Studies show that load-bearing exercise, much more so than aerobic exercise, makes you less likely to develop porous or osteoporotic bones. I think the biggest benefit of www.earthstarmag.com upper body training for “Life Chasers” is that if you are in a nursing home or you’re in a hospital for some illness, pneumonia is the biggest killer for older people. People who have better upper body strength and have better pulmonary excursion are much more likely to be able to fight off pneumonia. So, for “Life Chasers,” upper body training can benefit posture, it can aid weight management, ward off broken bones, and protect against idiopathic pneumonia. That is a wide range of benefits. We’ve discussed your own program with regard to mental and physical exercise, what about food and supplements? In terms of supplements, I take a multivitamin and fish oil. Based on the over one thousand articles I have read, I firmly believe that fish oil has important benefits that I need to incorporate into my personal program. It is a remarkable substance. Interestingly, what fish oil accomplishes in the body is something that the pharmaceutical companies have been trying to accomplish for years. You may remember that Pfizer was trying to create a medication that lowered your LDL and simultaneously raised your HDL. Lipitor® lowers your LDL, but not your HDL. Niacin raises your HDL. At this point, there’s nothing that does both. However, fish oil seems to be one of the best substances at doing some of both. In terms of foods, I follow a very www.earthstarmag.com simple plan. If you eat seven different colored foods a day, you’ll pretty much cover all your nutritional bases. So these are three ways I changed my life: a sense of purpose or ikigai, upper body resistance training, and consuming the seven different colored foods each day, along with the addition of fish oils and a multivitamin. In the book you discuss caloric restriction, which is one of the most widely studied and validated methods of increasing life span. Have you incorporated any of that data into your own life? First of all, the science on caloric restriction appears to be pretty good. In the animal studies, it has been shown that you can prolong life span by about thirty-five percent in mice, which is significant. The primate studies are underway and they look very promising. There are now federal funds to underwrite the first human caloric restriction study. In terms of incorporating these ideas into my personal regimen, I actually have cut down my calories. I have never been a calorie counter, but I have become someone who does not satiate himself. Previously I would go out to eat in a restaurant and I would eat my meal until I was full. What I have learned, and it makes sense physiologically, as well as from a caloric restriction standpoint, is that if you slow down your eating, it takes about fifteen minutes for your stomach to send your brain a signal that you’re full. The problem is most of us finish a three-course meal in fifteen minutes, especially if we’re in a hurry, and we never give our brain a chance to catch up. So now, I slow down. I really try to enjoy my meals a little bit more. You know, we’re not talking about changing my entire scheduling, I’m talking about an extra ten or fifteen minutes. Also I eat more waterdense foods at the beginning of the meal, such as soups. Just the addition of soup can really make a difference. I probably have cut down my calories by about twenty percent as a result of that. The Japanese practice a similar concept and call it “harahachi bu,” which means to stop eating when you’re eighty percent full. It makes perfect sense physiologically. On a daily basis you report the latest health findings to the world ... how to avoid diabetes, how to lower cholesterol, the importance of fish oil supplements, etc. You would think that all this important health news about how one can improve their health would make everyone want to lose weight, exercise, and eat more carefully. Yet you look around and JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 23 diabetes is now epidemic worldwide; heart disease and cancer continue to claim untold lives on a daily basis. You must just shake your head and wonder what is the missing key to get people to take responsibility for their own health? 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Advertise with Earth staR and reach over 180,000 readers - call (617) 498-0265 24 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 You know, it’s something we think about all the time. I think everyone has a switch that suddenly goes off for them that makes them want to chase life and lead a healthier, longer life. Like I said earlier, in my case it was a brush with mortality that made me want to research this subject and find out everything I could to enhance my life as well as those of my readers/viewers. For my father, it was after he had heart problems. Now he’s a very fit sixtyyear-old guy as a result of making new decisions as to how he was going to live. So it varies with each individual. The obesity epidemic in this country is quite troubling and puzzling. I toured the country with Bill Clinton; childhood obesity is his biggest post-Presidency domestic initiative. He said something very disturbing, “for the first time, our children have a good chance at having a shorter life span than their parents.” So all these advances that are in my book which can help everyone live longer are erased by this one problem. I honestly don’t have the answer on this one. This one issue is probably more complicated than just about any other health issue out there, as there are a host of contributing factors. We’ve become a short-cut society, our neighborhoods don’t feel as safe as they used to, kids don’t play outside, school programs are going in the wrong direction, recess is being cut, it’s hard to get nutritious lunches, and we have vending machines in schools. I didn’t have vending machines in schools when I was a kid. This may seem simplistic, but www.earthstarmag.com this is truly a multifaceted problem. I think that society as a whole has to make a real commitment to solving this problem. This is the cold war of our generation and it’s going to kill more people. Heart disease already claims five hundred thousand lives, and this does not factor in this new generation of obese people. I can’t even imagine what the future numbers are going to be like, now that you have the childhood obesity problem. It’s going to be a real societal obligation that has to include everything from watching the farm subsidy bill for corn syrup, which I think is a big killer, to requesting that the fast food industry really offer healthier choices and make those healthier choices available to kids, including their school lunch programs. There are lots of different ways to tackle this problem, but it urgently needs to be addressed. What is your optimal goal for the documentary and the book, in terms of changing people’s thinking and behavior with regard to their health? I wanted to give something to people that they could hang their hat on. I got into this business five years ago. Formerly, I was a speech writer at the White House and I also did a lot health policy issues. As you know I’m also a practicing doctor. What I hear often is that there’s a lot of clutter in terms of medical information for the public. It’s all very confusing for everyone, including the doctors. With the book and the documentary, I wanted to be able to look at the very best science that we have right now, and say ‘Tm a doctor who knows something about the media and I’ve done all this research for you.” I wanted to create something that would help people sort through all the information noise and make good decisions. I think we’ve done that and the reviews have been good. A lot of people read the book before it was published and all agreed that the science I presented was solid. My comments weren’t always favorable to what they do, but they had to agree that the science that I presented was solid. The book is truly evidence-based and not based on anecdotes. The stories are good and it’s optimistic about all the options that are currently available to us. We wish you the best with the book and hope that it achieves your goal of positively influencing people to make more informed decisions about living longer, healthier lives. Reprinted with permission from Life Extension magazine, www.lef.org. www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 25 AWAKENING YOUR LIFE-FORCE ENERGY The following excerpts from The Chi Revolution: Harness the Healing Power of Your Life Force, by Bruce Frantzis, reprinted with permission from the publisher Blue Snake Books. Copyright 2008 by Bruce Frantzis. ISBN:978-1583941935. $19.95 US. school that I had founded after having studied for over twenty years with some of the most renowned chi masters in China, Japan and India. A young man in his thirties winds around a slippery winter road. Suddenly he loses control of his car as it skids on black ice formed on the shady side of a mountain. The car whips and collides into a jagged boulder that propels it fifteen feet in the air and off the cliff into blazing tumbles. He counts six rotations as he is being knocked about in the shrieking crash. The man suffered massive injury to his spine, with two badly cracked vertebrae, hairline fractures and several torn spinal ligaments and tendons. Each and every last one of his vertebra was knocked out of alignment. Three weeks following the accident, he awoke to the loss of feeling in his lower body. The accident rendered this once vital and strong man incapable of movement. The mental, emotional and physical anguish that ensued through his recovery is incomprehensible— unless, of course, this has happened to you. Well, it did me. I’m the man who survived that horrific car accident back in 1982. It was a life-transforming experience. My entire life before the crash had been about developing and refining my body as a martial artist—and I was proficient in the internal martial arts of ba gua, tai chi and hsingi, as well as karate, judo, jiu-jitsu and aikido. At the time of the crash, I was the head of a martial arts I had already overcome one lifethreatening incident in my life. While studying in India in my early twenties, I came down with an extremely virulent form of hepatitis. In the hospital, doctors told me I was probably going to die, as had all of their other patients that had been infected. I healed myself at that time with tai chi and energy work. However, back injuries are no joke. Doctors relentlessly pressured me to have a spinal fusion, which I repeatedly refused in terms that would not be appropriate to put down here. Given my condition, I feared that once my spine was cut open, the chi of my body would never be full again and I would not be able to do martial arts or, worse, even walk. Miracles did not occur. Instead, I did energy work on myself eight to ten hours each day while lying flat on my back in the hospital bed. After a few weeks, I went from being paralyzed to being able to stand up and walk a little. Nevertheless, the healing process was unbearably slow. My back kept destabilizing and the trauma neutralized every psychological control mechanism I knew. The emotional experience compounded by the constant nerve pain made life unbearable for me and everyone around me. The sudden loss of physical ability and the broken pride of an athlete left me in a profound depression. I 26 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 HARNESSING THE POWER OF CHI TO HEAL felt I had nothing to offer my students or the world. OVERCOMING EMOTIONAL CHALLENGES Total mastery of the physical body and self-discipline were some of the levels of my training while following the path of a warrior. What I had not learned to fully master was my mind and emotions. These were the more difficult challenges I had to overcome if I was to fully recover. I well understood the demoralizing effects of longterm negative prognoses and the morass of helplessness because, as a chi gung healer, I had taken many patients through these same emotions. I knew the patience and effort it would take to get me through the anger and fear. In time, my chi gung and meditation practices began to help and I began to have some limited mobility. I added many other types of therapy—chiropractic, deep tissue, Rolfing®, acupuncture and massage. Even with these therapies, my physical abilities remained radically diminished and the pain always returned. I decided that my only option was to do what I had always done when I could not find what I needed: I went back to China. My greatest teacher, Liu Hung Chieh, prescribed a particular form of tai chi and Taoist breathing and meditation. I practiced for eight hours a day for over three years. Much of what I did is still part of my daily practice. My back healed. However, as many who have had to deal with some kind of physical challenge understand, the principle barriers to healing were mental and emotional. When all of the conwww.earthstarmag.com The By Bruce Frantzis Chi Revolution By Bruce Frantzis www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 27 structs about who I was changed, the emotional traumas vanished, like smoke in the wind. My entire approach to life was reborn. My martial arts abilities returned and I came back to the United States in 1987 and began teaching again. Today, my body seems to be a relic of the young man who rose to the top of the martial arts game. Although my walk might be closer to a waddle and I look somewhat like a big statuary Buddha, there isn’t a whole lot that the average person can do that I can’t. When I do brief martial arts demos in my workshops, many of my students report that they are shocked at the speed, force and ease with which I can deliver a strike while maintaining relaxed composure. How is it possible? Chi. When using the arts of chi for external circumstances, the question is never if it is easy or hard; rather, with sufficient effort, it’s whether the task is 28 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 doable or not. The more strongly and more abundantly you build up your chi, the more strongly you ignite the healing forces within you. Today almost all of what I teach focuses on helping others work with the chi in their bodies for health, for self-healing and for helping to heal others using meditation and other techniques to overcome physical, emotional, mental and spiritual obstacles. CHI IS LIFE-FORCE ENERGY Simply put, chi is the life-force energy that keeps each of us alive and connected to one another and to all other living beings. Chi is the life force in the universe, holistically connecting everything together as one whole. Chi circulates in all living things as well as in the sun, planets and solar system. Different cultures have given this life force such names as ki (Japan), prana (India) and ruah (Hebrew and Aramaic). The Bible says: “God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The Taoists call the life force or breath of life chi. In many ancient cultures, strengthening the life force in a human being was central to forms of medicinal and healing practices. In ancient China, the Taoists deeply explored how chi could enable people to live well in the world. They created systems of medicine, medical exercise, divination methods and detailed pathways of meditation. TAOIST STUDY OF THE NATURE OF CHI Taoism is one of the world’s oldest spiritual traditions, vibrantly alive today. The word TAO also refers to the life path along which a person travels toward enlightenment. Many people know about Taoism through its ancient literary works, which www.earthstarmag.com form a practical foundation for all chi practices. These works also lay the metaphysical foundation for how chi flows through life and the universe. The I Ching, considered the bible of Taoism, is a map that represents how the energy of the universe works. The I Ching presents the Taoist view of the underlying nature and function of change, especially relevant in our lives today with the ever-increasing pace of modern life. Lao Tse’s Tao Te Ching, the second most translated book in the world after the Bible, is the elegant, philosophical book about Taoism written from the perspective of an old man reflecting back on the lessons learned from a long life. The third seminal book on Taoism, written by Chuang Tse, is The Book of Chuang Tse. This down-to-earth book, full of epigrams and stories, often irreverently pokes fun at beliefs and judgments—spoken and unsaid, spiritual and secular. You could call him the enlightened hippie of his time. Both Lao Tse and Chuang Tse emphasize softness, the overcoming of challenges in a gentle, patient manner, like the power of water to smooth stone over time. These principles, along with the ideal of creating continuity between one’s spiritual practice and one’s real-world life, are central not only to Taoist teachings but also to the pragmatic applications of activating and managing the flow of chi for health, martial arts and meditation. on for millennia. Equally, Westerners distrusted Asians and tended to discredit information they did not understand. Lastly, the Chinese language was also a formidable barrier to overcome, one that few foreigners breached. Further compounding the West’s disconnect to the East, during the Communist Revolution, many chi practitioners—including doctors and martial artists—fled the country. Others went underground and guarded their knowledge for fear of persecution. Luckily, many migrated to Europe, Canada and the United States and began to share their knowledge. Some practices, such as acupuncture, are slowly becoming accepted and incorporated as an adjunct to Western medicine. Yet, again, as these practices migrated to the West, the English language was formidable to some Chinese and, as a result, some ideas did not always survive accurate translation. I learned to fully comprehend the nature of energy flow by living in China for over a decade. Learning to speak Chinese fluently was essential to my capability to study with many renowned Taoist martial arts masters, medical healers and priests. I also worked for ten years as both an apprentice and a chi gung healer in Chinese medical clinics. Throughout this personal odyssey, I was continually tested and given challenges, including learning to harness the power of chi to heal myself. EAST MEETS WEST Awakening your chi is a gradual progression that starts with becoming aware of the chi in your body, and progresses to understanding how it is connected to your mind, emotions and, eventually, if you decide to pursue a spiritual quest, to your spirit. Instead of being fragmented, all of your parts—mind, body and spirit— begin to profoundly connect into one cohesive, integrated whole through Many students ask me, “If chi has been studied for thousands of years and had so many wonderful benefits, why don’t more people in the West know about it?” The answer is threefold. First, the Chinese kept these practices secret from Westerners and other foreigners, whom they distrusted and looked down upon. This went www.earthstarmag.com AWAKENING YOUR CHI chi practices. One of the greatest secrets of chi practices is that, no matter what your age or health condition when you start, you can improve and keep improving. Not only can you slow down the aging process, but you can also reverse its effects, because these techniques develop longevity and vitality. Once you learn more about how chi flows and works in such practices as tai chi, chi gung, TAO yoga, martial arts and meditation, you can integrate chi principles into your current exercise routines— yoga, walking, sports or performing. As you activate and channel the chi inside yourself, you will dramatically increase the quality of your life and become a pioneer in helping the rest of the world do the same. THE CHI REVOLUTION IS AN INNER REVOLUTION Today, interest in and knowledge about the science of chi is reaching a critical mass in the West, a tipping point. The beginning of a profound revolution has been ignited that will transform the way we think and feel about health, aging and our relationships to each other and to the natural environment. This is an inner revolution because it has to take place inside you. The only way you can develop the full potential of chi inside yourself is through direct experience and practice. You cannot just think about it. Thinking only keeps concepts as abstract thought forms. You may know that water exists and can relieve your thirst, but this is not the same as quenching your thirst with a drink. We all have opportunities to open our spirits, hearts and minds. We all can begin an inner exploration to harness the chi flowing inside and through us. Welcome to the Chi Revolution. Continued on Page 62 JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 29 CLASSES IN YOUR AREA Allston Brighton Manchester, MA Rock City Body 40 Penniman St., Allston, MA 02134 617-782-4410 – www.rockcitybody.com Yoga for all levels and stages of life. Certified Kripalu instructors. Theraputic yoga, Pilates, Belly Dance, Massage. Ayurvedic Rehabilitation Center Loretta Levitz 103 Bennett Street, Brighton, MA 02135 617-782-1727 ayurvedicrehabilitationcenter.com Ayurvedic yoga, adapted yoga. (North Shore) — Kim Valeri Yogaspirit Studios P.O. Box 2337, S. Hamilton, MA 01982 978-927-0099 www.yogaspiritstudios.com Yoga Teacher Certifications, CT, MA, ME, NH. Cambridge Arlington The Arlington Center Chip Hartranft, Director 369 Mass. Ave., Arlington, MA 02474 781-316-0282 – www.arlingtoncenter.org Powerful integration of movement & mindfulness with Chip; also Kripalu, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Kids Yoga, Yoga-Sutra, meditation, t’ai chi, Pilates, dance; wellness: massage, psycho-therapy, acupuncture, ayurveda, yogatherapy, feldenkrais. Boston Yoga in the Financial District Bronwen Murphy, experienced & creative teacher, welcomes students of all levels, 147 Milk St., (Harvard Vanguard) most Weds & Thurs 5:30pm-7:00pm 617-661-1779 for information, 877-439-5465 to register Bridgewater Center for Stress Management/ Maha Yoga Center, Diane Lagadec 4 Central Sq. 508-697-3273 and 508-697-3592 mahayoga@juno.com www.mahayogacenter.com Hatha & Ashtanga Yoga, Teacher Training, Meditation, Massage., Thai Yoga Massage, Shiatsu. 30 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 Dahn Yoga & Healing 1110 Mass. Ave., Harvard Square 617-576-9642 www.dahnyoga.com harvardsquaredahn@hotmail.com Meridian stretching, core strengthening, breathing postures, meditation, Qigong, acupressure healing massage & mind-body workshops. Private Intro sessions $20. Framingham Center for Yoga Lisa A. Megidesh, MS, RYT, director 393 Worcester Rd. 508-620-YOGA (9642) www.centerforyoga.us Hatha, Kundalini, Meditation, Reiki Trainings and healing sessions. Bikram Yoga Framingham 855 Worcester Rd., #18 Trolley Square 508-820-9642 www.YogaFramingham.com Intro-special: 2 classes for $10. Beginning Yoga Series. Hamilton Iron Crow Yoga Studio Mary Hunt, Director 161 Bay Road (Rte 1A N.) Hamilton, MA 978-468-3390 - www.ironcrowyoga.com Astanga/Vinyasa/Power yoga/Pilates, Teacher Training Newburyport The Water Lily House aka The Yoga Tree House H. Garber Director/Iyengar Instructor By the Sea, Plum Island Ma. 978-255-2190 Energy7H@aol.com Affordable Overnight retreats and daily onsite yoga classes, Bodywork, Reflexology, Reiki, and Intuitive Spiritual Counseling.Yoga for all ages and abilities. Peabody Alternative Therapy Center of Peabody Deborah Kako, M.Ed., LMHC, 24 Main Street, Peabody, MA 978-532-7440 - www.yogaatc.com yogaatc@aol.com Beginner & mixed levels Kripalu-certified RYT, Art Therapy, Psychotherapy, Expressive Therapy, Body Image Work, Yoga & the 12 Steps, Yoga Therapy. Quincy Center Real Life Yoga and Pliates Dee Lyon Locations in No. Wetmouth & Norwell, too! 781-331-6111 - www.reallifeyoga.com A variety of Yoga and Pilates for all levels. Revere Tranquil Flame Yoga Janine Grillo Marra, PT Point of Pines Yacht Club 28 Rice Ave, Revere, MA 02151 781-284-7949 www.tranquilflameyoga.com Morning & evening Hatha Yoga classes at oceanfront location. Seasonal workshops & retreats. Beginners welcome www.earthstarmag.com INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE & PSYCHOTHERAPY Judy Dempewolff, Ph.D. Arthur Gertler, M.D. ACUPUNCTURE — HERBAL MEDICINE Geoff D’Arcy, Lic. Ac. Betty Woo, Lic. Ac Yuanling Liu Lic. Ac. CHIROPRACTIC — Pheng Kouch, D.C. Wendy Kagan, D.C. YOGA THERAPY — Kathy Mongeau, R.Y.T. MASSAGE & BODYWORK — Judy Fiatarone,L.M.T. Patrick Crowley L.M.T. Wellness store for people and pets Our store offers you innovative wellness products Southborough Acara Yoga Studio, Gail D. 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West Concord Yoga and Nia for Life & Sacred Pathways Yoga Teacher Training Program 50 Beharell St., West Concord, MA 01742 978-371-0088 - www.yogalifecenter.com www.sacredpathwaysyoga.com Classes offered in the following disciplines: Hatha, Raja, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Svaroopa, Meditation, Iyengar, Kripalu, Tai Chi, Nia Technique, Yogilates, Power Yoga, Circles of Transformation. Weymouth Open Doors Power Yoga Studios 65 Washington St., Weymouth Landing 781-843-8224 - www.opendoors7.com 5 Locations Hot Power Yoga & Gentle Yoga, - All Levels, 200 & 500 Hour Nationally Registered Yoga Teacher Training. To List you Yoga practice or studio on this page call (617) 498-0265 1 full year (6 issues) for $200 www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 31 v Stoking The CREATIVE Fires By Phil Cousineau 32 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 www.earthstarmag.com Fires of the Imagination The artist must create a spark before he can make a fire and before art is born the artist must be ready to be consumed by the fire of his own creation. —Auguste Rodin nspiration is a flash of fire in the human soul. Consider the marvel: the inrush of spirit, the flash of an idea, the flame of insight, the spark of imagination. It’s the Aha, Eureka, and Hallelujah moment all rolled into one. Inspiration is a message-in-a-bottle from the distant shore, a window into the other world, a tap of the muse’s finger, the grace of the gods. It comes when you least expect it, when your defenses are down and your vulnerability up. It arrives in a dream, a conversation, a brainstorm—and leaves without warning. Inspiration is John Coltrane emerging out of a four-day silence with Love Supreme streaming through his soul. It’s Pierre Bonnard running to the easel after seeing his wife bathed in golden light in their bathtub. It’s Paul McCartney drifting off to sleep one night with the words “everyone lives in a yellow submarine” floating through his head. It’s the New Yorker cartoon with the light bulb flashing over the head of the starry-eyed inventor. Inspiration can also feel like a sudden possession. The mass hypnosis that came over Michelangelo and a group of fellow sculptors in Rome the day the Greek sculpture Laocoon was lifted out of the ground is illustrative of this fantastic aspect of inspiration, because it immediately compelled the entire group to draw it. Sometimes softly, sometimes violently, sometimes sweetly, inspiration swoops down and compels us to express ourselves, the devil be I www.earthstarmag.com damned. Suddenly, we’re moved to speak our minds, like the ecstatic Chinese poet Li Po, who believed he was divinely inspired to write his travel poems and drinking songs; or Jane Austen, who was determined to write even after being banished to a tiny desk in the cramped hallways of the family home; or Rembrandt, who resorted to painting dozens of self-portraits when he ran out of money for models. If inspired, the creative spirit takes wing, soars, surprises, blazes with radiance. “The glow of inspiration warms us,” Ovid wrote two thousand years ago, “and it is a holy rapture.” Allen Ginsberg said, “I write poetry because the English word inspiration comes from Latin, spiritus, breath, and I want to breathe freely.” “Who knows where it came from?” French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty admits, “My own words take me by surprise and teach me what to think.” Singer Ani DiFranco sighs, “I have no idea where it comes from. It isn’t fair.” Inspiration: it’s fascinating, enchanting, angrifying, exasperating, and elusive. If you try to pin it down, it squirms like Proteus, the Greek god of shapeshifting. It mocks your attempts to capture it with ropes of theory, keeping its secrets by slip-sliding away from you. If you deny it altogether and try to will your work into being without it, the work is recognized as “uninspired”-possibly the worst critique you can receive, because it insinuates you’re mechanical, soulless. On the other hand, trying to force yourself to “be inspired” is like trying to think more clearly by squinting. What you can do is be ready when the moment comes to work. You can be receptive, ready, and audacious. Stephen King’s On Writing is one of the best no-nonsense guides to the creative process in years. In it, he writes: “Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good ideas seem to come from literally nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky ... Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.” So inspiration may be an unpredictable friend, as inscrutable as an oracle and fickle as a weathervane. But if you’re serious about your own creativity, you have no choice but to try to make it ... well ... scrutable, to salvage a wonderful old word. What you can do is improve the odds that your spirit will be moved by being alert to whatever form inspiration may take. The recurring theme reflected in my own various passions—from the arts, to politics, to the spiritual life, to architecture, to baseball—is the ardent belief that the sparks of inspiration are everywhere. If I remain open to the wild fire they portend and don’t hide behind the shutters of cynicism, sooner or later, one will ignite. In some still-elusive way, inspiration has to be both everywhere and everywhen, because it isn’t a luxury for me. It’s not a hobby; it’s my life. Everything has to fit, sooner or later, into my insatiable desire to be creative or it feels JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 33 like my life is backfiring. For me, this means that I find inspiration in the rainbow flight of wild parrots over our house in San Francisco, the bells tolling from the church down the hill, the laughter of nursery-school kids walking in the rain, the lived-in face of an old Filipino newspaper seller, and the chance 1930s postcard stuck into one of my father’s books. If I’m stuck, I look far and wide for the fires that will kindle my inspiration. My life revolves around this constant search. If I’m not on fire, I’m not inspired, and I can’t work. If I force it, the work always sounds as if it’s written in someone else’s voice. When asked what inspires me, I say, “Whatever sets my soul on fire.” That means travel, books, art, music, photographs, nature, or cafe conversation. Often as not, it’s the ordinary 34 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 wonders that do it—the sandalmaker, the mail carrier, or a cantoneiro, a sidewalk tile-setter I met in Lisbon years ago who felt he’d been given a gift from God in his ability to lay tile in beautiful, swirling black-and-white patterns. As I knelt to watch him work, I saw a glint in his eye that revealed devotion to his craft and gratitude for the gift he’d been given. That inner light has shone on in me till this day. To immerse myself in the extraordinary, I seek out the paintings of Bonnard, the symphonies of Mahler, the sculptures of Henry Moore, the nature essays of Annie Dillard, the plays of Eugene O’Neill, the poetry of Philip Levine, the songs of Van Morrison, the slick lines of a ‘64 Mustang, and the lilt in my son’s voice when he says, “Pop.” And I can’t live without my daily dose of creative fire. Without it, I become neurotic—or grumpy, as my son tells me. But at least I know I’m not alone in this fierce desire. Seven hundred years ago Rumi told his followers: “Make friends with your burning.” Fifty years ago, jazz great Miles Davis was so lit up by Charlie Parker’s he cried out, “I want his fire!” However, caveat lector. Reader, beware. There are at least two kinds of inspiration. The first lifts your spirit, as spirituals and sunsets do. It makes you feel good, which isn’t bad. But the second lifts your spirit and then flings you like a flaming arrow, full of passion and resolve to set the world on fire. This is the duende, the dark song in the gypsy soul, the black light that enflames the canvas, the spark that enlarges the heart. This is the blood surge that www.earthstarmag.com can be detected in the poems of Federico Lorca, the paintings of Edvard Munch, and the dances of Martha Graham. And it’s combustible. In this sense, inspiration is a gift from the back of beyond—a revelation of what separates us from all other species. We are moved to create, not out of brute instinct or biological necessity, but because we feel something so deeply we must respond, however carefully. Tchaikovsky describes this formidable force, in a letter dated from Florence, Italy, February 17 (March 1) 1878: If that condition of mind and soul which we call inspiration lasted long without intermission, no artist could survive it. The strings would break and the instrument be shattered into fragments. It is already a great thing if the main ideas and general outline of a work come without any racking of brains, as the result of that supernatural and inexplicable force we call inspiration. This isn’t just shoveling smoke. It has everything to do with striving to express something—not off the top of your head, but from your fiery depths. Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton put it this way: “Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit.” This goes for superb athletes, great artists, and also for rice farmers in the Philippines, brick-layers in Guatemala, teachers in Buffalo, and nurses in the Scottish Highlands. They can all teach you something about how to stoke the fires even under the harshest circumstances. I’m trying to tell you something important here. The creative urge matters. Stories matter. Images matter. It matters that you were born with a genius, a guiding , Ph.D. www.learnreiki.org Pure Home Center Your resource center for Natural NON-TOXIC PRODUCTS * AFM Paints & Sealers * AFM Stains & Finishes * Air & Water Purifiers * Eco Wool Carpet & Pads * Marmoleum & Cork Floors * Eco Timber & Floors Rt 16 / Village Plaza at H o l l i s t o n 508-429-5255 www.purehomecenter.com Continued on page 74 www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 35 he Mayan calendar is the source of the 2012 end-date, and John Major Jenkins is one of its most wellknown independent researchers, having spent his entire career studying Mayan cosmology and its meaning. Delving into the mythological and spiritual connotations of the monuments at Izapa, an ancient Mayan site, he reveals what the Maya foresaw for the year 2012. In the following essay, John begins with a “Mayan Calendar 101” primer. After addressing the basic questions of Mayan philosophy, he guides the reader into a deeper investigation of the spiritual teachings of 2012. T When I think back to how I was introduced to 2012, I remember one warm summer afternoon when I was 12. I had a conversation with my childhood friend, Joe, that foreshadowed my lifework—my deep involvement as an adult with Mayan cosmology, eschatology, and enddate 2012. Joe showed me a book his dad was reading about the Indians down in Mexico. They were astronomers and had a calendar that was going to end in the year 2011. “December 24, 2011,” Joe said, the origins of the 2012 revelation 35 and that date rang like a beckoning mystery in my mind. I chewed on it. What could it mean? Would time just stop? Would the world blow up? Curious, I looked at the book, a big hardcover with a dark blue dust jacket. I didn’t fully register the author or the title, but 10 years later I had a deep feeling of recognition when I found Frank Waters’s book Mexico Mystique. Yes, that was it. (Waters’s book used an erroneous calculation and thus called the end-date December 24, 2011, but in truth, it is December 21, 2012.) A chain of thoughts sprang up from that day with Joe, and something was triggered in my own cognitive development. The idea of “philosophy” was planted, the realm of ideas and complex thought, ancient cultures, history, and deep time. And yes, a specific seedthought was planted, that an Indian calendar from Mexico was going to end during my lifetime. the ancient mayan stargazers To get to the root of the significance of 2012, it is important to understand the Maya and their calendar. The ancient Mayan day-keepers visited their mountain shrines and tracked the sacred sequence of days. But they were more than just counters. They were also stargazers, cosmologists, philosophers, and shamans. As shamans, they interacted with multiple dimensions to divine hidden secrets, access healing powers, and see beyond the veil of mundane appearances. Our appreciation of ancient Mayan genius must take into account this mystical domain of human endeavor, which today is often misunderstood and dismissed as primitive or superstitious. As with other New World societies, the Maya engaged in visionary shamanism as a precondition for the formulation of profound cosmologies and metaphysical teachings. Among the Quiché Maya, the visionary shamans were called the nik wak’inel—those who gaze into the cosmic center. According to them, the center of time and space would be revealed when their big calendar cycle came to an end— December 21, 2012. How can we understand the deep and complicated legacy of the ancient Mayan stargazers? The approach I advocate for understanding 2012 and the Mayan calendar is self-evident but rarely practiced: let’s base our understanding on the authentic Mayan documents that relate to the 2012 calendar and the World Age doctrine that is so intimately related to 2012. These docu- ments are the Mayan Creation Myth (the Popol Vuh), the ball game mystery play that is central to the Creation Myth, and the carved monuments from the main ceremonial site of the early Mayan culture that invented the 2012 calendar—a site called Izapa. By examining these core traditions, we can reconstruct and revive the original 2012 revelation. All religious traditions begin with a pure download, or revelation, from the transcendent source of all wisdom. Unfortunately, the original revelation always gets distorted and diluted during the ensuing centuries. Movements splinter, factions compete, corruption seeps in, and spiritual insights born of direct mystical experience get codified into religious dogmas designed to control access to spiritual truth. Worldly power plays co-opt and obscure the inner essence of the revelation. It would not be surprising if the original spiritual teachings of Izapa were likewise distorted as the Classic Period Mayan civilization grew to prominence. In fact, the increasing practice of warfare and human sacrifice at the end of the Classic Period (circa AD 900) is an indication of this decadent trend. For this reason, it is extremely important that Izapa’s carved monuments are preserved and are oriented to horizon astronomy in meaningful ways, so that we can decode what the creators of the 2012 calendar intended 2012 to mean. These monuments were built between 400 BC and AD 100. In studying them, instead of a quaint provincial belief system, we actually find a little doorway into the vast and profound perennial truths espoused by all of the great world religions at their deepest esoteric core. We find not only a profound astronomy-based cosmology, but also a prophecy the origins of the 2012 revelation 37 and a spiritual teaching appropriate for Continued on page 41 36 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 www.earthstarmag.com The Origins of the 2012 Revelation By John Major Jenkins www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 37 CALENDAR events workshops festivals classes Top Photo 8/29-8/31: Donna the Buffalo perform at the 11th Annual Rhythm & Roots Festival, Charlestown, RI. Info and Tickets: 1-888855-6940, rhythmandroots.com. JUNE 6/7: Reiki Certification. Wilton, NH. Libby Barnett, MSW. 26 years experience. Reiki Energy Medicine co-author. Notebook, pin, certificate awarded. Visa/MC accepted. CEU’s. Call 1-888-REIKI-4-U or (603) 654-2787 Reiki II: 6/8. 6/11-6/22: Ohki Siminé Forest brings powerful ancient native teachings designed to offer clear guidance on the Rainbow Spiritual Warrior ways. These powerful Earth practices firmly ground and root you within your true self and authentic path. Free Event at UU Church in Arlington on June 13. Contact Mary Jo (978) 633-7388 or bridge@redwindcouncils.org. 6/13: Breathwork Workshop with Tara Nieves at Open Doors Power Yoga Studios, 65 Washington St., Weymouth Landing, 781335-3090, 7:00-9:30PM Cost: $50, If prereg/pre-pay by June 8: $35. Are you breathing a full, open healthy breath? Are you giv38 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 ing yourself the oxygen that you need to be energized, healthy, and joyfully alive? Join Tara Nieves, Certified Breathwork practioner, to learn the tool of conscious breathing that will help expand your breath capacity; raise your energy level; and bring more health and well-being into your life. Live a more peaceful and joyous life simply by breathing more fully! www.breathawakening.com. 6/14: Reiki Certification. Boston area. Libby Barnett, MSW. 26 years experience. Reiki Energy Medicine co-author. Notebook, pin, certificate awarded. Visa/MC accepted. CEU’s available. Call 1-888-REIKI-4-U or (603) 654-2787 Reiki II: 6/15. 6/14: Beginners Power Yoga Workshop with Richard Lanza & Shawn Cornelison at Open Doors Power Yoga Studios, 65 Washington Street, Weymouth Landing,1:00-4:00 pm, (781) 335-3090. $60. If preregister / prepay by June 9, $45. Learn the basics of power yoga. Included in the workshop are demonstration and practice of: correct breathing, alignment & modifications of each posture. 6/14: The Seance with Diana DiMartino, Linda Marie, Lois Cato-King, Linda Gibson, Elizabeth Russell, 6:30pm at Open Doors, 395 Washington Street, Braintree, (781) 8438224. Hands joined. Energies linked. Secrets revealed. The Séance. Spirits revisited. Be a witness in the outer circle. Who knows whom you might hear from? Audience tickets are now on sale at the front desk. A séance is more than just communicating with the dead; a séance is an opportunity to receive spiritual messages from those that have crossed over. Hands join. Souls connect. Energies link. Spirit arrives. Secrets and answers are revealed. At the séance, spirits are revisited. 6/15: Flower Essence Apprenticeship with Sister Wolf/Kendra; 3rd Sunday beginning June 15th and ending November 16th; 11am4pm; $315; prepay by June 8th $300. Call www.earthstarmag.com Earth Star Calendar laugh. Expect to be intrigued. Expect to have fun. Expect to be there! 6/22: Learn to See Auras with Lourdes Gray, Ph.D., CCHT, Jaffrey, NH. Auras contain information about physical, mental and emotional states. We will show you what to look for, and how to develop your inner vision to see auras around people, animals and plants anytime you wish. The process is surprisingly easy! $125 tuition includes practice CD, manual and your Kirlian photograph. Visa/MC. (603) 899-3288 www.learnreiki.org. JULY 6/14: Pianist Ramsey Lewis features at An Evening with Legends of Jazz, at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, Worcester, MA, Saturday, June 14. For info and Tickets call: 1-877-571-7469. Open Doors at (781) 843-8224 to register. Expand your holistic practice or learn to use flower essences personally. Learn how essences are used for many different imbalances and how they are made. Work with many different kinds of essences and gem elixirs. Work energetically with Devas of the plants and stones to promote balance in people and animals. You will leave with a set of essences. Learn to use sound, pyramids and intention with the essences while making an essence. This class will be held in Wareham weather permitting it will be held in my garden when appropriate. You are required to purchase bottles. This is a six month all day apprenticeship program. 6/21: Past Life Regressions with John Harvey Gray and Lourdes Gray, Ph.D., Jaffrey, NH. The same popular seminar John gave for years at the Maine Healing Arts Festival and Interface. Two regressions are provided. Your subconscious selects the dates and places and protects you from bringing back any uncomfortable emotions. $75.Visa/MC. (603) 899-3288 www.learnreiki.org. 6/21: Lecture on the Paranormal with Jeff Belanger; June 21, 2008 1-3PM Lecture $15; 3-5PM Book Signing Free;Open Doors, 395 Washington St., Braintree, (781) 8438224. Esteemed Author and Investigator Jeff Belanger will regale of tales from the other side that he has collected over the years through his research. The author with stories quintessential to the paranormal. Expect to www.earthstarmag.com 7/13: Crystal Healing Level II with Emma Phanuef (3 Weeks), Sundays, July 13, 20, 27, 5:30pm-8:00pm, $150. This comprehensive workshop takes students to the next level of crystal healing and incorporates a more diverse knowledge of this potent healing modality. You will be introduced to a new array of crystals including wands and laser wands and their role in healing/energy work. Emma shows students how to set up a proper healing space and how to make a crystal layout which will attend to the needs of the healer and the client. Elixirs will be revisited as students realize their importance in the crystal healer's toolbox. Upon completion, you will receive a personalized formal certificate from Emma. Please bring your notebook and your healing crystals with you. fies you immediately to work on yourself, others and pets. 13.5 CEUs Visa/MC. (603) 899-3288 www.learnreiki.org. 8/9-8/10: Reiki I Certification with John Harvey Gray and Lourdes Gray, Ph.D., Belmont, MA. Awaken your healing skills studying with the longest-practicing Reiki Master in the West. Two days of learning, hands-on practice and no cut corners certifies you immediately to work on yourself, others and pets. 13.5 CEUs Visa/MC. (603) 899-3288 www.learnreiki.org. 9/20: Psychic Development, Past Lives, & Angel Workshop with Ross Miller, psychic medium, regression therapist, healer. In this unique, experiential workshop you’ll learn how to identify your guardian angels and spirit guides by name and receive their guidance and healing; discover your soul’s life purpose; experience two of your past lives; give psychic readings to others in class and more. Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm, Newton, MA. To register for the workshop or to schedule a psychic or past-life reading or healing in person or over the phone with Ross Miller. (617) 527-3583 or visit www.TheMysticWay.com. 7/19: An Evening of Ghost Stories with Paul Oleskiewicz, July 19, 2008 7:00pm9:00pm; $10. Paul Oleskiewicz, founder of Central Berkshire Ghost Hunters and member of the Berkshire Paranormal Group will share his story of how he was a major inspiration in the writing of Berkshire Ghosts Legends and Lore written by E. Ashley Rooney. He will also share stories about the haunted hills of Berkshire County Massachusetts and his knowledge of paranormal research and his thoughts on using protection stones on investigations UPCOMING 8/2-8/3: Reiki I Certification with John Harvey Gray and Lourdes Gray, Ph.D., Jaffrey, NH. Awaken your healing skills studying with the longest-practicing Reiki Master in the West. Two days of learning, hands-on practice and no cut corners certi- 6/5-6/8: The Radiators perform at the Blast from the Bayou Cajun Zydeco Festival, at Strawberry Park, Preston, CT. For information and Tickets call: 1-888-794-7944. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 39 Earth Star Calendar ONGOING Food As Medicine Workshop, 1/08-3/08, Sharon A. Kane, Instructor. Live Superfoods can repair the intestinal damage associated with celiac, gluten intolerance, candida, IBS, leaky gut and food allergies. This 8-session course teaches simple techniques to create low cost live food at home. Kombucha, kefir, gluten free bread, lactofermented pickles. For complete info call Sharon A. Kane, (508) 881-5678 or email Gpath2003@yahoo.com. Psychosynthesis & Beyond. Tools for the Journey with Ramsay Raymond, MA, MHC & Marsha Showstead, MEd, LCSW. Build a strong inner foundation for life’s journey and for realizing your higher potential through Psychosynthesis, a holistic spiritual psychology. Course February 14-March 20. Center at Westwoods (781) 329-0711, www.centeratwestwoods.com. Reiki Certification, Boston and Wilton, NH. Libby Barnett, MSW. 26 years experience. Reiki Energy Medicine co-author. Notebook, pin, certificate awarded. Visa/MC accepted. CEU's. Call 1-888-REIKI-4-U or (603) 654-2787. Exquisite Energysm for Women. Center, ground, and open to the flow. A nourishing, feel-good event. Cerridwen guides easy movements from qigong and hands-on healing. Second Thursdays 7:30pm-9:30pm, Aquarius Sanctuary, Littleton, MA (978) 486-0248. $20. Call ahead. Shamanic Drumming Circle, founded 1993. Usually Second and Fourth Fridays of every month, 7:00pm. Quaker meetinghouse, Cambridge. Open to all, but please call first for full details and directions. Terrence (978)-952-2704 or Emily (781)-641-3980. Exquisite Energysm for Healers. Relax and get a dose of the good stuff for yourself. Easy movements from qigong and hands-on healing with Cerridwen. Third Saturdays 7:00pm10:00pm. Aquarius Sanctuary, Littleton, MA. (978) 486-0248. $20. Call ahead. Buddhist Meditation Group with Peg Travers, Ordained Priest, Buddha Heart USA, Sunday evenings, Haverhill, MA, 5:00pm6:00pm. Learn and practice the ancient arts of meditation, chanting, QiGong, Buddhist Yoga & Reiki. Call the Center for Spiritual Development, Haverhill MA, (978)-372-5173 or online @www.uuhaverhill.org/happenings. Ongoing Classes in Shamballa Multidimensional Healing and Healing Art offered at the Natick Community Organic Farm, by Joyce Cerutti. SMH may be thought of as an expansion of the energies we know as Reiki. No prior attunements necessary. Healing Art classes offered for both individuals and families, combining energy healing and art healing for greater benefit. Call for dates, times, and further information. Intuitive healing paintings also available. (508)-380-8273. Workshops for Pain Management and Improved Wellness. Offerings for Bodyworkers, athletes, Personal Trainers, Coaches and general pain-sufferers. Check website: web.maynard.ma.us/biz/bmassage, or call Barry Bailey at (978)-897-0110 for information and brochure of current offerings. The Labyrinth Ladies Spiritual Empowerment Workshops, go to www.thelabyrinthladies.com for our latest programs and walks or call (401)-847-6551 for more information. Facilitator Trainings, site consultations, workshops for schools, hospitals and businesses. Drumming Circle with Kristine Malpica (of Imagine Studios) on third Friday of each month. 7:00pm-8:30pm. Center for Spiritual Development, 15 Kenoza Ave, Haverhill, MA. (978)-372-5173. Christ Church Unity - Experience the healing power of music, prayer and meditation, every Wednesday at 7:00pm. Daily Word Discusion Sundays at 10:00am. Sunday Service, 11:00am. Corner of Colchester & Chapel Streets, Brookline, MA 02466. Call (617) 232-4548 for more information or visit: www.unityboston.org. Free Energy Healing in Arlington. Johrei healing is available each Wednesday evening from 7:00pm-9:00pm at 81 Cleveland St. in Arlington, MA. Johrei purifies the spirit through the channeling of divine light, restores inner spiritual balance and eases physical, mental, & emotional distress. There is no charge for Johrei. Please call (781) 646-0614 for directions or information on other area locations. The Constellation Approach – Strengthen the relationship with your partner, current family, parents and siblings and ultimately your ancestral lineage by connecting with the Family Soul. Saturday workshops, ongoing Learning Programs and private sessions offered in the Family Constellation Method of Bert Hellinger. Jamy & Peter Faust, facilitators, (617) 484-HEAL (4325). www.ConstellationApproach.com. Stress Management, Imagery, and a range of Reiki programs, with CEUs for nurses, led by holistic nurse educators. Centered in Amesbury, MA with other locations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Visit www.LymanCenter.com or call: 1-(888)-TLC-8485. 8/29-8/31: Marcia Ball is appearing at the 11th Annual Rhythm & Roots Festival, August 29-31, at Ninigret Park, Charlestown, RI. Info and Tickets call: 1-888-855-6940. 40 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 6/8: A Rare Boston Appearance: Djavan! in Concert, Sunday, June 8, 8:00pm, at the Orpheum Theater, 1 Hamilton Place, Boston. For Tickets and information call: (617) 931-2000. The Deadline for listings in the August / September issue is July 22nd www.earthstarmag.com 2012,.. Continued from page 37 all citizens of cycle endings. And the years leading up to 2012 signal a big cycle ending. your guide The keystone of the Mesoamerican calendar system is the 260-day tzolkin (pronounced zol-keen, derived from the Quiché Maya term chol-qih, or count of days). The tzolkin consists of 13 numbers and 20 day-signs. Each day-sign has an oracular meaning, with many layers of linguistic puns and metaphysical references that provide a rich database for Mayan calendar priests to weave their interpretations. The tzolkin is a key that operates in many different domains of the universe. First and foremost, Mayan day-keepers (priests who count the sacred day-signs) offer a simple explanation for the tzolkin’s magical properties. They say that the 260 days are based upon the nine-month period of human gestation. Mayan midwives, in fact, use the tzolkin www.earthstarmag.com cycle to estimate the birthdate of a child by adding 260 days to the day when a woman realizes she has missed her period. This reveals the tzolkin operating in the domain of human biology, human physical unfolding. It also suggests why significant life events often occur around one’s tzolkin birthday: the primordial 260-day rhythm of embryogenesis continues as a resonant pattern throughout all of life’s important junctures. Second, the interval between the planting and harvesting of corn in highland Guatemala is 260 days. In the Mayan Creation Myth, human beings were made from corn dough, so this is a reflection of human gestation on an agricultural level. Third, the tzolkin is the critical key to the Mayan almanacs that predict eclipses and the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. The daysigns and numbers of the tzolkin pro- vide a calendrical framework with which to track celestial movements. For example, the Sacred Day of Venus, which inaugurates the 104year Venus Round, always occurs on the tzolkin day 1 Ahau. With these three examples, it is easy to see how the tzolkin is a key to human cycles, earth cycles, and celestial cycles. The tzolkin unites the processes of heaven and earth and is the key to a mystical philosophy of “as above, so below” and “the microcosm reflects the macrocosm.” The Maya formulated a grand comprehensive vision of universal processes united by a common numerical thread woven throughout the tapestry of multiple dimensions. The Maya also developed a timekeeping system called the “Long Count.” This is the calendar that targets 2012 as the end of a vast cycle of time, a key concept in the Mayan JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 41 doctrine of world ages. The Long Count utilizes five place values: 1 day = 1 kin (day) 20 days = 1 uinal (vague month) 360 days = 1 tun (vague year) 7,200 days = 1 katun (19.7 years) 144,000 days = 1 baktun (394.26 years) Thirteen baktuns equal 1,872,000 days, which is one World Age cycle (5,125.36 years). Notice that to reach the World Age cycle, the baktun period is multiplied by 13 rather than 20. We know that the 13-baktun period ends on December 21, 2012, because scholars have deciphered how the Mayan calendar correlates with our Gregorian calendar. Modern scholars use a simple Long Count notation. For example, 9.16.4.4.1 means that 9 baktuns, 16 katuns, 4 tuns, 4 uinals, and 1 day have elapsed since the zero day of the Long Count, which the correct correlation fixes at August 11, 3114 BC. The “zero” date is written 0.0.0.0.0, and the “end-date” of the 13-baktun cycle is thus written 13.0.0.0.0. The use of the term “enddate” gives rise to the mistaken notion that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012. Mayan time is cyclic, and it should go without saying that time continues into the next cycle. We use similar conventions in our language when we speak of “the end of the day,” but we don’t expect time to stop at midnight. How do we know December 21, 2012, is the correct end-date? Why not AD 2230 or AD 1740? This issue involves the correlation of the Mayan calendar with our own, an important question that was of great concern to early Mayan scholars. After decades of research, the correlation question was finally settled in 1950. An unexpected result of settling the correlation was that the thirteenth baktun would end on December 21, 2012, on the tzolkin 42 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 day 4 Ahau. This date in the tzolkin confirmed the surviving tzolkin daycount in highland Guatemala and validates the carvings called “creation monuments,” which always correlate 13.0.0.0.0 with 4 Ahau. A fundamental fact that needs to be appreciated, so that we may all act in unity, is what I call “the equation of Mayan time”: 13.0.0.0.0 = December 21, 2012 = 4 Ahau This “equation” shows how the tzolkin, the Long Count, and the Gregorian calendar are connected. Although Mayan time-philosophy is a deep study that can get complex, for the purpose of understanding 2012 we only need to know that December 21, 2012, is the end of the 13-baktun cycle in the Long Count calendar, which in Mayan philosophy equals one World Age. Despite misunderstandings vigorously repeated by critics, the 2012 enddate is firmly established and is a true and accurate artifact of the Mayan philosophy of time. Mayan Metaphysics And Spiritual Cosmology Having completed the “Mayan Calendar 101” primer, we can now explore more interesting territory. This is where we open our minds to the profound metaphysical truths that hide within the Mayan calendar. Philosophy, spirituality, metaphysics, cosmology, religious rituals, perennial wisdom, and time-tested teachings about transformation all lie within the domain of the Mayan calendar. What emerges from studying Mayan time-philosophy is nothing less than a grand galactic cosmovision unparalleled in world traditions. Yet the Mayan tradition, at its core, advocates and elucidates the universal and perennial wisdom teachings at the heart of all the world’s great spiritual traditions. My own journey with the Mayan calendar has been like a deepening initiatory path. When my journey began, I had a dream that I was an old man speaking to youngsters. When they asked who I was, I chuckled and replied, “I am, and will always be, a student of Mayan time.” This is an ever-deepening path. The breakthrough occurs when we see that Mayan spiritual teachings are not the the origins of the 2012 revelation 41 arbitrary beliefs of an obscure people, but teachings that tap into the great perennial truths that all spiritual traditions share. But there’s something more about the Mayan tradition—it exemplifies a great scientific and spiritual achievement in the Americas. As we explore Mayan time-philosophy, our guiding light will be the expectation that profound perennial wisdom is waiting to be recovered. The Mayan calendar embodies a comprehensive cosmovision, a grand unified theory of time, space, spirit, matter, and consciousness. The Maya were much closer to the perennial metaphysics known to students of esoteric teachings and oriental mysticism, a kind of high-minded New World shamanism firmly rooted in good math and astronomy. Calendar, myth, astronomy, and spiritual awakening: all these themes were woven together in the Mayan calendar. Cosmic Centers And Galactic Alignments The Mesoamericans were very interested in orienting themselves correctly to the larger universe, and this was expressed in their architecture and city building plans. It was also the centerpiece of their cosmology and religion. They were, after all, the nik wak’inel—those who gaze into the center. But where is the center? The ancient Olmec civilization that preceded the Maya believed the center was the polestar, around which all www.earthstarmag.com the other stars appear to rotate. Other traditions, such as the New Fire ceremony, utilized the zenith (the exact center of the sky overhead). Along with the polar center and the zenith center, the Maya acknowledged a third cosmic center hidden within the 2012 end-date and the World Age doctrine preserved in the Mayan Creation Myth. The Milky Way crosses over the ecliptic (the zodiacal path followed by the sun, moon, and planets) in two places—one in Sagittarius and one in Gemini (see Figure 6). In Mayan symbolism, crosses denote the idea of “cosmic center.” What is interesting about these established Mayan concepts is that the cross in Sagittarius targets the center of our Milky Way galaxy (the galactic center). Identifying the center of the world was clearly an essential concern for the Maya. But there were unavoidably three answers, or levels, to this question. No Mayan scholars and few others have been willing to accept this slight complication, but the payoff is that we gain an accurate understanding of Mayan spiritual philosophy. Since the early 1990s, I’ve explored the various traditions around the three cosmic centers. The astronomy aside, the Maya also saw them as coequal principles associated with three deities: Seven Macaw (Big Dipper, the polar center); Quetzalcoatl (the Pleiades, the zenith center); and One Hunahpu (December solstice sun, the galactic center). But how is the December solstice sun associated with the galactic center, not to mention 2012? On this third level, the galactic center emerges as the senior cosmic center, the one that embraces the highest possible considerations and the most comprehensive perspective. In the same way that the heliocentric model introduced by Copernicus in the six- teenth century was a superior way of modeling the cosmos, the Maya achieved a cosmological understanding that superceded earlier and less true perspectives. So, how is the December solstice sun deity (One Hunahpu) associated with the galactic center? Here is the key to 2012: in the years around 2012, the December solstice sun will align with the center of the cross that targets the galactic center. This era-2012 alignment is caused by the phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes. The Earth wobbles very slowly on its axis and changes our orientation to the larger field of stars, including the Milky Way. For the ancient sky watchers, the most noticeable effect of this phenomenon was that the position of the sun on the equinox shifted in relation to background stars and constellations (as well as the Milky Way). The phenomenon also equally affects the solstices, so the position of the December solstice sun has been shifting slowly, appearing to converge with the Milky Way’s center over many thousands of years. In fact, the December solstice sun aligns with the Mayan cross and the galactic center only once every 26,000 years—the full cycle of precession. This is an apparent alignment that was meaningful to the ancient stargazers. My research into the empirical basis of this event reveals that an era of alignment must be considered— an alignment zone for era-2012 that stretches from 1980 to 2016. When they formulated the Long Count calendar, the ancient Mayan astronomers calculated forward to the alignment and fixed the end of the 13-baktun cycle to it. This is the hidden astronomical basis of the 2012 end-date. Other Mayan traditions utilize the alignment image as a primary motif. For example, I discovered that the sacred ball game and the Mayan Creation Myth encode the 2012 alignment, the “galactic alignment.” Similarly, I discovered that Izapa was where the 2012 44 john major jenkins calendar originated and is a rich source of carvings, prophecy, and spiritual teachings that relate directly to 2012. No one else had taken this approach, and my findings promised to turbocharge Mayan studies. My investigations and discoveries took place at a rare juncture in my life. By 1994, I’d lived and worked in Mayan villages in the highlands of Guatemala, had visited many of the temple sites throughout Mesoamerica, and was engaged in an ongoing effort to push back the fringes of what was known about ancient Mayan cosmology. With the galactic alignment, I felt I had found the key to understanding 2012. I made a conscious decision to dedicate myself to studying and analyzing the implications of what I was uncovering. Living in a renovated garage outside of Boulder, Colorado, I worked part-time to pay my bills and wrote dozens of essays, each one blazing a new trail in explaining how the galactic alignment was encoded into Mayan traditions. The nearby university library was my research archive. In 1998, when I completed my book Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, I was confident that my findings were supported by the evidence—that I had put a key concept on the table that made sense of so many disconnected threads in how official scholars interpreted Mayan traditions. The very fact that the 13-baktun end-date fell on a solstice date highlighted some kind of intention behind it, but scholars dismissed this as coincidence. I was bemused and baffled at how any progress could take place in academic circles when that kind of attitude runs the show. Yet, I was following the trails laid out by the scholars themselves. Michael Coe, for example, had said that “the priorContinued on page 46 www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 43 The Movie Mystic Bod y & Soul: Soul Diana & Kathy et ready to fall madly in love with two of the most remarkable women ever to be immortalized G on film. Kathy Conour has cerebral palsy and her caregiver for the last thirty-seven years has been and remains Diana Braun, who has Down syndrome. No, this is NOT a sad story. It is actually much more like a female version of Neil Simon’s hilarious Odd Couple, with Kathy as Felix and Diana’s wonderful sense of humor ruling the day as Oscar. Not to be outdone, Kathy has a sign on her wheelchair that says: “Pat me on the head and I’ll bite your hand!” The one emotion you will not experience with these women is self-pity. Neither Diana nor Kathy have any room for anything but optimism in their busy and full lives as activists in the world of human rights for the disabled. Diana was sent to a state home when she was twelve years old and then to a developmental center when she was nineteen. One of the most poignant motifs throughout the film is Diana’s ongoing attempts to reconnect with her mother who couldn’t cope with the lifestyle of caring for a daughter with Down syndrome. Through those experiences, Diana developed an intense distaste for the idea of housing people with disabilities such as hers in state-run institutions. When she and Kathy connected with each other, Diana became Kathy’s caregiver and they became life-long friends and unpaid lobbyists for their cause. 44 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 Traveling their own state of Illinois and even the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C, they regularly lobby their own United States senators and other representatives for more independence for the disabled. Diana served on the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities and works tirelessly to call attention to the fierce independence that these two women depend on to keep their spirits alive and teeming with hope. With that as background, the emotion that I kept feeling throughout the film was a deep and profound respect for and admiration for the spirits of these two women. Just traveling is a major challenge for them, requiring a van that has been adapted for Kathy’s wheelchair. Are they fazed by it? Do they get discouraged when even Medicare challenges their activities outside the home? Heck, no!! Most particularly, they live in a no-whine zone that is inspiring beyond words. NEVER do we hear anything from either Kathy or Diana that bemoans their fate. They absolutely accept the hand that nature has dealt to them and they live By Stephen Simon their lives in gratitude for each other and for what they DO have, with no discussion about what they DON’T have. It is so striking to watch Diana go through the several hours every day that she needs to spend caring for Kathy and do so with such humor and grace. When she recognizes that she has trouble balancing the household checkbook, she simply asks for help. No self-pity. No “oh-poor-me”. She simply calls a friend, says she needs help and offers a home-cooked meal in exchange for some checkbook guidance. Body And Soul is included in the collection of films that we are sending to our Spiritual Cinema Community in May. Watching Kathy and Diana live their lives often seems like an I-Ching guide to gratitude and appreciation for the gifts most of us receive simply by being in good health. When film can actually encourage and stimulate transformation, the art form transcends itself. After having seen Body And Soul, I personally feel different. Even using the word “disabled” seems more than a little incongruous when it apples to Diana and Kathy. They seem much more at peace in their own hearts than many able-bodied people, including, I am embarrassed to admit, myself. After watching this film, I resolved to be much more conscious of how fortunate I am and much less conscious of the things that I allow to bother me, most of which seem so petty in comparison to the challenges that Kathy and Diana face every day. I fell completely in love with these two women and I believe that you will, too. www.earthstarmag.com The Movie Mystic Oh, God: Say It with Laughter any years ago (1976), my first job in the film industry was as the assistant to a legendary film producer named Ray Stark. Ray produced such classics as Funny Girl, The Way We Were, and The Goodbye Girl. Even though I went out on my own in 1980 to produce Somewhere In Time, Ray and I stayed in touch and, from time to time, he would invite me to his home to watch films with him in his projection room. One night, in 1984, he invited me over to see a new film called Splash. Ray was particularly interested in Splash because, for years, he had been developing a remake to a dramatic film from the 1940’s entitled Mr. Peabody And The Mermaid, in which a man found a mermaid, put her in a pond near him, and fell in love with her. When we had finished watching Splash, Ray turned to me and said. “Well, that’s the end of developing Peabody. There are some issues that audiences just respond better to when they’re presented in comedies than when drama is involved. An audience will give you a lot more leeway in a comedy with their willingness to suspend disbelief than they will in a drama.” M My dear friend Bruce Joel Rubin, the genius writer of Ghost, told me that the whole notion of the Whoopi Goldberg character in the film being comedic was a major key to making the overall film work as it did. Audiences love to laugh and it just makes the story more easily digestible when laughter is present. tain subject matter that could otherwise be very daunting if presented in drama; moreover, these films allow us to look at ourselves in very human, but humorous ways. Groundhog Day presents a brilliant metaphor for how we evolve from lifetime to lifetime. Defending Your Life looks at how we examine our lives after we transition and become aware of the issues that we chose to deal with in life. Heaven Can Wait shows us how destiny and love can combine to completely alter who we are and how we see ourselves. (All of those films are available on DVD and I highly recommend them.) Another perfect case in point to look at in more depth is the wonderful 1977 film Oh, God, in which God appears in the form of George Burns to deliver some important messages to the world via a meek grocery clerk played with innocent sweetness by John Denver. By actually believing that he is indeed talking to God, Denver loses his job, and also becomes an object of derision until God actually makes a dramatic courtroom appearance on Denver’s behalf. In a drama, I don’t believe that audiences would have been receptive to such a premise but, in this charming, witty, and gentle film, some beautiful and empowering messages about our humanity were slipped in between the laughter and the fun of the plot: “Even non-believers want what you have here to work. I set the world up so it can work.” Wise men. Wise words. Some of the great films in Spiritual Cinema are comedies because they indeed give us that chance as an audience to look more comfortably at cerwww.earthstarmag.com “Religion is easy. I’m talking about faith.” “Men and women’s existence means what you think it means. Nothing By Stephen Simon more, nothing less.” “I’m God only for the big picture. I don’t get into details. I gave you a world and everything in it. It’s all up to you.” “You have free will. All the choices are yours.” “Young people can’t fall from my grace. They’re my best things.” “You want a miracle? You make a fish from scratch. You can’t. And when the last one’s gone, eighty-six on the fishes, good-bye sky, so long world. It’s over.” “Sure, I make mistakes. Tobacco. Ostriches, silly-looking things. Avocadoes, made the pit too big. But, hey, you try.” In the courtroom scene at the end of the film, Burns delivers one of the most poignant lines of the film: “If you find it hard to believe in me, know that I believe in you.” Laughter and tears of joy and recognition. Now THAT’S Spiritual Cinema. Stephen Simon co-founded www. Spiritualcinemacircle.com and produced such films as Somewhere In Time and What Dreams May Come. He also directed and produced both Conversations With God and Indigo and is the author of The Force Is With You: Mystical Movies Messages That Inspire Our Lives. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 45 2012...Continued from page 43 Mayan Calendar ity of Izapa in the very important adoption of the Long Count is quite clear cut.” The Izapan monuments confirmed that I was on the right track and was asking the right questions. The three main monument groups at Izapa refer to the three cosmic centers and their associated avatars. A tripartite sacred science was pioneered here. The Izapan the origins of the 2012 revelation 45 ball court is the monument group that refers to the galactic alignment and the galactic center—One Hunahpu’s resurrection. The ball court also contains the carved monuments that explicate the 2012 prophecy and the spiritual teachings that apply to cycle endings. The end-date alignment can be thought of as an eclipse, and it shares with eclipses the basic alchemical meaning of “the transcendence of opposites.” In Mayan metaphysics, this union has a more profound meaning that goes beyond the union of male and female and other pairs of opposites. Instead, it involves the nondual relationship between infini46 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 ty and finitude, eternity and time—a union of lower and higher. Our higher and lower natures are reunited in eclipses, in the Quetzalcoatl myth of the sun joined with Venus, and in the 2012 eclipse of the galactic center by the solstice sun. Our higher nature does not destroy our lower nature, but embraces it. Likewise, time is restored to its relationship with time- lessness when human consciousness reclaims the timeless, eternal perspective. The manifest world of appearances is restored to limitless possibilities when human consciousness reestablishes its connection to infinity. This is the heart of the promise of world renewal in 2012, and it can only take place within the heart of humanity. The indispensable secret ingredient in making these possibilities manifest is sacrifice, or surrender. We must surrender our ego-driven fixation to states of limitation, surrender the illusory ties that occlude our direct perception of eternity and infinity. We do not evolve toward these states because they reside at the root of our beings; instead, we unveil them by letting go of the limitations that obscure the reality of their immanent presence. These principles of Mayan sacred science are really perennial truths. They are found again and again on the carved monuments of Izapa. It is time we take a closer look at this amazing and underappreciated site, a place I characterize as the New World Eleusis, which harbors unrecognized Rosetta stones and forgotten initiatory visions. Continued on page 67 www.earthstarmag.com GREEN LIVING natural home and garden Banana Fiber Rugs ow bananas are not only delicious but deliciously warm and comfortable components to your home decor. While searchingfor eco-friendly material from which to make his new line, Chris Baisa happened upon the fiber from the trunks of banana trees. With a textural quality like that of silk—but a price tag that’s much more appetising—banana fiber is harvested from wild banana plants that are used for both textiles and food. www.delinear.com N Premium Eco Yoga Mat s being green your mantra? This rubber and cotton mesh mat comes straight from a “tapped” tree that keeps on living. Ultra-thick cushioning; performance waffle texture affords superior grip for all styles of yoga. Color: Lagoon. Imported. PVC-free rubber and cotton mat. $50.00. From www.gaiam.com I Organic Modern Lighting LBCLighting.com presents Organic Modern Lighting by Forecast, which embraces the textural elegance of natural materials and brings their magic to light. Bamboo, cork, grasscloth, sand, stone, and woven fabric all appear in this latest collection of contemporary lighting. These exceptional materials are paired with sleek-styled, durable hardware to create luminaries that will last for years. Food Mapping: he creative act of locating your own healthy, local, and sustainable food sources. Grow your own fruit, vegetables, and herbs in the modern Food Map Container. This product enables people with limited space to grow food at home without having to compromise on design. The Container has rubber wheels for mobility as weather and sunlight conditions change. From www.foodmapdesign.com T www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 47 VI S I O N By Rosemary Gaddum Gordon D.B.O., M.A. TIPS Moonlight is Not Just for Lovers ast full moon I was with a colleague and, as we looked up to admire the sky, she said a man once told her it was good for one’s vision to walk in the moonlight. Since she’s pretty I wondered if this was a comeon, but she told me he came from a desert culture and everyone was encouraged to walk at night. L The exchange reminded me of how many people say they have trouble seeing at night. The human eye certainly sees better during the day, but we also have the ability to see much better at night than we often do. There are ways to get the most out of what we have. Our eyes only take seconds to adjust to light, but it takes five minutes for them to become partially dark–adapted and a full thirty minutes for them to become fully dark-adapted. Perhaps you remember being a kid playing outside on long summer evenings as the light gradually faded. You saw fine unless you ran inside to get something. When you came back out, didn’t it seem as if it was suddenly darker? We need to give our eyes time to adapt. This means that when driving or walking we want to avoid looking into headlights, flashlights or even the full moon because our eyes will lightadapt and we’ll have to wait another five minutes to regain some of our night vision. Another way we can help ourselves see better at night is by attending to our peripheral vision. The peripheral retina is very sensitive to low light. That is why we see the faintest stars in the night sky best when we “look” to one side of them, rather than directly at them. This part 48 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 of the retina is also very sensitive to movement. We often ignore what we are seeing off to the sides, but our eyes are still registering what is there. It is the mind that disregards this information. We know we can change our minds, so we can train ourselves to notice the larger field and regain our ability to see out of the corners of our eyes. At first, as we direct our attention to seeing in this way, the objects are not very recognizable, but as we practice and develop this awareness, it becomes easier to identify what we’re seeing. During World War II, fighter pilots were stationed in Scotland. They noticed that they could see much better during their night flights after having bilberry jam, a local specialty, on their bread at tea-time. After the war this story spread and some scientists in France did much research on this little berry that grows in Northern Europe. They found that it contains particular flavinoids which increase the eyes’ ability to adapt to the dark. Bilberry’s effects are most noticeable for the first four hours and it is completely non-toxic. In the U.S. bilberry is sold in capsule form. Take walks at night where you feel safe, with or without your lover. Open up to your peripheral field; give your eyes time to adapt and take bilberry if you want to enhance the process. Enjoy the summer nights. Rosemary Gaddum-Gordon, D.B.O., M.A., Holistic Vision Improvement, Cambridge, MA: (617) 354-8360, and Eliot, ME: (207) 439-9821, www.visioneducators.com. www.earthstarmag.com directory New England’s Premier Professional Resource Guide category Astrological Consulting ....................50 Bookstores & Awareness Centers ...50 Centers ...............................................51 Classes ...............................................51 Healing & Bodywork .........................51 Herbs ..................................................51 Medical Health Care Services ..........54 Metaphysics .......................................55 Psychics .............................................55 Psychology & Transformation .........56 Readings ............................................57 Schools & Institutes ..........................57 Profiles of businesses, centers and individuals that offer holistic services that nurture and support the body, mind and soul. www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 49 ASTROLOGICAL CONSULTING Astrology and Esoteric Psychology — Monique Pommier, Astrology illuminates one’s psychological landscape and journey. It times life developments and reveals their designs for the soul. I offer astrological services and ongoing psychospiritual counseling with astrology, Jungian and esoteric psychology as a comprehensive ground of exploration and guidance on current issues and lifelong questionings. tions and Jungian depth psychology. Services include: * Astrological Consultations for Individuals and Couples * Rayology * Psychospiritual Counseling For information or appointment, please call: M.A., Ph.DE By accessing the deeper order of your life, you gain transformative insights into the evolutionary significance of particular challenges and new perspectives to direct your choices, clearing pathways for heightened vitality and fulfillment. I bring to this work 25 years of experience and lifelong education in Esoteric Psychology (MS) and Philosophy (PhD), Western and Eastern spiritual tradi- (617) 524-7072 Astrologer and Clairvoyant – Serena Wright-Taylor Serena gives readings that touch your soul. She blends the ancient wisdom of Vedic astrology with her remarkable intuition to help you use perfect timing to bring joy and fruition to all areas of your life. She is highly sought after by celebrities, business executives, speakers, and authors. She has made numerous appearances on TV and “Serena’s work is extraordinary—a stunning blend of mind, heart, and soul,” says Judith Orloff, M.D., author and clairvoyant psychiatrist. Serena gives readings by telephone all over the country. radio and you may have recently heard her name on Coast to Coast AM. Serena has been gifted since childhood with the ability to see many dimensions of life. She has spent many years in spiritual practice and enjoys working on her own healing and evolvement so that her service to others is of the highest quality. Serena Wright-Taylor 310.335.5617 Website: www.vimana.org BOOKSTORES & AWARENESS CENTERS Enchantments 10 Boothbay House Hill Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538 207-633-4992 Largest New Age Store in New England! We’ve knocked through a wall and doubled our space! New coffee, tea and dessert bar with eye-of-newt scones. enlarged clothing section featuring Geetah & Sacred Threads; Celtic & Renaissance-style clothing, including 50 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 reversible floor-length capes in velvet and satin; Dirks, knives & swords; Crystal balls and bowls; Scrying mirrors & wiccan supplies; Magic wands; Magic spells; Harry Potter; Candles, candles & more candles. Eastern incense & Native American sage, cedar & juniper; Drums & rainsticks; Large variety of pipes & Grateful Dead memorabilia; Extensive New Age/metaphysical book section; 300+ tarot decks; runes; Egyptian canopic jars & statuary; Eastern religious items & statuary–Buddha, Ganesh, Quan Yin; Fabulous fountains & fantasy statuary of all kinds; angels & fairies, puppets & dolls, dragons, frogs, & gargoyles; Meyda Tiffany lamps; Hundreds of chimes; Cards & calendars; Crystals, jewelry, gems & minerals; Massage & essential oils; Henna; Body jewelry; Tapes & CDs; Psychic readings. Don’t miss our second store “Enchantment Too” right across the street!!! Open daily . . . call for hours! Visit our website: www.enchantments.bz www.earthstarmag.com CENTERS Kriya Yoga is a complete holistic health management system Institute For Personal Development, Inc. A Kriya Yoga Ashram Classes, Courses, and Personal Training 652 Lafayette Rd. - Hampton, NH 03842-3348 1-603-929-0303 contact@ipdtransform.com IPD Web Site - http://www.ipdtransform.com Private Residential Retreat & Personalized Programs Weekends and longer plans available as low as $44 a night Call toll free 1-888-545-8597 ask for: Kenneth Toy (Swami Jayananda) Call for Prices on your personal program Uniting Science with Religion CLASSES “Reiki speaks to our heart and deepens our connection to self and others.” Libby is a gifted, knowledgeable Reiki Master with 26 years experience. She is coauthor of Reiki Energy Medicine, Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital, and Hospice - over 55,000 copies sold in seven languages. © Use Reiki to create more joy and ease in your life. Let Libby’s warm, heart-centered approach help you to take your next step toward self-love and inner peace. Reiki brings balance and harmony, supporting you doing the work you were born to do. Reiki facilitates transitions, promotes creativity and wisdom, and accelerates spiritual growth, helping you manifest your magnificance. Libby Barnett, MSW Libby has taught medical and nursing students at Harvard, Brown, Tufts, and Yale as well as staff at Massachusetts General, Beth Israel, Mt Auburn, Emerson, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Reiki Master “Love is the healer and Reiki is love.” Southern New Hampshire, New York Foundling, and New York Columbia Presbyterian. Libby was featured in a Reiki segment for the PBS nationally televised series, Body and Soul. For the past seven years, Libby has conducted Reiki classes at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. One of Libby’s current passions is teaching hospice staff and volunteers. Fueled by Reiki energy, their healing touch is enhanced, affording greater effectiveness in calming agitation, soothing pain and providing comfort. In class, a powerful slide presentation captures the essence of Reiki. You hear the Reiki story, receive attunements and practice giving and receiving Reiki. You leave class with an illustrated notebook, certificate, and pin, fully trained and certified to do Reiki on yourself, family, friends, and pets. “My commitment to teach the Usui System of Reiki Healing in the authentic, traditional manner inspired me to visit Japan to retrace the roots of Reiki. I am dedicated to teaching this sacred healing art to promote health and conscious living on the planet. I invite you to give yourself the gift of Reiki. It is an easy, effective way to love, heal, and empower yourself. I look forward to meeting you and sharing Reiki.” Boston area classes June 14 Wilton, NH classes June 7 To register, call the Reiki Healing Connection: 1-888-REIKI-4-U (1-888-734-5448) or (603) 654-2787. Visa/MC accepted. Social Work and Nursing CEU’s available. Reiki Master Training information avaliable on request. Reiki Healing Connection • phone (603) 654-2787 • fax (603) 654-2771 • email reiki@reikienergy.com • www.reikienergy.com HEALING & BODYWORK Rolfing Rolfing© is a deep bodywork method developed by Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D., in the 1940's, which frees, releases and reshapes the body to bring it towards greater balance and verticality. Through Rolfing©, body structure is restored and improved, stress is reduced, and movement becomes more fluid, efficient, and graceful. Freedom and range of movement are enhanced, and breathing becomes fuller and easier. As out of balance parts of the body are brought into alignment, chronic aches and pains often disappear. Gravity becomes an ally, rather than an enemy; it is no longer an effort to hold oneself up. In addition to the physical results, Dennis Bailey, Marshfield (South Shore): (617) 472-2699 clients often experience the release of old emotional traumas, an enhanced self Garret Whitney, Brighton, Concord, image, increased spontaneity of expres(978) 371-2188 sion and increased agility to be assertive Eric Jacobson, Arlington: and nurturing in relationships. (781) 643-6874 For information about Rolfing contact Beate Gottschlich, Cambridge: these certified practitioners: (617) 661-9291 Boston Area Rolfer Group: Out of State: Aline Newton, Cambridge: Kevin Frank, Holderness, Concord, NH; (617) 661-6409 Norwich, VT: (603) 968-9585 William Redpath, Bedford, Cambridge: (781) 861-0184 Holistic Vision Improvement Rosemary Gaddum Gordon, DBO, MA www.earthstarmag.com How we see can be affected by our frame of mind, state of health, and environment. In response to Life we may begin to overfocus at one distance and lose clarity at another, or exhaust our eyes so they can't focus comfortably anywhere, or even let one eye drift in and out. These adaptations may become chronic. We use muscles to focus our eyes. You can learn techniques to relax and coordinate them so that you can see comfortably and clearly again. Your dependence on glasses or contacts can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced. Rosemary draws on her twenty years experience and training in orthoptics, the Bates' Method, Gestalt Psychotherapy, and EducationalKinesthetics to form a comprehensive approach to vision improvement. She offers individual and group sessions for adults and children. ROSEMARY GADDUM GORDON, D.B.O., M.A. CAMBRIDGE, MA (617) 354-8360 and ELIOT, ME NEAR PORTSMOUTH, NH (207) 439-9821 JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 51 HEALING & BODYWORK continued Betty Solbjor has been practicing and teaching Reiki since 1996, and in 2002 became a Karuna Reiki® Master, a Bach Foundation Registered Practitioner, and was ordained as an interfaith minister. She has extensive experience using Reiki on both people and animals to gently treat many Betty L. Solbjor, BFRP illnesses and emotional problems. Reiki brings about a deep sense of relaxation and Usui Reiki Master inner peace. Combined with Magnified Karuna Reiki® Master Healing, crystal singing bowls, and guided Interfaith Minister meditation, a session can help to restore balance and harmony to body, mind and soul. Services offered: • Reiki treatment sessions and training for all levels of Reiki and Karuna Reiki • Bach Flower Essence® consultations and creation of custom formulas • Weddings and other ceremonies (781) 258-7712 Waltham, MA email: betty@reikiflowers.com web: www.reikiflowers.com Member, International Association of Reiki Professionals and Better Business Bureau®, Serving Eastern Masschusetts Call or e-mail to schedule an appointment or inquire about classes. COLON HYDROTHERAPY Genesis Alternative Health Genesis Alternative Health Center is committed to restore and maintain the “inner ecology” of your body, conquering food cravings and controlling symptoms Genesis Alternative Health that keep you from experiencing optimal 172 State Street health and the joy of living, through the Newburyport, MA 01950 cleansing method of Colon Hydrotherapy and simple step-by-step guidance to eat your way to better health. Owner Ezhra Tel. (978) 463-8800 Martin, C.B.C., is a certified Body •Headaches •Bloating •Joint & Muscle Pain Ecology Counselor and certified Colon Hydrotherapist of 25 years through I- see: www.bodyecologydiet.com •Depression •Gas •Menstrual irregularities •Skin rashes •Diarrhea •Digestive problems ACT and the National Board for Colon Body Ecology Counseling in MA Hydrotherapy, using only FDA registered •Sensitivity to tobacco, chemicals and odors •Cancer •AIDS and other immune-related disorders equipment Footbath detox and cultured foods available. If you experience pain, discomfort, food cravings, fatigue, or other symptoms that won’t go away regardless of what you do, chances are you’re one of the tens of millions unknowingly suffering from a systemic fungal infection. The results of an imbalance that begins in your “inner ecosystem”, fungus/yeast infections can be a key factor in: 781-899-7163 Polarity Body Energy Balancing Waltham, MA deep relaxation physical well-being personal and spiritual growth www.screamingpeanut.com A Traveling Colon Hydrotherapist Colon Hydrotherapy (Colonic Irrigation) in the comfortable surroundings of the Lydian Center for Innovative Medicine. The Key to Living The Natural Path Alternative, Inc. 52 EARTH STAR The Center is located inside the Professional Arts Building of Sancta Maria Hospital. Services Offered: • Colon Hydrotherapy • I-ACT Certified Practitioners • FDA Registered Instruments • Slow and Continuous Fill (simulates gravity flow) systems available • Over 20 years of colon hydrotherapy experience • Iridology is the science and practice of analyzing the Iris, pupil and sclera of the eye to determine inherited and accumulated health patterns. JUNE / JULY 2008 Joya Z. Baynes • I-ACT Certified • Over 6 years Experience • FDA Approved PPC-101 “The Traveler” Instrument • Closed System • Herbal/Nutritional Consultation in which an herbalist/pharmacist with over 10 years of experience creates individualized cleansing, fasting, and wellness programs using herbs specified for the client. • 3 and 7 day cleanses • Kidney cleanses • Liver & Gall Bladder cleanses • Weight Loss cleanses • Lymphatic Therapy is a therapy used to help move the lymphatic system, an integral part of our immune system. High-Frequency LIFETIME H EALTH & CONSULTING 777 CONCORD AVENUE, S UITE 301 CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 617-710-1337 or 617-876-6777 lifetimehealth@colonlove.com www.colonlove.com and Manual Therapy available. • 10-Day Cleanse Program • 30-Day Detox/Rejuvenation Program The Natural Path Alternative, Inc. 214 Market Street Brighton, MA 02135 617-787-5040 colonics@earthlink.net www.healthycleansing.com www.earthstarmag.com HEALING & BODYWORK continued America’s Most Experienced Reiki Teachers John Harvey Gray has been a Reiki Master instructor since 1976, actively teaching and practicing Reiki longer than any other living teacher in the West. He took his entire Reiki training with Hawayo Takata, who brought Reiki to the West from Japan. John has conducted over 850 Reiki workshops, teaching more than 15,000 students, and was named the 1994 Interface Presenter of the Year. Lourdes Gray, Ph.D., his wife, is a Reiki Master instructor certified by John. John Harvey Gray She brings years of extensive experience & Lourdes Gray, Ph.D. using Reiki to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis, cancer, HIV/AIDS, as well as emotional problems. Questions? Call or write for information about workshops or private Reiki sessions. Third Degree/Master Instructor training available. Basic Classes (1st Degree) (13.5 CEU credits available.) • June 14-15 Jaffrey, NH • Aug 2-3 Jaffrey, NH • Aug 9-10 Belmont, MA Advanced Classes (2nd Degree) • June 28-29 Belmont, MA • July 12-13 Jaffrey, NH Reiki 2nd Degree Advance Workshops • July 27-28 Jaffrey, NH Read our new book! Hand To Hand Available now at reiki.mv.com, local bookstores and Amazon.com THE JOHN HARVEY GRAY CENTER FOR REIKI HEALING Reiki Master Program • Aug16 - Dec 21 Jaffrey, NH 15 Dolly Lane, Rindge, NH 03461 603/899-3288 Regressions into Past Lives • June 21 Jaffrey, NH Register online! www.learnreiki.org Learn To See Auras • June 22 Jaffrey, NH Visa/MC accepted for all courses. Contact Hours available Reiki for Kids & Teens • Call for Information Ayurvedic Wellness Evaluations for Mind-Body Balance Are you feeling out of balance? Ayurveda offers time tested ways to restore balance to your mind, body, and emotions. An Ayurvedic Wellness Evaluation with our Maharishi Ayurveda expert (Vaidya) from India helps to identify imbalances at the root of your current or potential health problems. The Vaidya will examine your health history and assess your current state of mind-body balance using the traditional Ayurvedic pulse reading method. You will receive personalized program including diet, lifestyle recommendations, and herbal supplements. Call: 877-890-8600 Maharishi Vedic Health Center 679 George Hill Road, Lancaster, MA, 01523 www.lancasterhealth.org Cleansing for the body, the mind, the spirit Experience colon hydrotherapy in a safe, relaxed environment using state-of-the-art FDA registered equipment. “Energy flows where attention goes” www.earthstarmag.com Nancy Ames, a graduate of the Bancroft School of Massage Therapy, has been a massage therapist for over 16 years. She is also a member of the American Massage Therapy Association. Nancy offers many different styles of massage modalities including: relaxing Swedish massage, therapeutic deep tissue, trigger point therapy, myofascial release and Reiki. Stephanie Dumas, I-ACT certified Colon Hydrotherapist, Owner Lexington Medical Building 16 Clarke Street Lexington, MA healthyspirit@verizon.net (781) 860-5116 Her treatments include luxurious hot towels placed on tight and sore muscles that help to relieve tension and stress. Nancy tailors her massage sessions to meet her clients’ needs. Visit her on the web at: www.nancyamesmt.com Or you can email her at Nancy Ames Massage Therapy 481 Great Rd. Suite 9 Acton Ma. (978) 263-6886 nancyame@rcn.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 53 HEALING & BODYWORK continued Stop Smoking in One Session & Lose Weight Naturally George W. Mephis, Ph.D. George W. Mephis, Ph.D., worldrenowned Russian healer and spiritual teacher with 25 years of experience in helping people stop smoking, lose weight and achieve freedom from addiction slavery. He has been called The Miraclemaker for his phenomenal ability to cure incurable diseases. He is the founder of the HypnoEnergetic Movement. This powerful technique stimulates the brain to produce more pleasure hormones, naturally creating a positive state of consciousness and at the same time erasing the negative memories related to addictive behavior. Mr. Mephis helps people quit smoking in one session, lose weight and control their appetite, eliminate pain, stress, anxiety, Rolfing® produces lasting improvements in posture, breathing, movement, and overall relaxation. The Rolfer uses manual pressure to help you feel into and let go of rigidities in the connective tissue that wraps every muscle and bone. As you let go the tissue changes state, becoming more elastic and conductive of energy. This enhances freedom of movement, sensation, and circulation. Rolfing is done in specific patterns throughout the body to allow a more erect posture, easier breathing, improved balance, and more graceful movement. These changes lead to a more positive self-image and increased confidence. Once elasticity has been restored it will remain unless the Eric Jacobson, Ph.D. is re-injured subjected to emotional Rolfing® * Craniosacral Therapy area trauma or very long-term tension, so the Psychotherapy benefits are relatively permanent. Mark Levin Other Benefits: Increases ability to sense emotions and other energetic states. Releases negative emotional memories. Accelerates progress in psychotherapy or spiritual practice. Restores flexibility and circulation to scar tissue and joints, both post-injury and post-surgical. Craniosacral Therapy gently increases the mobility of the bones in the head, spine and pelvis. This is especially effective in relieving cranial compression from head injuries. Patterns of distress and dysfunction going back as far as birth and childhood can be treayed. Benefits include relief from chronic pain and tension in then head, neck, or lower back, and the release of negative emotional memories. George W. Mephis, Ph.D. Market Street Health 214 Market Street Brighton, MA 02135 617-507-1991 1-888-464-3363 www.hypnoenergetic.com My Background includes training in Rolfing with Ida Rolf, and in Craniosacral Therapy with John Upledger. I am a graduate of the Gestalt Training Center of San Diego and the Cambridge Family Institute and have a private practice in psychotherapy. I am certified as an Advanced Rolfer by the Rolf Institute, and have practiced in the Boston area for the past 35 years. For free literature or an appointment: 781-643-6874 10 Ramsdell Court, Arlington, MA 02476 www.eric-jacobson.com Mark Levin was able to create very powerful For an office appointment or to place healing processes for hundreds of satisfied a remote healing request please call clients both within physical realm of his office and remotely throughout entire world. 617-779-8765 Energy Healer Certified Hypnotherapist Reiki Master Devoted to Helping You Feel Better depression, addictive behavior and various other physical disorders in a unique and miraculous way. Specializes in: Hypnotherapy, Reiki, Polarity There are many clinically documented cases of Therapy, white light healing, remote healing. spontaneous healing performed by him. By combining traditional healing methods 121 B. Tremont Street, Suite #19 such as Reiki, hypnosis, polarity therapy with Brighton, MA his original white light healing therapy, In urgent cases, please call 617-233-3986 Major credit cards accepted. HERBS MEDICAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES INTERNAL MEDICINE Hsing M. Wu, M.D. Internal Medicine 54 EARTH STAR Hsing M. Wu, M.D. is a visiting professor of medicine from the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China. He is a Research Fellow in pulmonary medicine at the V.A. Medical Center in Boston. JUNE / JULY 2008 We integrate the Western and the Oriental Medicine with their cultures to help people to get better health rewards and a happy, long life. Beacon Medical Center 1842 Beacon Street, #207 Brookline, MA 02445 Tel: (617) 731-9130 www.earthstarmag.com MEDICAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES continued Holistic Dental Practice grows to Biologic and Physiologic Dentistry Herbert S. Yolin, D.D.S. “I am committed to helping people keep all their teeth all their lives.” Dentistry for the 21st Century — Today! Gum surgery is history, say goodbye to the drill, the pain, the noise and the needle. Miracle Bite Tabs™ (MBT) & Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), are used to treat Dental Distress Syndrome (DDS) as written about by Dr. Hans Selye MD, Dr. Fonder, a dentist, & others. Your teeth and jaws are an extension of your brain and spinal cord. Any imbalances caused by improper alignment of the jaw (commonly referred to as dental proprioception) can play a major role in all disease and pain. Faulty dental proprioception can cause improper neurological feedback to the brain affecting most, if not all body functions. Temporary relief is easy and inexpensive, and can enhance your present treatment whether it is Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Massage, Physical or Neural Therapy, Pain Management, and TMD/TMJ. There are over 230 positive studies from 81 universities in 37 countries involving 24 different dental procedures with an astounding 94% success rate. This included procedures as sensitive teeth, pain control, speed of healing, periodontal disease, and others. Carisolv™ a 5 yr. old gel from Sweden, approved by the FDA(2001) that softens decay so it can be scraped out without drilling, causing less pain and discomfort. Add this to Micro-dentistry and Air Abrasion and it becomes true needle free, mercury free filling procedure. Dr. Yolin has offered an alternative to traditional periodontal surgery for more then 15 years and now adds a Soft Tissue Laser for enhancing the sterilizing of the diseased gum pockets. He is a certified member of the Academy of Laser Dentistry (exam based). Phase contrast microscopy, bacterial cultures and anti-microbial natural oils are used in the never ending commitment to avoiding unnecessary gum surgery. Mercury (Hg) in your saliva from chewing? Take the chewing test and have your saliva analyzed for Hg at a very reasonable cost. You may not need them removed. Defective amalgams are removed following IAOMT protocol. Dr. Yolin has been trained in the specialty of Prosthetic Dentistry but does not limit his practice. He utilizes hypnotherapy for dental phobic, cosmetic dentistry, oral devices for snoring and sleep apnea, 28 years experience in treating head/neck facial pain syndrome, metal free crowns wherever possible, and extensive training in dental implantology. His treatment philosophy is based on the fact that at the end of every tooth is a human being and although he fixes teeth, he treats human beings. And that will never change. Call now for a consultation and share the excitement at: Northeast Dental Associates Herbert S. Yolin, D.D.S. 1842 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02146 (617) 730-8989 DrYolin.com a mercury free office At M.A.S.H. we feel that complementary Main St. Animal Services of Hopkinton medicine is state of the art health care for your pet. We offer homeopathy, acupuncture, nutrition, chiropractic care, body work, physical therapy, and Reiki as part of your pet’s whole health program. Our caring staff is dedicated to guiding you toward total health for your pet. Now offerinig ozone therapy. Est. 1983 Margo Roman D.V.M. is a 1978 graduate of Tuskegee Veterinary School. She interned at Angell Memorial and was on the teaching staff Main Street Animal at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine. She Services of Hopkinton studied homeopathy with Luc DeShepper of the Renaissance Institute of Classical www.mashvet.com Homeopathy. Dr. Roman is a member of the Homeopathic, Holistic & American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Traditional Veterinary Medicine Association as well as International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and Massachusetts Margo Roman, D.V.M. We are truly a whole health center, Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Roman has also offering surgery, diagnostics, completed Tufts Veterinary advanced Herbal (508) 435-4077 or (508) 435-MASH and Chiropractic courses. vaccination/titering, and x-Rays. 72W. Main St. - Hopkinton, MA Please call for a holistic consultation today! METAPHYSICS Experience The Healing Power of Christ Church Unity is affiliated with Unity School of Christianity , Music, Prayer & Meditation Wednesdays 7:00 p.m. Sunday Service Daily Word Discussion Sundays 11:00 AM 10:00 AM publisher of the Daily Word and Silent Unity Listen to Our Radio Program “Peace Be Still” Sundays 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m WBIX 1060 AM Christ Church Unity Cnr. Colchester & Chapel Sts. Brookline, MA 02446 (at the Longwood T on the Green Line D Train) 617-232-4548 www.unityboston.org PSYCHICS PSYCHIC READINGS AND INTUITIVE LIFE COACHING New Zealand Native, Shannar, has traveled extensively throughout the world sharing her gifts of the Sacred Language of Light. From a very early age Shannar was aware that the other realms were contacting and working with her, this began her own spiritual journey into the other worlds through Clairvoyance/Clairaudience and Mediumship for Grief Therapy. Her psychic ability has touched the hearts of all her clients both in the USA and Overseas and her varied live experiences have greatly assisted those that have sought her Life Coaching methods. www.earthstarmag.com The Sacred Language of Light is a very special tool for resolving our patterns by connecting with the cellular memory and healing the agreements that we made in this and past lives. The Sacred Language of Light comes through in the special pieces of symbolic art form known as the pictographs. Each pictograph is a Star Gate Map into our cellular encodings and contains Sacred Geometry, Symbols, Musical Harmonics, Ancient and Star Languages. Shannar is able to speak the Sacred Language, hears the stories in poetry form and performs the pictograph symbols with her hands. Readings Life Coaching Grief Counseling Workshops Performances ProductsAvailable For further information: 1-888-394-9099 www.sacredlifestyles.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 55 PSYCHICS continued Astrologer and Clairvoyant – Serena Wright-Taylor Serena gives readings that touch your soul. She blends the ancient wisdom of Vedic astrology with her remarkable intuition to help you use perfect timing to bring joy and fruition to all areas of your life. She is highly sought after by celebrities, business executives, speakers, and authors. She has made numerous appearances on TV and radio and you may have recently heard her name on Coast to Coast AM. Serena has been gifted since childhood with the ability to see many dimensions of life. She has spent many years in spiritual practice and enjoys working on her own healing and evolvement so that her service to others is of the highest quality. Serena gives readings by telephone all over the country. Serena Wright-Taylor 310-335-5617 “Serena’s work is extraordinary—a stunning blend of mind, heart, and soul.” Says Judith Orloff, M.D., author and clairvoyant psychiatrist Website: www.vimana.org PSYCHOLOGY & TRANSFORMATION WHAT THE SOUL WOULD SAY IF THE SOUL COULD SPEAK Become the change you want to see in the world. —Gandhi Become who you are —Nietzsche Let me guide you in life-changing Lacanian analytic sessions. Learn more how to hear your soul speak rather than your ego so that you can place this deepest knowing at the center of your life. • Relationship issues • Grief • Loneliness • Anxiety • Depression • Divorce • Career Issues • Trauma • Spiritual Crises • Weight Loss Therapy Should Take Hours Not Years Read What Former Clients Say About Ross Miller Migraines, a Thing of the Past... “I can’t believe you got rid of my migraines. At first I didn’t believe you when you said it was due to a past life when I was a soldier and got shot in the head. No wonder the doctors couldn’t help me.” —Donna M., Hartford, CT Anger, Grief & Guilt Transformed... “In the course of one (two-hour) session with Ross, I was able to release and heal the deep, dark feelings of anger, grief, guilt and shame that had their origins in several of my past lives." —Brian D., Cranston, RI Depression and Anxiety Attacks Gone... “Dear Ross, I’m going to name my first child after you. You’ve succeeded where 8 years of therapists and innumerable pain medications have failed. My depression and anxiety attacks are gone, gone, gone. Forever grateful.” —Roz S., Attleboro, MA Fybromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Gone... “By the end of the third healing session (0ver the phone), my fybromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and depression were completely gone. Thank you, Ross." —Denise F., Hull, MA Free of Drugs & Alcohol... “Dear Ross, Thank you for helping my daughter get over the breakup of her boyfriend and Ross Miller off of drugs and alcohol. She’s a completely Regression Therapist changed person.” —Sharon K., Manchester, NH For a consultation or more information call: All life transitions can be addressed, for example: Agoraphobia Cured... “A long overdue thank you. My agoraphobia (fear of being in public places) is completely gone. In addition, I’ve started exercising and eating better, and I’ve lost 30 lbs.! I owe it all to you.” —Elizabeth S., Worcester, MA Meg Turner, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist Harvard Square (617) 868-3727 What is Regression Therapy? To go back in time (without the use of hypnosis) to the origin or root cause of a problem and release or heal it. This might entail going back to past lives or earlier parts of your current life. For the past 25 years Ross Miller has been offering the benefits of regression therapy worldwide, helping his clients quickly and easily release their fears, anxiety attacks, depression, anger, physical pain, grief, abuse trauma, addictions, blocked potential, fibromyalgia, stress, chronic fatigue, eating disorders, health problems and phobias. Ross is available for individual or couples regression therapy sessions, psychic and past life readings and/or healing by telephone or in person. (See Directory ad under "Psychics".) For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call: Ross Miller 1075 Washington St., Newton, MA 02465 (617) 527-3583 Email: ross@TheMysticWay.com Website: www.TheMysticWay.com DEEPEN YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS THROUGH TRANSFORMATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY Sonny is available for ongoing client-centered therapy in a compassionate setting where you can feel safe without fear that you will be judged. Being asked the right questions in a confidential environment can further enhance your self-knowing and assist you in moving into a state of joy. The sessions are available to help you process and integrate the beauty of your wholeness with respect and honor. Sonny Rose, M.A. Counseling & Psychotherapy 56 EARTH STAR If you are not living the life you prefer because you feel blocked, are in a transitional time, experiencing on-going stress or sadness, emotional numbness, or are JUNE / JULY 2008 aware of self-defeating patterns, then your awareness can greatly motivate you to deepen the process of self-discovery. Working in collaboration with Sonny will heighten your experience of healing and transformation. vative mind/body/spiritual techniques which have profound effects in the process of transformation. Individual and group work available. Support for people living with cancer. call for more information. Sonny Rose holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and has worked with many diverse groups around the world. She has worked as an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University and has worked in Rehabilitative Medicine at Boston University Medical School. Sonny’s work incorporates many inno- Sonny Rose, M.A.C.P. 617-492-2224 in Cambridge and 978-369-7733 in Concord www.earthstarmag.com PSYCHOLOGY & TRANSFORMATION continued Barbara is a licensed mental health counselor who is certified in EMDR. Compassionate Psychotherapy and EMDR We are each endowed with an enormous capacity for self-healing and often simply need a guide to show us the way. Barbara’s style of compassionate psychotherapy combined with the rapid and profound healing effects of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can lead to new levels of emotional and physical health and well being. Barbara Gangemi EMDR is a body focused therapy that allows a person to reprocess disturbing memories that have become “stuck” in the Get More Out of Life! More Joy! Glenn Bigonet, M.A. Mental Health Counselor Compassionate Acceptance (617) 462-6642 brain through a disruption in normal information processing. Past events seem “frozen in time” and talking about them does not relieve the distress they contain. Office hours by appointment (617) 553-0714 in Roslindale and Barbara has been practicing psychotherapy for fifteen years and EMDR for ten. She considers the opportunity to help clients as a sacred trust, embarking on the path to healing with the knowledge that we can face together what may be too frightening to face alone. More Love! (508) 435-5580 in Hopkinton. email: Barbaragangemi@aol.com Call or email for further information and to schedule a consultation. More Satisfaction! Glenn uses an approach that will help you to find your way free from the areas of your life in which you feel stuck or unsatisfied. Isn’t it time you start living the life you really want? He offers great knowledge and compassion to his clients who deal with life transitions, relationships, addictions, grief, anger, self-esteem, trauma/abuse, self-harmful behavior, divorce, and mental health issues. You Deserve It! Alternative relationships and lifestyles welcome. Initial consultation free. Sliding Scale Available. Office in Newton Group Available www.GlennBigonet.com READINGS Angelica offers a wide variety of both Metaphysical and New Age gifts. Browse around, enjoy the softness of the Angelic energy. Feel the magic that Angelica of the Angels brings to you. We have a knowledgable staff to answer any and all questions and direct you in anyway they can to help guide you in life. READINGS ARE OUR SPECIALTY Spiritual Counseling Mediumship Trance Channelling Tarot Readings Psychic Readings Telephone Readings Astrological Charts Classes & Workshops Parties & Weddings Books • Music (Metaphysical) Incense • Oils • Aromatherapy Crystals • Jewelry • Candles AURA PHOTOS: face & chakra body A READER ON HAND AT ALL TIMES BY APPOINTMENT: Rev. Barbara E. Szafranski Classes ongoing weekly. Meditation: Mon, Tue, & Wed, 7:00 to 9:00P.M. Focus on psychic development. Shambhalla’s Healing Ctr. offers Angelic Healing, Reiki, and Energy Work. By appointment only. With The Love of Angels Rev. Barbara E. Szafranski Gifts of the Spirit 7 Central Street, Salem, MA 01970 978-745-9355 Open Monday thru Sunday SCHOOLS & INSTITUTES Create Your Career at Cortiva Institute - Muscular Therapy Institute Honoring the power of body, mind, and spirit, CI-MTI’s professional training program prepares you to enter the massage therapy profession with confidence. Our comprehensive curriculum, rich in science, communications, business, and practical experience, provides a solid foundation in specialized technique to help you address clients’ most common symptoms. Our dedicated faculty teach with the insight and passion that come from a As above... GURDJIEFF well-developed expertise and love for their work. Our Career Services and Placement Office offers you the extensive Cortiva network of opportunities and career support with personalized attention. Our in-depth 900-hour program is available in a variety of formats, including a new one-year option, to accommodate the busy lives of working people. Come to an Introductory Workshop to explore a career in massage for yourself. SYSTEM OF HARMONIC DEVELOPMENT Reading • Exercise • Prayer • Music ORDINARY KESDJAN MENTAL CAUSAL Sensation Attention Will Being Doing Conscience Hope Reason Faith Trust Love Group reading of All & Everything on Sunday and weekday mornings in Davis Square, Somerville. (consult www.yogaguitar.com/A&E) www.earthstarmag.com Call Admissions at (617) 668-1000 www.cortiva.com/mti Licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. Financial aid available for those who qualify. 103 Morse St., Watertown, MA 02472 So below... YOGAGUITAR™ “You are your instrument.” Flexibility • Meridians • Personality • Harmony PHYSICAL VIBRATIONAL INTELLECTUAL EMOTIONAL Private stretching and classes. Free class Sunday noon in Davis Square. Limited space. Call or email. 617-666-4839 info@usschoolofmusic.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 57 SCHOOLS & INSTITUTES continued CONNECTICUT CENTER FOR MASSAGE THERAPY Since 1980, CCMT has been providing comprehensive, holistic massage therapy training. Newington, CT Main Campus: 877-282-2268 Westport, CT Branch Campus: 877-292-2268 FIND OUT MORE: info@ccmt.edu www.ccmt.edu Our programs are 8-24 months with flexible full and part-time schedules. Groton, CT Branch Campus: 877-295-2268 CCMT is accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA). Financial aid is available to those who qualify. Classes start in January, May and September. Visit our store at www.HandsOnSupply.com. Continuing education year-round. THE RISHI CENTER — NEWPORT RI Study the ancient Indian science of natural living: Ayurveda, the world’s oldest continuously practiced healing art. • Ayurvedic Consultant - 500 hours • Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist - 200 hours • Ayurvedic Massage - 200 hours • Monthly weekend intensives Ad Size Applications for the 2006-2007 season will be accepted till 15 January 2007. For further details and information contact Swami Shivananda at: Applications for the 2007-2008 season will be accepted till 15 August 2007. 401-846-2436 or email: swamib@cox.net Per issue Rate Height Word Count 3 x 6 x There is a three-time minimum run for Directory listings. 1 3/8" up to 100 words $130 $120 1 3/4" up to 130 words 155 145 2 1/4" up to 160 words 195 175 Get your business or practice noticed with an affordable Directory Ad Call (617) 498-0265 or download the Earth Star Advertising Rate Sheets at www.earthstarmag.com Deadline for AUG/SEPT is July 22nd Earth Star Magazine Conscious Living in the 21st Century Environment Beauty • Fitness • Art Interviews • Astrology Schools • Music • Science Health News • Spirituality Book Reviews Green Living On the web anytime, anywhere at www.earthstarmag.com 58 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 www.earthstarmag.com SCHOOLS & INSTITUTES continued Massage Institute of New England DoveStar Institute School of Holistic Technology www.dovestar.edu Personally designed flexible programs The Massage Institute of New England (MINE) has, as our main objective, the education and training of the highest quality professional Massage Therapists. Our program focuses on the Integration of Body, Mind, and Spirit; accomplished by balancing the scientific study of anatomy and physiology with holistic therapeutic massage technique. Each student's process of growth during the course of our program is a mirror of the process of the change and evolution which they, as Massage Therapists, will facilitate in their clients. Because Dovestar believes integration to be an efficient way to facilitate growth, we offer the Holistic Practitioner title. This allows a personally designed study of many chosen modalities to qualify for a title recognized as a viable profession. Certification requires completion of one certification from each of the following groups representing four forces that regulate our life at the cellular level. Alchemia Inner Cleanse (Centripetal) This program consists of many options to regain access to your personal power through the release of toxic beliefs stored in the energetic systems and affecting our quality of life. Alchemia Teacher (Centrifugal) To be able to share who we are comes from our School of the Metaphysical, Medicinal and Martial Sciences of Asia and the Americas • 500 hour Massage Therapist Certification • 750 hour Clinical Massage Therapist Certification • Deep Tissue & Allied Health Certification • Licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Education Does working with your hands in a people-oriented industry sound appealing? Call or write for our free brochure and schedule of introductory events. We offer advanced training for Massage and Clinical professionals. Visit our website at www.MINE-MassageInstitute.com. Or call for our Brochure and Newsletter. Classes commence 5 times a year Massage Institute of New England Day & Evening classes 22 McGrath Highway, Suite 11 Somerville, MA 02143 Full or Part-time schedules 617-666-3700 interactions with others. This program offers several ways of finding our personal knowledge and sharing who we are as unique individuals. This can be applied by allowing for the reality that within each of us, there is at all times the teacher and the student. Kriya Bodywork (Gravity) Our physical body is the vehicle that allows us to express our spirit on the physical plane. Honoring and caring for the body requires respecting its needs on all levels. This program offers manyh ways of accomplishing that. Alchemical Synergy (Electomagnetic) The intent of this program is to reclaim all fragments of consciousness in order to discover the whole person inside and release the creativity that is an expression of our passion. Some of our Certifications Alchemia-Reiki, Colon Hydrotherapist, Holistic Clinic Management, Shamballa & Reiki Master Teacher, Alchemia Yoga Teacher, Kriya Massage Practitioner, Kriya Yoga Bodywork and Massage, Synergy Mental Health, Birthing and Parenting, Doula. New Hampshire: 50 Whitehall Rd., Hooksett, NH (603) 669-5104 Massachusetts: 128 Main St., Carver, MA (508) 830-0068 Licensed by: NH Post-Secondary Education Comm. & Common. of MA Dept. of Education Holistic Therapies & Fitness Programs SHAMANIC THERAPIES, HEALING CENTER METAPHYSICAL CONSULTATIONS As a Learning Institution and a Healing & 5 ELEMENT READINGS Center, in addition to our "Certificate Programs" we also offer non-certification TAI CHI, Internal Martial Art & Medical Qigong classes to the general public and to BAGUA, 661 Mass. Ave., Private, Semi-Private and Corporate instiHSING YI & MEDICAL QIGONG tutions also, Therapy & Metaphysical Arlington, MA TAOIST YOGA INSTRUCTOR Readings and sessions on and off-site. Workshops are performed nationally. Certification Programs offer Traditional Topics include those mentioned and also: Chinese Medical & Metaphysical Theory DEEP TISSUE CHEROKEE BODYWORK Studies and Anatomy for diagnostics that will NCCAOM / AOBTA Certified Therapists & TUI NA, SOTAI HO help you excel in your personal practice and or Se Habla Espanol as a professional therapist or instructor. Join neuro-muscular skeletal realignment & Municipal Parking in the rear adjustment without painful cracking, us at our Massage CEU workshops. 700-HOUR CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS ZEN SHIATSU & MEDICAL QIGONG THERAPIST Healing Center www.htfp.net 781-648-7354 Healing Center Orchestrate Your Summer Ad Campaign Now! The Deadline for our August/September issue is July 22nd Call now to reserve your Ad space 617-498-0265 www.earthstarmag.com Earthstar Directory Advertising is an affordable way to reach over 180,000 readers every issue www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 59 Explorer... Cont. from page 19 determine validity of the event. But the important work, once validity is established, begins with the search for clues to the mechanisms permitting these phenomena to occur so that a workable theory can be constructed. One type of experiment Puthoff and Targ created is called remote viewing, in which random “targets” are picked, and the subject (Uri, in this case) is to describe the unknown object. Typically, these targets would be chosen by invited outside scientists, sealed in an envelope, then selected at random. Uri, in a room all by himself, where he was isolated from receiving any possible information, would attempt to describe the setting. We found he could do just that. Nearly every time Uri was given a target, he would promptly draw— quite recognizably—what lay there. This type of experiment was usually conducted in a double-blind fashion so that no one knew the correct answer before the tests were complete and checked by impartial observers. In some variations of this experiment a Faraday cage was used, which isolates normal electromagnetic Signals. Puthoff and Targ went on to con-duct the same experiment with dozens of other people, both those claiming psychic abilities and those not. Eventually they discovered that most any willing person with a bit of training could get significant results, supporting the idea that this was not only a natural function, but a common one as well. It was also discovered in subsequent tests that the brain waves of two individuals separated and isolated by a Faraday cage could synchronize their brain waves. A light pulsed in the eyes of one would cause a certain EEG pattern. The second person, by merely thinking of the first person, would suddenly acquire the same EEG pattern. Somehow there seemed to be some sort of communi60 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 cation occurring between the two that we didn’t know was possible. Another version of the same experiment was a telepathy test conducted with an EEG connected, which proved statistically significant. The brain waves of the percipients showed a marked change a few hundred milliseconds before the percipients reported an answer. Conscious awareness hadn’t received information until nearly a half-second after subconscious processes had received the signal. The result is quite similar to tests of the five normal senses, in which conscious awareness lags behind subconscious signal processing. In the initial plan we wanted to test all of Uri’s special abilities, particularly those that demonstrated a strong component of psychokinesis, because that was the most bizarre and difficult to explain within the existing framework of science. One of his trademark capacities was the ability to bend common metal objects, such as forks and spoons. Of course one of the objectives was to test this while filming with videotape and 16-millimeter film. But when we placed a spoon on a table under a glass jar, we found he couldn’t bend the utensil. However, when we allowed him to touch the spoon, he explained to us how it seemed to “turn to plastic” in his hand. But this was generally unconvincing to scientists who specialized in other realms of study. They claimed Uri merely had extraordinarily strong fin-gers and possessed the ability to twist the metal under his peculiar grip, or that he had some unknown solvent on his finger that softened the metal. Yet no one was aware of any such solvent that could be used in this way; the physicians in the group couldn’t explain how he could be capable of twisting the metal so adroitly into such a neat little coil by merely touching it with a Single finger. But the objections persisted. At times their explanations were more farfetched than the event itself, and seemed little more than tortured rationalizations. Most convincing to me, however, were the dozens of children I investigated who had watched Uri bend spoons in this manner on television. Shortly following the tests at SRI, Uri made a series of television appearances, during which he did his thing before the cameras. Soon after the broadcasts my phone would ring with frantic parents reporting that their children were bending spoons as well. I could usually sense what part of the world Uri was in by the parents calling to report that their children were bending the family silverware. I went to a number of homes around the country, sometimes with my own spoons in pocket, or I would select one at random from the family kitchen. Typically it was a boy less than ten years of age who would lightly stroke the metal object at the narrow point of the handle while I held it between thumb and forefinger at the end of the handle. The spoon would soon slowly bend, creating two 360-degree twists in the handle, perfectly emulating what Uri demonstrated on television. No tricks, no magic potions, just innocent children (With normal children’s fingers) who had not yet learned that it could not be done. The evidence continued to mount in this way, suggesting that www.earthstarmag.com these strange capabilities were quite natural and likely common in humans, though latent and seldom manifest. It occurred to me that we were possibly seeing the emergence of an evolutionary attribute, or the residue from an earlier one that was now fading. The most modern evidence suggests that these are latent capabilities in all humans, rooted in evolutionary progression and waiting to be developed and exercised like any other attribute or skill, such as artistic, musical, or athletic abilities. During the six weeks we conducted formal experiments with Uri, there were also an incredible number of equipment failures and downright strange occurrences that no one could readily explain. Video equipment that he had no access to would suddenly lose a pulley, which would later be found in an adjoining room. Jewelry would suddenly be missing, only to be found locked in a safe with a combination Uri could not have known. There were literally dozens of such events. No one could explain what was going on, though we all had our pet theories. The occurrences were reminiscent of “poltergeist” effects reported throughout the ages, which many modern investigators have come to associate with emotionally distressed individuals, oftentimes adowww.earthstarmag.com lescents. In spite of the equipment failures, however, we were successful in quite a number of our experiments at SRI. In one we placed a large ball bearing under a glass bell jar on a table. We wanted to see if Uri was capable of moving the ball bearing without touching either it or the table. And of course we wanted to record the experiment on videotape. When we explained to Uri what we had in mind, he nonchalantly approached the table and placed a hand over the jar, swearing from time to time as the shiny gray orb sat motionless on the table. As the clock on the wall ticked away, and the repaired video equipment hummed in the background, the ball bearing refused to budge, until finally, after closing his eyes and raising his face skyward, it began to jiggle, then roll this way and that. As his concentration seemingly waned it slowed, then stopped. Finally, we had something legitimate on tape. When we went to review what we had all seen in person, we were relieved to see that the event was caught cleanly within the camera’s field of view. Nothing had gone amiss. However, the feat was still greeted with skepticism when our colleagues in science viewed what everyone who had witnessed the event and had thought monumental. They became red in the face, and some left, refusing to ever return to the lab. They accused Uri of being a fraud, and the rest of us of being chumps in an elaborate charade. But their accusations flew in the face of the solid scientific work that had been done, and I believe they knew it. Even some visiting scien-tists who watched positive results directly and in person angrily rejected what they saw. With some experience in this business it actually becomes quite easy to detect the charlatans and frauds, and there are quite a few. Uri, however, was not one of them, though many times he could not produce positive results within the rigorous controls that we imposed, simply because we forced him out of his comfort zone with our requirements—all sensitives report that they need to achieve a particular internal feeling state to be effective at exercising their talent. A distracting environment, hostile people, or any number of other influences can make the necessary state difficult to achieve. Artists, musicians, great thinkers, and psychics seem no different in this regard. Reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from The Way of the Explorer, Revised Edition C 2008, Dr. Edgar Mitchell. Published by New Page Books an imprint of Career Press, Franklin Lakes, NJ. (800)-2273371. All rights reserved. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 61 Chi Revolution... Cont. from page 29 Twelve Myths of Health and Fitness he running champion Jim Fixx is mainly remembered as the genius who started the fitness revolution back in the 1970s with his best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running. Fixx sadly died at the age of fifty-two from a heart attack. His arteries were plugged with too much cholesterol. Although Fixx trumpeted the health benefits of running and jogging, this high-impact exercise without any consideration of cholesterol resulted in some of the problems he thought he was preventing. T SEPARATING MYTH FROM FACT Fixx’s story highlights one of the challenges in making choices about health, fitness and stress reduction. The barrage of often conflicting information from entertainment, health and diet magazines and, of course, advertising steers us toward practices that may not be effective or right for us. We try different exercises, diets, pills, and machines, and we keep moving along a smorgasbord of fads and quick fixes that do little in the long term. To add insult to injury, myths and misinformation about health and fitness are common in virtually all media. It is no wonder we jump from one promise to another, consciously or subconsciously adopting beliefs in programs that have little merit over time. The Chi Revolution is about life transformation. To get there, you must shift your priorities toward the life inside you. Let’s take a few of the most common yet absurd paradigms of our modem age and see if any have taken hold of you. Myth # 1: If my body looks good, I must be healthy. 62 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 Fact: Health has little to do with a beautiful body. Like a new car, you can look good on the outside and internally have parts that are weak and malfunctioning. You can appear fit and beautiful and not be healthy. You might already suffer from ulcers, allergies, asthma or diabetes. You might get colds often and recover progressively less quickly. You might be able to run five miles and do a hundred push-ups and still feel anxious, stressed and ragged out most of the time. Your joints might ache and you might have lower back pain that the chiropractors can’t seem to fix. By appealing to our vanity and fear of aging, advertisers persuade Westerners to shell out billions of dollars every year on cosmetics and beauty products, butt tighteners, abdominal workout machines and other exercise contraptions, get-thin and better-sex pills, breast enlargements and the clothes to go with them. Truly being healthy— energetic fitness—is not about how you look; it’s about how you feel. It’s about making your body, mind and spirit work together as a team. Myth #2: Life is better for the young and slim. Fact: Life is better when you feel good. If you believe this myth, you have been sucker-punched by a multibillion-dollar industry that promotes the cult of youth and slimness. However youthful and slim a person may look, he/she is increasingly feeling the burdens of low selfesteem, chronic illnesses, stress, attention deficit and depression just the same as everyone else. Sadly, this myth is incredibly powerful. In today’s culture, we idolize youth and make youthful appearance our highest good, our religion, our mystery cult. People approaching their forties—or even their thirties—are panicked about getting older. Baby boomers are spending billions on re-sculpting their appearances and the elderly are shunned by the young as pariahs of what they think they want to avoid. When you don’t feel good, life sucks. And when you don’t feel good, the really great gifts in life— health, love, happiness, relaxation, spontaneity, laughter, sex, joy— seem as distant and legendary as Timbuktu. How do you get to feeling good on the inside? Try tai chi, chi gung or any other chi practice. It will give you all these gifts for the price of one. Myth #3: Aging is about decline and losing the ability to “get it up”! Fact: You can obtain health, vibrancy and sexual vitality well into your old age. I remember when my own beliefs about aging changed. I went to Taiwan to meet Wang Shu Jin, a renowned master of the Taoist martial arts of ba gua and tai chi, who was in his late sixties at the time. I was a hotshot nineteen-year-old with black belts in karate and other Japanese martial arts and an attitude to match. My first view of Wang was of an older, overweight, round-looking man casually strolling to the park swinging two bird cages. As soon as I introduced myself, he told me that karate was for fighting old women and children. “I can eat more than you. I can have more sex than you www.earthstarmag.com and I can fight better than you. Yet you call yourself healthy. Well, young man, there is a lot more to being healthy than being young, and it all comes down to how much chi you have,” he chuckled. Then Wang proved it by bruising more than my ego as he effortlessly knocked me around at will. I couldn’t get near him let alone defend myself. It was the first time I understood that youth did not always mean power and vitality, and aging did not always mean decline! Chi practices such as tai chi, chi gung and Taoist yoga have worked to keep people young in body and mind for thousands of years. They are often called longevity exercises because they are effective at restoring the flexibility, sexual vitality and stamina of youth. Myth #4: Six-pack abs are good for you. Fact: Tight abs can mess up your internal organs. The billion-dollar industry that has you believing you need flat abs is part of the “young and slim” cult. What is under the skin of those ohso-tight, flat and perfect abs can lead to big problems. Sucking and pinching in the abdominal muscles can foreshorten the ligaments that hold your liver, spleen and kidneys together. Eventually they could touch, especially when you move and twist, cutting off the blood supply where they impinge on each other. And those areas become just like the stagnant backwater pools where the river does not flow, a little putrid and disease prone. If you put stress and anxiety into the mix, those abdominal muscles squeeze even harder on those delicate internal organs. And guess where disease commonly strikes? Right in the internal organs. www.earthstarmag.com Chi practices are about your internal health. They are renowned for improving the health of your internal organs. Myth #5: Obese people are unhealthy. Fact: Obese people can be healthy. Health has to do with what is going on inside your body, not with how much you weigh. In our culture, obesity is becoming a norm. According to health researchers, eight out of ten people over the age of twenty-five and one out of five people under the age of nineteen are obese. The increase in obesity is being matched by increases in such diseases as type II diabetes and heart problems. The good news is that being overweight per se does not have to lead to ill health. You can be fat and dumpy-looking but still have healthy internal organs, be free of pain and illness, enjoy a full sex life and handle immense amounts of stress in a relaxed manner. Our kids can be healthy too. Indeed, there are increased health risks associated with obesity; however, the larger issue is that seventy-eight percent of the American population is not meeting basic activity levels. That’s a more shocking statistic than how many people are overweight. Weight is not the problem: the lack of movement is—not keeping fit, healthy and relaxed. Low-impact chi practices are renowned for helping obese people stay fit inside their bodies. Myth #6: No pain, no gain. Fact: The more you push and strain, the more stress reigns. “No pain, no gain” is the mantra of bodybuilders, salespeople, athletes and workaholics. Do you honestly believe that achievement is only gained by hardship and strain? This myth has been fostered from youth, when you first started becoming goal-oriented and measuring results by grades, competitions, status and the pressure from parents and teachers to “try harder.” Going for broke uses up your chi reserves, adds to your stress levels and incrementally weakens your body. By pushing to succeed, you increasingly strain your nervous system and depend more and more on adrenaline to keep going. Not only is this stressful, but it is very similar to the nature of addictions. You push yourself toward the next hit, the next high, the biggest adrenaline rush, the newest acquisition, the next of whatever hides behind the push. Strain is literally killing you. Energetic fitness is based on moderation, increasing your chi reserves and giving you the stamina and vitality for almost everything you do. Supercharging your chi can turn you into a super performer with no straining necessary. Today, many executives are learning chi practices because the techniques help them decrease their stress while increasing their ability to maintain a high rate of productivity. Likewise, many athletes who commonly suffer from high stress and high rates of injury are learning that chi practices, help them stay “in the zone” longer and keep them stronger. Getting more energy is about relaxing—not pushing and going for broke. Myth #7: Circulation is best improved by doing aerobic exercise. Fact: Chi exercises, done slowly and in a relaxed manner, are an equally powerful method for improving circulation. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 63 Breathing helps unravel the deadening effects of tension and anxiety. Every time we clutch, get uptight or have an adrenaline rush, stress locks into the nervous system and over time becomes habitual. Western medical studies show that the circulation boost for people who spend twenty minutes doing chi exercise is as effective as spending the same twenty minutes doing aerobic exercise. Although aerobics pump up the heart rate, forcing blood through constricted areas and flooding blood vessels, it is not enough. It is the equivalent of increasing the pressure to run water through constricted and kinked pipes. And if you add stress into this mix, they burst. Chi exercises work differently. They increase the pressure within the blood vessels, thereby improving their elasticity, which leads to a flooding of the capillary beds. There is no pressure on the heart to work harder to boost circulation. Chi exercises have some cardiovascular benefits that aerobic exercises commonly do not. Besides reducing blood pressure, chi exercises relax the nervous system, which also helps all the fluids in your body to flow more easily. You exercise your whole body, so that everything inside you is equally strengthened. Myth #8: Relaxation is about zoning out and escaping. Fact: Relaxation is about tuning into your body and letting go. 64 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 Few Westerners have ever experienced deep relaxation. Because they feel stressed most of the time, they are psychologically unprepared for the fact that relaxation can become a norm in life rather than an aberration. It is even more difficult for people to realize that the more relaxed they are, the more energy, stamina, awareness, clarity and strength they will have. Energetic fitness enables the progressive release of tension and anxiety so that it becomes a living reality. It involves tuning in to your body and letting go of all your physical, emotional, mental, karmic, psychic and spiritual tension. Letting go means releasing chi blockages. Ultimately it means relaxing the nervous system so chi can strongly flow. Relaxation allows love, happiness and compassion to flourish. Myth #9: Nonmovement exercises will not make you fit. Fact: Breathing, standing and meditating are some of the most effective health and fitness practices you can adopt. When I trained in karate, judo and jujitsu, I spent almost ten years vigorously learning to punch, throw and kick. I can remember my complete surprise during early phases of internal martial arts training in China when several masters said that the most effective exercise I could do for strength, speed and stamina was to stand. They all agreed that standing practice would enable me to get in touch with what was not relaxed in my body so I could release it. During my training as a chi gung healer in China, I learned that. one of the most effective methods for improving the health of my patients was to teach them breathing practices. In later stages of my training in China, I learned that in order to become a superior martial artist, I had to practice Taoist meditation to release my deepest and most terrifying inner fears, angers, aggression and sadness. Not only did these methods make me strong and relaxed, they made it possible for me to recover from a devastating form of hepatitis and the car accident that injured my back. Over time I became incredibly healthy. The same chi practices have helped millions of people get fit, healthy and relaxed, and recover the sense of spontaneity and joy they had as children. They can do the same for you. Myth # 10: I already know how to breathe; after all, I’m not dead! www.earthstarmag.com Fact: Most people do not breathe well. According to medical and health associations, ninety percent of people are shallow breathers and forty percent use less than the full capacity of their lungs. As shallow breathers age, their lungs become weaker and they may experience shortness of breath, a precursor to ill health, weakness and depression. Although most people notice when they eat or sleep poorly, relatively few pay attention to their breathing. They are not aware that when they become angry or highly focused on their work, they hold their breath. Lack of oxygen to the brain revs up their nervous systems, making them tense and stressed. Learning the simple breathing exercises that are part of the Chi Rev Workout will help you discover your breathing patterns and help you change and improve them. If you only learn one lesson from this book, let it be that breath awareness is paramount to your health and longevity. Myth # 11: Breathing is primarily about oxygenating the body. Fact: Breathing is primarily about getting the nervous system to relax while gently massaging the internal organs. Breathing helps unravel the deadening effects of tension and anxiety. Every time we clutch, get uptight or have an adrenaline rush, stress locks into the nervous system and over time becomes habitual. As this happens, tension and constriction occur in the tissues, muscles, ligaments and tendons, cutting off some of the available oxygen and flow of blood in your body, particularly in your internal organs. Longevity Breathing practices www.earthstarmag.com train you to focus on the negative breathing patterns you have and reverse them. They train you to calm down and relax. As you breathe fully and strongly, your internal organs get a gentle massage, which improves the circulation of fluids in and around them and makes them healthier. And, last but not least, you will also oxygenate your body more efficiently twenty-four hours a day. Focused, relaxed breathing is fundamental to all meditation practices. Myth # 12: You have to have a special gift to feel chi. Fact: Anyone can learn to feel chi. Chi is not some mysterious process that is only available to a rare few. In China, you can see small children holding and playing with imaginary balls. They are being trained to feel chi. However, many people in China as well as the West cannot feel the insides of their bodies. They do not understand the relationship between the body and mind, and they certainly have not been trained to feel chi. Not only can chi practices help you feel your chi, but also they can help you recognize where it is blocked, as well as how to free, activate and strengthen it. Chi practices are not just about visualizing your chi mentally. They help you develop your physical sensitivity to how chi actually flows inside your body so eventually you will become strong, feel well and eliminate your tension and anxieties. effective at making us spend money on stuff that we probably don’t need, that may not be good for us and often doesn’t deliver what is promised. The challenge of the Chi Revolution is not just persuading you to try these chi practices for yourself, but inspiring you to stick with them and integrate them into your daily rhythm. Otherwise they become just another “tasting” of the cornucopia of health and exercise systems out there. Knowing something is good for you is not the same as changing your habits to make them congruent with that knowledge. We are addicted to our habits, many of them conditioned and constantly reinforced by marketing mythology. Activating and balancing chi has improved the health and wellness of tens of millions of people. They understand that energetic fitness affects their health as much as their diet, sleep habits and level of physical activity. You can become energetically fit too. All it takes is a little practice. FROM HABITUAL TO RHYTHMIC Maybe you have been frustrated with many of the health and fitness programs you have tried and you agree with many of the facts presented here. Myths have a great deal of power. That’s why advertising is so JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 65 Mystical Stones Excerpted from The Book of Stones, by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian TITANIUM QUARTZ Keyword: Increased life force and vitality, activation of the Rainbow Body, humor and relaxation, enjoyment of life Element: Fire and Storm Chakras: All itanium Quartz is the name given to a specially coated type of Quartz, a silicon dioxide mineral with a hardness of 7. Its crystal system is hexagonal (trigonal). Titanium Quartz has been placed in a chamber in which titanium and other metal oxides are introduced in vaporized form and caused to bond with the Quartz. The process for doing this is proprietary, so details are not available. The result, however, is Quartz which displays multi-colored reflections and, according to metaphysical sources, emanates a significantly different energy from untreated Quartz. T Titanium Quartz is the most powerful and vibrationally intense material of all the coated and treated Quartz. Energetically, the Titanium projects strength, mental acuity and physical power. These properties are amplified by the Quartz base stones. Visually, the many-facetted crystals used in these pieces catch and reflect light in all direc-tions, and the iridescent Titanium surfaces shimmer and change color as they move and send the light in different 66 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 angles. The rich hues of blue, red, gold, magenta and green in these stones are a delight to the eye and a resonant activator of the Rainbow Body. Titanium Quartz is energizing to the entire chakra system, as well as to the physical body. Wearing or carrying one of these crystals can make one feel grounded, centered and energized all at once. The Titanium-Quartz combination seems to make one more capable than usual of han-dling the mundane world-more focused, more confident, more aware of everything around oneself, more amused by life in general, and more ready to cope with whatever needs one's attention. One is able to take on greater responsibilities without feeling them to be a burden. One may also notice an activation of one's mental abilities, especially the analytical, rational side, as well as an enhancement of humor and one's sense of fun. This ally is excellent for any-one who has low energy or whose daily agenda is challenging in a mental or physical way. One can receive a great deal of vitality from this material, and it is recommended to those who tend to be a bit too spacey, too serious, or who want to bring in more life-force energies. Those who already have a good supply of the energies provided by Titanium Quartz may enjoy it for the increase in zest and enjoyment of life they feel with it. Titanium Quartz has emerged at a time when many Light workers will be able to benefit from its energizing qualities. In the years since Titanium Quartz was introduced, a number of intuitives have noticed an increase in the power of these pieces, as more people connected with them and their vibrations moved through the morphogenic field of human consciousness. This process is likely to continue as additional Titanium Quartz goes into circulation. Titanium Quartz can stimulate humor and relaxation, helping one take life more lightly. It should be carried by anyone who does stand-up comedy, and even those who just like to tell jokes around the water cooler are likely to find their timing and delivery enhanced. These are stones of Hermes, the god of quick intelligence and wit, and they can sharpen both in those who use it. Additional information on stones and their metaphysical properties can also be found at www.heavenandearthjewelry.com, www.thebookofstones.com, or by calling 1-800-942-9423. www.earthstarmag.com 2012...Continued from page 46 The Izapan Revelation Although it is not possible to do Izapa justice in a brief article, a general survey can at least provide the framework for understanding the revolutionary cosmovision pioneered at this humble, profound fountainhead of Mayan wisdom. If understanding 2012 from the vantage point of the creators of the 2012 calendar has any meaning at all, I can’t imagine discussing 2012 without reference to Izapa. The important points are: The three cosmic centers and their avatars. The ball court monument group encodes the galactic center alignment and the 2012 prophecy—it is “ground zero” of the 2012 revelation. The ball game and the Creation Myth encode the astronomy of the galactic alignment in era-2012. Izapa is an initiation center where practical methods can be found for spiritual seekers to directly understand what 2012 means. Izapa’s 2012 revelation is an expression of universal perennial wisdom. The “Izapan civilization” thrived between the Olmec and the Maya, 450 BC to AD 50. Today, a dozen or so archaeological sites preserve monuments that are stylistically connected to Izapa, which was clearly the most important ceremonial site in the region. The sun passes directly over Izapa, located between the tropics at 15 degrees latitude, on May 1 and August 11. This fortunate circumstance divides the year into 260-day and 105-day sections. For this reason, some scholars believe that Izapa is where the 260-day tzolkin calendar, as well as the Long Count, originated. Izapa’s geodetic position is uniquewww.earthstarmag.com ly appropriate, because at other latitudes the division intervals are different. The Long Count calendar first appears in archaeological records in the first century BC, precisely during Izapa’s heyday. The earliest Long Count monuments are distrib- uted in a wide arc around Izapa, and a most compelling one is located in Izapa’s sister city, Takalik Abaj, dated to AD 37. Excerpted with permission from The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies, and Possibilities, ©2007 Sounds True, Inc. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 67 Summer Reading The Genius of China 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention By Robert Temple Foreword by Joseph Needham, Ph.D., FRS, FBA Since its original publication, The Genius of China has won five literary awards in America and been translated into forty-three languages. Its Chinese edition, The Spirit of Chinese Invention, was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education for use in connection with the national secondary curriculum in China. Based on the immense, authoritative scholarship of the late Joseph Needham, the world’s foremost scholar of Chinese science, and including a foreword by him, this revised full-color illustrated edition brings to life the spirit and excitement of the unparalleled achievements of ancient China. Window of the Soul The Kabbalah of Rabbi Isaac Luria Edited by James David Dunn Foreword by Rabbi Ernesto Yattah In this deep and powerful book, Window of the Soul the original Kabbalah of Rabbi Isaac Luria, (1534-1572) is translated from the original passages of Hebrew. These luminous and sacred passages disclose the most profound teachings of the understanding of God and of our universe, inspired from the truth of the Torah. Some four hundred years before Albert Einstein proposed his Theory of Relativity of the outer universe to the scientific community, Luria disclosed to his students his theory of the inner universe and its evolution within the mind of the Ineffable. Weiser Books. Hardcover, $22.95. Inner Traditions. Paper, $29.95. Person-to-Person Astrology Energy Factors in Love, Sex & Compatibility By Stephen Arroyo Person-To-Person Astrology is an exploration of how modern astrology can illuminate emotional, sexual, and compatibility expectations, needs, and motivation using a new language of "energy" that can be astoundingly accurate and useful in understanding our closest relationships. Arroyo’s unique approach hinges on its openness, both interpretive and descriptive, to the emotional energy exchanges that go on between the twelve star signs and four ancient elements—earth, water, air, fire. Contrasted with the usual predictive astrological models, Arroyo’s method creates an uplifting assessment of a world at every person’s fingertips rather than the limiting determinism that comes along with conventional astrological predictions. Frog Ltd.. Paper, $18.95. The United Symbolism of America Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America’s Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos By Robert Hieronimus, Ph.D., with Laura Cortner The Statue of Liberty is an ancient goddess. But why are there seven rays emanating from her crown? And why was the torch switched from her left to her right hand? Were you aware that the Washington Monument resembles an Egyptian obelisk channeling energy? America is young, but its symbols are old. Of the symbols and myths we chose since European colonization, the ones that have become American icons are those representing hope, positive growth, and opportunity. Many of the symbols included in The United Symbolism of America have become so familiar that most of us don’t give them a second glance, let alone a second thought. Author Robert R. Hieronimus will help the reader see the symbolic messages encoded for us by our Founding Fathers in the symbols they chose. New Page Books. Paper, $17.99. 68 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 Victor Hugo's Conversations with the Spirit World A Literary Genius's Hidden Life By John Chambers During Victor Hugo’s exile on the Isle of Jersey, where he and his family and friends escaped the reign of Napoléon III, he conducted “tabletapping” séances, transcribing hundreds of channeled conversations with entities from the beyond. Among his discarnate visitors were Shakespeare, Plato, Hannibal, Rousseau, Galileo, Sir Walter Scott, and Jesus. To the skeptic, some of the “conversations” may seem self-serving—at best, the subconscious wishes of the naïve participants. But author John Chambers places Hugo’s experiments firmly in the tradition of visionary literature and psychic exploration, aligning those experiences with the poetry of William Blake, the table-tapping experiences of the Fox sisters, and the channeled writings of the great modern-day Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Merrill. Destiny Books. Paper, $18.95. Medical Myths That Can Kill You And the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life By Nancy L. Snyderman, MD In this age of countless miracle cures, it’s vital to separate the myths that endanger your health from the medical facts you need. In Medical Myths That Can Kill You, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, chief medical editor for NBC News, provides clear, practical, scientifically proven advice that can lead you to a healthier, happier life. Discover the simple, everyday things that affect well-being, and get the information you need to revitalize your body, maintain your longevity, manage your care, and possibly even save a life—yours. Crown Books. Hardcover, $24.95. www.earthstarmag.com Summer Reading Rulers of the Horoscope Finding Your Way Through the Labyrinth By Alan Oken This newly revised edition of an astrological classic provides a practical and thorough treatment on the meanings of all aspects of planetary and house rulerships. Alan Oken masterfully guides readers through the labyrinth of delineating and synthesizing the complex interchange between rulers of houses and their signs and the nature of the houses they occupy and rule. He defines and describes derivative houses, planetary and house rulerships, dispositorships, mutual reception and the compatibility and nature of importance of their placement in the horoscope. Alan Oken’s in-depth exploration of the ruler for each of the twelve houses and the rulers of the rising sign is an invaluable tool for astrology students and teachers alike. The Wise Heart A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology By Jack Kornfield In The Wise Heart, meditation teacher Jack Kornfield presents a compelling challenge to the medical orientation of Western psychology and psychiatry and to the materialism, cynicism, and despair of Western culture. Using Western and Buddhist psychology to illuminate one another and drawing on his own experience as a counselor with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, as well as on the vivid, down-to--earth wisdom of his primary Asian teachers, Kornfield outlines a radical and positive approach to mental well-being. Filled with personal stories and with precise practical guidance for personal change, The Wise Heart is an extraordinary journey from the roots of consciousness to the highest expression of human possibility. Bantam Books. Hardcover, $26.00. Ibis Press. Paper, $19.95. DailyOM Inspirational Thoughts for a Happy, Healthy, and Fu1filling Day By Madisyn Taylor In DailyOM:, Madisyn Taylor, originator and editorin-chief of the award-winning website, DailyOM., offers 150 essays on healing, awareness, and wellbeing. This inspirational book is a valuable guide that will enable readers to find balance and wellness through thoughtful, authentic inspiring passages meant for daily inspiration. With passages addressing meditation, relationships, nature, and spiritual exercises for personal growth, DailyOM will ignite your consciousness, and open your mind to the possibilities contained within. The gentle and affirming wisdom contained within its pages is intended to make each day a little happier, less stressful, and more satisfying. Healing with Energy The Difinitive Guide to Hands-On Techniques from a Master By Starr Fuentes In this highly instructional volume, master healer and teacher Starr Fuentes explains the entire healing process, from the appropriate situation for healing someone to the steps of closing a session. Beginners can easily access the information, while advanced healers can expand their knowledge. Healing with Energy includes more than forty illustrated healing techniques and exercises, 140 affirmations for specific afflictions, and an insightful glossary. The book covers a wide variety of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing modalities that can be used by anyone, for self-healing or to begin or expand a practice. New Page Books. Paper, $14.99. Hay House. Paper, $15.95 Charles Fort The Man Who Invented the Supernatural By Jim Steinmeyer Charles Fort was in a long line of homespun American eccentrics, such as the people who invented perpetual motion machines and wacko religions. A great humorist with a serious purpose: To send up pompous scientists by challenging their ordained laws of nature. He did so in a series of phantasmagorical, meticulously researched books. To this day, Charles Fort’s name is attached to the strange and unexplained events referred to as “Fortean.” In Charles Fort: The Man Who Invented the Supernatural, criticallyacclaimed author Jim Steinmeyer has written the definitive literary biography of this fascinating figure. Fort considered himself primarily a writer, and Steinmeyer reveals what transformed Fort from a scribbler of ordinary magazine stories into “the Mad Genius of the Bronx.” Tarcher/Penguin. Hardcover, $24.95. www.earthstarmag.com Her Inspiration Secrets to Help You Work Smart, Be Successful and Have Fun By Mina Parker Foreword by BJ Gallagher Her Inspiration is a reminder to the reader that you have what it takes to make it to the top. This book is full of quotes and thoughts from hundreds of women to encourage, motivate, and support you as you make your way. Famous and infamous, wise and wisecracking, haughty and humble: some are names you will know well, others are everyday gals with something important to add. The book contains nine chapters, each containing one of the secrets to finding satisfaction in your own success, and wise words from women all around the world and throughout history. Parker introduces each with her own thoughts and then lets the ladies speak for themselves. Conari Press. Paper, $14.95. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 69 A Matter of Life and Death Remarkable True Stories of Hope and Healing By Rosemary Altea When Rosemary Altea’s The Eagle and the Rose was published in 1995, the book became an instant New York Times bestseller. Presenting the remarkable true story of her life growing up in England, where she discovered her abilities to talk to the dead and work as a healer, the book ushered in a sea change in thinking about all things spiritual. Readers were introduced to her Apache spirit guide, Grey Eagle, through whom she works to communicate with “the other side.” In this illuminating new book, Altea offers awe-inspiring new stories of helping sick and grief-stricken people heal, recognize their true path, and find peace in reunion with departed loved ones. Tarcher/Penguin . Paper, $14.95. Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen of the Troubadours By Jean Markale Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) has been long noted for her political and cultural achievements that profoundly shaped twelfth-century Europe. Culturally, beyond her role as wife of kings Louis VII of France and Henry II of England and mother of kings Richard and John, she inspired the huge diffusion of the Arthurian cycle and the Celtic myths underpinning it. Without Eleanor, figures such as Merlin, Arthur, and Guinevere (for whom Eleanor served as model) would never have assumed the enormous symbolic value they now possess. In Eleanor of Aquitaine, historian and story-teller Jean Markale provides a comprehensive view of the mythical and historic significance of the great medieval queen. Inner Traditions. Paper, $16.95. Quantum Shift in the Global Brain How the New Scientific Reality Can Change Us and Our World By Ervin Laszlo In this book, Ervin Laszlo, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, presents a new “reality map” to guide us through the world shifts we are experiencing, in order to help us understand what we must do during this time of great transition. Science’s cutting edge now views reality as broader, as multiple universes arising in a possibly infinite meta-universe, as well as deeper, extending into dimensions at the subatomic level. Laszlo shows that aspects of human experience that had previously been consigned to the domain of intuition and speculation are now being explored with scientific rigor and urgency. There has been a shift in the materialistic scientific view of reality toward the multidimensional worldview of multiple interconnected realities long known by the world’s great spiritual traditions. By understanding the interconnectedness of our changing world as well as our changing “map” of the world, we can navigate with insight, wisdom, and confidence. Inner Traditions. Paper, $14.95. Sound Medicine The Complete Guide to Healing with the Human Voice By Wayne Perry Discover the natural vibrations, overtones, and harmonics within the human voice and develop its innate therapeutic capabilities. Learn how to transform your health, relationships and spiritual awareness with this practical and complete handbook to vocal mastery, sound healing and transformation. Highlights include: Beginning to advanced vocal toning techniques; physical and emotional pain release; a diverse and entertaining assortment of vocal overtoning exercises; how to discover and use your own signature vibration for enhanced wellness; sonic meditation and chakra toning, clearing and balancing; explore a vast array of sound healing principles, secrets and useful tips. Includes a companion audio CD, which includes vocal training excercises. Career Press. Paper, book & CD, $21.99. The Soul of Autism Looking Beyond Labels to Unveil Spiritual Secrets of the Heart Savants By William Stillman In Autism and the God Connection, William Stillman presented extraordinary accounts of spiritual giftedness in autistic children and adults, persons often deemed intellectually inferior. Now, in The Soul of Autism, Stillman shows why the unaccountable and dramatic rise in autism is a necessary part of our spiritual evolution, and reveals the secret component that makes autistic telepathy possible for us all, and how we can learn to use it. William Stillman believes the world needs autism. After reading this moving and inspiring book, you will see why. New Page Books. Paper, $14.99. 70 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 Journeys to the Mythical Past By Zecharia Sitchin In Journeys to the Mythical Past, the renowned researcher of antiquity Zecharia Sitchin tells his own story of an indefatigable dedication to finding the truth that almost cost him his life when uncovering secrets of the Giza pyramids and Sphinx. Exposing hidden artifacts that contradict establishment assumptions dedicated to preserving the status quo or that baffle scientists when forced to show them, Sitchin’s firsthand accounts of his explorations take the reader into the inner workings of the Vatican, the enigma of a futuristic computer from millennia ago, and the secret handiwork of a Divine Architect at Stonehenge, at Malta, and at a site in the Americas. Looking deep into antiquity, Sitchin offers astounding evidence that links the Nazca lines and a baffling adjoining site to the Departure from Earth of the Anunnaki, the ancient gods who, he believes, vowed to Return. Bear & Company. Hardcover, $24.00. www.earthstarmag.com The Backdoor To Enlightenment Eight Steps to Living Your Dreams and Changing Your World By Za Rinpoche and Ashley Nebelsieck The Backdoor To Enlightenment is a thoughtprovoking new book that addresses the single question: “Why would the Buddha tell you that you must change who you are to become enlightened?” That’s the question Ms. Nebelsieck posed to Za Rinpoche in their first, seemingly innocent, communication. Rinpoche was immediately intrigued. In his many years of studying the Buddhist texts and translations with legendary teachers and scholars, he had never thought of this question. He says, “In the monastery we are taught to debate many different philosophers’ points of view, but I had never heard this one. I realized that even if she were wrong, the argument was still worth considering.” This unique book blends centuries-old texts with contemporary wisdom from these two diverse and vibrant new voices. Part mystery/adventure, part wisdom teachings, part hands-on self-help, this three-in-one book offers an exciting new approach to secular Buddhist philosophy for the next generation. Three Leaves/Doubleday. Paper, $14.00. Captured!: The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience The True Story of the World’s First Documented Alien Abduction By Stanton T. Friedman and Kathleen Marden The 1961 UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill stirred worldwide interest. Today, forty-seven years after the abduction of the Hills, more and more people are convinced that UFOs are real and that their existence is being covered up by the government. But the complete story of what really happened that day, its effect on the participants, and the findings of investigators has never been told...until now. In Captured! you’ll get an insider’s look at the alien abduction, previously unpublished information about the lives of the Hills before and after Barney’s death in 1969, their status as celebrities, Betty’s experiences as a UFO investigator, and other activities before her death in 2004. In addition, co-author, physicist, and ufologist Stanton T. Friedman, the original civilian investigator of the Roswell Incident, reviews and refutes the arguments of those who have attacked the Hill case, including the star map Betty Hill saw inside the craft and later recreated. New Page Books. Paper, $16.99. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl By Daniel Pinchbeck Until recently, no one apart from a select group of scholars knew about the Mayan predictions for our very near future. In 2012: The Return of QuetzalcoatI author Daniel Pinchbeck recounts his own personal experiences, beginning with an exploration of prophecy, especially the vision of the Mayans. The Mayans were obsessed with time, and according to their Sacred Calendar, the year 2012 marks the end of a “Great Cycle” of more than 5,000 years, and the culmination of larger patterns that appear to go back billions of years. Pinchbeck discovered that a number of theorists, working outside the mainstream of archaeology, make a compelling argument that 2012 could represent a transformation in the nature of human consciousness as well as, potentially, a unified and harmonic global civilization. Tarcher/Penguin. Paper, $14.95. Urgent Message from Mother Gather the Women, Save the World By Jean Shinoda Bolen Now in paperback for the first time Urgent Message from Mother is a call to action for all the women of the world. This unique combination of visionary thinking and practical ‘how to’ seeks to galvanize the power of women acting together in order to save our world. Bolen outlines the lessons we can learn from the women’s movement, draws on Jungian psychology and the sacred feminine, and gives powerful examples of women coming together all over the globe who are making a significant impact. Conari Press. Paper, $14.95. www.earthstarmag.com Cherokee Astrology Animal Medicine in the Stars By Raven Hail Raven Hail, an elder of the Cherokee nation, provides insightful descriptions for each of the twenty signs that identify characteristics of those born under a particular day sign and gives the meanings of the thirteen numbers that determine the significance of that sign in the larger scheme of life. The author has translated the traditional Cherokee ephemeris into an easy-to-use format that allows readers to quickly determine which sign rules the day of their birth and which number has influence over it. Bear & Company. Paper, $15.00. The Food Intolerance Bible A Nutritionist’s Plan to Beat Food Cravings, Fatigue, Mood Swings, Celiac Disease, Headaches, IBS, and Deal with Food Allergies By Antony J. Haynes and Antoinette Savill Nearly everyone has an intolerance to one food or another with symptoms ranging from mild bloating and energy dips after eating to cramping, nausea, skin problems, or mood swings. In The Food Intolerance Bible, Antony J. Haynes, a top nutritionist, has devised a unique plan to help readers identify and avoid food intolerances and allergies. He will help readers to understand what a food intolerance is and the various ways to confirm if they have one, and why. By following his simple steps anyone can isolate and eliminate problem foods and completely reverse their symptoms. Conari Press. Paper, $19.95. JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 71 ASTROLOGY BEAUTY ASTRO CHARTING Em powering W om en Internationally acclaimed program. Assess your health and lifestyle develop your own holistic physical, emotional, and spiritual health plan. Individuals or groups. Discover Your Planets, their Signs & Houses Personal Horoscope - $40 Compatability Charts - $45 (include birth data for each individual) BODYWORK Body & Soul Report - $45 Get your own personalized 2007 12-month Future Forecast - $75.00. Send Name, Date and Place of Birth (City/State/ Country), and Time of Birth (or as precise as possible) for each Chart requested. Payment by check made payable to Tim Gunns with return address and phone number to: Tim Gunns, Tel. 1-310-281-7882 Pure Solace - Reiki & Massage Experience mind/body health and well-being through Reiki & Massage with trained & licensed bodyworkers Know your Order Your potential... SEE your Astro Value-Pack future! for just $62 Includes a Personalized Natal Horoscope plus a 6-month Future-Forecast Transit Report (40-50 pages) (specify which month to begin) Send: Name, Date of Birth, Time of Birth (as close as possible), Place of Birth (city/country, etc.) for each person, payment, and return address & phone# to: Tim Gunns, 110 Hilltop Drive, Waynesville, NC 28786. (310) 281-7882. 72 EARTH STAR Shipping is FREE JUNE / JULY 2008 Women’s Health Institute PO Box 200623 Boston, MA 02120 617-739-2923 W HI@wuhi.org puresolacewaltham@yahoo.com - 781-736-1920 751 Main St., Suite 22, Waltham, MA 02451 HELP WANTED BUSINESS VENTURES Sales Associates Wanted 110 Hilltop Drive, Waynesville, NC 28786 Personalized Astrology Charts by mail. Natal Horoscopes ($40); Future Forecast Transit Reports ($75 for 1 full year, $50 for 6-months, $35 for 3-months); and two kinds of Relationship Compatibility Reports: the basic Compatability Report, and the Composite Relationship Report ($45 each, or both Reports for $75). Send Name (as you'd like it to appear on the chart), Date of Birth, Time of Birth (as close as possible), Place of Birth (city/country, etc.) for each person, payment (checks only) and return address & phone# to: Tim Gunns, 110 Hilltop Drive, Waynesville, NC 28786. (310) 281-7882.. HEALING ARE YOU INSPIRED BY THE WORK OF DR. CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP? Are you interested in a home-based business in the health and wellness industry? Would you like to work for Business Week’s #3 Hot Growth Company And Forbes’ #12 Best Small Company? JOIN TEAM NORTHRUP Contact: Laurie Monahan 781-944-0651 monahan46@comcast.net Law of Attraction Business opportunity. Join a global community of likeminded entrepreneurs. We utilize a proven system which combines personal development and mentorship with a lucrative income opportunity. www.WealthAndAbundanceCreators.com Earth Star magazine is looking for independent, motivated and experienced sales people to work part- or fulltime from your own home. Generous 20% commission. Flexible hours. (617) 498-0265 E-mail: earthstarm@aol.com INSTRUCTION Tai Chi, Chi Gung (Qigong) is taught in 7-week sessions at Brookline Tai Chi. Call for our course brochure and information. Free sample class. (617) 277-2975. MASSAGE China Blue Massage HEALTH 617-924-9371 .Himalayan Goji Berries. If you have not yet heard of goji juice, you are not alone. While it has occupied an important place in traditional Asian medicine for countless generations, the secrets of its nutritional benefits have remained a mystery to most of the world. Anti-Aging – the goji berry prevents or mitigates premature aging in many ways. In studies it has been found to protect our DNA form breaking down. The world's most powerful anti-aging food—the Himalayan goji berry. If you would like more comprehensive information about goji berry juice, or to order visit: www.dramy.freelife.com or via email DrAmy@tranquilS.com. 195 Mt.Auburn St, Watertown MA An Earth Star Classified Display Ad will get your business or product noticed This 2” x 2-1/4” Ad is just $85 617-498-0265 www.earthstarmag.com MEDITATION SPACE AVAILABLE Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj Meditation Blessings. Peace, Bliss and SelfRealization Guaranteed through Meditation. Receive Shivabalayogi’s photo, holy ash and meditation instructions. Free. Germaine, 108 Yogaville Lane, Buckingham, VA 23921, www.meditate-shivabala.org. WATERTOWN SQUARE. The Bodymind Integration Center has quiet, sunny offices for a full or part-time practitioner. $300 - $575. Also large attractive carpeted workshop and part-time office space rentals, weekend, or weekdays. Call Michael Jaro @ (617) 926-9171. Quest for an Angel — a guided inner journey written & narrated by Suzannah Galland “This is an excellent vehicle to reconnect with your angel self, the fulfiller of your dreams....” — Marianne Willliamson You may order this CD by phone at: (323) 650-3939, via email: suzannah @suzannahgalland.com, or directly from Suzannah’s website: www.suzannahgalland.com - $14.99 Harvard Street Brookline between Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village. Free parking spot. Warm holistic office in Victorian building. Perfect for acupuncture, massage, counseling. Available 5-6 days a week, $350 inclusive. Call Karen (617) 566-8070. Harvard Square / Cambridge: New School of Music has a large classroom for rent - Yoga Classes, Book Clubs, Meetings, Workshops, Seminars! Outside Harvard Sq. near Mt. Auburn Hospital, FREE parking lot, rug, A/C. Call 617-4928105 or email info@cambridgemusic.org for rates. Visit http://www.newschoolofmusic.org. SPIRITUAL A Spiritual Counselor & Medium, Past Life readings. Available for private and telephone readings, Linda Stanton of Newburyport, (978)255-2536. OPPORTUNITIES Potential vegan pizza-sub chain in Boston seeks partners, especially with business/restaurant skills. We aim to change public eating habits while earning a living. 617-472-1524 veganearth@verizon.net. ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS on the web. Stand up for Peace. Reserve your ad space which links to your website or coupon and pay only $1.50 per pixel. 10% of proceeds go to five charities: Doctors without Borders, American Friends Service Committee, Education Fund to Stop Gun Violence, Earth Island Institute and Union of Concerned Scientists. Varied media drive customers to the website. To Learn more and reserve ad space visit Milliondollarhomepageforpeace.com An Earth Star Classified Display Ad will get your business or product noticed Call: 617-498-0265 www.earthstarmag.com is Th just is d A $55 Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj Meditation Blessings. Peace, Bliss and SelfRealization Guaranteed through Meditation. Receive Shivabalayogi’s photo, holy ash and meditation instructions. Free. Germaine, 108 Yogaville Lane, Buckingham, VA 23921 www.meditateshivabala.org. Quest for an Angel—a guided inner journey, written and narrated by Suzannah Galland. To order the CD, phone (323) 650-3939 or email to: suzannah@suzannahgal;land.com, or directly from the website: www.suzzanahgalland.com. CLASSIFIED ORDER FORM You can place your Classified Ad three ways - Email, fax or by mail. Please include your name, address and phone number. CLASSIFIED DISPLAY ADS 2-1/4” w x 1” h = $65 2-1/4” w x 2” h = $95 2-1/4” w x 3” h = $125 There is a $35 production charge for non-camera ready Classified Display ads. Frequency Discount We offer a 10% discount for three or more consecutive insertions when paid in advance. CLASSIFIED LINE ADS Classified Line Ads are $1.50 per word with a minimum of 20 words. The first 2 to 5 words will be printed in bold face at no extra charge. Word Count Every word or number separated by a space is considered a separate word. Each 10-digit phone number is considered one word. Email and website addresses are each counted as three words. PAYMENT All Ads must be pre-paid. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Card. Make check or money order payable to Earth Star Magazine. CONTACT INFORMATION WRITING COACH Get Support! Create clear vision and focus for completing projects. Fall in love with words, explore voice and personal expression, with published writer, experienced coach, “midwife” for creative process. Call Nadine Boughton at (781) 391-1704. Phone/Fax: (617) 498-0265 Email: EarthstarM@aol.com Mailing Address: Earthstar Magazine 110 Hilltop Drive Waynesville NC 28786 www.earthstarmag.com JUNE / JULY 2008 EARTH STAR 73 Creative Fires...Continued from page 35 age and talent whose spirit has been awakened by this depth of awe and wonder. But I also know that, at the end of the day, it’s up to me to pick up the pen or the camera. Over the years, I’ve learned to respect the deceptively simple wisdom behind folk stories about creativity-like the wonderful legend from China in which an old king gold-plates his bathtub and commands his finest craftsmen to carve upon it fine sayings from the old sages. Each morning during his bath, the king meditates on these sayings, which he called the Five Excellent Practices, in order to rule as wisely as possible. FIRES OF THE IMAGINATION IN A NUTSHELL spirit, a daimon that may know more about your destiny than you do. It matters that there’s an abyss between human hearts that can be bridged with ink, paint, stone, and music. It matters which words you use to bridge that chasm. “Stories,” “sparks,” “fires,” “genius,” “daimon,” “heart” are all sacred words in my vocabulary, because they do just that. But words aren’t enough. You need something more, a spur that quickens you into action, a trigger that makes the phoenix in you rise from its ashes. You must make these words and desires move; you need to move beyond inspiration until it becomes something else. The great Oregon poet William Stafford speaks of a mythic thread of destiny woven by the Three Fates: “There’s a thread you follow. It goes among / Things that change. But it doesn’t change ... “When in doubt about what you’re supposed to be doing with your fierce heart, think about this thread. Is it your faith in the divine, your love of family, your vocation as a creative artist or entrepreneur? 74 EARTH STAR JUNE / JULY 2008 HOLD ONTO THE THREAD This much I know. The creative journey is a search for the deeply real. It’s a fiery attempt to make real some idea, some vision that is uncomfortably unreal until it’s created. The search for inspiration, like Stafford’s mythic thread, is never-ending. The thread is the force that makes you real—if you don’t let go of it. Your work will never be real—realized— until you are. Here is a very real description of inspiration given by ten-year-old Nila Devaney, from Arcata, California: Your imagination holds news of eternity. Inspiration comes and goes, creativity is the result of practice. There is a gold thread from your soul to your real work. Hold onto it for dear life. There is a force within you that breathes divine fire and brings your work to life. Honor it at all costs. Give us something the world’s never seen before: you. Reprinted with permission of Conari Press, Stoking the Creative Fires, by Phil Cousineau, is available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher at (800) 423-7087 or www.conari.com. Inspiration is foolish. He doesn’t lie, but he only begins the truth. He is the one who starts the picture and completes the world. Without inspiration, there would not be you. Inspiration is like a candle: the flame of everything, the start of everything. Every time inspiration walks into a new neighborhood, he immediately makes friends with the kids. Ah, from the mouths of babes. I’m fascinated by those of any www.earthstarmag.com