The Eden Magazine

EDENMAGAZINE

The

April 2013 Volume 3 Issue 4

2 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM • April 2013

Eden Magazine is an independent monthly online magazine. Our aim is to create a better environment where we live among other living being in peace and harmony. We support artists that their work match our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article or/and your

Photography For our future issues please contact Maryam Morrison at;[email protected] or www.theedenmagazine.com

EditorMaryam Morrison

spreading compassion to all sentient beings and Living in healing and peaceful world

Front Cover ~ “A Morning’s Kiss” Spririt of New England Series Watercolor and Ink

Ellen Spencer© 2013 All rights reserved New Series

3 THEDENMAGAZINE.COM • April 2013

CO N T E N T S

8

The Divine Nature of...By Peace Mother Geeta Sacred Song

12

The Little bright light....By Colleen Costello

The flow of consciousness

22

Follow your HeartBy Heike Stenzel

10

Margay

26Shamanism

By Howard G. Charing

28

Importance of exfoliating

By Stefania Constantin

34

Ellen Spencer

4

In the FlowBy Ellen Heller

30

Love, Stillness...By John Cogan Ph.D

18

Earth DayBy Donald Norfolk

32


Ellen SpencerAn Artist and An Activist

Sunset Rose


Atlantic Majestic

A celebrated artist known for her color-ful paintings of women, Ellen is also an entrepeneur, dedicated environmentalist, poet, author, woman’s activist and health advocate. She has donated her artwork to countless women’s organizations and she prides herself on “living in the moment” a rich, passion-filled life. Being passionate is something that was passed on to me from the women in my family, but it also became part of my jour-ney — as in passion for my art, the envi-ronment and passion for life! It is the one of the words that defines my life at this point.

“My art represents my voice and also the voice of other women. Girls and women at this moment who may not have their own voice. It is a way for me to commu-nicate to other people. Whether it’s my art, activism, poetry, writing or more... the underlying message is to be fearless , empowered , enlighten and passionate about your life. The thread of what I do is actually more of a generational thread — there have been many generations of artists and activists in my family. This is just my generational turn. When I speak, I speak on behalf of not just myself, but all the women who have spoken before me.Every joyful morning I awake in spirit and meditate on gratitude. Celebrate the mo-ment!.”

“Every joyful morning I awake in spirit and meditate on gratitude. Celebrate the moment!.”


Artist /Author /Entrepeneur / Owner of LemonArt and Ellen Spencer OriginalsEllen Spencer is a well known artist and longtime environmental activist. Her work reflects her passion in the celebration of life and its connection to our environment. Ellen is originally from Boston. She currently resides in both the San Francisco bay area and New England. Her studios are in Oakland, California and the Boston. She has spent many years successfully exhibiting and selling her works throughout the United States and has received numerous awards. Her work has been hailed as, “exuberant and exciting” by New York’s Art Speak maga-zine. She is currently represented by 57th Street Gallery in Oakland, CA, ArtWorks in San Francisco, Artist Alley Gallery in San Francisco, Agora Gallery in New York, A-Forest Gallery in New York and Marziart International Gallery in Hamburg, Germa-ny, as well as numerous world wide Online Galleries. “As an artist and an activist, my work represents the strength and unity inher-ent in the human spirit.The celebration of what is possible when people come to-gether as one. Each painting has a feeling of its own and is done in different mediums. The colors are vivid and rich reflecting the myriad of emotions that I bring to my work. The textured pieces use a multitude of dried herbs (rosemary, lavender, sage,etc) ,sand, sea salt and many other natural objects. I encourage you to bring your own experiences to the viewing of my artwork and freely interpret the imagery according to your own imagi-nation.”

A longtime environmental activist and published poet as well as an artist, Ellen Spencer creates paintings that explore the themes of femininity, the environment, and the strength of a healthy body and spirit. In her innova-tive, richly textured works, Spencer uses a combination of traditional paints and unorthodox media such as dried herbs and other natural objects. Abstract and sophisticated, these works invoke a primitive strength and sense of universal unity: through a spectrum of natural colors and textures inspired by earth and atmo-sphere. Spencer’s art seeks to uncover the beauty inherent in the organic world.

At once ebullient and elegant, Ellen’s paintings describe the timeless, innate link between people and the environment.

Mother and Baby


Spencer has participated in numerous solo and group shows throughout the United States and has won many awards for her art. I am doing a Spring Art Special for anyone interested in purchasing original paintings or watercolor prints! Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing artwork and also send me your info to be added for my up-coming exhibits and show listings

Celebration Spiritellenspencer2@gmail.comwww.ellenspencer.comwww.ellenspencerprints.com

Just a few of ~~~ AWARDS, ARTICLES AND ART-RELATED AFFILIATIONS

Drumming for Health, Spirited Woman - Los Angeles, CA “Spirit Drummers” Relaxing Doesn’t Make Babies- New York Article, AFA “April Trees” Empty Arms on Mother’s Day - New York Examiner Article, “Eyes of the Soul Ellen Spencer Seven Senses - San Francisco, CA Article Spirited Artist Article - Los Angeles Make Lemonade - Ellen Spencer- Bay Area Women’s Article The Female Homer - An exploration of Women’s Epic Poetry -Book Jacket San Francisco Visitors Guide Book, “Dancing Spirits” Absolutearts and World Wide Arts Feature “ Friendship” Absolutearts and World Wide Arts Feature “The Dancers” Absolutearts and World Wide Arts Feature “Spirits at Play” Absolutearts and World Wide Arts Feature “The Dancer” New York National Art Competition Award, “The Gathering”, Juried Exhibit Single Black Female, Los Angeles, CA Golden Poet Award, The World of Poetry, “A Prayer for Amy” Award of Excellence, The World of Poetry, “Question of Belief” Agora Gallery, New York, NY ARTworks Gallery, San Francisco, CA Energy Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA Women Environmental Artists Directory (WEAD) The Cassandra Project Artist Alley Gallery, San Francisco, CAGllobal Exchange Equality Now

MARIA AND JO IN LEMURIA

THE LITTLE BRIGHT LIGHTS

Artwork by Maryam Morrison


By Colleen Costellohttp://colleencostello.authorsxpress.com

Many eons ago, two little bright lights called Mariah and Jo came from Father Creator’s heart centre. They journeyed on down from the Great Central Sun, through the dimensions and galaxies and many star systems. They travelled through time and space, venturing on down to beautiful Mother Earth Gaia, to experience the wonders of life as she was then in her beautiful state in the third Golden Age. Jo and Mariah experienced life in the early times of Lemuria, when all was perfect and in harmony and so very beautiful. The wise old trees and flowers glowed with an aura of rainbow colours, and life was magical then. They danced and played with all the little animals and elementals, they swam with the dolphins, and their gifts were encouraged by the elders. All the while, their guardians and protectors, the magnificent beings of light and the Archangels were there with them.

They returned again in the sad ‘end times’ of the age of Lemuria, when many of her people had lost their innocence. They had become caught up in greed and control, and their bright lights had become dim.

The kind and loving ones still in touch with their Creator knew what would happen, but in the end, they were unable to save their beautiful Land of Mu. Some went to other realms or to other lands and this beautiful Lemuria was no more. Many people who had stayed close to their Creator went to a place called Telos at Mt Shasta, where there were underground caves with locks

and magnificent shining crystals, a world of another dimension.

Colleen Costello has spent the last 30 years writing and studying metaphys-ics. Her recollections from great teach-ers and personal experiences served as the inspiration for her two books; The Little Bright Lights – Mariah and Jo in Lemuria and Who We Are: A Long and Magical Journey. Costello currently lives near London, England, where she practices reflexology and other therapies.

Colleen’s new book “Who We Are” is avaliable now to purchase at;

Availability:EBook: $3.99Softcover: $12.99Hardcover: $30.95

http://www.amazon.com/Who-We-Are-magical...http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Prod-ucts/SKU-000485657/Who-We-Are.aspx



Follow Your Heart

One of my deepest wisdom I love to share with you today is “Follow your Heart”. It is the purest and wisest guidance that comes from Your Soul. Let me give you an example how this might feel or occur in Your Life! I woke up on morning where, I literally was called to “Follow Your Heart” and the pure voice of my Soul reminded me a few more times during the following days.

According to this gentle push that came from my Higher Self it showed me how important it is not to stay too much in my brainpower. The mind tries to rationalize, to analyze and to control things in a logi-cally perspective to hold us disconnected from our true Self.

The mind is also governed by the brain that radiates not only on Beta Waves but also on Alpha, Gamma, Delta and Theta waves; the mind who creates about 80.000 thoughts per day - not always support-ive thoughts as our negative Ego tries to manipulate us with negative thoughts that surely does not always serve our highest good and path. Let go of the mind battle, the drama and invite the Wisdom of Your Heart in.

After times of rejecting and surpassing this inner calling done by the Ego, the Essence of your Heart might start up quietly but intentionally increases over time in a stronger, determined voice to “Follow Your Heart”.


Follow Your Heart

Now, this is your time! No, don´t hesi-tate, don´t procrastinate, and don´t find excuses to only listen to your mind babble that creates this brain candy – Just Stop and try it for once and all and follow the guidance of your Heart.

What you feel deeply in your heart expands your heart with so much light-ness that it opens the subtle gateways of returning Joy, Cheerfulness and Happi-ness into Your Beingness; not controlled by the brain. Even when you have neglect Your Heart out of Fear, out of Doubt, out of self-worthlessness many times – your Heart is forgiving and never gives up on you. It will remember you again and again to “Follow Your Heart” with reassurance of You can have it all; if you just allow your-self the gentle nudge pushing you over the threshold.

Just give it a try and you will be surprised to see the essence of Joy and Happiness returning into Your Life.

It will give you a great uplift in Your Spirit, dancing to the flow of Abundance; and the comfort of the wisest choice you ever

have done.

The CHANGE is invoking and presents you a diversity of new opportunities into your life. Might this be of a calling that you are going to attract new people into your life or new ways of support, respect and acceptance in an understanding and loving way? Why?

This is because those people are on the same frequency than you. In the Essence of Follow Your Heart radiance you have attracted them into your Life with your beautiful Vibration and the light your Heart pulses outward into the world.

You made it happen and it will not only invite new people into your life, it also will change your vibration you are radiating out into the world, that allows you to at-tract new positive situation, new places and experiences into your Life! It is truly worthwhile to give it a Go and to “Follow Your Heart”. You will transform your life in living in Your Heart.

By Heike Stenzel (Heike Shaolina)Artwork by Heike Stenzel (Heike Shaolina)


“THE DIVINE NATURE

OF YOUR CHAKRAS”By Peace Mother Geeta Sacred Song

Art work by Maryam Morrison


CHAKRAS OF THE UNIVERSE, PART 2 “THE JOURNEY OF KUNDALINI”

“The Crown Chakra…Is the final point of arrival for your ascending Kundalini...

Reaching the Maha Chakra is the momentWhen your individual self merges with the God Self…

Finally realizing your self as Pure ConsciousnessYour awareness expands to the Cosmic level…

You experience your boundless, Eternal God Nature…Of being ONE with all that is…”

The systems such as Kundalini Yoga re-fer to 6 chakras in the Sushumna column and then the Crown Chakra, located at the top of the head. In this system the Crown Chakra is not counted as a mere chakra, for it is considered the Maha Chakra…The Great Center…where your millions of physical and subtle channels come to-gether.

In Indian scriptures the word “chakra” is sometimes used to describe a disc shaped weapon which was propelled in warfare, whirling through the air. Likewise, our chakras are meant to spin. According to their level of balance, they will spin at particular rates, angles and directions, either clockwise or counter clockwise.

The condition of your chakrasaffects your spiritual state…Likewise, your spiritual state

affects your chakras…

When your chakras are not functioning at optimum levels, you will experience one type of block or another in your Life. It is therefore important to be supremely aware of what weighs down, shuts down and damages the chakras. Examining your Life activities, ask your self what causes your chakras to wobble out of Divine Rhythm. Just as with any vehicle, for a smooth ride, you must have bal-anced wheels to avoid discomfort or dan-ger. When your chakras are malfunction-ing, it shows up in physical signs as well as well as in spiritual signs.


The Universe is All Ways communicating with you…

Your chakras are the receptorswhich link your physical and spirit

self to the Cosmos…

When the chakras are functioning as intended by the Divine Designer, each one will be open to the perfect degree, spinning in the perfect direction and at the perfect speed, filled with radiant Life Force. As you expand in your psychic awareness, it is possible you will be able to see or sense what your chakras look like and be able to attend to them in a wiser way.

Any habits based on lack of self-Love…

All self-loathing patternswill take their toll on your

chakra system…resulting in further energy blocks

within the mind-body-spirit…

When a chakra is off center, it affects all others by being out of balance. This malfunction creates congestion in your physical-mental-emotional-spiritual systems, since every part of you is con-nected.

If you wish to know which chakras are bal-anced and which are damaged or weak, just review your thoughts and feelings about your Life. Examine your thoughts on your past, present, future, the work you engage in, your body and all rela-tionships. While reviewing each area of your Life, notice what part of your body

tenses, feels weak or experiences pain. For example, if you experience constric-tion in your heart area, this indicates the thoughts-emotions you carry, are damag-ing your Heart Chakra. Wherever there is a physical-emotional reaction, there is stress to the corresponding chakra.

Your views of your self and the role you play in any situation will either fortify or weaken your chakras. The following have a profound effect on your Energy centers: -Lifestyle-Attitude-Accidents-Injuries-Food quality and quantity you ingest-Water quality and quantity you ingest and utilize-Home/area you live in-Relationships-Spiritual practices

Stress is actually excessive, intense vi-brations caused by inner demons, to provoke thoughts, feelings and actions based in self-conceit or self-deprecation, such as:-Fear/desperation/manipulation-Tension/anxiety/worry/irritation-Anger/violence/domination-Resentment/arrogance/guilt/shame/ sadness-Judgment of self and others-Greed/self-absorption/cruelty/selfish ness-Weakness of any type


The chakras sustain your soul balance

As well as your physical well-being…

All negative emotions create imbalance

and imbalance wears out the chakras…

Insecurity, unhappiness, any feelings of lack...

all discord that you allow to affect you

creates disturbance and distortionin your physical and spiritual body…

Pain, trauma…any reactions that cause a sense of crisis and the subsequent feelings of heaviness, disconnection or separation from Goodness/Spirit/Love/Higher Self/Life…distort the chakras. Any impressions that you allow to block the champion qualities of the Impeccable Warrior of Light within you…clog the chakras with stagnant energy. Negative thought patterns about ANY-THING AT ALL deplete your physical and spiritual Radiance. God created perfect energetic systems to allow the Life Force of the Universe to miraculously flow into you…within you…and out of you…to the Cosmos. Entertaining negativity dete-riorates those golden energetic systems that God gifted to you.

You cannot separate Kundalini from the Chakras…

They work together…What affects one, affects the other…

It is vital to comprehend the relationship between Kundalini, your chakras…and YOU. Kundalini Shakti is your Golden Energy, your Spiritual Power. She is of-ten referred to as serpent power because in the beginning stages of an aspirant’s journey, this energy lies dormant, coiled three and a half times at the bottom of your spinal column.

With self-effort and Grace…by living a positive Life based in Wisdom-Love, our Kundalini moves up the Sushumna canal in the spinal column making its mystical trek through the lower chakras to the higher ones.

The whole purpose of re-incarnation is for each being to move their Kundalini energy from the lower chakras of sur-vival awareness to the bliss-bestowing higher chakras. Grace abounds and therefore some people are able to raise their awareness/Kundalini to some de-gree, but except for rare cases, to move one’s energy to the higher chakras re-quires the guidance and assistance of a Perfected Being…a Shaktipat Guru. I was blessed to have the compassion-ate and expert guidance of two such Shaktipat Masters: Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (Baba) and Gurumayi (Swami Chidvilasananda).

Siddhas are Perfected Beings…Masters who are En-Lightened. They are Grace-bestowing beings who are established in oneness with God…and have the power to awaken and liberate others.


Excerpts from“SHAMAN’S ART JOURNAL...SELF HEALING AND ENLIGHTENMENT, PART 1”

With the infusion of Grace by a Shaktipat Master

the covering within the seeker that has held down Kundalini is

dissolved…

Once Kundalini is awakenedShe can begin Her journey up the

spinal columnin Her quest to reach the major

spiritual centerlocated at the Crown Chakra…

As Kundalini ascends She will perform Her sacred duty of piercing or opening your chakras…

Clearing them of dense residueShe illuminates them…

triggering the illumination of all levels of your being…

The chakras change form as they vibrate. Just as someone may look heavy or life-less when tired or stressed, the chakras also can appear pale, dirty, foggy or dense when they are overloaded with negative vibrations. Likewise, as someone glows when they are happy and full of positive thoughts…so do your chakras glow with the infusion of positive energy. The great-est infusion is from the Golden Energy Herself, Maha Shakti.

As Kundalini Shakti moves up and down your spinal column, healing the individual chakras and nadis, She releases the Uni-versal power within the charkas…to bless you by further strengthening you in one way or another.

Each of Her movements releases a dose

of the energies and qualities you need…to evolve further into a fully balanced, Cosmic Being who is at ONE with the Universe.

Regardless of which Chakra Teachingsyou choose to connect with

what is most essential,is to honor the existence and

significanceof YOUR Chakras...

JAI JAI MAAAAAAAAA!


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At times when we are mired in the details of everyday chores and responsibilities, we should, as it were, “step back” and get some perspec-tive on our Life by taking a look at the “big picture.” For me, today is one of those days.

For the past few years, my Life seems to have taken a perverse turn, leaving me wondering about the wis-dom of choices I have made in the past and the seeming trap that I have put myself in. However, when I scan the heavens of my seemingly dark Life up to this point, there are events, like bright stars, that shine brighter than the others and form a beautiful constellation that leaps into view where mere white dots appeared before. It is a sud-den appearance; as though out of nothing; a noticing that is similar to the noticing you have when you are helping a child find the hidden objects in a puzzle and suddenly the tree is disguised as a rake. In my case, the most recent “no-ticing” was about the relation-ship between Love, Stillness, and Silence.

The “bright spot” of noticing that I had was about Love; and I know we play “fast and loose” with this word, espe-

cially here in America, but today I want to draw our at-tention to a sense of the word that relies on a particular ex-perience that only a few ever realize, despite subjective protestations to the contrary. It is famously known that the early Greeks distinguished three different types of love: philia (φιλία), eros (ἔρως), and agape (ἀγάπη); friendship, romantic, and God’s Love, respectively. What is not of-ten discussed is the fact that these are not three distinct loves but stages in the One Love; furthermore, agape, has depths that scholarship has, thus far, failed to plumb.

As with the other senses of “love,” “agape” is the name given to a particular experi-ence that we have; and the Sacred Texts tell us that the particular experience that gave rise to this term is the same experience that God has, hence, it is Godly Love. Of course, in our day, the meaning we give to this term is a function of both its transla-tion history and the model we use to understand what God is like. Setting aside, tempo-rarily, the translation history of the term, let me focus on what we mean when we say “God.”

Love,Stillness, and Silence

By John Cogan Ph.D


Love,Stillness, and Silence

By John Cogan Ph.D

Cognitive dissonance is the name for the situation in which someone holds contradictory beliefs in their mind but only entertains one at a time so that their contradiction can have “plausible deniability.” William James illustrates this by referring to a story of a Russian noblewoman who orders her coachman to stay out in the freezing cold while she attends a play. James notes that she is caught up in the plight of the fictional characters of the play and brought to tears while in re-ality her coachman freezes to death outside. The expe-riences that force us to bring these contradictory beliefs to-gether so that we might “see” their contradiction create a situation termed “cognitive dissonance.” And it is how we resolve this dissonance that determines how sane we become. For the most part, the Truth of Reality is a pro-cess of correcting such con-tradictions in our beliefs and compelling the decisions that move our life forward. If such decisions are not made, we continually revisit the contra-diction in various forms until it is finally resolved. It is by just such incremental steps that we ascend in consciousness.

Our ascent in consciousness is an ascent to God-con-

sciousness; and God-con-sciousness is an experience that is available to every in-dividual, irrespective of any-thing that we would ordinar-ily consider a “difference that makes a difference.”

Each of us is the center of a world; and the center of each of us is the “I AM.” We often refer to “the world,” as though it were one and the same world for all but that is not the case; invariant features of that world suggest this pos-sibility, but absent from this “invariant” world is the per-sonal dimension, which, at least to us, is inescap-able, hence, the “invariant” world hypothesis must be wrong. Although we can-not escape who we are, i.e., the “I AM” of us, we can pre-tend we have escaped it and, thus, create a “world” in which there is that split between the “I AM” of us and who we pretend to be. It is this gap that creates the possibility for what psychologists call “cog-nitive dissonance.”


Each of us can live an authentic life by simply denying the gap between who we think we are and the “I AM” Presence of us. This is not an easy task but it is also not impossible. The first step in denying the illusion of who we think we are is to still the outer body and mind by taking our attention off them and placing it on the Mighty “I AM” Presence; to those who have been on the path a while, this is not new information and, indeed, has been around for thousands of years. It is when we interrogate the self and push it all the way back upon itself to the “I,” that we discover, with first-person cer-tainty, who the “I AM” is. In that stillness, we know ourselves to be the out-pressing Presence of Love and One with the world; indeed, we bring this about precisely by knowing it with certainty. As an aid to visualizing this Mighty “I AM” Presence, refer to the chart above.

God-consciousness is not consciousness of God; it is consciousness of being God. You do not become conscious of God as an other; you become conscious that God is at you. You are God! Or, more correct-ly, “I AM” God at [here, insert your name].

On looking back over the last few years, one such experience of cognitive dis-sonance occurred for me when I came upon the sense of “Love” to which I re-ferred above and about the time that I be-lieve my life started to “fall apart,” or so I thought. Let me preface my remarks by saying that I am not a “babe in the woods” when it comes to what are euphemisti-cally referred to as “affairs of the heart” and, although I do not consider myself a “Casanova,” I do consider myself savvy

enough to recognize the feeling of “being in love” when I feel it. I mention these things so that you take seriously the rarity of the sense of “Love” to which I am refer-ring.

At this point, it is important to note that we experience the beginning of human love the same way that we experience the be-ginning of Divine Love; that is, when each species of Love begins, our experience of it is the same. As an illustration, consider the relationship between our experience of a sunrise and how the sunrise actually occurs.We now know that the earth goes around the sun, but humankind used to believe that the sun went around the earth. The thing is, the sunrise looks ex-actly the same no matter which is true. And it is not until you consider other fac-tors that you become able to see the er-ror of a geocentric account and the truth of a heliocentric account. Similarly, the experience of the beginning stage of hu-man love is the same as the experience of the beginning stage of Divine Love and the only way to tell the difference is when your Love gets past the initial stages and you begin to see the “fruit” of Divine Love as it manifests in the fruit of what you ob-serve about yourself—and let me tell you, it is fruit, the likes of which, you will never see in human love.

When I first saw her I was attracted but moved cautiously. I had the usual sus-pects to confirm my early intuitions but didn’t articulate them—in short, I had no confidence that anything could come of it owing to certain circumstances. My thoughts continually reverted to her and quite spontaneously, too.


I remained restrained and circumspect, keeping my own counsel. She approached me and we chatted briefly; I was exhila-rated and fearful all at once; I began mak-ing plans for the contingency of losing her and imagining all that could possibly go wrong and what my response would be. [OK, up to this point, there is nothing to distinguish this meeting and sense of “Love” from the many others I had had in the past.] It was at this juncture that this “Love” began to distinguish itself from the ordinary “garden variety” of “Love” which everyone else experiences; and it started when I began to imagine what I would do were I to lose her.

When I began to imagine my losing her, I immediately noticed that it didn’t make any difference to how I felt if I “lost” her. Here, I imagined the many ways I could “lose” her: her marriage to another, her loss of interest, my failure to be worthy, death, etc. (you know the drill, all your weaknesses are possible causes). But it is precisely here, in this stage, that I noticed a profound difference in this Love from every other love I had had in the past. I realized that whatever bond it was that sprung into awareness as Love with this woman, it was a bond that stood outside of every other consideration and impervious to them. I realized that what-ever this was that I was feeling, I would be feeling it no matter what happened next. The feeling I experienced bore the identifying mark of something that was a Divine Destiny; as though it were a decree from the very Throne of God made at the foundation of the world that could not be disobeyed or broken.

This wrought in me a sense of over-whelming comfort and grounding; I real-ized I couldn’t lose this person because we were bonded as if we were split rays from the same Source.

This wrought in me a sense of over-whelming comfort and grounding; I real-ized I couldn’t lose this person because we were bonded as if we were split rays from the same Source. It then became clear that neither misunderstanding nor perverse circumstance had any power to dissolve this bond and that my Heart was her Home and her Heart was my Destiny.As I lived in the feeling of this Love, mo-ments of profound Silence came upon me and I became a Silent Watcher, simply ob-serving the Wondrous Workings of God, Loving it All and being One with it. I didn’t seek her to control her; I didn’t adore her as an occasion for my pleasure, whether physical, intellectual, or emotional; and I didn’t miss her, at least not in the usual sense. Yet, I do seek her; I do adore her; I do see her as an integral part of my Life; and I do miss her but not as an absent presence, rather, more as one who is yet asleep. What’s more…I see her primarily as a Gift from God and not as an append-age to, or ornament in, my life. She is forever free and my Love reaches her as powerfully as if I stood right next to her, no matter what the distance between us. It is a Love that punctuates the Truth that Divine Love never goes below the Heart.This Love, which you will find in Stillness and Adore in Silence, is the Light that beats your Heart, the Energy you use in all your activity…It is God-in-Action…Be Still; know: “I AM God.”


The Four States of

ConsciousnessBy Steve YoungArtwork by Maryam Morrison


Before you begin your journey into meditation it is important to understand how your brain can switch between dif-ferent states of consciousness and also the benefits and importance of each one of these states. It is also important that you realize that you already meditate numerous times throughout your day without you even realizing, read on and I will explain.

Your brain is active during every mo-ment of your life and is full of electrical impulses, yes you heard me right, your brain is constantly pulsating with electric-ity, electrical impulses that are generated by your brain. Essentially, your brain is an electrochemical organism consisting of over 10 billion interconnected brain cells constantly firing electrical impulses between them. These electrical impulses that your brain produces can be measured with an elec-troencephalogram (EEG). EEG mea-sures the frequency or rather speed of the electrical currents, or rather brain-waves in Hertz(Hz). Now here’s the really cool stuff, these frequencies can be associated with your state of mind at any particular moment, which means that your state of mind, for example being relaxed, afraid, or sleepy...can be seen in your brainwave frequencies. The speed of the frequency allows us to categorize our brainwaves into four different brainwave patterns ranging from the most activity to the least activity, these states are known as beta,

alpha, theta and delta, all of which have been well researched and documented if you wish to research further.

Explaining the Different Brainwave Patterns

These different brainwave patterns are associated with different states of con-sciousness and this is known as brain-wave entrainment, the practice of en-training one’s brainwaves to a desired frequency and the one that we are mostly familiar with is Beta Waves. Beta Waves resonate at between 14 and 20Hz, the higher the resonation, the more active and alert your brain is. These brain-waves are associated with your normal waking consciousness. They are present when you are actively engaged in every day activities in the outside world such as holding a conversation, or concentrating on our work.

Alpha Waves. Whereas Beta state is associated with our engagement with the outside world, Alpha waves resonate on a lesser frequency of between 9 and 14Hz and you are in this state when you are relaxing, or taking time to reflect on something. They are prevalent when you are daydreaming and they increase when you close your eyes, it is also likened to a light state of meditation. So if you think that you have never meditated before think again, because every time you daydream, or take time out to re-flect, you are actually in a light state of meditation.


Now the cool thing about being in this state of consciousness is that it is known to accelerate learning, focus and en-hance creativity, so next time you notice that you are daydreaming try to get a feel of what it is like and try to remember that feeling of relaxation and calmness within you. What you are feeling is a light meditative state and when you begin meditating it is this feeling that you want to recreate as the start of your meditation session and after some practice you will quickly and easily be able to enter this state of consciousness with ease. Theta Waves resonate even lower than Alpha at between 4 and 7Hz. Theta waves occur during heightened states of creativity and are found with a deep meditative state. Once again we experi-ence theta state during our every day lives, ever driven down the highway and then suddenly realized that you cannot recollect the last five miles, chances are that you were in theta state. Some of you who are regular drivers on the high-way may also realize that you often get a free flow of good idea’s during the time that you are in theta state. The-ta state can also occur during routine chores such as when you are shaving, or brushing your hair as it is in this state that tasks become automated and so you can mentally disengage from them. Take a moment to think about this and the next time you notice it happen I want you to think about your state of mind as theta state is typically a very positive mental state.

Now, the theta state when meditating is a

deep meditative state of true bliss, you can lose your attachment with your body and this gives you the feeling of deep physical relaxation, it can even give you a sense of floating as your mind expands beyond the boundaries of your body. In discon-necting your mind from your body you al-low yourself to focus on the inner you, the higher self and this is the ideal state to be in whist meditating and will probably take some practice as it rests on the threshold of the subconscious and it can take time for you to learn to let go and release your-self to continue your meditation journey.

Theta state also plays an important part in behavior modification, or rather repro-gramming your mind and is used in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, it is also an ideal for learning and also self hypnosis.

Because it can take practice and some determination to enter this state of con-sciousness it’s not a bad idea to investi-gate some of the products that are avail-able, which using new technology can have you in theta state in minutes. See my page on brain entrainment technologies, which discusses how these new record-ing work, and also take a look at my rec-ommendations, which I have categorized to assist you in deciding which product would best suit you. In fact, all of my rec-ommendations come with free samples for you to try out so why not experiment and see which one works best for you.


Delta Waves resonate at between 1 and 3Hz and is the brain wave signal of your subconscious mind, the place in which your intuition arises. We experience Del-ta waves when we are in a deep state of sleep, or unconsciousness and has im-mense benefits to those who suffer from sleep disorders. Certain frequencies with-in the delta wave can also trigger the re-lease of human growth hormone which is beneficial to the bodies healing and re-generation and so it is when we sleep that our body heals itself. The benefits of reaching delta state in meditation are immense in that it they are essential to the healing process and in helping to relax the body. Again, it takes practice to reach this state of conscious-ness, but when reached the benefits to both body and mind are bliss.

Conclusion

Gaining knowledge of brainwave states and utilizing these different states by using meditation enhances your ability to make use of the special characteristics that each state has and thus you can benefit from being mentally productive in a wide range of activities such as intense focus, relaxation, creativity and restful and reju-venating sleep. Still not convinced? Then why now broad-en your mind and try out some of the free meditation recordings that I recom-mend and find out which ones benefit you, it’s a small thing to ask, but I assure you, the benefits are indisputable.

Take care and may peace and relaxation be with you.

At

you will be able to add a whole host of content including video, pictures, music, your own blog, submit articles, post clas-sified advertisements, post upcoming events and of course make friends, chat, learn and meditate.

is your very own meditation social network so come along and have some fun at http://www.morphogeneticmedita-tion.com Come and join us in our quest to make this world and your world a better place to live in through collective meditation. Yes, that’s right, I want to have people collectively meditating on any chosen topic at the same time anywhere in the world and thus improving your success with meditation and also manifestation. I want to prove to the world through your success that the collective conscious-ness exists and so I want you to share your success with everyone. We are also going to arrange times for everyone on the site to get together at a predetermined time and meditate on peace, love and happiness and raise awareness of the collective conscious-ness.

http://www.morphogeneticmeditation.com

MorphopgeneticMeditation.com


margay

http://www.earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?gr=M&view=c&ID=5&sp=254


The margay is a rare cat, closely resem-bling the ocelot and found in the rainfor-ests of Mexico and Central and South America east of the Andes mountains. Its fur is grayish to cinnamon in color and cov-ered with dark brown spots. The head is rounded and short, and the eyes are very large. Adults range from 18.2 to 31 inch-es in length and weigh between 5.73 and 8.6 lb. The tail can grow up to 20 inches (70% of its body length). The margay is a very skilled jumper and climber and is sometimes called the “tree ocelot.” It is the only cat species that can climb down a tree head first like a squirrel. This is achieved by rotating the ankles around 180 degrees while heading down the tree toward the forest floor. Margays are also known to hang from tree branches with only one hind foot.

The margay is mainly nocturnal, but is

also active in the day, preferring to spend much of its time in the trees. It is very se-cretive and prefers the more remote and dense areas of the forest. Diet consists of rodents, monkeys, lizards, birds, tree frogs, and fruit, and the majority of prey is caught by leaping through the trees. This species is solitary except when ready to mate. Mating can occur year round, and the female gives birth to one or two kittens after a gestation period of 70 days. The nest for the kittens is made in a hollow tree hole.

The main threats to the species is hunting for its fur and the pet trade and habitat loss due to deforestation. The margay does not adapt well to human disturbance, and is almost extinct in the northern parts of its range. Hunting has decreased significantly due to international protection, but illegal harvesting still occurs locally.


Every tree, every plant, has a spirit. People may say that the plant has no mind. I tell them that the plant is

alive & conscious. A plant may not talk, but there is a spirit in it that is conscious, that sees everything, which is the soul of the plant, its essence, what makes it alive. The channels through which the water & sap move are the veins of the spirit.

Pablo Amaringo, Ayahuasca Visions The first and possibly the most important

key in developing your relationship with the Plant Spirit (and what really helps to ‘open the door’ ie. makes the connection work), is a benign attitude and to have good intentions and feelings towards the plant.

The plant consciousness or spirit, com-municates with us when we are in re-laxed, gentle trance-like, or dream state. So the person, who holds the desire to commune with the plant, needs to know how to move into an altered state.

Shamanism Connecting With the

World of PlantsHoward G Charing


Moving into an altered state of conscious-ness can be achieved gently, for exam-ple by going out in forests, woodlands, or a park; and walk at a slow and steady pace. Gradually the rhythm of this slow and steady movement will bring you into an altered or heightened state of aware-ness. When you feel or sense this subtle shift, lift up your eyes and look around. Al-low yourself to be drawn to whatever tree, bush, or plant attracts your attention; you may experience this attraction as akin to a little ‘tug’.

Now go and sit with the plant. Use all your sensory and tactile faculties to engage with the plant.

Visual – Study the shape and form of the plant. Maybe the plant grows alone or is in a cluster. Look at the form of the leaves; look at the spaces (the forms within the forms) between the leaves and branches. The latter is part of a practice called gaz-ing, which offers a way to perceive pat-terns outside the consensually agreed shapes and forms.

Smell – Our olfactory nerves go directly into the region of the brain called the limbic system. The limbic system is also called our ‘primitive’ brain, as its structure is be-low the linguistic and ‘higher’ functions of the cerebral cortex. The limbic system is the location of our primal (primate) emo-tions, and primal needs. The sense of smell is our only sense which has this ac-cess to our primal or unconscious mind. Breath in the fragrance of the plant, allow any feelings, memories, images, and as-sociations to arise and experienced.

Tactile – our sense of touch. Gently move your hand towards the plant, maybe you can discern a movement, or sense a con-nection between the respective fields of energy, yours and that of the plant. Touch the plant, leaves or bark with your fingers. It is possible that you may sense the flow of energy within the plant, into the earth, and up into the sky.

Taste – Place a very small piece of the plant against your tongue and gently taste it. The taste may be acrid, bitter, hot, sweet, sour, or sharp. The taste may at-tract, be neutral, or repel you. This tasting will give you an indication of its character or ‘personality’. Exercise caution with this practice as there are poisonous plants, do not eat or swallow the plant!

When you have completed these prac-tices (which form part of the Amazonian plant apprenticeship ‘plant diet’) take some time to meditate or embark on a shamanic journey to encounter the spirit or consciousness of the plant you have been working with. To quote the Amazo-nian Shipibo maestro Guillermo Arevalo regarding the plant spirits, “They are be-ings, which have their own forms or they can be like human beings with faces and bodies. When the spirit accepts the diet-er, and the dieter has the will, the spirit grants them energy. The path to knowl-edge opens, the healing takes place, as case may be”.

30 THEDENMAGAZINE.COM •April 2013

So many run through their lives giving time to no one in particular, including themselves. They may think as they fol-low situations that occur that they are in the flow, but this thought keeps them from blocking out all good, all abundance, all health...all Love. As the Master Jesus Christ stated, ‘Be in the World, but not of It...’ When con-nected to Spirit/Love, then one is truly ‘in the flow;’ the flow of life, to where our true abundance lies. Why? Because we are THAT! As we go through our day, as we connect to Love, whether that means a person, place or thing (or better yet, by our feel-ings), we are then connected to the Flow, and this is the Secret to All Good. Being truly in the flow means we are con-nected to Love. When connected (aware; feeling joyful) all opportunities abound....all good. How will you know when you are ‘in the flow?’ Joy, elation, and feeling good become your experience.

You will know you are not ‘in the flow’ when you are too busy to call or connect to someone you Love; when you put off doing something nice for yourself or an-other; when you think, ‘I must run for the money, in terms of allowing others to dic-tate your time and day---any reactionary decisions are not in the flow. Being Love and connected to Love is the true flow of Life, and when in alignment with that frequency everything does truly FLOW, matching a frequency of how you are feeling. As stated, ‘Everything is Energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequen-cy of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is phys-ics.? Who wrote this?......ALBERT EINSTEIN! Blessings!

By Ellen Heller

In the FlowArtwork by John Pitre


Q A&Spirit-Minded

(Advice Column)

Ask Ellen Heller

Question: Dear Spirit-Minded,

My spouse has passed on and everyone keeps telling me that time will make it better and to keep busy, but it DOESN’T HELP! How do I help myself get my life back? Signed, Grieving

Answer: Dear Grieving, Grieving is not a stage, as some speak of, nor a real ‘process,’ in overcom-ing. Rather, grieving is a situation that changes our routine, our expectation, and our life. Recovery is the only an-swer to grieving, and that is not about giving it ‘time’ or keeping busy.

To recover from grief, we must first ac-knowledge how we feel; making amends with the departed Soul is part of this re-covery. It does not mean that you have to see them to do so. You must only ask yourself, being honest with the an-swers, the following: 1. how could it (the relationship) have been better? 2. How could it have been more? 3. How could it have been different? When you have

answered these questions, you are re-leasing both of you, as you are facing the REAL relationship, and this causes healing/recovery.

The most important stage after this ini-tial exercise is to change your routine. This is not about being busy, but rather about changing one’s routine. This is critical in order for recovery. Lastly, be-ing happy, and not feeling guilty about it is crucial.

Oftentimes, there will be brief moments that we ARE HAPPY; what we must un-derstand is that when we grieve, we pull that person back to us, preventing both of us to move forward. It is stated that the departed one has us all there with them...the Soul being so BIG, so they are not missing US. Be happy in that thought/knowing.

Blessings!

***note: The above information was taken in part from the book, ‘The Grief Recovery Handbook,’ by James and Friedman

[email protected]“All questions can be sent to:


Earth Day A Time to Strengthen Our Links With Mother Earth

By Donald Norfolkhttp://www.donaldnorfolk.co.uk

The human animal was not designed to live in concrete boxes isolated from the natural world. We are pastoral animals, and haven’t yet had time to adapt to an artificial, urbanite life style. Our techno-logical genius has made us prosperous, but has alienated us from the world of Nature. We live in an increasingly ersatz environment, where everything con-spires to place us under stress. Noise levels are far higher in a city than in the countryside. The pace of life is faster, the pollution greater and the landscape infinitely bleaker. Like displaced chil-dren we’ve been torn from the protec-tion of Mother Earth and forced to make our own way in a strange and hostile environment. Many city dwellers try to maintain a tenuous link with the aborigi-nal world by stocking their homes with exotic house-plants and tanks filled with tropical fish. At the weekends they follow leisure pursuits which restore their con-tact with the wide open spaces: sailing, hill climbing, bird watching or camping. The middle classes buy second homes

far removed from the madding crowd, while the wealthy pay a king’s ransom to hunt, shoot and fish - activities which were the necessary survival chores in peasant communities. Deep down we yearn for these back-to-nature, wilder-ness experiences.Zoologists have noticed that the health of animals frequently deteriorates when they’re removed from their natural en-vironment and placed in captivity. In these artificial surroundings they suf-fer stress-related diseases which they don’t experience in the wild, like high blood pressure and cardiovascular dis-ease. The eminent zoologist Desmond Morris was convinced that mankind now suffers a similar fate in the confines of its concrete zoos. ‘The modern human animal is no longer living in conditions natural for his species,’ he wrote. ‘Trapped, not by a zoo collector, but by his own brainy brilliance, he has set himself up in a huge, restless menag-erie, where he is in constant danger of cracking under the strain.’


A Time to Strengthen Our Links With Mother EarthTwenty years ago the Japanese govern-ment grew alarmed at the growing prob-lem of stress-related sickness, and ap-pointed a team of experts to offer advice on how best to tackle the problem. After a thorough investigation the panel finally decided that the finest way for work-ers to overcome the harmful effects of urban living was to spend some time pursuing the traditional pastimes of dwarf tree cultivation (bonsai), flower arranging (ikebana), and simply ‘listening to the sigh of the wind in the trees.’

There is now adequate medical research to confirm this recommendation. Studies carried out at the University of Pennsyl-vania have shown that student volunteers show a marked rise in their blood pressure when they’re subjected to artificial stress. This hypertension was found to decline slowly once the artificial provocation was stopped, but could be speeded consider-ably by placing the youngsters in front of an aquarium where they could relax by watching the gentle, languid movements of tropical fish. Other research trials have shown that looking out of the window and viewing scenes of rich, green vegetation produce an increase of alpha-brainwave activity, which is an indication of a height-ened state of relaxation. The more time we spend nurturing our links with the natural environment - gardening, country

walking, star gazing or flower arranging - the calmer we become and the more we draw on the ‘vis medicatrix naturae’, the healing power of Nature. Our person-al problems seem petty when we con-template the vastness of the universe. By taking a cosmic perspective we gain a sense of timelessness. When we join the rat race we become slaves to haste, but Nature refuses to be hurried. Nothing can speed the arrival of the dawn or has-ten the onset of spring. Life today may appear to be in a state of unmitigated turmoil. Our lives are con-stantly shaken by the impact of global wars, political disasters and economic catastrophes. Yet through it all the world of nature remains constant and unper-turbed. That’s why we gain a great feel-ing of security whenever we come ‘down to earth’ and have our feet firmly planted on terra firma. In 1982 the UN Commis-sion published a key statement which we should always bear in mind. It’s called the ‘World Charter of Nature’, and says: ‘Civilisation is rooted in nature, which has shaped human culture and influenced all artistic and scientific achievement, and living in harmony with nature gives man the best opportunities for the develop-ment of his creativity, and for rest and recreation.’


While the importance of hydration, cleaning and protecting skin from the sun is emphasized in many articles, exfoliation is often seen as a necessary evil. But it brings us many benefits as important as other beauty rituals.

We do it primarily to remove dead cells from the skin to clean pores and to remove impurities from the skin. So then, when we apply different treat-ments, the active ingredients in these creams enter into the skin more eas-ily, will not be blocked by impurities accumulated in the pores.

By Stefania Constantin

Importance ofexfoliationfor beautiful skin


Removes dead cells

As we age, the natural ability to gener-ate new cells and to remove those dead drops. But you can help your skin to breathe, making it a weekly scrub. With-out exfoliation, dead cells accumulate on the skin; excess fat also accumulates, causing blackheads.

Stimulates dermal layers

To have a good tone and brightness of the skin, exfoliation is necessary because the skin is stimulated to regenerate faster. Also, it will be smoother and more uniform in appearance. But it is important not to be too harsh. A slight abrasion is enough to remove dead cells.

Obtaining a more durable bronze Removing the layer of dead cells, skin is smoother and more prepared for makeup,

and the armpits or legs, ready for wax-ing. Skin can be exfoliated every day as long as you use a very delicate product. Research demonstrates that exfoliation increases the speed of epidermal regen-erating. This means that a regular exfoli-ation-keeping bright appearance, smooth and healthy.

In recent years, intensive exfoliation in its various forms has become famous rapidly among aesthetic treatments for its qual-ity to repair and give skin a younger ap-pearance. All cosmetic products we use for face or body shall be more effective if, prior is performed an exfoliation. Your skin will be clean and ready for the next cos-metic procedure. As we know, the skin re-generates constantly. Without exfoliation, dead cells suffocate the pores, so that as good as the creams are, skin has no lon-ger the ability to absorb and use all chemi-cals in these creams.


Exfoliation can be achieved using several products, both natural and commercially available. We know that coffee grounds or brown sugar are extremely effective natural exfoliating ingredients, and some people prefer the corn or even strawber-ries for face. The easiest way to exfoliate is mechanical abrasion. Beauty shelves are full of this kind of products. They can be liquid or sol-id and contain strength particles obtained from the pits of fruits or artificial products. Babaria Rosa Mosqueta Face Exfoliant offers a gentle facial scrub to a whole new level, thanks to its Rosa Mosqueta (rosehip) soft particle and natural oil. After exfoliation dry and dead skin cells are re-moved, the skin surface becomes smooth and deeply cleansed without affecting the natural balance. Also is stimulated the natural production of cells, leaving behind a skin that looks absolutely radiant.

For those who do not use cosmetics from the market too often, we highly recom-mend them recipes prepared in the home, such as those below: - Coffee grounds -. A cup full of coffee grounds is more than enough to make a full-body exfoliation. You can add palm oil or olive oil to be easy to slip on the skin the coffee grounds. - Corn and honey - although sometimes they say it is a little harsh, corn flour mixed with honey has great effects on your skin. - Sugar, olive oil and vanilla - perfect recipe for your skin exfoliation and relax-ation. You can put a cup of sugar with a quarter cup of olive oil (pour oil over the sugar and mix gently), and finally add a teaspoon of vanilla extract (oil).


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