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by
Associate Editor
Barbara
Casey
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Dear Readers,
Relaxation… sounds like such a good idea, doesn’t it?
When I think about “returning to a state of looseness,”
I’m reminded of an exercise I learned many years ago for soothing
the clenched up body parts that make themselves known when my outer
world is out of synch with my inner intentions – the tight brow,
throbbing temples, locked jaw and knotted shoulders.
The exercise itself is quite simple. You just tell your various body
parts to relax – “Scalp relax, forehead relax, eyes relax,
temples relax, cheeks relax…” all the way down to your
toes. If you do this exercise in bed, you should be able to induce
a much calmer state in body and mind and drift off to sleep more at
ease with your life situations. Of course, this “fix”
is only temporary, until you address the cause of the stress which
made your body tighten up in the first place.
This issue’s theme of “Relaxation” is perfectly
timed for the spring season when, symbolically, we’re at a place
of new beginnings. But how can we introduce new life if we’re
still in a hunkered-down, self protective winter mode? Just as farmers
till the land after winter’s last thaw, to loosen the soil for
receiving new seeds, so must we prepare ourselves for vibrant new
life… and growth… and vision.
Ploughing the field does more than just loosen up the dirt. It also
pulls out any weeds that shot down roots since the last growing season.
Even the most vigilant farmer has to weed the garden and so, of course,
do we.
Some people conduct spring rituals to shake off the dross that collects
over winter. Others work themselves loose through walking and running
exercises in this, our most wonderful outdoor season. Or you can do
what the farmers do – grab your shovel and hoe and get your
yard ready for spring planting. If none of these options sound appealing,
you will find dozens of ideas for relaxing in this issue, to help
you loosen the tightness so that glorious new ideas have room to enter
in.
After we figure out the best way to get loose, we still have the job
of pulling out the weeds in our life – the attitudes, emotions,
responsibilities, even people – that no longer serve the vibrant
new growth we’re planning (planting) for ourselves. “Life-weeding”
is not always easy, because we’re usually dealing with long-established
attitudes and relationships. But if we don’t do it, our new
growth will be choked off before it has a chance to bloom.
The buddy system can be helpful here – you and a friend can
support each other over the tricky spots. Or seek out a compassionate
professional. The pages of this magazine showcase a number of holistic
healers and counselors who know a thing or two about life-weeding.
They can also help you recognize those weeds that, when seen from
a different perspective, are actually rather beautiful flowers.
Whether we choose spiritual counseling, energy work, coaching, regression
or traditional psychotherapy, our inner garden will never be quite
right until we do this part of the work. For some people, simply cleaning
up the clutter around the house is a sufficient display of “tilling
and weeding” to attract an inflow of new ideas and opportunities.
But most of us have to face the issues… preferably with help.
What we do with our new ideas, opportunities and growth is another
matter, however, since we humans seem to have so many places in our
lives where we unconsciously build roadblocks, where we allow our
gardens – our visions – to languish and wither.
Maybe what we all need is some kind of symbolic inner scarecrow, who
keeps an eye on our garden while it’s still in the tender shoot
stage. Or perhaps a garden angel who spreads its protective wings
over us while we’re adapting to this new level of growth and
exploration. My own angelic scarecrow is a spiritual life coach who
helps me chase off the crows while I’m germinating new ideas.
In The Game of Life, Florence Scovel Shinn declares, “No man
can fail, if some one person sees him successful.” Who is helping
you hold your vision while it’s still in the formative stages?
Who is staring down your nay-sayers with you? Who believes enough
in you that you know you cannot fail?
Ah, Spring! So many possibilities to pursue… and so many angels
to find.
Comments or questions?
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MARCH/APRIL
2005
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FEATURE ARTICLES
Editorial
by Barbara Casey
Holistic
Health Q & A
by Dr. Felicity Talbot
How holistic health care can increase the health
and quality of life of animals.
The
Heart of Breast Cancer
by Inger Mercedes Padilla
The relationship between the health of the heart
chakra and a woman’s breasts.
The Right
Job
by Shannon Terry
Tips for choosing a job that matches your natural
mind/body type.
Uncommon
Sense!
by David Findlay
Click
here for more articles on the theme Relaxation
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