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EARTH STARAPR / MAY 2012CONSCIOUS LIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURYYEAR ZEROTime of the Great ShiftTHE FATIGUE SOLUTIONSophia’s Special Geo-Spot:EHPESUSTHE MINDFUL MANIFESTO

CALENDARAPRIL/MAY5/12: Amethyst Center—NourishYour Well Being: An open house with treatmentsessions. The practitioners atAmethyst Center host a benefit for theSomerville Homeless Coalition, offeringbrief treatment sessions for $10. 1:00pm-5:00pm, Saturday, May 12, 259 Elm St,Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.www.amethystcenter.comONGOINGShamanic Drumming Circle, founded1993. Usually Second and Fourth Fridays ofevery month, 7:00pm. Quaker meetinghouse,Cambridge. Open to all, but pleasecall first for full details and directions.Terrence (978)-952-2704 or Emily (781)-641-3980.Workshops for Pain Management andImproved Wellness. Offerings forBodyworkers, athletes, Personal Trainers,Coaches and general pain-sufferers.Please visit our website:web.maynard.ma.us/biz/bmassage, or callBarry Bailey at (978)-897-0110 for informationand brochure of current offerings.The Labyrinth Ladies SpiritualEmpowerment Workshops, go towww.thelabyrinthladies.com for our latestprograms and walks or call (401)-847-6551for more information. Facilitator Trainings,site consultations, workshops for schools,hospitals and businesses.Christ Church Unity - Experience thehealing power of music, prayer and meditation,every Wednesday at 7:00pm. DailyWord Discusion Sundays at 10:00am.Sunday Service, 11:00am. Corner ofColchester & Chapel Streets, Brookline,MA 02466. Call (617) 232-4548 for moreinformation or visit: www.unityboston.org.Free Energy Healing in Arlington. Johreihealing is available each Wednesdayevening from 7:00pm-9:00pm at 81events workshopsfestivals classesCleveland St. in Arlington, MA. Johreipurifies the spirit through the channeling ofdivine light, restores inner spiritual balanceand eases physical, mental, & emotionaldistress. There is no charge for Johrei.Please call (781) 646-0614 for directions orinformation on other area locations.Exquisite Energysm for Healers. Relax andget a dose of the good stuff for yourself. Easymovements from qigong and hands-on healingwith Cerridwen. Third Saturdays 7:00pm-10:00pm. Aquarius Sanctuary, Littleton, MA.(978) 486-0248. $20. Call ahead.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.The Deadline for listings in theJune / July issueis May 25th

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EARTH STARCONTENTSAPRIL / MAY 2012Page 22\Page 25Page 28ON THE COVER22 Year Zero: Time of the Great Shiftby Kiara Windrider25 The Fatigue SolutionMove Your Body and Boost Your Metabolismby Eva Cwynar, M.D.35 Sophia’s Special Geo-Spot: Ephesusby Karen Speerstra34 The Mindful ManifestoA Manifold Practiceby Dr. Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell.58 The Power of Humorby Gerry Maguire ThompsonFEATURES12 Down To Earth Astrologyby Tim Gunns16 The Lessons To Be Learnt From Stoneby Michael Berman28 Olive Leaf Safely Modulates Blood Pressureby Michael Downey37 97% of Terminal Cancer Patients Previously HadThis Dental Procedureby Dr Joseph Mercola42 Embracing the Real ChildThe Real Jakeby Simon Paul Harrison46 Will Branson’s Virgin Galactic Encounter UFOs?by Diane Tessman49 How To Pick A Spiritual Practiceby Sophie Rose52 Sacred Sites of the Dalai Lamasby Glenn H. Mullin55 D-Block: Utilities’ Long-Awaited Smart Grid Spectrumby Jeff St. John62 Greece Adopts Alternative Currenciesby Alex NewmanDEPARTMENTS2 Calendar3 Up Front18 Book Reviews50 Green LivingCover ArtSpirit of the Elementsby Josephine WallThroughout the ages, therainbow has been thesymbol of hope, a promiseof better things tocome. The AncientGreeks personified therainbow as the goddessIris, the favorite handmaidenand messengerof Hera, the queen ofthe heavely courtof Olympus.Carried by her shimmeringwings, Iris travels soswiftly that mortals cansee only the trail of herrainbow-colored passageacross the sky.To see more ofJosephine Wall’sartwork visitwww.courtyardofromance.com(661) 435-5656andwww.josephinewall.co.uk4 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

Seattle to Build Nation’s First Food ForestForget meadows. The city’snew park will be filled withedible plants, and everythingfrom pears to herbs will befree for the taking.Seattle’s vision of an urbanfood oasis is going forward. Aseven-acre plot of land in the city’sBeacon Hill neighborhood will beplanted with hundreds of differentkinds of edibles: walnut and chestnuttrees; blueberry and raspberrybushes; fruit trees, including applesand pears; exotics like pineapple,yuzu citrus, guava, persimmons,honeyberries, and lingonberries;herbs; and more. All will be availablefor public plucking to anyonewho wanders into the city’s firstfood forest.“This is totally innovative, andhas never been done before in apublic park,” Margarett Harrison,lead landscape architect for theBeacon Food Forest project, tellsTakePart. Harrison is working on constructionand permit drawings now andexpects to break ground this summer.The concept of a food forest certainlypushes the envelope on urbanagriculture and is grounded in the conceptof permaculture, which means itwill be perennial and self-sustaining,like a forest is in the wild. Not only isthis forest Seattle’s first large-scale permacultureproject, but it’s also believedto be the first of its kind in the nation.“The concept means we considerthe soils, companion plants, insects,bugs—everything will be mutually ben-Earth Star Up Fronteficial to each other,” says Harrison.That the plan came together at all isremarkable on its own. What started as agroup project for a permaculture designcourse ended up as a textbook exampleof community outreach gone right.“Friends of the Food Forest undertookheroic outreach efforts to secureneighborhood support. The team mailedover 6,000 postcards in five differentlanguages, tabled at events and fairs,and posted fliers,” writes RobertMellinger for Crosscut.Neighborhood input was so valuedby the organizers, they even used translatorsto help Chinese residents have avoice in the planning.So just who gets to harvest all thatlow-hanging fruit when the time comes?“Anyone and everyone,” says Harrison.“There was major discussion about it.People worried, ‘What if someonecomes and takes all the blueberries?’That could very well happen, but maybesomeone needed those blueberries. Welook at it this way—if we have none atthe end of blueberry season, then itmeans we’re successful.”—TakePart.comGovernment-Subsidized Green Light Bulb Carries Costly Price TagThe U.S. government last yearannounced a $10 millionaward, dubbed the “L Prize,”for any manufacturer that could createa “green” but affordable light bulb.Energy Secretary Steven Chu saidthe prize would spur industry to offerthe costly bulbs, known as LEDs, atprices “affordable for American families.”There was also a “Buy America”component. Portions of the bulb wouldhave to be made in the United States.Now the winning bulb is on the market.The price is $50.Retailers said the bulb, made byPhilips, is likely to be too pricey tohave broad appeal. Similar LED bulbsare less than half the cost.“I don’t want to say it’s exorbitant,but if a customer is only looking at theprice, they could come to that conclusion,”said Brad Paulsen, merchant forthe light-bulb category at Home Depot,the largest U.S. seller of light bulbs.“This is a Cadillac product, and that’swhy you have a premium on it.”How the expensive bulb won a $10million government prize meant to fosterenergy-efficient affordability is one ofthe curiosities that arise as the countryundergoes a massive, mandatedturnover from traditional incandescentlamps to more energy-efficient ones.—Washington Postwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 5

Looking for Customers?EARTH STARThe Leading Magazine for Holistic Livingin New EnglandAdvertise with Earth staRand reach over 180,000 readers - call (828) 452-9378EDITOR/PUBLISHERCody Bideauxearthstarm@aol.comASSOCIATE EDITORTim Gunnstgearthstar@aol.comADVERTISING OFFICES828-452-9378email: EarthStarM@aol.comEDITORIAL OFFICE828-452-9378email: EarthStarM@aol.comADVERTISING MANAGERSTim GunnsJanessa HowardDESIGN & PRODUCTIONEarthstar ProductionsJay Scott HacklemanCONTRIBUTING WRITERSMichael Berman • Eva CwynarMichael Downey • Tim Gunns • Ed HalliwellSimon Paul Harrison • Jonty HeaversedgeJoseph Mercola • Glenn H MullinAlex Newman • Sophie Rose • Karen SpeerstraJeff St. John • Diane TessmanJerry Maguire Thompson • Kiara WindriderSUBMISSIONSManuscripts, artwork, and photographsmust be accompanied by a self-addressed,stamped envelope. Earth Star Magazinecannot be responsible for loss ordamage of unsolicited materials.Earth Star Magazine is notresponsible for advertising claims.Earth Star Magazine, Copyright © 2012by Earth Star Magazine Incorporated,All Rights Reserved. No articles may be usedwithout written permission of the publisherVolume XXXlV No. 205 — April / May 2012www.earthstarmag.com6 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

TurningSewage Plants Into P o w e r S t a t i o n sSewage can be used to generateelectricity using a new devicerevealed by scientists on recently.It combines a fuel cell with other technologiesto convert waste water treatmentstations into power plants, whichthe researchers believe could providethe power for entire water grids.“We certainly could take care of thewhole water system: the treating andpumping of water, which currentlyrequires substantial amounts of power,”said Prof Bruce Logan at PennsylvaniaState University in the US. “We alsotreated the organic matter much faster.”His team’s work is published in thejournal Science and is “the proof ofconcept”, Logan said. “Our hope now isto optimise the electricity generation asmuch as possible.”Switching sewage plants from usersto generators of electricity would beespecially useful in developing countries,said Logan, an environmentalengineer specialising in water systems.“There are two billion people in the worldwho need sanitation, including 1 billionwho need access to clean water,” he said.“If you go into a country and give them awaste treatment system—the World Bankand others have done this—they do notkeep it going, as it needs power and maintenance.It is a drain on the community.But if you can also provide electricity forlighting, or charging mobile phones,that’s a game-changer.”The new device combines twotypes of energy-producing technology: amicrobial fuel cell, in which bacteriaconsume organic matter to produce aA TSP. OFThere is plenty of research thatindicates that the unnaturallyaccelerated aging process associatedwith modern living and/or naturalenvironmental exposures such as excessiveultraviolet radiation, can be slowed.current, and a reverse electrodialysissystem, in which positive and negativeions are separated by a series of membranes,also creating a current.Microbial fuel cells are relatively inefficientwhile reverse electrodialysisrequires many specialised membranes,making it expensive.“By combining the two technologies,we overcame the limitations of thefuel cell and synergistically generatedenergy for the reverse electrodialysissystem,” said Logan. A crucial factorwas using ammonium bicarbonate as thefuel for reverse electrodialysis, whichperforms better than the seawater typicallyused. Lastly, said Logan, the combinationof technologies meant it waspossible to use just five membrane pairsrather than the twenty pairs typicallyneeded to generate electricity.The device produced 0.9 kilowatthoursof electricity per kilogram ofEarth Star Up Front. OF ALOE DAILY REVERSES SIGNS OF SKIN AGINGIn fact, over 150 natural substances havebeen indexed on the GreenMedInfo.comproject with demonstrable “anti-aging,”or if you prefer, “longevity-promoting”properties.According to GreenMedInfo.com,aloe is one of the most compelling substances,and works from the inside out ...In a study published in the journalAnnals of Dermatology in 2009, healthyfemale subjects over the age of 45, andwho received received 2 different oraldoses (low-dose: 1,200 mg/d, high-dose:organic waste. In contrast, sewage treatmentusually consumes 1.2kWh perkilogram.“There were a lot of people lookingat fuel cells and a completely differentgroup looking at reverse electrodialysis,”said Logan. “We brought the technologiestogether.”The scientists said broths of otherorganic material, such as crop waste orother sources of cellulose, could be usedto generate power in their device. Theyalso said it could be used to produceelectricity from the 7-17% of energyused in the US that is lost as waste heat.In 2011, British water companyThames Water said it would produce16% of its electricity by burning sewageflakes. Another company, Wessex Water,has launched a trial running a car onmethane gas derived from the sewagetreatment process at its Bristol works.—The Guardian, UK3,600 mg/d) of aloe vera gel supplementationfor 90 days, saw remarkableresults. The researchers measuredclinical signs and biochemical changesof aging skin before and after supplementationand found that “After aloe gelintake, the facial wrinkles improvedsignificantly in both groups, and facialelasticity improved in the lower-dosegroup.” They concluded: “Aloe gelsignificantly improves wrinkles andelasticity in photoaged human skin.”—GreenMedInfo.comwww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 7

Earth Star Up FrontAsecret Bible in which Jesus isbelieved to predict the comingof the Prophet Muhammad toEarth has sparked serious interest fromthe Vatican.Pope Benedict XVI is claimed towant to see the 1,500-year-old book,which many say is the Gospel ofBarnabas, that has been hidden by theTurkish state for the last 12 years.The £14million handwritten goldlettered tome, penned in Jesus’ nativeAramaic language, is said to contain hisearly teachings and a prediction of theProphet’s coming.Secret Ancient BibleUnearthed in TurkeyAncient:The leather-bound text, written on animalhide, was discovered by Turkishpolice during an anti-smuggling operationin 2000The leather-bound text, written onanimal hide, was discovered by Turkishpolice during an anti-smuggling operationin 2000.It was closely guarded until 2010,when it was finally handed over to theAnkara Ethnography Museum, and willsoon be put back on public display followinga minor restoration.A photocopy of a single page fromthe handwritten ancient manuscript isthought to be worth £1.5million.It rejects the ideas of the HolyTrinity and the Crucifixion and revealsthat Jesus predicted the coming of theProphet Muhammad.In one version of the gospel, he issaid to have told a priest: ‘How shall theMessiah be called? Muhammad is hisblessed name’.Who Was St Barnabas?Born in Cyprus as Joseph, Barnabas wasan Early Christian later named an apostle.His story appears in the Acts of theApostles, and Paulmentions him insome of his epistles.The date,place, and circumstancesof his deathare historicallyunverifiable.B u tChristian traditionstates that he wasmartyred atSalamis, Cyprus.He is traditionallyidentified as the founder of theCypriot Church, with his feast day onJune 11.And in another Jesus denied beingthe Messiah, claiming that he or shewould be Ishmaelite, theterm used for an Arab.Despite the interest inthe newly re-discoveredbook, some believe it is afake and only dates back tothe 16th century.The oldest copies ofthe book date back to thattime, and are written inSpanish and Italian.Protestant pastor hsanÖzbek said it was unlikely to be authentic.This is because St Barnabas lived inthe first century and was one of theApostles of Jesus, in contrast to this versionwhich is said to come from the fifthor sixth century.He told the Today Zaman newspaper:‘The copy in Ankara might havebeen written by one of the followers ofSt Barnabas.‘Since there is around 500 years inbetween St Barnabas and the writing ofthe Bible copy, Muslims may be disappointedto see that this copy does notinclude things they would like to see.‘It might have no relation with thecontent of the Gospel of Barnabas.’Theology professor Ömer FarukHarman said a scientific scan of thebible may be the only way to reveal howold it really is.—pakalertpress.com8 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

U.S. Army Unveils World’s First Military Fleet of FUEL CELL VEHICLESThe U.S. Army recentlyunveiled a fleet of sixteenhydrogen fuelcell vehicles that the militaryservices in Hawaii are testingin an effort to research efficient,clean and renewableenergy sources and reduce theU.S. military’s dependence onpetroleum.“The Army continues toinvestigate technologies andpartnerships that give theUnited States a decisiveadvantage,” said Lt. Gen.Francis J. Wiercinski, commandinggeneral of U.S.Army, Pacific. “These fuel cellvehicles will move the U.S.Army in the Pacific toward asustainable path that reducesenergy security challenges andstrengthens our energy independence.”During a Feb. 22 ceremony at historicPalm Circle at Fort Shafter,Hawaii, officials from the services comprisingU.S. Army, Pacific, U.S. PacificFleet, U.S. Pacific Air Forces and U.S.Marine Corps. forces, Pacific—governmentleaders including U.S. Sen. DanielInouye, Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz andHonolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, andindustry partners demonstrated the useof the 16 General Motors hydrogen fuelcell vehicles.The zero-emission vehicles, fundedby the U.S. Army Tank AutomotiveResearch, Development andEngineering Center (TARDEC), Officeof Naval Research and Air ForceEarth Star Up FrontResearch Laboratories, are being testedin Hawaii’s ideal climate for real-worldconditions reflecting each service’sneeds.The military fleet of hydrogen fuelcell vehicles serves as the test platformpowered by renewable hydrogen.—DeGaray.comFlat Pack Homes on Sale in IkeaThe popular furniture outlet Ikeais to start selling “flat-pack”houses from £70,000 each.The timber homes—the first of thesort in this country—have “high ceilings,double glazing, wooden floorsand fitted kitchens and bathrooms”.An estate with 117 of the openplanflats will be created close by toGateshead’s International Stadium.Council member David Napier isquoted as saying in the Mirror newspaper:“These homes are cleverlydesigned, highly energy-efficient andthey look fantastic.”Those set on buying must be earning£15,000 to £30,000.The properties are named BoKlok—Swedish for “livesmart”—and will beassembled by a constructioncompany.They are available topurchase now fromGateshead’s Ikea. Otherplans are already in theworks for Brighton,Edinburgh and the NewForest.—Female First, UKwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 9

Earth Star Up FrontThe technological world of the21st century owes a tremendousamount to advances in electricalengineering, specifically, the ability tofinely control the flow of electricalcharges using increasingly small andcomplicated circuits. And while thoseelectrical advances continue to raceahead, researchers at the University ofPennsylvania are pushing circuitry forwardin a different way, by replacingelectricity with light.“Looking at the success of electronicsover the last century, I have alwayswondered why we should be limited toelectric current in making circuits,” saidNader Engheta, professor in the electricaland systems engineering department ofPenn’s School of Engineering andApplied Science. “If we moved to shorterwavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum—likelight—we could make thingssmaller, faster and more efficient.”Different arrangements and combinationsof electronic circuits have differentfunctions, ranging from simple lightswitches to complex supercomputers.These circuits are in turn built of differentarrangements of circuit elements,like resistors, inductors and capacitors,which manipulate the flow of electronsin a circuit in mathematically preciseways. And because both electric circuitsand optics follow Maxwell’s equations— the fundamental formulas thatdescribe the behavior of electromagneticfields — Engheta’s dream of buildingcircuits with light wasn’t just the stuff ofimagination. In 2005, he and his studentspublished a theoretical paper outlininghow optical circuit elementscould work.Now, he and his group at Penn havemade this dream a reality, creating thefirst physical demonstration of“lumped” optical circuit elements. Thisrepresents a milestone in a nascent fieldof science and engineering Engheta hasdubbed “metatronics.”Engheta’s research, which was conductedwith members of his group in theelectrical and systems engineeringdepartment, Yong Sun, Brian Edwardsand Andrea Alù, was published in thejournal Nature Materials.In electronics, the “lumped” desig-Replacing Electricity With Light:nation refers to elementsthat can betreated as a blackbox, something thatturns a given inputto a perfectly predictableoutputwithout an engineerhaving to worryabout what exactlyis going on insidethe element everytime he or she isdesigning a circuit.“Optics hasalways had its ownanalogs of elements,things likelenses, waveguidesand gratings,”Engheta said, “butthey were neverlumped. Those elementsare all muchlarger than thewavelength of lightbecause that’s allthat could be easily built in the old days.For electronics, the lumped circuit elementswere always much smaller thanthe wavelength of operation, which is inthe radio or microwave frequencyrange.”Nanotechnology has now openedthat possibility for lumped optical circuitelements, allowing construction ofstructures that have dimensions measuredin nanometers. In this experiment’scase, the structure was comb-like arraysof rectangular nanorods made of siliconnitrite.The “meta” in “metatronics” refersto metamaterials, the relatively newfield of research where nanoscale patternsand structures embedded in materialsallow them to manipulate waves inways that were previously impossible.Here, the cross-sections of the nanorodsand the gaps between them form a patternthat replicates the function of resistors,inductors and capacitors, three ofthe most basic circuit elements, but inoptical wavelengths.“If we have the optical version ofthose lumped elements in our repertoire,we can actually make designs similar towhat we do in electronics but now foroperation with light,” Engheta said. “Wecan build a circuit with light.”In their experiment, the researchersilluminated the nanorods with an opticalsignal, a wave of light in the midinfraredrange. They then used spectroscopyto measure the wave as itpassed through the comb. Repeating theexperiment using nanorods with ninedifferent combinations of widths andheights, the researchers showed that theoptical “current” and optical “voltage”were altered by the optical resistors,inductors and capacitors with parameterscorresponding to those differencesin size.“A section of the nanorod acts asboth an inductor and resistor, and the airgap acts as a capacitor,” Engheta said.Beyond changing the dimensionsand the material the nanorods are madeof, the function of these optical circuitscan be altered by changing the orientationof the light, giving metatronic circuitsaccess to configurations that wouldbe impossible in traditional electronics.—ScienceDaily10 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

Vintage Ketch Sets Sail To Launch Slow Cargo MovementIt spent years ferrying superstarsand millionaires around the WestIndies, but on Tuesday the sailingship Irene will set off from Plymouth onwhat may turn out to be a more historic,and worthwhile, journey.Over the next five months, Ireneand its crew will carry organic beer fromDevon to France, olive oil from Spain toBrazil and then—all being well—bringcocoa, coffee, Amazonian “superfoods”and rum from South America and theCaribbean back to the UK.Admittedly, the ship’s diesel enginewill be fired up to allow it to chug in andout of harbours but, apart from that, itwill use just the power of the tradewinds to cross the Atlantic.The hope is that, with this symbolicjourney, Irene—a lovely wooden ketchbuilt in Somerset in 1907 to transportbricks and tiles—will blaze a trail forwind-powered cargo ships.The project, New Dawn Traders,was hatched by Jamie Pike, a Bristolenvironmentalist and champion of theslow food movement. He wanted to finda way of bringing goods back fromSouth America under sail andapproached Irene’s owner, LeslieMorrish, a retired psychiatrist who spentyears restoring the vessel and keeping itat sea.The finances did not add up: itwould have cost Pike £100,000 to charterthe boat, a sum he simply did nothave, but then Irene’s captain, LauranceOttley, met someone in the olive oilbusiness and came up with the idea ofsailing a consignment out to Brazil(which has a growing appetite for luxurygoods thanks to a booming economy)and letting Pike fill the boat up withgoods for the return trip.Dropping off 2,500 bottles oforganic ale from Devon for beer-lovingBretons was another wheeze designed toadd profit to the enterprise.A 10-strong international crew hasbeen recruited, including a French paramedicand a Finnish shipwright.Morrish, now in his 70s, will be onboard, as will Pike. Ottley, more used todealing with the likes of Mick Jaggerand Pierce Brosnan than a load of oliveoil, will skipper the vessel.For Pike, this trip, which begins onValentine’s Day, is about romance butalso about getting an important environmentalmessage out. “It’s great to bedoing this romantic trip on a lovely oldship,” he said. “But there’s a biggerdebate to be had about shipping in general.Is there an alternative to huge pollutingcargo ships? We want to helplaunch that debate.”Pike hopes, on the back of Irene’svoyage, to set up a For Sail mark thatcan be used by traders to show goodswere moved by wind.There are some interesting schemesin the offing aimed at creating windpoweredcargo vessels. A British companycalled B9 Shipping, for example, isaiming to produce a fleet of Flagships ofthe Future—cargo ships using wind andrenewable energy. Sailors in France andthe Netherlands are hatching schemessimilar to the New Dawn Traders. On alocal level, there are examples in southwestEngland of goods being moved upriver and along the coast by sail.Another member of Irene’s crew,Lucy Gilliam, a former government environmentalscientist, said she hoped thevoyage could help provide a “narrative”for the story of trade by wind power.“People aren’t really aware of thedamage these huge cargo ships aredoing to the planet,” she said. “Thereneeds to be a great story to get a popularmovement going. People are inspired bytall ships. There’s something magical inEarth Star Up Frontseeing a tall ship in a harbour or at sea.”Ottley pondered whether this particularvoyage really can make money.“The bottom line is you are never inprofit with this sort of vessel,” he said.“It’s an exercise in mitigating the cost. Ifwe can make the same amount of moneymoving these specialist cargoes aroundas we could taking rich people out sailing,it will have been a success.”The journey is bound to have itsdiscomforts. The beer and then the oliveoil will be jammed into the spacioussaloon and two of the cabins, meaningless room for the crew. Food will have tobe rationed carefully, and there hasalready been talk of the problems ofcockroaches and weevils.But, unabated, the crew cannot waitto get underway—and some are alreadyimagining a glorious return to the harboursidein Bristol on a June weekendwith a cargo that has been brought to theUK under sail across the Atlantic.And according to Ottley, Irene, atleast, is ready for the challenge. Hespent seven years on board the boat, potteringaround the Caribbean with acargo of the super-rich on board, andsaid: “Occasionally I sensed Irene wasthinking: ‘What is all this rubbish?’“I believe it’ll be happier doingwhat it’s designed to do rather than pamperingto the desires of billionaires. Itwill be doing proper work again.”—The Guardian, UKwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 11

Four planetary stations highlightthis forecast period, asMercury, Pluto, Mars thenVenus all appear to stop intheir orbital paths relative tothe zodiac and change direction, so buckleup and prepare for a bumpy ride duringthe spring.But first, Venus enters Gemini on April3rd, for a protracted stay, due to anupcoming retrograde phase, where it willremain till August 7th. For the next fourmonths, emotions are subject to beingcold-processed logically, via the mind,instead of percolating gently down toone's conscious awareness, filteredthrough one’s feelings. There’s a greaterwillingness to travel in pursuit of pleasureand social activities while Venus resides inthe sign of curiosity, conversation, andinquiry, while wit, charm and the gentleart of conversation will be highly desirablenow.After twenty-five days in retrograde,Mercury, planetary ruler of negotiations,contracts and communications, stationsdirect on April 4th, in 24° Aries. Mentalprocesses begin to accelerate now, signalingthe ‘all clear’ to move ahead withplans. However, avoid making snap decisions,as there's likely to be a tendencytowards impatience for several days.April’s full moon culminates on the 6th, in18° Libra, when the need for self-expression,and “space” within relationships isparamount. Watch out for emotional fireworksfor a day or two around this juncture.With Venus squaring Neptune as thefull moon culminates, be realistic wherebusiness relationships, financial ventures,and affairs of the heart are concerned.APRIL - MAY 2012Definitely leave your rose-colored glassesat home, and watch expenditures carefully.When gender planets, Venus and Marsalign in square on the 7th, a powerful newlove attraction or desire experience mayoccur. However, be honest with yourselfbecause what you think you want may notbe what you actually need. Extreme emotionalreactions could be triggered nowsimply by a thoughtless remark. Avoidfinancial extravagance, as the urge tosplurge could quickly drain preciousresources. Sensuality is dramaticallyheightened over the next couple of days.This aspect is a good test of one’s abilityto cooperate—or not—with the desires ofothers.Distant Pluto stations Retrograde on April10th, in 10° Capricorn (till Sept 17),heightening the potential for suddenevents of great magnitude to take place forseveral days around this juncture. Duringthe five months in which Pluto is in retrogrademode, avoid power plays, as misguidedattempts at domination or manipulationoften accompany this transit.Cultivate self-discipline. Investigate energyhealing modalities. Intensify your spiritualstudies.The enigmatic red planet, Mars, stationsDirect on the 13th, in 06° Virgo, so anticipatesome instability and agitation for aweek or so around this potent planetarystation. Move ahead cautiously with plansand projects now. Desires and emotionsare highly stimulated. Be ‘up front’ andaccountable in all activities.Strike a balance between addressing yourown needs and your obligations to otherswhen the sun opposes Saturn on the 15th.Don’t take on more than you can comfortablyhandle. The wise will avoid speculationfor a few days around this juncture.Working alone brings greatest satisfactionnow.Mercury, now gathering forward momentum,zips into assertive Aries on the 16th,(till May 8) so be sure to note all thedaring new ideas that come to mind duringthis mentally active transit.Communications are more emphatic, andfeathers are easily ruffled now!The sun enters Taurus late on the 19th, fora month in which personal values andmaterial resources, or the lack of them arein focus. Determine whether the resourcesand assets already at your disposal arebeing fully utilized. Nonetheless, there’spotential to tap into new income sourcesduring this solar transit.April’s new moon arrives on the 21st, in02° Taurus, and is a time in which toassess your need for material security—your ‘comfort zone.’ How much or howlittle money or stuff do you actually needto feel comfortable and secure? CelebrateEarth Day (April 22nd) and buy some newplants for your home and garden. Indeed,you might even be inspired to plant awhole new veggie garden, or a least alarge window box, encouraged by a magnificentgrand trine activated by theTaurus lunation involving Mars and Pluto,in the other earth signs, Virgo andCapricorn, respectively. Much can beaccomplished during this lunar cyclethrough practical, purpose-driven effort.Imagination is inspired and one’s intuitionsharp on the 22nd, Earth Day, when thesun sextiles Neptune and Mercury aligns12 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012/www.earthstarmag.com

in conjunction with Uranus. Experimentwith telepathy or lucid dreaming...trygoing to bed with the firm knowledge thatyou will receive an answer to a question inyour dreams. Sudden changes in planscould lead to a stimulating encounter.Research innovative ideas that may be ofuse in a new Earth-friendly venture.Review your natal horoscope for timelyinsights. Send email, texts and inspiringTweets. Consider upgrading computer oriPhone software.Expressing your unique creative abilitiescould open doors for you as the sun trinesMars on April 23rd, when the spirit ofcompetition thrives. Do work requiringheavy physical exertion...you’ll breezethrough it!The sun trines Pluto, now in retrograde,on April 29th, when events that transpirecould in some way transform your life.Express your unique creative abilitiesthrough business or career activities...beenterprising.When the full moon culminates in 16°01'Scorpio on May 5th, it also heralds thearrival of Wesak, the Buddha Festival, celebratingthe annual reemergence of theBuddha energies on Earth, and is widelyheld to be the most powerful and spiritualfull moon of the year. Meditate on lovenow. Be prepared for what you valuehighly to be put to the test, including yourattachment to people, places, belongingsor even habits. Be honest with yourselfabout your needs, and your means.Safeguard your income sources andassets. Passions and desires will intensify,so chill out! With Mercury opposingSaturn as the lunation culminates, dowork requiring mental discipline or concentration.Some may feel the need toconsult with a “father figure” or someoneolder and wiser, perhaps regarding life-direction.Take time out to relax.Mercury enters earthy Taurus on May 8th,for a three-week stay in which practical,down-to-earth thinking prevails. Thoughtsturn towards ways and means of generatingincome, and issues relating to one’spersonal values. Let your instincts guideyou in financial matters.An element of restlessness pervades theethers on the 13th, when the sun conjunctsJupiter, in 24° Taurus, and the need toachieve is rampant. Broadening one’shorizons may be a popular notion now,perhaps in search of more creative outletsfor and possibly greater recognition ofone’s talents.Venus makes a rare retrograde station onMay 15th, in 24° Gemini (till June 27), fora six-week period in which a friend, loveror partner from the past may reappear.However, avoid making new partnershipcommitments, launching business ventures,or indulging in major purchases orinvestments until the planet of love andmoney resumes direct motion. Instead,evaluate existing relationships, financialconsiderations and priorities, and yourincome sources. If appropriate, consideralternatives.Will-power gets a huge boost as Mars trinesPluto on the 16th, the perfect cosmicauspices under which to begin a new exerciseregimen or diet. Improve efficiencywherever possible now. Passions and physicaldesires are dramatically increased, so beaware of your motivations.The sun enters versatile Gemini early onMay 20th, increasing mental activity andone’s natural curiosity during the nextthirty days. A thirst for knowledge andfresh input may need to be assuaged,making this an appropriate juncture inwhich to begin a new course of study,attend a workshop or seminar, or tosimply get more connected to one’simmediate environment.An annular solar eclipse occurs at the newmoon later on May 20th, in 01° Gemini,stimulating a desire and emphasizing aneed to elevate communications to a newplateau. With Gemini’s ruling planet,Mercury, in conjunction with outgoing,enthusiastic Jupiter, take a progressivenew tack in the way you interact with andrelate to others, particularly at the personallevel, but also in the way you relate andcommunicate in general. People will wantto talk about what they feel, and how theyfeel. Moods could change like the wind.Work on developing your innate talentsand aptitudes.A conjunction between Mercury andJupiter on the 21st, in 26° Taurus, encouragesyou to broaden your mind today.Enroll in higher education classes or acourse of study; attend a workshop. ForgeDown To Earth Astrologyalliances with like-minded individualsand groups. Creative writing is favored.Communicate your thoughts and progressiveideas. Plan or take a trip abroad.Maintain a firm grip on reality when thesun squares Neptune on the 23rd, asescapist tendencies can lead the unwaryastray. Fears, anxieties and insecuritiesare more readily elicited, as confidencelevels temporarily dip. Guard againstdeception, particularly in business matters.Give artificial stimulants a wide berthnow as your tolerance to them may be at alow ebb. Spend some quiet time alone.Read something mysterious or mystical.Still gathering forward speed, Mercuryenters the familiar territory of Gemini onMay 24th till June 7th, quickening themind and sharpening the intellect.Thoughts flow swiftly, fleetingly, constantlyshifting, like wind-blown desertsands. Be sure to note all the good newideas that come to mind during this mentallyfertile period. Enroll in an educationalprogram.Guard against careless speech, and drivers,when Mercury squares Neptune onthe 25th. Be sure that you know whereyou’re going, as it will be easy to loseyour way. Dreams could be interestingduring this transit, though confusing.Avoid impulsive spending.Flashes of inspired thought, even brilliance,could reveal hidden goals or ambitionsyou didn’t realize you’d harboredwhen the sun sextiles Uranus on the 28th.Seek creative ways to finance a project.You may be inspired to begin a new creativeenterprise, or to take a vacation orget-away break.A mentally jarring square betweenMercury and Mars on the 30th could makecommunications and travel frustrating, soextra patience may be called for, in conversationor in traffic. Avoid jumping toconclusions, or impulsive actions.Following is a general overview of howthe planetary trends for April/May, 2012apply to each sun sign. If you knowyour rising sign (Ascendant), read that,too, for additional insights.www.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 13

Down To Earth AstrologyAries (March 20—April 19)You’re keen to make progress towards personal andprofessional objectives, and with both Mercury andMars, your ruling planet, moving direct in early April, tangibleresults from your efforts will soon be forthcoming. Be sure tomake a note of all the bright ideas that come to mind whenMercury enters your sign and solar first house on April 16 (tillMay 8), as some of them could be beneficial to your finances.Mars trines Pluto also on April 16, when some kind ofbreakthrough is possible in your work or regarding your careeraspirations. Your finances show signs of improvement followingthe Taurus new moon on April 21 in your solar second house,particularly when the sun conjuncts Jupiter on May 13, and whenMercury and Jupiter align on May 21. A partnership opportunityor some other form of alliance may be forthcoming following theGemini new moon on May 20, when it would be to your advantageto network in business circles.Taurus (April 19—May 20)Vivid dreams and intuitive insights are likelyduring April that could be helpful in resolving awork-related or domestic dilemma. It may alsobe possible to add to your income by drawing upon an innatetalent or gift. The new moon in your sign on April 21 couldherald the beginning of a new personal quest or ambitiousundertaking, one that might have a bearing on your life directionin the future. You may also contemplate a partnership orprofessional alliance in the coming weeks. Your focus willlikely shift to generating income in May, when a new employmentopportunity could occur, or you might decide to make acasual job or gig more permanent. Seek new ways of generatingincome following May’s Gemini new moon on the 20th inyour solar second house, when it is also possible that ladyluck could smile upon you.Gemini (May 20—June 21)After three weeks in retrograde, Mercury, yourruling planet, turns direct on April 4 in your solartenth house of career, and you’re keen to make progresstowards a personal goal or objective that may have alanguished on the back burner for a while. Once action planet,Mars, also turns direct on April 15 you will begin to see somepositive activity in the weeks ahead. Set aside some qualitytime to be alone, to clarify and reenergize your vision of thefuture. Benefits can come to you now from significant othersin your life that could have a positive bearing on your career.The Gemini new moon om May 2o heralds new personalbeginnings, and the potential for unloading some excessbaggage you've been carrying for way too long!Cancer (June 21—July22)You’re keen to transform a key relationship intoa productive professional alliance, one that youfeel could be abundantly fruitful and satisfying,given the time and resources to fully develop. With Mercurynow moving direct in your solar tenth house of career,connect with friends and associates to let them know yourplans. You may receive news or information that could behelpful to your worldly endeavors. You dream of makingsubstantial improvements in your domestic situations, whichcould lead you to consider the purchase of a new home, andgreater security for your family. It may also be time toconfront emotional challenges, or doubts about your potentialfor success. As you eliminate self-limiting beliefs, you willnotice an increase in self-confidence, which in turn willinspire you to embrace new possibilities.Leo (July 22—August 23)You may be looking to broaden your horizonsduring April, particularly where yourprofessional aspirations are concerned. In order to be in aposition to do so, it may be necessary to keep a tight reinon your spending and to manage your resources moreefficiently. You need to express your creativity inadventurous new ways, in pursuits that would be bothsatisfying and which would allow you to feel morefulfilled, and that might also open new doors or enhanceyour career prospects in some way. Indeed, when the sunconjuncts lucky Jupiter in your solar tenth house in mid-May, your chances for landing the perfect gig increasedramatically. Be prepared to commit whatever time oreffort may be required to follow through should such anopportunity arise.Virgo (August 23—September 23)Mercury’s direct station on April 4 will offersome relief for beleaguered Virgos who may bepatiently awaiting news or the proverbial greenlight to move forward with a pet project or a venture that hasbeen on hold. When action planet, Mars, also resumesforward motion on April 13, conjunct your solar ascendant,you’ll be raring to go, and ready to charge off in hot pursuitof a cherished objective. You have a burning desire to put yourcreative talents to good use in ways that will expand yourprospects for the future, and may now have the opportunity todo so. Travel is a distinct possibility, particularly during May,when both the sun and Mercury will align with Jupiter in yoursolar ninth house. The career boost you’ve been hoping forcould occur in the weeks following the Gemini new moon onMay 20. Don’t be shy about tooting your own horn to those ina position to give you a leg up.Libra (September 23—October 23)New friends, and possibly a partner, may enteryour life now. You are feeling more outgoing,and could benefit from opportunities tosocialize, so make the effort to put yourself about. You mayreceive some feedback or advice that could help you witha personal issue; your challenge is to remain open andreceptive to such input. Indeed, this is a good time toconfront certain personal matters, particularly in regard tointimacy, or your ability to openly share your feelings withothers. Your ruling planet, Venus, enters a rare retrograde14 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

phase on May 15 (till June 27), during which someonefrom your past with whom you were close could reenteryour life. Such a reconnection would be helpful inimproving your self-image.Scorpio (October 23—November 22)You are highly motivated to increase yourlevel of fitness and vitality, so that you're ingood shape to handle the additional work and physicalactivity that you feel is imminent. Your general healthand dietary regimen are also ripe for an overhaul, andyou’ve likely been busy researching various supplements,modalities and equipment that will help youattain peak performance. You’ve made great stridesrecently in releasing various self-limiting beliefs, to theextent that you're now ready to tackle greater personaland professional challenges. You may benefit from apartner's good fortune, or the generosity of a significantother. Either way, your financial prospects appearbrighter, with an element of luck for good measure.Sagittarius (November 21—December 21)Spring is an invigorating time for mostpeople but particularly for Sagittariusnatives, when your creative drive is on therise and you’re inspired to consider new and innovativeoutlets through which to express yourself. You are alsokeen to explore new career options, with a view tosignificantly increasing your income. There may be apersonal project dear to your heart that could beexpedited with the help of additional resources, andyou’re determined to be successful in your quest. Takecare to avoid excessive expenditures, and use yourmoney wisely. A former love interest, partner, orsomeone with whom you were close could reappear andtoss a tantalizing proposition your way. Considercarefully your existing plans for the future beforemaking any binding decisions.Capricorn (December 21—January 19)You’ve had a yen to travel for some time nowbut circumstances have kept you rooted toyour home, or have in some way conspired to keep youfocused on domestic issues or obligations. Thissituation appears poised to change, and you may finallyget the chance to spread your wings. You might beinspired to learn a new skill, or to pursue a new subjectof interest, perhaps with a view to furthering a personalambition. The urge to express your creativity throughoccupational or vocational pursuits is particularlystrong, and is linked to your desire to be successful andto feel fulfilled by the work that you do. It may benecessary to rein in your imagination, which could beworking overtime right now, and to temper it withpractical and realistic objectives that would be more inkeeping with your innately pragmatic nature.Down To Earth AstrologyAquarius (January 19—February 18)It seems you have a lot on your mind thesedays, and are keen to make some personalchanges in order to relieve the pressure you’ve beenfeeling to accomplish everything on your ‘to do’ list.Expansive projects around the home may have beenvying for your time, as well as your money, and you’rethinking of imaginative ways to add to your incomewhile decreasing your workload and mental clutter. Youhave professional aspirations dear to your heart thathave, up till now, not been realized. However, it mayshortly be possible to make some inroads towards yourcareer goals, once you’ve metaphorically cleared thedecks, and your desk, at home. Seek to become moreorganized, so that you can multi-task without leavingwork unfinished. Be realistic, rather than idealistic,where your financial interests are concerned,particularly while Venus is retrograde (May 15-June27), and consolidate any recent gains you have made.Pisces (February 18—March 20)Intuition and creativity are your long suitsnow, so play them well at every opportunity.Your financial acumen can also serve youwell in your efforts to generate and manage yourmoney, particularly after Mars resumes direct motionon April 13 in trine to planetary power broker, Pluto.Creative writing or journaling could be both satisfyingand financially rewarding, and you’ll surely haveplenty on your mind to convey, be they novel notions,an inspirational treatise, or thoughtful musings. Yourgreatest challenges in this period will likely come frominterpersonal relations and matters concerning mutualassets, and intimacy. Be tactful and diplomatic in yourdealings with significant others in your life, and youwill be rewarded with their love and appreciation. Anew cycle of emotional growth and development beginsin May, which you can nurture with a positive selfimage.Tim Gunns is an astrological consultant,conference coordinator and producer,and formerly program director of theL.A.Conscious Life Expo, and thenational Whole Life Expos.Tim prepares personalized no-nonsense interpretationsof Natal Horoscopes ($40), Future Forecast TransitReports ($75 for 1 full year), and Relationship CompatibilityReports ($45). Shipping is free. Send: Name (as you'd like it toappear on the chart), Date of Birth, Time (as close as possible),Place of Birth (city/country, etc.) for each person, and your returnaddress, phone# and check to: Tim Gunns, c/o110 Hilltop Drive,Waynesville NC 28786. 828-452-7885. Consultations byphone may also be scheduled. Payment can be made via Paypalto tgearthstar@aol.com http://www.earthstarmag.comwww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 15

The Lessons To Be Learnt FromStoneThe Stonemason Who Was WNever SatisfiedLong ago there was a certain Chuangstonemason. He was famous for hisextraordinary skill at his trade. One day arich man needed some stonecutting doneand sent for him. When he got there hesaw that his employer lived in a great mansion, wasdressed in silk and satin, ate all kinds of delicacies fromoceans and mountains, and was waited on my maids andservants. Very envious, the mason gave up working, andwanted only to become such a rich man himself.A fairy heard his desire and made him a rich man.The mason was deliriously happy.Sometime later, a high-ranking official went out ona tour of inspection, carried in a sedan-chair by his men.He was carried everywhere, surrounded by a great concourseof shouting and yelling retainers, beating drumsand gongs. Wherever they went the people bowed andmade was for them. His path lay by the mason's door.Puffed up with an upstart's pride, the mason refused tobow himself or kowtow. “I’ve got just as many servantsas he! Why should I bow to him?” he said. Outraged bysuch impertinence, the official had him bound withropes, beaten, and fined.Painfully getting up, the mason said, with a sigh,By Michael Berman“So, high-ranking officials are certainly more powerfulthan I!” Thereupon he swore he wanted only to be agreat official.Again the fairy heard his desire and made him agreat official. He was beside himself with joy when thechange took place. Following the example of the officialhe had seen, the mason now rode roughshod over hisdistrict, and made all the people hate him.One day he and his henchmen came to a hillsidewhere they saw a group of pretty young girls. Down theypounced like tigers on helpless lambs. The girlsscreamed and called, and in the twinkling of an eye, agreat crowd of Chuang people rushed up from all sides,bearing swords, axes, and hoes, and did not let him gowithout giving him a sound thrashing.Such rough handling from the people put an end tohis evil-doing. “Officials, however powerful, are nothingto the Chuang people,” he said ruefully, and he longed tobe changed back into a Chuang. Once again the fairyheard his desire and helped to bring about the change.The mason was all smiles when it came about.Every day he went to the hillside with his people,ploughing and sowing from morning to night. It wassummer, and the sun was as hot as a ball of fire. It16 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012

From then on he worked with a devotion he neverknew before, and he became ever faster and better at histrade. More and more people wanted to hire his skill. Astime went on, he became very well known, and as a greatmason, was held in high respect by everybody in hishomeland.Stone Proverbs and QuotesAnd this, our life, exempt from public haunt, findstongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons instones, and good in everything.—William Shakespearescorched his back while he worked, until his head swam.It was indeed past human bearing. In the great waves ofheat even the birds and wild beasts hid themselves deepin the mountains, and the water-buffaloes buried themselvesup to the neck in muddy water. Only the glisteringgreen rice shoots stood, like the Chuang people, unyielding.The mason came to the conclusion that the sun mustbe the ruling power in the universe and started to dreamof becoming a sun himself. The fairy heard his desireand made him a sun in the sky. To everybody's horror hekept sending forth scorching flames.Then it so happened a thick black cloud came driftingfrom the west and his the sun from the earth. “Well,”sighed the mason. “Who would have thought that a blackcloud is stronger than the sun?” So a black cloud waswhat he wanted to be now. Again the fairy satisfied himby turning him into a cloud freely scudding across thesky.What should happen but that a fierce wind arose andblew the cloud to pieces! “I never knew that the windwas so powerful,” the mason exclaimed in dismay. “I canhardly find a place to exist in! Let me become a fiercewind, I pray!” Again the fairy helped, and made him intoa gale. He blew like a typhoon, uprooting trees and tearingdown houses. He blew like a terror.But as he rushed over the land he was suddenlystopped in his course by a huge rock. However hard heblew, the rock was unmoved. “Well, even a gale can donothing to a rock,” thought the mason. “No one couldever dare bully me any more if I were a rock.”Immediately the fairy turned him into a great rockon top of a high mountain. He no longer had any fear ofbeing bullied. After some time, however, there came agroup of masons to the peak where he lay. They lookedat the rock and considered it useful material, and startedcutting it. The bewildered mason, terrified, turned to thefairy for help. “You’d better be your old self,” said thefairy. So he was a mason again.Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect peopleto roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lotcalmly, even if they roll a few stones upon it.— Albert SchweitzerAs in nature, as in art, so in grace; it is rough treatmentthat gives souls, as well as stones, their luster.—Thomas GuthrieAs the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well withoutthe lesser. —PlatoCrystals grew inside rock like arithmetic flowers. Theylengthened and spread, added plane to plane in an awedand perfect obedience to an absolute geometry that evenstones—maybe only the stones—understood.—Annie DillardDevelop success from failures. Discouragement and failureare two of the surest stepping stones to success.—Dale CarnegieIn the end, it all comes to choices to turn stumblingblocks into stepping stones. —Amber FreyFor more information please visit www.Thestoryteller.org.ukAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 17

Spring ReadingSpring ReadingYear ZeroTime of the Great ShiftBy Kiara WindriderIn Year Zero, spiritual development coachKiara Windrider clarifies the "big picture" ofplanetary evolution from the perspectives ofancient wisdom and modern science. In ithe reveals that an intricate interplaybetween cosmic and planetary phenomenais taking place in order to shape a newspecies of humanity on a rapidly evolvingearth. Rather than waiting passively forsomething to happen to us, now is the timeto actively dream a new world awake—because the year 2012 celebratesthe beginning of a great new cycle!Divine Arts. Paperback, $16.95The Rise and Fall ofthe NephilimThe Untold Story of Fallen Angels,Giants on the Earth, and TheirExtraterrestrial OriginsBy Scott Alan RobertsThe ancient books of Genesis and Enoch tellus that sprit beings known as the“Watchers” descended to the Earth, had sexwith women, and begat a hybrid race of offspringknown as the Nephilim. Such talesare as old as humanity itself. In The Rise andFall of the Nephilim, author and publisherScott Alan Roberts contends that these histories and accounts of visitationsand subsequent mixed-blood alien-human races comprise thebulk of mythology, legend, religion, and our superstition.New Page Books. Paperback, $16.99.Breathing through theWhole BodyThe Buddha’s Instructions onIntegrating Mind, Body, and BreathBy Will JohnsonExplaining how stillness in meditation refersnot to a rigid and frozen body but to a qualityof mind, Will Johnson examines the Buddha’sown words at the core of the SatipatthanaSutta: “As you breathe in, breathe in throughthe whole body; as you breathe out, breatheout through the whole body”--an instructionoften overlooked in the majority of Buddhistschools. Exploring the Buddha’s complete series of steps for deepeningawareness of the breath, he shows how to invite natural, responsivemovement back into the posture of meditation by extending breathawareness beyond the nostrils, lungs, and abdomen to the entire body—a practice that unifies the breath, body, and mind into a single sharedphenomenon.Inner Traditions. Paperback, $12.95.The Truly Alive ChildFor Those Who Seek A GranderVision For Our ChildrenBy Simon Paul HarrisonThis is a life-altering book. It shows usthere is a different way. It provides thetools to guide and support our children tolives of unconditional love, lasting peace,great joy and deep purpose, and to leadthem back to life itself. Humanity is at acrossroads. We can choose a path ofpeace and harmony, walking hand inhand with life, or we can continue to create a world of fear, of competition,fighting, and destruction. Harrison’s message could not bemore simple, or the tools easier to use. His book will change the wayyou think about education, what we are creating for the next generation,and the future of our children.Fox Walking Publishing. Paperback, $16.95.The Misleading MindHow We Create Our Own Problems andHow Buddhist Psychology CanHelp Us Solve ThemBy Karuna CaytonBuddhism asserts that we all have the potentialto transform suffering into happiness, to freeourselves from the prison of our problems. Aspracticed for more than 2,000 years, theprocess involves working with, rather thanagainst, our depression, anxiety, and compulsions.We do this by recognizing the habitualways our minds perceive and react—the way the mind misleads. Thelively exercises and inspiring real-world examples Cayton provideshelp readers neutralize suffering and step onto the path of a radicallyliberating self-understanding. Problems that were frustrating andintractable are transformed, becoming not just benign but even beloved,what the Buddhists call “ornaments we can wear”.New World Library. Paperback, $14.95.Nature Spirits &Elemental BeingsBy Marko PogacnikThe Sloveninan author Marko Pagacnik has ascientist's interest in natural phenomenarevealed by his extraordinary powers of perception,communicating with them and discriminatingbetween them. This revisedSecond Edition of Nature Spirits & ElementalBeings is remarkable in that almost everythingdescribed in the book is based on theauthor’s own practical experiences in communicatingwith these beings through meditation and tuning in toplants, trees, animals and the landscape. He describes in detail thevarious elemental beings and their roles in maintaining the web oflife, and also gives insights into related topics, such as the flow of energieswithin the landscape and the long-suppressed Goddess culture.Findhorn Press. Paperback, $19.95.18 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

Nature Spirits, Spirit Guides,and GhostsHow to Talk with and Photograph Beingsin Other RealmsBy Atala Dorothy ToyBoulders laugh, trees talk, and practically eachpatch of ground has meaning, in Atala Toy’sexperience. Faeries, angels, ghosts, orbs, andspirits of place are just some of the life formswith which she helps us attune—and shows ushow to record their image! Readers will cherish her rare combinationof esoteric wisdom and practical guidance. By entering the fascinatingrealm of this book, the reader will join the growing number of peopleaware of subtle energy and able to see through the veils betweendimensions.Quest Books. Paperback, $18.95.Astrology Reading CardsYour Personal Guidance from the StarsBy Alison Chester-LambertHow will I find my partner? Will I receive moneyin the future? What sort of career would suitme? Reading the daily horoscopes in thepaper can only provide a very general answer.If you try to do your own chart by studyingastrology, you know how complicated it canget. This beautiful card deck was designed bya top British astrologer as a simple, easy-tousepack that utilizes the archetypal energiesof astrology to answer questions about the present, as well as the future.Select a card from each of 3 separate sets—the Zodiac Signs, the Planets,and the Houses—and then use the guidelines in the book to interpret theanswer. The kit includes 36 cards and a 96-page paperback with 37 colorillustrations for accurate horoscope readings that anyone can do!Findhorn Press. Boxed Set of Book and Cards, $19.95.New World MindfulnessFrom the Founding Fathers,Emerson, and Thoreau to YourPersonal PracticeBy Donald McCownand Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.A history of mindfulness in the West, fromthe American Founding Fathers, Thoreau,and Emerson up to present-day leaders inthe field such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, reveals ahigh-speed form of contemplation ideal foreven the busiest of lives. Exploring the physiologicalimpact of mindfulness practices forstress, anxiety, depression, and coping withserious illness and major life changes, the authors show that mindfulnessis not about being silent and alone--it can even be practiced as a familyor community. Not prescribing change but rather working from within,this book connects Western no-nonsense, get-it-done pragmatism withthe yearning for beauty and balance that makes a full life truly fulfilled.Healing Arts Press. Paperback, $16.95.Spring ReadingSpring ReadingSophiaThe Feminine Face of GodNine Heart Paths to Healingand AbundanceBy Karen SpeerstraAs the world experiences greater andgreater challenges everywhere we turn,respect and love for the feminine isgrowing faster than ever. After centuriesof being hidden and repressed, theDivine Feminine (a.k.a., Great Mother,Holy Spirit, Sophia) is showing herselfagain and offers her age-old but evernewwisdom for spiritual growth andhealing. Sophia—The Feminine Face of God is about how Sophiaenlightens, strengthens, and illuminates… how she calms and excites,befriends, and nurtures…and so much more.Divine Arts. Paperback, $18.95.Goodbye, FriendHealing Wisdom for Anyone WhoHas Ever Lost a PetBy Gary KowalskiThe final parting from a pet is a sorrow thatmany feel they face alone. Is it appropriate tofeel so sad over the loss of an animal? Toanswer this question, Reverend Gary Kowalskioffers a quotation from Garrison Keillor: “If thisis foolish, so it be.” Since many people viewtheir companion animals as cherished familymembers, losing them is, of course, painfuland even wrenching. In this beloved manual,Kowalski offers not just insight but also practical guidance—on honoringone’s own grief and helping children with theirs; ideas for rituals,ceremonies, and solace; and considering death and the continuum oflife. His compassionate and comforting guidance provides grieving petparents with a much-needed resource.Intuitive Self-HealingAchieve Balance and WellnessThrough the Body's Energy CentersBy Marie ManuchehriNew World Library. Paperback, $14.00Even doctors and the most sophisticatedtests can't always find the source of a healthissue, but there is one authority that alwaysknows-your own body. “We intuitively perceivewhat we need for physical, emotional,and spiritual healing,” teaches MarieManuchehri. “The biggest challenge for mostof us is learning to trust our inner guidance.”With Intuitive Self-Healing, this registerednurse and renowned energy healer provides accessible instruction forhelping you tune into your health at a deeper level.Sounds True. Paperback, $16.95.www.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 19

Active HopeHow to Face the Mess We're inwithout Going CrazyBy Joanna Macy & Chris JohnstoneMost books addressing global issues focus oneither our dire problems or grand-scale solutions.Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstonefocus instead on equipping readers with atransformational mind-set. Facing the facts ofa planet and economies in crisis, many individualsfeel hopeless because they recognizethat they can’t create their desired outcomes.But rather than allowing this reality to shut us down, we can choose activehope. This hope is something we do rather than something we have.Instead of acting only when we deduce we may succeed, we can focuson our intention and let that be our guide. On this path we discover newstrengths, open to a network of allies, and experience a deepening ofaliveness. Because we are actively giving—and receiving—hope, we canface global crises without despair and play a personal role in the collective“Great Turning” toward a life-sustaining society.New World Library. Paperback, $14.95.7 Secrets of Time TravelMystic Voyages of the Energy BodyBy Von BraschlerForeword by Frank JosephExploring 7 secrets of time, Von Braschlerreveals how to break free from the physicalworld and travel through time and space viathe energy body. He examines time, timelessness,and time travel from the viewpointof mystics, shamanic dreamwalkers, andscientists, including Helena Blavatsky, C. W.Leadbeater, Albert Einstein, and JulianBarbour, as well as Hindu spiritual science. Explaining how transcendingthe physical body offers new hope for the treatment of illness,emotional problems, and addictions, he offers step-by-step instructionsand active, out-of-body exercises to develop your time travelabilities and explore the world of energy and spirit. Emphasizing thespiritual wholeness that comes from energy body work, he shows thatby visiting the past and the future we can more fully live in the now.Destiny Books. Paperback, $14.95.The Promise of ParadiseLife-Changing Lessons from the TropicsBy Jonathan Ellerby, Ph.D.The Promise of Paradise is an extraordinaryguidebook that will give you the tools and theattitude to make the greatest move of yourlife. This simple, clear, and often humorouslittle book takes you through the true life lessonsof wellness expert and spiritual teacherDr. Jonathan Ellerby. In one of the mostsought-after tropical destinations in theworld, Jonathan reclaims age-old lessons and also faces the turbulentwaters of relocation, societal fear, and cultural evolution in a time ofglobal, financial, and spiritual upheaval.Hay House. Paperback, $10.95.SynchronicityThe Art of Coincidence, Change,and Unlocking Your MindBy Dr. Kirby SurpriseIn Synchronicity, psychologist Dr KirbySurprise examines the evidence for thehuman influence on the meaningfulness ofevents, and the way the modern computationalmodel of the mind predicts how wecreate meaning. It demonstrates that theseevents, based on the activity of the mind,are caused by the person who perceivesthem. Dr. Surprise describes the miracles of your brain’s processes,merging the worlds of modern physics and ancient mysticism to revealabilities you have always possessed, but which were not fully understood—untilnow. Synchronicity shows you how you already create eventsaround you, and that you are a conscious co-creator of your own reality.Protect Yourself fromElectromagnetic PollutionUsing CrystalsBy Barbara NewerlaNew Page Books. Paperback, $16.99Crystals are wonderful aids in all areas oflife, but do they really help with the effects ofradiation and electromagnetic pollution?The definitive answer is yes, they do.Unfortunately, there is a great deal of falseinformation and misunderstanding regardingthe application of healing crystalsagainst the effects of electromagnetic pollution.The book provides useful pictures ofwhich crystals to employ along with short descriptions of how they combatelectromagnetic pollution. This concise and well-researched guidebookexplains how and under what circumstances healing crystals arereally able to provide relief.Findhorn Press. Paperback, $9.95.The Sacred Sites ofthe Dalai LamasBy Glenn H. MullinThe Sacred Sites of the DalaiLamas remarkably mixes stunningphotographs of Tibet’smost sacred monasteries of theearly Dalai Lamas with text onthe historical relevance of thesesites in the unfolding of TibetanBuddhism. Appearing throughoutthe book are brief biographies, inspirational quotations and passagesfrom the writings of the early Dalai Lamas. This exceptionalbook takes both an experiential form, through the beautiful colorphotographs, and an intellectual exploration of these power spots. Itexplores the caves where the early Buddhist masters meditated,enters the monasteries where the Dalai Lamas and others taught,and looks down from an altitude of over 16,000 feet into the famousoracle lake of Lhamo Lhatso—where every Dalai Lama has hadprophetic visions.Divine Arts. Paperback, $29.95.20 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

Science and PsychicPhenomenaThe Fall of the House of SkepticsBy Chris CarterForeword by Rupert SheldrakeExploring the scandalous history of parapsychologyand citing decades of research, ChrisCarter shows that, contrary to mainstreambelief, replicable evidence of psi phenomenaexists. The controversy over parapsychologycontinues not because ESP and other abilitiescannot be verified but because their existencechallenges deeply held worldviews more strongly rooted in religious andphilosophical beliefs than in hard science. Carter reveals how the doctrineof materialism—in which nothing matters but matter—has become aninfallible article of faith for many scientists and philosophers, much like theconvictions of religious fundamentalists. Consequently, the possibility ofpsychic abilities cannot be tolerated because their existence would refutematerialism and contradict a deeply ingrained ideology. By outlining theorigin of this passionate debate, Carter calls on all open-minded individualsto disregard the church of skepticism and reach their own conclusionsby looking at the vast body of evidence.Inner Traditions. Paperback, $18.95.The MessageA Guide to Being HumanBy L.D. ThompsonThe Message is a truly remarkable book thatoffers guidance for the soul, and what yoursoul is trying to teach you. L.D. Thompson’smessage is, essentially, that your life has beendesigned by your Soul, and that the more youlisten to your Soul and act upon its values andurgings, the more graceful and joyous your lifebecomes. With powerful recommendations onhow to achieve greater awareness of your Sou’s curriculum, TheMessage: A Guide to Being Human is an indispensable source ofwisdom for seasoned spiritual practitioners and new seekers alike.Divine Arts. Paperback, $16.95.Home MassageBy Suzette Hodnett & Chuck FataFocusing on its therapeutic properties andcapacity to enhance health and intimacy inall relationships, this companion book to thehome Massage DVD demystifies the mediumof massage and makes it accessible foreveryone in the family. Designed for the nonprofessionalwith simple step-by-stepinstructions, it teaches the three principlesthat make learning massage easy and fun. Also included are ideasfor bringing home massage into daily life and how to use these principlesto share massage with infants, children, adolescents, spouses,and the elderly. By emphasizing the innate healing power oftouch to reduce stress and improve the immune system, this practicalmanual provides the tools for achieving health, relaxation, andconnection with loved ones.Findhorn Press. Paperback, $19.95.Natural BrillianceA Buddhist System for UncoveringYour Strengths and Letting Them ShineBy Irini RockwellUnderstanding yourself is the key to dealingwith—and even enjoying—the inevitablecomplexity of life. Irini Rockwell presents uswith a powerful system for the kind of selfunderstandingthat leads to just that kind ofsatisfying relationship with life. It’s a Buddhistmodel for identifying your unique mix of personalitytraits that make up your innate intelligence.All five qualities—presence, clarity, richness, passion, andaction—are your rich resource. By cultivating them you begin to seehow you can use this remarkable system to enhance your relationships,your work, and your creativity. Ultimately, this system introducesus to a larger world: the totality and interconnectedness ofeveryone and everything.Shambhala Publications. Paperback, $18.95.Leaning Into Sharp PointsPractical Guidance and NurturingSupport for CaregiversBy Stan Goldberg, Ph.D.Statistics show that almost everyone willbecome a caregiver at least once in life.Whether visiting occasionally or caregiving24/7, they are brushing up againstlife’s sharpest point. As only one who hasbeen there can, author Stan Goldbergoffers an honest, caring, and comprehensiveguide to those on this journey.Everyone wants to “do the right thing,”and this book provides the often-elusivehow-to—from bedside etiquette and practical decisions to initiating difficultconversations, navigating rapid changes, caring for oneself in themidst of caring for another, and even offering “permission” to die.Because death is a process, not an event, Goldberg also addresses thecaregiver’s recovery, including the recovery of joy.The Way of The HeartTeachings of Jeshua andMary MagdaleneBy Sophie RoseThe Way of The Heart is a book you willkeep on your nightstand to remind youhow to connect with your soul.Channeled from the souls of Jeshua andMary Magdalene, it carries the coreteachings from the Masters. Whetheryou’re a believer or an atheist, this coursewill show you how to connect with yourdeeper self. It is the wish of the Mastersto show us the way and lilghten the pathto Oneness, peace and love on Earth.New World Library. Paperback, $14.95.CreateSpace. Paperback, $13.95.www.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 21

Year Z e r oTime of the Great ShiftSunspots and Cosmic DustLife could not exist on earth without theheat and light provided by our Sun. Yetthese conditions have not always existed.What distinguishes Earth from many ofthe other planets in our Solar System isour ability to retain the heat of the Sun due to the gradualgrowth of an atmosphere.Another essential ingredient for life on our planet isthe existence of an electromagnetic field, which providesus with an orientation in space and time and actsas a protective barrier around the boundaries of theEarth. Without this magnetic shield we would be bombardedby meteorites and cosmic dust orbiting throughthe Solar System as well as from the fluctuations of solaractivity known to us as solar flares and coronal massejections.There are cycles that govern this solar activity. Onesuch cycle that has generated significant interest inrecent times is the eleven-year sunspot cycle. Based on amagnetic differential between the equatorial and polarBy Kiara Windriderregions of the Sun, the peaks of a sunspot cycle are relatedto corresponding increases in solar activity.During the peak of a sunspot cycle, violent explosionson the Sun shoot photons and high-energy particlestowards the Earth, jolting our ionosphere and geomagneticfields and potentially downing power grids andsatellites, thereby disrupting communication systems.The intensity of a sunspot cycle is measured by themaximum number of visible sunspots—dark blotches onthe Sun that signify areas of increased magnetic activity.The greater the number of sunspots, the greater the likelihoodof major solar flares, or the even more violentcoronal mass ejections in which the entire gas shell surroundingthe Sun, known as the corona, gets ejected outinto space.We are currently going through Cycle 24. Based onthe behavior of recent solar activity, scientists expectthat the next peak of this eleven-year cycle could bringabout solar fireworks on a thoroughly unprecedentedscale. Solar scientists at the National Center for22 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, predictthat our current sunspot cycle, which started in 2007,will probably peak in 2012. It could be from 30 to 50%stronger than the last one!The cycle started off much gentler than anticipated;then, on April 13, 2010 there was a massive solar flare.It was one of the biggest ejections in years. TheIcelandic volcano went off the following day. We areentering the solar maximum period now.Beyond the eleven-year sunspot cycle, however,there seem to be additional factors involved in the generationof extreme solar activity.Sami Solanki of the Max Planck Institute for SolarSystem Research in Germany says that the Sun is moreviolently active now than at any time in the past 11,000years. Since 1940, he claims, the Sun has produced anextraordinary number of sunspots, as well as solar flaresand coronal mass ejections, which cannot be explainedby the normal fluctuations of the eleven-year sunspotcycle. These anomalies are increasing.Maurice Cotterell is the author of The MayanProphecies: Unlocking the Secrets of a Lost Civilization.The Belgian researcher, Patrick Geryl, uses some of hiscalculations to indicate an 11,500 to 12,000-year cycleof magnetic inversion on the Sun. This cycle seems togenerate extreme amounts of solar activity at its peak,claims Geryl, which, through the medium of solarwinds, could lead to a magnetic pole reversal on Earth.As a corollary to this, the Earth’s magnetic field,which normally protects us from this kind of solar radiation,has been inexplicably dwindling in recent years.Could these phenomena be related? How do we explainwhat is happening? Astrophysicist Alexey Dmitriev ofthe Russian National Academy of Sciences in Siberiaprovides us with some very interesting clues.Just as the Earth revolves around theSun, the Sun travels its own orbit through ourMilky Way galaxy. Just as the Earth has a protectiveelectromagnetic shield surrounding it inits journey through the Solar System, so doesthe Sun have a protective electromagneticenvelope surrounding the entire Solar Systemin its journey through the Milky Way.The magnetically protected sphericalregion of space surrounding our Solar Systemis known as the heliosphere. The outer edge ofthis heliosphere is known as the heliopause,and is composed of highly charged layers ofplasma. As the Sun travels through the MilkyWay, this plasma acts as a shield, repelling andpushing away particles of interstellar dust.What Dmitriev and his team have beenobserving is that the shockwave of plasma at the leadingedge of this heliosphere has expanded ten-fold in sizeand intensity during the past fifteen or twenty years. Ithas grown from about 3 AU to 40 or more!In his paper Planetophysical State of the Earth andLife Dmitriev states, “This shock wave thickening hascaused the formation of a collusive plasma in a parietallayer, which has led to a plasma overdraft around theSolar System, and then to its breakthrough into interplanetarydomains.”Many in my generation were brought up on StarTrek. Imagine the Starship Enterprise entering a regionof space saturated with meteorites and cosmic dust.Imagine Captain Picard commanding his crew to directall power towards the shields in order to strengthen theforce fields around the ship and to repel the incomingstardust.This is what is happening with our Solar System.Dmitriev asserts that deep space is not uniform.Composed of scattered space debris, some regions ofspace are more turbulent than others. We are enteringinto one such region of interstellar turbulence. Thewww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 23

shockwave in front of the heliosphere has become largerand thicker as we entered this denser region ofspace where there are more particles to push out of theway.Imagine now that the Starship Enterprise is facingan intense bombardment of cosmic stardust, and theoverloaded shields are flaming hot. This is preciselywhat is taking place in our own Solar System. The interstellarturbulence of cosmic dust is overloading the plasmacontent at the leading edge of the heliosphere causingwhat Dmitriev describes as “a kind of matter andenergy donation made by interplanetary space to ourSolar System.”In other words, things are heating up. By analyzingdata from the Voyager satellites out in deep space,Dmitriev and his team confirmed that this rise in temperaturewas affecting not only our Sun but also everyother planet in the Solar System. The interstellar turbulenceis also causing a whole range of other measurableeffects in our Solar System—the growth of planetaryatmospheres,the increasing brightness of various planets,changes in magnetic fields, and shifting rotationalpoles.Here on Earth we are experiencing the impact of thisinterstellar dust, both directly as a result of this energydonation, and indirectly through changes within theSun. The anomalous activity of the Sun and its unpredictableeffects on the Earth could well be related tothis interstellar region of turbulence we are currentlyentering.Dmitriev expects that we will remain within this turbulentshockwave for at least the next 3,000 years. Hebelieves also that many of the extreme and inevitableclimate changes could begin very soon—not in centuriesor even decades, but in a few short years.Excerpted with permission from Year Zero: Time of the greatShift, © 2011 by Kiara Windrider, Divine Arts,http://www.divineartsmedia.comMonsanto Leaving BritainMonsanto Co. Said it’sleaving Britain due toopposition to geneticallymodified foods.Officials at Monsanto—a multinationalagricultural biotechnology corporationand leading producer ofgenetically engineered seed—said thecompany is closing its wheat growingoperation, based in Cambridge, whichemployed 125 people, and selling offcrop-breeding centers in France,Germany and the Czech Republic, theDaily Mail reported.Monsanto made its decision publicshortly before the British government’sfinal announcement on theprospects for GM food, and afterresearch in Britain found GM farmingwould have long-term negativeimpacts.Three studies conducted for theDepartment for Environment, Foodand Rural Affairs found pollen contaminationwould spread far furtherthan previously believed, “feral”growth of weed killer would persist foryears and the heavy use of chemicalsassociated with these crops could wipeout some species of birds.The government’s findingsinvolved hundreds of public meetingsand 37,000 questionnaires. Ninetythreepercent of respondents said notenough was known about the longtermeffects of these foods on health,and 86 percent said they would refuseto eat the GM food.—Earth First News24 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

The following excerpt is taken from the book The Fatigue Solution by Eva Cwynar, MD. It is published byHay House and available at all bookstores or online at: http://www.hayhouse.comMove YourBodyMoveand Boost Your MetabolismBy Eva Cwynar, MDHere’s my basic philosophy about exercise:no excuses. I’ve been an athlete(or at least athletic) most of my life; Iwas on my high school ski team and,until recently, continued to ski throughoutmy adult life. Then. . . during the course of writingthis book, I had three surgeries for injuries incurredwhile enjoying the sport I love so much. I thought, Whatdo I do now? I could just stop my athletics. Who couldblame me? I’ve got a really good excuse. I could say myknees and ankles are done, and that’s that. But I’m notso easily defeated.I tried cross-country skiing, but I didn’t get theadrenaline rush I got with downhill skiing. I tried snowshoeing. The only one who enjoyed going with me wasmy dog, but the snow was too deep for him he couldn’thandle it. So I decided to take up snowboarding. I’mconsidered middle aged and I took up a radical sport thatI never in my life wanted to do, that I had no interest indoing—but I’m doing it. And it’s hard. But I’m doing it.I’m in pain, but I’m doing it.I can’t tell you how many times a patient who in thepast had been successful at losing weight, had been eatinghealthily, and had exercised routinely, enters myoffice having gained several pounds since their last visit.They justify their extra pounds by explaining that theycan no longer exercise because they got into a car accidentor they fell off the curb and sprained their back, or. . . something came up that disrupted their routine andthey can’t do what they used to do.I don’t let them get away with it. You broke yourankle? Work your upper body. You had knee surgery?Do sit-ups. Unless you’re in a full-body cast, there isprobably some way you can find to get the rest of yourbody moving.When I decided to take up snowboarding, the firstthing I did was go online and order equipment. Then Itook my first lesson. Sounds like I did things backward,but I know myself all too well and it actually made perfectsense. My first lesson was a disaster. Frankly, Iwould have preferred being in a boxing ring with aheavyweight champ than doing that first day over again.www.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 25

I was miserable. The only reason I didn’t quit right thenand there was because I was already financially investedin it. That’s why I bought the equipment first. It wouldhave been too easy to give up, to find an excuse. But Ihad my board staring me in the face. My second lessonwas so bad that my instructor had me get my moneyback for the lesson. Ah, but the third lesson . . . well, let’ssay I’m officially a snowboarder now, and getting themost amazing workout of my life. The point is I didn’tlet my injuries become an excuse. If you face a barrier,you find a way to get over it, under it, or around it. Youre-create yourself. You do something else.Too Tired to Exercise? Exercise MoreI know. You’re tired. That’s why you’re reading thisbook. You’ve been putting off reading this chapter (youmay even have considered skipping it altogether)because, let’s face it, you don’t really want to exercise.You don’t really want to get out of bed or up off thecouch. That old inertia principle has got you in its spell:a body at rest tends to stay at rest. It takes so much energyto get yourself moving. Just the thought of exercisingis simply exhausting.Personally, I don’t usually feel that way. I’ve trekkedall over the world, hiked hundreds of trails, climbed severalmountains. Even so, there have been times whenI’ve been so busy living my everyday hectic life as adoctor, wife, and mother that I just can’t bear the thoughtof getting up early to exercise when I’d so much rathersleep in for another half hour.Here is what has convinced me to get up and getmoving: scientists have concluded that one of the bestways to beat fatigue and boost energy is to exercisemore, not less. Studies have shown that the more youmove—and it doesn’t have to be major movement, justgetting up and walking around the room will help—themore energy you will feel. In fact, a 2008 study publishedin the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomaticsreported that inactive people who normally complainedof fatigue could increase energy by 20 percent anddecrease fatigue by as much as 65 percent by simplyparticipating in regular,low-intensityexercise. Other studieshave shown thatyou can increasemore energy andreduce more fatiguethrough exercisethan by using stimulantmedications,and that this appliedacross the board toevery group that wasstudied, includinghealthy adults, cancerpatients, andpeople with diabetesand heart disease.The explanation for this goes deep into the cellularlevel of the body, where we find the mitochondria, thosetiny energy-producing organs found in every cell of thebody. The more you move around, the more mitochondriayour body makes to meet your energy needs. Themore mitochondria you have, the greater the boost toyour metabolism, and the greater your ability to producemore energy.As we learned in the detox chapter, getting rid oftoxins in the body will give you more energy. So here’sanother reason to exercise: exercise accelerates thedetoxification process. Exercise pushes the blood to circulatemore efficiently throughout the body, allowingnutrients to more easily reach all the organs and mus-26 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

Of course, exercise does more than give you moreenergy. Exercise also reduces the risk for heart diseaseand stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, backpain, osteoporosis, breast cancer, and colon cancer. Itimproves your cholesterol and boosts your immunesystem. When you exercise, your muscles use glucosefor energy, reducing your blood glucose levels. It helpsyou sleep better. It causes the body to release endorphinsthat can help relieve stress and depression, and pump upthe volume on feelings of peace and happiness. Exercisealso releases adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, all ofwhich work together as natural mood and energy boosters.cles. At the same time, exercise helps lymph fluids circulatethe body, which removes toxins and other harmfulmaterials. When you exercise, you naturally take inmore oxygen; to make room for the added oxygen yourcells kick out toxins that are taking up space. When youexercise properly, you build up a sweat and toxins arereleased through the pores of the skin.NEW SPEECH-J-JAMMINGAMMING GUN HINTS AT DYSTOPIAN BIG BROTHERTHER FUTUREJapanese researchers have createda hand-held gun that can jam establish their presence rather than a directional microphone, and then,people when it is their turn in order to The gun works by listening in withthe words of speakers who are achieve more fruitful discussions. after a short delay of around 0.2 seconds,more than 30 meters (100ft) away. Thegun has two purposes, according to theresearchers: At its most basic, this guncould be used in libraries and otherquiet spaces to stop people from speaking—butits second applicationis a lot more chilling.The researchers wereFurthermore, some people tend to jeerat speakers to invalidate their speech.”In other words, this speech-jamminggun was built to enforce “proper” conversations.playing it back with a directionalspeaker. This triggers an effect thatpsychologists call Delayed AuditoryFeedback (DAF), which has long beenknown to interrupt your speech (youmight’ve experienced thesame effect if you’ve everheard your own voice echoinglooking for a way to stopthrough Skype or“louder, stronger” voicesfrom saying more thantheir fair share in conversation.The paper reads: “Wehave to establish and obeyrules for proper turn-takingwhen speaking. However,another voice comms program).According to theresearchers, DAF doesn’tcause physical discomfort,but the fact that you’reunable to talk is obviouslyquite stressful.some people tend to—PhilosophersStone,.co.uklengthen their turns ordeliberately interrupt otherwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 27

Olive LeafSafely Modulates Blood PressureBy Michael DowneyHigh blood pressure is one of the mostaccurate predictors of cardiovasculardisease, the number one killer ofAmericans.Tragically, mainstream medicine’s definition ofwhat constitutes high blood pressure remains dangerouslyhigh.According to current medical standards, so-called“stage I hypertension” begins at readings of 140/90mmHg or higher.Yet as LifeExtension ® haslong warned, areview of the scientificliteraturesuggests that forevery 20/10mmHg increaseabove 115/75mmHg, your riskof cardiovasculardisease doubles.Findings froma study published in late 2011 underscore the cost of thismedical malfeasance in human lives. This retrospective,population-based analysis of 26 million people revealeda 200-400% higher mortality rate in hypertensive individualsbetween the ages of 20-49, compared to the generalpopulation without hypertension.If the definition of “high blood pressure” wererevised downward to reflect the significant threat ofeven moderate hypertension, millions of these livescould have been saved.What this means is that maturing individuals need totake all necessary steps to bring blood pressure undercontrol, regardless of their doctors’ evaluations.The exciting news is that these alarming findingscoincide with a newly identified technology that yields ahighly refined form of antihypertensive nutrient. In thisarticle, you will learn about oleuropein, a bioactive compoundfound in standardized olive leaf extract.When tested on hypertensive patients in a doubleblind,controlled clinical trial, this highly stable form ofoleuropein reduced systolic blood pressure by an average11.5 points (mmHg), diastolic blood pressure by 4.8points and provided other vascular health benefits.28 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

Targeting Hypertension’s Primary CauseThe olive fruit (Olea europaea) is a core constituent ofthe Mediterranean diet. Its broad-spectrum health benefitshave been well documented in the clinical literature.Olive fruit’s array of beneficial compounds includeshydroxytyrosol,o l e a c e i n ,ursolic,and oleanicacids.However, it isoleuropein, foundin high concentrationsin the leaf ofthe olive tree, thatis largely responsiblefor the beneficialeffect on highblood pressure.Why?A multitude ofcausative factors underlies uncontrolled blood pressure.Many cases of hypertension involve increased arterialstiffness. This stiffness, or lack of elasticity, usuallybegins in the arterioles—tiny peripheral arteries mostdistant from the heart—and eventually spreads to largerarteries.Oleuropein has been shown to specifically targetarterial resistance and stiffness, improving endothelialfunction and bringing blood pressure under control. Itaccomplishes this in part by modulating calcium channelflow—with an excellent tolerability profile.While tolerability has been excellent with oleuropein,the list of side effects associated with certainblood pressure medications is long. This list includesswollen ankles and feet (edema), gastrointestinal bleeding,kidney impairment, excess potassium in the blood,negative interactions with other drugs, and, paradoxically,increased risk of heart attack.Modern medical protocols prescribe multiple drugssimultaneously to control blood pressure. While drugcombinations may reduce blood pressure, often withlimited or uneven control, a growing body of scientificevidence suggests that the greater the number of drugs,the greater the risk of drug-to-drug interaction andadverse events.Despite a good safety profile, there is an issue withmany commercial extracts of oleuropein: they degradeunless processed using precise handling techniques.In a significant advance, a gentle-processing techniquehas been developed that inhibits oleuropein breakdown,resulting in an olive leaf extract that delivers a standardized,high concentration of bioavailable oleuropein.Antihypertensive Effects in Animal ModelsIn a lab study, macrophage cells drawn from animalswere treated with oleuropein from olive leaf extract. Thecells generated a greater supply of nitric oxide, a naturalblood vessel dilator, suggesting that olive leaf extractmay lower blood pressure in living beings.Having identified this property, scientists appliedthe extract to rabbit hearts. The higher the concentration,the more the extract decreased the systolic left ventricularpressure and heart rate, and increased coronary flow.The L-type calcium channel flow was also suppressed,an effect that can help to lessen artery wall muscle contraction.The next step was to determine if this plant extractwould exhibit the same antihypertensive effects inanimals.First, an experimental agent that induces hypertensionby inhibiting nitric oxide was given to rats for eightweeks. At the same time, scientists administered theolive leaf formulation. In a dose-dependent fashion, theextract provided a prophylactic effect, offsetting theeffects of the hypertensive agent—and preventing highblood pressure.www.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 29

Next, the same team gave only the hypertensiveagent to rats over a six-week period, causing high bloodpressure. Then, for a second six-week period, theyadministered both the hypertensive agent and olive leafextract to the rats. The extract completely eliminated theinduced hypertension. The scientists suggested theextract reversed the remodeling of vascular and cardiactissue that is known to occur with high blood pressure.The real challenge, however, was whether this sameformulation would be effective in humans who havehigh blood pressure.Efficacy in HumansTo evaluate its efficacy in humans in a controlled openlabeltrial, scientists gave the olive leaf formulation to 20pairs of identical twins, aged 18-60, all of whom hadborderline hypertension. One set of twins took 500 mg aday over eight weeks, while the matched twins took1,000 mg, with a control group making lifestyle changesonly.Mean blood pressure levels increased for the controlgroup, and decreased modestly for the 500 mg group.However, mean blood pressure for the 1,000 mg oliveleaf group decreased from 137 mmHg to 126 mmHg(systolic) and from 80 mmHg to 76 mmHg (diastolic)—and in just eight weeks.These findings were supported by another, largerstudy of 232 patients aged 25-60, with stage 1 hypertension.In a randomized, double-blind, active-controlledtrial, scientists compared the efficacy of olive leafagainst captopril (Capoten ® ), an antihypertensive drug.Some participants received twice-daily dosages of 500mg of the olive leaf formulation, while others weregiven the standard twice-daily dosages of 12.5 to 25 mg(adjusted as required) of captopril.After a treatment period of eight weeks, blood pressurewas reduced for both groups. The systolic readingsdecreased by a mean of 11.5 and 13.7 mmHg for theolive leaf and captopril groups, respectively. Also, thediastolic readings decreased by a mean of 4.8 and 6.4mmHg for the olive leaf and captopril groups, respectively.The difference in outcomes between the twogroups was not considered significant, and the team concludedthat the olive leaf extract “was similarly effective”as the drug option.Also, the scientists noticed an average 7.8% reductionin triglyceride levels among the olive leaf extractgroup. The extract group also achieved mean decreasesof 2.8% in total cholesterol, and 2.9% in low-densitylipoprotein (LDL). There were no such reductions in thedrug group.The study team speculated that the constituents ofolive leaf extract “might be associated with inhibitingangiotensin-converting enzyme,” an effect that helpsrelax artery walls.Based on the above studies, the recommendeddosage for olive leaf extract is 500 mg twice a day,working in conjunction with your physician.30 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

SummaryMainstream medicine’s definition of what constituteshigh blood pressure remains grossly inaccurate, promptingphysicians to withhold necessary treatment and costingmillions of lives. Certain drugs used to treat hypertensionare accompanied by a host of adverse sideeffects, from edema to electrolyte imbalance.Oleuropein, a compound found in high concentrationin the olive leaf, has been shown to favorably modulatehigh blood pressure’s core mechanism: arterialresistance or stiffness. In a double-blind, controlledstudy in humans, this formulation reduced systolicblood pressure by an average 11.5 points mmHg, anddiastolic blood pressure by 4.8 points—in just eightweeks.The target blood pressure, at rest, over a full 24-hourday to reduce cardiovascular disease risk is 115/75mmHg for most healthy individuals. Lifestyle changesincluding nutrition, exercise, and weight loss can help.In aging individuals, however, optimal blood pressurecontrol may require a prescription anti-hypertensivedrug like 10 to 20 mg a day of Benicar ® . A report lastyear linked the use of drugs in the class of Benicar ®(angiotension II receptor blockers) with a slight increasein cancer incidence, so the lowest effective dose of thisclass of drug would appear preferable.Olive leaf extract can help support healthy bloodpressure. If you require anti-hypertension medicationsto control your blood pressure, you should carefullymonitor your blood pressure at home with an accuratehome blood pressure monitor. Lifestyle changes toinclude nutrition may allow you to reduce your relianceon prescription medication and achieve your targetblood pressure. However, never make abrupt changes toyour anti-hypertensive medication regimen without firstdiscussing your medical history with a qualified healthcare practitioner.If you have any questions on the scientific content ofthis article, please call a Life Extension ® Health Advisorat 1-866-864-3027.CautionIf you have hypertension (high blood pressure) and/orare currently taking medication to lower your bloodpressure, seek medical advice before taking olive leafextract. Consult with a health care professional prior totaking or using any product that may affect blood pressure.If advised by a health care professional to takeolive leaf extract concurrently with anti-hypertensivemedication, adjust the dose only under the continuedcare of a health care practitioner.Reprinted with permission from Life Extension Magazine,http://www.lef.orgwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 31

Sophia’s Special Geo-SpotEphesusBy Karen SpeerstraOnce, Ephesus perched on the rim of theblue Mediterranean. At one time,300,000 people lived in “Her HolyPort.” Now the Cayster River has siltedup and you have to travel inland aboutthree miles from Kusadasi to visit this amazing archeologicalfi nd. Unlike most old sites, nothing has everbeen built on top of the original buildings in this old cityin Turkey.Amazons were likely the first people who lived here.Then the Greeks came, fueled by a story about a boar.Wherever the boar stopped, they were supposed to builda city. They found one caught in a thorny bush and beganbuilding what became this magnificent urban landscape.You see marble everywhere. If you walk down themain street to- ward the two-story columned CelsusLibrary (named after a Roman named Celsus, who isburied there) you’ll see the inscription: “In the primalbeginning was the Word” and four female statues staredown at you. Their names are Wisdom (Sophia),Knowledge, Intelligenceand Virtue. Behind them, wallniches once contained up to 12,000 scrolls. ThePergamon library, only eighty miles away, had 200,000“books.” Priestesses of Isis carried scrolls back and forthfrom the Mother Library in Alexandria to both libraries.The theater sat 24,000. Our sons climbed the seats wayup to the top to hear us whispering from the stage. Weproved it still has perfect acoustics.Leto bore her twins, Artemis and Apollo, on theisland of Delos, but that island became known only asApollo’s birthplace. Artemis became the heart ofEphesus. Pythagoras is said to have had a hand in buildingher first temple in the early 500s B.C.E. It had threeplatforms, the longest side equaling the dimensions ofCheop’s pyramid. It was intended to be a miniature universe,dedicated to the moon. Seven times it wasdestroyed by fires, wars, floods, earthquakes, and sixtimes it was rebuilt again. A mentally ill man namedHerostratus burned it on the very day Alexander wasborn. People say that happened because Artemis wasaway attend- ing to his birth. Alexander rebuilt it. Thenthe Romans came, followed by the Christians. Paulpreached against her and her temple; the disciple, John,called down God’s wrath and split her altar in two—orwas that particular destruction a well-timed earthquake?Mary likely lived out her last days in a house a few mileseast of the city in pine-covered hills.Artemis’ temple was opened only twice a year duringfestival season; pilgrims slept in tents. But the porchwas always open as a sanctuary and haven for women32 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

scarcity is a matter of what we carry in our hearts, notin our bank balances. And what we spend is linkedmore firmly to our energy than our credit cards. Hergift-economy is ours for the unwrapping.From Sophia’s Notebookand children. When anyone managed to cross her threshold,they were safe. At one time, Ephesians knottedropes to her temple columns and ringed the whole cityof Ephesus.The entire city became a safe haven. The temple wasthe heart of the city which was multi-lingual, multi-culturaland alive with art, metal crafts, dance, theater, athletics,music and storytelling. Many women ran theirown businesses and donated baths, fountains, ceramics,and sculptures to the city; they sponsored games andtheater events and maintained libraries. Imagine theagora fi lled with sights, sounds, smells from perfumesellers, purple dye, wool and fabric vendors, bakers,cobblers; Artemisian priestesses, who loved music, art,and luxury. And children who gave gifts called artemas:gifts of wholeness. People sang: “Hail to you who conductsthe opposites to unity; hail to you who has wovenmaidenhood into motherhood.... Hail, Oh hope of eternalblessings.... Hail to you who are the healing of mybody.”Statues of Artemis show her wearing a zodiac necklace.The seven stars of the Pleiades were her companions.Images of fecund fi gs and all sorts of animals andbees adorned her body. A sacred meteor stone (perhapsthe very one later taken to Rome that now lies under theVatican) was kept in her temple. Her priestesses werecalled worker bees: Mellisae. Her priests, Essenes, a collegeof drones, were asexual. Sacrificial animals werefed to the poor in a ritual called “dining with god.”Her temple became the bank of Asia when othercountries’ economics were in ruin. Her priest bankers—as many as 400 at one time—oversaw the funds, mademortgages, loaned on interest and supervised repaymentschedules. Her coins have been found in over fiftyAnatolian cities. Stamped on them are the words:“Artemis does not lie.” Wrongs were avenged by dividingthe gold—half to the wronged person and half toArtemis Ephesia. Justice was her calling card.Sophia protects and nurtures us whether we realizeit or not. Choosing to live in abundance rather than inDon’t worry. There are hot stoves around, but you neednot touch them. There are deep gorges you might fallinto, but I will guide your feet. Faith holds you at nightwhen you can’t sleep and says: “You’re cushioned.You’re pillowed and quilted and held. Sleep and then beawake. Totally awake so you can see faith in action allaround you and within your awakened self.”That’s what faith does. It’s your Christed-gift. YourSophiaed-gift. Faith is your companion when you thinkyou are alone. Faith in your own abilities, your ownstrength, and then faith beyond that when you feel yourown falls short. There is no limit to faith. It is one of yourmetaphors for abundance. Never-ending. Self-sustaining.Overflowing. It keeps. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.My well goes deep and holds water for a very longtime. There may be two sides to a sword, but there isonly one blade. And one purpose for it: to sustain life,wholeness, completeness. Life is a series of stages andopportunities. Having faith is feeling full; knowing thetable is set and ready and holding delectable treats allthe time. You only think the covered dishes may beempty. They’re not. Food exists in many forms.Thanksgiving every day. Dishes beyond your slendergourmet attempts. Dishes no human cook could dreamup. But chefs await in other guises to assist you, to continueto feed you. Bon Appetit. Enjoy!Excerpted with permission from Sophia: The Feminine Faceof God, © 2011 by Karen Speerstra, Divine Arts Media,http://www.divineartsmedia.comwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 33

The following excerpt is taken from the book The Mindful Manifesto by Dr. Jonty Heaversedge and EdHalliwell. It is published by Hay House (Available Apr. 1, 2012) and available at all bookstores or onlineat: http://www.hayhouse.com.A Manifold PracticeDr. Jonty Heaversedge and Ed HalliwellThe word meditation can refer to a widerange of practices. Some involve repetitionor contemplation of a word or phrase,some make use of visualization, whileothers are based more on physical movement,such as in martial arts or yoga. The Latin wordmeditatio originally meant any kind of exercise, physicalor mental. While not all meditation practices aremindfulness meditations, most of them involve payingattention to an object of some kind, and as such are likelyto foster mindfulness.The mindfulness practices we are exploring in thisbook—including the mindfulness of breathing exerciseat the start of this chapter—are often associated with anIndian prince called Siddhartha Gautama, who lived2,500 years ago. Although born into great privilege, anddespite his father showering him with luxury, Siddharthaeventually realized that the riches of the world couldn’tsave him, or anyone else, from the inevitable pains ofhuman life—from the suffering associated with growingold, sickness, and death, and with other kinds of loss andchange. Realizing that there must be another way, hedecided to leave the material comforts of his royalpalace and seek liberation from the discontent thataccompanies so much of our existence.The story goes that, after studying with a number ofteachers, and a further period of training in isolation,Siddhartha declared that he had found a way out ofanguish. For the next 45 years, he taught his methods tothose who also sought release from their suffering.Siddhartha became known as the Buddha, which meansthe Awakened One, and he spent the rest of his lifeshowing others how to access this same sense of freedomand peace.With its institutional forms, spiritual leaders andscriptures, Buddhism is often considered to be one of theworld’s great religions. But if he were alive today, theBuddha might well be considered a psychologist ratherthan a religious leader, and his instructions would probablybe considered a form of psychotherapy. While thereare elements of Buddhism that may seem religious, itsessential teachings are focused on handling life in thehere and now—a process of investigation leading toinsight about how things are, rather than a system ofbelief about what may be. It’s a pragmatic approach tolife that asks “What is the nature of things?” and “How34 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

can we live our lives well?”The Buddha discouraged his students from metaphysicalspeculation about the hereafter. He also advisedthem not to trust what he said on faith alone, or on thebasis of religious authority or scripture. The only truetest of his teaching, he said, was whether it resonatedwith their own experience. When they put it into practice,was it helpful for them?The Four Noble TruthsAt the core of these teachings are a series of observationscalled The Four Noble Truths. These four truthsgive a concise diagnosis of the trials of human life, anda prescription for how they can fruitfully be workedwith.The first truth seems obvious—that as human beingswe experience suffering. We are born, we get ill, we dieand, in between, we undergo all kinds of physical andmental pain. Our bodies go wrong, wear out, and eventuallyfall apart, and our minds are often in turmoil—weget angry, upset, frightened, and depressed. No matterhow rich we are, how well-toned our bodies, or howmentally balanced, we still experience a basic level ofstress, disappointment, and dissatisfaction that seems tocome with the territory of being human.The Buddha’s second noble truth is that there is aroot cause for this suffering. We’re troubled not so muchbecause we experience the inconveniences of life, butbecause we constantly want not to experience them—wecrave, cling to, and chase after pleasure and we try toresist and escape discomfort. We don’t want to faceaging, sickness, and death, even though these and life’sother unpalatable difficulties are part and parcel of beinghuman. We tryto hold on topleasurableexperiences,and avoid,blank out, ordistract ourselvesfrompainful ones.We cling tothe way wewish thingswere, andresist howthey actuallyare.In onememorableanalogy, the Buddha said that our experience of sufferingwas a bit like being struck by two arrows. Whenwe’re hit with the first arrow, rather than thinking thatthis is unpleasant enough, we then shoot ourselves withanother one. The first arrow is the unavoidable pain oflife, and the second is all the mental and emotionalanguish we heap on top of it.So it isn’t pain itself that causes our suffering, somuch as our attempts to avoid unpleasant experiencesand cling to comfort. What we’re trying to achieve isimpossible, and what we’re trying to escape from isinevitable. All our efforts to change things which can’tbe changed are futile, doomed to failure. In making allthese efforts, we’re out of step with the basic facts oflife, jarring with reality—and it hurts.We might think we know the facts of life (“Ofcourse I’m going to die, that’s obvious.”), but knowingthem on an intellectual level and accepting it in ourhearts are two different things—we resist these truthswith our emotions and our behavior. Witness the explosionof cosmetic surgery in our culture—more than 12million such procedures are carried out in the U.S. eachyear. Yet none of these expensive treatments will help uslive longer, and they can only ever delay or mask theprocess of aging. We may die wrinkle-free, with ourfaces fixed in a state of youthful paralysis, but will wereally be any happier? The more we try to deny reality,www.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 35

As we develop this view, we can also cultivate theright speech, right action, right livelihood, and rightexertion that acknowledges, incorporates, and worksskillfully with these realizations. We can develop an attitudeof compassion to others: we see that if we are interconnected,then everyone else’s welfare is inextricablybound up with our own. We see that by helping others,we can help ourselves.Right Mindfulnessthe more suffering we experience. But we just keep onstruggling anyway—raging at life’s insults, trying to runaway from them, or taking elaborate steps to pretendthey aren’t happening. We are like animals trapped in acage.Fortunately, there’s good news—the third nobletruth states that there is a release from our predicament,and it comes in the form of the fourth truth, known as theeightfold path. This path is a program of training,designed to help us come into step with reality and movewith the flow of life, rather than against it. This is to befound in a different way of seeing, and a different wayof being. To use the Buddha’s analogy, we may have nochoice about getting hit with the first arrow, but we canlearn how to respond wisely to the distress it causes—we can learn not to fire the second arrow.Transformation of our experience is possible, by discoveringhow to relate to it differently.The path, as it was laid out 2,500 years ago, consistsof eight elements; right understanding, right thought,right speech, right action, right livelihood, right exertion,right concentration, and right mindfulness. Withright understanding and right thought, we come toaccept the truth that things are impermanent, alwayschanging; rather than railing against seemingly awkwardrealities, we can instead learn to appreciate, ride with,and even celebrate the constant fluctuations in life. Wemight be able to appreciate the changing of the seasons—enjoyingthe delights of autumn and winter,rather than always wishing it were spring or summer. Wecan start to see that we’re not fixed entities in isolationbut part of a flowing dynamic of interconnection with allthings—with this view in mind, change becomes less ofa threat and more of an opportunity.But there’s still something of a problem. If our mindsremain distracted and speedy, we’re likely to find thatwe often think, speak, and act hastily, perhaps beforewe’ve even noticed what we’re really doing. If we aren’table to cultivate right concentration and mindfulness,3how can we practice any of the other parts of the path?Without some sense of calm in our minds, we’ll continuallybe drawn into impulsive, unconscious activity—spinning around helplessly in old patterns of thinking,feeling, and behavior, even as we are trying to let go ofthem.In traditional Buddhist descriptions, the distractedmind is like a wild animal. Sometimes the description isof a monkey, chattering away and throwing itself crazilyall over the place, and at others times it’s a rampagingelephant, plowing heedlessly through the jungle, leavingdevastation in its wake. If our mind is like this—franticand untamed, or heavy and heedless, it’s unlikely to listento our command. However, it’s said that with practice,our minds will settle, and we can develop stability,clarity, and strength—mental qualities that can help usrelate with life more effectively.36 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

97% ofof Terminal Cancer Patients PreviouslyHad ThisThis Dental ProcedureBy Dr. Joseph MercolaDo you have a chronic degenerative disease?If so, have you been told, “It’s allin your head?” Well, that might not bethat far from the truth… the root causeof your illness may be in your mouth.There is a common dental procedure that nearlyevery dentist will tell you is completely safe, despite thefact that scientists have been warning of its dangers formore than 100 years.Every day in the United States alone, 41,000 ofthese dental procedures are performed on patients whobelieve they are safely and permanently fixing theirproblem.What is this dental procedure?The root canal.More than 25 million root canals are performedevery year in this country.Root-canaled teeth are essentially “dead” teeth thatcan become silent incubators for highly toxic anaerobicbacteria that can, under certain conditions, make theirway into your bloodstream to cause a number of seriousmedical conditions—many not appearing until decadeslater.Most of these toxic teeth feel and look fine for manyyears, which make their role in systemic disease evenharder to trace back.Sadly, the vast majority of dentists are oblivious tothe serious potential health risks they are exposing theirpatients to, risks that persist for the rest of their patients’lives.The American Dental Association claims rootcanals have been proven safe, but they have NO publisheddata or actual research to substantiate this claim.Fortunately, I had some early mentors like Dr. TomStone and Dr. Douglas Cook, who educated me on thisissue nearly 20 years ago. Were it not for a brilliant pioneeringdentist who, more than a century ago, made theconnection between root-canaled teeth and disease, thisunderlying cause of disease may have remained hiddento this day. The dentist’s name was Weston Price—regarded by many as the greatest dentist of all time.www.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 37

Weston A. Price:World’s Greatest DentistMost dentistswould be doingan enormousservice to publichealth ifthey familiarizedthemselveswith the workof Dr. WestonP r i c e i .Unfortunately,his work continuesto be discountedandsuppressed bymedical anddental professionalsalike.Dr. Price was a dentist and researcher who traveledthe world to study the teeth, bones, and diets of nativepopulations living without the “benefit” of modern food.Around the year 1900, Price had been treating persistentroot canal infections and became suspicious that rootcanaledteeth always remained infected, in spite of treatments.Then one day, he recommended to a woman,wheelchair bound for six years, to have her root canaltooth extracted, even though it appeared to be fine.She agreed, so he extracted her tooth and thenimplanted it under the skin of a rabbit. The rabbit amazinglydeveloped the same crippling arthritis as thewoman and died from the infection 10 days later. But thewoman, now free of the toxic tooth, immediately recoveredfrom her arthritis and could now walk without eventhe assistance of a cane.Price discovered that it’smechanically impossible to sterilizea root-canaled (e.g. root-filled)tooth.He then went on to show thatmany chronic degenerative diseasesoriginate from root-filled teeth—themost frequent being heart and circulatorydiseases. He actually found16 different causative bacterialagents for these conditions. Butthere were also strong correlationsbetween root-filled teeth and diseasesof the joints, brain and nervoussystem. Dr. Price went on towrite two groundbreaking books in 1922 detailing hisresearch into the link between dental pathology andchronic illness. Unfortunately, his work was deliberatelyburied for 70 years, until finally one endodontist namedGeorge Meinig recognized the importance of Price’swork and sought to expose the truth.Dr. Meinig Advances the Work of Dr. PriceDr. Meinig, a native of Chicago, was a captain in theU.S. Army during World War II before moving toHollywood to become a dentist for the stars. He eventuallybecame one of the founding members of theAmerican Association of Endodontists (root canal specialists).In the 1990s, he spent 18 months immersed in Dr.Price’s research. In June of 1993, Dr. Meinig publishedthe book Root Canal Cover-Up, which continues to bethe most comprehensive reference on this topic today.You can order your copy directly from the Price-Pottenger Foundationii.What Dentists Don’t Know About theAnatomy of Your TeethYour teeth are made of the hardest substances in yourbody.In the middle of each tooth is the pulp chamber, asoft living inner structure that houses blood vessels andnerves. Surrounding the pulp chamber is the dentin,which is made of living cells that secrete a hard mineralsubstance. The outermost and hardest layer of your toothis the white enamel, which encases the dentin.The roots of each tooth descend into your jawboneand are held in place by the periodontal ligament. Indental school, dentists are taught that each tooth has oneto four major canals. However, there are accessory38 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

canals that are never mentioned. Literally miles of them!Just as your body has large blood vessels that branchdown into very small capillaries, each of your teeth hasa maze of very tiny tubules that, if stretched out, wouldextend for three miles. Weston Price identified as manyas 75 separate accessory canals in a single central incisor(front tooth). For a more detailed explanation, referto an article by Hal Huggins, DDS, MS, on the WestonA. Price Foundation website.iii(These images are borrowedfrom the Huggins article.)Microscopic organisms regularlymove in and around thesetubules, like gophers in undergroundtunnels.When a dentist performs aroot canal, he or she hollows outthe tooth, then fills the hollowchamber with a substance (calledguttapercha), which cuts off thetooth from its blood supply, sofluid can no longer circulatethrough the tooth. But the maze oftiny tubules remains. And bacteria,cut off from their food supply,hide out in these tunnels wherethey are remarkably safe from antibiotics and your ownbody’s immune defenses.The Root Cause of Much DiseaseUnder the stresses of oxygen and nutrient deprivation,these formerly friendly organisms morph into stronger,more virulent anaerobes that produce a variety of potenttoxins. What were once ordinary, friendly oral bacteriamutate into highly toxic pathogens lurking in the tubulesof the dead tooth, just awaiting an opportunity to spread.No amount of sterilization has been found effectivein reaching these tubules—and just about every singleroot-canaled tooth has been found colonized by thesebacteria, especially around the apex and in the periodontalligament. Oftentimes, the infection extendsdown into the jawbone where it creates cavitations—areas of necrotic tissue in the jawbone itself.Cavitations are areas of unhealed bone, oftenaccompanied by pockets of infected tissue and gangrene.Sometimes they form after a tooth extraction(such as a wisdom tooth extraction), but they can alsofollow a root canal. According to Weston PriceFoundation, in the records of 5,000 surgical cavitationcleanings, only two were found healed.And all of this occurs with few, if any, accompanyingsymptoms. So you may have an abscessed deadtooth and not know it. This focal infection in the immediatearea of the root-canaled tooth is bad enough, butthe damage doesn’t stop there.Root Canals Can Lead to Heart, Kidney,Bone, and Brain DiseaseAs long as your immune system remains strong, anybacteria that stray away from the infected tooth are capturedand destroyed. But onceyour immune system is weakenedby something like an accident orillness or other trauma, yourimmune system may be unable tokeep the infection in check.These bacteria can migrate outinto surrounding tissues by hitchinga ride into your blood stream,where they are transported to newlocations to set up camp. The newlocation can be any organ or glandor tissue.Dr. Price was able to transferdiseases harbored by humans torabbits, by implanting fragmentsof root-canaled teeth, as mentioned above. He found thatroot canal fragments from a person who had suffered aheart attack, when implanted into a rabbit, would causea heart attack in the rabbit within a few weeks.He discovered he could transfer heart disease to therabbit 100 percent of the time! Other diseases were morethan 80 percent transferable by this method. Nearlyevery chronic degenerative disease has been linked withroot canals, including:• Heart disease• Kidney disease• Arthritis, joint, and rheumatic diseases• Neurological diseases (including ALS and MS)• Autoimmune diseases (Lupus and more)There may also be a cancer connection. Dr. RobertJones, a researcher of therelationship between rootcanals and breast cancer, found an extremely high correlationbetween root canals and breast cancer.iv Heclaims to have found the following correlations in a fiveyearstudy of 300 breast cancer cases:• 93 percent of women with breast cancer had rootcanals• 7 percent had other oral pathology• Tumors, in the majority of cases, occurred on thewww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 39

same side of the body as the root canal(s) or other oralpathologyDr. Jones claims that toxins from the bacteria in aninfected tooth or jawbone are able to inhibit the proteinsthat suppress tumor development. A German physicianreported similar findings. Dr. Josef Issels reported that,in his 40 years of treating “terminal” cancer patients, 97percent of his cancer patients had root canals. If thesephysicians are correct, the cure for cancer may be assimple as having a tooth pulled, then rebuilding yourimmune system.Good Bugs Gone BadHow are these mutant oral bacteriaconnected with heart diseaseor arthritis? The ADA and theAAE claim it’s a “myth” that thebacteria found in and aroundroot-canaled teeth can cause diseasev.But they base that on themisguided assumption that thebacteria in these diseased teethare the SAME as normal bacteriain your mouth—and that’s clearlynot the case.Today, bacteria can be identifiedusing DNA analysis,whether they’re dead or alive,from their telltale DNA signatures.In a continuation of Dr. Price’s work, the ToxicElement Research Foundation (TERF) used DNA analysisto examine root-canaled teeth, and they found bacterialcontamination in 100 percent of the samples tested.They identified 42 different species of anaerobic bacteriain 43 root canal samples. In cavitations, 67 differentbacteria were identified among the 85 samples tested,with individual samples housing between 19 to 53 typesof bacteria each. The bacteria they found included thefollowing types:• Capnocytophagaochraceavi• Fusobacteriumnucleatumvii• Gemellamorbillorum viii• Leptotrichiabuccalis• Porphyromonasgingivalis ixAre these just benign, ordinary mouth bugs? Absolutelynot. Four can affect your heart, three can affect yournerves, two can affect your kidneys, two can affect yourbrain, and one can infect your sinus cavities… so theyare anything BUT friendly! (If you want see just howunfriendly they can be, I invite you to investigate thefootnotes.)Approximately 400 percent more bacteria werefound in the blood surrounding the root canal tooth thanwere found in the tooth itself, suggesting the tooth is theincubatorand the periodontal ligament is the food supply.The bone surrounding root-canaled teeth was foundeven HIGHER in bacterial count… not surprising, sincebone is virtual buffet of bacterial nutrients.Since When is Leaving A Dead Body PartIN Your Body a Good Idea?There is no other medical procedurethat involves allowing adead body part to remain in yourbody. When your appendix dies,it’s removed. If you get frostbiteor gangrene on a finger or toe, itis amputated. If a baby dies inutero, the body typically initiatesa miscarriage.Your immune system doesn’tcare for dead substances, andjust the presence of dead tissuecan cause your system to launchan attack, which is another reasonto avoid root canals—theyleave behind a dead tooth.Infection, plus the autoimmune rejection reaction,causes more bacteria to collect around the dead tissue. Inthe case of a root canal, bacteria are given the opportunityto flush into your blood stream every time you bitedown.Why Dentists Cling to the BeliefRoot Canals are SafeThe ADA rejects Dr. Price’s evidence, claiming rootcanals are safe, yet they offer no published data or actualresearch to substantiate their claim. American HeartAssociation recommends a dose of antibiotics beforemany routine dental procedures to prevent infectiveendocarditis (IE) if you have certain heart conditionsthat predispose you to this type of infection.So, on the one hand, the ADA acknowledges oralbacteria can make their way from your mouth to yourheart and cause a life-threatening infection.But at the same time, the industry vehementlydenies any possibility that these same bacteria—toxic40 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

to the metals used. Zirconium is a newer implantmaterial that shows promise for fewer complications.strains KNOWN to be pathogenic to humans—can hideout in your dead root-canaled tooth to be released intoyour blood stream every time you chew, where they candamage your health in a multitude of ways.Is this really that large of a leap? Could there beanother reason so many dentists, as well as the ADA andthe AAE, refuse to admit root canals are dangerous?Well, yes, as a matter of fact, there is. Root canals are themost profitable procedure in dentistry.What You Need to Know toAVOID a Root CanalI strongly recommend never getting a root canal.Risking your health to preserve a tooth simply doesn’tmake sense. Unfortunately, there are many peoplewho’ve already have one. If you have, you should seriouslyconsider having the tooth removed, even if it looksand feels fine. Remember, as soon as your immune systemis compromised, your risk of developing a seriousmedical problem increases—and assaults on yourimmune system are far too frequent in today’s world.But just pulling the tooth and inserting some sort of artificialreplacement isn’t enough.Dentists are taught to remove the tooth but leaveyour periodontal ligament. But as you now know, thisligament can serve as a breeding ground for deadly bacteria.Most experts who’ve studied this recommendremoving the ligament, along with one millimeter of thebony socket, in order to drastically reduce your risk ofdeveloping an infection from the bacterially infected tissuesleft behind.I strongly recommend consulting a biological dentistbecause they are uniquely trained to do these extractionsproperly and safely, as well as being adept atremoving mercury fillings, if necessary. Their approachto dental care is far more holistic and considers theimpact on your entire body—not JUST your mouth.If you need to find a biological dentist in your area,I recommend visiting toxicteeth.orgxi, a resource sponsoredby Consumers for Dental Choice. This organization,championed by Charlie Brown, is a highly reputableorganization that has fought to protect and educateconsumers so that they can make better-informeddecisions about their dental care. The organization alsoheads up the Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry.If you have a tooth removed, there are a few optionsavailable to you.1) Partial denture: This is a removable denture, oftenjust called a “partial.” It’s the simplest and leastexpensive option.2) Bridge: This is a more permanent fixture resembling a real tooth but is a bit more involved andexpensive to build.3) Implant: This is a permanent artificial tooth, typically titanium, implanted in your gums and jaw.There are some problems with these due to reactionsDr. Mercola is the founder of theworld’s most visited naturalhealth web site,www.Mercola.com. You canlearn the hazardous side effectsof OTC Remedies by getting aFREE copy of his latest specialreport The Dangers of Over theCounter Remedies by going to hisReport Page.www.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 41

Embracing the Real ChildThe Real JakeBy Simon Paul HarrisonFor my ally is the Force … Life creates it, makes it grow.Its energy surrounds us and binds us … you must feel the Force around you;here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.—Yoda, from Star WarsAnumber of years ago, I had the pleasureof spending a few weeks with a familythat attended one of our nature-basedprograms. The mother, Karen, broughther two sons—Ryan, six, and Jake,twelve. It is fair to say that Jake was not the calmest ofchildren, and, while not falling behind academically, hewas struggling in a number of areas. Karen had broughthim to see if some time in nature would help him at all.We had two adventure-packed weeks. We swam inthe lake, told stories and ate around the camp fire,played games, and discovered the secrets of nature. Bythe time he left, Jake was noticeably calmer and morefocused, but nothing could have prepared me for howmuch of a change his time reconnecting to naturebrought about when he returned home. I saw Karenagain around nine months later, and she was burstingwith excitement to tell me what Jake had been up to.Karen explained to me how, one evening early into thefall term following the summer nature program, she hadpressed him to remember his ten spellings for the nextday’s test. Jake answered almost flippantly that he knewthem all. Karen found this hard to believe, simplybecause he had never got more than three or four out often before, so she tested him on his spellings. She wasamazed to find that, not only did he indeed know all tenof his words, but he had even learned some extra ones.Astounded, she asked Jake how he had done it. Jakeexplained that after he had heard one of the stories wetold at camp about everything in nature being alive andconnected, he knew it could help him. So, at twelveyears old, he had chosen to experience himself as being42 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

connected to the woods. He said that when he needed tolearn he just concentrated on trees, asking them for extraenergy, and it was this that helped him achieve his firstten out of ten on the spelling test. Karen didn’t questionthis, but asked him how this would work if he were sittingin a classroom with no access to trees. Again, completelyunfazed, Jake had explained to her how distancedidn’t matter—all he had to do was know he was connected.Karen, with tears in her eyes, told me, “He justsaid it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.”Jake is still full of energy, but the quality of the new positiveenergy is almost tangible. Like Karen and her family,I have not yet stopped learning from Jake’s remarkableinsight.Body, Mind, and SoulAt this point, before we start exploring the finer detailsof reconnecting with life, it is important to uncover themost basic foundation stone that will transform children’slife experience, bringing about love, peace, joy,and purpose as never before. It is wonderfully simple,but at the same time can be supremely complex, dependingon how we look at it.Beliefs are the foundation from which our livesgrow. The kinds of beliefs we harbor and their strengthshape our choices and actions. For example, if youbelieve that children benefit in many different ways fromhaving a pet, you will probably encourage your childrento care for an animal. If you do not have this belief, yourchildren having pets will probably be of little importanceto you. Pretty simple!A crucial belief we must explore and share withchildren is that we, along with all living things, aremulti-part beings. Labels are unimportant, but for thepurposes of this book we will use the terms body, mind,and soul to describe the three parts that make us up. It isopen to each of us to use whatever terms feel right for usand our children.It is most important for us to explore and share thisbelief with children because the current educational“wisdom” is that we are simply body and mind. It neglectsthat third part, the soul, and so it is incomplete.Because we do not acknowledge the soul, we do notbelieve in it. Because we do not believe in the soul, wedo not teach about it. Because we do not teach about it,we do not experience it. Finally, because we do notexperience it we do not acknowledge that it exists. Thecircle of negation is complete, but the life experience ofchildren is not.While it is generally accepted that we have a bodyand a mind, it is the concept of the soul that brings upsome contention. For some it is preposterous. For othersit is a way of life, as real as breathing in and out. Somepeople have called it the higher self, or the spirit. Ibelieve it is connectedness—the part of us that is connectedto all things. Our soul joins with all others tomake up the energy that is God, the Creator, the Is, theAll, the Great Spirit, the Universe, the Force, the Tao.Again, the labels are unimportant. I am using the termsoul to describe the part of us that is mostly forgotten,but will never leave. It is waiting patiently to beacknowledged. And, when it is, our children will neverbe the same again. For when you experience that you area soul, that you are more than you have ever imagined,connected to all things, a life of love, peace, joy, andpurpose is virtually inevitable.Your soul is the highest love. It is the greatest peace.It is joy beyond comprehension, and its purpose is simplyto be. The world that the soul moves in is far, farlarger and more complex and powerful than the worldour physical bodies belong to. It offers us a fuller,grander experience, and the opportunity, through itsdepths, to be truly alive. However, and this is vitallyimportant, we should not seek to abandon the body andthe mind in favor of the soul. It would be wise of us toeducate and support children to experience all three inbalance, otherwise we meet one challenge and createanother!Truth is revealed to us in many forms, and notalways in the way we would expect. Who would havethought that a small, elderly green alien called Yodacould guide us toward a great truth? But that is exactlywhat he does in the Star Wars films by teaching Jedisabout the Force. The idea that the Force “surrounds usand binds us” is put forward by Yoda to explain that allthings are connected. It is a consciousness, just as youare consciously reading these words, or as I am writingthem. It is alive, flowing through us and in us, throughwww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 43

animals, forests, flocks of birds, bodies of water, mountainranges, and even through society. It can easily befelt, as tangible as the book you are holding right now,but this is only possible when we live in balance, with aninner peace and trust for life. When we let go of fear, thesoul becomes like a flower opening its petals to thewarmth of the sun. We can finally be who we really are,a beautiful being, shining with confidence and creativity.When I was a teenager, just beginning to ask questionsand unlearn some things I had been taught bymainstream society, I had the good fortune to attend atalk by a Canadian man, Ron, about how he had turnedhis life around from the depths of despair to daily rapturesimply by acknowledging his connectedness to allthings. It was a very small group with probably no morethan fifteen people in attendance, so, being a curious andsomewhat skeptical teenager, I took the opportunity toask him how he knew for sure what he was espousingwas true. He walked with me outsideto a garden pond and told me toput my hand in it. I humored himand plunged my hand in. “Is thewater wet?” he asked me. I laughedand answered that obviously it was.“How do you know?” he thenasked. In my mind I continued tolaugh at the ridiculousness of thequestion. The answer was simple:“Because I can feel it.” Ron justsmiled and said, “So can I.” There isno separation; nothing exists in isolation.It doesn’t matter howadvanced our technology becomes, how many computers,lasers, or particle accelerators we produce, the doorwayinto the world of the soul will always be the same:through our feelings.We Are All OneAt some point, on some level, one that right now mostpeople are unaware of, our lives are intertwined. Theyare intertwined and connected, not only to one anotheras humans, but also to every single thing in the universe.By intertwined, I don’t mean that what we do directly oreven indirectly affects everything else, but that we areliterally connected. Put more simply, we are all made ofthe same stuff, and each bit of stuff is connected toeverything else. Picture the ocean. Is it one big body ofwater, or is it billions of tiny droplets of water all joinedtogether? The answer is—it is both. It just depends onwhich way you look at it. We are like the droplets in theocean. We are all individual, but we are also all connected.The idea that we are all connected is not new. It hasbeen repeated for centuries, and over time many differentlabels have been given to the energy where all thingscome together, including God, Creator, Usen (a NativeAmerican term), the Great Spirit, the Life, the Is,Oneness, the Force. However, the label is unimportant;the truth and the experience are crucial.If we can accept that we are interconnected with allof life in a vast sea of energy, it becomes easy to see that,where it all comes together, there is only one. But, justlike the ocean, the one is composed of many differentparts, each with its own individual consciousness. “Weare all one” has been said by many, for decades and evencenturies, and it is one of the most basic truths of life.The belief and experience that we are all one hasprofound implications for the way we perceive theworld. For many it leads to lives of great love because itbrings about the experience of beingsafe and secure. There is no judgmentmeted out by this one soul, sothere is complete freedom toexplore and discover life. For othersthere is a wonderful feeling ofpeace—a feeling of everythingbeing in perfect order or “at home,”no matter what might happen onlife’s path. When this truth isembraced, it changes an individual’sbeliefs concerning life, in particularabout the reason we are here. If weare serious about creating love,peace, joy, and purpose for the generations to come, thebasic tenet that we are all one has to be at the very coreof our beliefs and, by extension, our education systems.It should represent both the end of the line, and the firstfoundation stone. It should be where our teachings stemfrom and where they return to. It shifts the focus from“get through with gritted teeth,” which many millions ofpeople experience on a daily basis, to a glorious, lifelongexperience of self-discovery. When life is lived believingand experiencing that we are all one, the doorway ispermanently open to our long neglected friends: love,peace, joy, and purpose.If there were only you in the world, there would beno one else to fear, and you could not fear yourself. Doyou fear your own right leg? Of course not. It will neverharm you, and you will never deliberately harm it. Ifthere were only you in the world, there would be no oneelse to compete against, and you could not competeagainst yourself. Do you compete against your left arm?Again, of course not. You can’t be superior to your left44 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

arm, and your left arm can’t be superior to you. It is you,and you are it. Of course, the size of the analogy isunimportant. It doesn’t matter if we are talking aboutyour body, or all the beings in the Universe. There isonly one. We are all connected, all together. When weexperience that we do not have to be fearful, we can beloving. When we experience that we do not have tocompete, we can be peaceful. When we experience thatwe do not have to worry, we can be joyful. And when weexperience that we are never, ever lost, for we are everywhereand everything, we can be purposeful.Until we are willing to embrace the idea that we areall one, there will be no significant change in the way weeducate our children and the lives we lead them into. Allour other attempts to change rest on a purely physicallevel, and as such they merely scratch the surface of anyproblems we see. Right now, the conditions in our worldmirror our ideas about our own being. Most people donot believe they are a soul as well as a body and mind.This leaves our life experiences very unbalanced. It isthe lack of belief in and experience of a soul that is connectedto all things that is creating this seemingly cruelworld. Because our understanding of life is incomplete,we create an incomplete life experience and educationsystem for both ourselves and the next generation.I would urge everyone who wishes to share theirpassions with children to explore or at least entertain theidea that we each have a soul that is connected to allthings. We do not have to be spiritual masters or understandevery nuance of our being. If we can simplyacknowledge the possibility that there is a door marked“Soul,” I am confident our children will walk through itfaster than we could ever imagine. Let us allow childrenthe space to find, discover, and enjoy their soul freelyand fully. This is truly a gift.For anyone who might like a little more informationfrom our current culture to test the waters before goingfor a swim, an almost endless amount of information isavailable. You could read the writings and explore theclasses and programs of people such as Thích Nh?tH?nh, Deepak Chopra, Tom Brown Jr., Neale DonaldWalsch, Barbara Ann Brennan, the Dalai Lama, EckhartTolle, Susan Jeffers, Malcolm Ringwalt, Don MiguelRuiz, and many more. There is also an increasingly largenumber of scientists, particularly quantum physicists,who are now supporting the truth that many have knownand been living for years. If you are anything like meand don’t quite have a grasp of every nuance of quantumphysics, a great place to start is with two books, both byLynne McTaggart (www.lynnemctaggart.com), TheField and The Intention Experiment. These lay out ineasy-to-understand terms what numerous scientists havediscovered about our connection to every other life formin the universe and, most importantly, what this meansfor everyday life.It is an odd paradox that science as an institutiontook away the power of personal experience if it couldnot be measured, tested, or quantified. Now, as we havebecome more sophisticated in our measuring techniques,we are realizing that the universe and life are farmore remarkable than most scientists have believed.The movement to re-discover the soul and its eternalnature is a tide that will not be turned back; it cannot bestopped. The question is, how many more generations ofchildren will we educate with our current system that isdrowning in its own fear? How much longer will weaccept educating our children in a manner that is damagingso much life around us?Below is the first of the Truly Alive Tips: physicalthings you can do for yourself and for the children youshare life with that create real, profound change forbody, mind and soul. They are designed to support youand your children in creating a space in which you canexperience for yourself what is true for you. In this sensethey are an invitation to explore further, not a doctrine orprescription. They enable us to cultivate sensitivity to alarger world, and to move increasingly with the flow oflife. As we explore we take back control of our own consciousnessand we are no longer confined to the prisonswe have created for ourselves and, by extension, ourchildren. Don’t be put off by the seemingly simplisticnature of the activities. There is real power in them.Many of the world’s religions and spiritual culturesteach that we can reach enlightenment or nirvana simplyby being aware of breathing in and out. You can’t getmuch simpler than that!Excerpted from The Truly Alive Child: For Those Who SeekA Grander Vision For Our Children by Simon Paul Harrison.For more information, please visit http://www.simonpaulharrison.comor send an e-mail to simon@trulyalivechild.comwww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 45

Will Branson’s Virgin GalacticEncounter UFOs?By Diane TessmanRichard Branson, that boldly-going internationaltycoon and adventurer, plans totake 430 civilian astronauts into spaceby 2014, and to continue flights to theedge of space thereafter. Our NASAastronauts have reported multiple sightings and evenencounters with UFOs and their enigmatic occupantssince the U.S. space program began.Will Branson’s civilian astronauts, who are peoplewho simply could afford to buy a ticket and bravely wantto go to space, be more forthcoming than the NASAastronauts as they report what are inevitable encounterswith the aliens? In other words, can Ashton Kutcher,Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt keep quiet?Perhaps Virgin Galactic flights will force UFODisclosure!Virgin Galactic, a company within Branson’sVirgin Group, plans to provide sub-orbital space flightsto the paying public, along with suborbital space sciencemissions and launches from orbit of small satellites.Eventually, Branson also plans to offer orbital humanspace flights.Virgin Galactic uses two vehicles: a mothership inthe form of a large fixed-wing aircraft which takes-offand lands like a normal airplane, and the actual spacecraft which launches from this mothership while inflight. In this way, the space craft receives a fast startspeedand maximum altitude. No more riding that flamingball of rocket fuel in your tin can in order to breakthe surly bonds of Earth, Major Tom!The mothership is a large fixed-wing aircraft thatlooks like two normal planes linked together by theirwing: the craft has three wings and each wing is attachedto a hull. And the two hulls are connected by the middlewing.46 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

“SpaceShipOne will be the first private mannedspacecraft to fly above the 100-km Karman line.How long will the civilian astronauts have on theirtimeless flight as rocketmen, and how many UFOs canbe seen during this time period? The time from liftoff ofthe White Knight booster carrying SpaceShipTwo untilthe touchdown of SpaceShipTwo after the sub-orbitalflight will be about 2.5 hours. The sub-orbital flightitself will only be a small fraction of that time. Theweightlessness will last approximately 6 minutes.Passengers will be able to release themselves from theirseats during these 6 minutes and float around the cabin.So, the passengers might not be looking out the windowduring those 6 minutes but the rest of the flight? Ouralien visitors must be even now planning daring fly-bysand maybe they will even wave at Angelina! Plus, TomHanks is just like me, a longtime admirer of OriginalStar Trek, and I admit I am envious; if I had the money,I’d be in the next seat on SpaceShipTwo!SpaceShipTwo flies to a height of 110 km, goingbeyond the defined boundary of space (100 km). Thespacecraft reaches a top speed of Mach 4 (1000 m/s),faster than most current fighter jets, the exception beingthe MiG-25. However, the spacecraft is not able to sustainthat speed for long periods of time. It has double thecrew (2) and can carry triple the passengers (6) of itspredecessor.In honor of the science fiction series (yes!) StarTrek, the first two ships are named after the starshipsEnterprise and Voyager. To re-enter the atmosphereSpaceShipTwoVoyager folds its wings up, and thenreturns them to their original position for an unpowereddescent flight back onto the runway. The craft has a verylimited cross-range capability and until other plannedspaceports are built worldwide, it has to land in the areawhere it started. Further “Spaceports” are planned inDubai and elsewhere, with the intention that the spacelinewill have a world-wide availability and commodityin the future.A small aside here: How many times have I read anarticle saying, “ Star Trek, for the gullible and not sosimple…” I believe there actually is an attempt todebunk the idealism and bold inspiration of Star Trek aswell as to debunk the existence of UFOs themselves.Most recently I read an article by Nigel Grogan, “AnAlternate Explanation to the Existence of UFOs” onUFO Digest. Mr. Grogan states that he admired andemulated the Star Trek dream when he was young butnow believes UFOs may be sent from Satan to deceiveus. I do not aim to debate with Mr. Grogan, but I cannotimagine feeling as he does. I cannot imagine being so faroff track in using my intelligence and ability to dream;my human abilities go far beyond fundamentalistChristian beliefs which are, in my opinion, very narrow,limiting, and often needlessly dark. And, of course, thespecial effects and even the plots of Original Star Trekwere simplistic, it was a low budget 1966 weekly televisionshow which the censors and “suits” hated in particular.However, at its core, Star Trek has done more toprepare humanity for the existence of aliens and the realityof life in the galaxy and other dimensions than anyother factor in modern history. How many times hassomeone doing something really incredible, like RichardBranson and even Tom Hanks, come out of the closet asan Original Star Trek admirer and a creative force inour society? Those who mark Star Trek off as a “misleadingHollywood show which misleads the naïve,”under-estimate not only the show but those of us wholove it. It gives us focus for our dreams, and intelligenthope for humankind’s future. It is fitting that civilianastronauts like Branson and Hanks who are old-timeTrekkers, will be the first to go to space and see up close,actual alien starships and perhaps crew members.A brief reminder about the many sightings of ourNASA astronauts when they boldly went where RichardBranson’s civilian astronauts will soon be boldly going:Major Gordon Cooper: According to a tapedinterview by J. L. Ferrando, Major Gordon Cooper said:“For many years I have lived with a secret, in a secrecyimposed on all specialists in astronautics. I can nowreveal that every day, in the USA, our radar instrumentscapture objects of form and composition unknown to us.And there are thousands of witness reports and a quantityof documents to prove this, but nobody wants to makethem public. Why? Because authority is afraid that peoplemay think of God knows what kind of horribleinvaders. So the password still is: We have to avoid panicby all means.”“I was furthermore a witness to an extraordinaryphenomenon, here on this planet Earth. It happened awww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 47

Gordon Cooperfew months ago in Florida. There I saw with my owneyes a defined area of ground being consumed byflames, with four indentions left by a flying objectwhich had descended in the middle of a field. Beingshad left the craft (there were other traces to prove this).They seemed to have studied topography, they had collectedsoil samples and, eventually, they returned towhere they had come from, disappearing at enormousspeed... I happen to know that authority did just abouteverything to keep this incident from the press and TV,in fear of a panicky reaction from the public.”Major Robert White: On July 17, 1962 MajorRobert White reported a UFO during his fifty-eight-milehigh flight of an X-15. Major White reported: “I have noidea what it could be. It was grayish in color and aboutthirty to forty feet away.” Then according to a TimeMagazine article, Major White exclaimed over the radio:“There ARE things out there! There absolutely is!”Commander Eugene Cernan was commander ofApollo 17. In a Los Angeles Times article in 1973 hesaid, about UFOs: “...I’ve been asked (about UFOs) andI’ve said publicly I thought they (UFOs) were somebodyelse, some other civilization.”In December 1965, Gemini astronauts James Lovelland Frank Borman also saw a UFO during their secondorbit of their record-breaking 14 day flight. Bormanreported that he saw an unidentified spacecraft some distancefrom their capsule. Gemini Control, at CapeKennedy told him that he was seeing the final stage oftheir own Titan booster rocket. Borman confirmed thathe could see the booster rocket all right, but that hecould also see something completely different.Russian cosmonauts reportedly have similar tales totell. A partial list of other U.S. astronauts who admittedto encountering UFOs: Scott Carpenter, Donald Slayton,Joseph Walker, Ed White, James McDivitt, NeilArmstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Maurice Chatelain.It seems a forgone conclusion that those passengersaboard Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo willencounter the alien space craft which even we on Earthdo manage to sight quite often.Google UFOWill this blow the lid off the government’s silenceand policy of derision and disinformation regarding ouralien visitors? Will UFO Disclosure finally happen,thanks to the dreams of an old Trekker named RichardBranson? Stay tuned!James Lovell and Frank Borman48 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

How To Pick ASpiritual PracticeBy Sophie RoseIn this age of technology and materialism, whenmany wonder what tomorrow will bring, theresurgence of spirituality is a normal phenomenon.For centuries, people have turned to religionsor other belief systems for support andunderstanding. Yet it never resulted in a better world ona global level. An improved personal life perhaps, butnot a better planet. So one can wonder why, after centuriesof religious or spiritual teachings on love, forgiveness,presence or service, the world situation has notimproved spiritually; why acts of sharing and forgivenessare the exception, not the norm. We can guess thatthe big majority of people wasn’t ready for these teachings,that the failure to bring peace, love or the end ofsuffering on earth is the failure of humanity. After all,the spiritual realm did its job, didn’t it? So why are peoplenot listening?The answer lies in each one of us. Our perception ofthe world is a very personal thing, it involves our mindand the infinite interpretations it can make about ourexperiences. This is how most of us lead our lives: Webase our actions on what our minds are telling us. Yetmany spiritual teachings tell us to go the other way: love,meditate, watch your mind, forgive, practice compassion,open your heart. The discrepancy between theteachings and what we do with them is as wide as thegap between faith and belief. Faith is the mysteriousspiritual touch which brings a sacred dimension to ourlife. Faith doesn’t abide by rules. Unlike belief, it hasnothing to do with religion and everything to do withfollowing one’s heart. Faith is our personal affair withour spiritual Self. Are we in a relationship with our soulor are we cut off from it? We can tell by the quality ofour life: A person who has faith acts from a place of trustand inner knowledge. A person who doesn’t have faithacts from the mind, this person doesn’t trust life andoften second-guesses himself. Faith is this indescribablefeeling of knowing what’s right for oneself and acting onit. That’s what soul work is about: the inner knowledgeof what one has to learn and do in this lifetime. Everysoul has its purpose, every heart its calling. The workrequired to discover it is a spiritual journey some feeldrawn to take. As you embark on this path, the realadventure begins, a new perspective slowly arises, oldattachments vanish to leave room for new experiences.Your outlook on life shifts to incorporate spiritual realitiesand your inner transformation is mirrored in theouter world.Every spiritual journey leads to a better understandingof your place in the world. Spiritual practice helpsyou connect with your Self, which is a drop in the sea ofconsciousness. As you connect with consciousness, youslowly learn that there is an intelligent design underlyingyour life, and that the spiritual realm contains all youneed to know. So why not pick up a spiritual practice?How do we define spiritual practice? A spiritualpractice is the very simple act of getting in touch withyour Self. Not with your mind, your feelings or yourbody, but with this sense of presence or being behindthem. How to go about it is a matter of personal preference.A few things should guide your choice: Religion ortradition do not matter, except to your heart, so it is veryimportant to follow your intuition, not your mind (oranother’s). Practice will make all the difference:Spirituality is an experience, not an intellectual pastime.Discouragement is common, the best way to deal with itis not to expect anything from your practice. Flowersonly bloom in the right season, provided they were welltaken care of.Your spiritual practice also will bloom in the rightseason.Sophie Rose is the author of The Way of The heart: Teachingsof Jeshua and Mary Magdalene. She is a contributing authorof The Sacred Shift, Co-Creating your Future. Sophie is notaligned with any particular religion or tradition and hasalways favored a direct experience of spirituality. She can becontacted through http://www.thewayoftheheartcourse.com,facebook or Twitterwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 49

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GREEN LIVING natural home and gardenNPR RADIOThe NPR Radio by Livio lets you tune to thousandsof radio stations from around the globe and enablesyou to easily find NPR stations and programming,anywhere in your home, away from your computer. TheNPR Radio by Livio is a stand alone internet radio that setsup in minutes and connects you to over 16,000 internetradio stations. What sets this radio apart is the exclusiveNPR menu, allowing users to easily find, search and bookmarkNPR stations, podcasts, and content, by topic or byprogram. $119.99. www. livioradio.comMulti-environmentalCeramic TilesFondovalle's contemporary design collectioncombines Bi+Fusion technology with porcelainstoneware to create a multi-environmental collectionthat gives a new interpretation to coveringmaterials. Available in four different sizes and a naturalor polished finishing, Murano will enhance anyindoor residential space. The mosaics and decors addto its elegance, and the six color options allow morefreedom to choose which fits your personal style.www.fondovalle.itTHE EMBODY CHAIRThe Embody Chair is the world's first health positive chair.Sitting in this baby will actually improve the health ofyour back and spine, make you more comfortable, andsupport every part of your body. Not bad for an office chair.Designed by Bill Stumpfand Jeff Weber, thischair is the current goldstandard in theergonomic furnitureworld. Everything aboutthe chair is fashionedcarefully and correctlyto form a cohesivewhole. The seat is notonly designed to supportyour weight andkeep you in good balance,the material itselfis designed to increaseair flow and keep youcool while you’re working.$1099.00-1519.00. http://www.smartfurniture.comDyson Hot Fan HeaterThe Dyson Hot fan heater proj-anects heat further, heating thewhole room faster than anyother. It has precise temperature control,and there are no fast-spinningblades or visible heating elements, soit is easy to clean. There is also anautomatic cut out that switches off theheating plates if the unit is tipped over.Air is accelerated through a narrowaperture around the fan loop. This createsa jet of hot air that passes over anairfoil-shaped ramp, which channelsits direction. Surrounding cool air isdrawn into the airflow, amplifying it 6times through processes known asinducement and entrainment. And itcools, too! Air Multiplier technologygenerates high airflow and velocity,cooling effectively with an uninterruptedstream of smooth air. $399.99.http://www.dyson.comwww.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 51

Sacred Sites of the Dalai LamasTsetang and theYarlung ValleyBy Glenn H. MullinIf one does not retreat to the mountainsAnd accomplish the profound and intense yogas,To refer to oneself as a yogi is likeA jackal imitating the roar of a lion.From Crushing All negative Forces to DustThe First Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Duppa —1391-1475The flight from kathmandu to tibet flies bymount everest. Even on cloudy days, thepeak of Everest pushes its way up throughthe clouds, and everyone on the planepresses toward the windows for a view.Everest is the perfect metaphor for the contrastbetween Tibetan and Western culture. For the West it isthe most famous mountain in the world for climbers andadventurers. Westerners who visit here generally do soin order to connect by osmosis with the fame and gloryof those who have ascended to its peak.The Tibetan name for Everest is Chomo Lungma.This in fact is the name of a mountain deity. CentralAsians make pilgrimage to Chomo Lungma in order tovisit the sacred sites on the base of the mountain, such asthe cave where the Indo-Pakistani master PadmaSambhava meditated in the mid eighth century. Anotherpopular site is the spring where Padma Sambhava’stantric sex partner and principal disciple Yeshe Tsogyalmeditated and bathed.This contrast in spiritual attitude betweenWesterners and Tibetans was markedly visible at manyof the places we were to visit on our pilgrimage.The plane lands in Gongkar Airport, near Lhading.The name “Lhading” literally means “Playground of theGods.” Most visitors to Tibet take the hour drive fromhere either across the mountains and then down- streamalong the Kyichu River to Lhasa; or else they choose togo upstream along the Yarlung Tsangpo River to theYarlung Valley.52 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

I prefer to begin mypilgrimages in Yarlung,for both historical andaesthetic reasons.Historically the culturethat we think of todayas the Tibetan civilizationcomes through andwas inspired to newheights by the line ofkings who ruled fromYarlung. Secondly,from the aesthetic pointof view, Yarlung is stillrecognizably Tibetan, and has not been buried by theonslaught of Chinese immigrants to the extent thatLhasa has.The young Second Dalai Lama passed throughYarlung on a teaching tour in the mid 1490s, when hewas in his early twenties. This was his first visit since hispredecessor studied, practiced, and then taught heremany decades earlier, and it was an emotional experiencefor him. He describes his initial impression in a poem,Magnificient Yarlung, a picture of wonderSketched by the brush of celestial artisans,With forests rustling in ever-cooling breezes,Lines gently flowing like those on a hand;Beautiful towns, villages and templesSet like pearls in delightful display;Its fields like outstretched wings of a parakeet inflightLaden with gems of ripening crops:Kyehu! It is as though the kingdom of paradiseHas found its way to this northern land of ours.Of course the Chinese Communist destructions of the1960s and 1970s have brought about considerable transformationfor the worse, but one still gets brief glimpsesof the beauty that the Second Dalai Lama is describing.Another verse by the Second in the same epic poemmentions the two main pilgrimage sites in the valley,Here on the face of the sacred Mount PotalaStands the splendid Yarlung Castle,Its walls emanating great bursts of lightLike a palace built by divine craftsmenFrom stones formed from the dust of precious jewels;And, in front of it, the Dradruk Temple,An edifice magically manifest from the wisdomOf Lokeshvara, the Buddha of Compassion.According to Tibetan legend,the Yarlung Castlewas originally built in thesecond century B.C. bythe man now known asthe First Yarlung King,Nyatri Tsenpo. The namemeans “Lord Carried on aPlanquin.” According tothe legend, a small groupof foreigners appearedone day in Yarlung. Mostaccounts suggest that theywere a small Indian army,fleeing a civil war that they were losing in their homeland.The Tibetans asked them where they were from.The leader of the group, not knowing the Tibetan language,made the traditional Indian gesture indicatingnon-understanding; he pointed his index finger at the skyand twisted his wrist.The Tibetans, not understanding that this simplymeant non-understanding, took it to mean that he and hisfollowers had descended from the heavens. They puthim on a palanquin and carried him to their village,where they declared him to be their king. (Some readerswill note that Rudyard Kipling was inspired by this taleto create a British Raj novel, The Man Who Would BeKing; the book was later made into a movie, with SeanConnery and Michael Caine playing the starring roles.)Legend states that this first king was an emanationof Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. He builtthe Yarlung Castle, and brought the various nations ofthe Central Asian Plateau under his rule. Because he wasan emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the mountain becameknown as Truzin, a Tibetan translation of Potala; this isthe name of the mountain in South India traditionallyassociated with Avalokiteshvara. Any place whereAvalokiteshvara or any of his emanations live becomesknown as a “Potala.” The Potala Palace in Lhasa has itsname from this same reasoning.Later Tibetan literature would identify King NyatriTsenpo as a former incarnation of the soul destined tobecome the Dalai Lama. This mythology was not widespreadin the time of the Second Dalai Lama, for theDalai Lama institution was still very much in its formativestages. Hence he would probably not have beenaware of it when he wrote his poem.The second sacred site mentioned in the SecondDalai Lama’s poem is the Dradruk Temple. This wascreated many centuries later by the thirty-third king ofthe Yarlung Empire, Songtsen Gampo by name. I mentionedhim briefly in the introduction.www.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 53

Songtsen Gampo expandedthe Tibetan empire tenfold,pushing its borders deep intoNepal and India on the south,through much of Kashmir on thewest, deep into China on theeast, and including much of theSilk Road of the Western Gobi tothe north.After creating this vastempire he sent a group of twentyfivescholars to India to devise anew script that would be usedthroughout his many lands,replacing the hodgepodge of scripts used in the diverseareas at the time. The resultant product was the Tibetanscript that has come down to us today, pretty much in theform in which it was devised fourteen hundred yearsago. That script is still used through most of theseregions, including Bhutan, Ladakh, Mongolia and soforth.Songtsen Gampo also declared Buddhism to be thenational religion, and he built 108 temples throughouthis land. According to the legend, he believed that all ofthe lands he had conquered and united under his rulewere in fact territories of a great Earth Goddess. He hadthese 108 temples built at sacred places on her body, sothat she would consent to serve as a protectress of hisempire.The Draduk Temple in Tsetang of the Yarlung Valleywas amongst the first dozen of these 108. It was also oneof the most elegant and lavish, for the thirty-two generationsof his royal ancestors had all lived and ruled fromhere. In addition, he had the Yambu Lagang Palace atYarlung transformed into a temple, and it remains assuch today.Songtsen Gampo was the last of the Yarlung kings torule from Yarlung. After creating a vast empire he movedhis capital northwest to Lhasa, which had better accessto the regions to the far north, west and east.The Yarlung Valley and environments have dozensof pilgrimage sites that Tibetans love to visit, for the legendsgo back in time far beyond human history.Just outside of the city stands a second PotalaMountain. Myth states that hundreds of thousands ofyears ago a monkey was meditating in a cave high onthis mountain. An abominable snowlady fell in love withhim, and eventually the couple united. They producedsix children. These were the first humans to appear inour world, and all other humans are descended fromthem.This somewhat Darwinian take on the origin ofhumans contrasts sharply withthe traditional Indian Buddhistbelief that humans are descendedfrom akinista beings, i.e.,beings from another world,namely the celestial realm ofAkinista.Again, like King Nyatri Tsenpoand Songtsen Gampo, this monkeytoo was an emanation ofAvalokiteshvara, the Buddha ofCompassion, and thus was anearly incarnation of the soul destinedto become the Dalai Lama.A wonderful Buddhist female monastery stands atthe foot of this hill, built on the side of a cave in whichKing Songtsen Gampo meditated for several years as ayoung man.Tibetans make circumambulation of this sacredmountain en masse on special days of the month andyear. Some locals do it on a daily basis, usually at eitherdawn or sunset.The temple and stupas built on this Darwinianmountain as commemoratives of the monkey and abominablesnowlady were destroyed by the ChineseCommunists in the 1960s and have not been rebuilt. Thedozens of temples referred to in the poem by the SecondDalai Lama were also destroyed at that time, with moststill not rebuilt. The Yarlung Castle was also destroyed,but has been somewhat rebuilt.The Draduk Temple is one of the thirteen of Tibet’s6,500 temples and monasteries that were not totallydestroyed by the Chinese Communists at that time.Instead it was converted to military purposes during theCommunist Purges, and only given back to the Tibetansin the early 1980s, after the death of Chairman Mao.Excerpted with permission from Sacred Sites of the DalaiLamas, © 2011 by Glenn H. Mullin, Divine Arts Media,http://www.divineartsmedia.com54 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

D-BlockUtilities’ Long-AwaitedSpectrumSmart Grid SpectrumBy Jeff St. JohnIn February, U.S. utilities won a long-foughtlobbying push for a piece of radio spectrumthat could serve as the backbone of a nationwidepublic safety and smart grid system.The spectrum in question is called “D-block,” a 10-megahertz band in the 700-megahertz spectrum. A smalladdition in a payroll tax holiday bill Congress passedlast month allows utilities to partner with public safetyproviders in using the D-block spread, adding it to thecurrent 10-megahertz public safety band. It also directs$7 billion in federal backing to the cash-strapped stateand local agencies that will be looking for funds to buythe radios and build the networks to deploy it.That’s nice, but it’s not enough money to do the job,says the Public Safety Spectrum Trust, the organizationset up to manage the program. Estimates of the cost ofinitial deployment are about double that amount, andindividual regional projects launched so far have rangedfrom $25 million to $100 million-plus apiece.That’s why public safety groups want utility cash toroll out the technology—and the new law allows them todo just that, by letting them form partnerships to buildthe network. It will take months for the new spectrum tobe ready for use, of course. Even so, states includingNevada and Michigan have seen utilities and publicsafety partners lay out plans for new communicationsdeployments that assume that they’ll be legally allowedto share networks.That means brand new smart grid markets, accordingto Mark Madden, regional vice president of NorthAmerican utilities for Alcatel-Lucent. The French networkinggiant already has does lot of mixed smart gridcommunications in the U.S., including microwave and4G WiMAX. Now it’s talking with unnamed utilitiesabout using the new D-block spectrum, he said.“What we’re putting together is LTE for utilities andfor public safety,” he said. “Because of the wide-rangingquality of service differentiation that can and must bedone for public safety, we have a perfect match betweenthe two. […] In the event there’s a public safety emergency,the utility does not have to be cut off.” While hewouldn’t name prospective customers, he did describe“a significant pent-up demand to be able to build upubiquitous field-area networks for utilities.”At the same time, we’re seeing the telecommunicationsgiants getting involved. Verizon Wireless andMotorola Solutions launched a public-safety-orientedpartnership in early 2011, and AT&T and Harris beefedup an existing partnership for first responders inwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 55

October, with plans to deliver products in mid-2012.Amidst the competition, we’re seeing a resurgence ofthe private (utility-owned) vs. public (carrier) networksdebate, with both sides saying they’re ready to deliverthe always-on capabilities that first responders—andutility partners—demand.It’s going to take awhile for the new program to beset up. The Utilities Telecom Council, the industry’smain voice in Congress, has for years been asking for aslice of spectrum from the public safety broadband networkto use for the smart grid. The FederalCommunications Commission’s 2010 NationalBroadband Plan actually recommended that Congressgive utilities what they wanted, but it’s taken two yearsto get it passed into law.The law sets up the FirstResponder Network Authority, orFirstNet, as an independent authoritywithin the NationalTelecommunications andInformation Administration(NTIA) to hold the license for thenew public safety spectrum.FirstNet is expected to raise morethan $26.6 billion in proceeds fromauctioning them off, if it’s toreceive $200 million in additionalfederal support. What’s more, only$2 billion of the $7 billion in grantswill be immediately available—the rest relies on theauctions bringing in enough money.Another issue is that states have the option to opt outof the nationwide network plan, and some that alreadyhave regional networks in place may well choose to doso, said Brett Kilbourne, vice president of governmentand industry affairs for the Utilities Telecom Council.Until that process has taken place, it will be hard forFirstNet to proceed.In the meantime, we’ll be seeing lots of developmentwork on this front, starting withmunicipal utilitiestalking to their own police and fire departments, andspreading to broader partnerships between investorownedutilities and their public safety counterparts.After all, Kilbourne said, publicsafety agencies have good reason tokeep in close contact with utilities,to make sure that the power hasbeen cut off on a downed powerline, that water’s running to firehydrants or that gas is cut off to abuilding that’s on fire, to name afew examples.LTE will be the technology forthe network, which offers a farmore sophisticated set of capabilitiesthan those public safety has traditionallyused for its existing 10-megahertz band, he said. Those56 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

include multiple layers of priority access in the network,aimed at satisfying utilities’ always-on demands. TheNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),the federal overseer of smart grid standards, will alsosupport the D-block rollout.“The bottom line here is, thisis good news for utilities, becausewe didn’t have anything thatwould meet our needs before, andnow we do,” Kilbourne said. TheD-block offers some importanttechnical advantages in terms ofits range and penetration characteristics.Just as importantly, itcan be reserved for private use,which adds to reliability andquality of service.In fact, smart meter makerSensus uses its own privately held 700-megahertz spectrumto connect its meters. That allows for far fewercommunications links than the mesh networks used inmost other North American smart meter deployments.Utilities have been saying for years that they needtheir own spectrum to secure themselvesagainst disasters, saying theirown networks have proven morereliable than public networksthrough crises like HurricaneKatrina. Cellular providers insistthey’re ready to provide utilitieswith the quality of service terms—availability in emergencies, mostimportantly—to support ever morecritical grid functions.Vendors have responded by puttingtheir feet in both camps, byadding cellular options to private radionetworks and vice versa, as Silver SpringNetworks has done, or buying the mostprominent cellular smart meter networkerout there, as Itron did when it acquiredSmartSynch for $100 million earlier thisyear.But D-block use is likely destined tobe for a different set of smart grid priorities—mainly,linking the increasinglycomplex and fast-acting gear that makesup distribution automation systems.Unlike smart meters, these capacitorbanks, switches and reclosers, line sensorsand regulators and other gear requirealways-on communications and latenciesin the range of 100s to 10s of milliseconds.At the same time, utilities want voice, data andvideo connectivity to their substations and work trucksto connect security cameras, networked laptops andhandheld devices and other smart grid support. That’sgoing to require much higherbandwidth than the mesh networksdeployed for most ofNorth America’s smart meters—and it often has to extend toremote substations and stretchesof the grid where public networkcoverage is spotty or nonexistent.All in all, D-block is an attractiveopportunity to solve most, ifnot all, of those problems. Nextup will come partnerships, readyto bid enough money on the nextauction to keep federal support flowing. Stay tuned formore developments—and watch for the public-vs.-private-networks debate to rear its head again in thisemerging market.www.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 57

The Power ofHumourBy Gerry Maguire ThompsonIt’s my belief that humour is one of the greatestagents we have for good in this world. Humouris vital to human life, and probably always hasbeen. It is timeless, and occurs in all cultures.Everyone loves someone who is genuinelyfunny. Yet there is always something about it thatremains mysterious and elusive. I’d like to look into it alittle, with particular regard to its positive and constructivepotential.As a purely physiological phenomenon, science haspinpointed many of the benefits of laughter. It “generatespowerful alternating cycles of arousal and relaxation”.(Sounds uncannily like sex, doesn’t it? Actually,the two really are alike, in more ways than one.)Laughter benefits many of the body’s vital systems: therespiratory, cardio-vascular, hormonal and even immunesystem. The general muscular involvement of otherparts of the body is beneficial too. Even smiling releasesbeneficial endorphins and hormones.At a more subtle level, scientific studies have shownthat laughing a lot, and having a ‘sense of humour’, correlateswith possessing good levels of energy, vigor andvitality. Good mental health is the key factor in retardingmidlife health deterioration, and this in turn has beenshown to be characterised by “mature coping strategies,including humour”. People who are asked to list lifeaffirmingqualities most often name humour. Humour isa key factor in human bonding, relationships and socialcohesion.Nowadays, you can actually go out and get it for thebenefit of your health; there is an increasing recognitionof the potential for laughter and humour as tools forhealing. Of course, people have intuitively known oftheir benefits from ancient times. These have beenincluded, for instance, in ‘The Yellow Emperor’s Classicof Internal Medicine’, one of the oldest health books inthe world. Buddhist monks have long had the practiceof going into villages where conflict was taking place,and just sitting there systematically laughing until everyonefelt better disposed towards each other. Morerecently, in the USA, Norman Cousins re-started thetrend by recovering from ‘incurable’ illness by watchingMarx Brothers movies. Following in his footsteps,prominent doctors such as Bernie Seigal and PatchAdams have become best-selling authors and made thisan acknowledged branch of health work. You may notyet be able to get a government Enterprise Allowance tostart up in business as a Humour Therapist, but some58 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

possibilities do exist, even in this country.Quite apart from comedians, clowns and so on, thereare a number of individuals who earn their living fromworking with humour and health. Robert Holden is oneof the better-known examples in the UK; he runs a NHSLaughter Clinic in Birmingham. Many hospitals andhealth authorities around the country are beginning tobring in this kind of project. Holden and others also runworkshops and seminars which you and I can attendwithout prescription.But humour also functions in our lives in wider,deeper and more subtle ways. Humour can even be oneof the best vehicles for serious ideas and ideals. Most ofus can remember important teachers who haveimpressed us with their wit, while conveying greattruths. Ram Dass and the Dalai Lama are two of myfavourites. Bagwan Shri Rajneesh (alias Osho) was alsofamous for laughing, all the way to the bank.Philosophers, orators and politicians, too, harness thepower of humour, as can anyone who wants to put amessage across, or to communicate on the subject ofwhat life, is and how we might go about living it.I’d like to look a little closer at some of the peculiaritiesof this powerful tool. First of all, there is a truismthat many great humourists are also inclined to intenseseriousness, or even depression - such as Peter Sellers,Spike Milligan, and Tony Hancock. To be able to scalethe heights of hilarity, seemingly, it can be helpful to befamiliar with plumbing the depths of gloom. To bringabout that joyous feeling of togetherness with an audiencein laughter, inspiration can come from the experienceof isolation, loneliness and despair.And another thing. Why is timing such a crucialmatter in making people laugh - more so, it seems, thanin other forms of communication? I suspect that this isa clue to some of the mystery of the subject. Greatcomics can catch the perfect moment for delivery, whileyou or I may ruin a perfectly good joke by a badly timedpunch line. Another peculiarity of humour is its individualityof appeal. Some people will love a particulargag, while others will hate it - the ‘groan” phenomenon.Humour seems to provoke extreme reactions, to bringout an all-or-nothing quality in our make-up. Whyshould this be so?It seems to me, too, that there are distinctly differentmodes of humour. One could define two ‘poles’ ofusage. At one end, there is the method that joins comicand audience in derision of a third party - exploitingtheir weakness, making them ridiculous - creating asense of ‘we’re all together in this group over here, andthey’re different and excluded and over there, and thatmakes us feel even more together, and much less insecureof our own identity etc’ - that kind of thing. Thispole forms the main fare of much stand-up comedy, aswell as in much conversational humour, and is a closerelative of the ‘use-the-F-word-as-much-as-you-can-’cos-that’s-really-funny’ school.The alternative is another kettle of fish altogether - itdoesn’t require third party suffering. The material mightrefer to a comedian’s experience that is embarrassing, oreven ridiculous - showing up something which most ofus would normally keep quiet about. When the audiencelaughs, each individual is making a safe and tacit admissionthat they recognise this experience - that they havewww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 59

had some kind of experience of it - otherwise theywouldn’t get the joke. Issues that are highly delicate ortouchy can be dealt with in this way - Woody Allen hasbeen a good example (until recently, anyway).Much joke making today is pure category one. TheEnglish laugh at the Irish. The Irish mock the Kerrymen. New Yorkers deride the Poles. I can’t rememberwhom the Poles pour scorn on, but it must be someone.It all makes me wonder if perhaps the highest form ofhumour is indeed laughing at oneself.Humour, in fact, is riddled with this sort of paradox.Laughter and humour involve building up tension, simplyin order for it to be released. Just like sex - anotheroccasion when we suddenly release tension and abandoncontrol. Laughter and orgasm have much in common.For humour, too, deals in creating intimacy with anotherparty - that moment-to-moment in-touchiness withthe receiver; being in contact with that mysterious fluctuatingenergy; having a finger on an audience’s collectivepulse. (So that’s why timing is so important!)Then, as comedy develops this relationship with theaudience, there eventually comes some form of departurefrom expectation, some kind of surprise, some elementof stepping into the unknown, some departurefrom the familiar and the accepted. It’s a dance betweensecurity and insecurity, a “transport to the ridiculous” ithas been called. One never quite knows what is going tocome next. There is some familiar story, and then departurefrom it. It’s all about the rearrangement or disturbanceof things, the hidden twist or bizarre development,the punch line.This does more than just make us laugh; it has a radicalsubversive, even political effect, however subtle orobscured. Whether we realise or not, it nudges us intoquestioning how we look at things, how things are andhow they could be, how we would like them to be.Remember the Monty Python series that had false endingsand false news items afterwards? Didn’t you seethe ‘real” news in a somewhat different light, wonderingif this was really it this time? For me, the news hasnever quite been the same since. Perhaps this radicalpotential also explains why humour can produce suchstrong or opposite reactions. So it’s not only satire thatgets us to question the accepted; all humour in a wayplays tricks with our perception of how things are. Andin bringing about change, altering perception is the hardpart; once effected, outward change soon follows.Then again, radical humour (like any radical movement)has a way of becoming conventional and staidbefore long, and then being ousted by a newer brand ofinventiveness. So humour has its own cycles of fashion,cycles of anarchy, order and more anarchy. But thelandmarks stand out in an overview - the outstandingdevelopments that draw us all into strange new terrain.The Goons and the Pythons have influenced world culture.Phenomena like these are not part of a gradualevolutionary process - they all make a radical departurefrom current trends, and produce something ‘completelydifferent’. As time passes, they become classics, withsomething of a timeless quality; as each comes andgoes, humour is never quite the same again. Nor, as aresult, is the world-view of those who are exposed totheir messages. You could call it creative anarchy.Great humour always involves that quality of a trip.The humorist is inviting us to go along somewhere, andwe really don’t know where we’re going to end up. Soit’s all really about being in the present moment. Theartist’s sensitivity to whether we’re still with him is crucial,so that we can trust him as he leads us into new perceptualterritories. These experiences of the unfamiliarencourage us to let go, to cling less to what we know.60 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

We can step back from our habitual patterns - and laughat them. Of course, we can get off the vehicle at anytime - and the trip doesn’t involve any drugs.Bernie Siegal says: “Humor’s most important psychologicalfunction is to jolt us out of our habitual frameof mind and promote new perspectives. People continueto see humour if they retain a childlike spirit - a senseof innocence and play”. Perhaps that really says themost important thing on the subject. Children do allthose things naturally. But we adults and more ‘conscious’beings may sometimes need to do somethingspecial to get back into that mode.Even if some sense of ‘what humour actually is’begins to emerge, there must always remain the inexplicablein it, for humour is inherently run through withcontradiction and enigma. There is the alternation ofdepression and merriment, those opposite reactions thatcan be produced, the potential for either ruthlessexploitation or compassionate beneficence. Exploringparadox and opposites is at humour’s core, part of itsbasic method. Hence the possibilities for revealing thedeeper nature of the familiar by investigating the unfamiliar;creating new order through anarchy and chaos;plucking sophisticated insights out of silliness; developingmaturity through being childish; and clarifying purposevia pointlessness.Laughter itself embodies this nature. When we’rereally doing it, we don’t know whether we’re laughingor crying. We don’t know whether we’re loving it orhurting. These poles become more like different pointson a circle, rather than opposite ends of a piece of string.Looked at this way, manic depression and euphorichilarity are not such strange companions after all;humour is merely reflecting constantly the inherentlyenigmatic quality of life itself. Humouroffers a helpful habit of connecting the circle,of bringing together that which hasbeen overly divided from itself. It createsat-one-ness, whether within a group ofpeople or between an individual and allelse that is.In keeping us totally in the presentmoment, humour puts us in touch with thevery truths that are timeless and unchanging.But giving ourselves over to it cantake some courage - to abandon the securityof the familiar, leave dry land and stepinto uncharted waters, jump off the earthand float free. Humour sparks us out of ourtendency to existential uncreativity andlack of imagination. Humour is profoundlycreative, both in the giving and in thereceiving. Laughter naturally reaches into parts of usthat more expensive therapy may not be able to. It reallyis about how we are choosing to be.Hardly surprising, then, that it occupies such a specialplace in our civilisation. Nor that, in the end, it stillcannot be fully pinned down and understood - as soon asyou think you’re beginning to do that, it’s gone offsomewhere, doing something else - something completelydifferent. Understanding it fully would be thedeath of it.So the fabric of funniness, like the emperor’sclothes, remains ultimately invisible. Probably in theend it’s better to not even think about it, but just be likethe children and make room in our lives for laughter,play, adventure and togetherness. The planet wouldreally like that.Gerry Maguire Thompson is an author, comedian and trainingfacilitator. He is author of Astral Sex to Zen Teabags: an illustratednew age spoofapedia, published by Findhorn Press inMarch (UK) and June (US). http://www.gerrythompson.co.uk,info@positivecomedy.com, +44 (0)1273 463611www.earthstarmag.com APRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 61

G r e e c e AdoptsAlternative Currenciesas Economy ImplodesBy Alex NewmanAs Greece’s economy and the euro continueto struggle, regular Greeks areincreasingly taking matters into theirown hands, creating informal undergroundbarter markets and even alternativecurrencies. And the government is actually encouragingit.Over a dozen non-euro trading networks are alreadybelieved to be operating in communities throughout theembattled nation, with more on the way. But one effortin particular—called Local Alternative Units, or“TEMs” in Greek—has attracted a great deal of internationalattention.In the port town of Volos—where unemployment isabove 20 percent, the economy is struggling, and taxrates are rising—a group of locals decided it was time totake action. The population still had the same skills andresources as before the crisis, just not the euros neededfor commerce.So, a handful of people got together and formedthe alternative currency known as the TEM. It quicklytook off. And major newspapers and media outletsaround the world—from the United States to the UnitedKingdom—have taken notice as it continues to expand.“Ever since the crisis there’s been a boom in suchnetworks all over Greece,” University of Crete vicechancellor and political economy professor GeorgeStathakis told the New York Times, adding that despitean enormous government sector, Greek “social services”were being overwhelmed. “There are so many hugegaps that have to be filled by new kinds of networks.”The TEM system works by allowing people in thecommunity to set up an account on an online network,connecting them with others in the area with variousneeds and a wide array of services to offer. Users also62 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012 www.earthstarmag.com

eceive a sort of booklet allowing them to essentiallywrite “checks” to pay for goods and services.A real market where people can meet to trade inTEMS is also a key component of the emerging network.And efforts are currently underway to establish adaily market in an unused building for locals to engagein commerce using their system.Babysitters, farmers, teachers, electricians, barbers,bakers, computer technicians, opticians, veterinarians,and more are all represented. Most traders accept botheuros and TEMs, or some combination of the two.Member accounts start with zero TEMs, althoughusers are allowed to borrow up to 300 units if they agreeto repay it over a certain time period. And to prevent“hoarding,” the system’s managers explained, no user isallowed to have over 1,200 units of the currency.”It’s an easier, more direct way of exchanging goodsand services,” German-born homeopathist and acupuncturistBernhardt Koppold, an active member of the Volosnetwork, told the UK Guardian. “It’s also a way ofshowing practical solidarity—of buildingrelationships.”Dozens of other users expressedsimilar sentiments about their buddingsystem. Co-founders of the TEMs networkalso explained that if the crisiswere to spiral further into the realm ofcataclysm, the alternative-currency systemcould help take up the slack—ensuring that a functioning economywould allow people to continue tradingfor survival.Even local officials are encouraging citizens to getinvolved. Volos Mayor Panos Skotiniotis, for example,told NPR that such initiatives are especially valuableduring the economic crisis as the government strugglesto pay its bills.”This is a substitution for the welfare state, and thatis why this municipality is encouraging it and wants it togrow,” he said. The local government has even printedleaflets explaining the system and helped promote paneldiscussions about it.At the national level, politicians seem to support theidea, too. Late last year, the Greek Parliament evenpassed a law urging citizens to build non-traditionalforms of “entrepreneurship and localdevelopment.” The legislation alsogranted the informal networks officialnon-profit status, helping to ease thetax burden on struggling Greeks saddledwith massive debts imposed bynational and international officials.And around the world, the systemhas attracted praise from a broadarray of commentators. “With so manyfictional stories about how people willturn on one another in the event of acollapse, it’s great to see a real-life example of folkswho band together to make things work during toughtimes,” wrote Lauren Davis with the online serviceio9.com.But in the face of increasingly vicious attacks onGreeks by international institutions—the EuropeanUnion, the World Bank, theInternational Monetary Fund, and others—itremains unclear how long suchalternative networks may survive.Consider: When Former Greek PrimeMinister George Papandreou suggestedallowing citizens to vote on internationaldemands before imposing theunpopular measures on the populace,he was promptly replaced by anunelected central banker in whatobservers called a “coup.”“The real question is notwhether these types of systems workwww.earthstarmag.comAPRIL / MAY 2012 EARTH STAR 63

during times of economic crisis, but how they can persistonce organizations like the World Bank step in to‘restore order,’” noted blogger Klint Finley, calling theTEMs network “yet another example of alternative currencythriving in a collapsed economy.”The Greek police union has threatened to arrestinternational officials for attempting to foist even moremisery on the nation. But that has not deterred the EU orthe predatory IMF and World Bank from pursuing thesame trajectory—saddling citizens and their unbornchildren with unpayable debts in perpetuity rather thanallowing a default and an exit from the disastrous singlecurrency.Still, despite hostility from the “establishment,”alternative currencies are flourishing all over the world.In Germany, for example, some two dozen regional nonofficialmonetary systems haveemerged since the birth of theeuro.“We want people to thinkabout this more … participantsof the alternative currencies wantto change the money system,”Christian Gelleri, the managingdirector of a regional Germancurrency called Chiemgauer,told The New American in a2010 telephone interview. “Wewant to promote local charitiesand connect local businesses—that’s our objective.”In the United States, despitethe high-profile prosecution ofLiberty Dollar founder BernardVon NotHaus, more than a fewalternative currencies are alreadyin circulation as well. Examplesinclude Detroit “Cheers,”“BerkShares” in Massachusetts, and “Ithaca Hours” inNew York. So-called digital gold currencies are alsoattracting more and more users. And an online currencysystem known as “BitCoin” has gained a tremendousfollowing in a relatively short period of time.And at the state level, even governments are takingaction. Utah, for example, officially made gold and silverinto legal tender last year. And several states are consideringsimilar legislation as the Federal Reserve andthe U.S. dollar come under increasing pressure.Even as alternatives to the global debt-based fiatmonetary regime continue to expand, however, there is aconcerted effort underway by top officials worldwide tofoist a world currency managed by an international centralbank on the planet. And with the American dollarquickly losing its appeal as the “reserve currency” andthe euro under more and morescrutiny, a significant change inthe monetary system is almostcertainly imminent.The real question, then, iswhether the world will eventuallyreturn to honest money establishedby the market, or allowincreasing centralization of theclearly corrupt monetary systemin the hands of a small group ofelites. The answer to that crucialquestion will determine thefuture of the planet in ways thatare virtually impossible to overstate.64 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2012www.earthstarmag.com

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