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Inside Austin All Natural TWILIGHT ZONE SELF-HELP – Dr. Joe Vitale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 FANTASIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 CHANGE YOUR STORY Nature’s Healing Powers – Carl Greer THE REAL KING ARTHUR Where to find him in Britain – Carmel Niland HONEST DOUBT Another side of Faith – Bonnie Gale BOUNDARIES AND SELF-EMPOWERMENT – Christina Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 HOW TO SURVIVE AS AN EMPATH – Book review by Caroline Myss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 THE HEALTH RISK FOR WOMEN IN A HIGH-TECH WORLD - Phyllis Light, PhD . . . . . 19 THYROID DYSFUNCTION A whole-body solution – Dr. Trevor Botts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 HEART OF THE MATTER The Roots of Cardiac Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 UPCOMING EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 BUILDING BRIDGES The new CD by Austin’s Kit Holmes – Michael Abedin . . . . . . . . . 24 DEAR ASHTARA – Ashtara Sasha White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 THE POWER OF THE TIPTOE The lost art of walking lightly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Heartwaker’s Club, with Zaeli

publisher/ editor Michael Abedin (512) 879-7299 michaelabedin@yahoo.com www.AustinAllNatural.com LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

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PRACTITIONER GUIDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

A Letter to Our Readers You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught from year to year, It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught. You’ve got to be taught to be afraid Of people whose eyes are oddly made, And people whose skin is a different shade, You’ve got to be carefully taught. – Rogers and Hammerstein, South Pacific

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Austin All Natural is printed on environmentally sound paper certified under the rigorous production standards of the Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization devoted to creating true sustainability. For environmental reasons, we do not use soy-based inks. See www.AustinAllNatural.com for details. 100% Natural. No preservatives or additives.

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can decide whether or not to pick up a magazine because of it. For one brief moment, there was a twinge of doubt about the April cover. What doubt could there be? A beautiful, powerful woman, eyes aglow with mystery, the green of springtime and Earth Day adorning her hair, and – oh, right.

What if… Just what if – someone thinks that’s one of them terr’rist headscarves? Sweet lord baby Yeshua, has it come to that? Well, it’s April, the month of foolishness and jokes – and you know what they say about a joke, right? If they can’t take it… –Michael Abedin

hen my drummer was here recently for the recording of my sixth self-help singer-songwriter album, The Great Something, he talked about how much he loved the old 1960s hit television show The Twilight Zone. It’s Twilight Zone-ish enough that my drummer has the same name as me, grew up in the same area of Ohio as me, and went to the same college as me – but we never met until five years ago, for the making of my first singer-songwriter album. But it got even stranger when one night an episode of The Twilight Zone aired on television – one I don’t recall ever seeing before. As I watched, an idea for an instant change self-help technique came to me with a jolt. Oh, this is good, I thought to myself, laughing. Wait till I tell everyone about this!

And this is where the story gets really interesting. But let’s start at the beginning. I’m a huge fan of The Twilight Zone. I was five years old when it first aired in 1959, but I saw virtually every episode after that, and still watch them today. Each show was genius. Great acting, great stories, great lessons. Over half the 150 episodes were written by the man who created the show – Rod Serling. Serling deeply influenced me when I was a teenager. I studied his scripts, short stories, and movies to unlock his mastery at writing. I loved his screenplays for Seven Days in May and Requiem for a Heavyweight. Talk about hypnotic writing! I almost signed up for the Famous Writers School, as Serling was on their board (as was John Caples, another writer who would influence me decades later). It didn’t happen. I was still in high school, and my parents couldn’t or wouldn’t swing the tuition for the correspondence course. But something even better happened.

Photo by: Brian Fitzsimmons

I met Rod Serling.

Dr. Joe Vitale, a star in The Secret, is a bestselling author, musician, speaker, and coach. His latest book is The Miracle: Six Steps to Enlightenment. You can have his free e-book, Attract Money Now, at www.AttractMoneyNow.com His main website is www.MrFire.com

He was giving a presentation in Youngstown, Ohio, not far from my home. Two friends and myself went to hear the great one speak. It was around 1970. I was too excited to sit still. I was star-struck and eager to meet the icon. He walked out on stage, cigarette in hand, tanned, tiny, unshaven, tight-lipped, and uncomfortable. I was instantly disappointed. Serling was a chain-smoking little man with darkness and insecurity in him. He said if there was a thump at night, he’d be the first one outside in his shorts. He said he was the only boxer who had to be carried into, as well as out of, the ring. He was articulate, self-effacing, and entertaining. But I wanted to see a superhuman, not a mortal. Though I was shy and nervous, I managed to ask him a question. I raised my hand. He nodded at me. “Do you plan to write your autobiography?” I asked. “No,” Serling replied. “Nothing much has happened in my life. It’d be boring.”

I was shocked. Here was one of early television’s most influential writers. A creative mind on the level of genius. He wrote screenplays for some of the most haunting TV shows and movies ever. He won several Emmy Awards. He served in the war and received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, as well as trauma and wounds that gave him nightmares his entire life. He was known as “the angry young man” of Hollywood, fighting with TV executives over censorship, racism, and war. He was also unhappy.

“I was traumatized into writing by war events,” Rod Serling explained. “By going through a war in a combat situation and feeling the desperate sense of terrible need for some sort of therapy. To get it out of my gut, write it down. This is the way it began for me.” And he thought his life story would be boring??? It was a turning point for me. I decided if this insecure man could become a scriptwriting legend, there was a chance for me to make it as an author, too.

Back to the episode I saw. It took place in an office. A businessman is talking to his secretary. He’s preparing to go on a trip. He goes to his phone, starts to dial his wife’s number, when suddenly someone shouts, “CUT!” The man freezes. He watches as his office walls are moved. And then he sees an entire film crew looking at him. He’s on a movie set. The yelling of “CUT!” causes him to freeze. He’s almost traumatized by this turn of events. He didn’t know he was on a set, or in a movie, or was an actor. Imagine how you would feel if right now you heard a booming voice yell “CUT!” and then you saw the walls around you move apart, only to reveal a film crew that has been watching you the whole time. The episode is from 1960. It’s #23. It was written by Richard Matheson. It’s called A World of Difference. Howard Duff is the key actor. Find it and watch it sometime.

And now let’s get to the point. Here’s how I discovered a self-help, instant change technique: Whenever you notice anything not going the way you want it, mentally (or out loud) yell, “CUT!” And then do, think, or say something different. Use “CUT!” as a command to change your mind, or even a situation. “CUT!” For example. A friend was complaining about her day. I listened for a moment. Then I blurted, “CUT!” She stared at me. “Let’s redo this scene,” I said. “Say your lines differently this time.” I had to explain the entire Twilight Zone episode to her before she understood what I was doing, but my pattern interrupt caused her to smile and begin a new conversation. Another example. I was served dinner at a restaurant. I was about to complain about the dish when I remembered that complaining doesn’t help. It’s far wiser to state an intention instead. So I yelled “CUT!” in my head. “State what you want,” I told myself, “not what you don’t want.” I then stated that I wanted my food heated up a little

ROD SERLING’S ADVICE TO WRITERS (1962) • Don’t let sentimentality rear its ugly head!!! • Make people think… stun them… grab your audience. • Don’t overload dialogue. • Have a point of view… don’t accept someone else’s concept. • Overall theme leads to characters, then on to plot. • Research background for any story. • Continuity… tie scenes or paragraphs together.

more, and the server smiled and handled it. No one was offended by a complaint, and I got what I wanted from the intention. Do you see how this works?

I’m simply pretending life is a stage play or television show. As long as the show entertains me, fine. But if I, or someone in my real-life reality show, gets out of tune or goes off script, I can simply say “CUT!” and “Let’s do the scene again!” My own philosophy of life states that life is an illusion, anyway. We’re all actors and actresses on the stage of life. The problem is, we’re all in a hypnotic trance and believe our roles. Awakening is all about realizing you’re acting out a script, though unconsciously. By saying, “CUT!” and pausing, you start to awaken from the trance and redirect your life. In a real sense, you become the scriptwriter of your own life.

How cool is that? I’m having fun using this self-help method in my daily life. If I notice my thoughts start to go downhill, I just yell in my mind, “CUT!” And then I choose to redo my lines by thinking more upbeat thoughts. I doubt anyone involved with the The Twilight Zone ever thought of this way of retraining your brain and interrupting patterns, but I like thinking Rod Serling is smiling from above. If not, then, “CUT!” – and, “This time put a smile on your face, Rod!” (PS: One of my favorite screenplays by Rod Serling was titled Patterns. It was a live television drama in 1955. It became a movie in 1956. Yelling, “CUT!” is a great way to break a pattern.)

There is a time in all of our lives, I reflected, for us to see gypsies in our mirrors. Generations of people of all races and cultures have distrusted and persecuted gypsies and sent them on their way to somewhere else, which, of course, was fine with the gypsies, because somewhere else was where they always wanted to be. – Kinky Friedman, Road Kill

inky Friedman is a man who knows a thing or two about mysteries, having written about twenty or so of them between careers as a country music star, Texas Monthly columnist, and candidate for the offices of both Governor and Agriculture Commissioner of the Great State of Texas. If Texas ever secedes from the Union, he’d be a shoo-in, in a perfect world, for president of the new republic. Come to think of it, his well-documented career as an equal opportunity offender would make him a good candidate for prez of the entire Union these days, should that job suddenly become open anytime on the near future.

But we digress… An easy thing to do, in the wee hours before a looming deadline – but back to gypsies. Neena Buxani’s April cover girl is part of her India collection, not a gypsy. As recently as a year or so ago, however, India’s Minister of External Affairs claimed gypsies as “children of India,” the nomadic tribe known as the Romani. The Romani are also said to have roots in ancient Egypt, been instrumental in creating and spreading the mysteries of the Tarot, and were the wild cards in the spread of other esoteric mysteries throughout Europe and the Americas. They’re also pretty good soothsayers, horse traders, herbalists, and pickpockets. Civilization is generally spread by the ne’er do wells, the outliers who cross borders freely. Lose them, and we’re just a bunch of homogenized burgermeisters, afraid of our shadows.

GMO? omg! Hold on tight, this is a quick segue -- and the obligatory nod to the environment in the April issue of a fine natural magazine, being as how April’s Earth Day and all. Homogenization of food supplies is one goal of genetically modified organisms, aka GMO.’s Gypsies might admire the con job by Monsanto and them to peddle the notion of tweaking the genetics of food crops to take direct hits of toxic herbicides (manufactured, of course, by the same folks who create GMO technology). Make no mistake, though – the long game is to wipe out anything wild and free, whether it’s plant, animal, or human, and patent and control what’s left. The true mystery is that anyone’s buying that line, when the reasons not to are so multitudinous they could fill an entire magazine. The good news is, the purveyors of lies – and poisons – have become so bold there’s not even really a serious attempt to conceal their perfidy anymore, but folks are beginning to wake up and say enough. Be one of them, before it’s too late and there’s no healthy food, no truth – and no gypsies – left.

Neena Buxani. Multi-cultural Austin artist Neena Buxani is IndianAmerican, raised on the border of Mexico, and her ode to her muse Frida Kahlo, My Frida, was her Austin All Natural cover debut last May. April’s cover piece is the perfect way to recognize truth, beauty, and the inherent goodness in all things. Its title is a Sanskrit word that means to bow to you – to recognize God within you, within everything. It’s called, simply, Namaste. See Neena Buxani’s work at Bass Concert Hall, March 31-June 9; Arts in the Pines Gallery, Bastrop, April 7-May 1; West Austin Studio Tour, Austin Art Space, May 13-14, 20-21; Austin Bergstrom Airport, through April 30; Texas State University, Round Rock, through May 6. www.NeenaBuxani.com

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CHANGE YOUR STORY Nature’s Healing Powers Condensed from Change Your Story of Your Health: Using Shamanic and Jungian Techniques for Healing, by Carl Greer, PhD, PsyD Many people have intuited that nature has healing powers, but now researchers are discovering more about how our bodies and minds benefit from our interactions with nature. A 2007 British study showed a walk in nature reduced depression in seventy-one percent of participants. That matches up with Japanese research into the practice of shinrinyoku, translated as forest bathing, immersion in a wooded environment. Studies have shown walking in the woods lowers levels of the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, boosting immunity and mood. It also reduces heart rate, lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, and increases anticancer protein levels. The air in natural areas, especially in forests or near moving waters, such as rivers, tends to have a very high concentration of negative ions known to increase levels of the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin. These types of ions also are associated with a sense of greater vitality, and reduce depression, fatigue, and stress. Breathing them in is easy to do when we’re outdoors in nature.

Get dirty. Touching soil, or perhaps just being near it and breathing it in, to some degree, benefits health, too. An increasing amount of research is showing connections between microbes encountered when outdoors and a healthy gut colony of organisms that contributes to digestive health, and even positive moods and protection from depression and anxiety. Dirt puts us in contact with microorganisms that establish their home in our digestive system. One benefit of spending time in nature is you enter a mind state similar to the one typically achieved when using shamanic practices, and the nervous system is able to switch from an alert sympathetic state (fight or flight) to a soothing, restorative parasympathetic state (rest and digest) for better health. That switchover fosters greater immunity and triggers a process of cellular repair in the body. Research on green exercise – in other words, exercise undertaken outdoors, in a natural area – shows it provides even greater health benefits than exercise indoors, presumably because of the effects of nature. Exercising near water may be especially advantageous. Carl Greer, PhD, PsyD, practicing clinical psychologist, Jungian analyst and shamanic practitioner, is the bestselling author of Change Your Story, Change Your Life. To purchase Change the Story of Your Health, visit Amazon.com or www.CarlGreer.com

THE REAL KING ARTHUR Where to find him in Britain Condensed from A Darker Magic This Way Comes, by Carmel Niland Hollywood has made yet another movie about the legendary King Arthur, in which the once and future King can be found living in ancient London (Londonium). However, it’s highly unlikely King Arthur was ever in ancient London, as Carmel Niland writes… The whole of Britain resonates with its king of the fifth century, King Arthur. There’s only one county, however, that honours him in their anthem and knows in their heart he is theirs. And that is Cornwall. Cornwall claims his birthplace, his youthful castle, his hunting lodge, his grave, and the resting place of his magical sword, Excalibur. Cornwall delivers six of the top sites to experience Arthur’s story, no more than thirty miles apart – easily reached, as Arthur would have done, on a pack pony in a day or two. Tintagel Castle. About six hundred years after the King Arthur’s death, Geoffrey of Monmouth identified the beautiful headland fort at Tintagel in North Cornwall as his place of conception. Archaeological findings have confirmed sixth-century occupation with luxury imported pottery, but this is a little late for Arthur, who died somewhere between 500 and 510. The Rumps. Gorlois, the warlord, wanted to ensure his beautiful trophy wife, Ygern, and two stunning daughters, Morgana and Morgause, were safe and secure when he was away months at a time. The Rumps was a far better choice than Tintagel. In Arthurian legend, around 460 Gorlois was away and Uther Pendragon, red-haired son and brother of a king, is feverous from infatuation with Ygern. Assisted by Merlin’s enchantment, Uther is disguised to look like Gorlois and seduces Ygern. From their union, the illegitimate Arthur will be born. Castle-an-Dinas. After one of Gorlois’s many enemies murdered him, Uther Pendragon had no desire to live with his newly born son in another man’s castle. Uther would bequeath this castle to Arthur. Dozmare Pond. A twenty-mile ride from Castle-an-Dinas across the wild Bodmin Moor sits Dozmare Pond. It is there legend says Arthur’s best friend Bedivere rushed to fulfill Arthur’s dying request to return his dazzling sword to the Lady of the Lake. Dinas Emrys in Wales. Wales is a magical land, peopled with myths of giants, dragons, and magical characters. Merlin – Myrddin in Welsh – was Arthur’s wizard, enchanter, shaman, and bard. There are two remote places in Wales with strong connections to Merlin, and the best known is a hilltop fort in Northwest Wales – Dinas Emrys.

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Caerleon Fort in Wales. Shortly after Arthur settled into Caerleon, he received an uninvited, unknown guest, a sorceress named Morgana. She was tall, beautiful, ravenhaired with amber eyes, and she seduced Arthur and left his bed before dawn’s light. The last time Arthur had seen his half-sister was when he was four. From their union came their son, Modred, who was raised secretly by his mother Morgana with one purpose – to murder Arthur and usurp his throne. The Round Table. Once Arthur chose his beautiful bride Guinevere, with her came a dowry that included a great, heavy round table crafted by Merlin. The Fellowship of the Round Table, where every knight, despite his birth, was treated equally, led to a sworn code of behavior crafted by Merlin that obliged every knight to help anyone in distress who approached the Table and appealed for their help, provided they had a fair and honest request. Cadbury Fort -- Camelot? The nearest hill fort to Glastonbury in Somerset is Cadbury, generally recognised as the site of the fabled Camelot. Glastonbury and its Tor. One of the most evocative places associated with Arthur’s legend is Avalon, the last resting place of Arthur, where he sleeps until called back to save Britain from her enemies again. Tradition associates Avalon with the town of Glastonbury. It’s claimed that to this place Joseph of Arimathea came with his fourteen-year-old nephew, the Christ child. After Jesus’ resurrection, Joseph returned with companions bearing, according to local tradition, the precious Grail. The Chalice Well below the Tor is the legendary resting place of the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. Available at Amazon.com and www.ADarkerMagicThisWayComes.com

HONEST DOUBTS

Another side of Faith

by Bonnie Gale

What is doubt? We typically think of it as lack of faith, a negative thing, undesirable, that should be eliminated or shoved far from life. We feel guilt and shame for questioning what we think or believe. Yet, to be a spiritual student is to remain open to Truth, to be willing to have your spiritual understanding refined, open to becoming ever-evolving beings on a perpetual path of spiritual growth. We’re invited to expand our hearts’ understanding, to know God’s Truth is within, revealed to us on an ongoing basis.

An adventurer in faith. Historically, spiritual leaders never stop looking for new ideas. Charles Fillmore, founder of the Unity movement, was still saying in his nineties, “I reserve the right to change my mind.” Life to him meant new beginnings. He was a pioneer of spirit, an adventurer in faith, once writing, Beware of the circumscribed idea of God! Always provide for an increase in your concept. Be free to grow and expand. What you think today may not be the measure for your thought tomorrow. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam, in the section on Faith and Doubt, states, There is more faith in honest doubt, than in half of the creeds. Tennyson could have easily said all the creeds. Having honest doubt is pivotal to spiritual growth, stretching us to learn truth at deeper levels.

The faith of a child. Jesus modeled how to question, teaching his followers to be childlike in their faith. His disciples once asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus replied, “Unless you become like a little child, you will not experience heaven.” (Matthew 18:1) The one thing to know about children is they question. They ask, “Why?” They ask it often, with intensity and integrity. They ask honest questions, simply wanting to know the truth, always ready for possibilities in the answers. They wonder, embrace the mystery. Most importantly, they don’t feel guilt or shame for their questions. Questioning is key to developing faith, essential to spiritual growth because it embraces the possibility of imperfection and acknowledges fallibility in our beliefs. An honest doubt allows for vulnerability, authenticity, creating a space to work out our own salvation in awe. (Philippians 2:12)

My questioning journey. Sometimes in life, you have a dark night of the soul. According to Eckhart Tolle, this occurs when the entire conceptional framework for life and the meaning you’ve given it collapses. When you go through such times, you emerge transformed, renewed, awakening into something deeper within your being, experiencing a rebirth of faith. Virtually everyone has such experiences. You’ve likely had your own – I know I have. There was a time I felt certain about who God was, and that every word I heard in youth groups, church, and Bible college was true. As I began to question and see the world as a bigger place, I felt wounded by the original message I’d been taught, and sought healing. It was a long road back to my spiritual core. At first, shifts were small, progress limited. As I questioned, developing honest doubt, I began to know Truth for myself through direct experiences, rather than what had been taught and prescribed.

Proactive faith and spiritual growth. Faith is a commitment to spiritual vision, despite what the mind perceives – a stretch into what’s not yet present reality. Hebrews 11:1 states, Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see. Faith gives substance to Truth, so you may act with conviction on its reality and creative power. Proactive faith embraces honest doubt as a viable, valuable tool in spiritual development, helping strengthen Faith, inviting questions that deepen spiritual understanding. If you struggle with self-doubt and shame yourself for lack of faith, know there’s another way of looking at this. Release any self-judgment blocking you from deeper experiences of the power of your Faith. Forgive yourself for the past, allow yourself to ask questions. Give yourself the opportunity to grow. As divine beings, we have the answers we need, within. With honest doubt, you can seek a deeper, more authentic faith. If you’re diligent, you’ll surely find it. Bonnie Gale is a Licensed Unity Teacher and minister of Unity of Lake Travis, 13333 Hwy. 71 in Bee Cave, (near 71 and 620), meeting Sunday mornings at 10:30. www.UnityofLakeTravis.org

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Michael Abedin

Friday April 7 Sat.-Sun. April 8-9 Next Class: JUNE 2-4 All three levels of Reiki in one life-changing weekend

Register early for 25% oﬀ (512) 879-7299 Tao Health and Fitness 4201 S. Congress Learn to do treatments on yourself and others, in-person and long-distance, and how to attune others. Learn the true history of Reiki founder Mikao Usui, and Reiki’s relationship to Qigong, martial arts, Taoist and Tibetan traditions, and Japan’s ancient shamanism. Michael Abedin is an eighth-generation Reiki Master Teacher of the Usui lineage, a fifth-degree black belt martial artist, and publisher and editor of Austin All Natural

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TIBETAN SINGING BOWLS

BOUNDARIES AND SELF-EMPOWERMENT

by Christina Allen Many healers willingly absorb the energy of a loved one, to make them feel better. Part of our Judeo-Christian culture encourages this, saying that being a selfless martyr is honorable. We should be able to put ourselves aside to appease another. If we are spiritually strong, we should be able to take the hit. Jesus did, after all. He died for our sins. This martyrdom is central to our cultural programming. The problem is, it enables the sinner. It creates a culture of victims, waiting to be rescued from their shortcomings, instead of a tribe of empowered beings, taking personal responsibility for their actions. People need limits, and feedback about their behavior, to learn there are consequences for their actions. If a child is never told no, she will become overbearing, not understanding where she ends and another begins. Creating boundaries reminds us that every action, or inaction, we take creates an outcome. A child who is never taught this will feel safe passing blame to others for disturbances he, himself, creates. We refine ourselves through these deflections.

Let’s say another person is stepping on your toes. You don’t do anything, or say anything, however – you can’t. It might upset them. You tell yourself you are strong, that you can endure this. You don’t act, and they keep stepping on peoples’ toes. When we decide to continually endure something we find objectionable for the sake of another, however, we not only deny them feedback that their actions are inappropriate, we reject and abandon ourselves. Think about it. Behind every moment as an adult where we’ve felt rejected, we’ve first denied some boundary of our own. Usually this comes in the form of not honoring our first hit, or our intuition, about the situation. Instead, we let our desires, fears, or duty push us past our knowing. We reject ourselves before they ever do. Healers who don’t respect boundaries between themselves and their clients abandon themselves as well. Taking on the heavy energies of clients, over time, will fatigue

and burn them out. Some, believing this is their role, even fear their calling as a healer for this very reason.

Absorbing someone else’s energies is a choice, however. Empowered healers honor their own personal boundaries first. They create a safe and sacred space for their clients to heal within, but without absorbing anything. It all comes down to self-respect. Once you’ve betrayed yourself, you’ve give everyone else permission to do the same. Respect from others starts with respect of self. When we enforce our boundaries, and make the choice to honor ourselves, we tell the universe we prefer others who will too. In this sense, the spiritual path of empowerment is actually a path of learning selfishness, not martyrdom. Many people fear being judged as selfish, so they put everyone else’s needs first. It is our place, however, to define what’s inappropriate, whether it hurts another’s feelings or not. We must listen to that inner voice that says Enough! This doesn’t mean we have to be sharp or rude. It means we must listen, and act accordingly. True spiritual empowerment starts with defining strong personal boundaries. When we try to save someone else at our own expense, both people drown – and no one grows. Selflessness, at the core of many spiritual teachings, means you don’t have a personal agenda, that you are there in service to something higher than your ego. It does not, however, mean you lie down like a doormat and wait for it to be over. To be in service, we need to be strong and resilient. This means looking after ourselves. Now, more than ever, we need empowered spiritual warriors – not martyrs. Christina Allen’s work as an intuitive, healer, teacher, and founder and director of the Austin Shamanic Center combines a strong science background (BA Physics, MS Neuroscience) with decades of applied ancient spiritual wisdom (Master Yogi, Reiki Master, and profound Shamanic Healing based on Q’ero Indian traditions of Peru). For private appointments and upcoming classes, call (512) 391-9829, or visit www.AustinShamanicCenter.com

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HOW TO

The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People The new book by Judith Orloff, MD Dr. Orloff combines neuroscience, intuition, and energy medicine to show you how to stay powerful and strong in the world, while also keeping your compassion and empathy alive. – Deepak Chopra An exclusive Austin All Natural review by Caroline Myss Being an empath is the new normal, and The Empath’s Survival Guide is a perfect guidebook. Now, people will know how to cope with being highly sensitive and empathic in their everyday lives without developing exhaustion, compassion, fatigue, or burning out. As Judith says, conventional medicine often pathologizes sensitivity – but now you can see it as the gift it truly is. Empaths can easily become sponges, absorbing other people’s emotions and symptoms. Dr. Orloff offers a wealth of practical strategies to stop absorbing other people’s stress, while keeping your sensitivities open and alive. She addresses the special needs of empathy – things like getting adequate alone time, setting clear limits with people, and grounding – in areas such as health, work, parenting, raising empathic children, combating narcissists and other energy vampires, as well as in love and all relationships.

Learning to cope with heightened intuition. Empaths can also develop heightened intuition, which they must learn to cope with in a grounded way. Dr. Orloff discusses plant empaths, Earth empaths, relationship empaths, telepathic and precognitive empaths, food empaths, and more. The secret to a happy life, for everyone who wants to nurture their empathic abilities in a world that’s often overwhelming, is to practice self-protection strategies. Judith’s book validates the truth that empaths experience the world around them primarily through their energetic or intuitive senses. Such knowledge is vital to understanding and caring for your own awakening sensitivities. Judith Orloff is a New York Times bestselling author and is on the UCLA psychiatric clinical faculty. She specializes in treating empaths and sensitive people in her Los Angeles based private practice, accomplishing for psychiatry what physicians like Mehmet Oz have done for mainstream medicine – proving the links between physical, emotional, and spiritual health can’t be ignored. The Empath’s Survival Guide is available at Amazon. com and, along with a free excerpt, audio download, and other supportive tools, at www.DrJudithOrloff.com

The Health Risk for Women in a High-Tech World by Phyllis Light, Ph.D. Women are traditionally more sensitive and in touch with their feelings, while men have always been required to be the “brave ones,” learning to suppress or ignore their feelings – particularly fear. Since women tend to trust their feelings more, they’re generally more willing to tell the truth about what’s going on within themselves.

Being a woman in today’s high-tech world has become particularly challenging. We women can feel all the negative energies bombarding us, and many of us have become poignantly aware of how bad our bodies feel as a result. Let’s look at the detrimental energies in our high-tech world, and how they impact your health and well-being. We have TV and radio frequencies being broadcas 24/7 from overhead satellites. Powerful frequencies are continuously broadcast from nearby cell phone towers, allowing us to call, text message, and download information onto our cell phones and other mobile devices. Intense electromagnetic fields are emitted by our personal computers. Our houses are filled with frequencies from our WiFi networks, and often our neighbors’ WiFi. In truth, all electric, electromagnetic, and battery-powered devices – the very things we use and depend upon on a daily basis – create an unnatural electromagnetic field (EMF).

These EMFs have been shown to be very damaging to human health. In the 1980s, Dr. Robert O. Becker, co-author of The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life, studied the bioeffects of EMFs, discovering that “many illnesses have been linked to exposure to electromagnetic fields: weakened endocrine and immune systems which, in turn, lead to more allergies, asthma, cancer, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, headaches, fibromyalgia, sleep disorders, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), autism, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Environmental Illness, and a speeded-up aging process.” Additional research by Dr. George Yao, EMF expert, has indicated that EMFs cause depression, irritability, and stress. Depression alone is widespread in today’s world. Research indicates that more than seventeen million people in the U.S. suffer from depression, and women are almost twice as likely to experience this as men. Because women are more sensitive,

our bodies react more strongly to the negative influences of EMFs and other detrimental frequencies, and we’re unable to pretend everything is fine. We get headaches from sitting in front of our computers, and talking on our cell phones. We often feel tired from our bodies being so bombarded by frequencies on a daily basis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and sometimes we get unexplainable pains in our body (Fibromyalgia).

And then we start to take it personally. We wonder what’s wrong with us that we can’t function “normally,” as we see others do. We start to beat ourselves up and think we’re really screwed up because we’re so tired and out of it. We start drinking tons of coffee or eating more sugary foods, to get the energy we’re so sorely lacking. First, you need to know there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with you. You’re not bad for having this experience, and you need to stop beating yourself up for it. It’s not natural for the human body to withstand the onslaught of such frequencies, and you happen to be a sensitive human being who can feel what’s going on with you and your body – even though you haven’t been aware of the source of your ills. The problem is the frequencies are invisible. You can’t see detrimental energy fields radiating from your cell phone every time we talk to your family and friends, can’t feel what’s happening to your body when you listen to Pandora, or download a film on Netflix. You may get tired, have headaches, or just feel depressed a lot, but you really don’t know the cause – because the culprit is essentially invisible, and out of your awareness. Now that you’re armed with this understanding about the potential hazards of EMFs, however, you can be more open to finding viable solutions to help yourself and your family. Phyllis Light, Ph.D, is a counselor, author, and creator of Rejuvenizers®—powerful, energetic devices that protect the human energy field from the damaging effects of EMFs. To learn more, visit: www.lighthealing.com or call (512) 301-2999.

THYROID DISFUNCTION A whole-body solution by Dr. Trevor Botts Thyroid dysfunction and thyroid symptoms are very common, especially in the United States among women. Men also struggle with thyroid symptoms, but it’s primarily an issue women face today. In fact, studies suggest up to ten percent of women over sixty have some form of hypothyroidism. Thyroid hormones plug into the DNA of every cell to affect protein synthesis – something you can’t say about any other hormone – and support every major function of the body. If thyroid hormones are balanced, everything seems to work pretty well. If thyroid hormones aren’t working, everything slows down. One of my colleagues compares the thyroid to the gas pedal on your car. If it’s working, the engine runs smoothly, everything moves, the car gets down the road. If it isn’t, it’s like taking your foot off the gas – everything slows down.

Different systems are supported by the thyroid: Bone metabolism. Patients with low thyroid function who use hormone replacement therapy are at higher risk of bone loss, leading to osteoporosis. The immune system. Thyroid hormones help regulate immune function. Brain and nervous system. “Brain fog” is a symptom commonly reported by thyroid patients – they can’t seem to think clearly, feeling like they’re in a haze or fog. Gastrointestinal function. Remember, when the thyroid isn’t working, everything slows down – including digestion. Liver and gallbladder function. Low thyroid function can slow down liver metabolism pathways. Also, there’s an established relationship between thyroid function and gallstone disease. Growth and sex hormones. Problems with low libido and imbalances in estrogen and testosterone are common with thyroid issues. Problems with growth hormones can also affect your metabolism and your ability to burn fat. Metabolism comes to a screeching halt – no matter how much you work out, you can’t seem to lose weight. Insulin and glucose metabolism. Low thyroid function can cause metabolic syndrome, opening the door to insulin resistance and diabetes and putting you at higher risk for obesity. Tying it together, low thyroid function slows down your ability to get sugar from your blood stream into your cells, creating symptoms of hypoglycemia (lightheaded, irritable) even though blood sugar levels may be normal. To compensate, adrenals release cortisol, the adrenal hormone, to raise blood sugar levels. High cortisol further suppresses thyroid function, and the cycle repeats. Chronic

thyroid problems can easily turn into blood sugar and adrenal problems as well. Healthy cholesterol levels. Hypothyroidism affects LDL cholesterol receptors in the liver, which can increase cholesterol levels in blood. Proper stomach acid. Many low thyroid patients also suffer from acid reflux. The cause of this is likely quite different from what you might think, and many people suffer unnecessarily with acid reflux, ending up on medication, Tums, or antacids for life.

Thyroid dysfunction is a whole-body problem. As such, it requires a whole-body solution. Let’s review the organ systems that have to work together to achieve proper thyroid balance. First, the brain, especially the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, have to activate the thyroid gland. Second, the thyroid gland needs to be able to produce adequate levels of hormones. Third, the liver and digestive system need to be able to convert inactive T4 prohormones into active T3. Sex hormones, especially estrogen, need to be balanced to prevent increases in thyroid-binding globulins. Blood sugar needs to be controlled to prevent sex hormone imbalance or adrenal dysfunction, and adrenal glands need to provide appropriate feedback to the brain to balance hypothalamus and pituitary gland output – bringing us full circle to thyroid gland stimulation by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. I would never expect to teach someone complete self-management of thyroid health in one article, but this information at least gives an overview of why so many people continue to struggle with thyroid symptoms when all they’re doing is taking thyroid hormones. Hopefully, this information can help empower you to seek out the solution that’s going to fit – one that’s individualized for you. Trevor Botts is founder and clinic director of Inspire Wellness Center, 13740 Research Blvd, Ste. L-4, offering natural, noninvasive wellness programs through lifestyle enrichment rather than disease management. Inspire offers free weekly seminars and dinners each month, explaining different options for wellness and quality of life. April: The Killer Three – Blood Sugar, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol. May: Hormone Health. RSVP and info: (512) 800-2026 www.InspireAustin.com

HEART OF THE MATTER TThe he R Roots oots o off C Cardiac ardiac Disease Disease

by Dr. Matthew Carpenter Recently, I attended the first-ever joint meeting between the International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicity (IAOMT), the International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine (IABDM), International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM), and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM). The three-day lecture was The Roots of Toxicity, and the focus of the meeting was the connection between root canal therapy and systemic illness. One of the best lectures was presented by a cardiologist, Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD, who released a book called The Toxic Tooth in 2014, conclusively demonstrating the connection between root canal therapy and coronary artery disease. Levy worked with Dr. Hal Huggins over thirty years ago in developing the pioneering Huggins Protocol, which provides a research-based protocol for safely removing mercury, or a root canal-treated tooth, from a patient. Dr. Levy helped Dr. Huggins incorporate vitamin C infusions into the protocol, and when they did, they saw their success rates in reversing illness jump. This is the protocol I practice in my office.

Historically, links between oral infections and disease were first identified in the early 1900s. At this time, a host of medical researchers, including Charles Mayo (founder of the Mayo Clinic), Westin Price, Ed Rosenow, and several others were independently seeing unmistakable links between systemic disease and various strains of bacteria. Notably, a vast majority of these pathogens seemed to originate from oral sources in and around infected teeth. Although their research methodologies were slightly different, all their results pointed to the same conclusion – degenerative diseases could be initiated by specific pathogens, and each pathogen seemed to have an affinity to a particular organ or structure in the body. Basically, root canal-treated teeth were extracted from patients with a variety of systemic diseases, and cultures were made from bacteria obtained from the teeth, and were injected into laboratory animals. With very few exceptions, the animals would quickly develop the same disease as the patient from whom the tooth was extracted. In 1913, Dr. Charles Mayo issued this challenge to the dentists of his day: It falls upon the dentist and oral surgeon to study the diseased conditions of the mouth. The work is discouraging, but it must be kept up, as eventually it will have its effect. The next great leap in medical progress in the line of preventive medicine should be made by the dentists. The question is, will they do it?

The dismissed The American Ame meri rica can n Dental Association Association ion ((ADA) ADA) AD A) d dis ismiss is smi miss ssed sed ed Dr. Dr. Price’s findings that repor reported rte ted d a cconnection onne on nect ctio ion n between bet etwe ween en oral ora rall and systemic infection. Now, decades after his research was dismissed, researchers are again reporting connections between infected teeth and diseases of the heart: Bacteria commonly found in the mouth can cause an aggregation of platelets, which can contribute to the blocking of an artery and result in a heart attack or stroke. t 4USFQUPDPDDVT TBOHVJT, found in infected teeth – including root canal-treated teeth – contributes to endocarditis (inflammation of the heart’s inner layer), as well as the formation of blood clots. t Patients with chronic apical periodontitis (or a common tooth abscess) had a 2.79 times higher risk of developing coronary artery disease than patients without these tooth infections. t Researchers have consistently found a wide variety of dental pathogens and microorganisms in the atherosclerotic lesions in patients with coronary artery disease. t In fact, seventy-seven percent of atherosclerotic plaques from patients with root canals contained oral bacteria. t Not only are periodontal disease and root canaltreated teeth linked in research to strokes and other cardiovascular health risks, other diseases associated with oral infection include pneumonia, bronchial inflammation, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer – including GI, pancreatic, lung, esophageal, and head and neck cancers.

Advise and consent. Many systemic disease connections Dr. Price documented are now being confirmed and published in dental journals. At a minimum, dental professionals should be required to discuss these established risks and determine, with their patients, whether the benefits of a root canal procedure outweigh the health risks. Quite simply, the root canal procedure requires a fully informed consent explaining all of the potential systemic health risks before the patient decides whether to proceed. To date, this virtually never occurs, except in biologic dental offices. Dr. Matthew Carpenter of Transcend Dental Health uses drill-free air abrasion, ozone therapy, natural alternatives to antibiotics, non-surgical treatment of gum disease, safe mercury and root canal removal, and natural liposomal heavy metal elimination. (512) 255-3618, www.tdhtx.com

UPCOMING UPCOMING EVENTS EVENTS SUNâ€™S BLESSINGS HOLISTIC PRACTITONER NETWORK www.SunsBlessings.com A new online community based on four pillars: Community, Accountability, Education, Organic Food. Holistic practitioners, discounted local organic produce, and a daily health diary. April 22: Official Earth Day launch. FREE Launch Party, April 29 Casa de Luz, 1701 Toomey, 78704. 2-9pm. Live music, healthy food from Casa, kidsâ€™ playtime. 2:30pm: Samba parade, dancers. 3pm: Cooking Show with Barakah Sahaeil 5-9pm: Samba classes, family yoga, light therapy, and more. Limited vendor space available, apply by Apr. 10: (469) 671-9797 or Barakah@SunsBlessings.com

PEOPLES PHARMACY: FREE CLASSES Natural Menopause Relief: Apr. 17, 7pm Amy Nelson, ND. What healthy menopause looks like, and what imbalanced symptoms truly mean. Allergies & Oriental Medicine: Apr. 24, 7pm Resident acupuncturist Jane Yu. How to reduce symptoms and bring allergies under control. Miracle Minerals: May 9, 7pm. Nutritionist Dawn Welch. What trace minerals to add to your diet, and how to add them. Info, RSVP: www.PeoplesRX.com

LIFE COACHING CERTIFICATION Professional Life Coaching intensives. Austin: Apr. 28-30. San Antonio: May 19-21 www.LifeCoachingAmerica.com

LADY DAY AT EMERSONâ€™S BAR AND GRILL Austinâ€™s Zach Theatre, April 5-30 Pull up a chair, order a cocktail in a swanky nightclub setting with legendary jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday. One of her final performances, Philadelphia, 1959. Classics like God Bless The Child and Strange Fruit. Tickets, showtimes: www.ZachTheatre.org

NATUREâ€™S TREASURES 4103 N. IH 35, Austin, TX (512) 472-5015 Shop online: CrystalsByNature.com Annual Easter Egg Hunt: Sat. April 15 Come join us for activities and a movie, along with Easter Egg Hunts every 15 minutes. Max, The Crystal Skull Private sessions with Max: May 5, 6, and 7. Check our FB page and NTrocks.com to learn about Joanne and Max, and to schedule private sessions. What color is your aura? Find out with dynamic aura readings starting at $15. Walk-ins welcome Thurs.-Mon., 12-6pm. Daily in-store practitioners. Also offering Personal Shopping Saturdays with Dianna, Austinâ€™s Crystal Whisperer. For full practitioner and event calendars and event rental inquiries, visit NTRocks.com

MEDITATION AND MUSIC Sat. Apr. 22, 11am: Holistic House of Healing, 13740 U.S.183N. Bldg. J-1, 78750. Apr. 25 (Every 4th Tues.) Kind Spirit Yoga, 8701 Shoal Creek Blvd. #104, 78757, Guided meditation, live harp, flute, bowls, 45 min. Bring your physical and emotional body into balance. Expand the peace within. Love offering. RSVP: (512) 589-4075 or Lovitations@gmail.com. Schedule, times at www.Lovitations.com/meditations

METAPHYSICAL & HOLISTIC LIFE EXPO April 15-16, Sat. 10am-6:30pm, Sun. 11am-6pm NEW LOCATION: Norris Conference Center 2525 W. Anderson Lane, #365, Austin 78757 www.SpiritualLifeProductions.com

REIKI MASTER INTENSIVE The Reiki of the Fire Dragon, with Reiki Master Teacher Michael Abedin April 8-9. All three levels of Reiki, including in-depth history, principles, and a powerful Journey Into Mastery. Learn to do in-person and long-distance treatments on yourself and others, attune others, and set up and market a practice. Practical, down-to-Earth training. Last class until June. Discounted pre-reg. An outstanding teacher â€“ I wouldnâ€™t do the class with anyone else. Itâ€™s Reiki on an accelerated level. â€“ Joe Vitale Phone application required: (512) 879-7299.

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Advvertisee You ur Events (512 2) 879-72 299 FREE GOURMET DINNER, SEMINAR BY INSPIRE WELLNESS â€œThe Killer Threeâ€? Seminars Apr. 6: Texas Land and Cattle, LakeLine Apr. 12: Saltgrass Steak House, Braker La. Apr. 19: Texas Land and Cattle, S. Mopac Apr. 25: Mimiâ€™s Cafe, Round Rock May: Hormone Seminars Seating is limited, reservations required. Please bring a guest. RSVP: (512) 800-2026

GREATER TUNA The Long Center, April 14-15 The Texas classic, directed by co-creator Jaston Williams. Vera Carp, Petey Fisk, Aunt Pearl, UFOâ€™s, and all the rest of the second smallest and most hilarious town in Texas. www.thelongcenter.org/event/greater-tuna

ASHTARA SASHA WHITEâ€™S EVENTS MASTERS IN THE PALACE II June 10-11 Ashtaraâ€™s new lake palace on Lake Travis. Weekend Seminar, Catered Lunches (512) 278-0559 for more information, or register at www.AshtaraSashaWhite.com

Monthly Group Meeting, Wed. Apr. 12 6:30pm: Snacks, 7-9pm: Group, Profound Teachings, Instant Healings, Phoenix Rising Metaphysics 8650 Spicewood Springs Rd. #201, Austin

Harmony Healing Arts Festivals Psychic, Medical Readings, Instant Healings Sat. April 22, 10-5:30 Natureâ€™s Treasures, 4013 N. I-35 Sun. April 30, 11-5, Norris Conference Center, 2525 W. Anderson Ln. Ashtaraâ€™s CDs, and Private Sessions: (512) 278-0559, www.AshtaraSashaWhite.com

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BUILDING BRIDGES The Bridge – The new CD from Austin’s Kit Holmes

by Michael Abedin When someone tells you they’re a musician in Austin, it’s tempting to whip out the old punch line about being an actor in LA. “Really – what restaurant?” Being able to quit your day job is the mark of success for an artist, and for more than a few holistic practitioners – unless your day job blends right in with your art. Wimberley singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer Kit Holmes has been making music professionally since she was thirteen, and her 2011 album Return to Love was a Grammy contender. She’s also a transformation coach (a Licensed Religious Science Practitioner and Certified Life Mastery Consultant) and was a featured presenter at Joe Vitale’s Advanced Ho’oponopono retreat in March.

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Makes sense. Coaches, musicians, actors, and artists all have pretty much the same gig. Their job is to change your vibration, tweak your consciousness – and consciousness, as Kit says, “creates our experience.” Her sixth CD, released this month, is The Bridge, the perfect metaphor. Whether you’re playing music or crossing a river, a bridge is a transition, a way to get from one place to another. On a guitar, it’s the part that holds up the strings so their vibration can resonate with the sounding board of the instrument and be carried to the ear of the listener – without it, the vibe has nowhere to go. The Bridge is also something of a style transition for Kit, whose pop work has been compared to Carole King and Carly Simon and described by one reviewer as “silky, jazzy and memorable, with brilliant lyrics that are thoughtful and witty.” The new CD was recorded at the renowned Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studios outside of Austin, and backs her soulful piano and vocals with strings, horns, and a band that has a cast of A-list musicians, including the Tosca Strings and fiddler extraordinaire Warren Hood. She describes her music as “piano-driven Americana,” encompassing jazz, pop, R&B, folk, and even some New Thought-inspired lyrics that slip in a message without you realizing it. Her instrumentals and guided meditations have been used in Unity churches, and even to calm mothers during childbirth – a pretty good soundtrack for life, as one reviewer put it. The Bridge, along with bookings for performing, speaking, and coaching, is available at www.KitHolmes.com

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Dear Ashtara: Messages from Your Angels and Master Teachers Dear Ashtara, Will I get married? Tanya, Temple, TX Dear Tanya, Within four years you will have the opportunity to be with someone in a loving partnership and marry if you choose. In the meantime, you will have as many as you feel like having when you set your mind to it. But, when he comes, he comes with smiles on his face and heartfelt gratitude for just laying eyes on you. As a matter of fact, you will have a beautiful, fruitful and more abundant life. Thus, you will be magic! Gabriel is always there for you.

Dear Ashtara, I have been divorced for nearly twelve years and keep having dreams of my ex, who is remarried. Dreams have been going on all this time. Some disagreements, some good, some sad. I am confused why this keeps happening. Can you help me? Melody, 58, Cibolo, TX Dear Melody, It looks to us like you have been connecting with his soul. It also looks like you are not getting exactly what your dreams are beginning to tell you. Also, there are many visions that one of your teachers, Sandalfon, has in store for you. When you get a lesson, start keeping a journal. One day you will start smiling at your progress. Keep up the good work. Your angel is Michael.

Dear Ashtara, I am struggling in so many ways. Unemployment continues, I am an online graduate student, fiftyfour, disabled and alone. Others say that the journey will become more positive, becoming financially independent and dreams come true. I am questioning the validity of that perspective. What do you see for the coming year? Relocation? Travel? Relationship, deep and lasting? Employment? Finances? Enya, 54, San Marcos, TX

Dear Enya, Chances are you are about ready to design a small business. If you do leap into it, it will be very successful. If you haven’t thought of it yet, you will, I assure you. So, don’t worry and imagine that you are about ready to shift and become a New Human. Your angels are Michael and Uriel. Your highest master teacher is Sandalfon.

Dear Ashtara, I am facing retirement, hopefully soon, but have many worries and concerns about it. First, money and finances are not nearly what I would be comfortable with, but I feel I’m running out of time, and need to make a move. I have many life regrets, and would like to get a few things on track in this last piece of my life. Also, I’m not sure that wife and I are on the same page about how to spend retirement. Do you see anything for me, for us? Daniel, 64, Austin, TX. Dear Daniel, Retirement will come and go in your life. Therefore, be assured that you have several more ways of making money. Don’t worry about you and your wife seeing eye to eye about how to spend retirement because you will always be able to come up with a new plan. Your angel is Gabriel and your highest master teacher is Lord Maitreya.

Profound Psychic Readings & Healings can be scheduled (in person or phone). Questions answered and more. Ashtara Sasha White is a gifted Psychic, profound Healer, minister, Master Teacher, speaker, and channel from the Ascended Masters and Archangels. She is also a Reiki Master Teacher, Seichim Reiki Master Teacher, Sound Current Healing Master Teacher, Embodiment Master Teacher and Teacher of the Light. Join her group on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM. See her events at www.AshtaraSashaWhite.com

The Heartwakers Club

THE POWER OF THE TIPTOE The lost art of walking lightly The Heartwakers Club, with Zaeli This time in history is all about the heel – we spur, we stomp, we bootstrap. But what about the power of the tiptoe? Life often wants us to walk lightly, not just as creatures on Earth sharing space with other species, but as friends, lovers, compatriots. Walking lightly in love helps you track joy with greater precision. It means you’re steady, agile, responsive to what’s actually happening – not ankle-deep in the past, not tripping on the future. It means practicing quiet listening, so life’s call can be heard and heeded. It means carrying your tools cautiously, not because you feel doubtful or guilty, but because you’re careful to use them with respectful intent. Practice walking lightly on all paths, both in nature and romance. Don’t demand every soul trot up to you and explain itself in your native language. That’s not the game. The game is we hide from each other – from our own reflections – but secretly long to find and be found, see and be seen. To do this, strength and speed need the balance of tenderness and restraint. Feast on those moments of true contact as a sacred rite, never taking them for granted. Love isn’t one person – it’s a voice that sings through many mouths. Nevertheless, most of us are either in pairbonded relationships, or would like to be. How can you walk lightly through life in service of your partner?

Notice where you are. For one, stop trying to make them who they used to be. When you fixate on someone’s past – whether you liked them better then or just can’t stop recalling their old mistakes – you step on the toes of where they’re standing now. Like you, your partner is alive, moved and moving, so expect their positions to change with the landscape of time. So many relationships end bitterly because one or both people change, and the couple can’t adapt. There’s guilt and blame and resentment on all ends. But the problem isn’t change – it’s when pride prevents us from admitting to the new needs change brings. An example is when a couple has a baby. Their relationship starts over, sometimes from the ground up. To do that, they have to be honest about what makes them feel safe, loved, and seen now, given they’re new versions of themselves.

If we’re embarrassed to admit to our heart’s inconsistencies, we’ll never ask for the gifts it really wants. We’ll set our partners up to fail, because we allow them to bring us beautiful garments in sizes we’ve outgrown. Ask yourself what you need to be happy – don’t be ashamed if it contradicts something you said before. Maybe your partner can’t meet the new challenge, but you owe them the chance to try their best.

Be kind with your tools. Humans have a special magic for technology, but treating tools as slaves creates a great imbalance in the natural world, where everything’s meant to be free. “Modern” civilization’s bottomless desire to control the planet’s treasures and access them anytime, anywhere, hasn’t made us happier or safer. It’s made us sick, lonely, crowded, bored. In the same way, each personality has technologies that are great gifts, but pollute our lives if we exploit them. Humor, charisma, sex appeal, eloquence, vulnerability – wonderful traits like these manipulate others when we use them not to exchange love, but control it. Cultivate your gifts with generosity, not self-preservation. Part of preserving yourself is preserving faith that people will love you as you are.

Be the meeting point. As sentient things, we’re the holy meeting point between Earth and Air. Living well is about staying mobile and grounded at the same time, and this is a matter of adaptability. Alight on the present moment, ready to leap or crouch as needed to honor your wellbeing – but don’t use this as an excuse to become flaky or unaccountable. There’s a place for firm and decisive action, a place for backtracking, and for scouting ahead. Right now the Earth begs us to practice the lost art of walking lightly, because that’s what’s truly missing from the human repertoire. Without that skill, we risk starving for true love and turning on each other. There’s plenty of nourishment to go around, if you open all your senses and slow down to see the bounty already here. Zaeli is a love coach helping you bring consciousness and intention to your emotional life. www.ZAELI.net

PRODUCTS & PRACTITIONERS GUIDE PRANIC HEALING Assess and remove old blocked energy. Projects prana, life-force. Pro bono clinics, private sessions. Practitioner classes. (512) 772-1001 www.AustinPranicHealing.com

BIRDSONG LIFE COACHING AND CONSULTING Professional life coaching and wellness services. Goal setting, meditation, motivation, forward movement. Crafted individually to help create your song. Michelle: (512) 291-2829 BirdSongConsulting2016@gmail.com

DANI STAITE (512) 772-1001 Personal, phone sessions. Healer, prophet, clairvoyant, psychic. Medical intuitive, energy worker, coach, teacher, friend. Info@TheHealingState.com www.TheHealingState.com

CICADA SERVICES Psychotherapeutic training, shamanic techniques integrate, heal Mind, Body, Soul. Hypnotherapy, regression, the Life Between Lives. Shamanic classes, rituals. Protective, grounding jewelry at Austin’s Metaphysical Fair. (512) 440-9082 www.Cicada-Recovery-Services.com TIBETAN SINGING BOWLS Sound Therapy sessions. Private and group instruction. Himalayan bowls for purchase, hand-hammered from seven traditional metals. (512) 426-9568 www.SoundTherapyofAustin.com

ASHTARA SASHA WHITE (512) 278-0559. Phone, inperson sessions. Profound Psychic Readings, Healings. Minister, Speaker, Channel, Master Teacher. Pain alleviated instantly. Questions answered. Problems solved. Deep, gratifying readings. Past lives, Akashic records. Ashtara@SashaWhite.com www.AshtaraSashaWhite.com

ELAINE IRELAND Practicing psychic over fifty years, including helping families, police with missing persons. Classes: Tarot, meditation, psychic development. Phone, Skype, at Austin’s Metaphysical Fair, Nature’s Treasures. (512) 922-4723 www.ElaineIrelandPsychic.com BE WELL THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE Rose Duffin, CMT (720) 982-3564 BeWellCMT@gmail.com Client-centered, integrative therapeutic massage. Therapeutic grade essential oils offered. Mobile massage service to your home or office, table or chair.

LOVITATIONS Belinda Morris. Radiance Reiki and singing bowls. Deep relaxation and soothing sounds. Bowls enhance vibration-energy work, balance chakras. Individual Reiki+Sound sessions, group sessions with crystal and Tibetan bowls. Studio at Holistic House of Healing. (512) 589-4075, www.lovitations.com

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