OMTimes Magazine December A 2020 Edition

December A Issue

Rebecca Schaper

A SISTER'S CALL

Log On Our Website and Learn more in how to Live a Conscious Lifestyle: OMTimes.com

CONTENTS HEALTH & HEALING 38

86

HEALTHY LIVING DURING THE HOLIDAYS

SPIRITUALITY 44

IS YOUR SOUL THE REAL YOU?

48

4 STEPS TO HELP YOU SPIRITUALLY PREPARE FOR 2021

+

Spotlight

METAPHYSICS 92

DISCOVER THE 36 DIVINE FEMALES ARCHETYPES

REBECCA SCHAPER INTERVIEWED

BY SANDRA SEGDBEER

SHORT STORIES 84

5 CHRISTMAS SHORT STORIES TO PUT YOU IN A HOLIDAY MOOD

MOVIE REVIEW

CONSCIOUS PARENTING 56

78 OPERATION DEAR SANTA

RAISING SPIRITUAL CHILDREN

OMLIVING

66 70

DEALING WITH THE SUNK-COST EFFECT DOES THE BRAIN HAVE A DELETE BUTTON?

PERSONAL GROWTH 112

106

REASONS TO PRACTICE MINDFUL MOTIVATION 4 WAYS TO MITIGATE YOUR EMOTIONS IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES

WWW.OMTIMES.COM

CONTENTS

December 2020 Issue A

MENTAL HEALTH

LEARNING TO GIVE

COPING SKILLS

SPIRITUALLY AWARE

SHORT STORIES

FEMALE ARCHETYPES

SPIRITUAL CHILDREN

OPERATION DEAR SANTA

DECEMBER A EDITION

THE FIRST AND ONLY SPIRITUALLY CONSCIOUS LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

HEALTH AND HEALING

90

36

METAPHYSICS

PERSONAL GROWTH

54

CONSCIOUS LIVING

104

OMTIMES.COM

& A more Spiritually Conscious Life

Editor in Chief Publisher Managing Editor Article Layout & Cover Greek Edition: Social Media: Cartoons: Images:

Liane Buck Christopher Buck Lisa Shaw Vik Leigh Christos Archos Iryn Fernando Cartoon Resource BigstockPhotos + Pixabay

OMTimes Magazine is a Twice-Monthly Publication from OMTimes Media, INC OMTimes Media Inc is A 502 Company. A company fully Owned by Humanity Healing International, a 501-C (3), an IRS Registered Charity.

FOR ADVERTISEMENT & RELATED INQUIRIES WRITE TO

OMTIMES MAGAZINE INQUIRY@OMTIMES.COM OMTIMES RADIO CONSCIOUS.RADIO@OMTIMES.COM

+1 571-266-8463 INQUIRY@OMTIMES.COM Customer Service 825-C , Merrimon Avenue, Suite #301 Asheville, North Carolina 28804

OMTimes Magazine ™ is a Trademark of OMTimes Media , Inc & Publishing House.

For inquiries or suggestions, or advertisement contact us at:

Writers

Robyn M Fritz

Greer Jonas

meghan belnap

Carmen Harra

Laurie Sue Brockway

Sandy Sedgbeer

Judy Lynch

Kathy Biehl

Lisa Shaw

Rene Wadlow Rene Wadlow

John Holland

 OMTIMES *DECEMBER A 2020

Columnists

THIS EDITION

Follow us Sharon Sayler

Johanna Kern

FB//Omtimes.Magazine/@OmTimes @OmTimes

Looking to connect with the Conscious Community?

Let OMTimes point the way!

omtimes.com/advertise

REBECCA SCHAPER A Sister's Call

The following interview is a conversation between Sandie Sedgbeer and author, filmmaker, philanthropist, and mental health advocate, Rebecca Schaper, which covers two important topics. The first is Rebecca's own family story, chronicled in her award-winning documentary "A Sister's Call," and her book The Light in His Soul – Lessons from my Brother's Schizophrenia, which have been hailed as essential for anyone who dares to see the miraculous gift that life presents us in our struggles, obstacles, and most difficult moments.

OMTIMES.COM

Mental health needs a great deal of attention. It's the final taboo and it needs to be faced and dealt with.

ADAM ANT

The second is the launch of Sandie and Rebecca's new Podcast, starting in 2021, which aims to shine a new light on mental health by expanding the conversation to cover areas that only just beginning to be examined.

Mental health has become one of the hottest topics of our era. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical and emotional health, and, just as we all struggle to stay in shape and manage our emotions at times, so, too, do we all face times when our mental health is affected by circumstances beyond our control. The events of this year being the perfect case in point.

Sandie Sedgbeer: Rebecca, welcome. Your book The Light in His Soul Lessons from my Brother's Schizophrenia is a story that takes us on a journey through pain, sadness, and suffering. Of growing up with a mentally ill parent, child sexual abuse, parental suicide, and the 20-year disappearance and reappearance of your much-loved brother, Call.

Tell us about your family background & Call's disappearance.

OMTIMES.COM

REBECCA SCHAPER: My Father was a war hero. He had PTSD. My mother was a debutante. We lived in the south. We looked like this perfect family, but we weren't. My mother was diagnosed with paranoid Schizophrenia, and my brother was as well. I grew up in a family with alcoholism, sexual abuse, mental health issues, and both parents died by suicide. In 1977, my brother Call dropped out of college with one semester left. Then my mother died by suicide, and Call took off. I was married by then. I searched for Call for a very long time. But I knew he was alive. Occasionally, he would pop back in and out, but I could never figure out how to truly bring him back home.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: And then in 1998, after 20 years of searching, incredible synchronicity brought him back into your life.

REBECCA SCHAPER: Yes. I will never forget that day.

It still brings tears to my eyes. Call stayed at the Haven of Rest in Anderson, South Carolina, which takes in people with mental health issues and homelessness. They run a Thrift Store, which helps support the homeless people and give them work, picking up donated furniture from people's homes. Call, and another guy was collecting furniture from someone's house. When they got back to the truck, Call noticed the name "Schaper" on the form. He went back to the house, knocked on the door, and said to the owner, "Marge, do you know who I am? I am Rebecca's brother, Call Richmond." Marge is my husband's mother. "Oh my gosh, Call, come in." she said, "You don't know how happy your sister will be.

Let's call her right now."

"THE LIGHT IN HIS SOUL"

I was living in Atlanta, Georgia.

I got that Call at 11 in the morning, and I went, "Oh my God." I later learned that he lived at the Haven of Rest, off and on for six years. And I had no idea that he was just an hour-and-a-half away from me..

Of course, I drove straight there. We were in the parking lot of the Haven of Rest, and we hugged each other, and it was like 'here's this person, my brother, who I knew was always alive, and he's standing right here in front of me. It was like I knew him, but I didn't know him. But I saw into his soul, and though he looked broken, I never felt he was broken inside.

OMTIMES.COM

"A SISTER'S CALL." SANDIE SEDGBEER: And you were able to persuade Call to come back and live near you.

REBECCA SCHAPER: He stayed there for a little bit until I found him a place to stay in Greenville, South Carolina, which is 2½ hours from where I live. I got him in with the Greenville Mental Health System, which was the saving grace at that point. He resisted, at first, but then realized that this was what he needed to do.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: But he was happy to be reunited and didn't want to disappear again?

REBECCA SCHAPER: No. I remember, when we were filming the documentary, we were standing on the railroad track, and I asked him, "Call, are you glad to be here?"

"Oh, yes." He said, "I never want to do that again."

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Did he ever explain why he'd stayed away so long?

REBECCA SCHAPER: No, but I felt that he felt ashamed and afraid of how other people would treat him, that he would be judged. He had lived in the woods a lot. He loved nature.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Now, it wasn't a happy ever after ending by any means.

There were several problems. You became his primary caregiver, his supporter, his advocate, but your husband and your children weren't exactly overjoyed, were they?

REBECCA SCHAPER: No. My daughters were little at that time, and my husband was afraid. He didn't know how Call would react, and he didn't want him in our home. I had to respect that. Even though I knew Call would not do anything to harm anybody, So, we started to build up trust.

Once Call trusted them, and they trusted him, he became part of our family. We took him on family vacations. We brought him over for the holiday dinners, and we had so much fun. My daughters really embraced him. They saw something special in him.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: But there was a time when your daughters felt you were giving more attention to Call than to them. That must have been very conflicting for you?

OMTIMES.COM

OMTIMES.COM

REBECCA SCHAPER: Very conflicting, but I knew I had to do what I had to do because he was my brother.

I loved him, and I didn't realize that until we filmed a scene in the documentary when they told me how they felt, and it did take me back a little bit.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Your documentary, A Sister's Call, which logged a lot of what was going on as it was occurring, won several film festivals awards. It's very raw and honest. You didn't sugarcoat anything. What motivated you to make that documentary?

REBECCA SCHAPER: I wanted to tell his story. I wanted to show that he had a soul.

That he was a very compassionate person, and he was very loving. Because Schizophrenia has this stigma, and I wanted to break that stigma. I want to show the world that there are kind, beautiful, smart, creative, and very wise souls.

I didn't know anything about filming. But I asked Call if he would be willing to let me tell a story about his life, and he instantly said, 'Yes, of course.' The way he said it made me feel that he knew I was going to ask him that.

And that's when we started healing the wounds. I thought it would take a year, but it took 14 years.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: So, you wanted everybody else in the world to understand the soul of Schizophrenia, not just the diagnosis?

REBECCA SCHAPER: Exactly.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: And those 14 years were not always easy. Call had a number of relapses. What sort of problems and setbacks did you encounter?

REBECCA SCHAPER: Thank goodness, I had a social worker who worked with him and Greenville, and we communicated a lot.

Sometimes, Call would be on his medication, and then when he'd be OK and feel OK, he would stop taking it. Then he would plummet, and then it was like a roller coaster ride —up and down and up and down.

At one point, he was admitted to Marshall Pickins hospital for three or four months and was lost for a while.

He couldn't take care of his apartment that well, but that was OK. OK. But I didn't care about that. It was him that I saw. OK, his apartment was a huge mess, and it was frustrating at times.

Still, it was Call that drove me to… well, I wanted to expose the real him that he was a beautiful person despite all this debris and chaos.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: You hinted in your book that he had some kind of psychic gift. He told you about having heard that your mother was going to kill herself before she did.

REBECCA SCHAPER: Yes. I'll never forget this. We were filming him, and he was reflecting back, and he said he remembered that he was on the road, standing under a bridge one day when a voice came over him. And it said, 'I’m going to have to take your mother.’ Two weeks later, our mother died by suicide. Now, he was not on any medication then. So, is that really a hallucination? Or was he tapping into something else? I do believe he was telepathic, as there are other stories.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Did you ask him, ‘Where did you think that information came from?’

REBECCA SCHAPER: No, because it didn’t dawn on me until later on. But in that interview, he said, “Isn’t that something?’ And then he said, “I never told Becky, and I feel guilty for that.”

OMTIMES.COM

SANDIE SEDGBEER: When he relapsed when he wasn’t looking after his apartment or himself, and you had to deal with that, did you ever feel that you might have done the wrong thing? That you were fighting a losing battle. That you couldn’t make him well, you would never be able to help him enough, and it was always going to be like this?

REBECCA SCHAPER: I never felt that this was not the right thing. I knew it was. It was my passion. Some people may see it as being obsessive, but no. I wanted to get him as well as I could, and I had to accept that I had to find a balance. That was hard for me because I didn’t want to lose him like I lost my parents. And that was one of the lessons he was teaching me. Even though he didn’t know it, I knew it.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Say more about the lessons he was teaching you.

REBECCA SCHAPER: He taught me a lot about patience. I remember him always asking me, ‘Rebecca, how’s your patience?’ I would say, ‘We’re together, right? That should say a lot. He never complained. He lived such a simple life. He loved life. He didn’t have to say much. I learned from that. He was an example of being happy where he was, even though he had this diagnosis.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Did he ever question the diagnosis? What was his attitude to it?

REBECCA SCHAPER: I asked him. It’s in the film and the book. I said, “Call, how do you feel about this? What would you tell people about it?’ He said, ‘I’d tell them to pray and go see your Doctor.' We laughed about that. I said, ‘Are you happy? Do you ever regret this?’ He said, ‘No, not at all. I am so thankful for the people who are around me, who love me.’

SANDIE SEDGBEER: The book is very heartfelt and courageous. You expose your life and your family because you want the world to know what it is like to be with somebody in Call’s situation and not see them as broken. There’s a passage in your book that you feel sums up a lot of what you learned from Call. Would you read that to us?

REBECCA SCHAPER: Thank you. I would love to. ‘Today, I felt it was the shared pain of abuse that drew Call and me together in support and healing of each other. It was a powerful underlying subconscious bond. He and I never discussed this, but I felt that it was recognized and acknowledged between us. I heard him. I felt him. I would find the best way to help him as I too wanted to be helped.’

SANDIE SEDGBEER: I’m sure there are many people listening who live with the same things you lived with every single day.

OMTIMES.COM

.I think it’s important for us to see beyond the diagnosis, the shame, and the stigma and look at the person as a soul and what they are going through. You make quite evident in the book and your documentary that the beautiful parts of us are genuine love, humor, compassion, and profound spirituality, are still there even when hidden by illness. I know you loved your brother. I know you were passionate about helping him. With the best will in the world, being a caregiver to somebody in any situation is exceptionally debilitating both physically and emotionally. What kept you going?

REBECCA SCHAPER: Wow, that’s a big question.

Passion, love. I can’t really articulate it. I just had this driving force, and maybe that was part of the contract that Call and I had together. I know that when Call and I were together, he would always bring up the word processor, so maybe that was part of the process.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: What did he mean by process?

That’s an exciting thing for him to say. He knew there was a process going on.

REBECCA SCHAPER: Yes, and right now we’re going through the process; i’s continuing. I feel that he knew why he was here on this earth and that our relationship, our contract together, was part of the process. When he was in Marshall Pickins hospital, he talked about this ‘process,’ I said to him on film, ‘OK, tell us about the process.’ He said, ‘Well, I signed this contract, and you wouldn’t understand it. It’s in the English language, but it’s translated differently. You wouldn’t understand.’ I said, ‘OK, that’s fine,’ but I couldn’t stop thinking about what contract? Our contract? His contract being here? My contract?

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Soul contract?

REBECCA SCHAPER: Yes. Our contract together. Call’s contract with me. His contract with my family. That’s all part of the process.

OMTIMES.COM

SANDIE SEDGBEER: One of the things that struck me in the movie is that Call seemed always to have an aura of calm about him. We didn’t see him having rages or getting angry. He seemed patient, almost amused at times as if he was saying, ‘I’m just chilling. everybody else does what they’re doing.’

REBECCA SCHAPER: Yes, exactly. I would be buzzing around, and he would just sit back and say, ‘OK, Rebecca.’

SANDIE SEDGBEER: In many cultures, people that we might dismiss as having mental health issues are loved, lauded, praised, looked after, regarded as a gift to the tribe. Or they’re called Shaman. If we go back into history, there are so many cases of people who openly wrote and spoke about hearing voices, being ecstatic because God talked to them. Why are some of those elevated to sainthood, yet Today we put them in a mental home?

REBECCA SCHAPER: It’s horrible. I have wondered why religion and God seem to be such common themes. Could it be they are merely tapping into other dimensions? I do believe that there are mystic voices here as well. I am in the process of creating with another filmmaker a documentary about the voices of Schizophrenia. We’re exploring and researching mystic voice heroes and more about the voices of Schizophrenia.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: I’m encouraged by the research conducted right now with the microbiome and how certain microbes in our system affect our mood and emotions. Experiments with psychedelics and anxiety and depression, etc.

REBECCA SCHAPER: We’re on the brink of a whole different field of understanding in all of this. Nature, meditation, and yes, food can make a big difference, too. Not to mention family support. And love – that’s huge.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: What are the key lessons that you learned from your experience that could help others?

REBECCA SCHAPER: To have compassion, trust, and to give others hope. And don’t give up. It can be challenging at times, but don’t give up. There’s something to be learned from it all, and you never know what that could be. To those who are taking care of others with mental health issues, I would say, be sure to take of yourself. That’s so important.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Your hope was for Call to get better. How did you define that? What were you expecting or hoping to see?

REBECCA SCHAPER: In the end, he was stabilized. He stopped smoking. He stopped drinking. He was back to his old self. He was engaged in family activities.

He was socializing. We’d go into stores, and people would just gravitate to him.

He was like this gentle giant.

OMTIMES.COM

’ That was another lesson for me – to see how my brother was embracing death.

He passed away on September 04, 2012.

He was in hospice, and my husband and the girls would visit him. And there were so many synchronicities around that situation, it was pretty amazing. I felt like angels were around him, and in fact, Call told me that when he was young, lying in bed one night, he actually saw an angel.

His actual passing was very sacred. My daughter, Lauren, put plugs in Call’s ears so he could listen to his favorite music as he was slowly passing.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: After 14 years of having Call back in your life, he passed?

How did that happen?

REBECCA SCHAPER: He had colon cancer.

I’ll never forget this. Again, I think this was something telepathic that we had. In March of 2012, something kept telling me I should call him or go see him, but I was on the road doing film festivals, and I didn’t get a chance to have him home with us until July 2012.

That’s when we found out that he had colon cancer. I took him to the doctor, and he had very severe edema. When the doctor told Call that he had stage 4 colon cancer and said he was sorry, but Call only had x time to live, Call reached over and shook the doctor’s hand and simply said to him, ‘Thank you for your wisdom.’

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Did you feel a sense of peace; that you had found him, you had made his life different, you had done everything that you wanted to do, and you could close the book with a clear conscience and with love?

REBECCA SCHAPER: Yes, it took a while, but he’s still around us. My daughter Lauren and I both feel him, especially my daughter, Lauren. He shows up in music.

There’s so much more I could say, but he’s still around us. I know he is. He’s right here.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Since the documentary and the book, you’ve invested a lot of time, energy, and money into being an advocate for mental health. You speak at various different events, and you’re producing a second documentary.

OMTIMES.COM

And now, you — we —are launching a new project dedicated to slaying the dragons of mental health by stripping away the shame, the embarrassment, the fear, and the stigma associated with it. Why a new project?

Well, as mentioned, mental health isn’t something that applies to just some of us. It applies to all of us. It’s part of the human condition. No person should ever be made to feel embarrassed, ashamed, or discriminated against for simply being human. Today, we’ve heard just one person’s story. Throughout the world, millions of people are living their own stories and looking for answers. Long before Covid and lockdowns became part of our language, mental health statistics were climbing. Experts are in agreement that we’re heading towards a worldwide crisis.

No one knows for sure what causes mental health issues. A myriad of things can tip the scales of our emotional, physical, and mental equilibrium. From brain and body chemistry, hormones, food, nutrition, trauma, shock, our microbiome to pharmaceutical drugs, psychedelic substances, meditation, visionary experiences, and spiritual awakenings.

OMTIMES.COM

But Rebecca Schaper and I want to find out. We intend to do whatever we can to find some answers for people. So, we’re going to join forces. Starting in January 2021, we’re launching a new live video and audio podcast dedicated to de-mystifying, de-stigmatizing, humanizing, and personalizing mental health. This show will air at noon, Eastern time, on the first and the third Thursdays of every month. It’s called ‘CRACKED! THE PODCAST – Slaying the Dragons of Mental Health, and its goal is to expand the conversation about mental health.

So we are leaving no stone unturned. No question unasked, and no potential solution unexamined in our quest to shine many different lights on a topic that none of us can afford to ignore.

‘CRACKED! THE PODCAST’ will explore them all, including and perhaps especially something that Rebecca has touched upon in this interview—that for many, a breakdown can be the beginning of a breakthrough. So, as the Poet and Philosopher Leonard Cohen observed, “there is a crack in everything, it’s where the light gets in.”

Rebecca, no one can doubt your passion for taking the shame out of mental health issues. Before bringing this show to an end, would you like to add any last words about the new Podcast?

REBECCA SCHAPER: I hope I said enough. I hope that people will resonate with this and be excited about this because you and I have a strong passion for this and educate so many people.

And there will be resources also as well for people.O M T I M E S . C O M

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Indeed. It’s important to state that while I am based in England, and Rebecca is in America, this is an international Podcast that can be heard worldwide. So, there’s no such thing as boundaries or barriers.

REBECCA SCHAPER: And mental health is a worldwide situation.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Absolutely. Rebecca Schaper, thank you for joining us. Thank you for sharing your story. And thank you for embarking on this new venture with me.

REBECCA SCHAPER: Oh, I’m so excited, Sandie.

I can’t wait. The inaugural edition of ‘CRACKED! THE PODCAST’ will air live on Thursday, January 07, 12:00 noon Eastern time, 9:00 am Pacific, and 6:00 pm UCT. And every episode will be available on multiple Podcast sites, as well as streamed through OMTimes’ Magazine’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Health & Wellness Innovative new approaches to Healing as well as holistic methods for dealing with health issues and personal growth

Healthy Living During the Holidays Stay healthy during The Holidays.

H

By Ginger McBride

olidays can be a difficult

ambitions to meet, but sometimes life

time to stay healthy. Learn

interjects, and we stray off our path.

four ways to continue to

When fall arrives, we know the end

strive for healthy living and

of the year is near, and celebrating

celebrate at the same time!

is around the corner. We begin to retrospect about what we wanted

We begin our year with a fresh, new

to accomplish in the first place!

resolution. We have plans, goals, and

Whether there is a goal that was not

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

accomplished or a new one to take

and begin. We may not realize how

its place, we can continue to strive for

much time we do or don't spend on

healthy living!

activities. How many hours of video streaming have we enjoyed? How

During the holidays, it can be

many hours did we exercise this past

incredibly challenging to stay

week? We can journal everything

dedicated to our health. We have

from how much time we spend on

much to celebrate, such as Halloween,

certain things, our foods, water in

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and

taking, sleep, and exercise. Some of

New Year's! Holidays are a time

us are lucky enough to even have

of togetherness, tradition, and

accessories that monitor this for us

celebration. At this time of the year,

and make it as convenient as possible.

food is not only sustenance but also a communal experience! Most of us

Once we journal, we can look back

lead busy lives. There are the constant

on our entries and make some

hustle and bustle. The holidays arise

realizations about our self. What are

to give us an excuse to slow down and

some things we could do differently?

catch up with loved ones!

Could we exercise more? Pay closer attention to our meals? Could we

Let's stay committed to our health

have a better quality of sleep? These

and celebrate. An essential first step

are all things worth mentioning. Now

to doing both is awareness and being

is the time to plan. We can take a

conscious of our actions. Often times,

look at our initial goal and break it

we don't realize that we are slipping.

down into more attainable monthly

It's subtle and gradual, and before

goals that we can accomplish. Plan to

we know it, we haven't accomplished

sleep at least seven to eight hours a

anything for our goals in weeks. To

day, drink enough water, eat healthy

start being aware, we need to focus on

meals, and exercise.

our time, meals, sleep, and exercise.

The holidays can also bring out Journals are a great tool that we

unique stress in some. Perhaps it is

thankfully can use both manually

money for gifts, or they are not a fan

and digitally. Grab a notebook, or

of crowds. Exercise is a great way to

download an application of choice,

relieve stress. It releases endorphins,

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

which help alleviate our mood.

going to say next. By doing this, we

When we finally make it to our many

enhance our quality time with those

planned events, an important aspect

that mean the most to us and strive

to remember is portion control. Please

for better living!

sit down with the loved ones, and enjoy a tasty meal. Just remember what food items to focus on and which to limit.

Ginger McBride is a certified health coach, wellness expert, entrepreneur, and raw food enthusiast. She is the founder of

To further enjoy our celebrations, we can practice mindfulness and be in the moment. We can sit down our phones, put them on silent, or even turn them off. When we are fully present, we can obtain what others are saying to us much more comfortable. We can practice active listening, and not just what we are

Raw Ninja – a wellness coaching membership that provides affordability and accessibility to her clients. She is passionate about helping others with their health, inspiring them to reach their goals through motivation and education! To learn more, visit www.rawninja.net

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

Simply Spiritual To perceive reality from a different perspective is to open oneself to the wonders and unlimited wealth of creation. Simply Spiritual offers the opportunity to visit new places, new methods, and different ways to perceive the vast human knowledge of our Universe.

IS YOUR

SOUL THE REAL YOU?

By John Holland

When you look in the mirror, think about it ‌ Is it the real you? NO! The Soul is pure consciousness and

You've heard me talk a lot about the Soul lately.

I can't help it. I'm so excited about this limitless power we all possess. It's sort of like having Harry Potter's wand or Samantha Stevens'

the true essence of who you really are. When you acknowledge that you're a soul and not purely just a physical body, then believe me when I tell you, there's no limit to what you can achieve!

twitchy nose. Whatever it is you want or need, your Soul can make it happen!

I'm very passionate when it comes to the Soul. I feel like I've found a revolutionary power that I just know

Many of you have asked me how do you start connecting with your Soul? Well, I always say

can change our lives, and I want everyone to know about it.

the same thing, which is by remembering that you are a soul first. You've heard me say this again and again: "You're a soul that comes with a body—not a body that comes with a soul."

I truly believe part of my purpose here on this planet is to teach you how to understand and connect to your beautiful Soul. It is to help you trust your Soul's sense of intuition and guide you on how to tap into this immense power and energy. And here's the best part: Your Soul is powered by the energy of love!

OMTimes.com

NOMADIC

|

24

As you discover this fantastic soul source, you'll learn how to heal yourself and others and find the tools to break free from the limitations of the past.

Once you realize you can access this phenomenal database—your soul wisdom—anytime you wish. It becomes an empowering motivator to start living the life you were meant to live.

Every single human soul has more meaning and value than the whole of history.

Nikolai Berdyaev

JOHN'S MESSAGE Here's a great way to start living as a soul. Each and every day, repeat this mantra as often as you can: I am Soul

When you say these three simple words, your Soul resonates with what you're expressing, and your consciousness automatically begins to expand. It's important to remember that regardless of the image you project outwardly to others, it's actually your inner-self—your Soul—that generates your responses. It is your Soul that inspires your tender emotions and forges your lasting relationships.

No matter who you are, where you've been, or what you've done, you always have the freedom of choice to begin living a spiritual life, to start living from the Soul.

When you focus on what lies within, rather than what's on the outside, you become more aware of the force that draws us all together: the power of the Soul.

If this Soul Inspiration resonates with you, what better way to continue the discovery and transformation journey than to join My Soul Community.

NOMADIC

OMTimes.com |

24

4 Steps to Help You Spiritually Prepare for 2021

by Meghan Belnap OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

T

here's no question that 2020

future with a sneak peek? A gifted

has been one of the most

psychic can provide clairvoyant

challenging and eventful

readings to answer your questions

years in modern memory.

about what lies ahead in your life so

Many people are more than ready to

you can look forward to the good

move on to a new year and a fresh start.

and prepare for the bad. Psychics

Still, others are understandably worried

can also help you increase your self-

about the future. If you have concerns

awareness and better understand

about what lies ahead, spirituality

how your future may be affected

can provide comfort and put you at

by who you are as a person now.

ease. Try these four steps to help you

Many psychics are well-versed in

spiritually prepare for 2021.

attraction-theory subjects, guiding you in the concept of how what you

Envision Your Future

put out into the world can attract the same things back to you.

Is 2021 your year to buy a new house, find the love of your life or find yourself? Whether you write your goals down in a journal, or create a vision board, laying out your goals and dreams for the new year is an excellent way to begin your spiritual journey.

Having a focused plan can help give you something to aim for rather than wandering aimlessly in the new year, waiting for change to come to you.

Having a vision in mind can also help you prepare emotionally for significant changes that may come, making them easier to handle when they do.

Get Psychic Guidance What if you could prepare for your

See a Counselor Sometimes all you need is someone to talk to. It doesn't matter whether you visit a mental health professional or a leader f rom your spiritual community.

Counseling sessions can help you put your worries and fears into perspective and sort through your feelings. A trained counselor can also offer advice and suggest exercises to overcome any fears and anxiety you may be experiencing. Anxiety can be a significant energy-killer and inhibit spiritual growth if you don't take time to address it. Make sure

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

that you are taking the time to have

enjoy a good meal, or just relax

any mental illness appropriately

in a warm bath. Don't feel guilty

treated.

if you need to forego plans with

Make Time for Yourself

f riends or family sometimes. You can't be expected to take care of others if you don't take care of

Self-care is essential for spiritual

yourself first.

health, so remember to make time for yourself every day. Participate

Although being spiritually

in hobbies you enjoy, read a book,

prepared for the new year can

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

help you cope with your worries,

Meghan Belnap is a freelance

don't put too much pressure on

writer who enjoys spending time

yourself. No one can ever be 100

with her family. She loves being

percent prepared for what the

in the outdoors and exploring

future holds, and it's normal to

new opportunities whenever they

feel like you're not quite ready

arise. Meghan finds happiness in

when a significant change

researching new topics that help to

happens. Try to expect the best,

expand her horizons. You can often

prepare for the worst, and always

find her buried in a good book or

roll with the punches.

out looking for an adventure.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OMTimes Magazine

Relax…

Let your worries drift away into the moment…

OMTimes is a free publication and can be delivered right to your inbox…

Subscribe at: Free OMTimes Subscription Visit our website at: www.omtimes.com

OM Living For those living a more Conscious Lifestyle

Raising Spiritual Children

By OMTimes Team

I

f you have a child, you may know

this work out correctly. Many of us

that raise a child is not an easy

have made mistakes while trying to

task. It is something that will

do our best. We also nurture high

demand every fabric of your

expectations for our children. We want

being, and that will last your lifetime.

them to be successful and great human

It is also something that immensely

beings, real citizens of the world.

rewarding and souls fulfilling.

To do so, we need to teach some ethical As parents, we are bound to make

concepts, inspire a moral compass, and

mistakes, even when we try to make

infuse essential spiritual wisdom to our

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

children. At the end of the day, they are

Spirituality touched, denying it can

the best gifts we can give to them.

be a big mistake.

"Educate the children, so there is no

"We must not shape children

need to punish men."

according to our feelings; we must

Pythagoras

have and love them the way they were given to us by God."

For starters, we shall reiterate that

Johann Goethe

Spirituality is not Religion because Spirituality transcends any religion's

Over time, if applicable, you can

notion. Spirituality deals with human

present your universe of beliefs

values, moral education, ethics, and

and let them decide for themselves

conscious living. Spiritual values reflect

what to believe and what they

how people relate to each other,

want to follow. But never impose a

the importance of civilized social

reality, especially when it involves

interactions, and our relationship with

discrediting what the child

the Divine.

questions and presents about

Mediumship and Children

the theme only contribute to the subject generating pain and being forgotten. All children are born with

Trust your child when she says she

what is called extrasensory skills.

sees someone, hears things, or has an imaginary friend who she believes to be real.

DEALING WITH HYPERSENSITIVE CHILDREN

Not considering what she says can create a breach of trust between

Let go of ideologies and teach

you and, worse, cause these gifts to

your child to feel emotions and not

be overwhelmed, not healthy. Give

repress them. Anger, guilt, sadness,

your children the freedom to talk

happiness, and joy, everything

about it, even if it does not meet

must be embraced. When we

what you believe. In this topic, the

get the idea that feeling angry

recommendation is about the denial of

is wrong, we teach children to

mediumship: if your child has traces of

create blocks concerning emotions

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

and, rest assured, they will feel angry.

They will feel more connected with

Expressed or not, all children have

themselves and the world.

a spiritual awakening call. We must understand that.

They will experience sadness, guilt, frustration, and the full range of sensations that are part of life. When we teach children to understand their emotions, to seek their source, and deal with them without denying them, we build the spiritual foundations for

TEACHING RESPECT, ABOVE ALL Teach Your child the love of diversity. That is the way of Nature.

Diversity is how we can survive as a species. Teach your child to love the difference and show him that nobody is equal to anyone. It is the

this child to grow up.

diversity of life that makes him more

This attitude will help them to become

help to build this "cultural" whole

beautiful. It is the differences that

healthy, happy, more secure Individuals.

that is a human being.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

If we teach to exclude and not integrate,

anything else teaches your child

we are hurting one of the basic spiritual

Spirituality. To say that everyone has

principles: unconditional love. Children

the right to life, that no one is better

need to be taught to respect what is

than anyone, and equal rights must

different from a young age, even if they

always be preserved is of the utmost

"don't like it." Nobody is forced to like

importance to make a better future.

everything and everyone. Still, teaching

To help create a future with less

respect is one of the parents' obligations

hatred and less inequality.

and fundamental divine precepts.

Racial or gender separation, for Teach the Love for Nature, our Planet,

example, goes against divine

and Animal Life.

principles. In terms of gender, a very

LOVE FOR NATURE, FOR THE ANIMALS, AND OUR PLANET Nature is God. Teaching children a love of animals is essential. Teach love and respect to all lives, for all animals, not just pets. The wildlife is critical to the balance of this planet's environment. It is essential for the survival of all of us.

Teach them to respect every single manifestation of life. From flowers, trees, make sure to include everything that has life. Show that all beings are aware and that mistreating them is terrible.

Whoever loves animals loves the Divine.

LESS HATE, MORE EQUALITY

controversial agenda, keeping sanity and balance is the best way out. Do not force anything, but do not forbid anything. If your child wants to play with a doll, what's the problem? Your child's sexual orientation will not be influenced by the toys they have; the ability to respect the opposite sex, yes.

In fact, sexual orientation is not related to someone's character.

It cannot be used as an asset, advantage, or reason to diminish someone. Teaching this to your children will do enormous good for humanity.

This does not mean forcing behavior upon our children. Most boys, it is true, are more interested in ball and

Like diversity, teaching that life is

superheroes and, if that is the Nature

the most asset and matters above

of your child's interests, respect it. If

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

your daughter wants dolls, there's no

great practice, especially in such a

problem with that either! The idea is

hectic world we live in. Your child

to offer children toys that encourage

will learn to seek peace and silence

intelligence and those that reinforce

of the mind alone, learning to deal

gender identity. Lego, puzzles, books,

with the emotions and difficulties of

and crosswords have never hurt

life early on. This contributes to their

anyone and can diversify children's

self-reliance process.

toy collection.

THE PRIVILEGE OF PLAYING OUTDOORS Using the internet and playing games are part of childhood and are also healthy when it does not take all children's time. What better alternative to teaching your children about Nature and animals than letting them play outdoors? Allow your children to play outdoors if you want to raise more sensitive, fulfilled, and spiritualized children.

Children who spend a lot of time playing outdoors have a stronger spiritual connection to the planet and peace.

The advantages are many: it fights stress, relieves anxiety, improves sleep, reduces aggression, supplies mental hygiene and relaxation, improves concentration, and helps deal with feelings such as frustration, fear, and anger. These practices help the children get in touch with themselves. We must raise our children, thinking, above all, in their well-being instead of the intense demand for results.

RESPONSIBILITY AND CHOICES Always show your children that they must be responsible for their actions and, more than that, that all choices

YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR THE LITTLE ONES

and attitudes have consequences.

Besides the immediate benefits

reap what we sow. Teach that taking

like concentration and well-being,

responsibility for our own actions is

teaching your child to take a short

the best way to grow and live with

break from routine every day is a

others.

This is a way of introducing the law of return (KARMA), showing that we

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

LEARNING TO DEAL WITH DEATH

because the child will undoubtedly

Do not hide death from your children.

When someone dies, we have an

It is essential to deal naturally with

excellent opportunity to talk about

the only certainty we have in life:

the soul, about the spirit, about life

everything that lives, one day, will die.

after death, heaven, paradise, in

Hiding it or treating it in a childlike

short, whatever your belief. Enjoy the

way can generate future trauma

moment when death touches your

face death sooner or later.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

family circle to present Spirituality to

words and defend the oppressed, those

your child.

that feel or are voiceless.

ABOUT THE IMMENSITY OF THE UNIVERSE

Do not tolerate any type of aggressive behavior from your child towards another child. Always use emotions,

Teach your child about the stars. From

the feelings of others, and ethics as an

an early age, show him the immensity

argument. Words can hurt, but they

of the universe and the Universal

can also heal. The sooner your child

infinity of the Divine (God / Goddess)

realizes this, the better for him and for

and their creation.

those who live with him.

Embrace the opportunity and take

CHARITY NEVER FAILS

advantage of this scientific learning process to talk about Spirituality, about God. Maybe even talk about the possibility of life on other planets as a way to show the diversity of love and

Teach your child to help others.

Teach them to be generous, not only materially but also spiritually. Show them that not all people are fortunate

divine creation.

to have a home, food on the table, or

THE IMPORTANCE OF NON-AGGRESSIVE COMMUNICATION

notion against excessive accumulation.

have toys to play with, building the

Encourage your child to donate toys that they no longer use, and that can

Show the child that words have

make other children happy. Show

strength, be creative, or not,

them that feeding the hungry when

Words can impact the lives of others.

possible is our duty as a human being.

Teach that expressing anger through words to hurt others is not the best

Teach your child to empathize with

way to live in society. It hurts a lot

others, especially when they are in

and can cause irreversible damage to

more severe living conditions. This is

someone's emotional structure.

one of the best ways to raise children

For example, bullying is a great topic to

with a spiritual ground, a true citizen of

teach children to spread love through

the world.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

Dealing with the Sunk-Cost Effect Don’t Feel Guilty When You’re Getting Rid of Your Things

by Kristin Herman

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

M

inimalism has taken the

anymore? Gifts and presents from

world by storm over the

other people and loved ones?

last few years. With the

Memories and keepsake items from

rises of influencers like

past relationships or friendships? Yes,

Marie Kondo, the chances are you may

of course, you are going to feel guilty

have thought more and more about

throwing this stuff away.

getting rid of your useless ‘stuff.’ Let us face it, we all have tons of ‘stuff’ lying around everything that has built up

Change is unsettling for all human beings

over our lifetimes, and there comes the point where you’ll want to get rid of it.

The average human being hates change. It is just how the mind works.

While throwing out stuff you do not

The mind believes that the more

need, or at least highlighting the

comfortable and familiar things

things you don’t need, is pretty easy,

are, the better off we are. While our

actually getting rid of it is another

survival tool brain thinks this, the real

thing altogether. When I went through

human’s we know this is not always

my stuff and had to clear out, I felt so

the best. You need to clear yourself of

guilty for getting rid of many things,

the old to make way for the new. This

but I found a way to overcome these

is the way of nature.

feelings.

Why Do You Feel Guilty?

So how do you get rid of this feeling of guilt?

Let us say you go through your

Remember Why You Started the

cupboards and have a proper clear-out.

clearing.

You stack up all the stuff you want to get rid of and put the stuff back you

Perhaps the first and most important

wish to keep. Simple, right? When you

thing to remember. There’s a reason

start looking at the stuff you are getting

you’re tossing out’ your old things.

rid of, what do you see?

Maybe you have started a new relationship, and you have got a ton of

Things that you brought and really

old clothes and bits and pieces from

loved years ago, but not so much

your ex. You did not necessarily end on

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

bad terms, but you know you want to

been working so hard to achieve.

leave that relationship in the past now.

Recognizing this should help relieve some of the guilt.

“Having this message in your head while you’re clearing out is essential.

Put Them to a Better Place

Keep that original message of why you started in mind. Maybe you have

It’s important to remember that when

been unhappy in your life. You’re

I say you’re ‘tossing out’ or ‘getting rid’

having a clear-out to have a fresh

of your things, which doesn’t mean

start, and to begin a new chapter in

you’re just tossing a lot of things in

your life,” shares Marie Turner, a writer

the bin. Instead, you can give things

at State of writing and Dissertation

to a better home. Maybe donate

writing.

your belongings to a charity shop or sell them on eBay or Facebook

Write this message down on a

Marketplace.

Post-It note if you have to so you

“In most cases, it is always better to

can remember everything you’ve

give stuff away to a new home where

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

someone else can use or value what you have, to freecycle it, rather than just putting it straight into a bin. This is a great way to reduce any guilt you may be feeling about getting rid of your things, to begin with,� explains Nick Harris, a lifestyle blogger at

is known as the sunk-cost effect, highlighting that you have spent a considerable investment of money into something, so now you are obliged to keep it.

Instead of holding onto something

College paper and Paper Fellows.

holding you back, use the opportunity

You Cannot Change the Past, But You Can Learn from It

time and money invested in those

to learn from your past, despite the items. It means you will not need to repeat the mistake in the future.

It is worth remembering that you probably cannot undo an expensive

Kristin Herman is a tech enthusiast

or luxurious purchase you made

and a project manager at UK

in the past, and regret, and now

Writings and Research paper

feel guilty about getting rid of. This

writing service.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

Does the Brain Have a Delete Button?

By Humanity Healing

Neuroplasticity, neuron Connections, and a Brain Delete Button OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

N

europlasticity is a brain

Scientists have known this for years.

function, also known

However, nowadays, researchers learn

as brain plasticity. It

another part of the truth: to learn

is the brain's ability to

something, even more important than

change itself through growth and

practicing, is the ability to unlearn or

restructuring. These alterations range

break old neural connections. This is

from individual neurons making

called "synaptic pruning."

new connections to systematic modifications like cortical remapping.

HOW DO BRAIN CONNECTIONS WORK?

Neurons that fire together wire together. Donald O. Hebb

Brains are tricky and adaptable organs. For all the 'neuroplasticity,'

The more you work on the neuro-

allowing our brains to reconfigure

circuit (reengineering) in your brain,

themselves to our computers' biases,

the more robust neural networks'

we are just as neuroplastic in our ability

circuit will become. That is why,

to eventually recover and adapt.

quoting another old phrase, "practice

Douglas Rushkoff

makes perfect." The more you practice piano, or speak a language or juggle,

Imagine that your brain is a garden,

the stronger these skills become.

except that instead of growing

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

flowers, f ruits, and vegetables,

When microgliocytes detect this

you develop synaptic connections

mark, they bind to the protein and

between the brain cells or neurons.

destroy - or prune – the individual

These are the connections in which

synapse. This is how your brain

neurotransmitters, such as dopamine,

makes physical space for you to

serotonin, and others, circulate the

build new and stronger connections

brain.

so that you can continue your process of learning.

"Glia cells" are your brain's gardeners they are special cells that act to speed up signals between specific neurons. But other glial cells are

WHEN DOES THE BRAIN PERFORM THE "SELFCLEANING" FUNCTION?

"trash removers," pulling weeds, killing pests, pulling dead leaves. Your

Among other things, neuroplasticity

brain's pruning gardeners are called

means that emotions such as

microgliocytes. They prune some

happiness and compassion can be

synaptic connections.

cultivated in much the same way that a person can learn through

The question is, how do they know

repetition to play golf and basketball

which ones to prune?

or master a musical instrument, and that such practice changes

Neuroplasticity research showed that

the activity and physical aspects of

the brain changes its very structure

specific brain areas.

with each different activity it performs,

Andrew Weil

perfecting its circuits, so it is better suited to the task at hand.

Have you ever felt like your brain

Naveen Jain

was full, usually when you learn something new or start a new job or

The scientists and researchers are just

hobby?

beginning to unravel this enigmatic function, but what they do know is

When you learn many new

that the synaptic connections they get

things, your brain creates new

used the less are marked and tagged

connections, but they may be

by a protein, C1q (as well as others).

somewhat inefficient connections.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

Your brain needs to remove many of these connections and build more

CAN WE CONTROL WHAT IS DELETE FROM OUR BRAIN?

efficient and simplified paths. It usually does this while we sleep.

Usually, the synaptic connections that you are not using are marked

When you sleep, your brain cells

for "recycling." The ones you use are

shrink by up to 60% to make room

those that are protected, watered, and

for your "glial gardeners" to enter

oxygenated. So, be aware of what you

and remove the "dead "waste. This

are thinking. If you spend too much

is how they can clean synapses.

time reading theories about the end

Have you ever woken up from a

of "Game of Thrones" and too little on

good night's sleep and been able to

your work, guess what synapses will be

think clearly and quickly? It is like

marked for recycling?

reformatting your computer.

Suppose you are fighting with It is the same reason that naps are

someone at work and devote your

so beneficial to your cognitive skills.

time to thinking about this situation,

A 10- or 20-minute nap gives your

and not about a big project. In that

microgliocytes gardeners a chance

case, you will end up being a synaptic

to come in, clean up some unused

superstar in revenge plans but a

connections, and leave space to

terrible innovator.

grow new ones.

You literally influence the make up Thinking with a sleep-deprived brain

your own mind by choosing what you

is like making your way through

pay attention to.

a dense jungle with a machete.

It is vast, slow, and exhausting.

Sure, you can hardly control what

Thinking of a well-rested brain is

happens to you throughout the day,

like wandering happily through

but you can control how much it

a forest; the paths are clear and

affects you. To be more specific, you

connect to each other at different

can choose what affects you and

points. The trees are in place. You

build your own neural connections.

can see it right in front of you. It is

Be aware of your thoughts. They are

invigorating.

important for your personal growth.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OMTIMES • DEC 2020

T he Dear Santa Project: Interview with Dana Nachman

DEAR SANTA shines a light on the 100-year-old 'Operation Santa' Program of the United States Postal Service. Each year, hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa arrive at Post Offices around the Country.

Through Operation Santa, the United States Postal Service makes it possible for the public to safely adopt these letters and make children's dreams come true. The film invites audiences along for the magic of this massive endeavor.

While traveling throughout the Country, like Santa does on Christmas Eve, the "DEAR SANTA "film focuses on select 'Operation Santa' Centers.

Some of these operations are in metropolitan areas like the massive operation in New York City. In contrast, others are found in small towns where the Post Office is the community's heart. The timeless documentary captures the warmth and spirit of Christmas time through the lens of this great American tradition, provoking audiences throughout the world to ask themselves how they can make the world a better place, one gesture at a time.

The Dear Santa Project Opening the window to the many facets of the United States Post Services. Father Noel has been part of every child's imagination in this world. The many narrations about his MO may vary. Still, the message and intentions behind the kind gift-giving character continue to be the same.

On Dear Santa Project, the United States Postal Offices play an equal and important part in keeping the dreams of Christmas night alive for thousands of kids.

Their "Elves" are intimately involved in all stages of this process, from the many letters to making sure they find their destination.

OMTIMES • DEC 2020

It is historically registered that Children started to send Christmas letters to Santa 150 years ago.

The Story goes like this: Back in 1907, Santa Reached out to the US Postal Services and asked them to help deliver the Thousands of Letters he gets every year.

Nowadays, their partnership grew exponentially into a massive nationwide Program called "OPERATION SANTA." Many Children believe that only the Post offices know Good Mr. Claus's real location and address.

Independent of where you are or what you may believe.

Operation Santa is a message of hope. The movie is proof that there is still goodness in this world. For more than a hundred years, Americans have brought cheer, compassion, and hope Through Operation Santa through good and hard times.

Origin of the Legend When barbarians took over the Old World, a series of celebrations tried to alleviate the severe temperatures and the lack of food that took over Europe in late December. In this situation, the "Old Man Winter" legend appeared as a gentleman who beat up people's homes asking for food and drink. According to the myth, whoever served him with generosity would enjoy a milder winter.

The association between Old Man Winter and St. Nicholas appeared many decades later. According to historical accounts, Saint Nicholas was a Turkish monk who lived during the 4th century. Christian tradition tells that this clergyman would have helped a young girl not to be sold by her father, throwing a bag full of gold coins that could pay for the girl's wedding dowry. Only five centuries later, Saint Nicholas was recognized by the Church as a saint.

How did the image of the plump old man with a white beard come about?

At the end of the 19th century, the German designer Thomas Nast had the idea of incorporating new elements into the good old man's image.

OMTIMES • DEC 2020

To this end, he published in the North American magazine Harper's Weekly the drawing of a Santa Claus who, to the present day, most resembled a forest gnome. With the other Christmases' passing, he improved his original design until the old man gained a protruding belly, good stature, and an abundant white beard.

Despite the outstanding contributions from Nast's experimentalism, we still have to unravel the origin of his reddish clothing. Several drawings had already portrayed Santa Claus in costumes of the most varied shapes and colors. However, in 1931, Haddon Sundblom, hired by the Coca-Cola soft drink company, came up with the good old man's clothes' red pattern. Over time, the popularization of the brand's advertising campaigns ended up setting up the standard.

OMTimes had the opportunity to converse with Director Dana Nachman about Operation Santa.

Dana Nachman is an award-winning filmmaker of both fiction and documentary films.

Nachman's 2018 feature documentary "Pick of the Litter" was sold within 48 hours of Its premiere at the Slam dance Festival. Soon after, it was released theatrically by IFC Films.

Born and raised in New York, Nachman graduated from Trinity College in Harford, Connecticut, with a dual degree in Middle Eastern Studies and International Relations. She went to earn a master's degree at NYU On Broadcast Journalism.

Dear Santa, is about The United States Postal Services' program called Operation Santa.

Santa is Thrilled to see the film cut of the film ready for his viewing this Christmas.

OMTimes: What motivated you to tell this story?

Dana Nachman: About eight years ago, my mom bought me a book about Operation Santa. About the United States Postal Service's program that helps Santa get all of his letters answered. Every year around Christmas time, I would read this book to my kids, and I would think, what a fantastic book, but I thought a film about it would be even more amazing. I loved the backbone of the story about the magic of childhood and the hopes and dreams of kids (and some adults too.)

The thought of being able to lean into the fantasy of Christmas made me very excited. To focus on all of the human elves that spend the time to make these dreams come true also was exciting to me, all the while understanding that much of the time when we do things for others, we are the ones that get the most out of it! To make a film that focuses on this, one of life's biggest hacks, was thrilling to me!

OMTimes: How does the Dear Santa Operation work? Do you know the real numbers of Elves involved in the entire United States Operation?

Dana Nachman: Thousands upon thousands of letters come into the United States Postal Service each year to Santa. For more than 100 years, USPS has been helping Santa respond to all the messages. Santa has also allowed USPS to adopt certain letters because he obviously has letters from all over the world to deal with. USPS puts many of the letters up online, and anyone can apply to be an elf and adopt one or several of these letters. Last year more than twelve thousand people became adopter elves. All people have to do is go to https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com/ to read the letters and choose the ones they want to adopt.

OMTimes: During the movie, the children's type of requests changed according to their geographic region. Why do you think this happens?

Dana Nachman: One of the mailroom elves in the film told us that when they read all of the letters, they notice that kids from different areas of the Country ask for some other toys and gifts. I guess it's because different trends hit different areas of the United States!

OMTimes: Can anyone volunteer to be an adopter elf in their own community?

Dana Nachman: Anyone can volunteer to be an adopter elf. And one of the coolest parts of it is the whole thing is totally anonymous. USPS redacts all of the personal identifying information. When you pick out a letter that speaks to you, that child can be from anywhere in the US. If you want to choose them from your city, you can do that too!

When the child gets the present, it just comes from Santa and his elves.

OMTimes: Do you have to be a non-profit organization to become a lead elf or become part of the Post Office program?

Dana Nachman: The lead elves all work at the USPS. They are the only ones who communicate directly with Santa. But any person in America can help the lead elves get all the letters answered.

OMTimes: Did you have personal contact with these "miracle works"? Tell me a little bit about the people involved in this network of kind hearts across our Country.

Dana Nachman: I met all of the elves in the film through the production process. I didn't know any of them before. I loved to get to know each and every one of them.

OMTIMES • DEC 2020

I love to be connected in my life with people my grandmother referred to as "doers." These are the people who spend their lives changing the world, not being spectators! It was amazing to experience firsthand as these people worked throughout last year's Christmas season. Many of us got a few letters, and then there are many people in our film who had to rent U-Haul trucks to deal with all of the presents they were giving. These are really the kindest and most generous people globally and to be around them is infectious. Just makes you want to go out and help! And what strikes me the most about what I have learned about Operation Santa is that many of the elves' people give even though they might not have a lot themselves. This is such a beautiful part of the program. As one of the amazing women in the film says, "It's not what you have that matters, it's what you do with what you have!" AMEN! OMTimes: 2020 was and continues to be a strange year. Aside from the Pandemic's strangeness, the Post Office had suffered direct political attacks during this peculiar year. Was the "Dear Santa Program" target? How can ordinary people continue to assist the Post Offices and support the "Dear Santa Program"?

Dana Nachman: I absolutely loved working with USPS. Our collaboration on this movie started with a cold call email I sent to the USPS press office. I told them I wanted to tell this Story, and I was so lucky that they trusted my team and me with their beautiful Story! Every shoot that we had where I got to interface with USPS staff really was a joy. They were all salt of the earth people trying to make our communities stronger through their everyday work and this program! I was so impressed by the hundreds of USPS workers I got to interface with on this film. I am not aware of any problems this year with Operation Santa, and I know USPS is very excited to launch on 12/4.

OMTIMES • DEC 2020

OMTimes: During the movie, I noticed children's presence and participation in making other children come true. In your opinion, how important is it to involve children in this tradition?

Dana Nachman: I love the thought of children helping other children! I think it's excellent! At my kids' school, I know they have a giving tree where kids can pick from the tree and give kids things that they need around Christmas. I can see my kids and their friends have always liked the feeling of helping others. I think it is an excellent idea, in general, to empower kids to be change-makers.

Often children feel they have no authority to make a difference, and this is a shame! This program is fantastic because kids can read the letters and pick out those that speak to them. They can wrap and decorate and are excited to know that Santa has tasked them with this important honor!

OMTimes: Let me build a little bit on the last question. Do you personally believe that we should teach compassion in schools?

Dana Nachman: Oh my, yes! Don't get me started with this year and the lack of compassion we see all around us! The more we can teach children about helping others, empathy, and kindness, the better! I think Operation Santa is a straightforward and fun way to do this!

OMTimes: My last question to you would be: can you reveal the real address of Santa at the North Pole to our audience?

Dana Nachman: Absolutely. I would love to. For children who want to write to Santa Claus, send letters to 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888

5

To Put You in a Holiday Mood

Christmas Short Stories

BY CATHEDRAL OF THE SOUL

FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH FIFTH

The Christmas Tree Author: Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière

Ancient Christmas Tale from Austria Author: Unknown The Christmas Rose Author: Selma Lagerlöf Father Christmas Dream's Tale Author: J. Letria Ancient Legend of the Christmas Flower Unknown author

OMTIMES MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2020 •

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

Charles Dickens From the decorated pine tree to the Nativity Set, everything has a story that takes children to a better world full of dreams and magic through the kind Santa Claus. This Christmas gather the little one at home and embark on a real adventure in the company of some of the short stories that gave rise to the most beautiful traditions of this Holiday Season.

The Christmas Tree Author: Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière Long, long ago, on Christmas Eve, there were three trees next to the Nativity Set: a date palm, an olive tree, and a pine tree. When they saw the Baby Jesus being born, the three trees wanted to offer him a gift.

The olive tree was the first to do the offering, giving the Baby Jesus its olives. The date palm immediately offered him his sweet dates. But the pine tree, as it had nothing to offer, was miserable.

The stars of the sky, seeing the sadness of the pine tree, which had nothing to give to the Child Jesus, decided to go down and land on its branches, illuminating and decorating the pine tree. When this happened, Baby Jesus looked at the pine tree, raised his arms, and smiled! Legend has it that this was how the pine tree always adorned with lights - was elected the typical Christmas tree. It is one of the seasons of this enchanted Season of Lights.

OMTIMES.COM

Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime.

Charles Dickens

There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.

Charles Dickens The Christmas Candles Ancient Christmas Tale from Austria Author: Unknown Once upon a time, a poor shoemaker lived in a hut at the crossroads of a path near a humble village.

As he liked to help travelers who passed by his house at night, the shoemaker left a candlelit every night in the house's window to light their way.

At one point, there was a great war that made all young people go away, leaving the village even poorer and sadder.

Seeing the persistence of that poor shoemaker, who continued to live his life full of hope and kindness, the village people decided to imitate him. On Christmas Eve night, everyone lit a candle in their homes, thus lighting the whole village.

At midnight, the church bells began to ring, announcing the good news: the war was over, and the young men were returning to their homes! Everyone shouted, “It's a miracle! It is a miracle of candles!”. From that day on, lighting a candle on Christmas Eve became a tradition in almost every home.

OMTIMES MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2020 •

Father Christmas Dream's Tale Author: J. Letria One night, while sleeping, Father Christmas had a beautiful dream: it was Christmas Eve, and everyone was happy! Nobody was alone ...

Everyone had a family and a house with a table ready for Christmas dinner, where there was plenty of delicious food. There was no poverty, no hatred, no wars. They were all friends, and there were no fights, swear words, or bad manners… Yes, there was love, understanding, and affection among everyone. All the world was feeling like a big family.

People on the streets on the way home happily hummed Christmas songs, bringing the latest gifts to put under the pine tree.

Father Christmas couldn't help smiling, so happy when he saw the world full of peace, love, and harmony!

The Christmas Rose Author: Selma Lagerlöf On the night that the Child Jesus was born, a small shepherdess, who kept her flock on the mountain, saw some shepherds and three wise men passing by, heading for the stable where Jesus was, next to Mary and Joseph.

The shepherds carried gifts, and the three wise men carried rich offerings of gold, incense, and myrrh. The Shepherdess was sad because she had nothing to offer Baby Jesus and started to cry.

An angel was passing by, seeing such sadness, passed by the girl, and, when her tears fell on the frozen earth, she transformed them into beautiful white roses, which the girl, with a heart full of happiness, quickly caught and took as an offering to the Child Jesus.

The White roses are symbols of tears of Loving devotion.

When Father Christmas woke up and saw that it was all just a dream, he became sorrowful. After all, only a few people in the world were happy, celebrating Christmas in joy and peace with their own, to have a home, food, clothes, and love.

Given this situation, Father Christmas said out loud: “I will have to continue helping children and adults to have a pleased Christmas! I will prepare the reindeer and my sleigh, fill it with gifts, and distribute them tonight, so that, at least once a year, there will be joy in the hearts of all of us! ” When he saw the smiles of children and parents when they saw their gifts, Father Christmas decided to keep this tradition. It continues like this, year after year, to fulfill its task, until one day he can see his beautiful dream fully realized.

OMTIMES MAGAZINE

Ancient Legend of the Christmas Flower Unknown author Once upon a time, a poor girl named Pepita could not offer a gift to Baby Jesus at Christmas mass.

Very sad, she told her cousin Pedro, who was going with her to the church. The latter told her that she didn't have to be sad because what matters most when we offer something to someone is the love with which we offer it, especially in the eyes of baby Christ.

Pepita then remembered to collect some dry branches that he found along the way to offer him.

Upon arriving at the church, Pepita looks at the branches she has picked and begins to cry, as she finds this offering very poor. Even so, he decides to offer them with all his love.

She enters the church and, when she deposits the branches in front of the Child Jesus image, the branches take on a bright red color, before everyone's amazement. Another Christmas miracle, which is said to be the origin of the traditional Christmas flower.

OMTIMES MAGAZINE

"Love is always in the mood of believing in miracles."

John Cowper Powys

Ascendinghearts.com

Metaphysics

Personal Growth & Development We grow as individuals as we face challenges and overcome life’s obstacles. This section is dedicated to helping you chart your course.

4 Ways to Mitigate Your Emotions in Unprecedented Times

O

By Dr. Carmen Harra

ne word we've heard a lot

The shaky state of our world may

lately is "unprecedented":

be causing you to have conflictual

unprecedented pandemic,

emotions, especially if you're a

unprecedented protests,

sensitive person: you may feel

unprecedented unemployment rate,

frustrated about your finances,

etc. As we pass through unusual yet

impatient to get back to work,

extraordinary times, our emotions are

outraged over police brutality, or just

starting to reflect the chaos around us.

plain bored of this whole situation.

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

Even in such instances, it's imperative

to know them, then show them the

not to let your emotions get out of

door. You shouldn't dwell on negative

hand. To remain in control of your

emotions, or you risk getting stuck

circumstances, you need to stay in

in them. It's important to keep your

control of what you feel. No matter

feelings constantly flowing so that you

what your mindset may be in this

don't become emotionally stagnant.

moment, you can mitigate your emotions by taking these four steps:

2. Transform what you feel.

Human beings are unique. We

1. Recognize that no emotion is wrong. It takes time to adjust to

have an incredible ability to transmute

a new reality because the human brain

change it into a more productive

likes to follow predictable patterns;

and enlightening one. So denial can

it does not appreciate change. Our

evolve into acceptance. Hate can be

regular activities have been put on

shifted into love. Disinterest can be

pause, and we've been taken out of our

transformed into motivation. Unease

comfort zones quite suddenly. Such

can be converted into faith. Suppose

disruptions are guaranteed to cause

you're experiencing negative emotions

a wide range of emotions, including

due to the pandemic or other factors.

ones you may not expect or enjoy.

In that case, you can choose to

However, you must accept how you're

examine your emotions and gently

feeling at any given moment because

transition out of them.

our emotions, take a feeling, and

your emotions are a part of you; they come from you and no one else. Some

The solution might be simply to

sentiments like regret and guilt are

apply logic. Reasoning through your

especially oppressive; they weigh down

feelings can help you differentiate

on your conscience and make you

between rational and irrational

falsely believe that what you're feeling

emotions and dissociate yourself

is wrong when, in reality, no emotion is

from unhealthy ones like fear, worry,

wrong. Recognizing that all emotions

and anger. For example, it's rational

are normal will help you return to a

to feel disappointed for being fired

positive state of mind more quickly. The

from your job but irrational to feel

key is to allow your feelings to come

disappointed in yourself if it wasn't

and go like visitors: welcome them, get

your fault. Remember that harboring

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

such emotions hurts no one but you.

personal ambitions, sparkling emotions

It's always in your best interests to

like intolerance and selfishness. To

release feelings that don't contribute to

keep your ego and higher self in careful

your mental, emotional, and physical

balance, I encourage you to practice

growth.

self-care while also caring for others.

3. Balance your ego and higher self. The human ego serves a critical role in protecting us, but

This means tending to your own needs and desires and showing compassion for the world around you.

it can also throw our emotions out

Suppose there's one long-forgotten

of harmony. That's because the ego

lesson that this crisis is teaching us. In

disregards the "we" and emphasizes

that case, our emotional well-being

the "me." If left unchecked, it can

can be improved by acknowledging

easily push aside empathy to spotlight

the common threads that run among

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

us all. It's a well-known fact that you

catharsis, an emotional purge. Then,

encourage emotions that make you

close the book. Try to meditate or

feel good when you do something

exercise to lighten your mood. Revisit

good for others. Being of service

your journal entry the next morning.

produces a neurochemical sense of

What do you notice? Is the page full

reward in the brain: it reduces stress,

of statements that reflect anxiety or

elevates mood, and increases self-

uncertainty? Did you write things like,

esteem. So for every loving action,

"This isn't fair to me," "I'm not good

you perform for yourself, perform a

enough," or "Nobody understands me?"

similar action for someone else. If you

As you read over your entries, you'll

bought yourself a new pair of shoes,

notice if your words were driven by

consider donating a few old pairs that

healthy or unhealthy emotions. You'll

you no longer wear. Or, if you take

also realize how your feelings may be

care of your pet, make a donation to

making you reach harmful conclusions.

a shelter so that another animal can be taken care of, too. Do all that you

Counteract adverse emotions by

do with awareness and empathy in

distracting yourself and doing

mind. It is such small but thoughtful

something you genuinely enjoy, like

actions that bring more joy not only

talking to an old friend, starting a new

into your personal world but into our

project, redecorating your home, or

collective world.

discovering a skill you never knew you had. The emotions you choose to invite

4. Take actions that encourage healthy emotions.

and engage determine how resilient and ingenious you can become.

The right actions are tantamount to positive emotions. I recommend

Our emotions fill our world with color,

journaling because it's a great way to

but it's important to keep track of what

release intense emotions and become

and how we feel in times like these.

more aware of your feelings' role in

Practice my steps to restabilize your

your thought process. Write down

emotions and rediscover peace of

everything you feel in a notebook:

mind.

capture your annoyance, loneliness, or desperation without censoring

To healthy emotions,

yourself. Think of exercise as a kind of

Dr. Carmen Harra

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

Reasons to Practice Mindful Motivation

By Judi Lynch

O

ur appreciation and

or seem out of control. If we feel that

gratitude for the beauty of

our efforts are being wasted, unseen

life create and motivate us

or unheard, we can lose our focus,

to experience all we can

our will to succeed. When we can feel

while here.

purpose in our actions and words, we’re more inclined to keep going

Motivation is the force that drives

upward.

us and helps to maintain our goals in life. It can be a challenge to stay

Motivation can come from several

motivated when things are uncertain

different sources if we are listening,

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

observing synchronicities and signs.

Positive motivation can be recognized

In moments of peace, we can find the

much easier when we feel well,

clarity we need to make important

taking good care of our physical

decisions if we can trust our intuition

and emotional health. Getting

and spiritual connections. If we gain

enough rest and healthy food is truly

clarity, we will be led to the people,

important for keeping a positive

places, and things that positively and

energy flow, which helps us much

productively motivate us.

in our daily attitude. The people we are in close contact with also

Fear is one of the most powerful

make a big difference in our ability

motivators to make changes. When

to stay positive and focused. If we

we are faced with challenging

are constantly listening to someone

situations, anxiety can force us to

complain, criticize, or blame, it can

make personal decisions quicker. We

become necessary to limit your time

are motivated to take action, to ask

in that energy. If you are always trying

for help, to protect ourselves from

to reason or explain, your energy can

threats. Fear motivates us to act

become very low and unmotivated.

under pressure, shows our worth, and

Much easier to let others be who they

helps us to remember how to respond

are and not believe we can make

when faced with similar situations in

them change with just our positive

the future. It helps to keep us alive.

attitude. It saves a lot of frustration to remember this.

Many people we meet throughout life motivate us to evolve, question,

When we are surrounded by positive,

gyrate, and learn. They lead us on to

helpful, and willing to share their

live our own unique lives. Even people

insights, we are motivated to shine.

we have never met who lived before

When we make a list of goals and

us have inspired and motivated us

actions we want to activate, we

to create new life paths. One idea

motivate ourselves to complete what

can spark our enthusiasm for a

we’ve begun, and we see the end

project we had been considering. Our

result. Positive memories from the

determination can be fueled by one

past are also helpful in gaining energy

positive quote, enabling us to make

to charge the future. Be mindful not

life-enhancing decisions.

to overthink or judge a situation. See

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

the possibilities in what you are

become curious, peaceful, and self-

trying to plan, change, or manifest.

driven when we make connections that enhance our Spirit and bring us

Walking in nature helps us to

joy. The energy of joy is contagious

connect on a higher frequency and

to those around us and motivates

motivates us to enjoy our lives as

them to want to feel what we feel.

we know them from instinct. The inspiring beauty of a waterfall, a

Love is also a great motivator.

sunset, or a majestic tree brings

When we are happy just to be

our natural enthusiasm for life. We

here another day. When we love

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

unconditionally without making

Judi Lynch is a psychic medium,

conditions, we can be ever

intuitive counselor, healing channel,

motivated f rom the inside. Our

and author. She is president of the

purposes here and the people we

Crystal Healing Foundation, Inc., a

love help encourage us to keep

501(c) spiritual charity, and writer for

going, learning, healing, forgiving,

OM Times Magazine. She has authored

and evolving. Our appreciation

two books, Friends with Lights and

and gratitude for the beauty of

Conscious Ascension, and has read

life create and motivate us to

for clients worldwide. To learn more or

experience all we can while here.

contact for a session, see judilynch.com

OM TIMES | December A Edition 2020

OMTimes Media, Inc. PO Box 1333 Oil City, PA 16301 (571)-2OM-TIMES ©2009-2020 OMTimes Media

All Rights Reserved MMXX

Please review the

OMTimes Reprint Policy Contact our Advertisement Team:

advertise@omtimes.com