January B Issue
St. Francis Goes to Broadway JAMES F. TWYMAN Log On Our Website and Learn more in how to Live a Conscious Lifestyle: OMTimes.com
CONTENTS HEALTH & HEALING
40
4 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR BODY’S NATURAL PROCESSES
METAPHYSICS
60
SPOTLIGHT
JAMES F. TWYMAN:
DO NUMBERS KEEP SHOWING UP IN YOUR LIFE?
70
THE COLORS OF LIFE
78
BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL MEDIUM
ST. FRANCIS GOES TO BROADWAY
CONSCIOUS PARENTING
48
PREPARING EMOTIONALLY FOR THE BIRTH OF YOUR FIRST CHILD
ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE
86
RELEASE YOUR KARMIC PATTERNS
PERSONAL GROWTH
90
ARE YOU AN EVOLVED EMPATH?
98
4 WAYS TO IDENTIFY A MENTAL BLOCK AND OVERCOME IT
BEYOND HEARTBREAK: THRIVING AFTER A FAMILY MEMBER’S ADDICTION
WORLD VISION
104
IS YOUR REALITY OPERATING DIFFERENTLY THAN YOUR PERCEPTION WWW.OMTIMES.COM
ST. FRANCIS GOES TO BROADWAY James Twyman is known around the world as The Peace Troubadour for his concerts in war-torn countries like Iraq, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and on a hill overlooking a Syrian village held by ISIS, a concert that prompted Bill Maher to call Twyman the “idiot folk singer from Portland.” He’s the NY Times bestselling author of sixteen books, the producer or director of seven award-winning films and a Billboard Chart bestselling musician.
OMTIMES
| 2020
But it’s his love of St. Francis of Assisi that keeps drawing him back to a life of simple wisdom. OM Times sat down with The Peace Troubadour to ask him about his latest book Giovanni and the Camino of St. Francis, as well as his upcoming off-Broadway musical Brother Sun, Sister Moon
January B edition
JAMES F. TWYMAN | OMTIMES
OMTimes: When did you first feel this connection with St. Francis of Assisi, and why has he inspired you for most of your life? James F. Twyman: First of all, every Catholic child fall in love with what I call the “bird bath” St. Francis, or the saint of animals and nature. In fact, that’s how most people know him - the patron saint of ecology. And for me, it was no different. It wasn’t until I met a Franciscan brother from Chicago that I finally decided to follow the saint from Assisi. I left home right after high school and entered the order, and even though I was only there for two years, it left an indelible impression on me. Then in 1994, a friend gave me a sheet of paper that had the peace prayers from the 12 major religions of the world printed on it. They were first prayed together in Assisi when the leaders of all the religions came there in 1986. They chose Assisi because St. Francis is loved by people from almost every religion, mainly because he was the first inter-religious peacemaker. When I read them for the first time, I had a remarkable experience - I heard music and picked up my guitar and played along. Within one hour, I arranged all 12 of the peace prayers to music and decided I wanted to travel as a penniless troubadour sharing them for the rest of my life. I went to Bosnia in 1995, which was my first trip into a war zone to do the concert, and ended up writing my first book about the experience - Emissary of Light. The book did very well and the next thing I knew I was no longer penniless. Twenty-five years later, I’m being drawn back to that original inspiration - traveling across the country with no money and no idea how I’m getting from place to place, or where I’ll eat or sleep, completely trusting in the generosity of others traveling to New York to do the Brother Sun, Sister Moon musical. It feels like I’ve come full circle.
4 Ways to Encourage Your Body’s Natural Processes By Brooke Chaplan
W
hen you have health
that are inserted into your skin in
problems, you can
particular areas of your body. This
use a natural or
treatment will affect the nerve endings
holistic approach
in your body to reduce stiffness,
to wellness. You may have a concern
pain, or inflammation, helping you to
about the side effects of traditional
overcome an illness or an injury. The
medical practices, but today, it is easy
acupuncturist can twist or flip the
to find the holistic wellness methods
needles for additional stimulation of
that are offered by different cultures
the body’s nerves. An acupuncture
throughout the world. Consider these
treatment will last for approximately
holistic wellness techniques to feel
one hour, helping to alleviate your
better naturally.
discomfort or other health issues.
Acupuncture Treatments
Homeopathy Therapy
You can visit an acupuncturist to have
With homeopathy, you will apply or
a treatment with sterilized needles
ingest a small amount of a natural
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
Preparing Emotionally for the Birth of Your First Child By Carrie Rutledge
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
B
aby showers are fun and
I drop her? What if I lose my mind
exciting in the preparation
and can’t handle the crying? What
of your little human’s big
if I throw him on purpose? These
entrance into the world. But
thoughts make us feel sad and guilty
any mothers that had experienced the
resulting in us refusing to be alone
Postpartum Depression may regard
with our babies or wishing to stay
these little parties to be the least of
as far away from them as possible.
their “motherly” concerns. Combine
Compounded with a depleted
the dramatic drop in hormones,
physical state and loss of sleep,
depleted nutritional state, lack of
pretty soon, we are barely able to
sleep, fears of parenthood and you’ve
function, and it becomes all about
got a perfect storm for Postpartum
survival. This isn’t healthy for mom or
Depression. No matter how badly
baby. So, what can we do about this
you wanted this baby, Postpartum
relatively unstudied and terrifying
Depression can happen to anyone.
temporary mental disorder?
Obstetricians generally do a poor job
Preparing ourselves before the
preparing us for this reality because
birth of our child can do wonders
they don’t help us discern what is
in helping us with this major life
normal and what isn’t postpartum. In
transition. For example, working
fact, they barely discuss our mental
with a therapist before the birth of
states when we leave the hospital
your child can help prepare you for
with our little one. They merely
what to expect and how to cope.
mention that if you have thoughts
Especially if you’ve ever been treated
of hurting yourself or your child to
for a mental disorder in the past such
call 911. That’s all we get. Sadly, most
as depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar
mothers would never reveal the horror
disorder, or schizophrenia.
going on in their heads for fear that their baby might be taken away.
There is no way to prepare for the lack of sleep in the first year postpartum.
No one tells us that scary thoughts
We are deliriously tired, especially
about your child are incredibly
during the first five months, when
common. More mothers than not
our babies are not yet sleeping
will tell you that they had terrifying
through the night. Something you
thoughts about their baby. What if
can do to ease the zombie-like state
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
Beyond Heartbreak: Thriving After a Family Member’s Addiction by Liesha Petrovich OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
N
owadays, surviving a family
Yet, we can’t live at DEFCON 1 for very
member’s addiction isn’t
long.
special. We hear of more tragic
When our family member’s addiction
deaths every week in the news. Of
invades our lives, we get really good
course, we don’t always feel lucky, but
at living with stress, anxiety, and
we are if our loved ones have survived
uncertainty. According to Pinelands
addiction and somehow make it into
Recovery Center, the long and short
recovery.
term effects of opioid abuse include:
Call it a mixed blessing.
• Avoiding time with family and friends, preferring to spend time
The journey of surviving any family’s
alone in isolation.
addiction can be a blessing in many
• Irritable, nervous and/or cranky
ways. No one wishes to be a survivor,
• Experiencing financial hardship due
but the lessons can make us stronger people in a million different ways. And wouldn’t we rather learn from the experience than wallow in self-pity?
to spending lots of income on drugs • Getting into trouble with law enforcement • Missing important appointments and obligations
Here are a few ways we can make lemonade out of the lemons life has
Any of these is enough to impact our
thrown our way:
daily lives. Yet, somehow, we keep
We Can Not Only Survive but Thrive
juggling the chaos and simply carry it with us everywhere. Sometimes it feels paralyzing, and we fall to the floor crying. And sometimes we chuckle at
There is nothing that compares to the
some stupid goat video on Facebook.
sheer horror we feel when our family’s
Basically, life goes on. And if we can
lives are in danger. It’s the kind of panic
survive this, just think about how
where we can’t breathe. It’s the kind of
strong we truly are.
horror that takes over our entire life and covers everything we do in a shroud of mist. And it doesn’t go away.
Our Priorities Are Forever Changed
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
Do Numbers34958628514509 Keep Showing Up28513458764 28513458764 in Your Life?256098276548583 By John Holland
4
4
N
umbers play a key role in
Frequently, your loved ones who
our lives, in the world, in
have passed on will attempt to
science and technology.
communicate with you through
When you think of it,
numbers. Have you noticed any
everything in the Universe revolves
number or series of numbers that
around numbers. From the rotation
repeatedly appear in your life?
of the earth and the planets in our
It could be on your digital clock,
Universe, our calendars, to the way
license plate, bills, telephone
we keep time, everything is based on
numbers, or those synchronistic
numbers.
moments when you find you have the same birthday as someone
Do numbers keep showing up in your
you’ve just met. Many people will
life? This could be how your loved ones
see the exact time of the passing of
on the Other-Side are trying to get
a loved one repeatedly appearing in
your attention.
their lives. OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
The Colors of Life Jill Mattson
T
he energy of colors does
Everything is energy and therefore
change your life – subtly.
has a vibration – that can be counted
You just don’t notice its soft
by the number of vibrations in a
and subtle impact, but you
given period. This includes colors. For
are continuously surrounded by color,
example, you can count the vibrations
and its cumulative impact is quite
per second of colored light.
significant. But how can color change
How does a color influence other
your life?
things? Vibrations nearby influence OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
and change each other. Always. This
the same musical note, just higher or
is indisputable science. Colors have
lower. If you have an A string and cut
distinct vibrations.
the string in half, it will still sound an A note, but it will be a higher-pitched A
The scientific phenomena of
or said differently, it will be an octave of
resonance describe how energy
the original A.)
transfers to many different things. If you have two violins nearby and you
If you take colored light down octaves,
pluck the A string of one of them,
you eventually reach the frequencies
the other A string will softly sound on
of the notes in our musical scale.
the nearby violin. Imagine a porthole
Energy transfers from the colored
between the two instruments – and
light to a musical note through octave
energy going between them. Subtly
resonance. Our emotions, brain waves
the energy from the same pitch
and physical bodies are also energy.
travels to another item of the same
Colors can transfer energy to these,
pitch. This is called resonance. Not
as well. The energy is subtle, and we
only does energy transfer between the
may not notice if we are not paying
same pitch, it also (to a slightly lesser
attention or are not super sensitive.
extent) transfers between octaves and
Yet, it is established that energies from
some musical intervals. (An octave is
colors influence people’s feelings. For
Release your Karmic Patterns by Andrea Carrani
A
re you looking to bring
Let’s have a look at what karmic
greater inner freedom and
patterns are and how they affect our
peace into your life? Have
daily lives.
you been trying to make
positive changes but somehow find
When people look for a positive
it difficult to do so? Are you feeling
change, they try so many different
stuck? Then you might need to release
avenues. Some even try to move away
your “Karmic Patterns.”
from their environment and find OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
themselves moving to a different job or place, only to discover that the same
What are these patterns exactly?
dynamic seems to reappear wherever they go.
These Karmic or behavioral patterns, come from painful life experiences
Why is it so difficult to change our
from our upbringing, environment,
outside circumstances? The answer lies
culture, background, or even from
within our “Karmic Patterns.�
our past lives. By our patterns, this emotional pain that we unconsciously
We send out signals according to
carry within, makes us react to
our patterns that attract reoccurring
situations in an automatic mode
situations until we begin to understand
without realizing it.
what patterns we have to finally release them from our consciousness. Then our
Once we become aware of these
outside world will change accordingly.
patterns, we start to realize that we
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
Are You an Evolved Empath?
by Dagny Grant and Beth Donnelly
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
E
mpathy is a beautiful gift. Not unlike the skills of playing
Intellectual Empathy
an instrument, honing
The ability to cognitively understand
one’s intuition, or obtaining
the feeling that someone is
mastery in any area…becoming, an
experiencing, without taking on
evolved empath requires practice.
emotional distress yourself. Someone
Believing that we can choose our
who is primarily an intellectual
emotional state takes us halfway there.
empath may cognitively understand
What is empathy?
another’s person’s distress. At the same time, it may choose not to emotionalize or sympathize with it.
Have you ever entered a room and immediately had your emotional
Emotional Empathy
state shift? Have you ever met someone and had an emotional
This is a physical response of taking
reaction to their energy, and felt a
on another person’s emotions, to the
symbiotic connection to them that
extent of merging with their energy.
you couldn’t explain? Have you been
A person might quite literally believe
able to feel others joining you in a
they feel the other person’s feelings.
happy emotion? These are examples of empathetic resonance. Empathy is
Sympathetic Empathy
the ability to understand, feel, and to share the feelings of another sentient
Both types of empathy, intellectual
being. We’ve also heard stories of
and emotional, can serve us.
people playing music to plants to
However, to achieve a balanced
inspire their growth or having the
approach to empathy, we need
ability to “sense” how an animal may
to understand a person’s distress,
be feeling. Science has shown that
and we need to take some kind of
animals and plants also share an
sympathetic action to help. This
empathetic response.
help could come in various forms of thoughts, words, or deeds.
Different forms of empathy may be
In current times, some people self-
experienced: intellectual, emotional,
identify with the title “Empath.” This
or sympathetic.
term is often misunderstood. OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
Four ways to Identify a Mental Block and Overcome It By Rachelle Wilber
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
M
ental blocks can hit
can drag down your confidence
with no warning and
and creativity. If you notice self-
can get in the way
deprecating thoughts becoming
of your personal life,
a regular habit, work on changing
professional work, athletic goals, and
them. Some people find it helpful to
creative projects. They can stop you
purposely think positive thoughts
from perfecting activities you’ve done
about themselves whenever they
a thousand times before and from
notice themselves feeling low.
coming up with new, interesting
Others find it more useful to remind
ideas. A mental block can even cause
themselves that negative thoughts
problems in interacting with the
are just that—thoughts and not
people around you.
reality.
To fight a mental block, you need to
Pressing on in your goals is a good way
change your expectations, habits,
to overcome negative feedback. Just
and perspective. Below are some tips
be sure that when you do, you don’t
for identifying and overcoming your
press yourself so hard that you lose
mental block.
your passion for the project.
Monitor Your Thoughts
Learn to Release Stress
If you receive negative feedback, your
When you put too much pressure
reaction will likely go one of two ways.
on yourself, as we all do at some
You’ll either allow the feedback to give
point, you get stuck in “have to”
way to incessant negative thoughts
thinking. This can trigger you, which
and give in on the project, or you’ll
automatically wants to get you
press on, either out of confidence or
out of a difficult or uncomfortable
spite. Think of how you responded
situation. When this happens, your
to negative feedback as a kid, and
mind will stop working as hard on
you’ll likely find that the pattern has
the project, and you’ll have trouble
continued into your adult life.
making progress. Find ways to release
Negative thoughts can be a
the stress that is associated with
stumbling block to your progress.
the project. Move deadlines back, if
They can compile and build on each
possible, and remind yourself that
other, becoming a heavyweight that
finishing the project is likely more
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
Is Your Reality Operating Differently Than Your Perception? by Angela Blaha
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
D
on’t you hate it when you
working with the subconscious mind,
know deep inside you that
and it is becoming more and more
you are so much more than
difficult to know what perceived reality
what you are currently
is and what is the next level of reality.
giving and producing in the world? I mean, come on; I have high hopes
The multiverse, is it real or perception?
and dreams for myself, and yet, I seem to be stuck in some type of multiverse,
According to the quantum theories
flipping back and forth, not really
of reality, it sure seems to be real, and,
making any traction.
in my meditations and experiences,
The perception of who I yearn to just
it seems to be proving to be more
do not match my current reality, and
real than my mind can conceptualize.
I don’t know about you, but it is super
Connecting to my higher self
frustrating.
regularly is proving to expand my consciousness and teaching me
Only to have the next minute be
how the conscious (ego) and the
vibrationally expansive with numerous
unconscious (soul) work together or
downloads of how this Universe really
in many cases, don’t work.
is come flowing in confusing the mind because what you see the mind cannot
When we create or manifest, it is
comprehend. I know these periods of
super important to understand just
extreme expansion are real because we
how reality is created. The secret
all know that if it can be imagined, then
to all realities is that the conscious
it can be created. Right?
mind is totally clueless and is easily directed by all our programming, and
So, the highs and lows of reality are
unfortunately, the conscious egoic
beginning to blur, and I ask myself
mind is the primary creator of our
often all the questions that should
current reality.
bring clarity, but there seems to be a disconnect between the downloads of
In the past, we have been taught
information and the current operating
that the conscious mind made all
reality. We are in great expansive,
the decisions, but if we take a deeper
mind-blowing times, where the
look at how the conscious mind and
transformation of the conscious mind is
unconscious mind work, that theory
OM TIMES | Jan B Edition 2020
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