Natural Communities Magazine A magazine devoted to the local natural wellness culture.

In this time of what is being called “Economic Crisis or Hardship” it is important not to let fear or lack and limitation to creep into your mindset. I firmly believe ABUNDANCE is a state of mind, just like lack or scarcity. There is the same amount of resources and money available today as there was last year or the year before. It is how we think and feel about our supply that has changed. What is your perspective of the amount of abundance or lack in your life? Do you see the glass half empty or half full?

You have the power to experience your life as one of plenty or one of limitation, just by the way you look at. It can be challenging to feel abundant when your bank balance might not reflect it. Money is just one representation of true prosperity. Money is a constantly changing flow of energy that comes and goes from your life. When you see it as that natural flow, you create the space for more to come to you. Changing your focus to see life as 1/2 full energetically lines you up to receive more of whatever it is that you want or desire. Where your focus or attention ‘is’, becomes what you experience and create more of in your life. So instead of looking as “oh, I only have _$ in my account” instead look at all the wonderful blessing you do have. Perhaps you have your bills paid, food in the fridge, or other great things. ABUNDANCE is not just about having lots of money, it is found in everything in our lives. It can be found in: love, friends, nature, and all the little things that make life wonderful. Being grateful for everything that is all around us creates a natural state of prosperity.

When you are tuned into the true opulence change a shift occurs in you and the drive for money becomes less important to you. This change is for the best. We have gone a bit over board with the quest for material objects and financial gains. There is a belief that if you are empty emotionally and spiritually, you try unsuccessfully fulfill yourself with “things” and money. When you operate from a true sense of being abundant, your life is filled with everything you truly need. We are meant to prosper and live abundantly. It is our divine birth right. Living from the state of gratitude for everything you do have is the key. It allows you to let your light shine brightly, doing the things that you are meant to do.

Your ACTION challenge is to take notice of the abundance that is in your life at this moment. Look around you and see abundance everywhere. Shift your state from FEAR and LACK to ABUNDANCE by being grateful and knowing this world has UNLIMITED supply available for you to tap into.

Source: http://www.selfgrowth.com

The co-creation process is a blend of our masculine and feminine energies together with assistance from Spirit. At some steps in the manifestation cycle, we use our masculine energy to take action and exert our will; at other points along the way, we use our feminine energy to imagine and hold space.  In addition to the benefits of our own energies working together and complementing each other, Spirit is our partner in the process.

The co-creation manifestation process:

1) Set an intention. We are the creators of our lives, so we begin the process by deciding what we want and setting our intention.

2) Engage the imagination. What might the final creation look like? We use our imagination to fill out the picture and visualize the details. What will it feel like, smell like, taste like? What will a typical day be like when we go to work in our new business? Include emotions to charge it with energy.

3) Put it out there to the Universe. We might share our intention and our vision with Spirit through prayer or through journaling. Speaking our vision out loud has particular power because sound is vibration. The Universe picks up the vibration and, because of the Law of Attraction, brings us people and opportunities with similar resonance.

4) Take action steps. We engage our masculine energy to take action, making progress toward our goal. What can we do to move in the direction of our intention? If we were looking at opening a business, we would research the legal requirements, apply for licensing, and print business cards. And even with these action steps, the Universe helps. We might overhear a friend mention the local printer where she got her business cards done at a discount, or we might “coincidentally” meet the reporter from the local paper who is looking for new businesses to feature.

5) Stay alert for responses from the Universe. Answers to our prayers may not look like we’re expecting, so we remain alert for synchronicities and energetic assistance from the Universe. If we’re too rigid in our views of how we expect this assistance to look, we may overlook opportunities. Tuning into our intuition will help us feel the energy at work. (See 3 clues for discerning what’s a message.)

6) Take inspired action. When the Universe puts a helpful resource in our path or makes a connection on our behalf, it’s up to us to take action.

7) Repeat. We still have free will, so if – after consideration – something that Spirit sends our way doesn’t fit our vision, we can say no, tweak our intention and begin the process anew with step 2. And after a portion of our project has come to fruition, we can begin again with the manifestation process. During a large creation, we might repeat this cycle dozens or hundreds of times, refining and gaining clarity as we go.

Co-creation is about balance – a gracefully orchestrated dance where sometimes we lead and sometimes we follow. If at any step along the way we feel tired or overworked, it’s a clue we’re doing too much and pushing too hard, and we might want to pull back on our masculine energy. If on the other hand, we feel powerless or like we’re spending too much of our time waiting, then we could engage our masculine energy a little more. If we’re worrying too much, then we might be taking on more than our share of the responsibility, and we can ask for additional assistance from Spirit.

From Debra Morrill blogs on spirituality, shamanism and personal healing

Take a deep breath because there is something you need to know. Ongoing research has shown that proper breathing can be an intelligent way to respond to chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, stress and other ailments - no health club membership required.

Each one of us takes about 20 000 breaths a day. Still, the influence of breathing on human health goes largely unnoticed. Only a few people realize that shallow breathing is linked to stress, sub-par mental performance, fatigue and increased risk of heart disease. However, breathe correctly and you will be able to release tension and improve your physical and mental wellness.

The importance of deep breathing

Deep breathing raises levels of oxygen in our blood and presents a wide range of benefits for our health. “If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly”, says internationally acclaimed alternative health icon Dr. Andrew Weil. Take a look and discover how deep breathing can transform your health:

• Lowers blood pressure
• Relieves emotional issues, including stress and tension
• Improves the quality of sleep
• Raises our energy levels
• Helps break down salt
• Improves circulation
• Helps to promote weight loss
• Improves athletic performance

Pay attention to the way you breathe - it may be one of the most important things you can do for your health. A study led by Arthur Craig, PhD at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center even suggests that a controlled breathing at a slowed rate can significantly reduce feelings of pain.

Are you a shallow breather? Try this simple exercise

You can reverse your body’s natural reaction to stressful situations by practicing deep breathing exercises. Here is a simple, yet effective exercise you can try right away to embrace the wisdom of taking a deep breath:

• Allow yourself to be free of distractions for at least ten minutes
• Inhale for 6 seconds
• Hold your breath for a count of 18
• Exhale for 12 seconds
• Repeat at least 10 times - twice a day
• Watch how you feel

When you breathe slowly and consciously, your body reacts in many positive ways. Without oxygen there is no life. It is a key element of life force and an invaluable aid to peak performance, life extension and perfect health. Are you getting enough of it?

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030813_deep_breathing_stress.html#ixzz18wjuxv4c

The popular expression “music soothes the savage beast” is apparently attributed to different sources of earlier centuries. Whatever the source, the essential message is the same. Music can affect us soothingly, stabilize our emotions, and improve physical and mental health. Of course, that depends on the type of music, doesn`t it?

Experimenting with Music on Plants

The first recorded experiments with music on plants were conducted by Dorothy Retallack at Colorado Women`s College from 1968 to 1973. Since then, other studies have been conducted with similar results. There are some who criticize those results and declare they are quack science without rigorous enough conditions to be worthy of publishing in journals.

But an extremely rigorous study was recorded in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine in 2004. This study set up seedlings in various settings and subjected some of them to different types of music as well as psychic healing energies.

Katherine Creath and Gary Schwartz, both PhDs, set out to prove with painstaking detail that even seedlings respond to the subtle vibrations of musical and healing energies. Their paper was called “Measuring Effects of Music, Noise, and Healing Energy Using a Seed Germination Bioassay”.

The results were similar in almost all studies: Traditional classical music of both the West and India influence growth better than plants without music. Plants and seedlings subjected to harsh rock or heavy metal withered and did worse than plants without music. In some tests, the plants leaned toward the classical music source the same way plants bend toward the sun.

Some greenhouse growers pipe in classical music as a practical application of these studies. You can try it yourself with house or garden plants.

What About Humans and Their Savage Beasts?

French researcher Dr. Alfred Tomatisin coined the term “Mozart Effect” in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart?. The book was the result of 30 years of exposing learning disabled children to Mozart`s music and witnessing positive results. Dr. Tomatisin`s book gave rise to a minor movement of pregnant women listening to classical music, hoping to give birth to brighter, happier babies.

There are a few maternity wards and nurseries that pipe in classical music for calming the newborns and toddlers. Again, disputes among scientists abound about the impact of classical music on fetuses, babies, and young children`s mental and emotional development. But most do agree that exposing babies and toddlers to music is much better for mental development than putting them in front of a TV set for hours at a time.

Both England and the USA have recorded 30 percent plus decreases in normally high crime areas after piping classical music into public locations. Many scientists debunk all these reports as unscientific. But we`re all familiar with that silly argument, aren`t we?

Years ago, there was a discussion about symphony conductors and the fact that so many live long with good health. This was attributed to conductors waving their arms and exercising their pulmonary areas. That reasoning completely ignored the healing energetic aspect of regularly experiencing great music of 30 to 100 fine musicians.

Science usually fails when it comes to acknowledging the effects of subtle energies on health.

Listening to classical music can be used as training wheels for meditation. An example is Bach`s great music. Casual listening is nice but yada-yada-yada, it can all sound too similar. But listening closely to all the various subtle changes throughout Bach`s orchestration leads to letting go of your mental restlessness.

Focused listening to enjoyable, intricate music allows one to break free of mind chatter and experience higher consciousness.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/030257_music_healing.html

The first step
in witnessing the mind
is to feel.

Close your eyes
and bring your focus
on feeling the sensations
in this moment
without defining them.

Whatever sensations
that you notice,
allow yourself to feel them.

Do this now.

Now, from this point
of feeling,
feel your entire being.

Feel the sensation
of existing in this moment.

Let yourself fully rest
in this sensation of existing.

Relax into it.

Allow breathing to happen,
allow thinking to happen
but let your attention rest
on feeling yourself existing.

If you do this,

you will notice
that this feeling of existing
does not have boundaries
and does not have a form.

It includes everything.

Everything that arises
arises out of this
feeling of being.

Nothing needs to be included
or excluded
because it all arises
out of this same feeling
of existence.

And this feeling of existence
is conscious.

You cannot separate
consciousness
and existence.

And the more you rest in this feeling,
the more subtle and expansive it gets.

You can begin to watch
thoughts arise and disappear
in this consciousness.

You do not need to interpret them.

They are like books arising.

You do not need to open the book
and see what is inside,
you simply see it as a book
and let it go.

In this you can begin to experience
the thoughts arising as energy.

Energy arising in energy
and disappearing back into
the same formless
conscious energy.

Energy moving
through energy.

Very blissful.

by Kip Mazuy
Source: http://www.spiritualnow.com…..

A vibrational shift is happening on our planet these days. Movies such as The Secret, What the Bleep and You Can Heal Your Life are becoming mainstream. Millions of people across the globe are tuning in to Oprah’s webcast with Eckhart Tolle as well as her Soul Series; and hundreds of millions throughout the world are meditating on a daily basis. Whether this consciousness-raising can be attributed to the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the approach of the “Shift of the Ages” in 2012, or just a good idea whose time has come, we are experiencing a profound transformation in our collective consciousness. One of the best ways to align with the flow of this positive Energy stream is by being present and tapping into the Magic of Now.

How about you? Do you live in the present moment or is your monkey mind in charge, constantly running between memories of the past and thoughts of the future? Focusing on the past or future is not bad per se. In fact, you can use blissful memories as well as positive expectations to raise your vibration. The problem comes when you dwell exclusively in the past or the future and miss the only moment you ever have - Now.

When you become conscious of the present moment, you become aware of Who You Truly Are and you reconnect with your natural state of Well-Being. You feel intensely alive, peaceful, joyful, uplifted, and vibrant. You enjoy a deeper sense of meaning and purpose, a higher level of awareness and clarity. Free from mental chatter, you experience an inner stillness, a serene oneness with Source.

Living in the Magic of Now is a skill you can easily develop by consciously choosing to focus in the present moment. Here are some ways to become more present as you go about your daily life:

• Breathe! Become aware of your breathing and feel the aliveness within your body. Pause throughout the day and take several long, slow, deep breaths. After a few moments of conscious breathing, you’re calmed, centered in the Now, and energized with a fresh infusion of Life Force Energy.
• Accept what-is. As you relax, allow, and accept each moment without judgment or resistance, you find joy, appreciation, and wisdom arising spontaneously. Acceptance of the present moment, no matter what you’re facing, allows for a mindful response rather than a knee-jerk reaction.
• Give routine activities your full attention. Consciously practice being in the present moment when engaged in daily activities such as brushing your teeth, drinking a glass of water, or standing in line. Replace multi-tasking with complete attention to the current activity.
• Experience nature. When you have the opportunity to be in nature, allow yourself to be fully immersed in the moment. As you gaze upon a tree, a flower, the sky; as you listen to rain drops falling, birds chirping, leaves rustling, you’ll feel the sacred oneness, the peace, the interconnectedness of all life.
• Be aware of your thoughts. Listen, as an observer, to the voice in your head, knowing you are not your thoughts. Become aware of a deeper, vaster dimension inside, which Eckhart Tolle calls stillness.

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

So how do you feel right now? If you feel joy, ease and lightness, you’re present. Presence always feels good. In fact, it’s not possible to be present and unhappy at the same time. There’s no suffering in the Now. To tap into the Magic of Now is to live your entire life as a spiritual practice. To tap into the Magic of Now is to feel an extraordinary aliveness, the pure joy of Being. To tap into the Magic of Now is to greet each moment as a still, alert presence and experience the beauty, the wonder, the sacredness of all life.

Kate Corbin is a Law of Attraction Life Coach and the creator of Gold Star Coaching. Both her coaching practice and her two ebooks - Dining at the Cosmic Cafe, How to Be and Do and Have Whatever You Desire as well as Think and Grow Thin with the Law of Attraction - are designed to empower you to truly live the life of your dreams. To contact Coach Kate, check out her books, and subscribe to her free ezine, Magical Musings, visit Gold Star Coaching.

Source: Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

If we listen, our body will tell us what to eat, how much water to drink, when to go to bed, and how best to exercise for optimal health. It will help us make decisions, find our truth, and bring us incredible pleasure. Yet, many of us live cut off from our body, only really paying attention when it’s expressing pain.

Some of us live more outside our bodies than in our bodies. The pattern starts in childhood, when leaving our body helps us cope during times of trauma and pain. Disassociating keeps us numb and holds the pain at bay—whether it’s physical or emotional pain. For some of us, being out of our body becomes a habit, and we remain numb to our body as we mature, not realizing that as an adult we have many more life experiences and tools for coping.

Learning to stay present in our body is an essential part of the healing process. Our body is the safest place for us to be. When we’re present and in our body, we can protect ourselves and provide the care, love and nurturing that our inner child is yearning for. We can set healthy limits for ourselves, stand up for ourselves, speak our truth and remove ourselves from unhealthy situations.

When we leave our body in order to avoid pain, the trauma and the emotions and the heavy energy of the event remain unprocessed and move into our bodies where they are stored as cellular memory. Let’s say we fell off our bike as a child and broke our arm. Because of the pain and fear, we disassociated. After the trauma was over, we never went back and expressed the emotion and processed the fear. Over the years, our arm —energetically weakened from the original incident—takes on heavy energy from each new event in our life. Our arm may send us a twinge from time to time, until one day, we wake up in acute pain. The original bike accident is now just a fleeting memory, but the fear still lives in the arm. Through the pain, our body is trying to show us the heavy energy that needs to be released to come back into balance.

Here’s how to release stored energy from the body. Bring your awareness to your body and scan it for messages such as tingling, swirling energy, pain, a twinge, numbness or a feeling of heaviness. Choose one of these sensations to work with. Breathe into that area of the body and invite it to have a dialogue with you. Ask what it wants you to know. Listen for the answer. Then ask what it wants or needs from you in order to heal and come back into balance. Bring in the energy of what it wants. Visualize your body releasing the heavy energy and coming into balance. Continue to breathe and allow your body to respond.

Sometimes, the pain may be an old memory or heavy energy from the past wanting to be released. If that’s the case, breathe directly into the pain while holding the intention that it will be released. Allow your breath to gently move the pain. If the flash of a memory crosses your awareness, consciously work with its energy, breathing out the feeling of rage or helplessness or sorrow and breathing in balance.

Releasing heavy energy from the body is an unwinding process. It may take multiple sessions to clear one part of the body because as each layer clears, it makes room for the next layer to appear. Our bodies will help us with this—they want to be healthy and in balance.

Our goal is to be tuned in to our bodies like the true energetic beings that we are and read the energetic cues and do our clearing work in the moment, before the acute pain begins. As we listen to our body’s inherent wisdom, we heal and come into our wholeness.

To take it further:

• Strive to stay in your body. If you feel yourself leaving, call yourself back home.
• Use the language of metaphor to decipher messages from your body. If your shoulder is sore, ask yourself what burden you’re shouldering. If your eyes are blurry, ask yourself what you need to see.
• Let your body make a decision for you today.
• Check in with your body a couple times a day and ask what it wants. Does it want rest, movement, water, a certain nutrient? Give it what it wants.
• Go for a walk outdoors and open your grounding cord to Mother Earth. Release any heavy energy to her.

By Debra Morrill, a shamanic healer, has a healing practice in Prairie du Sac, WI. She focuses on ancestral healing and helps clients access their inner wisdom for healing. She can be reached at debramorrill@yahoo.com or 608-279-4319.

Reiki, Energy Clearing & More
Tomah, WI 54660
608-343-5143
 reikigems@yahoo.com

The Sun’s Warmth is a service company to assist the homeowners and business owners through the process of determining the what and the how to achieve effective energy efficiency, renewable energy, healthy construction methods, and sustainable designs.

The goal is to provide you the information needed to reduce your energy costs and provide a portion or all of your heat, hot water and electricity from clean safe renewable energy sources.

Educating how to increase the energy efficiency of energy using equipment, determining the amount of renewable energy production available, requesting/evaluating bids from vendor/contractors, project management and more are services that can be provided.

My wife and I moved into our off the grid home over five years ago and have had more than 700 people visit the project as part of the National Solar Home Tour and other events.

The Sun’s Warmth will support your goal of owning a healthy, sustainable, renewable energy home and lifestyle.

28609 Walnut Run Way
Red Wing, MN 55066

651-301-3271

www.sunswarmth.com

Nearly One Thousand Americans will Fast to Pressure Congress for Climate Change Legislation

Dear Friends,

The September 4th (and beyond) Climate Emergency Fast keeps growing and building! A week ago there were 350 of us; today there are 667. Some of those who’ve joined include Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners, Indian author and activist Vandana Shiva, South African poet Dennis Brutus, Jared Duval, former National Director of the Sierra Student Coalition, Rev. Charles Morris of Michigan Interfaith Power and Light and Step It Up leaders Will Bates and Jeremy Osborn. They’re joining people like Bill McKibben, Rev. Bob Edgar, Van Jones, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Sally Bingham, Medea Benjamin, Adrienne Maree Brown, Mike Tidwell, Brent Blackwelder, Ilyse Hogue, Billy Parish, Liz Veazey and many more.

And we’ve looked more closely at where we’re all from. We’re from 46 states, the District of Columbia and, so far, ten countries: USA, Bolivia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, Germany, Colombia, Puerto Ricoand Australia. If you live in or know anyone in Delaware, Nebraska, North Dakota or South Dakota who appreciate the urgency of the climate crisis, please consider joining or take a minute to reach out to others in those states. They’re the only states where we still do not have any fasters. You sign up for the fast by going to www.climateemergency.org http://www.climateemergency.org .

45 of those signed up so far are fasting for from 2-6 days, 12 are fasting for from one to three weeks, and four of us are open-ended.

The primary purpose of this action is to bring political pressure on the U.S. Congress, demanding that they pass strong climate legislation. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are committed to trying to get climate legislation passed this fall. We are focusing on three main demands, which are:

• no new coal or coal-to-liquid plants
• freeze and major reductions in carbon emissions
• a $25 billion downpayment in the 2008 fiscal year for conservation, efficiency and renewables

We urge people, whether fasting or not, to take action on September 4th, to apply pressure on local Congresspeople and the U.S. Senators in your state. You can organize a vigil outside one of their offices. You can set up a meeting with their staff people (since they’ll be in D.C. on this day). You can get your friends, co-workers, colleagues and anyone else you know to make phone calls or send emails or faxes urging that they support our demands and take strong action to address the climate crisis.

Finally, along those lines, below is information about “1 Sky,” an important initiative with which we are involved.

Let’s keep spreading the word and building this action!

Ted Glick Coordinator, U.S. Climate Emergency Council, http://www.climateemergency.org

www.organicconsumers.org