We are absolutely over the moon to announce that The Eclipse, written by one of our most treasured contributors and critics and a book the American Association of Suicidology described as "brilliant", is now available in podcast form through Lifestyle Pod Network, meaning that you can listen to it on itunes, your podcast player, or your computer. Receive five chapters without obligation by clicking here. It is impossible to remain unmoved by The Eclipse, for none of us remains untouched by loss for long. In it, love, insight, and the rarest of properties, real wisdom. We recommend it to all readers without reservation.
Because, after all, what is life without love?
Some of us are waiting for love, others feel they've had it with love, and the most ebullient are those in love who feel it to be reciprocated. We speak not only of romantic love, but of the deep passion one can feel for a family member, friend, or a pet, and also that we can feel for our work or a cause. The bottom line? Being itself is love, although few of us realize it when we're caught up in the stress, frustration, grief and drama of everday life. We forget that we come from, and return to, love. We forget that love drops into our lives wearing the faces of children and, importantly, the face we see in the mirror.
"Love," writes our fabulous resident metaphysician David Staume in this month's edition, "is a very difficult thing to describe, because it can be a simple force of attraction, a sublime state of consciousness, an inspiring motive, or a deep-felt emotion. It can also manifest in many ways. It can manifest as devotion, kindness, intimacy, or camaraderie, and if your poetic nature takes flight it can even manifest as the force of attraction between subatomic particles."
However busy you may be tearing your hair out over tax returns, perhaps you should stop and consider that this moment is perfect in itself. Even if you're sick. Even if you're broke. Even if you feel broken. A greater wisdom is at play, and noone can ever know the importance of a single moment other than in retrospect. A personal abuse may lead to social revolution - one who has been harmed can, armed with the power of his or her experience, later change the world so that others will not be harmed in the same way. A loss can lead to a different, better, path being taken, or to a revision of priorities.
Consider the potential of this moment. Why are you here? What will you do with the information you find here? This page is a great place to start, and you will find beautiful reading here. This is for those who feel as if there is no hope, and this is for those who just feel blue. And this - one of our favorite sections - is just for remembering why we're all here in the first place.
Columnist and corporate attorney Brad Buffoni again succeeds in alienating those of us who don't want to die of a coronary in the next hour - but then again, what a way to go! Acupuncturist and alternative health guru Sarah George offers infinitely sensible advice for those of us under stress. And whatever you do, don't forget to check out author Antonella Gambotto-Burke's reviews lest you go about your life unaware of last month's releases - adults, click here; children and parents, here.
We also ask you to please go through your cupboards and select nine items you don't wear or use, and to donate these nine items to your local orphanage, homeless charity, or organization for destitute mothers. Those interested in children's welfare should purchase a book from this excellent organization.
Marcus Aurelius, immortalized in Ridley Scott's film Gladiator, once said: "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts; therefore guard accordingly." In The Deeper Wound, Deepak Chopra writes: "Suffering can be defined as the pain that makes life seem meaningless … Don't be afraid to ask for contact. Reach out." If you are feeling suicidal, please click here. Otherwise, browse the site at your leisure. Send relevant links to those you think would benefit. Bookmark the site. And, most importantly, enjoy. (There are also Yahoo! groups relevant to just about every circumstance.)
You may want to donate five dollars to Children of the Night, an organization that saves abused children from prostitution. To read more about these wonderful people, please click here; to donate, please click here.
