Whole Life Magazine

August/September 2015

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W e've all heard the familiar refrain—"If you're not growing, you're dying." Tempting as it may be to cling to what is comfortable and familiar, if you're not expanding your consciousness, awareness and intellect, you're stagnating. You're stuck in the known, and completely missing out on some of life's greatest adventures. Life presents continuous occasions to learn new lessons, in- formation and ways of being and doing. We are fortunate that Southern California, with its eter- nal sunshine and the glitter of possibility, has long been abun- dant in this regard. Not that everything we learn is a happy lesson, but even the dif- ficult or painful times have some- thing to teach us. One might ar- gue we learn more in those times than when it's smooth sailing, but I'm not sure I ascribe to that. This issue of WLT looks at Life- long Learning from a number of perspectives. We talk about start- ing young to create Citizens of the World (pg. 9), opportunities for women to train for the tech field (pg.10), learning about our sexual selves (pg. 14) and an oft-over- looked aspect of yoga (pg. 18). If you're looking for courses to expand your knowledge or "tool kit," or want to get a degree in the sustainability or integrative health field and use your talent and passion to make an impact for the good of the world, you'll find scads of ideas in our Learn- ing Resource Guide (pg. 20). One of the most painful teachers is illness, and in our eager- ness to explore neuroplasticity—how we can change our brains and bodies with the power of our consciousness—we some- times add salt to the wound, our own or someone else's. We can't presume to know what is happening in someone else's life, so to say, for example, that everyone who gets cancer is storing anger is, besides being inaccurate, rude. Marianne Wil- liamson helps our reporter navigate the pitfalls of this painful blame game (pg. 26). A very common result of someone having a near-death ex- perience, or NDE, is to make dramatic life changes. Take a look at what some people have learned from brief visits to what we presume to be the afterlife (pg. 24). Death's lessons can also be painful, and we've seen many un- timely deaths in the news lately. As reported by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, in 2014 the National Rifle Associa- tion (NRA) contributed close to a million dollars to candidates and political parties, spent $3.4 mil- lion on lobbying, and their "out- side spending" included more than $16 million against one par- ty's candidates and $11 million in support of the other party's candidates. Does that teach us anything about the way Congress votes? They all take money from somewhere and we're not likely to get money out of politics any time soon, but if these senseless deaths bother you, vote in the next election for representatives you believe will take action. I learn new things in my job ev- ery day, and I'm very grateful for that. In addition to having skill and talent, so many of those I work with are lovely, dedicated individuals who really want to make a difference in people's lives. I hope you'll give them that opportunity by reading our magazine, sharing it, and working with our advertisers. It is their dollars—their ads—that fund everything we do. From my heart, from the editor Dear Readers, Let me help you: • Discover true balance & joy • Open your heart to love • Clear karmic patterns & past trauma • Live an abundant life Jamile Mafi Certifi ed Energy Practitioner 818-317-3873 Discover true balance & joy Open your heart to love Clear karmic patterns Live an abundant life Certifi ed Energy Practitioner Experience Rapid Transformation with Shamanic Energy Medicine. www.flamingheart.com 6 wholelifetimes.com

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