by William Bloom

SPIRITS AND ATMOSPHERE

At first Sabrina and I did not understand what was happening. It was subtle, but the atmosphere kept changing and we were having unexpected dreams.

This began to happen shortly after we had started, with our friend Malcolm Stern, the Alternatives Programme at St. James’s Church, Piccadilly, London, where we hosted a wonderful variety of spiritual teachers from all over the world and from many different traditions. 

Message from http://www.hopenhagen.com:

On December 7, leaders from 192 countries will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to determine the fate of our planet. Let's turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen. Hopenhagen is a movement, a moment and a chance at a new beginning. The hope that we can create a global community that will lead our leaders into making the right decisions. The hope that by solving our environmental crisis, we can solve our economic crisis at the same time. Hopenhagen is change - and that change will be powered by all of us.

Permaculture expert Penny Livingston-Stark shows how natural systems can teach us better design practices. Learning to work with the earth not only creates a healthier environment, it also nourishes the people who live in it.

Why is it that a great deal of the things many of us long for rarely come to fruition? Why is it that relationships that promise so much in the beginning just don’t seem to work out? Or projects that are begun with great enthusiasm often don’t get completed?

Can we agree on what is beautiful in Hong Kong, and what is ugly? Share your views!

Almost twenty years ago, I started teaching workshops and classes on finding and tapping one’s deepest spirit. These programs were meant to be both inspirational and practical, giving tools for finding one’s inner sources of creativity. They were precursors to the more advanced and sophisticated work I eventually developed through Incarnational Spirituality. For the most part they were successful in achieving their ends, and people felt empowered by them. But in nearly every class, there was at least one person and sometimes more who had difficulty with one of the key exercises.

by Stephanie Willaton

Today I found myself staring at an about-to-hit-the-bin avocado. Ignored and neglected for over a week, it was sulking in the dark corner of my fruit bowl.  I gave it a gentle squeeze to check for vital signs, and found the insides quite mushy. Not a good sign. The skin was also lacking the glow of a newly-picked fruit, but I was convinced there was still life in it. So with a sharp blade I penetrated the dark capsule, revealing a creamy, perfect green flesh. Amazing! It just goes to show how unpredictable life can be.