Taking the Intuitive Leap: Dr. James Wanless Transforms Tarot from Medieval Fortune Telling to Progressive Wisdom Practice by Charles Alkire Intuition is risky business, says professor-turned-mystic James Wanless. To mainstream Americans, predisposed to cynicism and further jaded by cheesy psychic infomercials, this may be no great revelation. But to Cultural Creatives open to exploring inner guidance, Dr. Wanless’ perspective may sound at first like a challenge. A popular teacher and author (Intuition@Work), Wanless is best known as the man behind Voyager Tarot, the instantly recognizable deck of motley (and breathtaking) collage art he co-created with artist Ken Knutson. For more than 20 years, intuition has been James Wanless’ career and personal path through life. Along the way, he’s become an expert at coaching others to listen to that still, small voice. Surviving Our Future through the Message of Our Past by Gregg Braden "For the first time in recorded human history, the fate of our entire species rests upon the choices of a single generation." — Gregg Braden, Excerpt from Living in the Mind of God   We are a mysterious species of extremes and contradictions. It has been said that we are capable of dreaming the most beautiful dreams, while harboring the darkest nightmares. At the same time, within each of us is the power to bring our visions to life. Perhaps at no other time in history have we shared our world with so many of our kind, while feeling so separate and alone. Perhaps at no time in our past have we viewed our future with such promise, yet so much uncertainty. Editor's Notes by Charles Alkire It’s been my joy to serve as editor and production manager of The New Times for the last ten months, and it will soon be time for me to move on to my "next thing." When I joined the staff as office manager two years ago, I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to play the role of editor — nor did I know that I’d be participating in such an important transition in the publication’s content and form. I discovered The New Times soon after moving to Seattle in 1990. Today, the emerging "magazine" looks and feels different from the "paper" I used to read in some important ways. I loved it then, I love it now, and I feel privileged to have played a part in its evolution. Most of all, I’m excited that I’ll soon be able to enjoy The New Times’ continuing metamorphosis "from the outside." As a reader of The New Times, I can’t wait to see what’s next! So I’ll be signing off as editor in the next month or two; this is my final "Editor’s Notes." But before I go, I want to say a few things about my experience here and about the changes you’ve seen in these pages the last few months. Ananda Celebrates 20 Years in Seattle   This year, Seattle’s Ananda community celebrates its twentieth year in the Emerald City. One of six such communities throughout the United States and Europe, Ananda Seattle is dedicated to the fulfillment of Yogananda’s vision of "self-sustaining world-brotherhood colonies for plain living and high thinking." Founded in 1968 by Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda), Ananda communities are home to more than 800 spiritual seekers worldwide. In its twenty-year history, Ananda Seattle has weathered many of the challenges typically faced by intentional groups that choose to create their own space in the world, apart from the values and expectations of mainstream culture. As such, Ananda has become a model for those who seek a similar path to personal fulfillment and mutual responsibility.   StarWatch by James Jarvis By adding the universal year 2003, (2+0+0+3) = 5, to the 6th month of June we come up with the vibration of 11/2. The main themes of 2 month are reflection, cooperation and harmonization. You can achieve a great deal this month by bringing your life into greater balance and harmony and through working in cooperation with others. In a 2 month you learn to harmonize with life so that it becomes a cooperative effort rather than just an individual one. Use this month to reflect on the new life experiences and directions you initiated last month. Ask yourself: what is the universal feedback I am being given about the new directions I have chosen? June 6-November 7: Attune Your Energy. Uranus goes retrograde at 2 degrees Pisces on June 6 and won’t go direct again until November 7. Uranus’ retrogradation lasts for about five months and is a time to deepen our attunement to the subtle and not so subtle energy that is constantly flowing through our bodies.   The Politics of Expressing Your Authentic Voice: An Interview with Shawna Carol by Susan Chiat There is a power in being authentic that can change the world, one voice and one person at a time. When you squelch your authentic voice and override it with rationalizations, you give your power away. When something disturbs you, and you ignore it and say to yourself, "It’s not that important" or "Why bother?" you dissipate a little of your life energy. You begin to deaden your emotions, the very ones that warn you when something in your life or in your world is out of balance. As you wake up from this addictive complacency, a passion for life feeds you and becomes the fuel for further empowerment. During such transforming times, it is helpful to have a touchstone, a person you feel safe with, a special and sacred place to sit in, or an activity such as meditation or toning.