This is the 24th issue of The New Times that has been produced under my leadership. It has been a challenging and rewarding two years. I have worked to maintain much of the essence of The New Times that had been responsible for her success for her first years, while imbuing my own creativity and spirit into these pages.
In the past two years, we have radically changed the technology that is used to print The New Times and to track all of the details required to run this business. I felt that these were important steps to ensure that The New Times be positioned to grow. This has not only required many hours of work and a significant investment, but has also resulted in unexpected glitches that required extra time and resources to work out. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve often felt that my efforts to create a new and solid framework for The New Times have left me less time to spend on the "heart" of our work than I would have liked. This will be a major shift in focus for me in 1999.
As I look to 1999, I want to explore the meaning of authentic living. This comes in part from own personal journey at a time when I am wanting to gain more clarity about my gifts and how I can share them in ways that make a difference in these changing and challenging times. For me, authentic living has many facets and always seems to start with a need to be clear with myself about what I want and being able to realistically assess where I am.
In this issue, Karin Pekarcik offers a step-by-step approach to turning your dreams into reality (see page C5). When I consider the choices I make around how I spend my life energy to truly nourish my body, my mind, and my spirit, I usually feel that I haven't taken the time to truly value myself in that way. Elsewhere on that same page, Jane Lister Reis offers suggestions to tap inner our wisdom and truly "hum" this holiday season.
My desire to offer a blend of the mystical and the pragmatic calls me to include specific and concrete tips for more authentic living. In this issue, you'll find a recipe for healthful fare, a tip for using Feng Shui to set an intention for the holiday you want to have (both on page C7), and a list of ten things that you can do to nurture yourself (page C5).
As always, I invite others — including you — to share what they are doing to create authentic living. I also invite advertisers to join us by offering services and tools that support our readers in manifesting authentic living.
Peace seems to hang in such a fragile balance around the world. Our front page this month offers two articles that address this important topic. As this issue goes to press, peace in the Middle East seems tenuous and strained, with enormous tension building. This year, I have been astounded by fragility of the peace in my own family. Sometimes it seems overwhelming to know what to do. Being stuck and doing nothing will probably serve no one, and possibly lead to increased frustration and depression.
There are numerous studies on prayer’s power to heal and on the amplified power of group prayer. This year, we are pleased to co-sponsor the World Peace Meditation in Seattle at the Ananda Meditation Temple (see details below). If the time of day seems daunting, perhaps you'll consider setting your alarm clock or spending a few minutes at a more convenient time to join in with millions of people around the world to help manifest peace. If your path is one of action and you'd like to make a difference, please read Terria Fleming's "Have Good Heart" (see page A7) for some great suggestions.
As we look toward the new millennium, it seems that we are seeing an increasing amount of "gloom and doom" news and predictions. It is my intent that The New Times offer inspiration and specific tools that allow our readers to find more goodness in everyday experiences and the possibility of transforming life's darker experiences. In 1999, I look to providing editorial content that is specifically geared to providing our readers with articles and interviews that will prepare them for the millennium.
As many of you know, our Prayer Ministry (printed each month on page A2) contains the initials of people who have written in to ask for the prayers of our readers. Many readers, like myself, clip the prayer ministry to use in their prayer work. As an extension of this prayer ministry, I would like to provide the opportunity for people to send in their confessions to be printed anonymously. We ask that you limit your writing to five hundred words, and that you provide us with contact information for us to verify authenticity or if we have questions. Contact information will be kept confidential, and will be destroyed prior to publication. I affirm that this will be an opportunity to release the negativity of past actions in a safe and nonjudgmental way.
I am very excited to be able to produce this issue with full color, a first for The New Times. We're planning to continue this into 1999. I am very grateful for the advertisers who underwrite our work. This month, I am especially grateful to Whole Life Expo and other advertisers who paid a premium to have their ads in color and afforded us the opportunity to add color to our front page.
My greatest reward continues to be my relationships with those with whom I come in contact through this work. May your intent for this holiday season unfold in a beautiful and powerful way!
