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Narrated by Marie T. Russell.
Our InnerSelf welcomes your inner self.
When we drive a vehicle and we encounter challenging terrain, we sometimes have to change gears in order to be able to get through the situation we find ourselves in. The same applies to life. Sometimes we have to change gears. We may be coasting along smoothly, unaware that there is a storm brewing or that there is turbulence under the surface... until, oops, we are in a spot and need to do something!
This week we share with you some perspectives and suggestions to help you change gears, as needed. We start with Fabiana Fondevila who gives us what may seem like contradictory advice in "Close Your Eyes So You Can See: Traveling Between Worlds and Seeking to Reconnect". We are used to looking around us and interpreting what we see based on our upbringing or beliefs. However, when we close our eyes, we change gears and we start perceiving "reality" from an inner perspective, rather than an outwardly-focused one.
We continue our journey this week with Pierre Pradervand who recommends "Transitioning from Authoritarian 'Outer' Authority to Spiritual 'Inner' Authority". This is a big gear to manage. From the time we were children, we were taught to listen to our elders, in other words authority. This authority came in the form of parents, teachers, religion, medical doctors, university professors, people in authority in any way, shape or form. Once again, we need to tune within our own inner self and discover our own voice of authority... the one that speaks to our own truth and our own life's purpose.
Sarah Varcas also presents a change... not just of gears, but perhaps a whole new path... in "We Cannot Hide from Truth: Full Supermoon in Scorpio". In the same way that the first two featured authors recommend looking within and connecting with your inner authority, Sarah suggests we remove the veils that obscure our vision and look at our current reality face to face, truth to truth. The planetary energies are supporting this journey to truth, as we can see in the daily news. Old hidden realities are coming to the forefront so we can face them, and choose a different path than the one on which we have been travelling... This requires stopping, looking truthfully, reflecting deeply on what is needed, and then changing our mental, physical, and emotional gears to move forward with clarity.
And of course, we often need help and guidance in discovering what is the right action to take, the right path to take... which gear to engage. Eric Wargo helps us discover that we have such guidance in our life -- past, present and future -- in "Precognitive Dream Daisy-Chains: The "Trivial" Details of Life". Through various examples, he shows us how our dreams and life's synchronicities join together to provide advance notice of events to come and also current guidance on how to navigate those challenges.
And of course, one challenging situation everyone on Planet Earth is experiencing at the same time is the presence of Covid-19. And while the world is churning and things often seem to be out of our control, we do have control on our own self as we go through what is a traumatic experience, in various degrees. Laura Khoudari offers "6 Steps to Creating A Trauma-Sensitive Home Exercise Practice". You may say you are not traumatized by the Covid experience, but just as there are many sizes of gears, there are various levels of trauma... and I don't believe that anyone on Earth has not experienced some level of it in one form or another since this started early last year. So Laura Khoudari's steps to creating a home exercise practice offers useful guidelines for all of us... no matter the level or lack of trauma.
We have so many tools at our disposal, so much guidance waiting to be tapped into, so much clarity to discover... as we learn to trust in our own inner authority, as opposed to all of the external voices telling us what we should think, feel, and do. In the Astrological Journal for the Week, Pam Younghans writes: "we become aware of where and how we give our power away. In this revelatory light, we see how we have held ourselves back and are empowered to strive for a higher destiny."
We need to remind ourselves, that just like anything in life, we proceed one breath, one step, one day at a time... and remember to trust our inner guidance and intuition as to which way to proceed. And also look around for external signs of inner guidance. All is One... so inner guidance comes also in the form of external signals and messages.
Happy gear shifting!
Please scroll down for the featured articles in this new issue of InnerSelf, and also the additional new articles that were added to the website during the week.
Wishing you enjoyable insightful reading, and of course a wonder-full, joy-full, health-full, and loving week.
Marie T. Russell
editor/publisher,
InnerSelf.com
"New Attitudes...New Possibilities"
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NEW ARTICLES THIS WEEK
***** articles and videos added daily *****
Most featured articles are also in audio and video format.
Go to each article for the links.
FEATURED ARTICLES:
Close Your Eyes So You Can See: Traveling Between Worlds and Seeking to Reconnect
Fabiana Fondevila
From the beginnings of human civilization, almost all the peoples of the Earth have used some variant of the practices that Romanian anthropologist Mircea Eliade baptized “techniques of ecstasy” to heal themselves, to communicate with spiritual forces and to ask their gods for help.
Transitioning from Authoritarian "Outer" Authority to Spiritual "Inner" Authority
Pierre Pradervand
For thousands of years, ever since mankind started settling in cities, we evolved in rigid, patriarchal and extremely authoritarian structures – at least in the West. This started changing after the industrial revolution and the pace has been picking up since the end of the last war.
We Cannot Hide from Truth: Full Supermoon in Scorpio
Sarah Varcas
This supermoon is full in Scorpio at 3:33 a.m. on 27th April 2021. It sits opposite the rest of the planets, in a position known as a ‘tension ruler’. This is a strongly influential moon whose energies must be integrated into our every cell. We can no longer politely look away from whatever irks or alarms us, ignoring the elephant in the room.
Precognitive Dream Daisy-Chains: The "Trivial" Details of Life
Eric Wargo
You will discover as your dream journal grows that your dreams are interconnected in a vast web or skein of associations. A metaphor my collaborator Tobi uses comes from the Arbai Trilogy of science-fiction writer Sheri S. Tepper. The Arbai device is a vast mycelia-like communication network linking individuals all over a planet.
6 Steps to Creating A Trauma-Sensitive Home Exercise Practice
Laura Khoudari
Figuring out how to initiate (or return) to exercise in a way that feels emotionally and physically safe after experiencing illness, accidents, or acts of violence can be challenging, triggering, and overwhelming. If any of these scenarios resonate with you, a trauma-sensitive approach to fitness can help.
ADDITIONAL NEW ARTICLES:
Why You Probably Don't Have a Male or Female Brain
Lise Eliot, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Everyone knows the difference between male and female brains. One is chatty and a little nervous, but never forgets and takes good care of others. The other is calmer, albeit more impulsive, but can tune out gossip to get the job done. These are stereotypes, of course...
What’s The Difference Between Misinformation, Disinformation and Hoaxes?
Michael J. O'Brien and Izzat Alsmadi, Texas A&M
Sorting through the vast amount of information created and shared online is challenging, even for the experts. Just talking about this ever-shifting landscape is confusing, with terms like “misinformation,” “disinformation” and “hoax” getting mixed up with buzzwords like “fake news.”
Is Prolonged Brain Dysfunction In Covid-19 Survivors A Pandemic In Its Own Right?
Chris Robinson, University of Florida
One in three survivors of COVID-19, those more commonly referred to as COVID-19 long-haulers, suffered from neurologic or psychiatric disability six months after infection, a recent landmark study of more than 200,000 post-COVID-19 patients showed.
Daily Inspiration: April 25, 2021
Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf
We each contribute to the puzzle that is life on earth, each in our unique way. This is not a "one size fits all" approach.
We Cannot Hide from Truth: Full Supermoon in Scorpio (Video)
Sarah Varcas
This supermoon is full in Scorpio at 3:33 a.m. on 27th April 2021. It sits opposite the rest of the planets, in a position known as a ‘tension ruler’. This is a strongly influential moon whose energies must be integrated into our every cell. We can no longer politely look away from whatever irks or alarms us, ignoring the elephant in the room.
Why Trees Are Not Enough To Offset Society’s Carbon Emissions
Bonnie Waring, Imperial College London
Our society asks so much of these fragile ecosystems, which control freshwater availability for millions of people and are home to two thirds of the planet’s terrestrial biodiversity.
What Homer's 'Odyssey' Can Teach Us About Reentering The World After A Year of Isolation
Joel Christensen, Brandeis University
In the ancient Greek epic “The Odyssey,” Homer’s hero, Odysseus, describes the wild land of the Cyclops as a place where people don’t gather together in public, where each person makes decisions for their own family and “care nothing for one another.”
Pandemic-era Retail: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Mask — No Service?
Alison Braley-Rattai, Brock University
Masking is currently required to access retail stores across Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Presently, every province has regulations in place that require customers to wear masks before entering stores to shop.
Daily Inspiration: April 24, 2021
Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf
Stress is a major health problem... physically, emotionally, spiritually. Yet we can learn to let go of stress, or let it pass us by, rather than grabbing on to it and hanging on for dear life.
Close Your Eyes So You Can See: Traveling Between Worlds and Seeking to Reconnect (Video)
Fabiana Fondevila
Tens of thousands of years ago the people of the Earth conceived the world as a place inhabited by spiritual intelligences: the spirits of nature, called, variously, fairies by the Celts, kontomble by the dagaras of West Africa, apus by the Incas; and tribal ancestors and ascended teachers. They communicated with these intelligences through a set of practices universally known as “shamanic.”
Online Communities Pose Risks for Young People, But Are Also Important Sources of Support
Benjamin Kaveladze, University of California, Irvine
Aristotle called humans “the social animal,” and people have recognized for centuries that young people need to be in communities to develop into healthy adults. The ongoing pandemic has caused concern about the effects of isolation on children and teenagers’ social and psychological growth.
Going Back To The Gym: How To Avoid Injuries
Matthew Wright, Mark Richardson and Paul Chesterton, Teesside University
Injuries happen when training load exceeds tissue tolerance – so basically, when you do more than your body is capable of. Fatigue, muscle-tendon strength, joint range of motion, and previous injury to the tissue can all increase the likelihood of sustaining an injury.
Arguing With The People You Love? How To Have A Healthy Family Dispute
Jessica Robles, Loughborough University
Unlike Britain’s royal family, most of us don’t have the option to move to another country when we don’t see eye to eye. But most of us have likely experienced disagreements with loved ones.
Daily Inspiration: April 23, 2021
Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf
As a spiritual practice, when we ask for what we need and offer each other what we can, we enter a dance of unavoidable reciprocity.
6 Steps to Creating A Trauma-Sensitive Home Exercise Practice (Video)
Laura Khoudari
Figuring out how to initiate (or return) to exercise in a way that feels emotionally and physically safe after experiencing illness, accidents, or acts of violence can be challenging, triggering, and overwhelming. If any of these scenarios resonate with you, a trauma-sensitive approach to fitness can help.
Oscars 2021: COVID-19 Has Rekindled A 'Back to the Future' Love of Movies
Kim Nelson, University of Windsor
Cinemas were not how people originally watched movies. There are signs that home viewing will be be joined by a growing resurgence of local movie-going experiences that draw on entertainment pastimes that preceded Hollywood’s rise.
How to Meet the Ambitious Target of Conserving 30% of Earth by 2030
Matthew Mitchell, University of British Columbia
Fifty-five nations, including Canada, the European Union, Japan and Mexico have pledged to meet the 30 by 30 target. Other countries like the United States, which is not a formal member of the coalition, have recently made similar pledges. Working landscapes, including farms, forest and rangelands, will be key to meeting conservation goals.
Domestic Violence: Calls For Help Have Increased – But The Answers Haven't Gotten Any Easier
Tara N. Richards and Justin Nix, University of Nebraska Omaha
Experts expected the increase in domestic violence victims seeking help last year (2020). Victims and their children were forced to spend more time with their abusers. They were cut off from support systems like school, work and church. Times were stressful and uncertain.
Daily Inspiration: April 22, 2021
Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf
In your work, your friendships, and relationships, are you giving just a part of yourself, or are you giving all of yourself? Are you sharing from the depths of your soul, or are you accommodating?
Climate Change Threatens Coffee – But We’ve Found A Delicious Wild Species That Could Help Save Your Morning Brew
Aaron P Davis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The world loves coffee. More precisely, it loves arabica coffee. From the smell of its freshly ground beans through to the very last sip, arabica is a sensory delight.
What Men’s Roles In 1970s Anti-sexism Campaigns Can Teach Us About Consent
Lucy Delap, University of Cambridge
The 1970s anti-sexist men’s movement had an infrastructure of magazines, conferences, men’s centres and local anti-sexist men’s groups. Its members were passionately engaged with the problem of male violence – suffered by women, queer and non-binary people, as well as men and boys. So, what can we learn from their activism?
Can Bad Weather Really Cause Headaches?
Amanda Ellison, Durham University
Whether it’s your arthritic relative who knows rain is on the way when their knees ache or your lifelong pal who gets a headache when a storm is approaching, we all know somebody who claims they can predict the weather with their body.
Daily Inspiration: April 21, 2021
Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf
Fear is usually a head-trip about the future -- about your not wanting the past to repeat itself in the future or not wanting the future to turn out wrong.
Transitioning from Authoritarian "Outer" Authority to Spiritual "Inner" Authority (Video)
Pierre Pradervand
For thousands of years, ever since mankind started settling in cities, we evolved in rigid, patriarchal and extremely authoritarian structures – at least in the West. This started changing after the industrial revolution and the pace has been picking up since the end of the last war.
The Birthing of A New World Which Is Struggling to be Born
Ervin Laszlo
Talk of fundamental change in the world around us is often met with skepticism. Change in society, we are told, is never really fundamental: as the French saying goes, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (the more things change, the more they are the same). A more sophisticated variant of the prevalent view adds that certain processes in society — trends — make a significant difference...
Baby Bees Love Carbs – Here's Why That Matters
James Gilbert, University of Hull and Elizabeth Duncan, University of Leeds
Wild bees are essential for sustaining the landscapes we love. A healthy community of wild pollinators ensures that most flowering plants have an A-team pollinator species and a reserve bench of backups. Honeybees – just one bee species among many – can’t do the job by themselves.
Why It's Good For Kids To Have Friends from Different Socioeconomic Backgrounds
Leah M. Lessard, Univ. of Connecticut and Jaana Juvonen, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Friendships that bridge across social class – “cross-class friendships” – can minimize middle school academic achievement differences that are based on the level of parents’ education, according to research from the UCLA School Diversity Project.
No Visits and Barely Any Calls: The Pandemic and People with a Family Member In Prison
Alexander Testa and Chantal Fahmy, The University of Texas at San Antonio
For many people who are incarcerated, either awaiting trial in jail or imprisoned after conviction, being locked in a pandemic hot spot has been terrifying. And for the 6.5 million Americans who have a family member incarcerated, COVID-19 has made an already highly stressful situation much worse, according to our criminology research.
Daily Inspiration: April 20, 2021
Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf
The area where we spend the most of our time (if we work outside the home) is our bedroom. This room is the most important for our health and well-being.
Zoom Fatigue and Distracted Driving Share A Common Problem: Multitasking
Francesco Biondi, University of Windsor
Feeling exhausted at the end of a long day of video-conferencing? Do your back, shoulders and mind ache after a Zoom meeting marathon? Do you miss the morning chit chat at the office’s water fountain and the face-to-face interaction with your favourite colleague?
What Makes A Job Meaningful and Why That Matters
Andrew Bryce, University of Sheffield
Work provides many things over and above the monthly pay cheque: status and identity, community and social connection, doing tasks that we find stimulating, and the opportunity to make a positive contribution to society. All of these things make work feel meaningful.
Suicide Prevention: The Healing Power of Connection and Mutual Support
Kenneth Fung, University of Toronto and Josephine Pui-Hing Wong, Ryerson University
The Toronto Transit Commission reported a nearly one-third increase of suicide attempts or fatalities during the first eight months of the pandemic. Suicide prevention is a critical public health response to COVID-19.
Astrological Journal for the Week
Written by Pam Younghans
This weekly column (updated every Sunday afternoon) is based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies... Read this week's journal here
It is also highly beneficial to reread the past week's astrological journal as it gives a hindsight view of the events that took place and may provide many "ah-ha" insights.
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