InnerSelf Newsletter: October 27, 2019

This is the early-bird version of the newsletter/new issue of InnerSelf. The complete version will be online, and emailed to subscribers, late Sunday afternoon. Happy reading!

Couples often trade responsibility for their Inner Children. They project their disowned feelings on each other and riddle the relationship with unrealistic expectations and displaced anger. When you unwittingly hand your deepest longings over to your partner, you abandon your Inner Child all over again.

Much as we might like to, at the energy level, we can’t get rid of something we don’t like—a thought, a feeling, a belief, a circumstance, or a situation. The good news, however, is that we can transform it.

Many people will be celebrating Halloween here in the US…and around this time of year, I often get questions about how our companion animals feel about wearing clothes and costumes...

By 2050, many scientists estimate that the world food supply will have to increase sharply from today’s level to meet anticipated demand from a global population of 9 to 10 billion people.

Few topics arouse as much interest and controversy as sex. This is hardly surprising. The biological continuance of the species hinges on it – if human beings stopped having sex, there would soon be no more human beings.

If you suffer from neck pain, you’re not alone. Spinal pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and its occurrence has increased dramatically over the past 25 years.

As a climate scientist of more than 25 years, I’m proud of the work my profession has done in recent decades to alert humanity to the unfolding climate crisis

Jonathan Goldman, author of Healing Sounds, identifies healing as the result of a formula he defines as: Frequency + Intention = Healing. This can be accomplished in various ways through sound. Chant is one way that sound and intention have been combined throughout history to create various states of healing.

It now seems absurd that anyone once believed the ocean was inexhaustable: fish stocks are in dismal shape and scientists say overfishing is a global problem with potentially irreversible consequences to ecosystems and human livelihoods.

Try to remember that last dinner you went out for. Perhaps you can remember the taste of that delicious pasta, the sounds of the jazz pianist in the corner, or that boisterous laugh from the portly gentleman three tables over.

The beloved children’s television icon Fred Rogers – who is played by actor Tom Hanks in the upcoming film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” – entered the world of children’s programming during an era of massive political and cultural upheaval.

A recent study showed that North Americans are becoming less tolerant of uncertainty.

A walk into the future, in a British city where housing is sustainable, energy is locally owned, food is abundant, and the work week is just three days long.

In recent years coconut water has left the palm-treed shores of tropical islands where tourists on lounge chairs stick straws straight into the fruit, and exploded onto supermarket shelves

Margaret Wheatley talks about how, in the midst of chaos, our greatest challenge is to believe in our own goodness; how we are all afraid of change; how, when fear augers in, leaders must demonstrate patience, forgiveness and compassion; how we must approach chaos with humility rather than blame and negation...

Have you ever thought about how your brain works when you study? Knowing this may improve your ability to retain and recall information.

Asking people to answer a question quickly and without thinking doesn’t get honest responses, especially if the quick response isn’t the most socially desirable, research finds.

Raw food for dogs is a growing trend, but drug-resistant bacteria in the raw food can transfer to the pets—and to humans, too.

One word is rarely spoken or printed in science and that word is “proof”. In fact, science has little to do with “proving” anything.

Has this happened to you? You strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, only to discover that you share surprising connections

John Oliver discusses the tension between the public and private worlds of predicting the weather.

Researchers have identified lack of sleep as a cause of serious disorders ranging from diabetes to high stress levels. The results show that it is taking a huge toll on the quality of life -- and the health -- of millions.

When January 2019 entered its third week, huge swathes of the US were blanketed with snow, and winter storm warnings were in place across several states.

Even today, 20 years after my childhood diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), I am still keenly aware of how my attention wavers, lapses or holds differently from that of most people.

For thousands of years, Inuit have adapted to the changes in their environment, and continue to find new and innovative ways to survive.

Mindfulness techniques and methadone may reduce cravings and pain among people experiencing opioid addiction and chronic pain, research finds.

Public health agencies are warning parents about using cannabis in the presence of their children. However, parents who use cannabis say that it makes them more empathetic, more patient and more caring towards their young ones

During the 2016 US presidential campaign, people around the world were regularly reassured by election experts that Donald Trump was too outrageous to be elected president.

Most people would rather feel loving and appreciative than resentful and depressed. But often the world around us seems to be spinning out of control. Despite our best intentions, it's hard to maintain our emotional equilibrium when we're confronted every day -- sometimes every hour -- with stressful situations.

Diet could hold the key to treating polycystic kidney disease, according to new research in rodents.

Shoreline recreational fishing will likely be another casualty of climate change, according to new research.

Despite the promise that the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts once held for American equality, signs of struggle and even regression around rights issues are evident across the United States, a historian explains.

Humans have a particularly strong and, at times, irrational obsession with possessions. Every year, car owners are killed or seriously injured in their attempts to stop the theft of their vehicles – a choice that few would make in the cold light of day.

Materialism may influence us to choose “green buying” rather than not buying anything at all, research finds.

The recent appearance in the province of Ontario of Premier Doug Ford’s anti-carbon pricing gas pump stickers reinforced the central role environmental issues may play in this federal election campaign.

An unfeeling heart has even been admired by many, as evidence of a "scientific outlook". The truth is that without love no one can penetrate deeply into the heart of things. For while emotions can cloud the mind, calm pure love clarifies it, and makes possible the subtlest intuitions.

While we may at times, or perhaps often, feel powerless in effecting change in the world, we must remind ourselves that we are part of the whole. We are participants in the grand cosmic play that is taking place within us and around us.

This weekly astrological journal is based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

The ancient Greeks spoke of two kinds of time, or two experiences of time: chronos and kairos. Chronos is what we now call clock time, objective time. In music, chronos is met­ronome time. Kairos is timeliness, the opportune moment that surges out from our experience, something that cannot happen at any time but only at this time. Educators call it the teachable moment.

Loving-kindness and compassion are of utmost importance at this time for humanity. Love and compassion for one an­other, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender, need to take precedence over ideology and our superficial differ­ences. We must come together and cooperate with one an­other in order to survive the global challenges facing us.

As a society, we aren’t getting as much exercise as we should. In fact, current activity guidelines state that adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderately intense activity – or 75 minutes of vigorous activity – every week.

The Catholic Church “hears the cry” of the Amazon and its peoples. That’s the message Pope Francis hopes to send at the Synod of the Amazon, a three-week meeting at the Vatican that ends Oct. 27, 2019..

Online shopping continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. In 2018, the market value of UK retail was £381 billion of which online transactions made up almost one-fifth. That’s £12.3 billion of grocery items and £58.8 billion of all non-food items purchased online.

A startling phenomenon occurs after a bushfire tears through a landscape. From the blackened soil springs an extraordinary natural revival – synchronised germination that carpets the landscape in flowers and colour.

The paradox of vulnerability in relationships, the path to connection, is to allow yourself to be both strong and vulnerable at the same time. When you do, it allows your partner to get to see the real you with your defenses down. This means no hiding. Not from yourself, not from your partner and best of all no hiding from the truth.

I now feel with such a depth of certainty, of spiritual groundedness that Love is the ultimate reply to all and any problem, be it personal, social or a world issue. And you and I are one with that Love. We are literally welded to Love and nothing will ever be able to change that, even our own doubts and fears.

Love is the highest vibrational energy and can accomplish almost anything. The more we can keep our hearts open, the greater the love we feel, and the more patience, understanding, and compassion we have for others. 

Providing ramps where there are steps or stairs is just one way to help people with a disability get around.

Autoimmune diseases, which include a range of around 80 different illnesses from rheumatoid arthritis to type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, occur when the immune system attacks the body.

A time comes in our personal development when we realize that we are not isolated, independent individuals, but rather that we are all interdependent. We then experience genuine care and concern for others, become more aware of the larger whole and feel a deep desire to share our riches, whatever they may be, with others.

Two-thirds of young people experience levels of exam stress that mental health organisation ReachOut describes as “worrying”.

The relationship between a heating planet and violent clashes is complex — and critical. “This is where I keep my weapon,” said Lolem, a young Karamojong cattle herder.

There is nothing good or worthwhile about having a low opinion of oneself. However, positive self esteem improves one's health, sociability, and general attitude towards life. Negative self esteem is a habit, a highly addictive habit. Perhaps you can see what an enemy to your well- being this is, and have a greater willingness to defeat it.

Instead of being the coolest kid in the room, how about being the kindest? Once a child understands the im­portance of their actions, good deeds, and the joy of helping others, kindness becomes fun and is highly contagious. What’s wonderful about kindness is that it is a skill that can be learned.

The film The Portal follows six individuals who undergo a personal transformation from trauma and struggle to calmness, self-acceptance, and compassion towards others.

Dog theft has a devastating impact on people and families and is a known gateway to animal cruelty and extortion. Yet very few criminals get caught, let alone charged.

Meeting employers’ need for experience — often identified in job postings — is the great catch-22 of starting any career. Many employers require experience for a job, but people cannot gain experience if no one hires them.

Standing in the middle of a usually busy central London street during Extinction Rebellion’s protests, the air noticeably cleaner, the area quieter, I was struck by the enormity of the challenge ahead of us.

When seeing or hearing the word alchemy, one might think of old men in funny hats working at furnaces in ancient chemistry labs seek­ing to turn minerals into gold, create the philosopher’s stone, or find the elixir of life. However, these popular modern stereotypes of the ancient alchemists are but a tiny fragment of alchemy.

Every life has at its core a dream that quietly and unobtrusively asks to be fulfilled. Each of us dreams such a dream. It is an important part of the original blessing of being in this world. Purpose is another word for this dream.

It’s a problem many teachers are familiar with, a student apparently struggling in class, but in fact just suffering from something that’s easily fixed – vision problems – with an inexpensive pair of glasses.

I lay on the mat of the open-air bungalow in Apia, Samoa, looking up at a gecko. As its tail quivered, I felt a sympathetic twitch in my leg. Su’a Sulu’ape Paulo III, the sixth-generation Samoan hand-tap tattoo master leaning over me, paused to see if my movement was due to pain.

We live in a society in which inequality is entrenched and increasing – in this context, words can have real and pernicious effects. This is particularly true of the way we speak about inequality itself.

At the seventh World Mayor’s Summit in Copenhagen, leaders of 94 cities embraced a global Green New Deal, in an attempt to make the 2020s the defining decade in the fight against climate change.

Some people are incapable of swallowing tablets because of physical reasons, such as surgery or gastric reflux, while others struggle for psychological reasons.

Deadly fires across California over the past several years have shown how wildfire has become a serious public health and safety issue.

As individuals, nations, and a planet, we have forgotten where we have come from, who we are, and where we are going. An honest look at the troubles we have created for ourselves reveals that we have painfully lost sight of the visions that once painted our future...

More than 50m people worldwide are currently living with dementia. With an ageing population, it’s likely that this number will only continue to grow, as getting older is one of the biggest risk factors in developing dementia.

Depression is a leading cause of disability and disease for people around the world. It often begins during adolescence, especially for females, may continue or recur in adulthood and tends to become a lifetime chronic health condition.

Today’s students see themselves as digital natives, the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology like smartphones, tablets and e-readers.

These days, the term “fundamentalism” is often associated with a militant form of Islam. But the original fundamentalist movement was actually Christian. And it was born in the United States a century ago this year.

President Trump wants negative interest rates, but they would be disastrous for the U.S. economy, and his objectives can be better achieved by other means.

We choose our food for a variety of reasons, including personal preference, availability, cost and healthiness. But we should also take our gut microbes’ preferences into account, a new study published in Cell suggests.

Go forth on your Path in life with honor and dignity and do whatever good you can. As long as it lasts, life can be full of wonderful memories if you wish. Everyone is unique and changing and all have the right to reach their full potential in all their abilities.

Marianne Williamson is a complete departure from same old, same old... Her platform: putting in place policies based on caring for our children, our environment, and each other... policies based on what's right for the people and the planet, not what's right for a few. She is raising the bar for what a Democratic candidate, and a President, must stand for.

Bees are pretty good at maths – as far as insects go, at least. We already know, for example, that they can count up to four and even understand the concept of zero.

Accurate, consistent dietary advice seems increasingly hard to find. For instance, a widely reported study recently claimed that people don’t need to reduce their consumption of red and processed meat for health reasons.

I felt nauseous and dizzy. My attempted one week of following the intensive olive oil diet was not going well.

When Hurricane Michael made landfall on Florida’s Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018, as a Category 5 storm it was only the fourth on record to have ever hit the U.S. mainland. 

The idea that we are living in an entrepreneurial age, experiencing rapid disruptive technological innovation on a scale amounting to a new “industrial revolution” is a pervasive modern myth.

Homework. Whether you’re a fifth-grader or a freshman in college, the mere thought of homework can be overwhelming. And actually doing homework can be quite difficult. But homework doesn’t have to be something a student dreads.

I never gave much importance to my father's death and its effect on my life. I tucked it away under the category something unfortunate that happened when I was a kid. It felt as though I put all those unexpressed feelings, words and emotions into a little invisible jar and screwed the cap on tightly. My mind must have known...

We are being lazy if there’s something that we ought to do but are reluctant to do because of the effort involved.

When I answer my office phone as an extension vegetable specialist, from time to time it’s someone asking how they can get recognition for growing a huge tomato, possibly the biggest one ever.

More and more towns and cities across the country are electing to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day as an alternative to – or in addition to – the day intended to honor Columbus’ voyages.

Blue light has gotten a bad rap, getting blamed for loss of sleep and eye damage. Personal electronic devices emit more blue light than any other color.

Western democracies are in a state of crisis. The liberal world order that was created after World War II is crumbling and we don’t quite understand what is going on or what to do about it.

Video games are often blamed for unemployment, violence in society and addiction – including by partisan politicians raising moral concerns.

Marianne Williamson speaking on the Spirit of America. A viewer's comment: "This may be the most powerful spiritual and social justice speech delivered since Martin Luther King's. I Have a Dream."

We have all gone through life saying certain things about ourselves, such as: I'm a shy person, or I'm intelligent, or I'm stupid, or I'm clumsy, or I'm slow, etc. Once we understand the power of the word and of the mind, we come to the realization that all of these statements were simply creating self-fulfilling prophecies.

Perhaps the most important question for each of us to answer is "Who Am I?" or as a collective of humanity, "Who Are We?". The debate has long raged... are humans essentially good or evil, of the light or of the darkness? And as with most questions, the importance of the answer is not in the past but in the present: Who are we being now?

This weekly astrological journal is based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

Do you look toward the future with a mixture of dread, yes, but also a kind of positive anticipation? When a big crisis looms, a superstorm or financial crisis, is there a part of you that says, “Bring it on!” hoping it might free us from our collective entrapment in a system that serves no one (not even its elites)?

What is the role of society and what are the psychological reasons that are likely to make some people prone to feeling fake or phony? Understanding these factors will help you to recognize why you may have developed your own feelings of imposterism and to appreciate that this is not your fault; it is not a weakness or failing to have Imposter Syndrome.

Cities are fast becoming “smart”, and the impact on people’s lives can be immense. Singapore’s smart traffic cameras restrict traffic depending on volume, and ease the commute of thousands of passengers every day.

Following sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, there is a worldwide push to end the guarantee of secrecy of confession – called “the seal of the confessional.”

More than 7m people in the UK have high blood pressure; it is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, associated with one in four deaths.

At a time when public debate around the world is suffering from a collision between facts and “alternative facts”, experts must find new ways to reach people.

Countries across the globe are trying to wind down coal production. While this will help in the battle against climate change, those communities that have specialised in coal mining may see their local job market decline or be eliminated entirely.