January 2004 Connections

Newsletter of the Whole Life Network

Providing a forum for the exploration of options for health, spirituality, and the environment.

ARTICLES

Back to Delta for the Expo!
2004 Officers Announced
Meditations: Soapbox of the President
Remembering Aztlán
How It Started
ReConnections: A Look Back
Letters to the Editor of Connections
Peaceful Contributions for the Soul
Homeopathic Help For Companion Animals
Endings, Beginnings, In Betwixt - Life's Transitions
Are Bio-Pharm Experiments Coming to a Farm Near You?
Towards An Aquarian Age Civilization
Claim Your Legacy
Essential Oils Topic of Workshop

Back to Delta for the Expo!

Whole Life Network Release

  The 10th Annual Whole Life and Learning Expo, A Journey Into Conscious Health and Living (formerly the Health and Wellness Fair) will be held this year in Delta at Bill Heddles Recreation Center on Saturday, March 13h. This event is the Spring showcase of progressive health practice and remedies for the Western Slope.

  The doors at Bill Heddles will open at 10 am and you'll be able to browse for hours. We ask one and all to mark your calendars now so that you won't miss this fun-for-everyone event.

  For those who may wonder if the Whole Life Network will return to the Montrose area and the traditional Pavilion venue of the Expo, we are announcing in advance that the 2005 Expo is scheduled for March 5th at the Montrose Pavilion.

  In following years it is our plan to alternate between Bill Heddles in Delta and the Montrose Pavilion. For now, we can count our blessings as the Delta location has introduced us to a great new group of supporters and friends that have enriched the Expo experience.

  As last year, attendees will be asked for a $2 donation for entrance to the Expo. It's not much, and we feel justified to ask for an exchange of energy to match the energy and love expended by volunteers of our network. Here's a short list of what your $2 gets you: door prizes every hour, free presentations, networking with old friends, latest in holistic products, live music, and great beverages and lunches.

  If you are interested in what you can learn about your health care issues and/or would like to improve the quality of life through a healthier life-style, we urge you to see what your community has to offer at the Expo. Your body/mind/spirit can take the day to find pampering, thought provoking ideas and an energized spirit.

  The early response from health practitioners and purveyors of a great assortment of holistic care essentials has been heartening. We expect to fill Bill Heddles with approximately 50 exhibitors offering a great variety of services and products supporting a healthy lifestyle.

  Congratulations and thank you to Noalani Terry, of Whole Life Indexing and Energy Works who was the first to sign up for the 2004 Expo.

  As always space is limited. Remember last year? So, if you have a service or product that would be of interest to the growing Cultural Creatives segment of the Western Slope population, you need to submit a registration to reserve your booth at the Expo. Registrations received by January 15th will be given free publicity in the February issue of Connections. And, registrations received by February 15th will be listed in the official Vendor's Guide. Don't have a registration? Look on Page 2 of this copy of Connections for a 2004 Expo Registration Form, and you can reserve your space at the Expo.

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2004 Officers Announced

Whole Life Network Release

  On December 1st at the regular board meeting following the Annual Membership Meeting, the newly elected board members of The Whole Life Network were faced with the process of selecting officers for the coming year. Nominations were made and the election completed with the following results: President - Kim E. Davis; Vice-President - Jody Nixon; Secretary - Paulene Crespin; Treasurer - Larry Lemser.

  Although not an elected officer, Sue Lemser agreed to remain in the position of Membership Chairperson.

  Polly Cady will be Event Coordinator during 2004 and asks for suggestions from all of our readers on personalities they would like to see appear in our community. You can reach Polly at 240-9315.

  Continuing as the Connections newsletter Core Group Leader will be Marilyn Huseby, 252-1040.

  Co-hosts of the KVNF radio show in 2004 will be Joshua Hayward and Polly Cady.   The new Board invites all members and interested parties to attend our annual Board Retreat scheduled for January 25th. For directions and information you can call the office, 240-9315 or view it here.

  For a list of all of the 2004 Board members, please see the Membership Form here.

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Meditations: Soapbox of the President

by Kim E. Davis

  Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe holiday. I was informed that this now will be my place to sound off about whatever I need to. since it has been several years since I have written a column for a news letter, I may be a little rusty.

  First of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank our out going members, Bill Leyva, Laurel Ann dePontbriand and Anthony Sandoval for their generous contributions to the Network. I am sure they will be missed.

  I would also like to thank Larry Lemser, Polly Cady and Julia Gillett for their service on the previous Board. Welcome to Jody Nixon as Vice-President, Paulene Crespin as Secretary and Larry Lemser as Treasurer. I am looking forward to the next two years as President and hope that I can live up to the expectation.

  I also would like to take this opportunity on a personal note to thank Polly Cady and Arlyn Macdonald for their wonderful support. They both have been very encouraging for not only me but for my store, Wind Spirit Gifts, as well. They were the first to welcome me to Montrose and the community. Thanks to you both.

  I have many ideas of how to increase membership as well as exposure of The Whole Life Network, but I also challenge and encourage all of you to come up with ideas as well. I would like the change the "why should I join" attitude to "how can I sign up". We are all in this together and we are much stronger as a whole.

  Feel free to contact me at Wind Spirit Gifts, 612 E. Main St. in Montrose. Any and all suggestions will be considered. Here's to a very prosperous New Year for all of us!

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Remembering Aztlán

A Column of Poetry, Culture & Spirit by Art Goodtimes

  HEADWATERS XIV … Each year George Sibley of Western State College in Gunnison hosts the Headwaters Conference, where folks from the Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures examine issues and concerns for the headwaters region of the Southern Rockies. This year the Paonia-based western journalistic institution, High Country News, was the focal point of the weekend. And what follows is a poet's summation of the event in a kind of epic account … Check the website -- www.western.edu/headwtrs

  A BARDIC TAKE … If the Inner Basin West is a river, dangerous and undammed, High Country News prowls its banks with a regional scan, audacious, determined & deeply in love with its rapids, its eddies & its calm still pools … From Lander to Paonia, the paper took root, wove stories with a rigorous eye, unafraid of truth & always curious, attracting interns to its environmental boot camp, seeding the West, telling the tales of isolate zealots & their redneck counterparts & the land, the land, the land … No parachute jumpers of journalism, High Country News reporters dug deep & deeper, to get the big picture & always it wove one side with the other side, keeping its readers enmeshed & a little bit off balance … Earning a reputation for integrity, as a voice that was sharp on difficult issues, radical only in its choice of topics. Seeking a fully functioning landscape not a color coded map. Its passion was contagious as it covered its beat with heart but honestly, its loyalty to the land, & almost from scratch High Country News recreated the West as a shared dynamic region, one of the nation's great rivers with eddies & rapids & some calm still pools & all around it the land, the land, the land … Sorting history out from the noise, its editors strove not to be liked but read, champions of the unpopular nuance, airing dirty laundry to open old closets & a real window on a federal bureaucracy whipsawed mercilessly between changing DC directions … Uncovering complexification for what had seemed in the early days an easy beat, merely taming the mindless orthodoxy of the West … But just as a river needs fish & flies & its Gerald Arellanos to be alive, so the West needed people & places & tellers of the story to make it a match for its peaks & vistas. High Country News became the ground where treehuggers like sage grouse strutted their stuff & the ranchers too & the loggers, the looters, the landed lovers. Telling of those people trying to shape things top down or bottom up & always it was about the land, the land, the land … Skeptical & curious, High Country News really matters because it not only asks the questions but offers the criticism, the analysis, and even some possible resolutions. Not just giving the juicy particulars but also a sense of what the West might be or could become. What Stegner has called "the native home of hope" … Stitching a basket of many strands, supported solely by its readers, looking for a path through the P-J that would allow the West to evolve. Using that freedom to focus on the big picture, to write history's first draft & ultimately to let the reader decide. Working off theories, sometimes right, sometimes wrong, but always tracking the land & its communities, the land & its creatures, the land & its lyric valuables … Now this river of a West has many tensions roiling its surface, people running back to the land from suburbia, people fleeing the countryside for the cities. Does the West want to be sovereign or subservient to the center? Federalist or decentralized? And when we ride the rapids of its changing landscape, do we find trust or distrust? Collaborative participation or voter apathy? A drifting in & out? Or a rootedness that goes back centuries? Truth is, it's all that. And always the land, the land, the land … Some would call for a reinhabitation of the West. For a human scale to the federal processes that keep the region indentured. Colonized. They insist we must be in a place a while before we can figure out where we are. What we can do here to be in synch with the scene, to sustain the natural systems, to speak the truth of a place with a simple, hard searching honesty. To do that, we must reinhabit politics & turn one-sided partisan dominance into a yeasty grassroots movement of tension between conservative & liberal, between those dependent upon the land for their livelihood & those dependent upon the land for their lifestyle. And all reclaiming community as a shared basket to hold the West's future … How could it be done - by improving the West's respect for its vital resources without trampling on people in the process? How could there be truthtelling without death threats & divisiveness? And slowly it has emerged that what we need are more & bigger tables with places for everyone. More collaboration & less command & control. This is the vision that High Country News catalogues, critiques, calls up for all to see & share. Not to save others but to understand their struggles & stand in support. Of Indian sovereignty. Of Hispanic legacy. Of ranchers & SierraClubbers. Of truckdrivers & waitresses … For the High Country News all these issues in the West form an interlocking whole. And they cover them as such. Showing how the West will have to work together, or all its various strands, all its eddies & sidestreams, will fail separately. Not that it will be an easy flow. For some, cattle grazing would still be a threat to natural systems, no matter what management changes were made. For others good stewards can adapt & learn to balance needs, wild & domestic. But regardless, all sides will have to articulate their cultural narratives … Thanks to High Country News, we see a confluence of trends - how the West is the nation's fastest growing region & yet has cultures that pre-date Columbus & traditions that haven't changed in generations. It was & still is a story of continuity & change. Particularly as the U.S. goes global & the West has to adjust to global economies. Growth our biggest bugaboo & the battle that is looming. Media is & will be a big part of that fight. Not just how we're seen by our own media but how we are perceived on the national news as its ownership consolidates into fewer & fewer corporate hands. Will the West matter? … Will the West become a service society or a servant society? Or something else? The river is big. But the world is bigger. The rapids we race down could flip the raft & dump us into the drink. High Country News & Headwaters are the institutions we've been creating to hold us steady. To maintain the dynamic equilibrium. Will we become a twined coil basket woven tight enough to hold water? That can float us towards the future? Will we become the headwaters, plunging down canyon walls, be home to the river otter, playground of the duck, traveling on the thrust of each others' wings as the geese do, standing by each other to the end? Those are the questions we must all keep asking, keep reporting, keep speaking to & speaking of -- what it is we need to do to get there from here. And always the land, the land, the land.

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How It Started

by Becky Lindsay Kent

  After completing a training called Lifespring in 1986-87 a number of people started a support group. During this we formed a "buddy" system to support each other in our goals rotating about every 6 weeks to a different "buddy."

  In the summer of 1987 Walt Hill and I met for lunch to begin our term as "buddies." Walt asked what I would like to accomplish and I quickly answered, "Clean off my desk at work!" He looked at me quizzically and said, "No! What do you really want? What is something near to your heart that you would like to accomplish?"

  It didn't take long for my reply. I had recently returned from attending a course at the Omega Institute of Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, New York. I wanted to see something like that in our area. I wanted others to have access to the teachers available to me because I could travel easily. Perhaps it would be a center for healing - mind, body, spirit - and perhaps address the pressing issues concerning the environment.

  While at Omega I had seen a video by Dr. Bernie Siegal whose book Love, Medicine, and Miracles had just been published. I wanted to bring someone like him to Montrose so that the entire community could hear his ideas about healing. I also wanted to see Dr. Jerry Jampolsky, author of Love Is Letting Go Of Fear, come to Montrose because I was also a student of A Course In Miracles, which was the foundation for his work.

  Walt encouraged me to formulate a plan. Then he encouraged me to call interested people to meet and brainstorm. He attended many meetings and later served tirelessly on the board masterminding the Whole Life Network Triathlons which were highly successful in bringing together teams composed of families, and coworkers, and friends in friendly competition to improve overall health of body, mind, and sprit, through physical activity.

  There were many who contributed their ideas, enthusiasm, energy, and money to achieve the initial start up and make my dream a reality.

  In 1989 Kelvin Kent and I married and although he declined serving on the board he was instrumental in what was achieved. He worked countless hours helping to coordinate the Symposia of 1990(Bernie Siegal), 1991(Jerry Jampolsky), and 1992(Deepak Chopra). As you can imagine these events required booking the speakers and facility at least 18 months ahead and because of the budget requirements (about $25,000) per event, the board knew we would end up paying the debts personally if the programs couldn't break even.

  The Western Colorado Area Health Education Center based in Grand Junction, under the direction of Ida Walden was what really made it all highly successful. Ida obtained accreditation for continuing education for health care workers (our own hospital refused involvement and our newspaper refused to report info when we started with Bernie Siegal because he was considered "new age"), and AHEC mailed registration forms to their mailing list and handled registration and other aspects.

  After 6 years I retired from the board. I'm happy that due to the hard work of many, the WLN had a large surplus in the bank! It was a lot of work. The WLN Symposia proved to be very profitable as well as beneficial to the hundreds who attended.

  I faded back into obscurity and continued practicing dentistry until May 2003 when I retired after 26 years in Montrose having been the first woman dentist to practice on the Western Slope.

  Kelvin and I now pursue our dreams at our home above Ouray where we hike during the summer and travel during the winter. This year we are off to Texas, New Zealand and Australia.

  There are many wonderful people who have been involved with the WLN through the years! The WLN has evolved, as it should, according to new boards directions. Congratulations on 15 years!!

  And thanks for the memories!

(Editors note: In 2004, The Whole Life Network celebrates fifteen years of service to our community. This article is the first of a series written by our founders, the original members of the Board of Directors of The Whole Life Network. We honor Rebecca Lindsay, who is credited for providing the impetus to form our network.)

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ReConnections: A Look Back

The heritage of The Whole Life Network from the pages of Connections

1 Year Ago "The 9th Annual Whole Life and Learning Expo, A Journey into Conscious Health and Living, will be held this year in Delta at Bill Heddles Recreation Center on Saturday, March 8th."

  Julia Marie Gillett on New Year's Resolutions: "The very word resolution annoys me. It implies answers, solutions, determinations, and firmness. As I've gotten older my need for such certainty has diminished while my appetite for inquiry has become almost voracious. Have I been fully becoming the possibility that Life calls me to be?"

5 Years Ago "The first Whole Life Network event of 1999 will be our Health & Wellness Fair. Those of us who have been participating and/or attending these Fairs know how much fun it is to connect, network & collaborate"

  Karl Kerr on Winter diet: "As we move into Winter, we need to adjust our diet once again. The weather is cold, so a diet that produces more heat is necessary. Days are shorter and we tend to have less activity, thereby burning fewer calories than we might during the Summer. A diet that is mainly carbohydrates and protein will produce the heat we need."

10 Years Ago "Have you ever wondered how The Whole Life Network is able to bring speakers of national stature here every year? We are referring to the annual Symposium held in Montrose every October, at which we have learned from Drs. Bernie Siegle, Gerald Jampolsky, and most recently, Deepak Chopra. Answer: planning. That planning takes place largely at the Annual Planning Retreat in Ouray, Colorado."

  Edith Gallenback: "Our quest is a vision of humanity which integrates science and spirituality, and in so doing reminds us to live mindfully through our connectedness to each other, to the Earth and, most particularly, to the inner self."

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Letters to the Editor of Connections

Dear Editor:
  I received my first issue of the Whole Life newspaper and read every word.
  I felt connected to Montrose again and was so happy to see my name and Kalos in the list of members.

/s/Dr. Catherine Saltzman
Encinitas, CA

Dear Editor:
  The most recent issue of Connections was one of the best ever and I particularly liked Art Goodtimes honest and thoughtful piece about the dilemma we all find ourselves in regarding pollution of the environment and the use of oil powered machines and goods made from same.
  And having had a lovely dream about dolphins recently I was grateful for that article and intend to save it and follow up on some of the information it contained.

/s/Earl Sires
Lake Lure, NC

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Peaceful Contributions for the Soul

by Kathy Gates

  Meditation, a way to deeply connect with your highest self, the universe and the great mystery of your own being. Our planet now wears the white coat of snow, the white coat of age and wisdom, the white coat that reminds us to look for the light despite the darkness surrounding us.

  Relax and get comfortable (do not meditate while driving). Take a few breaths, focus on your breath, feel it coming in and moving out of your body. Start relaxing, on each out breath let go. Enjoy the relaxed feeling as you move from your toes to the top of your head, letting go of any stress in your body. Once you feel relaxed and comfortable, use this meditation to find the light within.

  In your minds eye be completely still for a few moments, letting go of thoughts or tasks. Just let them go. Without any movement, not even a finger "Be Still" let peace and quiet come over you. As if there were no where to go or no where to come from. Arriving to this very moment. Stillness and silence surround you, allowing you to fill all of your senses.

  Where everything would be at rest, everything deeply connected. Putting an end to "this against that" or " us against them" In this moment there is no movement. Nothing to be said or done. Let life embrace you for this moment, fill your beingness with light. Take it into your life like a loving friend. Let it embrace you and you embrace it.

  Vow to end anger, aggression or fear within yourself as an expression of the true light that is each and every one of us. We are all connected.

  Peace and blessings to you, Walk in your beauty this New Year.

  More on meditation to come ..

(Kathy Gates may be contacted at Women's Spirit Retreat, 856-7665). Be added to our friends of peace mailing list.)

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Homeopathic Help For Companion Animals

MVC Release

"Our animals shepherd us through certain eras of our lives. When we are ready to turn the corner and make it on our own ... they let us go." Author unknown

  Perhaps you adopted your companion as a young puppy or kitten, when it seems life will last forever. Sure, you've noticed the growing number of gray hairs on her muzzle, or the way the tabby cat spends more time sleeping in the sun... In truth, except for the occasional parrot, most of us will outlive our animal companions. And it's our responsibility to let them go when their lives lack quality.

  Here at Morningstar, we don't take death or the decision to euthanize lightly. Please don't ask us to put your cat or dog to sleep because he's become inconvenient. Everything in our instincts and training urges us to try and help your companion return to a reasonable degree of wellness through diagnosis and appropriate treatment. But in spite of all the advances in veterinary medicine, we can't stop Time. Sometimes all that's left for your companion is suffering until the end - or your merciful decision to let him go.

  How do you know when the time has come? Sometimes the signs are unmistakable, but so often hope clouds the issue: these animals know how much we need them, rallying to go for one more walk when it's become nearly impossible for them to put one paw after the other. If your older and ailing pet stops eating, even when tempted with its favorite treat, or if it withdraws from its usual interaction with the family, not wanting to be touched, it's time to schedule an appointment. Perhaps through examination and laboratory testing we can detect a treatable problem. If not, the doctor will give her honest appraisal of the situation.

  Making the decision to let your companion go is seldom easy, but the procedure itself is a simple one. The animal receives an overdose of barbiturates, injected into a vein. Though most do feel the prick of the needle, the drug itself probably delivers a few moments of euphoria. Often we'll see the animal relax and let the last breath go with a sigh. Respiration ceases. Then the heart stops beating.

  Though we can't take away your sorrow, we'll try to make this process as comfortable as possible for you and your companion. Sometimes we'll cry with you.

  We work with a cremation service that can return your companion's ashes, or you can have the service simply spread the ashes in a field, feeding the Earth. Some of our clients prefer to bury their friends at home. In ancient times, Egyptian royalty mummified their prized cats, and it's not morbid to think ahead about ways to memorialize your companion. For many, photos recall quality time spent. Clay Paws can provide a casting of your companion's paw print. Some people choose to plant a shrub or tree in memory, others prefer to carry on the tradition of caring by making a donation to an animal welfare organization. MAPA (Montrose Animal Protection Agency) and Second Chance, the folks in Ouray County who are trying to raise enough money to build a shelter, are two local options.

  The loss of a well-loved companion leaves an empty place in our hearts. Grief is a part of life, but sometimes we're unable to move forward in our lives because of it. We have several books for dealing with this loss, including a couple of wonderful volumes for children. Resources are also available for those who may need further help with the process.

(Call 249-8022 or email morningstar@montrose.net Dr. Bettye Hooley and Dr. Diane Clark)

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Endings, Beginnings, In Betwixt - Life's Transitions

by Edith Johnston

  The year 2003 has ended and 2004 has begun. Between Christmas and the day after New Years for most is a time in between. Another transition, another change has occurred. The only constant is change. Change from night to day, seasons of the year, the years come and go, births, graduations, different jobs, vacations, retirement, and so on and so on. We have coped and continue to deal with the many happenings in our lives.

  Transitions can include not only the obvious life changes (such as high school graduation, job entry, marriage, birth of the first child, bereavement) but also subtle changes (such as loss of career aspirations or the non-occurrence of an anticipated events, such as expected job promotion that never comes through). Thus an event or non-event can be a transition if it results in change.

  A transition, broadly speaking, is any event, or non-event, that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles. Transitions often require new patterns of behavior. In coping with transitions we become more self-aware, take control of our reactions to life, become empowered, and develop strategies to get where we want to be. We can also experience confusion, doubt, fear and question our ability to love, work and play during a transition. We assess the transition in a split second or laboriously over a period of time, depending on the impact and the degree of change experienced. In assessing we look at the Situation (What is happening?), the Self (To whom is it happening - a young adult, a mature elder?), the Support (What help is available?), and the Strategies (How to cope?). The transitions can be of an individual, relational, or work nature. In fact, a transition is a process over time with no endpoint including phases of assimilation as we move in, through, and out of it.

  As a situation example we experience a forced "job" change with a lay-off or early retirement. We look at who we are - redefining, exploring our role as a worker (the Self), what we can do economically (more of the Situation), what help is available - out-servicing, retraining programs, financial planning, family (the Support), and what will we do, next steps (the Strategy). We experience a loss (the grief process) and a joy (new opportunity - personal growth / change). We move into the change, through the change, and out of the change, into another. Sometimes we stumble in the process and need some help, assistance.

  We can look at the Support that we have identified. We can broaden the Support through reading books, support groups, counseling/coaching, workshops, training / education, retreat / introspection, art, music, nature, spiritual resources, etc. Strategies can involve looking at the Situation - can you take yourself out of the Situation, can you modify the Situation, can you redefine the Situation (e.g. a disagreement with a friend - a) leave to allow both of you time to reflect, b) ask you friend what s/he needs/wants c) ask yourself what you need/want). In looking at the Self, a transition usually creates a disequilibrium - we are out of balance, and we want to return to homeostatis - balance. Equilibrium is brought about by greater self-understanding. We can gain clarity through talking to a friend, writing in a journal, meditating, physical exercise, communing with nature, asking ourselves "what" questions versus "why" questions (what do I feel, what do I want/need, what focus do I have, what is my next step). In all of this we need to acknowledge and use humor and laughter. It is important to stay in touch with and utilize out childlike playfulness and creativity.

  Life continues to happen. Change is inevitable. We experience transitions from moment to moment. Like the waves of water we can experience a gentle slapping at the shore or tumultuous crashing on the rocks. And in each case we learn, grow, use the momentum to flow and thus be in balance. To Life's Transitions in 2004.

(Edith Johnston PhD, MBA, LPC , a long time member of The Whole Life Network, has 30 years experience assisting individuals through life's transitions. At an upcoming workshop, there will be an opportunity to assess Self, Situation, Support, and Strategy in the context of meaningful impact for your life and developing the "HOW TO" for purposes, dreams, desires and goals in Life. You can call Edith at 970-874-4193 for more information.)

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Are Bio-Pharm Experiments Coming to a Farm Near You?

WCC Release

  Biopharming is a very new and very experimental technology that would turn food crops into factories to produce medical and veterinary drugs. Genes from animals are spliced in farm crops, mainly corn, and these plants are grown to produce pharmaceuticals. Biopharm companies in the United States grow crops in the open air.

  While no biopharm crop has ever been grown in Colorado, a French company, Meristem Therapeutics, intends to plant a crop in Phillips County next growing season. And if allowed by state officials, this experiment would likely be the first of many.

**The primitive biopharm business has already has already produced a disaster. ProdiGene Inc., a privately held biopharm company, caused major crop and land damage in its tests in Nebraska and Iowa in 2002. Contamination from a corn crop meant 500,000 bushels of soybeans were destroyed and 155 acres of corn fields quarantined.

**Biopharming tests are carried out in secret. The USDA and the Colorado Department of Agriculture will not tell the public exactly where tests are being carried out in Colorado.

**Biopharm crops will contaminate the environment. Crops of all kinds have consistently contaminated neighboring crops. Biopharm traits can spread through pollen carried by wind or insects, spilled seed, un-harvested "volunteer" seed sprouting the next growing season, and biopharm residues carried to conventional fields.

**Biopharm crops may cost food farmers their livelihood. Genetically modified crops are unwanted or forbidden in most countries outside the U.S. Contamination by biopharm tests could destroy the market for Colorado crops of all kinds, both in the U.S. and outside. The Grocery Manufacturers of America association and the National Grain and Feed Association have called for much tougher regulation of biopharming.

**There is real danger to organic and natural farming from biopharming. If organic farmers' fields are contaminated by biopharm tests, those farmers will be put out of business for years.

  Biopharming could be a threat to the vitality of our state's agricultural markets, but the state legislature can stop this rush to these experiments. This can only happen with the help of Colorado voters skeptical of biopharming.

  Write, call or email your State Senator and House Representative to halt all pharmaceutical crop experiments in Colorado until they are proven safe and safely regulated. The state must set up an open and public process as it creates a method of review of biopharm applications that will involve farmers, food marketers and consumers. Both Jim Isgar and Ray Rose have discussed running bills in the legislature; please contact them if you have concerns.

For more information, contact the Uncompahgre Valley Association, Box 472, Montrose, (970) 249-1978. UVA is an affiliate of Western Colorado Congress.

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Towards An Aquarian Age Civilization

by Louis Acker

Astrological Events: Uranus enters Pisces for the first time on March 10. 2003 and turns retrograde at 2 degrees and 49 minutes of Pisces on June 7, 2003. Uranus reenters Aquarius by retrograde motion on September 17, 2003. Uranus reenters Pisces on December 31st 2003.

  Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac summarizes, a complete cycle of evolutionary experience of the previous 11 signs. For this reason, Pisces is associated with past experiences and the subconscious mind which is the storehouse of all past experiences regardless of whether they are consciously remembered or not. On a cultural level Pisces is associated with history and the collective unconscious. Uranus is associated with sudden change and unusual occurrences. Uranus in Pisces is likely to bring sudden dramatic revelations revealing the true nature of past history, at least as far as general public awareness is concerned. A small privileged elite already knows much of this information.

  On an individual level, there will be sudden outcroppings of subconscious memories of childhood and previous lives often accompanied by strong emotional reactions in many people, which will seem disproportionate to what superficially triggers them. This will be especially true when Mars does a retrograde cycle in Pisces from June 19, 2003 to December 17, 2003. This extremely volatile combination can cause violence and extremism in people who have old grievances and scores to settle. This will increase the danger of terrorism, and bring social and political unrest to a boil in many world situations, and, most especially, the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

  During the Fall of 2003, Uranus makes its third opposition to Mars at 28 degrees Leo in the horoscope of the state of Israel. This could further aggravate an already extremely volatile and dangerous situation. People who are already psychologically unstable could easily go off the deep end under these influences.

  During the entire 7 year transit of Uranus in Pisces, Neptune remains in Aquarius. That is to say that Uranus and Neptune are each in the sign which the other rules. This is what Astrologers call a mutual reception. This particular mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune is highly significant at this time in history because Neptune is the planetary ruler of the Piscean age we are passing out of, while Uranus rules the Aquarian age we are currently entering.

  The peak of this transition occurs over the next 10 years, and what happens over the next 10 to 15 years will determine the future of planet Earth and human civilization for a long time to come.

  Next Month - The Positive Side of Uranus in Pisces

(Louis Acker, a Montrose resident, is an internationally recognized authority and author of Astrologers Handbook. You may reach him to schedule consultations at 252-0600)

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Claim Your Legacy

by Dr. Jerry Overton

"Legacy: Anything handed down as from an ancestor"-Webster's New World Dictionary

  It was July 20th, and I awoke feeling that there was something important I was supposed to do that day-but I didn't know quite what. So, as is the case with me first thing in the morning, I went to my calendar to be reminded of what life had in store for me. Penciled in red were these words-"10th anniversary of Mamma's death."

  Knowing that this was an important milestone, I began to consider what would mark that day as special. I wondered how I could spend the day so as to do justice to its significance.

  As I sat there in the twilight of that new day, the thought came to me to write a series of letters to Mamma, telling her how important she had been to me-and how her Spirit still lived in me and through me. I wanted to acknowledge the gifts she had given me, and to express my gratitude.

  As I began to write, I realized that what I really wanted to do was to finally claim my mother's legacy. I wanted to own my son-ship-to fully claim my birthright as her son.

  As I wrote, I said things to my mother in those letters that I had never taken the time, nor perhaps didn't know, to say to her while she was still with me in the body. I acknowledged all the ways that I am like her, from the crooked shape of my nose, to the look across my eyes, to my sometimes off-the-wall sense of humor, to my need for everything to be fun and easy (which is sometimes a challenge when there are chores to be done!), to my creative urges, to my (sometimes inappropriate in fastidious company) earthy nature, to my easy going way. In each letter I acknowledged some part of her legacy to me, and I shared my deep sense of gratitude for it.

  With each letter, I sensed a deeper and deeper connection to her. I could feel her nearness to me in ways that I hadn't noticed before. And as the tears began to flow, so did a new level of healing with her. I felt a deep peace with her-even deeper than I had felt with her before her passing.

  I sensed that I was finally claiming her legacy, and, perhaps more importantly, my place as her son. I was owning it, relishing it, feeling its potency, acknowledging its pronounced impact on my life, and finally finding the words to express my deep gratitude to her for the gracious legacy she had bequeathed to me.

  And I also began to notice that I had a new appreciation for all those parts of myself that I had never fully liked, accepted, and claimed before. I found a healing within myself, and felt a new sense of ease with myself that gave relief to what had always felt like an incessant and constant need to change. I even began to like my nose-which I had never liked before-because it now reminded me of my Mother and her love for me.

  Occasionally, especially around the beginning of a new year, I get those letters out and re-read them, to be reminded again of her life still within me. And each time I do, I feel again her presence, and I'm grateful. And what's more, I'm grateful for her life in me, and all the ways that those important qualities live in and through me-qualities that give my life depth, meaning, purpose, and joy.

  Lest you think this is just so much melancholy dribble-or a sad attempt to cast into sainthood the memory of my mother, I can assure that my mother was no saint. For that matter, I doubt she would want to be! No, for my mother, as a result of a late pregnancy and a subsequent nervous breakdown, spent a good deal of her life medicated for depression, and often overly so, to keep from feeling the deep wounded pain within her. And her suffering inflicted much on me and the rest of my family.

  And yet, in spite of all that, she still left her legacy-a legacy that I discovered was far richer than I had ever thought or expected. It was there all along, waiting patiently for me to get to the point in my life when I was ready to receive it-claim it-cherish it-and to live it out in my own!

  My only regret is that I didn't realize it sooner-when she was still with me in the flesh-so that I could have told her face-to-face of my gratitude. I wish I had been able to do that-to look her in the eyes and claim her legacy to me-and to celebrate it with her. For I suspect she would have liked that-to have heard her son say to her the words of gratitude that I now feel. For I know that I would relish the chance to hear such words from my own children one day!

  And I suspect she would have been surprised, as was I, at the richness of her legacy to me. For I suspect she had no idea of the treasures she passed on to me.

  And now, just one question. Whose legacy are you living?

  If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to discover it, acknowledge it, and claim it-and then feel the gratitude. And I pray you will tell them as you can. For I can assure you, you will both be the richer for it!

© 2004 Dr. Jerry D. Overton All Rights Reserved

(Dr. Jerry D. Overton is Director of The Center for Personal and Spiritual Growth. He can be reached at 970-252-9311, by e-mail at jerry@jerryoverton.com, or on the web at www.jerryoverton.com)

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Essential Oils Topic of Workshop

Release Submitted by Member

  Essential oils have been used to balance the body, mind and emotions since antiquity. These concentrated, volatile aromatic molecules represent one of the most powerful components in nature's pharmacopoeia. Plants have evolved in the same environment as humans for thousands of years, and the mechanisms that they have developed to balance their chemistry, fight off disease and heal their wounds will do the same things for us. Essential oils are the perfect keys to fit into and activate our physiological and psychological mechanisms. They have the ability to influence the function of almost every cell and tissue in the body.

  Essential oils have amazingly advanced chemistry -- science cannot identify many of the chemical compounds found in essential oils. One of the most impressive things about essential oils is their potency. They are the distilled, volatile oils of aromatic plants, and they are extremely concentrated. It takes a ton of rose petals to produce one kilo of essential oil of rose. A single drop of essential oil is therapeutically equivalent to 30 cups of herb tea.

  Because essential oils come from plants that are living and evolving, each year the chemical composition varies slightly from the year before. Bacteria and viruses do not become resistant to essential oils like they to antibiotics. They will be one of the tools that we will turn to in the future when antibiotics fail us. We will host a program Saturday, January 31, 2004, 9 am - 5 pm called Aromatherapy: Therapeutic Application of Essential Oils (for healthcare practitioners and serious laypeople). Presented by Dr. Janet Scavarda, D.C., R.A. (Registered Aromatherapist) at Seven Winds Institute, 1008 West Oak Grove Rd. In Montrose, CO. Cost for the workshop is $95. Please call 252.0985 to register.

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