A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. January's Theme: "Our Relationship with Earth"
Volume 3 Issue 2 ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Steve Abernathy Dragon's Daughter Part Three Jennifer Monaghan An Historical Overview of the Whereabouts of Gnomes and Elves, Fauns and Faeries, Goblins, Ogres, Trolls and Bogies, Nymphs, Sprites, and Dryads, Past and Present Buck Young My Relationship with Mars Martin Avery We ALL Need Nature! David Suzuki PhD How Animals Enhance Our Relationship with Earth Jean Hofve, DVM Crystal Therapy Doreen Virtue and Judith Lukomski War Revisited Gisela Ko The Envelope Please… Featuring: Sebastian MacPhee Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Da… Funny Pages! Jeannette Roth Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Wiccan Voices Anne Ellis Technically Tarot Jeannette Roth Tales of a Country Vet Dr. Bruce Burton DVM Aunty Nasty Nasturtium Blackwitt Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Keeper Many Moons Animal Voices: Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life Dawn Baumann Brunke Soul Cards I & II Deborah Koff-Chapin Baraka DVD by Ron Fricke The Green and Burning Tree: A Faery Shamans Handbook Tira Brandon-Evans Chakra Chants & Chakra Chants 2 Jonathan Goldman

Connecting with the Earth and all of Her children is easier said than done for most people. They 'think' it would be great, but when it comes to actually living it… well that's a different story altogether. Allowing the spider to go free instead of killing it for simply making the 'mistake' of walking into your room is an example of 'living it'.

When it comes time to purchase items, do you look at the packaging and let that be a part of the process? Or do you simply purchase the one you like better and ignore the environmental impact of this item? If we all choose to purchase items (or better yet, re-use items from the thrift store) which take our Earth into account, then we would force the companies to change their packaging. After all, exactly how much shrink wrap is really neccesary on one small item?

When you buy seeds for your garden, do you purchase organic ones or do you instead prefer to get the cheaper seeds? Which ones do you think have a healthier impact on our Earth?

How about the produce and meat you eat? Are any of those items organic? We all know the wonderful impact organic gardening and farming is doing for our Earth… She is loving the attention we are paying to Her needs. Often I find organic bananas are less expensive than pesticide ones… and yet I see people filling their baskets with the non-organic variety.

When you bring a new pet home, or look at the one(s) you already have, do you make their environment and lives as natural and healthy as possible? Do their needs come first, or do you see them more as a possession?

Many animals are not solitary critters. They prefer to have a 'flock' or grouping. For example: birds prefer to have a friend(s) living with them. Female mice love the community feeling of many living together in one enclosure. They assist each other with grooming etc. Of course, snakes, spiders and bearded dragons are different. They'll gladly have their tank-mate for lunch… so remember that and don't house them together. Even most fish want a friend in the tank with them! My Oscar (named Felix) loves his buddy Bob (the Convict Cichlid) and is learning to love his buddy Dude (a rhino pleco). He comes to the side of tank like a puppy wagging his tail whenever I approach him. Recently I moved him into a larger tank in the living room so he can see me more often. Oscars really are the puppy dog of the fish world, but they have bad press… and sadly, people think of them as killing machines.

So the next time you are in the petstore and see some cute critter, think about 'their' needs before you own. Don't just get them the minimum basics, give them the best! After all, they are your captive pet for the rest of their lives (as they aren't choosing to live with you) so do the best you can for/with them. Just because many of you can't understand them when they communicate with you, doesn't make them 'less-than' human!

I'm not asking anyone to be perfect, or to make the 'right' choice every single time, but maybe we could try to do it more often than we are? Because honestly, everyone it's time to change. It's time to stand up and put our Earth and all of her inhabitants first and our human needs second. It's time to stop the 'buy more bigger better' and for goodness sake, stop throwing things away which others can use. Think Earth friendly!

in light,
Aleesha

Aleesha Stephenson is the Publisher, Editor, Graphic and Web Designer as well as a Regular Columnist for Timeless Spirit Magazine.

A Reiki Master Teacher, who lives her Buddhist, Shamanic, with many eclectic Pagan beliefs, she home-schools two of her three spiritually enlightened children as her eldest has graduated and moved on to the school of life. Friend (and mother) to them all, she is also a life-partner to her husband David. Her life truly is filled with light.

Aleesha teaches classes in Tarot, Meditation and Reiki. For more information, please contact Aleesha via email or visit her personal web page.

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