Letter from The Editor

The seasons are changing, even here in Southern California.  The hot days of summer are giving way to the cooler days of autumn.  I love the spring and autumn!  The days are so pleasant they draw you outside.  I, for one, am very glad summer is over.

June saw me in the Chetumal area of Mexico, visiting amazing Mayan temples.  These are off the tourist track and so most of the time we were the only visitors there.  At several, we saw archeology teams working on unearthing more structures.  That was very cool to watch.  It was a spiritual retreat and I learned many things – most of them unexpected, some difficult, but all moved me forward in my growth.

A month later, I was in Loveland Colorado, at Jonathan Goldman’s Sound Healing Intensive.  It was 8 days of learning about sound for healing – from morning to night.  I met some fabulous people from all over the world.  One of the most memorable days for me was the day of toning.  We did 12 hours of toning.  When it wasn’t our group’s turn to tone, we were in silence.  This took me into a deep place of healing.

Somewhere during the summer I had an epiphany; one of the things I am very passionate about is books.  Not only do I love reading them, I love writing them.  And I want to publish them.  So I’m in the process of starting a small-press publishing company, Thrival Publishing Company.  The first book to be published is my book, “Living In Thrival:  Moving from Just Surviving to Thriving”.  Once I’ve learned the ins-and-outs of publishing, I’ll be looking for other authors to publish.  I’m laser focused on getting my book finished.  The article below is an excerpt from the book.  Enjoy!

Tora Moon

Have you ever thought about how you live your life and how the choices you make affect your quality of life?  We sometimes think about this only when we have a “life changing” decision to make, such as getting married, taking this job over that one, or where to live.  But what about all the other choices we make everyday, many of them unconsciously, that affect our lives just as deeply as the “big” ones?

The unconscious choices we make determine our reality just as much as the conscious ones do.  As Abraham-Hicks has said, “We either create consciously or by default.”  Many of us, on so many levels, create our lives by default or unconsciously. 

We often don’t even realize how much we are struggling to survive everyday.  It pervades our society so deeply – we struggle and fight against cancer, against drugs, our weight, our diet.  We struggle to pay our bills, to get “things”, to find love, and the list goes on.  Many of us are so detached from our emotions and are in a perpetual state of victimhood we forget we have a choice or we can even have dreams and desires.  Too often we feel our life is out of our control, that no matter what we do, nothing will change.  So we only make choices out of “default”.  We choose that which is comfortable, choosing those things which we somehow think we “should” choose or that advertising tells us we should want.  We do the things our religions and society tell us we should do.  We take the job which makes us money, but doesn’t bring us happiness.  We look to others to tell us what we should dream, that is, if we even give ourselves permission to dream.  We look outside of ourselves to find love, happiness, and fulfillment.  And when none of these things make our hearts sing with joy, we fall further into struggling to find what does, resulting in addictions of all kinds, depression, anger, and frustration. 

The Law of Attraction teaches that we are co-creators with Source Energy – the Infinite Divine, Spirit.  It is through our thoughts that we create our reality.  Many of us forget this includes our unconscious thoughts and belief patterns which occur much more frequently than our conscious thoughts.  Unless we are mindful and work to be more conscious, more present, we are creating our life by default – letting our unconscious mind choose for us what is in our reality.  Too many times that is simply what is needed to survive, but not to thrive.  Our unconscious mind only wants to get through the day, to survive it, and then make it to the next day.  It is short-term focused.  It is instant gratification: “I’m hungry”, so I eat; “I’m tired”, so I sleep; “I’m lonely”, so I look for companionship.  Most people live their lives focusing on the past and the future, rarely living in the present.

“Survival” is just getting by.  It is settling for what comes.  It is going through the motions of life, enduring to the end.  Survival is constantly waiting for the promise of tomorrow while missing the gifts of today.

The dictionary defines “survive” as, “to live or exist longer than or beyond the life or existence of; outlive; to continue to live after or in spite of.”  Synonyms of survive include: endure, to bear, suffer through, withstand, persist, last, remain, keep afloat. 

For most of my life, I lived like this.  I endured – hoping if I endured and ignored my pain, my loneliness, my heartache, it would go away.  I lived in a perpetual hand-to-mouth existence, making just enough to get by.  As an example of the extreme form survival can take, from a young age, I suffered bouts of depression.  I wished and hoped I would die, and tried to find a way to kill myself which wouldn’t look like suicide so it wouldn’t hurt my family.  I used to hope I’d get sick enough that I would die and in the process, would make myself ill.  I lived in a deep dark pit of despair, of anger, of frustration.  I saw myself as a monster – and I treated my friends, my family, and everyone around me from this place of ugliness.  I made biting, cutting remarks, and created fights.  I hated myself, my body, my life – and consequently just about everything around me.  My heart was hard and cold.  I wondered if I could even love.  I was fully and completely in the darkest portion of “Survival Mode”.

But deep inside, I knew that wasn’t me – it wasn’t my true authentic Self.  I have always been deeply spiritual though not religious, (I do consider there to be a difference), and felt like there was something more, a different way to live.  I questioned that if Spirit loved us as deeply as I thought It did, then It must want more for us than this pain and confusion – even chaos – I was living and feeling.

I began to search, to find my Soul, to find out who I was.  I did many years of inter-personal transformational work and spiritual practices.  And I found that better way to live.  I found I could create by conscious choice how I wanted to live my life.  That way is the concept of Thrival.

You may be asking yourself, “Thrival?  What is that?  I’ve never heard of it before.”  If there were a dictionary definition of Thrival, it would be, “the state of Being, or act of thriving.”  Thrival is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Survival.  More fully, Thrival is the concept of living in your full potential, freely expressing the truth of who you really are, and being, doing, and having all your soul desires.  It is accepting what is as it is and opening to the unfolding of your full potential.

The dictionary defines thrive as, “to prosper or flourish; be successful; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly; improve physically.”  Synonyms of thrive include: blossom, burgeon, rise, radiate, shine, increase, succeed, make progress and advance. 

I believe it is a much better state of being to prosper and flourish than to outlive and endure.

So how do we make the conscious choice to “Live in Thrival” rather than survival?  The rest of this book is about how to Live in Thrival.  It is a journey of discovery, from my life experiences and the things I’ve learned and studied over the years of what it means to Live in Thrival.

Meditation

Meditating is a valuable tool to help us move into Thrival.  However, many people have a difficult time quieting their minds and so give up on meditating.  I have found a wonderful way to meditate that engages the mind and therefore allows you to go into that deep place of stillness.  I use Mudras, which are hand gestures, and Mantras, which are chants, specifically ancient Sanskrit chants.  Each month I will share with you a mudra and mantra set for you to try.  Many of these are included on my forthcoming CD “Transformational Prayers”, which includes a booklet with full-color pictures of the mudra and the mantra.  The songs on the CD are me singing the mantra.  The music is beautiful, full of interesting instruments and percussion.  Each piece is different.

To pre-order your CD click here.

Stillness

In this hectic, frantic world in which we live, taking a few moments to become still and listen to our inner voices and guidance from Spirit becomes vital to our well-being.  Too much stress and endless activity plays havoc on our immune systems and our general health.  Even a few moments of stillness with ourselves can decrease our stress levels and strengthen our immune systems, as well as bring us a sense of peace and well being. 

Mudra:

With the left palm up, fingers together, place the right hand over the left.  The fingertips of the right hand should be on the pulse-point of the left wrist.  Press gently so you can feel your pulse.  Make sure there is space between your palms, don’t squish your hands together flat.  You may feel the energy swirling between your cupped hands as it begins to build.

This mudra brings stillness to the mind and body, and helps you to be present in the moment.  It can take you deep into the core essence of who you are.  Once there, you can see the Divine Light that shines brightly and be filled with the quiet stillness of The Divine.

Mantra:  Sat Nam  (SAAT NAHM)  {Click here for sample}

Truth is Divine’s name, One in Spirit

This mantra is very simple, but very profound.  As you chant or listen to the mantra, follow the energy of Divine Truth to your heart center.  Let this energy show you the truth of who you are and your own divine nature.