Welcome 2012

We stand on the brink of a new era. It is a time that's been hailed by ancients and optimists alike as the beginning of a Golden Age; a kinder, more harmonious new world. Others have interpreted the change as the end of everything. Our contributors this month tend towards the optimistic view, as do all of us here at the Whole Person.

In this issue, visionary teacher and inspirational speaker Jack Canfield shares his stories, nuggets from his new book, and his thoughts about the exciting future unfolding for all who are ready to fully participate. Author Shakti Gawain; healer Selacia, and instructor/author Ed Bastian bring their own unique perspectives to bear on this idea of transformation. The common thread? We now have choices to make if we want to manifest Heaven-on-Earth, and live as transformed, conscious beings.

We hope you feel inspired, motivated and ready to roll with the new energy of 2012.

We wish all of you an energized and happy New Year.

— The Whole Person Team

Golden Motorcycles and Conscious Evolution: An Interview with Jack Canfield

by Sharon Hall

Jack Canfield—visionary, leadership coach, teacher, entrepreneur and author—has come full circle. He began his journey as a teacher and educator with a desire to help those less fortunate. After achieving fame and success beyond his wildest dreams, and becoming one of the most sought-after speakers on the planet, he has returned with a new message of transformation and service, dedicated to helping others achieve their highest good. I spoke with Jack over the phone as he traveled between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles about his new book, The Golden Motorcycle Gang, written with William Goldstone.

Where did he get the title? It came from a vision in a class on educational motivation. His professor asked the class to remember the first time they knew they wanted to be teachers. Jack went into a meditative state and experienced something unique and unexpected...

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Transforming Yourself...Transforming the World

by Selacia

As a new cycle begins, it's normal to consider what you want to change about yourself and the world. If you were making a list of those things right now, it would help to know the big picture and the specifics of what needs to shift. Like a lab scientist with a microscope, you want to magnify the view of your experience so you can pinpoint causes of dysfunction and unhappiness. After all, you can only change things when you are aware of them.

Right now, as you sit within the initial weeks of 2012, you likely know about countless things you want changed. If you're like most of us, you have noticed how dysfunctional our world has become and you notice your own challenges in a magnified way. That's not surprising, of course, especially with all of the media attention given to planetary revolution and global demonstrations by citizens representing the 99%. You probably would feel discontent and a desire for change—even without the media attention—but the constant reminders are like a repeating wake up call...

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Transforming Our World

An excerpt from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain

Transformation begins on an individual level and moves out into the world. The more I'm learning to trust my intuition and act on it, and the more I'm willing to experience and accept all my feelings, the more the energy of the universe can move through me. As it comes through, it heals and transforms me and everyone and everything around me.

This is true for each one of us. The more you are willing to trust and be yourself, the more life energy will move through you. Everyone around you will benefit from your energy and begin to trust and be more themselves. In turn, they become powerful channels for everyone in their sphere of influence. And so, transformation spreads rapidly throughout the world....

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"May I Be Transformed into My Ideal Being"

Excerpts from InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward W. Bastian, Ph.D.

Transformation is one of the essential steps of InterSpiritual Meditation, a seven-step process drawn from the world's contemplative traditions. I developed this process over a ten-year period working closely with over fifty extraordinary meditation teachers from Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Taoist, and Native American traditions. This book is the foundation for a course of study and practice for people of all religious and non-religious perspectives. It is the subject of an upcoming retreat at La Casa de Maria in Santa Barbara on February 10-12 and a ten-week online course beginning February 20. The following excerpt comes from a chapter in this book that begins with the prayer: "May I Be Transformed into My Ideal Being."

THE GREAT HOPE and promise of our lives is that we may be transformed into our ideal person. Of course, this doesn't mean that we have to denigrate who we are now, or wallow in self-loathing or low...

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Transforming Homo Sapiens into Homo Luminosus, Our Key to Planetary Evolution

by Liliana Cerepnalkoski

There is a vast difference between acquiring facts from books or lectures and deriving your own conclusions from direct personal experience. We know very few things in life from direct experience; the formal education process consists primarily of memorizing facts. We are indoctrinated with a worldview consisting of generally accepted concepts from the disciplines of social sciences, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine. If we had a religious upbringing, we learned a cosmology particular to our faith, which dictated our relationship to deity, creation, and unseen realms.

Yet even "consensus reality" is not quite as objective as we might wish to believe. We know that history differs according to who wrote the accounts, that regimes in power slant...

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