Citizens Climate Lobby - creating the political will for a sustainable climate

Interview with Marshall Saunders

by Cher Gilmore

An interview with CCL founder Marshall Saunders, who discusses his mission to empower everyday people to exercise their personal and political power in the cause of saving planet Earth.  January/February 2013

Marshall Saunders, a retired real estate broker, founded Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) in October 2007. According to the group's website, CCL "trains volunteers to speak powerfully to their elected officials, the media and their local communities in order to inspire members of Congress to be leaders and spokespersons for a sustainable climate. CCL volunteers meet with their members of Congress, launch letter-writing campaigns, write letters to the editor and op-ed pieces, and generate editorials to promote a sustainable climate."

As of December 2012, CCL had citizens lobbying teams in 72 US cities and 10 in Canada. CCL's volunteers have had 848 meetings with their Congressional representatives in the last three years to discuss the problem of climate change and legislative solutions such as a revenue-neutral carbon tax, and have had over 1,000 newspaper articles, letters to the editor, and opinion pieces published.

Cher Gilmore interviewed Marshall Saunders for Share International. (more…)

Sparkle and the Gift

Ayn Cates Sullivan, Ph.D is the inspirational author behind Sparkle and the Gift, the first book in a series of modern fables for “children of all ages.” It was just added to the Table of Honor at the London Book Festival and dubbed an “illuminated modern day treasure” by Howard Wills of Higher Consciousness, Inc. Sparkle and the Gift depicts the story of a young girl named Sparkle who remembers that she is a being made of radiant light. After sharing this discovery with her mother Alice, Sparkle is told the story of “Kachina’s Gift,” a fairy tale designed to remind us that everything we need is already inside of us.

In Sparkle and the Gift, Ayn addresses the importance of humanity’s relationship with nature, and how nurturing this relationship can improve the self-esteem and well-being of children and parents alike. “I think it’s a really important message for this time, I want kids of all ages to remember their inner light never goes out.” She is releasing her forthcoming fable, Sparkle and the Light, around Easter. The sophomore addition to the series, Sparkle and the Light takes on bullying and how kids can maintain their sense of self in the face of adversity. (more…)

Spiritual Traveler: Need for a Teacher?

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

Each spiritual traveler’s journey is both individual and collective.  With the sequence of learning experiences varying according to the person, the time, and their higher as opposed to emotional need.  This sequence is established by the Teaching, the teacher, and the path.  It is a sequence that originates from another dimension, has baraka or grace attached to it, and operates within its own rules. (more…)

Two Days We Should Not Worry

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday with all its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. (more…)

Lessons from the Game

You're playing a game of soccer, and make a mistake that gifts the opposing team a goal. Do you:

1. storm off the pitch in anger (at yourself, your opponents, the ref, the crowd, the coach, the restaurant where you had your breakfast...)?
2. stay on the pitch and nominally continue playing but with no real passion, effort or belief in the abilities that earned your place in the team? or
3. admit your error and resolve to double your efforts not only to make up for the lost goal but also to win the game?

Surely the only logical answer is 3.

And so it is with life. To live life is to make mistakes. Accept them as part of your learning process (otherwise known as your purpose), take on board their lessons, and continue in earnest pursuit of your goals.

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The Meaning Behind the Words

The words spoken by a person reveal much more about the speaker than those they speak about.

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Seeing What is Present

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

That which is permanent is seldom known to the 5 senses. It must be perceived by another capacity. Until this capacity or organ of perception is awakened, we are like heedless children playing with fire. Sooner or later, our actions will cause problems for us.

The complete individual, or enlightened person, is able to temper their expectations with reality. Often it is our reaction to daily events and not the events themselves which pose the more lasting problem.

We must learn to view and accept what is present, not what we want to be present. By clouding reality with expectation and personal desire, for a time, we become off center. This lack of balance, in turn, prevents us from perceiving what is before us. (more…)

How to Assess Psychics and Mediums

A Simple Method for Evaluating a Psychic Reading

These days many people consult psychics and mediums, perhaps looking for guidance on some aspect of their lives, or simply seeking evidence that the human experience is more than just a random accident of a meaningless universe. Whether we have a private sitting or join an open meeting, say at a Spiritualist church, We often come away from a reading with mixed feelings. This article presents a simple, but hopefully objective, method for assessing the quality of information given.

Briefly, the difference between a medium and a psychic is that mediums channel information from the spirits of the deceased whereas psychic pick up information by general non-physical means. Often mediums and psychics are the same (ie "sensitives") and a reading may contain information both from deceased spirits and of general psychic origin. It’s possible that even the medium (psychic) cannot identify the source of the reading, but so long as it's accurate and helpful that shouldn't matter too much.

In making an assessment it's essential that a sitting be approached without bias, ie with a completely open mind as to the authenticity of what takes place. Prior personal belief or skepticism should (as far as humanly possible) be put to one side and each meeting treated as an independent experiment.

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Living in the present is real living

By Lt Col R K Langar

Many of us do not realize the value of living in the present. They feel that present will not give them the happiness they are looking for. Happiness for them lies in remembering some happy moments of the past. They also hope that the future will give them thrilling moments which the present has eluded them thus far. Not only that they also have some regrets of the past and anxieties for the future due to which they do not understand the value of living in the present moment.   Living in present is the real living because the good doings of the present will not only neutralize ill doings of the past but shall also make your future an affair to remember. What we are now are the effects of our past deeds and what we do now shall have a direct bearing on the quality of our future life. Time wasted now in remembering the past or imagining the future can be usefully invested in living in the present. (more…)

Mysteries

A review of Colin Wilson’s sequel to The Occult

Colin Wilson is one of the most thorough and prolific researchers and writers on the paranormal of recent years. Mysteries was written as a sequel to Wilson’s The Occult, and continues and extends the theme of that classic investigation into the world of the unknown.

Mysteries begins by floating the possibility that the “self” actually consists of a hierarchy of levels that may be likened to a ladder with higher rungs of shorter and shorter length (presumably meaning they are harder to experience, or are reached by fewer souls). Wilson adopted this concept after experiencing a series of panic attacks that were ended by his invoking a higher self (which he refers to as the schoolmistress effect). (more…)