NOVA Magazine

Sometimes life seems so easy, so blissful, so perfect. And then we start wondering why it can't always be like this... ahh but that's the core of the problem, isn't it. It all suddenly becomes difficult again when we start thinking about it!

There's a lot to be said for "being in the Now". And long before Eckhart Tolle offered this mantra to us thirsty Western souls, Indian yogis and rishis of centuries past knew its wisdom and lived their lives in the bliss of mindfulness.

I've often thought of what I enjoy most as the editor of NOVA Magazine and it always comes back to the same thing - just editing the articles and columns our writers submit each month. It's my personal, deeply therapeutic practice of mindfulness.

Take this afternoon for example. Gentle, early winter sunlight is streaming though my window, the haunting tenor voice of blind Aboriginal singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is wafting over me (and the rest of the office because enjoyment needs to be shared!) and I'm reading over Eric Harrison's feature on what meditation is all about. He tells me and now you that, ''When the body is perfectly still, it feels luxurious and alive" ... and the attainment of that state comes with the practice of meditation. Indeed it does, and just reading about it is a deeply calming experience as well. I hope it works for you, too.

A little earlier today it was the heady combination of Helen Patrice and Deepak Chopra's Soul of Healing Affirmations - such wise insights and such a beautiful voice. (We're talking Deepak here and this time I was asked to turn the volume up). Interestingly, Helen is another who finds her true still self in crafting the words that tumble out of her agile mind.

Thankfully, there's nothing conventional about a NOVA office, either East or West. I'm sure the wisdom we all imbibe from our connections with so many others in the holistic industry, our clients, visitors, readers as well as writers, serves us all well. In these times when there is so much anger and conflict and general angst, just to be able to share music, healing affirmations and soul enriching ideas - and the gentle energy they all create - is a great gift. Thank you to those people who get in touch to tell us they feel the same way.

More inspirational influences are headed our way in the next few weeks with Wayne Dyer, Caroline Myss, Sonia Choquette, Brian Weiss and Gregg Braden visiting both Sydney and Perth. It's a fabulous lineup of impressive speakers who can't fail to help us all make healing changes in our lives. So grab the opportunity in August!

As Wayne Dyer would be the first to attest, life is about making choices and we really do have the power in our own hands to create a life that enhances us, and thus everyone around us, or we can choose anger and agitation and make ourselves miserable. Stress is all about how we respond to life's inevitable challenges.

Now just hear for yourself that mellifluous voice as Deepak Chopra offers an affirmation that's perfect for this month and these times: "In stillness, I find my true self."