Birken Forestry Monastery
(Dec 2003)

The front cover is the last photo in a series of retreat centers around BC. It is a Buddhist monastery near Kamloops and I haven’t been there but I know many people who have taken the time to enjoy the serenity of this place. Any ideas what you would like to see on the front cover for 2004?

Once again I am getting the magazine to print, mostly by myself. I did it for six years originally and then asked for help and got Jan as my business partner. I was so glad to have someone else typing and answering the phones. Now with the abundance of computers and advertisers having access to them, most of the data comes in via email. Still, talking to people is what I enjoy the most. Hearing them speak of a new product or service that is now available locally, instead of just at the larger centers, makes my heart smile. Many people are getting educated in holistic ways and changing themselves as we all take more responsibility for ourselves and for the planet.

Living in the country and looking out my office window as deer cross the property with the lake as a backdrop is one of the bonus points of moving. When I have the time, I enjoy being in the garden and helping Richard with the Retreat Center. I like change, and when people ask me how I am doing, I say, “I am great and happy to be doing what needs doing, wherever that may be.” I feel destined to be here as I had asked for a man in my life. Richard and I are a good match for each other.

Just before leaving Penticton, I had some sewing to do and found getting the thread through the eye of the needle challenging. I decided to check with my optometrist. Perhaps all the stuff I had been doing to improve my eyesight wasn’t working and I needed stronger glasses. Once I was seated, he handed me a card to read. As I read the top line, he said, ” Whoa, have you ever improved… you no longer need glasses.” I protested, telling him why I came, and he repeated that my eye work was complete. My left eye is now able to see at a distance. This was great news because as a child, I had one eye burned with a stick. My family was burning autumn leaves and us kids were playing with sticks in the fire to make them glow and I got torched. The resulting tests showed I had one near-sighted and one far-sighted eye. The right was dominant and preferred to do most of the looking, including distance. The left eye did the close-up work and was a bit lazy.

I first wrote about eye exercises after meeting Dr. Robert Kaplan about nine years ago, when he wrote the book Seeing Beyond 20/20. I took his workshop and he told me I needed to teach my eyes to dance together instead of each working independently. Since then I have had my prescription changed four times, gently forcing my left eye to see things at a distance. I felt elated as he continued, “You have what we call people eyes… you see people perfectly at five feet using both eyes. I asked about the needlework and he said, “Get a magnifying glass when you do that kind of work. Getting this eye to actually do what it is supposed to do is more important.”

My deeper understanding of eyes is that children see or don’t see what they want to. The left eye relates to the emotional nature of our brain and as children, if we do not want to see what is happening in our lives, we can consciously shorten our vision. The left eye gives us the ability to be. The right eye shows us our dreams or visions of what we can achieve. It is the ability to do. Our eyes reflect how we adjust to our beliefs so we can cope with life, and as I have said a few times …the body never lies. It is up to us to discover the deeper meaning of what is happening to our bodies so we can plan some self-correcting action. Carolyn Myss and many others do a great job of explaining the metaphysical aspects of our illnesses. If you are reading Issues it means you are already on the path of enlightenment. (Meaning you have the ability to lighten your load.) May you have a delightful holiday season and may the New Year bring lots of light into your soul so you may see more of who you are.