My heart is full with friends reconnecting. One my childhood best friend, whom I haven’t seen or heard from in over 25 years. I am delighted by how easily we picked up from where we left off and amazed that we had newer friends in common.

In our feature “Circles Of Healing,” by Linda Sechrist, we explore the depths of our feeling separated and isolated from each other, approaches that bring people together in small groups offer participants valuable opportunity for healing and wholeness. These community gatherings known as wisdom circles, story circles, power of eight intention circles, support groups, prayer circles and dialogue circles, invite people to share experiences, find creative solutions to societal issues and mentor each other’s growth. Sidebars offer best practices for starting and maintaining a circle. Check out our calendar each month to find these local circles and make the effort to attend.

Despite our best efforts, holiday time can frazzle our nerves and snag us in an unhealthy loop of overindulgence. In this months Fit Body section titled “Holiday Zen,” by Marlaina Donato, we find ways to avoid that pitfall with such strategies as five-minutes bursts of exercise or dancing, eating foods like berries and walnuts to boost serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, conscious mouth breathing, allowing ourselves power naps, meditating using easy apps and cancelling guilt when we enjoy the office party dessert table. Take the time to tap into your local yoga, and fitness studios offering de-stressing classes such as restorative yoga, breathwork, or quick simple workouts for time-challenged holiday shoppers.

The bestselling author, Jungian-based psychotherapist, musician and former monk Thomas Moore, on the Art of Listening, discusses why too often today we debate rather than converse, why it’s important to find peace in ourselves so we can listen well, and why he finds reason to be an optimist because he sees us slowly evolving into a more humane community of Earth beings.

The past two years have taken a toll on stimulating conversation. Let this be the time we bring our communities together—fold new and old friends back into our lives and accept us all for being uniquely flawed!

To conscious living,
Pamela Gallina, Publisher