Issuu

EDEN OCTOBER 2026

N° 190

T H E

BEYOND THE SILENCE

ROSANNA BROWN ON LOSS, HEALING, AND HOPE

Stefanie

Powers

A HOLLYWOOD ICON FOR WILDLIFE

@TheEdenMagazine

TheEdenMagazine

@TheEdenMagazine

Maryam Morrison

Dina Morrone

Paulette Dozier

Emilie Macas

Nikki Pattillo

Edward Hakopian

Dr. Rob Moir

Joe Santos, Jr.

Wendy L. Jackson

Philip Smith

JSquared Photography @j2pix

Brad wallace

Sheri Determan

Ben Rollins

Lisa Joy Walton

Greg Doherty

Polly Wirum

Artin Mardirosian

Benjamin D.Buren

MEET OUR TEAM

EDEN T H E

Since 2010

The Eden Magazine is a nonprofit online publication is your guide to healthy living, spiritual awareness, compassion and love for all living beings, holistic lifestyle, mindfulness, organic living, positive thinking, sustainability, and personal development Founder & Editor-in-Chief Maryam Morrison Executive Editor/Contributing Writer Dina Morrone East Coast Liaison & Partnership Director Paulette Dozier Contributing Writers Sadhguru, Isha Foundation Joe Santos, Jr. Dr. Rob Moir Emilie Macas Nikki Pattillo Polly Wirum Wendy L. Jackson Guest Writer Philip Smith Contributing Stylists + Makeup Artist Edward Hakopian Lisa Joy Walton Graphics & Photography JSquared Photography @j2pix (Los Angeles) Artin Mardirosian (Nexision) (Los Angeles) Benjamin D. Buren – AliveStudios.Com (Denver, SanFrancisco, Boston) Sheri Determan (Los Angeles) Greg Doherty (Los Vegas) Ben Rollins (Atlanta) Web developer Brad wallace https://bradwallacedesign.com/ 325 N. Maple Dr. Po Box 5132 Beverly Hills, CA 90209

To purchase a copy, visit us at www.theedenmagazine.com Eden Magazine is a non-profit monthly online magazine that aims to promote a better environment in which humans live in peace and harmony with other living beings. The Eden Magazine supports artists whose work matches our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article, or/ and your photography for our future issues, please contact Maryam Morrison at maryammorrison@theedenmagazine.com The Eden Magazine reviews article content for accuracy before publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials, and all other content are published in good faith. 5 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

ON PEACEFUL CATALINA ISLAND, WAGING WAR ON NATURE by Jack Gescheidt

CONNECT TO THE DIVINE WITHIN by Jeremy David Engels

BEYOND THE SILENCE Rosanna Brown on loss, healing, and hope

AN INTERVIEW with STEFANIE POWERS

CONTENTS

EMOTIONS AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM by Judith A. Swack Ph.D.,

Table of

ECHOES OF EAST CLIFFTON AVENUE by Dr. Frank Plateroti

12 16

Cover photo by Michael Collopy

THE SECRET OF APPLE by Nathaniel Altman

HOW TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE FOR LASTING INNER PEACE AN INTERVIEW with SISTER RANJANA Self-Realization Fellowship

THE BATTLE OF 5 WAYS TO CLEANSE YOUR SYSTEM by Sadhguru/ Isha Foundation

CAN TRUE PERSONAL PEACE BE THREATENED by Polly Wirum

WHO AM I REALLY? by Joe Santos, Jr.

TAKE YOUR TIME by Wendy L. Jackson

THE INFLUENCE OF YOGA TO MAKE US MORE HUMANE by Kenneth Valpay

70 74 84

GET YOUR OWN COPY TODAY Order the latest edition by visiting our website www.theedenmagazine.com

8 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e MAY 2024

9 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e MAY 2024

Photography by Nike Morrow

ON PEACEFUL CATALINA ISLAND, WAGING WAR ON NATURE by Jack Gescheidt

If the Catalina Island Conservancy has its way, Catalina Island’s entire population of mule deer, introduced to the island almost a century ago and now 1,000 to 2,000 strong, will be exterminated, almost every one shot by hired guns. The killing, permitted by the California Fish & Wildlife Service, has already begun as of September 1st. About 30 deer each night are lured out of the woods with food on the ground in clearings, then shot to death. The first 200 will be dead by November, ending the first phase of the Conservancy’s 5-year deer eradication project. The killing will continue in 2027. Judging by years of rancorous Avalon town hall public meetings, and a large and quickly growing opposition movement across California, both islanders and off-islanders are outraged. Many people are questioning the Conservancy’s justifications for the extreme and brutal nature of the killing campaign that it variously calls a deer "cull," a deer “removal,” or even, stretching language to the Orwellian, a “habitat restoration.”

10 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

JACK GESCHEIDT Jack Gescheidt is an environmental, animal rights, and vegan activist, writer, professional photographer, and consultant for In Defense of Animals. He created his TreeSpirit Project to raise awareness of our interdependence with trees, forests, wild animals and the natural world. He advocates for unplugging from our tech-addiction, spending more time outside, free of all screens; slowing down to the pace of non-human animals, plants and organisms, to the speed of actual, not virtual, life, the true source of joy and peace. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Presumably this is a "restoration" to before 1928, when the mule deer were introduced. But they don't explain why this specific time stamp is the one to (lethally) reset to using biological or evolutionary science. Their assertion ignores the fact that the last century of Catalina’s development by, for, and with humans isn't “native” either. As with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's current killing of 1/2-million barred owls for "invading" 22,000,000 acres of California, Oregon, and Washington forests, which also justifies killing as "restoration," there is no exact scientific definition of “native" or “non-native.” All plants, animals, and organisms are constantly on the move; movement, change, adaptations, hybridizations, extirpations, and even extinctions are the very nature of nature. Nor is there hard science backing the Conservancy's other claim designed to frighten the public into grudging acceptance of Catalina’s deer extermination: that deer eating “native” plants indirectly causes a calamitous increase in wildfire danger. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone contradicts this claim, on record, saying that killing the deer is just as likely to increase, not decrease, wildfire danger because deer reduce the amount of vegetation that is the fuel for fires. Fires do not selectively ignite, or distinguish between, so-called native and non-native plant

species. Nor do they share the human bias against a species based solely on its country of origin. L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who has legislative jurisdiction and represents Catalina Island, has for years opposed the needless slaughter. Her voice helped quash The Conservancy’s original plan to shoot the deer from helicopters, which would have turned tranquil Catalina Island’s Blue Lagoon into a grisly cross between The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. There is much more to this story, including a lawsuit filed by a coalition of environmental, animal protection, and even hunting groups. And several active petitions, including an “alert” by this writer’s client, In Defense of Animals, petitioning Governor Newsom to defy his wealthy Catalina Island friends and yank the CFWS permit and halt the slaughter until at least a full, thorough Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is conducted. Under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) law, this was required but bypassed — by labeling the massive, multi-year deer killing a Habitat Restoration. One final question to ponder: why is it that most “restoration” projects today entail killing huge numbers of wild plants (with herbicides like glyphosate) or animals (with pesticides, poisons, or rifles)? Do we really believe we can kill our way back to Eden?

In Defense of Animals Catalina Island deer Alert: https://www.IDAusa.org/CatalinaDeer TreeSpirit Project owls page: https://www.TreeSpiritProject.com/owls 11 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

CONNECT to the DIVINE WITHIN by Jeremy David Engels

नमस्ते) Namaste (n): I bow to you The divine in me bows to the divine in you. The time you set aside to practice yoga is a beautiful gift you give to yourself. During that time, you have full permission to unplug from the distractions and worries that dog your days. Think of how good it feels to step onto the mat, take a few deep breaths, let your neck and shoulders relax, and settle into the now, where you belong. Practicing yoga is coming home to the present moment. When you’re on the mat, there is nowhere else you need to be, and nothing else you need to be doing other than connecting your mind, body, breath, and spirit. And then, almost as quickly as it began—practice is over, and

12 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

you return to real life, which is all too often busy, rushed, lonely, and disconnected. But maybe, like me, you’re someone who doesn’t want the practice to end. Maybe you’re someone who wants to feel that sense of inner peace, of connection, of being fully present, all the time. Maybe you want to bring yoga into your life, into your relationships, into your community, and into the world, creating a sense of real and lasting transformation for the better. Maybe you want your entire life to feel like a beautiful gift. If so, then this book is written for you. In your yoga practice, namaste is the peak pose. Namaste can transform your life. Namaste can transform the world.

But for namaste to reach its full potential, it must be lived. First, you have to understand it; then you have to really mean it when you say it; and finally, you have to embody its wisdom in your daily life. This book shows you how to achieve one foundational goal of practicing yoga: to learn to live the wisdom of namaste. Our starting place is the same place that any yoga practice begins: with fundamentals. If namaste is a peak pose, you must build it from the ground up, ensuring that it rests on a strong foundation. Namaste means “the divine in me bows to the divine in you.” So when you say namaste, it is an invitation to recognize the divine in yourself. At its most fundamental, namaste is a reminder of your own divinity. In today’s world, acknowledging the divine within is a tremendous leap, one most people need support with. What does “the divine within” mean? What does it mean to call ourselves “divine”?

Photo by Paris Bilal

Here you’ll learn how to connect to the divine within and how to tap into your own inner peace through mindful breathing. This mindfulness practice will become the foundation you return to in future chapters when exploring how connecting to the divine within can help you navigate moments of difficulty and challenge. Consider this chapter the first step on a new yoga journey, one where the practice doesn’t end as you step off the mat and the best things about yoga—the feelings of inner peace, connection, and being fully present— become more readily available to you every day, in all parts of your life. A BRIEF HISTORY OF NAMASTE Originally a Sanskrit word, namaste is composed of two

shorter words—namas means “bow, bend, or honor,” and te means “to you.” Literally, namaste means “I bow to you.” In Hindi and a number of other languages derived from Sanskrit, namaste is basically a respectful way of saying hello and also goodbye (like aloha, it can mean both). Today, namaste has been adopted into the English language along with countless other words from non-English sources. From Sanskrit alone, we get the words yoga, avatar, guru, jungle, karma, shampoo, veranda, thug, loot, and punch. Many of these loanwords are adopted wholesale from other languages, retaining their original spelling and meaning. Other words, when borrowed, keep their original spelling but acquire new meanings in English. This is the case with namaste—it has shifted from meaning simply “I bow to you” to “the divine in me bows to the divine in you.” Understanding this newer meaning is the key to Living Namaste. While it is impossible to say for certain, it is most likely due to the influence of Ram Dass in the 1960s and 1970s that the meaning of namaste changed. A charismatic spiritual teacher and bestselling author (his most popular book is: Be Here Now) with a background in psychology, Dass toured college campuses and popularized yoga, meditation, and psychedelics as a countercultural lifestyle choice for a discontented generation. In his book The Only Dance There Is, based on talks he gave in 1970 and 1972, Dass wrote: In India when people meet and part, instead of saying hello or goodbye, they say something to each other . . . which reminds us of who we are . . . The word they use is Namasta. Na-masta. It means “I honor the light within you.” So may I close by saying to all of you, Namasta.

13 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

DR. FRANK PLATEROTI Jeremy David Engels is the Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Director of the Paterno Fellows Program at University of Pennsylvania. As an academic, author, and certified mindfulness instructor, his work blends political rhetoric with Eastern philosophy to advocate for a more compassionate, interconnected approach to democracy. He is also the co-founder of Yoga Lab, a science-based yoga studio in State College, Pennsylvania. He is the author of several notable books exploring civic life, ethics, and mindfulness: On Mindful Democracy (2026), Living Namaste (2026), The Ethics of Oneness (2021), The Art of Gratitude (2018), The Politics of Resentment (2015), and Enemyship (2010)

In Polishing the Mirror, he expands this definition as he recounts his experience studying meditation in India: In India, when people meet, and they part, they say “Namaste,” which means: I honor the place in you. Where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you. Of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place in you. Where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, There is only one of us. Ram Dass captures a word in motion. Many common salutations have religious roots, including the Spanish and French words for goodbye: adios and adieu, or “a Dios” and “a Dieu”—literally meaning “to God.” These words are a way of saying “go with God.” This is even true of the English word goodbye—a contraction of “God be with you.” Most Indian religions and spiritual traditions agree that there is something divine in all people. Tracing the evolving meaning of namaste, it is understandable how the word shifted from meaning “I bow to you” to “the divine in me bows to the divine in you.” During the counter-cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, namaste evolved from a simple greeting and parting to a word that is a mini meditation on the interconnectedness and shared divinity of all beings. Fast-forward a couple of decades. As yoga’s popularity exploded in the 1990s and early 2000s, namaste became more popular, too. One of the most prominent yoga teachers of this period is Shiva Rea. She introduced many Americans to the flowing sequence of postures called sun salutations, and became such a prominent celebrity that Vanity Fair dubbed her “the Madonna of the yoga world.” She also popularized

14 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

saying namaste at the end of practice. In her words, namaste means “I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me.” “This salutation is considered to be the essence of the yogic practice of seeing the divine within all creation,” she writes. The New Age guru Deepak Chopra, who introduced many Americans to Indian philosophy as they followed what he called the “seven laws of spiritual success,” repeated a similar definition: “‘namaste’ means ‘the spirit in me honors the spirit in you’ and ‘the divine in me honors the divine in you.’” One of my own meditation teachers, Tara Brach, describes namaste as a practice of “soul recognition” that involves “realizing and honoring the sacredness that shines through all beings.” Today we need words of connection, words of unity, words that remind us of how much we share. This is exactly what namaste does. Said with intention, namaste is not just another three-syllable word muttered automatically, like bandana or pajama (two other words borrowed from Sanskrit and Hindi). When you bow to another person, you are honoring something precious in them; you are acknowledging that they are sacred and worthy of respect; you are recognizing that they are a light in a world that can be dark and stormy—and if that light were to go out, our shared world would be dimmer. But namaste does not simply mean “I bow to the divine in you”—it means “the divine in me bows to the divine in you.” The first of the three reminders of namaste is I Am Divine. There is something in you, too, dear reader, that is sacred and worthy of respect. You are a light in the dark. The world would be dimmer if your light were to go out. Each time you say namaste, it should come from a place of deep, embodied understanding of your own divinity.

15 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e JULY 2026

An interview with Rosanna Brown

the

BEYOND

SILENCE Rosanna Brown on Loss, Healing and Hope

For many families, pregnancy is a time filled with dreams, anticipation, and hope. But when a devastating prenatal diagnosis changes everything, parents can suddenly find themselves facing an unimaginable decision, one accompanied by grief that is often deeply misunderstood and rarely spoken about openly.

Photo by Kalea Jerielle

Author Rosanna Brown knows this journey firsthand. During her pregnancy with her much-loved son, William, she learned that he had been diagnosed with the rare and fatal CHAOS syndrome. Continuing the pregnancy would have placed both Rosanna and her baby at significant risk, ultimately leading her to make the heartbreaking decision to undergo a termination for medical reasons (TFMR). Rosanna Brown is a former English teacher who lost her son in September 2023. The experience left Rosanna carrying profound grief and PTSD. Through therapy, time, and an extraordinary process of rebuilding her life, she gradually found a path toward 16 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

healing. Today, she is also the mother of a six-month-old daughter. She uses her experience to advocate for greater understanding, compassion, and support for families navigating prenatal diagnoses and baby loss. The Silence of TFMR is for families facing termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, where Rosanna brings together her lived experience with medical insight and practical guidance, helping to shed light on a subject that remains difficult for many people to understand or discuss. In this conversation with The Eden Magazine, Rosanna opens up about hidden grief, trauma, healing, pregnancy after loss, motherhood, and why no family should have to face such an unimaginable experience feeling alone. The book is available for pre-order in print and eBook, with an audiobook edition from Podium. It is due to be published on 6 October. See more at @thesilenceof_tfmr.

Your journey with William is at the heart of The Silence of TFMR. Can you take us back to the moment you learned about his diagnosis and what those first days were like for you? I can picture the exact moment that I learned of William’s diagnosis. We were in the consultation room, the clinical bright lights snapping through the air and the cold buzz of the city hospital breathing in the background. It all seemed so mechanical and scientific. Yet, out of the window, there was the most beautiful oak tree, glowing with the colours of autumn. And, as the consultant spoke those dreadful words – that our son would suffocate to death if we had him at full-term - I remember watching the morning sunshine flickering through the tree’s leaves. My mind raced. How can nature be so beautiful when it can also be so ugly and cruel? The days that followed were a complete blur. Just thinking about what was going on inside my body split me in half. How can you describe what it feels like to carry life inside of you, when that life will never get to live? It was incomprehensible to me. My son was still with me and still part of me.

But every kick and every somersault suddenly transformed joy and excitement into the deepest anguish and pain. I would have given anything for my son to live. But all I wanted was for him to die on his terms. I wanted him to stop kicking and to make the choice to leave us, on his own. I didn’t want to have a termination. An abortion. I didn’t want to do this. And I couldn’t comprehend that I would have to. But how could we let our baby suffer? Who would ever choose to let their only child suffocate to death? All I could do was exist alongside these thoughts. And so, my husband and I simply moved like ghosts, in the memory of our old lives. Nothing felt the same. We couldn’t talk. What was there to say? We wandered aimlessly around the house, staring out of windows – at walls. We would go out for long walks with the dog – just to escape the confines of our minds. We would find each other alone in the garden - or in separate rooms of the house - and unable to do anything more than hug one another, we would both break down in tears and then break apart. We knew this couldn’t last. We couldn’t exist in this no-man’s land forever. The only way was forward, and we knew we would have to take action. 17 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Rosanna Brown

TFMR is still something many people know very little about. What do you wish more people understood about the emotional reality of ending a much-wanted pregnancy for medical reasons? For me, the biggest thing that I want people to understand is that this is a decision made only out of love. It is loving someone with the most broken and helpless heart in the world. It is never a decision made lightly, or without any care or compassion for the baby. And it is not the ‘better choice’ either – even if terminating means a baby won’t suffer. Because it is still the most dreadful, most heartbreaking choice a parent can ever make. I think so often we hear of people terminating their pregnancies, and the reaction can be so dismissive, with people assuming that – because parents chose to terminate- they didn’t love their baby as much as parents who chose not to. And that feels so hurtful and invalidating. I often don't see a space for my grief. Instead, I see my grief judged or criticized. I even see my grief measured against the grief of ‘real’ people who had ‘natural deaths.’ I am stuck within the science of a choice that I never wanted to make - when all I want to say is that he was my baby and that he is loved and missed beyond words. Not only this, but the pro-choice and pro-life debate can be so incredibly harmful to TFMR parents. And I have always been pro-choice. But, going through TFMR meant that this choice was repeatedly politicised – and neither side of the debate seemed to access the depth of pain and love that I felt. There was the one side of the debate, which did not see my baby as a real baby. And then there was the cruelty of the other side, who would seek to vilify me for having an abortion. Neither held space for me or other TFMR parents. Neither stopped to recognize that TFMR parents deserve to be held in grief, as parents to a child who has died. And so, it leaves us with nowhere to go with the feelings we have. And, in turn, only serves to silence us further. You have spoken openly about expe-

18 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

riencing profound grief and PTSD following William's loss. How did that trauma affect your everyday life, and what was the hardest part of your healing journey? Trauma impacted every aspect of my life. But for a while I thought that I could handle it – and to be honest, didn’t even understand the impact it was having on me. I think there was pressure, both internalised and externalised, to go back to the young woman that I was ‘before.’ And I tried to slip back into my old life very quickly. As soon as the funeral was over, I continued with the same routines. I went back to work. Met up with the same friends. Continued with the same hobbies. But none of this felt the same, and I really struggled. I was just so tired and run down all the time. I wanted more than anything to hide away from the world because I just wasn’t me anymore, and so my old life – and every aspect of it – felt like a performance. I was acting the part of ‘old me’ and repeatedly losing her every time I tried. I think this was the hardest part: losing the old me. In some ways, I still miss her - even though I now find her incredibly naïve and annoying! But I miss the fact that I could hold so many things in my head all at once, whereas now I struggle with brain fog and ‘can't exist without a list!’ I miss my ability to manage stress at a high level without taking a break. I miss how carefree I was. How innocent. It’s taken a long time to accept all the things about myself that have changed. But as time has passed, I think that trauma has enabled me to empathise more deeply. It has made me less willing to put up with shit. It has made me more determined to fight against injustice, however that looks. I feel like I have aged a thousand years (and I think it shows), but as my healing journey has gone on, I have tried to be grateful for everything that William’s loss has shown me about myself. I am a completely different person now, and I am learning to like this person. Plus, I am incredibly grateful to have such amazing friends and family who have loved every version of me, regardless.

How did you navigate the complicated emotions that can come with pregnancy after loss, including fear, hope, guilt, and the worry that something might go wrong again? Gosh. Pregnancy after loss is complex. It’s the fear… and the fact that there is no guarantee. You know, we had a miscarriage after William – so I quickly learned that another pregnancy does not mean a living baby. With my third pregnancy, I struggled to talk about it – especially early on. I didn't tell very many people until it was hard to hide because I couldn’t deal with the excitement and the joy, in case this baby died too. And that was awkward. Other people often just don’t understand why you can’t show your joy. I think they just want the next pregnancy to ‘fix’ everything for you. And it just didn’t feel like that for me at all. All I wanted was to hide away and make it through. To be honest, I spent a big chunk of the pregnancy snuggled up under a blanket binge-watching Desperate Housewives, and that remains one of the best decisions I made!

William taught me just how precious happiness and laughter are, and so I try to feel it as often as I can. And I suppose that would be my piece of hope for someone else.

I think, as a TFMR parent, there is also an additional fear around scans. You know, for most of us, it’s scans that first revealed any issues. And so, we just have this terror and expectation that we will face the same problems again. In many ways, walking into scan rooms is like walking into the source of trauma – and actively choosing to do so when every fiber in your body is telling you to turn and run. It is so complex. I would be in absolute pieces every time, physically shaking from the fear and unable to think or behave rationally. I could so easily have said ‘no’ to every scan we were offered. But something inside me told me that I just had to do it. I had to tell myself that this little baby deserved their medical check-ups. You know, if this next baby was poorly too, then they deserved for doctors to know - and for a plan to be created so they could be given the best possible chance. In the same way I would take a full-term baby to the doctors for their standard health checks, this baby deserved their basic healthcare. So, I just had to put my big girl pants on and do it. But I will never forget the fear. I think the only coping mechanism that I actively adopted (aside from hours of therapy!) was repeating the mantra ‘dare to hope.’ Those words gave me a certain element of control. You know, I could feel all the fear. I could feel the worry. The anxiety. But I could also allow myself hope. And because hope is something so fleeting - it's not tangible or physical, and we can’t grasp onto it – it made me feel like I could hope in a way that felt helpful to me. I could feel hope alongside fear – and that was okay, and neither needed to taint the other. It just felt like a tiny bit of happiness that I could give to this baby - and I so desperately wanted them to know that there was happiness for them – even if their parents I couldn't give in to it in the way other expectant parents can.

Photo by Valeriya Yastreba

Therapy played an important role in helping you rebuild your life. Was there a particular moment, realization, or therapeutic approach that helped you begin to see hope again? I don't think there was a particular approach or moment. For me, it was a very long process – and a journey that I continue to go backward and forwards on. And I think it was being held on that journey that eventually got me through. My therapist specialised in trauma, alongside pregnancy and post-abortion loss – and so she absolutely understood the impact of what I was going through and how fundamentally life-changing it was. She repeatedly reminded me that my grief didn’t have a finish line – and that my value was not reliant on what others thought about my choices or the way I was grieving for my baby. There was simply no judgment from her. And that was incredibly helpful when I was being judged by so many others.

19 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

You are now the mother of a beautiful daughter. What has becoming a mother again meant to you, and how has William's memory remained part of your journey as a mother? Becoming a mother again has been a beautiful experience for me. And I know how lucky I am to be able to say that, as many TFMR parents do not go on to have another baby – and that is something that I know I would have struggled with. Because William’s little sister is everything. Magic. Joy. Happiness. Sparkle. All that I could ever have wished for. I would die for her in a heartbeat, over and over again. And whilst that is hard to live alongside because I couldn’t die for William, it is even more reason to live for her. Losing William in the way we did has made me adamant to be the best mum I can be to my little girl. I just want her to be the happiest, kindest, most loved child in the world. And I want her to know that she is loved in her own right; that she will never be a replacement for her brother and that she was always meant for us. I never want her to feel like it's been her job to ‘fix it’ or to take any of our pain away. I don't ever want to put that on her. And that is hard when others often assume that because you've had another baby, everything is fixed. And yes, I have felt happiness again: sheer happiness. But that doesn’t mean William didn’t exist or that I don’t grieve for him every single day. So, I tell myself that all all I can really do is advocate for him as my son … and her as my daughter. And for them both as my children - in their own right. And I do think William has influenced the way I parent my little girl. I feel so much responsibility to her, beyond what I may have felt had I not lived through losing her brother. I see her not just as my baby – but also as a girl growing up in today’s society. And I want her to know her rights – and to always advocate for the rights of others – especially in this ever more divisive world. In turn, this has made me much more aware of my role as a woman and as a mother. I want to be present for her. I want her to 20 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

come first, above everything else, every time. I want to be the person she comes to with her worries. I want to be her advocate and confidante. And I don’t want to allow other life pressures to consume me. Yes, earning a living is important, but I want to make sure I’m home to cook her dinner – that I can attend every school show or parents’ evening. I want her to know that I will always be there for her, in the big things and the small. And I think that’s William’s gift to her. He made me understand that being a parent is the most important job I will ever have. In writing The Silence of TFMR, you brought together your personal experience with medical insight and practical guidance. What did you discover through writing the book that you wish you had known when you were facing William's diagnosis? Well, aspects of the book are my journal entries – so it really does follow my journey and what I was facing, as I faced it. You know, I was learning things as I was feeling them and finding them out for myself. And I suppose it was only through turning my journal into a book and reflecting on everything that we went through that I was able to truly comprehend how complex this type of loss is. There are just so many facets to it: the decisions, the science, the pain, the grief, the trauma, religion… politics. They’re all there and all such a huge part of the journey. And I literally had no idea. I genuinely thought TFMR was something that I would just ‘do’. That it would be awful and devastating and tragic. But that I’d be able to move on from it afterward. I just couldn’t understand the depth of what we were going through at the time we were going through it.

I plant flowers in the garden for him. I put little blue and pink hearts at the end of texts, just as a little nod to him and his sister. And I laugh again.

And so, I think the biggest thing I discovered from this project probably can’t be pinned down to one single thing. Because it is all so huge and life-changing. However, after talking to so many parents from so many different countries and cultures, the main thread of our conversations always boiled down to the same thing: the lack of support for TFMR parents as they navigate the multiple complexities of this journey. Not just medically, but psychologically, emotionally, physically, societally, there’s just not enough help out there in the aftermath. You know, so much of it costs money. So much of it depends on location. So much of it depends on your hospital, or the laws in your state. And all I can say is, I wish I had known. I wish I had known that the aftercare would be almost non-existent. I wish I’d known how to support myself better. And I wish I’d known that this is a long-term choice, that the healing journey will never be finished. And I wish society were better set up to support parents like me. Why do you think families experiencing TFMR or other forms of pregnancy and baby loss can feel so isolated or misunderstood, and what can friends, family members, and society do differently to support them? With any form of baby loss, I think there is a sense of being the only one who has gone through it. Even though baby loss is extremely common, it's not a type of loss that people are always comfortable talking about – perhaps because of shame, or if the pregnancy hasn’t yet been disclosed. As a woman, there's perhaps a sense of failure too. You know, you feel responsible for not being able to carry the pregnancy to term, or for not being able to save your baby. In TFMR, this is perhaps exacerbated - because so often medical professionals can't say why your baby was so poorly. So, I think mothers often internalise that – which in turn creates a much deeper level of guilt and shame. I think there’s also a pressure to cope because it is not a grief that everyone goes through. You know, we sadly all expect to lose the family members who are the generations above us - but when you lose a baby, it doesn’t follow the ‘typical’ pattern. It’s grief of a future that never happened- a person that no one else met. Often, this means that no one else can tap into it, apart from the parent themselves – and that can make it feel very much more insular and lonely. And so, parents feel like they must ‘crack on’ and, if they can’t, there’s often judgment. I actually wrote a piece on this a few years ago. I wrote about how toxic the word ‘resilience’ is. You know, society paints a picture of resilience as a person who can just keep going; who can put the mask on and not give in to the pain. And it praises this. It needs grievers to be outwardly ‘fine’ because generally people aren’t comfortable to sit with the emotional pain and distress of another person. So, you get comments like, ‘It’s so good to see you doing better…’ or ‘You’re so strong and brave.’ But this perception of resilience is so harmful. You know, 21 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

grievers don’t have a choice but to keep going. In fact, they may be struggling the most they ever have – but if there is an external pressure to hide this – then they can never truly process it. So, as time has passed, I’ve come to see how toxic it can be to link grief with resilience at all. Instead, I’ve learned that it takes a lot of strength to give in to the pain, and that can be a form of resilience too. So, I suppose that would be my advice to others. Just step back and try to understand what the grieving person is going through. They are neither strong, nor weak. Instead, they are being confronted with feelings so extreme – and ones that they have probably never felt before. And that’s complex. So just give them time. Understand that it is a process and that they may go backward and forward on this journey. And understand that they may be outwardly fine but still struggling, even when they’re smiling. None of this is to do with resilience. Instead, they just need to be emotionally held - wherever they are and however their grief presents. So be patient. Keep checking in. And please don’t judge!

Photo by nichiiro

After everything you have experienced, what does healing mean to you now, and what message of hope would you most like readers of The Eden Magazine to take away from your story? For me, healing has been coming to a place where I have finally been able to accept my grief as a part of me and have been able to find a place to hold it. Like, it really did feel that I needed to find a space, in my body and in my soul, to keep William. I don’t know if that makes any sense. But, I needed to feel the pain in every possible way I could. I needed to go to the very depths and explore every possible emotion and connection to him, so that I could work out what to do with my love for him. And now, I know what to do. I know where to find him. I truly believe that he lives through me and our family, and I just try to keep making him a small part of our lives in whatever way I can. I keep talking about him. I plant flowers in the garden for him. I put little blue and pink hearts at 22 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

the end of texts, just as a little nod to him and his sister. And I laugh again. Truly, I do. I mean, dare I say it, I am the happiest I have ever been. And there was a time when I could never have imagined uttering those words – and when those words would have felt such a betrayal of William. But I don’t see it like that anymore. Instead, I feel that William taught me just how precious happiness and laughter are – and so I try to feel it as often as I can. And I suppose that would be my piece of hope for someone else: there is happiness still to be found. You will feel it again. You will laugh until your tummy hurts. And you will find joy in the other beautiful things that are coming your way. But you will always hold a space for your grief. When you’re not writing or supporting other families, what are the little things in everyday life that bring you the most hope these days? The little things for me really are the big things. It's getting out into nature and accepting its beauty again. It’s feeling the sunshine and the rain on my skin. It’s in watching a sunset or a sunrise. It’s cuddling up with my husband by the campfire and looking for stars in the night sky. It’s walking the dog and cuddling our cat. It’s listening for wind chimes. It’s looking for the signs of William everywhere: the little robins, the snowdrops, the rainbows, and the white feathers. And it is in seeing my little girl’s face. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, not about grief or loss, but about life in general, what would you tell her? It would be to trust yourself. Whatever the situation, the person, the circumstances- just trust yourself. You have never been wrong. You have insight - if only you would choose to listen to it. That gut instinct is telling you something. And if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. So, trust it. And know your worth. You have the power to make change. And you have the strength to fight. So never let anyone make you feel inferior, weak, or unentitled to your truth.

23 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

An interview by Dina Morrone

Stefanie

Powers A HOLLYWOOD ICON

A LIFELONG CHAMPION FOR THE WILD

24 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

25 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

26 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Some people's lives seem to belong to the screen, while others become something far greater than the roles they have played. Stefanie Powers is both. For generations of audiences, Stefanie has been recognized as one of television and film’s most elegant and enduring stars, bringing intelligence, sophistication, strength, and unmistakable presence to every role she inhabited. But behind Hollywood's glamour lies a deeply personal journey, rooted in her lifelong love of animals, nature, and the extraordinary responsibility we have to protect the world we share. Her connection to the natural world began long before her name became synonymous with Hollywood. Growing up around animals, including on a stud farm, Powers developed an early understanding that caring for living creatures is not simply about loving them. It is about responsibility, stewardship, and respect. That philosophy would eventually become one of the defining missions of her life. From advocating for wild horses to championing endangered species and supporting wildlife conservation, Powers has devoted decades to giving a voice to creatures that cannot speak for themselves. Her conservation work has taken her far beyond the Hollywood spotlight, including her efforts on behalf of jaguars and her leadership with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, created in memory of her great love and fellow conservationist, actor William Holden. What began as a personal commitment has evolved into a broader vision of conservation, one that recognizes that protecting wildlife also means protecting the ecosystems and communities that sustain them. Through education, habitat preservation, regenerative agriculture, and conservation initiatives in Africa and beyond, the Foundation continues to carry forward a powerful message: when we protect nature, we protect our own future. Her commitment to creating positive change

has also earned international recognition. In 2024, Stefanie received the Agents of Change Award from Vision for The Future, honoring her work with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and her ability to inspire others. That legacy will continue to reach new audiences through the forthcoming book Vision For The Future: Capturing Inspiring Stories from Leaders and Changemakers, in which Powers will be featured alongside an extraordinary group of individuals dedicated to making the world a better place. Her inclusion is a fitting recognition of a life in which influence has extended far beyond entertainment, to conservation, education, philanthropy, and the protection of our planet. This year, Stefanie Powers was also honored with the Ms. Wonderful Award from The Thalians, adding another distinction to a remarkable career of achievement and service. The Thalians have a celebrated history of honoring prominent figures, including Bob Hope, Doris Day, Carol Channing, Frank Sinatra, Carol Burnett, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ann-Margret. For The Eden Magazine, Stefanie Powers embodies the essence of living with purpose. Her story reminds us that beauty is not merely something we see; it is something we protect. That influence is not measured only by fame, but by what we choose to leave behind. Today, Stefanie Powers continues to use her remarkable voice and platform for something larger than herself: a future where wildlife can remain wild, where communities can thrive in harmony with nature, and where the next generation understands that the Earth is not simply ours to inhabit; it is ours to steward. In this exclusive conversation with The Eden Magazine, Stefanie Powers reflects on her extraordinary journey from Hollywood to conservation, William Holden's enduring legacy, her profound connection with animals, and why protecting our natural world may be one of the most important roles any of us can play.

27 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Last year was the 45th anniversary of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. As the founding president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, what were the biggest challenges you faced when turning a vision into a sustainable, long-term conservation effort, and what has been the most rewarding? The most challenging part is always the money. You start with a vision. My vision was based on Bill’s vision because Bill was very much a visionary. He created it in 1959, the first game ranch for the preservation of species in East Africa, and possibly in Africa at the time. In 1959, most people didn't have the word "conservation" in their vocabulary. Let alone the concept of extinction. We were still operating under the ludicrous idea that all resources were endless. Only a few people were writing extremely important books and papers about eventual pollution and what it would do, and people laughed at them. I recall that when my first husband, actor Gary Lockwood, was working on the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, I spent an awful lot of time on that set because it was the most fascinating place in the world. There were all these inventions going on that also magnetized an entire generation of scientists who had not seen any theories of the apparatus that could be installed on spacecraft or put into visual form. Stanley Kubrick was inventing it in ways that no one had attempted. It's hard to realize that when you see the movie, cellphones and microcircuitry didn't exist. None of the things that are illustrated so vividly in that film existed. They weren't even on the drawing boards. Even Arthur C. Clarke was on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This made it even more fascinating for me to have him there because he was a scientist in his own right and was deeply involved in the early stages of the space program, but then became a science fiction writer. He told me there was a kind of defense mechanism against 28 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

the fact that he and other scientists had met to announce their findings of the compromise that our environment was undergoing, and that it would, in very short order, be experiencing. So they held a meeting of these scientists, a conference in the Caribbean, to announce what they thought would be a gift to the world: all their findings, which included the eventual pollution of the sea and the eventual pollution of our waterways, and they were laughed at. They were called eggheads for coming up with these silly theories. And, of course, everything they announced has come true and is coming true with alacrity. It was extraordinary to be in his company and learn from him as much as I could in those brief moments we were able to talk while on set. What has been the most rewarding part of your conservation efforts? The mission statement of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation is “Wildlife conservation through education and alternatives to habitat destruction, all through education,” which was the whole purpose of building an education center that Bill had in mind for local people. This is not a tourist operation, but rather a place where they can realize the wealth in their hands to preserve, and how important it is not only to the future of the planet but also to the environment they inhabit and hope their children can inherit and prosper in. So, unless that point is clearly made to the local population in a very dramatic way, it won't be absorbed. I think, unfortunately, our education systems have dropped so much of the education we desperately need to impart to younger populations as they grow up. They won't have the quality of life we knew at their age. They need to know why, what they could have done, what their parents could have done about it, and what they can do about it. We don't want to diminish the idea that we can affect things and do something about them, even through a single effort. Because it is all about our choices.

How can today's advancements in technologies, virtual reality, wildlife documentaries, visits to animal sanctuaries, and immersive digital experiences help shift the way we educate the public about animals without, let's say, keeping them in captivity? It’s all of the above. Those are all important to ensure that they're all part of the education system. The whole notion of rolling up your sleeves and saying, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it!" - (A famous line from Network, another movie Bill was in, and so relevant today.) I think one of the principal things we forget we're responsible for is putting a mirror up to ourselves. What we consume, how we consume it, and how we dispose of it. We need to make the suppliers of the goods we buy responsible for providing materials that can be recycled. How about making Apple® responsible for creating all these wonderful new products we have to buy, including new plugs to plug into the wall, because the old ones won't work with the new ones? How about making them all out of recyclable materials? If you make them out of recyclable products/materials, and you are forced to do that by the consumers, we do have the possibility of organizing ourselves and putting pressure on Apple, for one, which is not only a monopoly, but it is one of the richest corporations in the world. They should be responsible for the products they make to ensure they are healthy and safe for the environment. Make them responsible for the pollution that ends up in landfills. All that stuff doesn't disappear. It just disappears from your view. So then, how about we choose to buy clothing made from biodegradable materials instead of the so-called miracle fabrics that will be in a landfill for 1,000 years?

“

Enlightened people dedicated to cleaning up the waste we produce and using it productively are doing so all over the world. 29 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

“

I'm always involved with some kind of project. I'm a history buff. I think we need more history to learn from and to learn about each other.

30 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

How has your personal relationship with William Holden influenced your approach to this work that you're doing now and have been doing? Bill was the most influential person in my life. We had a lot of the same curiosities, and we loved to travel. I guess you could say we liked going on expeditions, and it wasn't exactly adventure travel, but it was in a sense because we were going down rivers in Papua New Guinea and digging things out of rocks and all sorts of things. We were both insatiably curious about other places, other people's lives, and other cultures. But most particularly, the natural world. I shared that curiosity, and it was a sort of marriage made in heaven. And so, his experience was obviously influential to me, and the fact that I had somebody to go off on these interesting expeditions with was fabulous. We did an awful lot of jungle work in numerous jungles, and I got a lot of bites from indescribable insects. But it was great. I recently spoke with a dear friend I've known since childhood, who was also a documentarian and had taken on many projects for National Geographic. We were talking about some of the places we had both been to, and that I had been to with Bill, that you can't go back to anymore because they're either too dangerous or the environment is compromised. For example, the parts of Indonesia where the indigenous species include one of our closest genetic relatives, one of the great apes, the orangutans; those jungles are being raped and pillaged to such an extent that the environment, the habitat that's left, and not just for the orangutans, but the whole biodiversity, is disappearing. You cannot walk through those jungles, those once-beautiful bush areas, without hearing the sound of a saw, whether it be done legally or illegally. They are cutting down forest habitat and planting the largest cash crop they have, palm oil. Palm oil is terribly toxic to the environment. The only way you can get

rid of them occasionally, because you must, since these trees don't produce for too many years, is to burn them. When they burn, the fires are huge, and thousands of islands in the affected area are blanketed by toxic smoke. In places like Borneo, Indonesia, Sarawak, and similar areas, you cannot fly over them because the smoke will choke you and be deadly to the plane. When fires burn palm oil plantations in Indonesia, they must close the airport in Singapore because what is floating in the air is basically poison. What are the most urgent conservation challenges facing wildlife? It's all to do with habitat because human-animal conflict is over habitat. In Kenya, about 60% of the population lives in rural areas, and that share is growing. Therefore, you need land to plant vegetation that produces food. But the food, the production of it that has been going on in the Third World for decades, has been based on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These are just as toxic to human beings as they are to the natural world. And on top of that, there are genetically modified seeds. A lot of people ask me, "With so many needs and so many areas of the environment and of wildlife conservation, where should I focus?" I always suggest that people focus on what they're most passionate about because that's what will drive their dedication, and because it shows they can do something about it. When it comes to agriculture and the environment, we can do a great deal now. Part of that is being embraced in countries that have over-chemicalized their farmlands, realized they've burnt them out, and now have to find ways to recover them. The sources of that recovery are in regenerative agriculture theories. Not just agriculture, but the regeneration of the soils that support that agriculture, because the toxins go deep.

31 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

If you ask the average person, "What is your definition of organic food?" Most people will say they don't use chemical fertilizer, and they don't spray with chemical sprays. But that's a tiny part of it. It’s also what's in the soil because these chemicals are pervasive.

can make oxygen.

They're absorbed into the soil, and the water that irrigates them goes as deep as it can, which isn't deep enough, but it carries the toxins lower down. If you think about it, most agricultural fields are only about 12 to 14 inches deep. But what's underneath that is what we're worried about, because it’s been affected over the years. It’s not a host area for the kind of biodiversity that creates life. Fungi, bacteria, nematodes. The list is long, and it needs help regenerating. It needs help with reintroduction so it can do its job of carrying nutrients to the very plants we're trying to use as our own nutrition.

How do tourism and conservation intersect? I think people are a little more aware of their consequences. Although I don't know whether the great industry of these enormous boats with thousands of people, tourists traveling on them, touring all over the world, has been held accountable for the garbage they throw into the sea.

It is also important that we do not use GM seeds. One could say, "Oh, well, we've modified seeds, since time immemorial." Yes, we have. But that's called hybridization. Hybridizing plants to withstand harsh conditions is future science. We need to keep adapting to a drying world because it is a drying world. We have assisted in that drying by cutting down as much of the environment as possible. We have assisted in the mission of providing food for as many people as possible, but at the same time, destroying the very habitat, the very trees, and brush that provide us with the one mechanism that makes this planet glorious and unique in all the solar systems we've discovered, and that is that we 32 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Our plants can make oxygen, so every time we tear one down, we're not strengthening ourselves.

I recently spoke on a Turner Classic Movies cruise and asked the people who provided the ship about the garbage. They assured me that when we were in port, they separated biodegradable materials from non-biodegradable materials. And as for what happens in our toilets, I’m not sure how they handle that. But there are methods we use in Kenya to degrade bacteria and the biology of fecal matter, making it possible to sterilize it. Which is like making good, responsible compost that has enough ingredients in it, of the biodegradable nature, of the natural way that the natural world biodegrades itself, and that we can use it. If you go back in history, you can see that in Chinese culture, as far back as anybody can remember, every village had what they called a night soil collector. Every house had a potty where they did all their business. The night soil collector would collect it in the morning.

It's been in existence for a very long time. When you think about how we process waste, it's not too far from the sophisticated ways we can process it today. Enlightened people worldwide are dedicated to cleaning up the waste we produce and using it productively. Degrading fecal matter. We do it to a certain extent at our education center. It's biofuel, and we can produce electricity and nighttime lighting from the off-gases produced by degrading the biological material. For every point of issue, there are people who have been doing groundbreaking work, and others who've been doing work that's been in our world and in the survival mechanisms of human beings for a thousand years or thousands of years. What partnerships or collaborations have been the most impactful for the foundation? It's all about education. Education is a process. As I mentioned, the foundation's mission is wildlife conservation through education and alternatives to habitat destruction. So, in the first trench, we are at the education center. Last year, we hosted about 16,000 students who came to us for free. Some stayed three days, others overnight, and some just for the day. They come with their own educators. We also have courses they can take with them. We keep track of the people who visit us time and time again. We try to keep it fresh for them and their age group. We also have seminars for adults. With the second part of that mission statement, we formed alliances with universities. Our first university alliance was with Jomo Kenyatta University in Nairobi.

In their microchemistry department, every year a group of students comes to us from that division and works mainly in our laboratory, investigating how we make this hot compost, what changes occur in the soil from the samples we start with, and what it's like when it's finished. Much of the real purpose of making this high-quality compost is to reintroduce organisms into land that has been devoid of them or has been abused. The preparation of that land is one thing; the introduction of the biodiversity that will begin to self-propagate is the other. That's what a lot of this abused land needs because sometimes all this abuse destroys a layer of topsoil so that there's nothing much to plant in. The topsoil that provides all these nutrients kind of has run away. Once you create a desert, it's hard to recreate the land it took to create the desert. It's either from overgrazing or poor farming techniques. We have an outreach program that works with schools we've rebuilt and some we've built from scratch in seven areas that are mostly drivable in a day, in multi-tribal rural environments. We build gardens attached to those schools. These gardens help provide the school and its students with high-quality food and lessons in how to grow it. And what we're dealing with when we deal with land that is being rehabilitated. It's a very important message and lesson in how the land degrades and what you need to do to put it back together. It's all about that. That's what we're trying to do. And to do that, we need the funds to make it happen. How can people get involved? We have a website. https://whwf.org/

“

It should humble us to understand how fragile our planet is, and how much of it has been destroyed due to human activities. Is it not therefore our responsibility to try and restore as much of the damage as we can?

We have projects listed there that we love. We especially like it when our donors become involved. We keep close track of our donors and have very close contact with them. We want their involvement. We want their participation. We have sponsorship programs for students in rural areas who are highly impoverished and need help to attend secondary school. In the last three years, 38 students have transferred through our system from grammar school to secondary school and are now in colleges or training/ trade schools. Because, once again, as in many countries around the world, even in the developed world, we have a young population that is not going through training schools because they see it, in some way, as a lesser education. But it’s not. We have to get away from that mindset. We don't all need to go to university to study how to use a computer. We do need to find out what we're going to be useful at doing. Because that usefulness might provide you with a better income than having another degree that everybody else has. What would you like the public to take away after visiting a zoo? I used to be on the board of four different zoos. Each of those zoos was conscientious and involved in species revival programs and in the captive breeding of species that were becoming extinct in the wild. The zoo now plays a crucial role in preventing species from going extinct because we have the technology, through genetic introduction, to transfer embryos created in laboratories from extinct species into similar species. I'm speaking in particular about the northern white rhino, whose embryo can be made from genetic material in a lab and then transferred into a host female of a non-extinct rhino subspecies, such as the white rhino. The idea is that a northern white rhino might be able to be born because we're doing that with other species. We're very much involved with embryo transfers. I've been involved with

34 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

embryo transfers for years. I worked at the Cincinnati Zoo, which had the Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Wildlife, headed by Dr. Betsy Dresser. She was a pioneer of embryo transfers in endangered species. I was with her on several occasions when we performed embryo transfers from the East African bongo, a highly endangered medium-sized antelope. There are some very healthy bongo populations around the United States. I also served on the board of the Los Angeles Zoo. We together had a project that was funded by Cincinnati and cooperated with LA to superovulate some female bongos in their breeding programs at Cincinnati Zoo and transfer them into host females of a different species, in the same genus but a different species called an eland, which is the largest antelope species. We've transferred eleven over the years, and seven have been born to these eland females. There’s no genetic interference whatsoever. Once they're born, where do they go? They will go back to captive breeding programs because most endangered species are not able to go back to their country of origin since those habitats are either being destroyed or human populations have taken them over. Until human beings start realizing that they must share this planet with other species and do something about it, they will never be returned to the wild, if there is any wild left. We humans, as a species, have to decide to protect, support, and help maintain national parks throughout the world, where flora and fauna can coexist, including species that have been driven to near extinction by our activities. It should humble us to understand how fragile our planet is, and how much of it has been destroyed due to human activities. Is it not therefore our responsibility to try and restore as much of the damage as we can?

Besides your passion and commitment to your work with the foundation, your acting career, singing, and work as an author, what else continues to inspire and energize you? Just about everything. I'm insatiably curious. I want to know about everything. I want to read everything. I want to attend every performance. There aren't enough hours in the day. I'm very lucky to have access to wonderful information and wonderful minds. That's what keeps me going. It's less about me since I don't find myself as interesting as other things that I want to know about. I have a great friend who works at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). She's on a trip right now. But I'm longing to have her back here so we can talk about all things space. There are so many wonderful things to know, discover, and get involved with in some way, even just intellectually. In 2012, you did a one-woman show. Do you have any plans to do another one-woman show anytime soon? Maybe an evening with Stephanie Powers? A couple of people have mentioned that. But as I said before, I am less interested in myself than in seeing some of our projects at WHWF come to fruition.

From television seriesThe Girl from U.N.C.L.E.

How has your perspective on fame and success changed over time? It's a very different business now. I look at the obstacles and challenges young actors face now, and I don't know that I have the heart for it or the tenacity, because there's so much rejection. I don't know that I could have tolerated it today. It’s a challenging world. When I was 17 years old and under contract to Columbia Pictures, they ran my career. They ran every aspect of my career for five years. And then they sold my contract to MGM Studios to do a television series called The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. All of that happened during a period when there were only three networks. NBC, ABC, and CBS. The studio system owned, or at least controlled, most cinemas. And it was very much a thing where people went to the movies. But it has all changed. People used to socialize by going to the movies. They got out of the house, they'd go have a little meal, and then it was “Let's go to the movies." Now, we see movies at home. That automatically creates a completely different experience. And not only do we see them at home, but we also see them on a huge television set that we can buy to cover the wall. And we can make our own popcorn, and we can do all of that by ourselves. So, there's that sociability that is just not there anymore. It’s sad because we had little things we looked forward to. Now people are very solitary, and I think they're very lonely because the ability to communicate verbally is quickly being lost.

Special thanks to: Stefanie Powers William Holden Wildlife Foundation Interview by Dina Morrone Selected photography by Jennie Scott & Artin Mardirosian (Nexision)

Location Eden Studio 36 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Is there a role that you're itching to do in either theater, film, or television? I'm always involved with some kind of project. I'm a history buff. I think we need more history to learn from so we can learn about each other. Chinese history is one of the most fascinating things you can study. So much is now available in archives that are accessible through National Geographic, as well as previously un-

available archives. It’s fascinating to gain an understanding of that culture and the 1,000 to 3,000 years going back and to learn from it and see how it manifested itself. We're used to looking at the ancient Greeks, ancient Romans, and, of course, ancient Egyptians. But when we start looking at China, we become so overwhelmed by the enormity of its history that we need to take it in bite-sized pieces that are easy to recognize. I worked on a project with a historian some years ago, when I was spending a great deal of time in Hong Kong. It's called the Barbarians and the Mandarins. It begins with a period just before the First Opium War, which is about the 1820s, and goes all the way through to the Long March. We're revitalizing that. I'm working with a wonderful writer to get it back up and start exploring its potential. Would it be a feature film? An extended series because that format works for this piece. How have your early years in the entertainment business most influenced you and the person that you are today? There was so much mentorship, and so many people willing to help you. When I was under contract at Columbia, all doors were open. For example, I could go into the editing department and bother the editors, and they'd show me how they edited. And they would teach me why it was important to remember your blocking in your scenes so they could edit them. I would go into the camera department and learn about still cameras, 35-millimeter cameras, and later 16-millimeter cameras. What are you most grateful for? I'm grateful for all those people I mentioned in my previous answer. All those extraordinary people who helped me when I was young and helped shape my work ethic and my perspective on the business. I also learned how not take my own success too seriously.

38 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

EMOTIONS AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

by Judith A. Swack, Ph.D.,

We live in a world that we are made to live in. We are designed to survive, and we have built-in mechanisms that enable our bodies to live in this world. Part of what we live with in this world is the existence of germs (pathogens). Germs can be viruses, bacteria, parasites, or unicellular organisms like yeast, fungi, and amoebas. The Body’s First Lines of Defense What prevents us from getting infected by germs? Our first line of defense is biochemical and physical. Skin keeps bacteria out. The sebaceous glands in your skin are oil glands that keep it moist so it does not crack. The body’s openings to the world- your mouth, nose, eyes, vagina, urethra, and bladder- all have protection. Your eyes make tears, and tears have lysozyme in them. Lysozyme causes bacterial cell walls to dissolve. One teardrop in a gallon of water will kill bacteria. That's how powerful your tears are. This is why you walk around with your eyes wide open, yet you rarely get eye infections. Saliva contains lysozyme and mucins, which are heavily glycosylated proteins (causing the sliminess). Mucins coat bacteria and prevent them from attaching to and entering your cells. Spermine in the semen sterilizes seminal fluid. The vagina, urethra, and bladder have mucous membranes. In the sinuses and lungs, mucus traps germs, while the little wavy tails of ciliated cells move material in the lungs up into the throat, where it is swal-

lowed and digested in the stomach. Commensal organisms in the gut and vagina are healthy bacteria that help digest food, make vitamins (including vitamin K, which helps in blood clotting), and prevent gut and vaginal infections by outcompeting pathogenic organisms. This is why it is important to take probiotics when you take antibiotics. Certain probiotics even help protect your skin and prevent acne. The Immune System Is the Back-up System The immune system is the backup system if germs get through the physical and biochemical defenses. The immune system is composed of white blood cells and proteins that circulate through the body to eliminate anything it sees as foreign, including germs, cancer cells, tissues, and objects that are not made in your own body. The immune system has multiple layers of defense. It starts in the bone marrow, where stem cells produce all the types of blood cells: white blood cells (which are the cells of the immune system), red blood cells (to carry oxygen), and platelets (for blood clotting). Immature blood cells are released from the bone marrow, travel to different organs to mature, and then circulate in the blood. For example, T cells mature in the thymus, and B cells mature in the spleen and lymph nodes. Immature red blood cells originally have a nucleus. They mature in the circulation where they lose their nucleus to make more room for the hemoglobin to carry oxygen. 41 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Day 0: Pathogen Passes 1st line of Defense, Gets Eaten by Amoebocytes When germs first enter your body, the first layer of immune defense is the amoebocytes, single cells that are like little amoebas. These are the cells of the monocyte/macrophage system and polymorphonuclear cells (socalled because they have multi-lobed nuclei), which include neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils. When they encounter a germ, they surround and engulf it, digest it, and spit out the pieces. I think of these as PacMan cells, and they are in every tissue in your body. These cells usually clear up an infection in one to three days. Days 1-3: Pathogen Escapes Amoebocytes, Is Killed by Natural Killer Cells There is another class of white blood cells called lymphocytes: small round cells which include Natural Killer (NK) cells, T cells, and B cells. If a virus gets into the body and the PacMan cells did not clear them on day one, then the virus will invade the cells. The virus takes over the cell’s replication system, multiplies, buds out, bursts open the cell membrane, and continues to spread. Infected cells fight back by releasing Type 1 interferons, which activate NK cells to kill infected cells before they can manufacture too many viruses. Interferons spread to the surrounding cells, making them resistant to infection. Activated NK cells then release Type II interferon, which activates macrophages to come clean up debris, helps other immune cells locate the infection, and forces the infected cells to flag themselves so they can be easily recognized.

Photo by Gettyimages

Natural Killer cells also recognize and kill cancer cells.

42 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Natural Killer Cells, Stress, and Trauma When a traumatic experience (physical or emotional) occurs, it triggers

the fight/flight/freeze reaction, causing the release of cortisol in the bloodstream. High levels of cortisol circulate to the thymus and kill immature immune cells. In addition, 24 hours after a traumatic shock, the number of circulating NK cells drops by half. This explains why, typically, 24-48 hours after a traumatic shock, people get sick with viral upper respiratory infections. NK cells also detect and kill cancer cells. The body produces cancer cells all the time, but they get killed by NK cells as soon as they are formed. When NK cell function is inhibited by trauma, it can allow cancer cells to survive, take root, and grow. The theory that severe traumatic shock could predispose one to getting cancer was originally proposed in 1981 by Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer following his own testicular cancer diagnosis a year after his son was killed. Dr. Tad James, a pioneer in the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, reported that he found cancer to occur one to three years after a third major loss trauma. In my own practice, I also find that cancer is first diagnosed one to three years after a third major loss trauma. How long does it take for NK cell function to recover after a traumatic experience? For a single, acute instance of severe psychological or physical trauma, NK cell function typically returns to normal baseline levels within 1-24 hours, while recovery from severe, prolonged traumatic stress can take several weeks to months. Days 3-7: Pathogen Still Active, Body Activates Killer T Cells and Helper T Cells If the virus is still in your body three to seven days later, it triggers T cell and B cell activation. Remember that the macrophages have been digesting the germs, spitting out the pieces and carrying the fragments (antigens) on their cell surface. They are known as antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

Killer T (CD8) cells. When an APC bumps into a Killer T cell that recognizes that germ fragment, it activates the T cells to start multiplying and killing that type of germ in four to seven days. Killer T Cells, Stress, and Trauma Psychological trauma and chronic stress inhibit killer T cells from properly activating, multiplying, or clearing tumor cells, weakening the body's natural anti-cancer immune surveillance system. Days 7-21: Pathogen Still Active, Helper T Cells Activate B cells, B-cells Make Antibodies Helper T (CD4) cells. When an APC bumps into a helper T cell that recognizes the germ fragment (antigen), it activates the helper T cell to make more of that antigen-specific T cell. Then the helper T cell finds a B cell that recognizes the same germ fragment and activates the B cells to make antibodies (immunoglobulins) specific to that germ. Antibodies are proteins shaped like a Y. The two arms of the Y are called the Fab (Fragment antigen-binding) region, and they are specific to the germ they were made against. The tail of the Y is called the Fc (Fragment crystallizable, but I think of it as the Fragment constant) region because it has a standard structure. The first wave of antibodies, immunoglobulin M (IgM), starts being produced on day four, with the first peak at day seven. The second wave of antibodies, immunoglobulin G (IgG), starts being produced on day 14 and peaks two to three weeks after exposure. How do antibodies work? 1. Catch germs: Germs can be wiggly and hard for the amoebocytes to catch. Amoebocytes have

an Fc receptor on their surface. Antibodies sit on the surface of the amoebocyte and act like a fishing rod as the Fab portion of the antibody binds to the germ, allowing the amoebocyte to catch and reel in the germ. Antibodies speed up the whole process of eliminating germs. 2. Explode germs: Complement proteins are a series of proteins that float around in the blood. If two antibodies bind next to each other on the surface of a germ, then complement proteins will bind to the antibodies’ tails (Fc), forming a spiral corkscrew that drills a hole through the surface of the germ and bursts it open. 3. Block germs: Viruses and bacteria use proteins on their surface to bind to the cells they want to infect, causing the infected cells to pull them in. In viruses, these are called envelope glycoproteins or spike proteins. In bacteria, they are called adhesins. A blocking antibody is one that binds to a pathogen’s cell attachment protein, preventing it from attaching to its target cells. Antibodies, Stress, and Trauma Stress and malnutrition adversely affect antibody production. It typically takes 14 days to mount a full antibody response. If a person is malnourished or stressed, it can take 30 days or longer. A study of inner-city children given the measles vaccine found that, because their nutrition was not good, they did not make antibodies. A study of people with COVID showed that the lower their vitamin D levels were, the higher the mortality rate. A study done in soldiers vaccinated two weeks prior to active duty showed they took 30 days instead of two weeks to mount an antibody response, leaving them susceptible to infection upon deployment. 43 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

JUDITH A. SWACK, PH.D., Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., is a biochemist/ immunologist, Master NLP practitioner, mind/body healer, best-selling author, and leader in the field of Energy Psychology. Dr. Swack is the originator of Healing from the Body Level Up® (HBLU®), an innovative and powerful methodology with transformative results. HBLU integrates biomedical science, psychology, hypnosis, NLP, applied kinesiology, Energy Psychology and spiritual techniques with original research on the structure of complex damage patterns. She has presented her dramatic results on national television and at international conferences and has published in scientific, professional, and popular books and journals. Dr. Swack is a recipient of the 2015 Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP) award for major contribution to the field of Energy Psychology and authored the chapter Healing from the Body Level Up in the industry-defining publication, Energy Psychology in Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Source Book. Her latest book is Clear Trauma Now: A Powerful Solution for Getting Unstuck. Dr. Swack offers monthly live trauma healing webinars, professional training in HBLU, and works with clients in person and by Zoom. HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St., Needham, MA 02492. 781-444-6940. https://hblu.org/

Day 21: Decades Memory B Cells After the infection is out of the body, the T and B cells specific for that germ die off. However, some of the T and B cells specific to that germ remain as memory cells, which can live for decades. If the body ever encounters that germ again, the body mounts a complete immune response within three days, preventing that infection from ever getting started. How do vaccines work? They expose the body to parts of the germ to stimulate the body to make antibodies and prevent infection. With the immune system now primed to react rapidly, later exposure to the germ results in no infection, or in the case of flu or COVID vaccines, a milder infection. Why Is Trauma an Ongoing Problem? A traumatic experience is one in which the body perceives it is in danger (physical or emotional) and triggers the fight/flight/freeze reflex to ensure its survival. Because it’s a reflex, it can be conditioned such that anything that was in the environment at the time can be associated with that memory. Later on, these environmental cues can trigger the original reflex reaction (like a body flashback), resulting in a traumatic reaction, even when nothing dangerous or upsetting is occurring in the present moment. Survival is a good thing. The problem is that the trauma memory lasts long after the original event is over because it remains stored in the nervous system forever, unless it is specifically released using a technique that clears it directly from the body. Even a single trauma in early childhood can be triggered over and over again throughout a person's whole life. This could explain the results of

44 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, published in 1998 and conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente. The study found that the more trauma a person experienced in childhood, the higher the risk of chronic diseases (cancer, heart disease), mental health issues (depression, suicide attempts), and behavioral problems (alcoholism, drug use, smoking). What Do I Recommend to My Clients to Support Their Immune Systems and Overall Health? For nutrition, I recommend a vitamin regimen consisting of a good B vitamin complex, vitamin C, vitamin D, Pycnogenol — an antioxidant that boosts your immune system — and phytonutrients, which are the colored compounds in fruits and vegetables (yes, fruits and vegetables are good for you). For trauma, I recommend treating with body-oriented psychotherapy techniques that release trauma memory directly from the nervous system. Energy Psychology techniques such as Natural Bio-Destressing (a meridian tapping technique similar to Emotional Freedom Technique, EFT), TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique), AIT (Advanced Integrative Technique), and TWR (Transformative Wholistic Reintegration) are very effective for this purpose. EMDR and NLP techniques are also very effective. For stress, I recommend using Natural Bio-Destressing or EFT twice a day to calm the nervous system. For serious or ongoing trauma, I recommend working with professionals trained in these methods. Now that you know how your immune system works, consider taking care of your immune system as part of your daily regimen.

45 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eSEPTEMBER 2026

An excerpt from From East Clifton Avenue: An American Family Saga, "Am I Dying?"

Echoes of East Clifton Avenue Preserving Heritage Through the Story of One Family: Dr. Frank Plateroti Explores Legacy, Memory, and the Human Connection Every community is built on the quiet, everyday sacrifices of families whose stories rarely make it into history books. In his sweepingly complete novel, East Clifton Avenue: An American Family Saga, author Dr. Frank Plateroti brings one such family vividly to life, charting the dramatic, multi-generational journey of a Sicilian-American family establishing roots in northern New Jersey. From turnof-the-century tenements to the dawn of suburban growth, the narrative captures raw human struggles, passionate love stories, and deep cultural secrets set against an ever-shifting American landscape. The novel masterfully weaves rich local folklore with high-stakes subplots, including a mysterious Renaissance artifact linked to Michelangelo, wartime secrets buried inside the Vatican archives, and an elaborate, multi-decade family cover-up. Yet, rather than focusing solely on individual achievement, East Clifton Avenue serves as a poignant study of how community interactions, shared memories, and personal honor drive a family’s collective survival across generations. As Plateroti observes, “The world and neighborhoods around us change dramatically, but the internal architecture of our families and core values

46 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

should remain. My hope is that East Clifton Avenue encourages readers to actively preserve their own family histories and keep the spirit of those fleeting historical moments alive before they are lost to time forever.” The novel's deep understanding of human interaction, self-identity, and interpersonal dynamics naturally extends Plateroti's background. Holding a Doctorate in Education Research and a Master’s in Communication, he spent over twenty years teaching in the communication department at William Paterson University. His multifaceted career also spans public relations, writing, directing, and television production for his own international production company. In addition to East Clifton Avenue, Plateroti wrote Speak No Evil: In Search of Our Self-Esteem, Self-Identity, and Self-Worth, as well as True Love, a relationship guide that translates two decades of university teaching into actionable insights beyond the classroom. Outside of academia and writing, he is an active family patriarch residing in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., where he maintains a dynamic waterfront lifestyle alongside real estate and philanthropic pursuits. Through both his insightful non-fiction and his epic family saga, Plateroti continues his lifelong passion: building generational bridges and proving that every family's story is worth preserving. Learn more at www.drfjesteem.com

Photo by Tá Focando

On this late January day, Enzo Buonoforte walks out of his house and stops to look up and down East Clifton Avenue like he has done a million times before. The snow is blowing off the trees and the telephone wires. Enzo stands and asks himself, as he has so many times lately, Unni j’iu lu tempo? Where did the time go? Chi sigivicava tutta ‘sta via? What was this life all about? He takes his walking cane from his right hand and holds it in his left. With his right hand, he rubs his knee, which has become riddled with arthritis. “Damn cold weather,” he says out loud, as if someone were listening. He looks around, and even though it is late January, he sees some houses haven’t removed their Christmas lights and wreaths on the doors, but the fresh snow on the wreaths gives them a sort of renewed freshness. It still reminds Enzo that his favorite holiday has come and gone. Who knows what the next year will bring? He waves the snow from in front of his face and stares down the street. At one time, he knew all the families in every house. As with his friends, Enzo has clear glimpses of the past: vivid memories. Some are happy, and some are sad and disturbing. He takes a few steps down the street and looks for his son Pietro, who used to run home after locking up their grocery store. Both the store and Pietro are gone. Before a tear falls on his cheek, he quickly wipes it away.

Photo by GettyImage

Looking down the street, melancholy began to envelop him. So much time has gone by. It seemed not too long ago when he would walk home from his grocery store at the end of East Clifton Avenue, which should only take about ten or fifteen minutes. It would end up taking almost an hour by the time he arrived home. He would talk to so many people who stopped him on his way home, asking about what new cheeses, olive oils, or meats were coming into the store, or they just wanted to talk and gossip. When he arrived home early, his wife, Anna, would ask if something was wrong.

48 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

“Che male? Is something wrong? Are you ill?” She knew there was no problem. She would tease him, and he would laugh and pinch her cheek, scrunch his lips, and say, “Ti vogghiu ben! I love you!” She would brush his hand away when he tried to pinch her on her bottom, and they would play a little “cat and mouse” game. Over the years, when Enzo came home early from work, Anna knew why. That little game they played led to the conception of many of their children. As Enzo unlocks his car, the memories keep racing through his mind. It’s not only the happy times with the celebrations, festivities, and gatherings with family and friends, which are now few and far between. There are also other hard memories. He remembers and feels his sad childhood in Sicily, mostly around Christmastide. And there’s the devastating fire and the unexpected and tragic death of his oldest son, Pietro, that he tries to put out of his mind, especially around this time of year. The holiday letdown. As he brushes off the windshield of the car, Enzo turns to see if Anna is still at the front door of the house. She always watches Enzo as he drives away. He waves. She waves back. Again, thoughts from the past creep into his head; snippets of their past. Then he thinks, how lucky I have a wife that I love. When they married, many marriages were arranged or were out of convenience. Marriage was a social and family necessity, whether a man or woman wanted to get married or not. Anna still stands in the front doorway, admiring the snow while watching Enzo. Enzo looks back at Anna, smiles and while turning back to brush the snow off his car, thinks to himself about something they always discussed when things got tough, “Chi significava tutta ‘sta via? What is this life all about?” He laughs a little. “Sul amuri e me famighia. Only love and my family.”

DR. FRANK PLATEROTI Dr. Frank Plateroti holds a Doctorate in Education Research and a Master’s in Communication from William Paterson University, Wayne, N.J., and then spent the next twenty years there as a professor specializing in intrapersonal and interpersonal communication. His prior career spans public relations, television production, writing, and directing for his own international production company. Outside of academia and writing, he is active in philanthropy, award-winning home renovations, real estate, and financial investments. He is also a recording vocalist and, most of all, a proud father and grandfather. To learn more, please visit www.drfjesteem.com.

Anna suddenly remembers she has the chicken cacciatore on the stove and runs back to the kitchen. Enzo turns around to wave to her, but she is gone. A little sad, he turns back to the car and brushes off the snow. As he lifts the brush, he feels a sudden pain that travels down his arm, and he drops the brush. The pain travels to his chest, and he feels weak. Then, as if in slow motion, he tries to grasp onto the car, but his hand slips from the wet snow and he falls to his knees. He tries to call out but can’t. He slowly falls to his side. His face lands in the small pile of snow he just brushed from the windshield, and he tries to blow it away. There is a profound silence, and his only thought is, am I dying? He doesn’t know why he thinks this. It just seems instinctive. It is the same feeling one gets when they are tired and begin to fall asleep. Even though Enzo tries to fight it, he knows that inevitably he will surrender. As falling asleep is a natural feeling, so is surrendering to death, and he realizes that is happening. He is no longer in pain from the arthritis that racked his joints for years. His knees, which were always stiff and sore, feel non-existent. He has no sense of the cold, no sense of his body, and no sense of time. It is as if time doesn’t exist. Am I dying? he thinks again. But he still sees his driveway and the house to the right of his house. He smells the aroma of orange blossoms in the air and feels elated. It is as if he can remember everything that has happened in his life. All his memories clash and then stop. The snow is falling harder as Enzo lies in the snow. He realizes his prayer is at last being answered, and he is not afraid. As he got older, he prayed that he would be the one to die first. Enzo couldn’t bear to live without his Anna. He has a sense of what is to come, and the experience is almost

exactly how he envisioned it would be. He realizes that his life is passing in front of him as both an observer and a participant. Enzo isn’t afraid. He is trying to keep his eyes open. He thinks he sees his dead son, Pietro, and he gives out a small gasp. Pietro seems to be slowly walking from the driveway of his house toward him. Pietro’s hands are reaching out to Enzo, and he wears a large smile. Next to Pietro, Enzo is startled to think he sees his father. But then there is a soft, white glow, and behind his father, he sees someone who must be his mother. He was so young when she died. When he sees her, his eyes water, and he tries to call out to her, “Momma, Momma, Momma . . .” He can see the translucent shadows of other people behind Pietro, who are also moving toward him. As they come closer, he feels more euphoric; feelings that he has never felt before. He wants to be totally enveloped in the feelings and run to them, but he can’t. The glow coming from them seems to be getting stronger. He looks past the driveway and tries to focus. Then he sees his close friend, Howard Johnson. At that instant, Enzo is struck with the remembrance of when he first met Howard and why he felt so close to him. His mind is racing, and time seems to stand still. Visions of times and places, and people go through his head. Enzo hears Howard’s voice again, and he seems to be at the place where they first met. He can smell food cooking, and there is talking and laughter. He looks around, and he is in a restaurant kitchen. Oh, dear God! Angelina Restaurante! Tears begin to roll down his cheeks. He tries to speak…“Chi succedi? Anna.” What is happening? He thinks. Then he hears Howard... “Enzo, Enzo! My God, what happened?”

49 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Excerpt from The Genealogy of Plant Foods

THE SECRET OF APPLE by Nathaniel Altman When most Americans think of apples, they think “Washington state.” Although Washington is the biggest producer of apples in the country (followed by New York and California), few people know that apples did not originate in Washington—or even in the United States. Apples (Malus domestica) are believed to have originated over nine million years ago inCentral Asia, specifically in what are now Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The trees originally bore small fruits, like today’s crabapple. Historians believe the tiny fruits were eaten by birds and other small mammals who would then disperse the seeds, thereby allowing propagation. Over millennia, the fruits became bigger in order to appeal to a classification of animals called megafauna, which includes prehistoric horses, deer, and bears.

Photo by Bithinraj Mb

It is believed that, like many other ancient foods, the apple eventually spread to China and western Asia—and also to Europe—over the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes that existed between the second century BCE and the mid-fifteenth century. Some historians prefer to use the term “Silk Routes” because it better describes the intricate web of both land and sea routes connecting Europe and Asia to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, eastern Africa, and northern Africa. Spanning some four thousand miles (6,400 kilometers), these trade routes played a major role in facilitating economic, cultural, philosophical, and religious exchanges between East and West, and all points in between. 50 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

The apple arrived in Europe in early Greek and Roman times. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 CE) wrote extensively about apples, including their propagation through seeding and grafting. Among early Christians, the apple became a symbol of knowledge, immortality, temptation, and sin. Yet, according to the Bible, there is nothing to show that the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge was necessarily an apple, it was more likely a pomegranate, a fruit whose growth originated in the Holy Land. Apples also played a role in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, which regarded apples as providing eternal youth to those who ate them. Apples are said to have existed in what is now Britain before the Romans arrived, and apple trees were grown extensively by the sixteenth century, from both planting seeds and grafting. In his Herball: Or, Generall Historie of Plantes, published in 1597, English herbalist John Gerard urged the British gentry to propagate only the best grafted apple trees on their estates. Apples were first brought to the Jamestown Colony in Virginia in 1607, and the plants thrived. The first apple orchard in the American colonies was planted around 1625 by a clergyman who had a farm on Boston’s Beacon Hill.

From there and other places in what are now thenortheastern United States and southern Canada, wide varieties of apples were propagated thanks in part to John Chapman (1774–1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed. He was an American nurseryman and conservationist who became a folk legend by introducing apple growing to farmers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Ontario. He also planted apple seeds at random as he wandered through the countryside. Thomas Jefferson was an enthusiastic apple grower, and wrote, “They have no apples here to compare with our Newtown Pippin.” Henry David Thoreau wrote about his preference for apples that were “sour enough to set a squirrel’s teeth on edge and make a [blue] jay scream.” The 1872 edition of A. J. Downing’s The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America listed more than a thousand apple varieties. In the 1920s, inexpensive railway shipping and the advent of refrigeration led to orchards distributing apples year-round. This in turn led to marketing decisions that reduced commercial apple varieties to fewer than ten, including the ubiquitous Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith, the three most popular varieties of apple grown in the United States today.

51 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

NATHANIEL ALTMAN Nathaniel Altman is the author of The Honey Prescription, Healing Springs, and The New Oxygen Prescription, as well as many books on diet, alternative healing, metaphysics, and relationships. He has appeared on more than 150 podcasts, radio, and television programs, and his articles have appeared in major venues. He lives in Brooklyn. https://www.nathanielaltman.com/ The Genealogy of Plant Foods published by Inner Traditions International and Bear & Company, © 2026. All rights reserved. http://www.Innertraditions.com. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

However, a resurgence of interest in heirloom apples has taken root in North America and seeks to expand the market for both vintage and lesser-known apple varieties such as Baldwin, Cortland, Empire, Gala, Golden Russet, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, McIntosh, Mutsu, Fuji, Rome, and Macoun—a personal favorite of mine that was introduced by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station (now Cornell AgriTech) in 1923. Many heirloom apple seeds have been preserved at Cornell University’s germplasm repository in Geneva, New York. New apple varieties are constantly being developed at Cornell’s AgriTech campus in Geneva, including the Cordera, Pink Luster, and Firecracker varieties, introduced in 2020. The apple is among the most beloved and popular fruits in the world, and can be enjoyed as fruit (either whole or cut up), juice, cider, apple cider vinegar, applesauce, apple butter, roasted apples, dried apples, apple smoothies, and as a major ingredient in pies, cakes, and breads. Apples can also be included in main dishes such as meat and vegetable pies, stuffing, egg dishes, and fritters. Apples are highly nutritious. In addition to dietary fiber, apples provide a range of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A and potassium. Research shows that the antioxidants in apples can reduce inflammation caused by oxidative stress, a cause of accelerated aging, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. In addition to the apple’s antioxidant activity, the pectin found in apples has been linked to stimulating the growth of “friendly bacteria” in the colon, which prevents inflammation, aids digestion, and strengthens the immune system. Apples also contain a variety of micronutrients. A recent article in the Journal of Food Science (Oyenihi 2022, 2291–2309)

52 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

stated that: “Apples are rich sources of selected micronutrients (e.g., iron, zinc, vitamins C and E) and polyphenols (e.g., procyanidins, phloridzin, 5-O‐caffeoylquinic acid) that can help in mitigating micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) and chronic diseases (Oyenihi 2022, 2291–2309).” While it may not be literally true that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” the apple is one of the healthiest foods one can eat. China is presently the world’s largest grower of apples, followed by the United States, Poland, Italy, and France. The top five apple-producing states in the U.S. are Washington, New York, California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. More than eleven billion pounds of apples are grown in the United States during a typical year. Resources Browning, Frank. Apples. New York: North Point Press, 1998. “Exploring the origins of the apple.” Science Daily. May 27, 2019. Hanson, Beth, ed. The Best Apples to Grow and Buy. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2005. Iowa State University. “Apples.” Agricultural Marketing Research Center website. April 2024. Khoury, C. K., H. Achicanoy, and A. Bjorkman et al. “Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283 (2016): 20160792. Oyenihi, A. B., Z. A. Belay, A. Mditshwa, and O. J. Caleb. “‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’: The potentials of apple bioactive constituents for chronic disease prevention.” Journal of Food Science 87, 6 (2022): 2291–2309. Rodger, Erin. “Crunchy, complex: Cornell releases three new apples.” Cornell Chronicle. September 2, 2020. Roth, Claire. “The curious early history of apples.” Science. Deutsche Welle. Accessed October 4, 2023. Sawe, Benjamin Elisha. “Where do Apples Come from Originally?” WorldAtlas. Accessed October 4, 2023. Wynne, Peter. Apples: History, Folklore, Horticulture, and Gastronomy. New York: Hawthorne Books, 1974.

53 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Inside the Elegance The Eden Magazine Covers the DPA Emmy Gift Suite

Long recognized as the premier destination for global brand execution and discovery, the DPA invitation-only lounge did not disappoint. This season, the suite seamlessly blended international style, artistic craft, and holistic wellness to curate an unforgettable retreat for Hollywood's elite presenters, nominees, and performers. As a lifestyle publication centered around wellness, craftsmanship, and a mindful footprint, these standout showcases captured our eye: *Global Beauty & Craftsmanship: Nursery's exclusive presentation was a true centerpiece of the suite. This renowned Japanese brand brought Japan's rich spirit and beauty traditions directly to Hollywood. Guests enjoyed an intimate presentation detailing the curation and heritage behind their exquisite products. * Conscious Designs & Accessories: Sustainability and purposeful fashion took center stage. EcoPersona stunned guests with a collection of beautifully crafted alpaca scarves, upcycled denim jackets, and innovative pineapple tote bags, reinforcing that luxury and eco-conscious living go hand in hand. Additionally, Auli'i Polynesian Fine Jewelry turned heads with the debut of a breathtaking collection highlighting the timeless allure of precious Tahitian pearls.

Awards season has officially swept through Los Angeles, bringing a familiar, electric glamour back to the city. Ahead of the Emmy Awards ceremony, The Eden Magazine was delighted to step inside the discreetly elegant Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel to cover the highly anticipated celebrity gifting experience hosted by veteran producer Nathalie Dubois and her powerhouse company, Dubois Pelin and Associates (DPA Group). https://beaumondetraveler. com/content/nathalie-dubois-the-queen-of-celebrity-gift-lounges/ 54 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

*Sensory Home Experiences: Everyday routines received a luxurious upgrade with Mozi Wash, surprising attendees with highend, beautifully scented laundry detergents that transform a household necessity into a sensory indulgence. *Philanthropy at the Heart: True to DPA's tradition of blending prestige with social consciousness, the suite prominently featured important charitable organizations. Among them was The Plumery, a dedicated non-profit refuge doing vital work rescuing, caring for, and rehabilitating abandoned and abused parrots. From the Luxe Hotel's relaxing garden atmosphere to the inspiring, forward-thinking brands on display, Nathalie Dubois and the DPA Group delivered an exceptional celebration of talent and mindful luxury. We congratulate all of this year's Emmy nominees and look forward to watching these innovative brands continue to leave a brilliant mark on the entertainment industry.

55 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

An interview with Sister Ranjana, Self-Realization Fellowship

How to Simplify Your Life for Lasting Inner Peace Modern life rarely slows down long enough for us to ask what we actually need. In this conversation, Sister Ranjana, a nun of more than 40 years with Self-Realization Fellowship, the spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 to disseminate his Kriya Yoga teachings worldwide, offers a path back to simplicity and the lasting peace that comes with it. Life today seems busier than ever. How can we simplify our lives without losing touch with what matters most? When we simplify our lives, we don’t lose touch with what matters most. In fact, just the opposite occurs: we give ourselves the opportunity to discover what truly matters. In our busy and fast-paced world, we are easily influenced by the culture we’re in, the environment we’re in, and the habits we fall into. Life is moving so fast that we sometimes don’t realize all the pushes and pulls we are facing. This conditioning begins to shape what we think we need, and overrides the actual needs of our body, mind, and soul. Before long, we give undue importance to outer influences that don’t contribute to our peace of mind, happiness, or overall well-being. One of the greatest influences today is the constant pull of our phones, laptops, and tablets, with their endless stream of entertainment, advertising, and information. While no doubt useful and convenient, these devices can also create restlessness and keep us distracted from focusing on what we want to accomplish. When they become a constant presence in our lives, they impact how we interact with the world, filling nearly

56 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

every moment with activity and making it harder to be fully present with others and with ourselves. Between this technology and the demands of work, family, and relationships, it can be challenging to simplify our lives, but it can be done. Asking ourselves what our key priorities are is a good place to start: How am I spending my time? And why am I spending it that way? What is important to me, and why are these things important? These questions help us see whether our priorities reflect what we actually value in life, or whether we have unconsciously allowed societal “norms” or our habits to dictate how we fill the hours of the day. Then we can determine if we’re spending our time in a way that aligns with our values and true ambitions. As we follow a spiritual path, how we spend our time will naturally begin to shift toward those things that satisfy our soul, such as making more time for meditation and enjoying nature and other wholesome activities — activities that leave us feeling calm instead of restless and dissatisfied. At some point, be it gradually or suddenly, we realize that all the external wants and needs that we’ve been chasing aren’t the source of lasting fulfillment.

Ultimately, simplicity begins when we consciously choose what is truly right for us — not what the world would have us do. We can discover that what we actually need is quite simple. Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the preeminent spiritual leaders of the last century, says that “life’s necessary necessities” are peace and happiness, and through meditation we can experience this lasting peace and happiness by going straight to the source of it all — the soul within. Does simplifying your life mean becoming a minimalist or giving up material possessions? Not necessarily. People seek material possessions because they think that within those things they will find the happiness they are looking for. But because those things do not produce lasting fulfillment, people continue to seek more and more. Life becomes weighed down by this outer search for fulfillment. Yogananda said, “Simplify your life, so that you are not dependent upon too many possessions. To feed your every desire automatically creates unhappiness….If you examine your life, you will find there are lots of ways that you can simplify without feeling deprived.” Consider that for a moment: When we are focused on constantly fulfilling outer desires, we have an attitude of lack because no matter what we acquire, it doesn’t satisfy us; we continue to seek that “something else” that will make us happy. Even just starting to think about “necessary necessities” versus “unnecessary necessities” is a great starting point in simplifying life. On the spiritual path, what we value and what we feel we need changes. We begin to value the happiness found within, rather than in external things. It doesn’t mean we deny ourselves things — we enjoy what we have, and are grateful for it! But we find we don’t need nearly as much as we thought because we realize contentment isn’t based on how much we have outwardly, but instead on what we “possess” inwardly: those gifts of the soul, like love, peace, and joy. Also, we see that the more things we accumulate, the more time and attention they demand. Our minds become occupied with thinking about them, maintaining them, and oftentimes becoming attached to them; we become “possessed by possessions,” as Yogananda puts it. This kind of entanglement with material possessions is in many ways the antithesis of keeping life simple. Simplicity is about balancing our lives, so we truly enjoy life physically, mentally, and spiritually as God intended for us. It’s not about sacrifice or moving to a far-off place, Yogananda sometimes would say that no matter where you go, your thoughts and desires will be right there with you, Instead, simplicity is about living in the world, but not necessarily following all the ways of the world. Rajarsi Janakananda, one of Yogananda’s most advanced disciples and towards the end of his life, the second president of

“

As we hold to what we value and live by those principles, life can become happy, balanced, and simplified in ways that maybe we never even considered possible 57 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Sister Ranjana, whose name means “to worship, please, gladden, and serve the Divine,” has been a member of the Self-Realization Fellowship monastic community for more than 40 years. She played a key role in developing the organization’s Youth Services, serving young people and their parents. Sister Ranjana provides spiritual counseling to Self-Realization Fellowship members and friends and conducts inspirational services and retreats. She currently resides at the Self-Realization Fellowship Ashram Center in Encinitas, California

Self-Realization Fellowship, was a perfect example of that balance. He was an extremely successful businessman — serving as the president of what was at that time the world's largest reciprocal fire insurance exchange as well as the head of other business interests, and yet he remained humble, generous, and in tune with his soul. Despite the many demands upon him, he always made time for deep meditation every morning and evening. From leaders like this, we learn that material responsibilities have their place, but they should never come at the expense of our spiritual life. What changes can people expect when they begin simplifying their lives? The first change many people notice is that their days feel less crowded with so many distractions and mental clutter. As a result of practicing simplicity and devoting more time to spiritual activities like meditation, we will feel greater mental clarity and more peace inside. We begin to live a life that is in harmony with our soul and attuned to God. Sri Daya Mata, who was one of Yogananda’s earliest and closest disciples and served as Self-Realization Fellowship's third president, describes this beautifully:

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) first arrived in America in 1920 from his native India, an invited delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston, where he delivered a speech on the science of religion, marking a pivotal point for yoga in the West. Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Fellowship that same year to disseminate his Kriya Yoga teachings, which have inspired many through the years to cultivate their divine qualities and live with greater peace, joy, and purpose. Yogananda’s spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi continues to be recognized as one of the world’s most influential books. To learn more about the yoga meditation teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, please visit Yogananda.org. 58 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

“Meditation helps us to align our outer life with the inner values of the soul as nothing else in this world can. It does not take away from family life or relationships with others. On the contrary, it makes us more loving, more understanding — it makes us want to serve our husband, our wife, our children, our neighbors.” So, while we may be busy with work and family life and think we don’t have time to prioritize our spiritual practice, when we do so, it will actually benefit the other parts of our lives as well.

Once we've simplified our lives, how do we keep from slipping back into old habits of action and thought? Simplifying our lives can be done gradually; we allow the changes to become a natural part of our daily life. Determine one or two things you want to eliminate and what you want to use that time for instead. When we feel the benefits from doing this, we are less likely to slip back into old habits. Allow yourself moments of inner and outer quiet; of stillness; of enjoying the beauty of nature around you. Rather than reaching for your phone or finding another task, use those moments to turn within, to pray, to meditate, or to share your thoughts and feelings with God. The more you do that, the more you develop a loving relationship with the Divine. Then, simplifying your life becomes natural, for simplicity is the nature of our soul. To have a balanced, simplified life requires ongoing awareness, reminding ourselves of what is important to us. It isn’t something we achieve once and never think of again. As we hold to what we value and live by those principles, life can become happy, balanced, and simplified in ways that maybe we never even considered possible. And at times when we find old ways of doing and thinking trying to surface, if we sincerely reconnect with our inner Self, we can receive the divine support and strength we need. Don’t feel bad if you have moments when you are tempted to “go backwards.” Start slow, regularly revisit your goals and intentions, and never give up. The reward is more than worth it. As one saint told Paramahansa Yogananda in his youth, “God is simple. Everything else is complex.” The more simply we live, the easier it will become to feel God's presence, and that presence is the happiness we are seeking.

Photo courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, Calif. Paramahansa Yogananda founded the international headquarters of Self-Realization Fellowship in 1925 atop Mt. Washington in Los Angeles; and his teachings on Kriya Yoga meditation and the underlying unity of the world’s great religions are disseminated worldwide from here to this day.

Self-Realization Fellowship is the international nonprofit spiritual organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda to introduce to people of all races, cultures, and creeds the ancient science and philosophy of yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Through its spiritual and humanitarian service, the society seeks to foster greater harmony and goodwill among the diverse peoples and nations of the world, as well as a deeper understanding of the underlying unity of all religions. Self-Realization Fellowship has more than 600 temples, centers, retreats, and ashrams around the world. In India and neighboring countries, Paramahansa Yogananda’s work is known as Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), which has more than 200 locations. In 1950, Paramahansa Yogananda established the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades, California, as a spiritual sanctuary for all who seek to experience true inner peace and understandin 59 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

60 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

61 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

Photo by Mika Baumeister

Welcome to Our Contributor Writers’ Neighborhood

62 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

63 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

by Sadhguru, Isha Foundation

64 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

65 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

Photo by Dibarker Roy

WAYS TO CLEANSE YOUR SYSTEM

67 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Question: Today, we are constantly exposed to so many external influences. Is there any efficient way to cleanse ourselves from all that? Sadhguru: Your body does not stop at the physical boundaries – it extends itself. Probably women are more sensitive to this than men. If someone comes a bit too close – they do not even have to touch you – there is a feeling that you want some distance. Leaving aside the psychological and emotional aspects, there is a disturbance. Because the body does not end at the physical boundaries; the energy is a little beyond that. How much beyond depends on how exuberant your life energies are. If your life energies are truly exuberant, you can fill a hall with it. Otherwise, for most human beings, it could be anywhere between three to nine inches outside of their body. I become younger every time I ride a motorcycle because if I ride for four to five hours and come back, people say, "Sadhguru, your beard has turned black." Full of black carbon. As you gather material on your body, you are gathering other kinds of material upon your energetic system. Just by coming in touch with people, situations, atmospheres, and so many things, the body picks up memory. When your body picks up physical memory from other human beings or substances beyond a certain point, it will cause a certain level of confusion, which is not mental but physical in nature. If the body is confused, it cannot be at ease. You may have noticed sometimes that wherever you are, whatever you do – you somehow feel uncomfortable; your body seems to be confused. That is why we created various methods to cleanse the system from these types of memories. If you have a spiritual process within you, if you are doing some kriya or meditative processes, you know how to wash yourself from within. If you do not have that, things like drishti, or fire wash, become very significant. This body is made fundamentally of five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. Just as you do water wash every day, you can also do air wash, and you can do a fire wash. We can do a substance wash with grains and other things as well. Yogis were always smearing themselves with earth, but today that has become a mud bath in the spa.

68 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Water Wash Recently I was speaking with a prominent group of people, and one government official said, "All these rich people are having a shower every day." I said, "Where do you come from? In southern India, without having a shower, we do not step out of our home, no matter what. Even if you do not drink water, you will shower first. Do not start this new culture where the government tells us to now have a shower once in... Thank God, it's Friday! " When you wash your body with water, it is not just about removing the dirt. Even if you do not have any dirt, after a day's work, if you pick up a lot of stuff during the day and then you come and have a shower, it is like new life has come. Have you seen this? It is not just about cleansing the body; it is not the soap but the water running over your body. If you take a dip in a river, stay there for ten minutes and come out, it feels like you are born again. So this is a water wash. At a time in my life when I was into a lot of sadhana, or spiritual practice, I would have somewhere between five and seven showers a day, because your system becomes so sensitive. For example, if you sit on a particular cushion, and you are conscious of what this cushion is doing to you, you want to wash it off by at least letting water run over your body. I did not calculate that I must take a shower five or seven times a day; I had one whenever I felt like it. Most Yogis bathe at least twice a day, at the minimum. Fire Wash The fire wash is what people call drishti. In India, our grandmothers and the old ladies used to do it. Water can touch our skin without a problem. But fire cannot touch your skin, so it needs to be done in a certain way. A few generations earlier, people knew exactly how to do it, but today only a few of them really know what to do – they are just burning something and doing something. But if you do it the right way, it does certain things. Many times when I came home from somewhere outside as a little kid, my mother would look at me and say, "I think you must take drishti." I would say, "Come on, rubbish. I do not want any drishti," and I would be running around, but she would still be doing something. I did not know whether it worked or not – I was too against all those things, mentally. But today there is a proper record that it is doing tremendous things to people.

SADHGURU Infrastructures to Raise Human Consciousness

Experience Yoga in its classical form at Isha Yoga Center Los Angeles and Isha Institute of Inner-sciences. Established by Sadhguru, the centers serve as powerful spaces for inner transformation and raising human consciousness. Located in northern Los Angeles County and Tennessee, the centers offer an array of yoga and meditation programs in a vibrant and conducive ambience. You are invited to Free Yoga Day, a monthly open-door event a t the center. On this day, we offer a variety of free sessions dedicated to educating and empowering individuals to take charge of their well-being through simple but powerful practices sourced from the Yogic tradition. Learn more at ishausa.org/la

We have a whole scientific process of how to do this. We offer what is called Klesha Nashana Kriya – that means a kriya which destroys impurities. This kriya is like a fire wash. We have relieved people of various chronic ailments just by this fire wash. One surprise element that we found out recently is that many children who were suffering from ADHD and other learning disabilities, within a matter of six to eight weeks of this fire wash, have changed dramatically. We never expected this. After 21 Klesha Nashana Kriyas in 21 days, they came out clean, completely free of medication. There was no other kind of treatment, and they were fine after that. So if your mother gave you a fire-wash, knowingly or unknowingly, it may have given you some learning ability. Air Wash If you have your fan set at the right kind of speed and you just sit under it for some time, you will see something within you lift up. Have you noticed this? It is a little air wash. One simple process that people can do is to stand in the wind so that you get a proper air wash. It will do wonders for you. Try this – when there is a strong breeze, just wear something loose and simply stand there for half an hour, with your eyes closed, being conscious of it; turn both ways, so that the breeze flows over you from front and back. You will feel so much lighter and better. Earth Wash The earth that you walk upon has a sense of intelligence and memory. Even if you live in a concrete jungle, it is important to keep in touch with the earth. Those who are doing intense sadhana must either wash their clothes separately or coat their clothes with some soil material every time they wash them, so that the only physical contact that they have is with the earth – not with people or things around them. Sadhus and sanyasis always use finely

sieved red earth to dye their clothes. The clothes are originally white, but because they are constantly washed with filtered earth, they turn into a mud color. Apart from that, if you wear clothes that are dipped in red earth, in some way, it is a reminder for the body as to where it comes from and where it will go. Similarly, the buildings in the Isha Yoga Center are painted with soil and a certain adhesive so that it sticks like paint. Another way of doing it is to have a mud bath – the idea of this is to clear everything. In our Yoga Center, if someone is sick, the first thing we do is take off their shoes; they must walk barefoot in the garden. And they must put their hands into the earth and do some work. If they are not capable of that, we give them a mud bath, a layer of mud on the body. If people are willing, you can even create a mud pit and bury them till the neck. You can leave them in sunlight and pour water with certain herbs over their head every few hours. You will see they will come out like they were born again! Distancing Yourself from Physical Memory Whatever you come in contact with will leave a certain memory in the body. If you do not distance yourself from it, it will lead to physical discomfort, which, over a period of time, can destroy your ability to be exuberant. When the exuberance is gone, you cannot laugh fully, you cannot cry fully – in a way, you become a veteran of life. You should not become a veteran before you die. "Oh, I have seen this before" – this lack of freshness and spontaneity comes from excessive contact. So, there is sadhana to wash this memory away. Or you could take to chanting to create a certain reverberation in the body. Or, as mentioned, you could go through different washes. There are many ways to fix this. 69 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

A Guide to High-Vibrational Living by Polly Wirum

CAN TRUE PERSONAL PEACE BE THREATENED Have you created that sweet spot in your life that feels peaceful and secure? Do you steadily protect it from outside influences? Is your peace dependent on everything being in order and in its place? This blog is written to explore whether true personal peace can be threatened, or is the essence of our truest nature and impermeable.

Wherever and whatever you identify your peace as, it's healthy to recognize it and give gratitude for it. Now notice where your mind goes as you give gratitude for your peace. Are you focusing on a place, experience, or maybe family and loved ones? Wherever your attention naturally goes when you are feeling peaceful is key to maintaining your harmony.

How To Maintain Your Peace Before we dive into your personal peace, we need to identify it. Is your peace a feeling, a mindset, or maybe a collection of things that aren't even tangible.

What fell away from your thoughts when you allowed your mind and body to rest in calm. It should clear what you need in your life to experience peace, and what pulls you from a peaceful state of mind.

70 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Photo by Gettyimage

71 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

My Story I have several things that put my mind and body into a state of calm. The first is being outside, moving my body. I also love listening to music that resonates with me. Sometimes I share my peace with others, but if I need a deep reset, it's outside on a trail by myself, or with a partner. I also meditate every day and love having my home and life feel organized. When life gets too distracting or chaotic, it doesn't feel good to me. Recognizing that I am fully aware of what feels good to me, and what is not a fit, I still say “yes” to some different invitations. You never know what gifts the Universe is offering you, unless you step outside of your world occasionally. Recently, I was invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to Tulum, Mexico. It didn't take me long to decide it might be fun. The person inviting me is funny and easy to get along with. God knows I love a good laugh. The downside was the amount of time I would be traveling from my home this summer. This trip was on the tail end of several other big trips. This can lead me to feel a little scattered and ungrounded. I’m also training for a big trail event. I knew this trip would set me back on my training goals.

New life perspectives and opportunities can occur when we find ourselves in unfamiliar landscapes and demographics.

72 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

After I decided to go, I wanted to discover some of the spiritual experiences that Tulum was recognized for. I was really excited to go to the temples and discover what the Earth and water felt like there. I’m typically pulled into the energy of non-man-made things; the exception to this is ruins and other ancient artifacts. I was interested to see that Tulum is affiliated with the crown chakra. I planned to put a little extra attention to my crown chakra when meditating. I mostly have fun with the possibilities of having a profound spiritual experience, however it shows up.

Because of my other trips, I would start my journey out of Saint George, Utah. I live in Arizona; this meant that at the end of my Mexico trip, I would need to get back to Flagstaff. After a long day of travel to Mexico, I was a little frazzled by all the people at the airport, and the immediate offering of alcohol. I remembered this from past experiences, but hoped that when I arrived at the resort, my stress would dissipate. Without going into all the ups, downs, and secrets of the trip, I will share my travel, companion and I have very different ideas of peace. I enjoy the wilderness and working out, and eating healthy food. They prioritize their ability to rest, drink alcohol, and eat things that would put me in a stupor. Even though we have completely different ideas of peace and therefore different lifestyles, we still had fun and laughed a lot! I’m not sure that my crown chakra was impacted, but I gained clarity on what I need to easily connect with my peace and wellness If I return to Tulum, Mexico, I will dedicate much more time to snorkeling and exploring, the cenotes. As I move farther from this trip, I will also have a broader perspective on the lasting impact.. Our day of travel back to Utah was long; we landed around 11:00 PM in St. George. I had airline tickets to fly home in 48 hours but canceled them. I was so homesick, I opted to rent a car the next morning and drive for 5 hours. On my drive home, a friend called; this was the beginning of me remembering what home feels like. Much of the drive was easy, with just two lanes of traffic. It felt so good, to be away from the hordes of people. When I reached the area just past the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I felt so much gratitude. My home was two hours away, but this land held so many good memories of camping, backpacking, and spending time with friends,

POLLY WIRUM

Just before I dropped into the valley that is held by Vermilion Cliffs, I had my memorable moment. The grass was green from all the recent rain, and the cliffs were bright orange, purple and red. The sky was an amazing blue. There was a bird flying high that I thought might be a condor. My lap was filled with a patch of sunshine that was warming my legs. This might be one of those life moments that I won’t ever forget.

Polly Wirum is a psychic, life coach, and writer. Years ago, she experienced a health crisis that led to a complete spiritual and life transformation. When she thought her life was crumbling, the universe was easing her grip on everything, distracting her from the truth. The healing helped her discover the beauty of a joyful and uncomplicated life.It is here that she connects with wisdom and magic. She shares this with her clients through life’s coaching psychic readings and spiritual retreats. visit Pollywirum.com

My spiritual experience showed up on my way home; it was packed with gratitude, colors, memories, and silence. I have no regrets about taking this trip. I gained clarity on what is important to me and recognizing peace begins with me. It's my responsibility to give my attention to what resonates with my peace. It is when I am at peace that my heart opens and I am expansive; spiritual growth happens. Now that I'm home, I'm reflecting even more on what I’m ready to let go of and what I’m pulling into my world now. Is Your Personal Peace Camouflaging Bad Habits? Recognizing that my travel partner and I have completely different ideas of what constitutes personal peace and what is required for personal peace, a few questions came to my mind.

True Peace: An unbroken, intrinsic part of our loving and intuitive core that requires practice to connect with during difficult life situations.

Maintaining Peace: A healthy practice achieved through regular habits like meditation and spending time in nature to honor your inner wisdom. Evaluating Needs:A process of regular self-reflection to let go of fears and find a balance that keeps distractions from burying your peace.

Are you holding on tightly to something for your personal peace? I might be holding too tightly to my workout schedule and desire to be out in nature. My friend might be holding on too tightly to alcohol and cigars. Ultimately, it is up to each of us as individuals to recognize if we are grasping onto things that are not serving us. Is it possible to achieve more balance in these areas? If we choose to live for today and in this moment, are we allowing this idea to condone reckless behavior? If we make decisions based completely on our current impulses, is this a

green flag to be irresponsible? Our truest peace is a steady state that can respond to inspiration but is not driven by impulses or fear. It is the core of who we are. Benefits Of Having Your Peace Challenged Personal growth: Personal growth can occur when we are forced to release habits or people that are not serving us anymore. New perspectives: New life perspectives and opportunities can occur when we find ourselves in unfamiliar landscapes and demographics. Opportunity to discover your self-soothing tools: When our peace is challenged, we often explore new ways of connecting to peace; sometimes a healthier way appears. In Closing I plan on staying close to home for a bit but will absolutely say yes to adventure. I will also pay attention to what resonates with my idea of peace. There is a trick to experiencing new adventures, so you don’t live in a rut, while honoring what keeps you connected to peace. With that being said, I think personal peace can be threatened in the sense that it's harder to connect with, but it is never lost. True peace is a core part of who we are. Once you discover it, it is never far from reach. Thank you for reading my article. I hope you are striking that sweet balance of inspired living with a calm heart and mind. An Opportunity to Reflect What qualifies as your peace? Do you recognize it by a feeling? How do you maintain it? Did you benefit from a challenging time? Has your idea of peace shifted over time?

73 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

The Wat I See it by Joey Santo

WHO AM I, REALLY?

At my age, you would think I would know who I am by now. I know what I like. I know what I believe. I know how I take my coffee, how I set a table, and exactly how much garlic is enough, which, for the record, is always a little more. I know the people I love, the mistakes I've made, the lessons I've learned, and the face looking back at me in the mirror, even on those mornings when that face appears to have had a much rougher evening than I remember.

Someday, someone you love will wonder who they really are, and your truth may be the missing piece that finally brings them home.

And now I have questions. So many questions. I recognize some names but cannot place them, photographs filled with people nobody identified, and stories I remember only in fragments. I have memories without dates, dates without explanations, and a family tree with several branches apparently trimmed without anyone consulting me. On my mother's side, there was a first marriage, and a son.

But lately, another question has been circling around me:

On my father's side, there was also a first marriage, and a daughter.

Who am I, really? Not the man I became. The man I came from. There is a difference.

Two lives. Two marriages. Two children. Two enormous pieces of my parents' histories, and therefore mine- that were never fully explained to me.

My parents are gone. My grandparents are gone. So are most of the close relatives who might have helped me connect the dots. Unfortunately, no one left behind a convenient family instruction manual titled, "Everything Joey Will Eventually Want to Know."

Then there was my paternal grandmother, who had four husbands but only one child: my father. Four husbands create quite a few chapters, yet no one is left to tell me the complete story. 75 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Who were these men? Which relationship shaped my father's childhood? What was true, what was family folklore, and what was never discussed? My father spent much of his own life unsure of his history. Now that he is gone, I realize I have inherited not only parts of his story, but also his uncertainty. Strangely, the missing pieces have become part of the family legacy. Who were all these people? What were their lives like? Did they resemble us? Did they know about me? Did they ever wonder about us? Were there joys, disappointments, or difficult circumstances that caused certain chapters to be closed? And were they actually closed, or simply left unread? Families can be very skilled at silence. We wrap uncomfortable truths in tissue paper, place them carefully in a box, and store them on the highest shelf. We call it privacy. We call it protection. Sometimes we call it "none of your business." Then everyone who knows where the box is dies. Suddenly, it becomes everybody's business—and nobody has the answers. I understand that previous generations were different. Certain things simply were not discussed. Divorces, illnesses, adoptions, estrangements, miscarriages, addictions, financial troubles, mental health, and sometimes entire human beings—could disappear from the family conversation.

Photo by Amirul Muiz

Knowing our history does not mean exposing every secret or judging people whose circumstances we may never fully understand. It means preserving the truth with compassion. The truth does not have to be pretty to be valuable. Most lives aren't. We have all made choices we would rather not have embroidered on a pillow. We have loved the wrong people, trusted the wrong ones, stayed too long, left too soon, and occasionally behaved in ways that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time—but now require both context and dim lighting. That is being human. A legacy should not be a carefully edited résumé of our finest moments. It should be an honest account of the whole journey: the courage, the failures, the heartbreak, the laughter, the survival and perhaps even the scandal. Especially the scandal. Future generations deserve at least one good story. I wish I had asked more questions when I had the chance.

Well, apparently, we should have.

Who were your parents? What were they like? How did you meet? Whom did you love before? What frightened you? What did you dream of becoming? Why did you leave? Why did you stay?

Because family history is not merely gossip from the grave. It is identity. It can tell us where we came from, what

And what happened to the people whose names were mentioned once, and never spoken again?

The official explanation was usually, "We don't talk about that."

76 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

our ancestors survived, and how their decisions shaped the lives we are living today. It can also reveal important medical patterns, cultural traditions, and relationships we never knew existed.

JOEY SANTOS Joey Santos is a Celebrity Chef, Life Stylist and Co-Host of The Two Guys From Hollywood Podcast on Spotify. A Columnist for The Eden Magazine since 2016. Joey was raised in NYC, Malibu, and West Hollywood. He is the son of Film and Television Actor Joe Santos, and his Grandfather is World- Renowned Latin Singer Daniel Santos. To follow Joey on IG: @jojoboy13 To contact Joey visit whynotjoe@gmail.com

When we are young, we think our elders will always be there. Their stories seem repetitive, their photographs ancient, and their recollections something we can listen to another day.

My father lived with questions about his identity and history. I wish I could have helped him find those answers. I wish I had understood then that his uncertainty would one day become mine.

Then one day, there is no one left to ask.

I may never find every missing piece of our story. Some answers may be buried in old records, forgotten conversations, or the memories of people I have yet to discover. Others may be gone forever.

That is the painful part of losing a parent, grandparent, or older relative that no one prepares us for. We do not lose only the person. We lose an entire library—and frequently, we discover we never bothered to get a library card. So perhaps this is less an article about my unanswered questions and more a request to anyone reading it:

But I also realize that who I am cannot be measured only by the branches missing from my family tree. I am made from what I inherited, what I survived, what I learned, and what I chose to become.

Tell your story.

Our roots matter. They ground us.

Write down the names. Label the photographs. Record the recipes, and not just “a little of this and enough of that,” because that is not a recipe; it is culinary sabotage.

But our lives are also shaped by how we grow from them.

Explain the relationships. Include the first marriages, the second chances, the children, the estrangements and the reunions. Write down where your family came from, what they believed, how they lived, and what they endured.

Ask questions now. Names and family secrets disappear when the people holding them are gone, and "someday" is not an archive. Preserve the whole story. Label photos and save everything from recipes to family scandals. A truthful legacy is far more valuable than a perfectly edited one. History explains you, but it does not define you. Roots shape us, but we are formed by what we survive, love, and choose to become. Leave real answers for the next generation.

I am learning to accept that.

Preserve letters. Record voices. Create a family tree. Share the medical history. Save the stories that seem too ordinary to matter, because someday their very ordinariness will make them precious. And if there is something difficult in the family's past, consider leaving behind an honest explanation rather than a perfectly maintained silence. Secrets rarely disappear. They simply become mysteries inherited by people who lack the information needed to understand them.

So, who am I, really? I am the questions my family left unanswered. I am the stories they managed to pass down. I am the people I have loved, the losses I have carried, and the life I continue to create. I may not know every road that led to me. But I can make certain that those who come after me will know where I stood. Tell your story while you are still here to tell it. Because someday, someone you love will wonder who they really are, and your truth may be the missing piece that finally brings them home. Joeyism: Your history does not belong only to your past. It is a gift you owe the future.

77 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

My Healing Path by Wendy L. Jackson

TAKE YOUR TIME

78 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

Don't rush the process. As you move forward into the next phase of your life, take heart and remember that your time is coming. Dreams do come true, but they often require patience. Slow down, take a deep breath, and trust the journey.

dent while leaving work. It was a cold, rainy, foggy evening in Atlanta, Georgia. A man had left his car near the highway, and I collided with it. My car spun into traffic and stopped only eighteen feet in front of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler on Interstate 285 North.

During the waiting season, you are being shaped and prepared. The challenges you face aren't meant to discourage you, but to strengthen you for what lies ahead. Everything that is truly meaningful takes time to develop. Don't lose sight of what you are trying to accomplish, even when progress seems slow.

When the emergency responders reached me, I looked into the mirror and realized that my bottom lip had been badly injured. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance. While I was waiting for the doctor, a plastic surgeon was stitching up a little boy in the next room. A nurse came in and assured me that he would see me next. I eventually received twenty stitches in my bottom lip.

I am reminded of the inspirational poem "Don't Quit" by Edgar Albert Guest. Its message encourages us to keep going through life's difficult moments, reminding us that success may be closer than we realize. Too many people give up when they may be closer to their breakthrough than they think. Whether our struggles are financial, emotional, or deeply personal, perseverance can lead us to places we never imagined. In 1990, I was involved in a serious car acci-

I was out of work for six weeks, but healing took much longer. It took more than two years for my lip to heal completely. The most difficult part was teaching the left side of my mouth to do what the right side had always done. The nerves had been severely damaged, and because I was a singer, my voice lessons became a form of therapy. They helped me rebuild the muscles and strengthen the damaged nerves.

79 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

WENDY L. JACKSON

Emotionally, I was devastated. Looking at myself in the mirror and seeing my swollen, one-sided lip was difficult. I was embarrassed to eat in front of friends and colleagues. I had to learn to become comfortable with myself again while the nerves slowly healed. It took time to regain not only movement, but also confidence.

Wendy L. Jackson is an international, award-winning artist, motivational speaker, and writer whose work explores the intersection of creativity, healing, mindfulness, and spiritual growth. Through both her art and her words, she inspires others to live with intention, embrace purpose, and cultivate inner peace.

But the experience taught me something I have carried with me ever since: time was on my side, no matter how badly I wanted things to happen quickly. I remember my play mother saying, “Your testimony will come through a song.” At the time, I didn't fully understand what she meant. About a year and a half later, I was invited to perform at a church event. For the first time since my accident, I had complete control over the tone of my voice and the movement of my lip. All those therapy sessions had strengthened me in ways I couldn't see while I was going through them. Not only had I regained what I thought I had lost, but my voice had actually become stronger. I was incredibly proud of that performance. Looking back, I realize that my healing was teaching me something much bigger than patience. It was teaching me that sometimes we are being prepared in ways we cannot see. What feels like a setback is building strength for what comes next.

Know Your Worth You are worthy simply because you exist, regardless of approval. Give Yourself Grace You don’t have to be perfect to be enough. Just be kind to yourself Believe in Who You Are Embrace your unique journey; you are always enough

80 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

The world will tell you to hurry. Life will remind you to be patient. But the most meaningful things—wisdom, love, healing, purpose, and hope- cannot be rushed. They unfold one day at a time. Life's greatest lessons are often learned in the waiting. No matter how much we try to hurry the process, nothing happens before its ap

“

Whether our struggles are financial, emotional, or deeply personal, perseverance can lead us to places we never imagined. pointed time. Sometimes the waiting isn't holding us back. It is preparing us for something greater than we ever imagined. So, take your time. Breathe. Trust the process. Keep moving forward. When I think about that accident now, I no longer see only the pain of those days. I see the strength that came from them. I see the lessons hidden inside the waiting. I see that healing had its own timetable, and my life kept moving forward even when I could not see progress. Take time to know that everything has its season. Take time to listen, for wisdom comes with understanding. Take time to laugh, for laughter comforts the soul. Take time to live, for life is the essence of our days. Take time to love, for love can heal hurt and sorrow. Take time to find peace, for peace frees the spirit. Take time to share, for what we give today may bring hope for tomorrow. Take your time. No need to rush what is still becoming. Some things need time to grow, some dreams need time to unfold, and some seasons need time to prepare us for what is waiting ahead. YOUR TIME IS COMING!

81 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

The Marianna Group Hosts Star-Studded 78th Emmy Gifting Suite Photography by Lore Vision Media

The event also featured Kiss My Paws Rescue, a non-profit dedicated to dog rescue and rehabilitation, but due to extreme heat, rescuers opted to leave the dogs at home while raising awareness. This year’s celebration once again allowed us the opportunity to host select members of the Hollywood community to new and exciting brands," said Heather Marianna. "As long as they keep coming back time and time again, we will continue to extend our hospitality."

The exclusive 78th Emmy ® Awards Gifting Suite took place on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at the Beverly Hills Marriott. Hosted by The Marianna Group, a female-owned entertainment marketing firm helmed by Heather Marianna, the private, poolside celebration drew over 125 Hollywood celebrities, VIPs, and influencers ahead of television’s biggest night.Guests braved the heat to experience luxury brands across fashion, beauty, health, and spirits, while enjoying a festive atmosphere with lunch and music.

83 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

This article is provided on the understanding that the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics is mentioned.

THE INFLUENCE OF YOGA TO MAKE US MORE HUMANE by Kenneth Valpey Fellow of the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics, and author of “Yoga and Animal Ethics”

84 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

85 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026

Photos by Gettyimages

While in China recently, giving talks at a number of universities, I was invited to a commercial yoga studio to speak on the topic “the meaning of the asanas (yoga postures).” On such occasions, I like to tell stories from ancient Indian yoga literature that are related to yoga postures. One of my favorites (from the Bhagavata Purana) is about King Bharata, who, weary of the endless political complexities of royal life, heads off alone to the forest to find peace, sitting cross-legged with his back erect in padmasana in contemplation. Hardly settled into a meditative state, he finds himself called upon to care for an orphaned deer fawn. Over days and weeks, increasingly absorbed in tending to the charming baby deer, Bharata forgets his meditation altogether. Fast forward a few weeks: After unexpectedly dying in that forest, Bharata becomes a deer in his next life. More on the story in a moment. I find it helpful for maintaining a sense of steady progress in my spiritual journey to practice thought experiments — “what-if ” imaginings of one or another possible, even if unlikely,

86 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

situation or circumstance. One such experiment is to ask myself, “What if it’s true that I will have another life after this one, and what if I had a life previous to this one? What sort of bodies might I have had in the past, and what sort of body might I expect to have in the future, beyond this life?” In yoga literature and philosophy, transmigration of the “soul” (atma or purusha) is largely a given—as is the notion that how we think and act in this life is setting the stage for our next life. And, much as we might like to assume that such a next life will be as a human being, Bharata’s story, like many others, warns that there is no such guarantee. Back to Bharata’s story: despite now being in a deer body, he remembers having been a human who was trying to practice yoga in his previous life. Resolving now to make the most of his present deer life, he lives it out in proximity to a yoga hermitage, its peaceful, meditative, and kind residents’ aura favoring him such that his next life is again as a human being, wherein he is now even more resolved to perfect the yoga practice he had undertaken two lives before.

DR. KENNETH R. VALPEY Dr. Kenneth R. Valpey is a research fellow of the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies and a fellow of the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics. He is the author of Yoga and Animal Ethics published by Palgrave-Macmillan (Springer Nature). The Oxford Center for Hindu Studies is an independent center which unites rigorous scholarship with meaningful community engagement, fostering understanding and dialogue around Hindu traditions. The Oxford Center for Animal Ethics is an independent center pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching, and publication. The Center comprises more than 100 academic Fellows.

But now, from personal experience, acutely conscious that nonhuman animals (such as deer) are sentient like himself, Bharata gets in trouble. Now he is a laborer drafted into serving the local chieftain. The latter, a bit full of himself, has no patience for Bharata’s irregular pace as a member of the chieftain’s palanquin carrying team. Ants are the problem: Bharata refuses to step on them as he steps forward, and the result is a shaky ride for the royal passenger. Fortunately for the impatient chieftain, the now physically strong Bharata proves a sharp, effective teacher, sharing his newfound experiential wisdom so powerfully that the humbled chieftain becomes eager to be enlightened by this unlikely laborer. Could we moderns have something to learn from Bharata? Whether we believe in reincarnation as an animal or not, such stories prompt us to think about how we relate to nonhuman beings. I wonder: Have we humans, as a species, become overly complacent about our supposed top position in the food chain, taking it as our natural “right” to take the lives of other mobile sentient beings to please our palates? The practice of yoga asanas is by far the main draw in yoga’s recent rise to global popularity—as much in China’s swank uptown studios as in the West. What’s usually missing in these well-meaning spaces of healthy lifestyle production is yoga’s clear and concise, yet deep, ethical foundation set out in yoga’s enduringly classical text, the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. Early Sanskrit commentaries on the Yoga Sutra note that when Patanjali tells us that the first step in yoga practice is ahimsa—non-harming or nonviolence—he means it; and he means it not just for the yoga studio goers, but for all of us humans, since yoga practice, in its deeper sense, is what makes us human.

For sure, postural (asana) yoga practice, when practiced regularly, does wonders for our bodies, especially by getting us to stretch our countless muscles and other tissues. But I find that what makes yoga able to make us human is its power to stretch our imagination, including—or starting with—our moral imagination. This is why I find yoga narratives such as Bharata’s multi-life story so compelling. More than a mere just-so story, the transformations of a martial ruler to a yogi to a deer to an enlightened being disguised as a humble laborer invite us to imagine beyond the local to a global possibility: What if the world had many Bharatas—enlightened sages able to capture the imagination of kings and other leaders, such that they would be moved to be themselves, and inspire others to be models of the ahimsa principle? My understanding of yoga is that it can help us humans to become humane. Much as we like to think of ourselves as caring, empathetic beings, I find G. K. Chesterton’s quip (in 1909) about the wildness of animals versus the supposed tameness of humans sobering: “We talk of wild animals; but man [sic] is the only wild animal. It is man that has broken out. All other animals are tame animals; following the rugged respectability of the tribe or type all other animals are domestic animals; man alone is ever undomestic, either as a profligate or a monk.” Reading and remembering how Bharata tamed a “wild” chieftain with enlightened words can spark the imagination to envision a world in which non-harm is the default moral code, a world in which we no longer feel the need to kill nonhuman animals—nonhuman sentient, mobile beings—for our nourishment. Such a vision could open the world to real nourishment for the soul, a world of abundance for all beings, in this life and the next.

87 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

Debbie Durkin’s ECOLUXE Endless Summer Festival

On September 11, producer Debbie Durkin hosted her annual invitation-only ECOLUXE Endless Summer Festival during the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards week. The exclusive event brought together Emmy nominees, athletes, and entertainment leaders to support Wagmor Pets Dog Rescue. Guests received Getty Images coverage, shot portraits with celebrity photographer David Christopher Lee, and enjoyed music by DJ Paxy. Celebrities explored "Ari Heart" color-changing lip oil by 5-year-old entrepreneur Aria (Colors by Aria) and customized products at the Libertad Vida Beauty "Make your own Lip Gloss Bar". Attendees were revitalized with oxygen-rich Patriox Water, Relax Sauna far-infrared treatments, and corrective bodywork by ROSS Massage. Guests sampled elevated dishes from Petros on Sunset, mango salsa from Strictly Vegan, and premium Blue Mountain Coffee courtesy of the Jamaica Tourism Board. My Best Bud educated attendees on their science-based CBD pet products. The afternoon concluded with premium curated gift bags featuring Honey & Stone Beauty, Marci's Pet Kitchen, Fayah Streetwear Sunglasses, ettitude bamboo bedding, and signature ECOLUXE merchandise. 88 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e OCTOBER 2026

89 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e SEPTEMBER 2026