Awakening to Our Selves.

Byline: Stephen Kiesling

It is hard to avoid economic fear these days. Most of us are cutting back. And, of course, the more each one of us cuts back, the more we all have to cut back, because our economic world has become so interconnected. One thing that has been both fascinating and helpful for me during this downturn is working with evolutionary neuroscientist Peggy La Cerra. For La Cerra, a bout with psychological depression paradoxically awakened her to a revolutionary new model of how the sense of "I" is created by the brain (page 42). According to this new model, the self is at least as illusory as the Buddha said, and we are as interconnected as our economic system is. In these tough times, as we grasp harder for what is real, we may paradoxically get to lift the curtain on our own illusion of separation. Whether we listen to neuroscientists or Buddhists or Judeo-Christian mystics, it seems we are all in this together, creating and re-creating each other in real time. Underneath it all is connecting energy - love that arches our differences.

For fun, try comparing the home of La Cerra and her partner Marty Weiner (page 19) with the perfect place to live envisioned by Saint Benedict (page 56). What prominent feature do these two holy spaces have in common? Connecting arches!

Many Indigenous Peoples are rightly impatient for the rest of us to get over our illusions of separation. In the last 30 years, biologists have recognized "keystone" species, the plants and animals that support the "arch" of an ecosystem. What we need to awaken to - and what is modeled for us so beautifully in "Saving Sacred Species" (page 52) - is that keystone species are indeed sacred species. Tapping into the sacred connection of these special plants and animals has inspired and empowered four women to perform local and yet potentially planet-saving feats of environmental activism. If they can do it, we can too!

In an effort to put our current troubles into a larger perspective, managing editor Betsy Robinson talked with psychologist and bestselling author Dan Gottlieb (page 60). Paralyzed from an auto accident, Gottlieb had to "get used to stuff" and has become a source of wisdom and inspiration to thousands of people. Similarly, our Zenvesting guy, Paul Sutherland (page 70), reminds us that this downturn is merely part of the cycle. When times get tough, perhaps the best thing to do is to draw a bath for someone you love.

Stephen Kiesling

editor-in-chief