"...life is mysterious, unpredictable and powerful. "

Mother Nature has been keeping us on our toes reminding us that life is mysterious, unpredictable and powerful. Spring has launched unseasonable snow storms here in the Pacific Northwest and sunny California continues to be pummeled by unrelenting rains. Although the confused weather patterns attempt to deceive our seasonal radars we know it is spring because Arizona and Florida have baseball fever, little kiddies are hunting for colored eggs, many faithful are joyously welcoming Easter while others will be preparing their May poles for Beltane celebrations.

This spring issue is varied and eclectic featuring Susan Miller, author of The Year Ahead: Your Ultimate Astrology Planner.  Nature is always a great life teacher but springtime is when many of us pay closer attention as if our black and white landscape has been suddenly washed with color. It is with that attention to detail that astrologers make predictions and chart our personal tendencies. Astrology is viewed by some as generalized hocus-pocus but by Miller's definition it is a science where "The planets work to help us help ourselves". This science was even used by the most famous Zoroastrianists, the three wise men, in search of the baby Jesus. Miller teaches us that the Universe wants us to succeed; the stars forewarn us about challenges or when you can look forward to clear sailing. We found her explanations of astrology and the organization of her book to be clear and much more than just chapters full of simple horoscopes. Consistent with our definition of being spiritually fit, we are open to a variety of ways people practice spiritual fitness and we respect those who choose to follow the stars to guide them on their spiritual paths.

If astrology is a bit too woo-woo for you we also bring you Dr. Nancy Mramor, Ph.D., the author of Spiritual Fitness, who encourages you to connect with your inner spirit by getting your inner core in shape. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., author of Coming to Our Senses, promotes the importance of meditation and Ellen Peterson, author of Choosing Joy, Creating Abundance, simply asks us look for answers to our purest desires in our dreams.

In addition to our published authors we are also featuring several submissions from amateur writers. Because one of the missions of this webzine is to support writers by providing a venue for sharing stories from "everyday people", these submissions are dear to my heart. I enjoyed reading the fictional story by Ken Wells, a 26-year old clerk from Chicago, Ilinois, the personal story by Susan Sullivan, wife, mother and elementary school teacher from Minnesota and the article about a spunky 101-year old Auntie Beo by Carol Hathaway, psychiatric nurse practitioner, mother and grandmother from Port Angeles, Washington.  We appreciate the courage and vulnerability it takes to submit your stories and for opening yourself up to the vast Internet public.  We of course believe that the act of writing is a wonderful practice of spiritual fitness.   

We also welcome Rebecca Redshaw, writer, critic, and playwright, to our webzine by moving us with her true story and for introducing us to photographer Charlotte Watts.  There is a lightness, gentle movement and soulful essence captured in Charlotte's photos.  It is an honor to introduce her work to our readers. 

Lastly, we appreciate all of the submissions to our webzine including the ongoing contributions from Deepak Chopra and Pattiann Rogers. 

 

I wish you a wonderful Spring season.  Please appreciate what's blossoming in your life, nurture those gardens in your soul, and stay spiritually fit! 

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Namaste,
Amelia Andaleon
Chief Editor, SpirituallyFit.com

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We enjoy hearing from you and reading your stories. If you have submitted, we will notify you if your story has been selected. We have received many stories which may be used in future issues, so don't lose heart if yours has not yet been published. Use our submission form, follow the writer's guidelines and keep us all inspired by your stories! Email us with your comments or send us suggestions. 

Let us know you stopped by and tell us what does and doesn't work for you! Thank you for visiting our site!

SpirituallyFit.com Staff