Cover Feature Article ...

Kinetics Magazine has been graced, since its very first issue, with a monthly column penned by Lynn Andrews. Her contribution to our publication has been profound, and deeply appreciated. And in this edition,  it gives us great pleasure to feature Lynn on our cover because Lynn is a legend, of incomparable stature, in her own time. She has authored twenty books, all written with one theme in mind: to assist humanity in its evolution of consciousness. Through the years, as Lynn personally expanded in her ability to comprehend the workings of universal energy, in combination with the human spirit, with loving intention she would generously gift us with her knowledge.

For the past three decades, urban shaman, Lynn Andrews has blessed the world with  intimate, and enlightening stories from her experiences with the Sisterhood of the Shield. This group of sagacious women are members of an ancient shamanic society, deeply entrenched in the indigenous cultures and traditions all over the world. Through her time spent as an apprentice to these living masters, Lynn learned to confront her deepest fears and accept without hesitation that there is a spiritual solution to every one of life's problems. In her latest book, Coming Full Circle: Ancient Teachings for a Modern World, Lynn has paid homage to some members of the Sisterhood that she has not written about previously. She shares breathtaking stories, and eloquent articles that help to move us into harmony and a state of grace with the world.

In praise of her latest literary success:

"Lynn Andrews, internationally acclaimed NY Times best-selling author, healer,  global spiritual leader, teacher, lecturer, and noted authority on achieving person power has done it again!"
~~~
" Lynn Andrews' sacred dance across the past thirty years has enriched the lives of countless spiritual seekers, and her ooks and teachings have contributed greatly to the re-emergence of the shamanic way of life, in our modern world. In Coming Full Circle, she shares her medicine with us and invites us to choose how we shall serve the Mystery created us and the 'All That Is'..."
      ~Hank Wesselman, PhD, anthropologist and author of  the Spiritwalker Trilogy, Awakening to the Spirit World.

With this introduction, please enjoy the following excerpt from Lynn Andrews' new book, Coming Full Circle: Ancient Teachings for a Modern World...

"Risk-Taking and Laziness of the Soul"

by Lynn Andrews

"The world is a great book, of which they who never stir from home
 read only a page."   ~ St. Augustine of Hippo, A.D. 350-430.

We live during a profound time in history.  It is a time when we have at our fingertips the all of the possibilities of human existence.

As I look across the landscape, I see a world filled with peoples and cultures that are astoundingly rich in their creativity and diversity.  I see art that feeds even the most parched soul, science that inspires the imagination to ever higher levels of possibility.  I see a natural world filled with so many wonders they take my breath away.  Through the beautiful marriage of human ingenuity and the abundance of Mother Earth, there is very little that we could not accomplish right here and right now, if we set our minds and our hearts to the task.

And yet, with all of this possibility and abundance, perhaps, in part, because of it, we have grown lazy, afraid of taking risks.  The kind of risk I’m talking about is not the risk inherent in parachuting out of an airplane or mountain climbing, investing in the stock market or even crossing the street.  It is the risk that happens when you find that what you are doing with your life bears little resemblance to what you’ve always believed your life could be.  It is the risk that is created when you realize that you are squandering your great dream on the distractions of today’s world, the risk that is created when you discover that you are spiritually, mentally, emotionally and even physically unfulfilled.  You are now at a crossroads, where you must make a choice: change direction or give up on your dreams.

A crossroads is a place of great power if only we could learn to look at it through eyes filled with possibility instead of fear.  It is a place of power because it is a place where choices must be made and acted upon, otherwise you remain at the crossroads until you wither up and blow away in the wind.  Making a choice generates movement.  Movement creates energy, and energy creates power, the power and energy you need to move through the crossroads with vision as your guide.

This is the risk I am talking about, the risk of living on the edge of your awareness where you truly push the envelope of all the possibilities that are before you.

The laziness that we have fallen into isn’t necessarily apparent to others, even to ourselves, for we live in a highly charged world that is filled with enormous pressure just to keep a roof over our heads and get our children to school.  I am talking about spiritual laziness, laziness of the soul.  You could be a person of great energy and ability and still be lazy in your spirit when it comes to taking responsibility for your life.  ‘Laziness of the soul’ comes from standing at a crossroads and doing nothing if it is difficult or challenging, doing nothing, particularly if it feels risky.

This kind of laziness happens when we think that enlightenment may not be real, and so we hedge on making a commitment.  We put the experience of enlightenment into a little corner of our lives but mouth prayers asking for spirit to come to us, just in case.  When you do this, what you are really doing is creating a situation in which you don’t have to take responsibility for what you believe.  You don’t have to take responsibility for shifting your consciousness, for the change that is inherent in living a sacred life.

It is the same kind of laziness that happens when you don’t manifest your acts of power into the world because there are no guarantees of success, or you are afraid it will be too difficult before you’ve even tried to push the envelope, or something unexpected happens that challenges you in some way, perhaps demands more of you than you had anticipated.  You want to do something special with your life.  You dream of doing it and you know that it is within your grasp.  But the road is not as smooth as you had expected it to be.  What do you do next?

Always remember this, when you make a bid for power, power tests you.  This is something that my teachers have stressed to me again and again, for more than thirty years!  Be ready for these tests of power by centering yourself in the commitments you have made, the commitment to living a sacred life, the commitment to manifesting your brilliance and your own unique point of view into the world through your fabulous acts of power.

Then, when you stand at the crossroads of your own life where you must choose between following your dreams or giving up on yourself, what choice will you make?  How will you choose risk in your life?  Will you push the boundaries of your own existence?

How do you know what is a good risk to take?  Remember this concept of risk: wiping away laziness of spirit.  If the choice you make wipes away laziness of spirit, then you know it’s a good risk to take.

Excerpt from
Coming Full Circle: Ancients Teachings for a Modern World by Lynn Andrews
Rainbow Bridge Books
Body/Mind/Spirit
ISBN: 978-1-937907-01-3

Lynn Andrews is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of the Medicine Woman series, an internationally recognized shaman teacher and healer. Her 20th book, Coming Full Circle, Ancient Teachings for a Modern World, is now available. Visit Lynn's website at www.lynnandrews.com .

 

This bestseller features a
chapter by Kathryn Peters-Brinkley!