Dear Friends,
I didn’t think I’d be writing anything this month, because of feeling so wiped out with the drugs I’m on, and having a bug as well. So all thanks to William for writing the editorial for me!
However, a couple of days ago John (older son) worked out which of the drugs was depriving me of brain power and, as it wasn’t one of the most essential ones, I’m now having a holiday from it and…. at last I can think straight!
There’s always a way
We also have plans for sorting out my low energy levels: gradually increasing the amount of walking I do each day, lots of fresh air and contact with nature, and breathing exercises. Also I’m doing a lot of meditating specifically to allow love and joy into myself, and develop the sense of deserving such good feelings. This, too, I believe, is strengthening my energy levels.
And I’m helped by a very interesting sound therapy (soundtherapyuk.com). Essentially the therapist makes a recording of your voice, turns it into a graph so she can see which specific sound frequencies are low or missing, and then she gives you a CD with all the missing sounds on it, which – if you listen to it a lot – gradually entrains your brain to produce those frequencies itself so that, in time, the idea is that you will be complete, in body mind and soul.
So, all in all, I’m rather glad that I’ve at least regained my capacity to think, because I feel I really must write to you about how things are going at Cygnus since last autumn.
How things are going
You know, when we wrote to you late last year about finding our tribe, and how we needed your help, your response was so warm that is kept our fires (inner and financial) burning brightly until the end of January 2013. We all want to thank you for that because it was such a lovely feeling not to have to worry about money all the time, and we were able to take on a couple of new members of staff whom we sorely needed. We also started implementing our plans for enlarging the Cygnus Review (that’s why we had a separate order form, so we could have a full 24 pages in the magazine), and for increasing the number of features so that you would receive even more comfort, guidance and inspiration each month.
Life lessons – a gift in disguise
From February until now you gave us a gift that it may seem strange to thank you for, but we are deeply grateful, believe me. I’m not sure exactly why it happened – maybe our books weren’t what you were hoping for, or maybe you were just cleaned out after the Christmas holiday, or maybe you have too many books you haven’t read yet, or maybe the incessant stream of doom and gloom from the media just got you down – but from February until now, our sales have been down to an all-time low.
It has been one of my life lessons to learn to face my deepest fears with equanimity and even joy and gratitude. One of those fears is financial lack, and I’m sure I share that fear with many of you. So this fear keeps on coming up. In the early days my response was to go ‘Oh my ears and whiskers!’ all the time, and stay awake all night worrying about it. But each time that old bugbear comes up, my response gradually lightens. I’m not there yet, but I have to say that, with the unexpected gift of another opportunity to learn my life lessons this spring, I don’t feel nearly as stressed as I used to, and Geoff and I could see that the trust we have been trying to develop over the years, that somehow, we will always be enabled to ensure the survival of Cygnus, had become much more of a habit that we could rely on, and far less of an effort. So this time, I haven’t lost a wink of sleep – which is a miracle, I think.
Together we can ride the waves
So, here we all are, in a spot of what you might call rough weather, and the name of the game is to be fearless, where we are tempted to be fearful, aware of our true magnificence where we are tempted to feel small, to keep our eyes fixed on our true goals, where we are tempted to look no further than the ends of our noses, and to trust in and preserve our inner peace and light, where we are tempted to fritter it all away in anxiety and fear reactions. Together we can do this, for we all want to travel in the same direction. I don’t know about you, but it gives me great comfort – and probably more than that: actual material support – to know that you and we are all working together.
Anyway, we trust absolutely that those of you who are able and feel guided to help us will do so, and in the meantime we’ve made a long list of all the things we are doing to help ourselves, which we’ve posted on the magazine section of our website as there isn’t space here. Suffice it to say that I’ve never seen the team or my family work so hard or so creatively, and that’s saying something because they are not slackers by any means!
Riding along on the crest of a wave
Cygnus will continue to be a buoyant ship for all who choose to sail in her. So let’s keep ourselves cheerful throughout all the rocks life throws at us, and keep our resolve to turn them into beautiful fruits and flowers. I’ve been helping myself to do that by singing this triumphant song I remember from the gang shows of yesteryear:
We’re riding along on the crest of a wave
And the sun is in the sky,
All of our eyes on the distant horizon
Look out for passers-by.
We’ll do the hailing
While other ships are round us sailing
We’re riding along on the crest of a wave
and the world is ours!
Never forget the power of song – it dispels many a shadow.
With all my love, Ann
Our Plans
1. We are starting to sell food supplements (see p. 9). These will be available permanently and are made by the Life Extension Foundation. A growing number of these will be added to our website over the coming months. If you don’t have access to our website please call our office and we’ll be happy to send you a list.
2. We are sticking rigorously to our goal of providing you with more features to read, but we will be reducing the number of pages in the Cygnus Review by making the order form integral again, rather than separate. Which do you prefer?
3. From the next issue of the Cygnus Review, we are considering changing the format to A5. This will save us a great deal of money on postage, which keeps on going up and up as you know. We hope you will find this format easier to read while you are out, and keep in a shelf when you’re not.
4. Sam (younger son) and the office team are working hard at thinking of ways to attract new members and improving the service they offer.
5. John (older son) is working practically round the clock to develop a new website that will give you a much smoother and we hope more enjoyable experience of using our website, and enable us to attract more members online.
6. After having a really helpful talk with Michelle Pilley (MD of Hay House UK), I am going to start doing Twitter and Facebook regularly so we can interact with you, and hopefully lots more people too, online.
7. In case I pass away before I retire – and indeed to give me time to heal properly – I am taking steps to ensure that the different parts of my job are taken over by wise and discriminating people. I have nearly finished this process and my main concern is that you receive at least the same level of guidance and support as we have always sought to provide. The wings of the great swan will not cease to protect you just because I am not in physical form. (Just to reassure you – I’m not planning to go any time soon! I am very far from beaten and still believe I can recover completely.)