Welcome to 2018, everyone! This issue marks the 24th anniversary of Natural Awakenings, and we invite you to join us in celebrating the magazine’s fresh, bold redesign. It’s all intended to serve you even better via a new logo, snappy layout, larger graphics and overall crisp look and feel aligned with the times. It represents the commitment of our high-energy family of 80+ publishers to provide up-to-date content in a reader-friendly context.

Many people I encounter are more than ready to leave much of 2017 behind, including the series of natural and manmade upheavals that distinctly show that old mindsets and ways of operating aren’t working for us anymore, both in our personal lives and the collective human consciousness. A friend and I laughed recently in recounting yet another stressful event when I commented: “Oh, that was so 2017… we’ve moved past it now that we’re moving into new 2018 energy.”

I’ve been diligent in working to overcome sources of stress using many of the tips you’ll find in this month’s “Dial Down Stress” feature article by Lisa Marshall on page 36. In doing so, I’ve been forced to let go of old patterns and ways of being that no longer serve me. I’m convinced that as we do this in our inner life and personal circles, it ripples out into the world. Observing the larger picture from this standpoint, I’m focused on how individual and collective paradigms of fear and separation are being replaced with cooperative alliances, trust, faith and the means to empower one another to make decisions for the greater good.

In contrast to news reports of escalating violence and increasing polarization, I’m discerning evidence to the contrary. People are embracing their differences while discovering our underlying oneness, open-hearted conversations are on the rise, innovative solutions are emerging and people are feeling more empowered to make a difference in their own lives and those of others. So I am boldly leaping into 2018 expressing a deeper, heartfelt commitment to our collective awakening to who we are and the kind of world we are capable of creating together.

I’ve discovered some sure kick-starters to fresh, hopeful feelings that you might find work for you, too. They include lending a helping hand to someone in need; telling people close to you that you love and appreciate them; and admiring the beauty in nature’s big and little wonders all around us.

Beginning with the first breath and thought when you awaken each morning, envision the kind of world you want to live in and align all your thoughts, words and actions with your intentions. Just take one breath, thought and step at a time… mindfully, calmly, lovingly.  

I am always grateful for the loving, wise, supportive advertisers and contributors that fill the pages of Natural Awakenings with their special energy each month. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone in this new year to make the most of the opportunities presented here and elsewhere; try something that stretches and expands you, and then keep going.

Here’s to your best year ever!

Sharon Bruckman, Publisher