Manifesting New Energy
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For the past year we've been making changes to the magazine, and each issue I've indicated
there
were more changes to come. Before I introduce our new partner, I want to tell those of you who
have been with us for a long time what is happening and why. With this issue Bev Titus and I have completed our seventeenth year of publishing The Door Opener. For the most part when one issue is put to bed we catch our breath and then start on the next one. One day, while on vacation, I stepped back and realized that somehow we had gotten to our mid-sixties and began to do some soul searching. Are we still having fun? What happens to the magazine when we want to do something else? What if one of us gets sick? Is there something else the Universe wants us to do? Who does the magazine really belong to? If it has its own life are we holding it back by holding onto it? Originally we thought that we created the magazine, it was our energy that built it and when we were ready to quit we would close the doors and others would create their own publications. But somewhere along the way the magazine took on a life of its own. We now feel we have a responsibility to not only pass it on to the next generation, but to bring in new energy to help it grow. The first step in manifesting is to make the conscious decision to create or change something. In this case the conscious decision was to release control of the magazine, let in new people and energy and see where the Universe would take it. But where do you find a new partner? You don't run an ad in the paper for a holistic publisher to find someone you can work with and trust to one day run the magazine. Fortunately, when you ask, the Universe provides. I've been involved with the Connecticut Holistic Health Association since its birth. Working with holistic organizations has been a wonderful opportunity to meet people, but for those willing to give of their time, it's an opportunity to learn, often under stress, just what they are made of and what they can do. Thus it was that two years ago Dory Dzinski took on the role of president of the organization. I think she took the job partly because she believed in the goals of the organization, partly to test herself and see how she would respond in a leadership position and partly because the Universe had a plan for her. As a single mom with a full time job in a law office and plans to earn a Masters Degree in Counseling, she certainly didn't need more work and probably often wondered what made her decide to do it. Halfway through the year it dawned on me that Dory could be the person I was looking for to bring into The Door Opener. She is responsible, a hard worker, attends to detail, follows through on her commitments, is comfortable working with a variety of people, has a good business head, has great faith in the Universe to support her and highly values honesty. So as we worked together the rest of the year I tried to picture how we might fit together on the magazine. When her presidency ended in June 2002, I offered her a full partnership in An Open Door; but she first had to fulfull her commitment to complete her Masters. The year has passed, Dory has graduated, left her job at the law firm and as of June 1 we were off and running. Dory is in transition (aren't we all). For the past 25 years she worked in a law office in Hartford with severely injured people. On her journey she became a Reiki Master Teacher, graduated from Dottie Martin-Neville's Institute of Healing Arts and Sciences with a three-year Certification in Spiritual Healing, and recently earned a Masters Degree in Pastoral Counseling from St. Joseph College. She is now in the process of building her private counseling practice. She conducts workshops at area community colleges, is a Justice of the Peace, and is a certified crisis debriefer specializing in the restructuring of trauma. For the first year, our intent is to teach her everything there is to know about the magazine so that should I feel called to sit on some mountaintop and dispense wisdom to spiritual seekers the magazine will continue. More specifically, her responsibilities this first year will be the editorial content in the front of the magazine - articles and columns - which I guess makes her the Editor. She will also have responsibility for the kickoff newsletter to advertisers, subscriptions, updating and maintaining the website and this fall the 2004 Holistic Practitioners Directory. I'll continue to handle the advertising and layout, as well as keep an overall eye on things. The goal is to split the workload 50 - 50. If this works out, we should both have enough extra time to develop new projects to support the holistic community. So the magazine is infused with new energies. Besides Dory we have promoted Leanne Peters, who is responsible for our color covers and new look, to Art Director. Now, we'll see what the Universe has in mind for us........ -Jon Roe |