Christine began her spiritual journey at the age of 24 with an overland trip to India, where she met her teacher in 1972. She has been a Heartfulness practitioner and trainer ever since. She has been an editor for 35 years, and also a university administrator at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.



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Christine Prisland

<h2 style="text-align:center;">EDITOR’S BOOK REVIEW</h2><h4 style="text-align:justify;">CHRISTINE PRISLAND shares her love of books, good storytelling, and a particular author that inspires and delights her—Alexander McCall Smith.</h4>&nbsp;As an avid reader I look for books that entertain, provide hope, and enhance my understanding of the human condition and the various dilemmas and situations we face daily. The author I turn to most often is Alexander McCall Smith, a Scotsman who was born in Africa, and taught medical law at universities in the UK and abroad. He lives in Edinburgh.His background and focus on bioethics are reflected in the content of the various series he has written, including The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency set in Botswana, Isabel Dalhousie and 44 Scotland Street, both set in Edinburgh, his children’s books, and many other books. A reviewer in The Sunday Times Scotland wrote, “His talent is to see the god in small things.”Why do I treasure and return to his books over and over again?&nbsp;He has a gift for intelligent story telling. His characters engage often in inner philosophical musings about life in general and puzzle over the ethical and kind approach to the ordinary and often mundane things we all encounter. Each book resonates with optimism, kindness, understanding, hope, peace, and a respect for tradition while adapting to a changing world. He ponders over thoughts on how to respond to prickly people and situations, and how to maintain optimism. Never preachy, and with gentle dry humour and simplicity, he writes with a tone that is both elegant and polite. His books make me think and learn!<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Each book resonates with optimism, kindness, understanding, hope, peace, and a respect for tradition while adapting to a changing world.</h4><hr>In a recent email to his readers introducing a new book, he writes:&nbsp;“If love is unconditional, then how can it have any conditions? That is true, of course, unless you interpret the title as referring to the circumstances in which unconditional love may flourish. Or unless you read it as suggesting that what we commonly think of as unconditional love actually does have certain conditions attached to it that may come into operation only in extreme circumstances. Isabel herself would love a discussion of all that, but for most of us, who have busy lives to lead, life is too short to get too tangled up in debates of that nature. The important thing, for most of us, is that there is love and that love is able to do its work to bring about the healing that our poor, injured world so desperately needs.“Isabel believes in courtesy and consideration for others. She is saddened by the bitter divisions we have allowed to grow up in our societies—divisions in which people glower at one another from behind barricades of mistrust and anger. That is the polar opposite of what she wants for the world. We must love another or die… Isabel believes in the fundamental truth of that.“I love writing these novels. They take me to a world in which the virtues are appreciated. But they also help to reinforce the belief I have that our civilization—that set of values and beliefs that we have built up over the centuries—will survive crude attempts to destroy it by those who believe in nothing very much. Fiction gives us an emotional and intellectual lifeline to survive the horrors of an unhappy, warring world. It is our comfort in times of trial.”And finally,“By acts of love in our own lives, by acts of friendship, by the simple cherishing of those who daily cross our path,&nbsp; and those who do not, by these acts, I think, are we shown&nbsp;what might be; by these acts can we transform that small corner&nbsp; of terra firma that is given to us…”—Alexander McCall Smith, Bertie Plays the Blues, 44 Scotland Street series. &nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/by_acts_of_love2_a1ee70ac50.webp" alt="by-acts-of-love2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_by_acts_of_love2_a1ee70ac50.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_by_acts_of_love2_a1ee70ac50.webp 700w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/by_acts_of_love2_a1ee70ac50.webp 700w," sizes="100vw"></figure>

By acts of love

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">CHRISTINE PRISLAND explores the special atmosphere of peace and healing in her local coastal rainforest in British Columbia, Canada, that heals visitors while it is also regenerating itself.</h4>Imagine taking a walk in the forest right now. You feel the earth and leaves under your feet, the snap of twigs. You listen to the birdsong and look up through the breaks in the canopy to the sky above, noticing how the light filters through to a point just further along the path. You breathe in, deeply. You smell the distinct forest aromas: Moss, Sap, Earth and Wood. You take it all in.-Yoshifumi MiyazakiMy favorite walk is in the coastal rainforest near Victoria, British Columbia. Normally I go there in the warmer months, but this year I visited in February. It is a chilly month of mud, sometimes snow, often rain, messy, and bathed in a filtered light that outlines the surroundings that are hidden during the more bountiful months of the year.As I start my walk, I am struck immediately by the peace and stillness of entering a different world. A tangled bush immediately catches my attention, moss covering the branches like a blanket, with a few wizened fruits peeking through.On the other side of the path, I look down on a small still pond. It looks primeval, like a place where the Jedi Master Yoda would feel at home.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/1_Pond_8b8a7c4a47.webp" alt="1-Pond.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_1_Pond_8b8a7c4a47.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_1_Pond_8b8a7c4a47.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/1_Pond_8b8a7c4a47.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Walking onward, I notice the abundance of moss and lichen. They radiate a deep green and white light, and grow in profusion on branches, tree trunks, rocks, and bare wood. Some resembling creatures in a primeval forest.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/2_Creatures_2bead9e5d9.webp" alt="2-Creatures.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_2_Creatures_2bead9e5d9.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_2_Creatures_2bead9e5d9.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/2_Creatures_2bead9e5d9.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Crossing the wooden bridge, I see deep into the forest—the cliffs, rocks, and ferns that often are hidden in the summer months. It is like seeing the “bones” of the land. Immediately I feel the magic of the place seep into my bones, into my very being. And I feel transported to another level of awareness, of acute observation and connection.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3_Pathway_fc549975c8.webp" alt="3-Pathway.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_3_Pathway_fc549975c8.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_3_Pathway_fc549975c8.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3_Pathway_fc549975c8.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;This awareness is enhanced by the rushing sounds of the creek joyously tumbling down the hillside on its way to the sheltered ocean waters of the inlet.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/4_Creek_0114fbf54a.webp" alt="4-Creek.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_4_Creek_0114fbf54a.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_4_Creek_0114fbf54a.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/4_Creek_0114fbf54a.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">I feel the magic of the place seep into my bones, into my very being. And I feel transported to another level of awareness, of acute observation and connection.</h4><hr>This special place, part of a larger provincial park, is and has been many things. A place where for centuries, the indigenous peoples lived in harmony with their surroundings. It provided food, building materials, clothing, fresh water, the bounty of the sea, and a place for spiritual practices.&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/walk_in_the_woods5_57cf1452d4.webp" alt="walk-in-the-woods5.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_walk_in_the_woods5_57cf1452d4.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_walk_in_the_woods5_57cf1452d4.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/walk_in_the_woods5_57cf1452d4.webp 500w," sizes="100vw">&nbsp;In the early 1900s, a cement company established a limestone quarry, creating a factory, houses, a railway, and clay mill, with a dock for steamships. After a few short years, the limestone was exhausted, and the town abandoned. The evidence of building foundations, such as the old clay mill, are scattered about down the hillside and onto the shores of the inlet itself.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/6_Foundations_5251870e1f.webp" alt="6-Foundations.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_6_Foundations_5251870e1f.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_6_Foundations_5251870e1f.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/6_Foundations_5251870e1f.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;The foundations are also covered with moss as the forest is rapidly reclaiming its existence with the help of the nearby indigenous peoples, the W̱SÁNEĆ [Saanich], who are stewards of this magical and mystical land. They are planting native trees and removing invasive species. It is happening in a very organic way, slowly but surely helping nature to return to this place of healing.Walking down the hill through the forest to the tranquil inlet, I arrive at an open grassy area with benches. It is an ideal place for contemplation, graced by the most unique tree I have ever seen on the coast, locally known as the Snoopy tree.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/7_Snoopy_tree_7a2572589a.webp" alt="7-Snoopy tree.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_7_Snoopy_tree_7a2572589a.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_7_Snoopy_tree_7a2572589a.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/7_Snoopy_tree_7a2572589a.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Further on, I meet an indigenous teacher from the local high school on a field trip with his students. We stop for a chat, as often happens with people who come here. He tells me that the name of this place is SṈIDȻEȽ [pronounced sngeet kwith], the place of the blue grouse. Before the cement company came, there were hundreds of blue grouse nesting in the forest across the inlet.The industrial noises of blasting the limestone, the ships, and the factories killed the grouse. He said they have never come back in the hundred years since, because their collective memory thinks it is a bad place.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/8_Boat_71283db507.webp" alt="8-Boat.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_8_Boat_71283db507.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_8_Boat_71283db507.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/8_Boat_71283db507.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Walking on, I feel a little sad, but also a sense of comfort&nbsp; that this place is being returned to nature with help. It is becoming what it ought to be, allowing nature to reclaim its space.</h4><hr>Walking on, I feel a little sad, but also a sense of comfort that this place is being returned to nature with help. It is becoming what it ought to be, allowing nature to reclaim its space.As a part of the reclamation of the land, I marvel at the quirkiness of the birdhouses installed by a local group to attract the purple martins, who were more abundant in years past.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/9_Bird_Houses_2aed44c827.webp" alt="9-Bird Houses.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_9_Bird_Houses_2aed44c827.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_9_Bird_Houses_2aed44c827.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/9_Bird_Houses_2aed44c827.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;After a small beach, and just before the path ends, lies further industrial evidence left behind a century ago. Things too heavy and awkward to move, and too solid to decompose.&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/walk_in_the_woods11_ef116788b6.webp" alt="walk-in-the-woods11.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_walk_in_the_woods11_ef116788b6.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_walk_in_the_woods11_ef116788b6.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/walk_in_the_woods11_ef116788b6.webp 500w," sizes="100vw">&nbsp;Moving onward, I visit a very special tree alongside the inlet—a huge western red cedar within a low cement wall decorated with modern graffiti. As I meditate under this majestic grandmother tree, I feel a sense of timeliness, of deep peace and healing.&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/walk_in_the_woods12_71b835e542.webp" alt="walk-in-the-woods12.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_walk_in_the_woods12_71b835e542.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_walk_in_the_woods12_71b835e542.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/walk_in_the_woods12_71b835e542.webp 500w," sizes="100vw">Retaining this peace, I slowly make my way back to the car, renewed within, and with hope in my heart.I hope you, too, will find a forest or a place in the wilderness where you can regularly go for solace, for peace, and to observe the changes that remind you of our connection to this planet and its rhythms.Reference: Curry, G., 2015. Tod Inlet—A Healing Place, Rocky Mountain Books.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Photographs by GARY LANGSTAFF and CHRISTINE PRISLAND</h4><hr>

A walk in the woods

Acceptance

In another's shoes

Well-being through creativity

Inner peace

<h4>
 CHRISTINE PRISLAND focuses on those small acts
 of kindness and cooperation that can bring happiness and meaning to every day. She challenges us to explore
 consideration as a prerequisite to kindness, and to look at our level of thoughtfulness and sensitivity in our
 daily interactions with others.
</h4>



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I bought a highly recommended book the other day called #KindnessMatters, and even before I opened the first
 page, I started thinking about kindness. It is a big topic these days, and rightly so, as we try to navigate a
 different way of living. Sometimes we grimly hold on to how we lived prior to March 2020; sometimes we embrace
 different ways and locations of working, and different ways of relating to our loved ones. Sometimes we try to
 understand others with opposing views on vaccination, isolation, complying with the governments’ attempts to lessen
 the impact of Covid. In these times, our lives have changed.



How does kindness fit into this new beginning, as it is often called? Is being considerate of others a cultural
 thing? And can we practice kindness if we don’t experience it in our lives and culture? I’ve traveled a lot, and
 encountered kindness everywhere, so I think it is individual. It comes from within, but how it manifests can be
 influenced by tradition and culture, upbringing and environment.



Consideration for others is at the base of being kind. Can we be kind without feelings of thoughtfulness and
 sensitivity? Or perhaps they go side by side. I don’t really know, and does it matter?



Either way, kindness may be more difficult to practice if we don’t have that sense of consideration. If we cannot see
 another’s point of view, or put ourselves in their shoes, or do not already have a practice of civility in our
 families and communities, can we truly be kind, or does it take work, imagination, and practice?



What are these small civilities? It may manifest as opening doors for people, helping others with heavy loads,
 smiling as we meet strangers on a hiking trail or just on the street, and maybe even striking up a simple
 conversation about the weather, or the beauty around us. It’s about acknowledging the presence of others and helping
 in small ways, with no expectation of return. And it’s just because we are all human, and in our own way striving to
 become better human beings every day. It’s about reaching out.



For example, in the small city where I live, most passengers leaving the bus will thank the driver, even if they are
 getting off at the back of the bus. The first time I heard this, it touched my heart. Here are strangers making a
 connection and showing appreciation to the driver providing the service. To some it may seem odd, as it is the
 driver’s job after all. But it enlarges us in some fundamental way and breaks the isolation that we can sometimes
 put ourselves in.



Consideration is a small thing, but can make a huge difference in another’s life. A few years ago during a road trip,
 we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. There was a staff shortage and many travelers to be fed. The waitress was at
 her wits’ end. She told us how there was only the cook and herself, and she looked as if she couldn’t cope. She was
 so close to tears. I acknowledged how she was feeling: “Oh my, you poor dear, what an awful stressful day you are
 having. We won’t add to it, and I hope it gets better for you.” As I spoke, I could see her finding strength and
 beginning to smile. Her load was lighter because her feeling [extremely stressed] was respected. There was an
 acknowledgment that it really was awful. She was able to say, “No, please don’t go, if you don’t mind waiting
 awhile.”



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<hr>



<h4 class="has-text-align-center">When we feel connected within
 our own selves, we are able to feel and see that we are all human beings doing the best we can on what
 we call the rocky road of life.</h4>



<hr>



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It helps to grow up in a culture where consideration is valued, but it also helps to be sensitive and have an open
 heart. We can learn to think of others. When we feel connected within our own selves, we are able to feel and see
 that we are all human beings doing the best we can on what we call the rocky road of life. We learn to accept and
 grow through adversity and the difficulties life brings to us, as well as to the joys and love we find in big and
 small things. We are all in this together.



Kindness does matter; among other things, it helps us all to grow and evolve to become our best selves.



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 <figure><img decoding="async" width="700" height="410" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/The_Value_of_consideration2_700x410_c4ef303088.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T12:50:50.374Z">
 </figure>
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The value of consideration

<h4
 id="h-christine-prisland-went-on-a-journey-50-years-ago-that-changed-her-life-she-traveled-over-sea-and-land-to-india-from-canada-and-met-babuji-in-shahjahanpur-here-is-her-story">
 CHRISTINE PRISLAND went on a journey 50 years
 ago that changed her life. She traveled over sea and land to India from Canada and met Babuji in Shahjahanpur.
 Here is her story!
</h4>



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Inspired by visions of living a life of inner peace and tranquility, I traveled overland to India in 1971 to find a
 Hatha teacher. My naïve aim was to return to Canada to teach yoga and live that peaceful life, preferably in the
 country with people of like mindset. It was a vague idea, very much informed by the events of the hippie movement of
 the 60s and 70s in the West. The inner call for love and peace in the world, the numerous life-changing books on
 Indian mysticism and gurus, the music of the time, and the feeling of being part of a movement of hope and deeper
 meaning all pulled me toward India.



Fate led me instead to a Raja Yoga practice of heart-based meditation with the goal of complete oneness with the
 Ultimate. A far cry from my original intent. But after three weeks of meditating and meeting the Guru, I realized
 that this was what my soul had really been searching for.



The life of a householder yogi is the same as everyone else’s life. I’ve learned to grow and change through trial and
 error, through the ups and downs of life, through tragedies and joys, through mystical experiences and doubting
 times. Well, so much for the tranquil rather boring life I had envisioned!



Looking back over the past 50 years, my journey has been a slow and steady natural unfolding of inner experience and
 outer change, all due to my meditation practice.



Recently I’ve become aware that my path is not restricted to Raja Yoga. Sad to say, a little superiority had crept
 in: “I do Raja Yoga, strictly meditation. I don’t need those other forms of Yoga.” Now it is obvious that my
 Heartfulness practice has included many forms of Yoga.




<figure><img decoding="async" width="250" height="388" alt="" class="img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Babuji_web_154ff301a2.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T11:06:01.541Z">
</figure>




Karma Yoga – in the form of service, doing, volunteering. That started from my first meeting with my
 Guru, Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, Babuji. When I think not of myself but the other, when service comes from the
 heart, when I am kind to others, my heart opens up more and more. To call it service implies that I am serving and
 the other is being served. But it is a part of my path, no longer a word, but a way of living and being, and a way
 to become a better human being.



Bhakti Yoga – the beautiful art of devotion, love, purity. Devotion not only to my inner practice
 but to my Guru, who embodied the qualities of a saintly human being: noble, humble, simple, who totally accepted me
 as I was, and inspired and nurtured the potential, the soul within me to what I could become.



Jnana Yoga – the gaining of knowledge; reading and study. Each day I learn more, imbibe more, absorb
 more, and reflect more, as I experience the inner manifestation of the stages on the path.



Hatha Yoga – stretching and breathing. I’ve noticed that the breathing exercises prepare my mind to
 focus and dive deeper into meditation; the poses stretch my body in unfamiliar but necessary ways to allow me to sit
 longer, and wonderfully my memory and focus have improved.



How to describe 50 years of a meditative life? I don’t remember much of what I was like at age 24. Unformed,
 innocent, naïve, a little melancholy, no real purpose, somewhat selfish, low in confidence. Till I came to Yoga, to
 meditation. The first Guru of Heartfulness, Lalaji, said very succinctly and beautifully what I feel sums up my
 journey from the age of 24 to now: “You can only win hearts with love. There is no other way.”



<figure><img decoding="async" width="700" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/lifetime_beyond2_700x466_013953bdef.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T11:08:32.694Z">
</figure>
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Yoga: a lifetime and beyond

<h4
 id="h-christine-prisland-finds-humor-in-the-challenges-experienced-in-marriage-thanks-to-some-well-timed-advice-that-put-everything-into-perspective">
 CHRISTINE PRISLAND finds humor in the
 challenges experienced in marriage, thanks to some well-timed advice that put everything into
 perspective.</h4>



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Cultural diversity comes in many shapes, forms, actions, and reactions in all relationships, and it is not always
 visible or apparent.



My husband grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I was born to an English mum and Canadian dad and lived in a small town
 in western Canada. Not too diverse, you would think! But our differing temperaments, expectations, assumptions,
 upbringings, environments, and characters all contributed to differences that affected our relationship.



Early in our marriage we hit a patch where we were unable to communicate. It felt like we were speaking different
 languages. We were listening to sub-text, and interpreting what we thought the other meant, instead of hearing the
 words. It was very difficult, and we were at a loss what to do. So, we wrote to our spiritual teacher for help.



He replied, “The differences between you both are only on the surface and ridiculous.” Ridiculous was an unusual
 word for him to use, and it immediately opened our eyes and hearts as we burst out laughing. He went on to say,
 “Both of you should attend to the evening Cleaning1. I am in favor of your harmonious life and
 experiences in the natural form. With blessings, Ram Chandra.”



The laughter broke our impasse, and we were able to start working together again. We quickly realized this was not
 just a remedy for us, but for all relationships. The differences between everyone are on the surface and ridiculous.
 We are here for something deeper than that.



<hr class="vertical-space1">



<hr>



<h4 class="has-text-align-center">The differences between
 everyone are on the surface and ridiculous.
 We are here for something deeper than that. </h4>



<hr>



<hr class="vertical-space1">



<hr>



1 The Heartfulness Cleaning practice.



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