 Dear Friends,
Have you noticed how, sometimes, you can be so focused on exploring spiritual heights, that you forget what's right under your nose? How, with your gaze so firmly directed inwards, you neglect to look outwards, and then you wonder why things don't seem to be working in your life? Well that's what happened to us this year, and we'd like to tell you about it.
Coming straight to the point, financially speaking, this year has been an exceptionally rocky one for Cygnus! Since around February, we've noticed how our readers seem to be able to afford less than usual to spend on books interest rate increases, tax rises and general economic uncertainty seem to have taken their toll, and no doubt competition from the big internet booksellers has had an effect. But whatever the cause, the result for us has been huge difficulty in making ends meet, and we've had to borrow quite a lot to bridge the gap.
Now, being the enthusiastic 'new agers' we are, we didn't approach this situation in the usual way. Instead, we set to work changing our thoughts, feelings and beliefs, so as to change the experiences coming into our lives, as recommended by new age authors the world over. We dutifully carried out all the advice on abundance given in books like Ask and It is Given. We explored our past lives in case the problems were coming from there, rescinded any past-life vows of poverty we may have made, and worked on changing ingrained attitudes that seemed to be more appropriate to the past than to the present. To give all our spiritual efforts the chance to work through onto the material plane, we also worked harder and longer than we've ever worked in our lives. We overhauled every item of expenditure, making savings wherever we could without compromising the quality of service we provide for you, and we made the magazine more colourful hence all the magenta! and improved our range of special offers.
We also set about asking for help. And this is where we have to laugh at ourselves, because who did we ask? Well, starting at the top of the list: God-Goddess, archangels, angels, spirit guides, departed loved ones, elementals you name them; if they weren't here on the material plane, we asked them! We felt them helping us, and we know for sure they did, they do, and they always will. So surely, you would think, all that would have done the trick? Well, weve made great strides and we're over the worst of it, that's true otherwise we wouldn't be here today writing this letter. But you can see our glaring omission, can't you? You can guess why we know we haven't got things completely right just yet. And why theres still one more lesson the Universe clearly wants us to learn from this situation. Because who did we forget to ask for help? You! How's that for spiritual myopia?
Well, of course we are deeply aware of the huge amount of help and goodwill you send us already. But would you like it if we quietly faded away without even letting you know we were in difficulty? Of course not! You'd think we were crazy, wouldn't you?
So, dear reader, may we ask for your help? As you probably realise, our goal at Cygnus is to introduce inspirational perspectives on health, spirituality and more Earth-friendly ways of living, to as many people as possible. That's why we include the editorial, features and Chat Page in The Cygnus Review, rather than just filling it with things we want to sell. And that's why we always send the Cygnus Review to as many people as we can possibly afford to, rather than only those who order from us regularly. So, when you choose to buy your books and gifts from Cygnus, rather than from the big internet booksellers or chain stores, you are supporting something more than just a business. You are supporting a community consisting of you, the many thousands of other Cygnus members, and of course the forty people who work for Cygnus all of whom are seeking healing and transformation in their lives and want to help others do the same.
So how can you help, apart from by choosing to buy books from us? We've thought of a number of ways, and you may well be able to think of others:
- You could pass your old copies of The Cygnus Review on to friends, neighbours, hairdressers, therapists, local libraries or schools etc. (We have plenty of back issues if you want to circulate them.)
- You could become a Cygnus Supporter. This costs a suggested amount of just £10 per year, which covers the cost of printing and posting The Cygnus Review to you. In return, you receive some excellent benefits: free p&p on all orders to your home address if you live in the UK, or reduced p&p if you live overseas; a free copy of our Backlist, and three 10% off vouchers to use on three orders from Cygnus.
- You could also ask to become a Cygnus Volunteer (call Geoff or Eddie for details). Cygnus Volunteers help distribute The Cygnus Review and leaflets about Cygnus in their locality, and sometimes help out on the Cygnus stand at local events.
- You may choose to become an email member and download a monthly PDF version of The Cygnus Review, rather than having it posted to you on paper. This would save us printing and postage costs.
- Finally and most importantly, even if you can't help us in any of the material ways, please could you just let us know you still enjoy reading The Cygnus Review and how frequently you would like it. Then we know we are not wasting resources.
We believe that reading is not just a luxury. The sleep of materialism is at last losing its hold. Our souls want to break free, to stretch and grow, to make themselves felt in our world. To do this, they need food, attention, strengthening. Reading words that align us with soul wisdom even if the words convey ideas we are already familiar with is one of the best ways to give strength and nourishment to our souls. The old illusions are losing their hold, yes, but the old habits that go with them die hard, and we need to make the conscious effort to build new ones. Reading is one of the easiest ways to reinforce these new habits in our minds, to weave the new clothing our souls need. That's why we offer you The Cygnus Review, and why, to end this letter, we'd like to draw your attention to two items we have recently published ourselves: Be Here Now: The Cygnus Review Calendar, and Mary Magdalene, Beloved Disciple. Our Calendar, with its beautiful images of nature, complemented with uplifting quotes, is designed to help you find islands of stillness and peace in the midst of everyday turmoil. It is made with love.
Mary Magdalene, Beloved Disciple is the best novel we've read for years. It helped us dissolve one of the most deep-seated and insidious 'old habits' of all the habit of separating male from female, light from dark, spirit from matter, life from death, accepting the one and rejecting the other. A beautiful love story, we found it very healing on a deep level, for it helped us remember the truth: that all these polar opposites are equally important, and they need to be connected to form a circle if you want divine energy to flow. It is their intertwining, their state of dynamic equilibrium, that forms the miraculous dance we call creation.
Let's dance on then. And may we wish you a Winter Solstice, Christmas and New Year illumined by wisdom, warmed by love and fuelled by divine energy. With much love from
Ann, Geoff and all at Cygnus
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