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Supermodel, yogi, certified health coach and environmentalist Angela Lindvall talks about the power of intention and her jewelry designs promoting peace.
Photo By Ben Drapper
My life has always been a strange dichotomy of contrast. I was a tomboy from Kansas City who was called to the world of makeup, fashion, and runways. Who would have thought? In the midst of a high-fashion consumerism career, I became an avid environmentalist wanting to save the planet. When my life hit rock-bottom due to the sudden death of my sister and a devastating divorce, I realized that the only way I could heal the planet would be to heal myself first.
A rock ’n’ roll rebel then became a yogi. I got my Kundalini yoga certification, and became a certified health coach. It is through contrast that I have learned the most: seeing through appearances, and not over-identifying with labels. Through contrast, we are able to be clear about what we do not want, so we can truly know what we do want. Today I am simply an advocate for humanity and the planet. Through my jewelry collaboration with Article 22, the contrast of war becomes a message of peace.
Photo By Ben Drapper
Article 22 takes shrapnel from remnants of the Vietnam war in the form of cluster bombs and landmines, melts it down, and creates jewelry with a message of peace. I decided to collaborate on a jewelry line with Article 22 and in doing so, start a campaign for peace, “Peace Begins In Me.” My pieces are engraved with the message “I Am Love, I Am Light, I Am Peace,” and then overlaid with sacred geometrical designs in sterling silver or 14K gold.
How do we create peace in ourselves, and peace in our world? Politically, socially, environmentally, economically—there is a lot that we are up against, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. We may ask ourselves: How can I, as just one individual, create change? Especially when we can barely keep up with the daily grind. Many of us on a personal level feel the pressures of the outside world, to the point of adrenal fatigue. There is so much focus on the external—the way we look, other people, social media, TV, phones, computers, etc. These have become addictions, and a way that we identify ourselves.
We live through judgement and comparison whether we are consciously aware of it or not. Yet simultaneously, we are living in times of great potential. Comparable to the industrial revolution, when we were alive with invention and promise of new opportunities, we are at a time of great technological innovation, cutting-edge science, and greater understanding of the body and mind. We can fear a future of robots, ecological wastelands, war, and domination, or we can live in the space of vision and possibility.
Imagine a world where we use technology to replace the mundane tasks so that we can focus on rebuilding our biosphere. Imagine cities teeming with life, agriculture, mind-expanding experiences, art, music, performance, and time to invest in our families and ourselves. There are many possibilities. We are the generation to implement our genius for a new future, and many solutions are already here. I am an optimist and believe in our potential. We are only using a very small fraction of our brains. Science hasn’t even cracked the potential of these built-in computer systems. If we are only using 10 percent of our capacity, imagine what we can do with the other 90 percent! This is exciting. It is known that whatever we focus on, we create.
The question is, what are we putting our focused attention on? Can we use our imaginations to unlock our highest potential to evolve as a human race? I believe we can. We have forgotten many of our truths and the wisdom of the ancient past. We have dumbed ourselves down in the modern world. We have forgotten that we are master creators in so many ways. We are conductors of pranic life force energy waiting to be generated and projected inward and outward. We have energetic structures within our being—a capacity to tap into the greater web of life. The sacred geometrical structures of the Earth and universe are right here within us. Like a short circuit that needs to be rewired to produce energy, we just have to tune back in and remember how.
So where do we begin? Right here, right now! It starts with you. And it’s not outside of you. We no longer have to search outside of ourselves. It all begins from within. The inward journey is the answer to our deepest healing, both individually and collectively. You hold the power of the universe within you. It all starts with where you place your attention. What thoughts are you holding throughout the day? Are they of lack and limitation? Judgement? Anger? Hate? All of our thoughts generate energy in our feeling body. From our feelings we then create our reality.
So how do we heal these wounds in our feeling body when so many of us have been betrayed, hurt, attacked, manipulated? What if we ourselves are beating ourselves down the worst? This is the cycle of the human condition of pain and suffering. But we can get out of this torture and illusion through love, mercy and forgiveness. First, we must tap into our Highest Self—the core of our being, the light within us. We must ask this aspect of ourselves to take dominion over our human mortal mind. Then we must connect with our hearts…the purity of love. With this simple daily practice of remembering the love and light within us—the truth of who we really are—we begin to dissolve the pain. This then begins to unfold in our daily lives through healing our physical body, mental body, and feeling body—the trinity of our human makeup. By healing ourselves, we collectively heal together. We then can take this generated love and light within us, and project it out into the world and to others.
It sounds so simple, and it is—yet also the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves and our world. Remember these mantras: “I am love, I am light, I am peace;” “Peace begins in me.” By starting here, we can tap into our greatest human potential and use our creative life force energy to imagine and implement our greatest visions yet.