Beginnings are very important and this is a delightful tale of spiritual interaction that was the catalyst for the Way of the Heart Journal coming into being.

In 1994 I was a company director with no interest or knowledge of life outside of my busy mainstream world, and in order to get some respite from the pressure of work I took a holiday skiing in Aspen, Colorado. While there, I visited a local museum. Arriving at the entrance I found a strange reluctance which prevented me from entering, and decided (as it was very cold) to continue walking.

Some blocks later I chanced upon a small older style house set back off the road in a sidestreet with the name "Rocky Mountain Bookshop" on a sign over the veranda. I entered. It was most unusual, just a cozy room with a large pot-belly stove glowing, a rocking chair in the middle of the room and a wall and table filled with very 'strange' books and magazines. While I was browsing, a man came through the door, about 60 odd, white hair and a comfortable tanned face. He obviously owned the shop and asked me what I thought of the book I had in my hand. I had to admit, it was far beyond my understanding. Ivan introduced himself and then proceeded to ask me why I was there.

"We're here to ski", I said.

"No, why are you here?" he asked again.

"Oh, you mean in the shop? Well I'm not sure, I just wandered in off the street!"

"No, why are you here?" he persisted.

Well, that really confused me. If I wasn't there to ski, or look at the books, I had no answers!

"Well, I guess we had better ask my guide Chief Crazy Horse," he said, and with that he went into a trance. I thought I had run into an outpost of the Moonies and looked for a way out - there was none. A few moments later he looked at me and said "Congratulations, you're one of us. You are a Starship Commander with the Galactic Federation, you are from the Pleiades, and you've come to take people home!"

"From the where?" I have enough trouble navigating my car, so I sure hope someone is going to give me some lessons!

This was too weird for words. I dined out on that story for months! However, strange things began to happen in my life.

A friend was passed a book from someone who did not know me, saying it was for their friend from the Pleiades. I left a message in a local Health Store that carried the book and asked for the next buyer to give me a ring. They did –

"What is going on?" I asked.

"How much do you already know ?"

"Nothing!" I explained. Then they started to explain, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing……and so it began.

Shortly thereafter, I had a "knowing", like a message, that said I had to give up the charter yacht business that my wife, Evelyn and I had for 20 odd years, that there was more important work to do and that I only had until the year 2000. Just five years away to accomplish my task.

Strangely enough, the opportunity soon presented itself, although not how I might have chosen. We sold, well virtually gave  our business away and left New Zealand on a prolonged South Pacific promotional tour in America. It seemed like an opportunity to convey to the American people, the values and lifestyles of the peoples of the South Pacific. Having sailed across the Pacific years before and managed our charter business in several island groups we knew the people well. We placed much emphasis on the indigenous beliefs and cultures that all had so much in common with each other and with quite a different outlook on life from that of the white man.

We were at the crossroads in our life when we arrived in Sedona, Arizona in April of 1996. Although we were enjoying our promotions, as we moved into the mid-west our audiences dropped considerably and the cost of advertising was far in excess of what we had anticipated or could afford. With each passing day, we were going deeper and deeper into debt. We were terribly confused. When we left New Zealand we had been so sure that we were supposed to be going to the States. We knew we had a mission, we needed help, but seemed unable to get answers. Through a mutual New Zealand friend, we met Robert Shapiro. Robert is a very respected channel for an amazing entity known as Zoosh.

Fascinated with the concept of channeling, we shared an American tradition of going out to breakfast together and Robert was astute enough to pick up on the fact that we were floundering and unsure of what direction we should be looking at for our future. He suggested we determine what we wanted in life, then visit the Airport Vortex (one of the more powerful vortex areas in Sedona) and tell the Universe want we wanted. Once we had put our request forward we should then leave it and let the Universe take care of it. Little did we know how short a time that was to be. After spending the better part of that day talking and meditating on what it was each of us really wanted, we both determined that we would like to play a role in the expansion of Spirit in communications and offered to dedicate our lives to help spread the word.

Two weeks later we met O'Ryin Swanson, publisher and originator of SEDONA Journal of EMERGENCE! who had a mission to expand the publication of her Journal into Australia and New Zealand. She asked if we were the ones she had been looking for!!! We accepted the challenge, and from that moment our lives changed. Within the hour Spirit had us on a "Fast Track" programme of education into the myriad of paths into the New Age. From April 1996, my wife and I went into an amazing series of life changes and exciting shifts in consciousness.

On return to New Zealand, not knowing the market potential, we were amazed when we assembled a mailing list of 10,000 names in just six weeks. We used the remains of our funds producing a flyer, but had no money for the postage. Imagine our astonishment two days later when the New Zealand Post Office offered, for the first time in history, a one-day-only FREE POST offer!  We started to believe that we were doing what was right. It is all about trust.

In November I knew the Journal had to be based in Brisbane, Australia. I also knew that it was a time to make another change in my life releasing our 28 year old marriage bonds.

In February of 1997, I brought the Journal to Australia. Since then the spiral of growth, both personal and with the Journal has continued unabated. Suzanne, my partner, and I live on the Gold Coast close to Brisbane, Queensland and continue to produce a publication to satisfy a growing readership.

More importantly we are personally experiencing incredible shifts in our consciousness, almost it seems, in tandem to the frequency of the Journal. Each shift presents us with experiences and understanding that are then supported by beautiful articles and wisdom from teachers and spiritual leaders around the world.

Our experiences form the themes that shape the Journal. All in all it is an amazing journey that keeps expanding ahead of us. We now know that our role is to fully expand the exploration into higher consciousness that is occurring throughout society and to provide a variety of non-religious, non sectarian information that will support people.

Our aim is to provide our readers with the confidence to take back their power, accept responsibility for what occurs in their lives, understand that life is totally their own manifestation and that as grand spiritual beings having an human experience, they have the power within them to bring Heaven to Earth in every moment.

How could I have ever imagined such an adventure would eventuate from meeting a funny little man in a bookshop?!

COME TO THE EDGE

"WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA", the Customs officer said as he glanced at my passport. "How long can I stay?", I asked. "Forever" was his answer, "Enjoy your life here".

Roger. How could he have known that it was the beginning of a new life in a new country? At 52 with only $19 and a bottle of champagne I was starting anew.

I stepped through into the waiting area. The question uppermost in my mind was "will she be there?". You see, searching for joy and happiness I had 'run away' from a 28 year old marriage into the unknown. Suzanne had broken the binding that had kept me attached to a relationship which had drifted into mediocrity and once I realised that I could not rejuvenate the relationship, I knew I had to go. Everything had occurred in perfection to bring me to Australia at that time, just four years ago. I made my decision and I did not really know if I was on my own or had someone waiting.

Suzanne. Well, someone was waiting for him at the Airport...Me. Thin, brittle and nervous. For the first time in my life I had shocked everyone who knew me. Just five months after meeting Rog. I had decided to walk away from a secure life. Paid mortgage, antiques, cars, shares and superannuation.

I packed a suitcase for summer and winter, an electric frypan, two place settings of china & cutlery and two champagne glasses, in my little car and left, not knowing when or if, I would sort out the history of my life. I was in love with him within three days of meeting him and the universe created many miracles to allow that to become a whole new life within five months. I loved my husband of 21 years, my boys, my parents, family and friends, but nothing was powerful enough to hold me against the drive to take back my freedom and risk it with Rog.

So from having told no one at all, to telling my immediate family and leaving, took just four days. Four dreadful days of pain and guilt at the hurt and upheaval that I was causing, in what must have seemed like a selfish mid life crisis. Most of the time I was as numb as a robot, trying to stay calm and rationale, while I witnessed all those I love, cope with the shock of the decision that I had made. By the time I met Rog at the airport, I had lost half a stone and wasn't terribly coherent.

Roger. Jani King and P'taah were scheduled for events along the East Coast and it was part of the Journal's job to manage them, so I had work to do. Suzanne had set up the tour and we had hopes for great crowds for that was to be our opportunity to introduce the Journal in Australia. Although we made some money, most had to go back to New Zealand and our day to day living in Brisbane became literally hand to mouth. On top of which we were both very sick with the shock of what we had done. Suzie had low blood pressure and Candida and I mirrored her every symptom and had chronic asthma to boot.

Suzanne. Having no financial security was a new experience for me and it bought the accompanying fear of lack and limitation. Yet I discovered that I had run away with a magician, a natural Merlin and day after day he taught me about miracles. Every kind of luck from windfalls to parking spaces. What I discovered was that I had been swaddled in material comfort & 1 was desensitized to the wonder of how the universe provides.

When I was not sure where the next place to sleep was coming from and it all unfolded Perfectly, maybe something else was helping, some dynamic that really provided everything without any 'control' on my part. I also discovered that I had many dependencies, that I had never recognized. My comfort zone in a community I had lived in for fifteen years. Hooked on appearance and normality I was known and accepted everywhere, the bank, the hairdresser, dentist, doctor, shopping, trades people, solicitor, friends & work.

It sounds pathetic now, but at that time in those first few months I couldn't venture forth to even buy milk without a street map and advice on where to go. Slowly but surely the old crystalline structure that represented Suzanne was chipped away, allowing the real person underneath to emerge. Who I thought I was, wasn't much help any more.

Roger. Motel life was OK, but expensive and we relocated 38 times in those first three months together. There was no business, and we had no fixed abode. Our business and worldly goods were in thirteen small cardboard boxes. Everything seemed a battle, our phone bill at the motel was outrageous, every other day we had to pack up everything, food and all and relocate. Until one day the motel had 'no room at the Inn' and we had to move on. With our money dwindling and no where to live, a friend offered us a bedroom until we could get the key to the place we wanted to rent.

One evening while meditating I asked why we couldn't settle. I received the message that it was a test of our endurance and 100 days would pass before we had a place of our own. 100 days exactly to the day we moved into our new home - a small rented villa in Brisbane.

Suzanne. We had just enough money to pay our bond and one months rent, with a $1,000, to set up house. Someone lent us a bed and we used the money we had to buy furniture at the auction rooms. Weekends we would comb the flea markets for vegetables and treasures. We are still using the glasses we bought for $5 for a box lot. Slowly we added pot plants, a broom, a vacuum cleaner, a dinner set, pots and pans. All purchased with great excitement and gratitude. All contributing to a beautiful, exciting new life.

Roger. We did everything we could to make a living, even setting up a stand at Brisbane's weekend waterfront market - using cardboard boxes and masking tape for the table we couldn't afford. Gradually we made friends and some people bought the Journal. We started advertising our first tour to Sedona by word of mouth, and our weekly treat was a roast lunch at the pub for $1.95. The big adventure twice a week was the trip to the Post Office to check our box and most times we found that we had sold a subscription which allowed us the chance to go shopping for groceries.

Suzanne. We converted the spare bedroom into the office. We had two desks, one telephone and one old laptop computer, which produced the first Australian edition of the Journal. Everyday we diligently went to the office and applied ourselves to every idea we could come up with. Believe me there were plenty. Rog is a natural entrepreneur, never short of an idea. Most of them died a natural, but every now and again something worked and we made a few dollars, enough to keep going for another week. We put together a couple of seminars and events, and I still remember with love and gratitude the support and encouragement we received.

Roger. We struggled through from March to July and then we had no money to pay the rent on the much loved home we had made. Three days before it was due, a wonderful person, a reader gifted us $1,000 - exactly what we needed. We breathed again, August came round and again we were in strife and the same thing - an unexpected cheque for $1,000 turned up, payment for marketing assistance. We were surviving and the tour was all set for twelve people. Enough to recover the costs and give a small profit. Then disaster struck - four people cancelled independently of each other all in one week! With only eight we had just enough to cover the tour costs but barely enough for us to buy our own food.

Suzanne. Before we left on the tour, I sat down for a heart to heart with Rog. I felt we should give up. We didn't have enough money to print another Journal, and while Gordon & Gotch, Australia's biggest magazine distributors believed in us enough to want to distribute the Journal, we needed to be able to carry the cost of three print runs at $12,000 each, before we would see any money back and we couldn't even cover the rent! I felt the sensible thing was to quit and find jobs.

Roger. This truly was crunch time for me. I knew that 1 had to make a decision. 1 could get a job in some management position, yet I knew that while the money would be good, the hours and commitment required would allow no opportunity for me continue to expand my spiritual growth as I wanted. I had committed to Spirit to work in Communications and everything had seemed so right. 1 had to choose and if necessary let go of everything and be prepared to sleep on the beach if that is what it took. I knew too that 1 couldn't ask that of Suzanne. I knew then this is what I would do and give up our relationship if necessary. I was 100% committed.

Suzanne. While we were away we had so much worry with the exchange rate and the possibility that something may go wrong. Once we reached Sedona, the energy wasn't to be denied and first Rog got sick, followed days later by me. A beautiful healer told me that 1 was undergoing a crisis, stripping away my old beliefs, and preparing me to return to my home town after the tour, to sort out a settlement and connect with my children & family. A daunting prospect given how they all felt about me. We had around US $200 of our own money left and my visit to the doctor took all of that in one visit.

With our plans curtailed through sickness we changed our tickets for an earlier flight to come home. The conditions of our tickets required that we pay an extra Au$100 ea, to change, but due to my sickness in LA, they waived it. When we arrived in N.Z. on the way through, the ticket people announced that we had to pay or stay over for an extra week, to the correct date. We stood in the Airport like a pair of lost waifs, and prayed to our Angel's, to do something. We gave them 15 minutes to perform a miracle then approached the ticket office again only to be told the rules were The Rules. Rog must have looked very lost, because the very grumpy lady told him to stay there and went into the office. She came back minutes later and told him that in the entire history of her working with the company they had never allowed this rule to be changed and she didn't know why they were doing it now. Banged a stamp on both our tickets and told him to go and check in - don't ever discount angels! We had exactly $25 left to get the cab home from the airport. Not much food in the cupboard and no apparent future.

Roger. We returned home, sick, destitute and very worried. To publish the Journal in Australia required $30,000 to get the first three issues out there. We tried to sell the Journal and stay on as editors. We tried to give it away and by working normal jobs for a living, do the editing for a small percentage of sales. No one was interested. Yet we were unable to give up. We prayed and kept faith. Four long days went by and one morning the phone rang. A friend offered us funds, an extended loan big enough to get one issue out there. That weekend a further issue was funded by a successful Financial Consultant and his wife. While saying that our project was not something that he could recommend to anyone else, they personally believed in what we were doing that they would support it totally out of their own pocket. Within a week, a third issue was funded by a lady taking a two year advertising contract and paying up front. We were in business. Our prayers had been answered.

Suzanne. I still remember that morning, the excitement was better than Christmas. We were back in business and better still, somebody else believed in us enough to make such a huge gesture. I have to add here, as a triumph for God, that the first couple were the most beautiful, metaphysically wise, conscious Jewish people!

Roger. I am not sure exactly when I 'Came to the Edge', maybe it was giving up my previous business in New Zealand, maybe leaving my wife, maybe coming to Australia, maybe those first few months in Brisbane. I do know the pain, the guilt, the loss, the joy, and the freedom all bought me to the beauty of where I am now. Throughout those times of fear of not knowing why, not understanding what was happening, I trusted that what 1 was doing was 'right'. I do know that I am very happy doing exactly what 1 am meant to be doing and I know that if I 'come to the edge' again, I will "take that Leap of Faith" without hesitation. I know that I am always safe and well cared for when I trust in the Divine. It was an awesome experience

Suzanne. I love the new me. Living simply, a much more honest and real person. I am truly grateful, and happy. My life is full of miracles and wonderful experiences that I could never have envisaged. I love to try to imagine every time some new impossible dream is fulfilled, how I would have felt if I had been told back then, that it would turn out like this, how full of joy and anticipation I would have been, or maybe I would never have believed it!

Many of the old wounds are healed, some of the old friends are gone, but there are beautiful new ones, and a never ending day to day adventure, in the flow! What can I say other than.....,

"THANK YOU GOD!"