Beloved students, as I greet you this month, we are moving very quickly toward the close of 2010. What a year it has been! There have been unprecedented opportunities for service, not only in the areas from which each of you hail, but at a global level as well. For those who participated in events on Earth Healing Day (August 15), you may have been able to dip a bit deeper into the reality of oneness—as a planetary experience. The amazingly positive response demonstrates that people around the world are ready to open their hearts to the needs of the planet. Is this not a magnificent thing to celebrate? Due to amazing positive global feedback, Earth Healing Day has been expanded to a monthly opportunity for offering prayers, meditations, chants, healing energy, and blessings to the planet. Thank you, citizens of Earth!

The year 2010 has seen remarkable shifting of Earth's tectonic plates, which brought about significant changes at the surface of the planet. Volcanoes and earthquakes underscored the reality that nothing is fixed, and virtually everything can change in the space of a breath. The quaking and erupting, however, was not only present in regard to Earth's physical body: Financial institutions, monetary systems, and to some extent government functions have also responded to the tremors of a shaking planet. Furthermore, that volcanic energy release of oil in the Gulf of Mexico shocked the world when inhabitants in the Gulf became unwitting hosts to a travesty of immense proportions. Toxic oil and gases were blown at an unprecedented rate into pristine waters, causing a huge toll in suffering for beings ranging from microscopic in size to the great sea mammals. The human kingdom also paid a huge price for the "mistake," a debt of extortion that will likely continue for years to come.