It’s a very exciting morning. Another issue of Creations is just about ready to go to press, just waiting for some last minute double-checking and for me to finish this column. I get a rush of energy each time we finish an issue. I’ve told people it’s like I move from age 65 to 5, from responsibility to completion– and with that, liberation. Plus, Connie and I did some fun, release-filled dancing last night. But that’s not the real reason I’m so excited this morning. You see, in a few hours, I’ll be meeting Andrea and Neil Garvey– Creations’ new "Mommy" and "Daddy" for the first time.

That’s right– Creations will be continuing! And from what I get from them, Creations will be getting back on track and even flourishing more than ever as a voice for the spiritual, creative and alternative health communities on Long Island and in New York City. This transition signals the end of one phase of Creations and the birth of a new one. The ending phase is one that started, in some ways, over 7 years ago, when Connie and I moved from the Glen Cove/Sea Cliff area to the mountains of North Carolina.

But even before that, I remember being at Osho’s ashram in Pune, India in 1996. One of the friends I had made that trip was a swami named Krishna Prem. He had been around the Ashram since the late ‘70s and was one of its respected advisors and leaders. He also had a great sense of humor, which first attracted me to him when we were on the "zennis" courts. In one of my last days before heading home, he took me by the elbow and asked, "Are you okay to have a talk with me?" "Sure," I said. As we walked through one of the many gardens in the ashram, he looked at me and said, "So what are you going to do after you finish with the magazine?" Startled, I responded, "I’m not sure, I haven’t given it much thought. Why do you ask?" He took a second and said, "Well, it seems like you’re done with it, it’s pasta, baby." (Pasta was an Osho code word for "the past." Osho had come to the dining hall one evening and gotten frustrated– as usual, playfully. "Here I am encouraging you to get out of the past, and we keep serving it (pasta) to you to eat!" he lamented in his discourse that evening. A few days later, in Zorba the Buddha (the main dining hall,) Pasta Primavera became known as Futura Primavera, Futura con Broccoli, etc. Ah, the beauty and pitfalls of having a "living Master" instead of one who has been dead for hundreds or thousands of years– one whose teachings you can extract from and project upon to prove your own point!

Anyway, Krishna Prem planted a seed in me. I wasn’t really aware of it at the time, nor did I start to feel it strongly until about a year and a half ago. But eventually it led me to put Creations up for sale– a long, winding, emotionally intense process, as most anyone who has ever sold a business knows. Finally, after months of conversations with a number of interested parties and negotiations with a select few, just two days before the deadline date I had set to start packing up and closing our office, Neil and Andrea boldly stepped up to the plate and made us an acceptable offer.
The transitioning of Creations to its new owners and management has begun. We are putting out this mini-issue to keep continuity and as a training piece to show Neil and Andrea the publication process. This morning, they will fly down from NY to our North Carolina office to see the process first hand, get acquainted with the local Creations staff and meet their soon to be "adopted child’s" birth parents. So, Creations’ rebirth begins… That’s particularly exciting to me for a number of reasons.

First, Andrea and Neil are pretty much what I was hoping to find in people to turn Creations over to. They share a lifestyle very consistent with what Creations has been promoting these first 18 and a half years. (See their introductory bios below. You’ll be hearing much more from them in issues to come.) Next, through their past and present endeavors, they have shown a deep commitment to helping improve the quality of life on L.I. and Queens. Neil brings a much needed business acumen that Creations has never seen and Andrea brings editing experience that will be seen initially as she takes over the book and music review columns.

Oh, almost forgot, Neil and Andrea have asked Connie and me to stay on in our current editorial positions, for the foreseeable future. This will allow us to focus more on the duties that nourish our respective hearts at this point in time.

Perhaps the most exciting piece of this is the prospect of where Neil and Andrea’s commitment, energy, ability and dedication can take Creations. I think it’s good for everyone involved with the magazine that our office is moving back to Long Island, at: PO Box 386, Northport, NY, 11768. The new phone number is: (631) 424-3594. This will allow Creations to have a greater local community presence. Neil and Andrea are looking forward to personally meeting our advertisers, distributors and supporters.

I hope you, too, share this excitement about Creations continuing. As we end one era and transition into a new one, I ask for your patience and understanding– but most of all, I welcome your support of Andrea and Neil. They are stepping up in a big way to keep alive something they feel is valuable, and putting their money where their mouths are. If you agree, please let them know soon, with your support.

After a few months of being the bearer of sad news, it sure feels good to bring you news of Creations’ rebirth! I truly look forward to being back with you again in our Aug./ Sept."Back to School" issue, with love,
with love,

Your considered comments about this or other contents are welcome at: vijay@creationsmagazine.com