While preparing for this month’s special Personal Growth edition, my dear friend and co-founder of Natural Awakenings, John R. Voell II, transitioned to the other side. I will never forget the first time I met him along with co-founder Sharon Bruckman; we lit a candle and said a prayer after the meeting. I remember thinking to myself, in all my 13 years of working in corporate America; we never lit a candle and said a prayer. I just loved it! I became the fifth Natural Awakenings franchise owner in June 2000, and with John’s guidance and vision we are now a family of 90+ franchise publishers. I will miss you John! (Read more about this philanthropic man on page 16.)

We "fall back" this month on Sunday, November 3, ending this year’s Daylight Savings Time, and welcoming an extra 60 minutes to sleep in.

Having recently learned I am gluten-sensitive, I’m on the lookout for ways to adjust my diet accordingly. It’s a complicated issue and there’s much to learn. In our Conscious Eating department, writer Linda Sechrist’s "Grain Free & Brain Bright" offers salient facts on how wheat, carbs and sugar can affect health, including the ways gluten fits into that complex mix.

Looking ahead to Thanksgiving Day, November 28, my thoughts turn to the many things I am thankful for … this community; this magazine which it serves; this beautiful planet which so richly serves us. As always, open your mind and read on.