Given the current international situation and the fact that Americans feel vulnerable on our own soil, news headlines are really playing up to our fears and jitters. Nowhere is this more prevalent than on television and the Internet where editors and journalists need to be cleverly seductive to catch the attention of channel surfers and flash viewers. Hey, we run a web site, we know what it takes to pull in readers---last week’s article about sex drew in record numbers. But headlines like "Cheney says more terrorism in America is a sure thing" are enough to make all of us feel uncomfortable going about our normal lives, when the goal of "fighting" terrorism is to preserve and protect our normal lives. We’re not saying that folks don’t have a right to know what’s going on, but statements like these are about as informative as "Surgeon General confirms: We’re all going to die...someday."

Now, to be true to The Spiritual Chicks' philosophy, we’re not condemning the role (or value) of media in quoting these sensational sound-bites, but we do want to point out that most of us are more suggestible than we realize. If we’re going to be influenced by what we read and hear, then let’s at least filter this second hand information to make sure it’s truly valuable. How about asking ourselves the following: Is this news serving me in my evolution as a human being? Is it helping me to love, to live, to connect, to learn about life, or is it closing me off with hatred, and shutting me in with fear? When we evaluate the world based on these higher goals that are common to us all, we find our lives filled with courage and motivated by aspiration and love, while fear, prejudice and the ever-popular worry fade away like yesterday’s news.