Scintillations
a letter from the creator
of Be Real Magazine

I feel compelled to tell you how this whole magazine came out, wandered around, and finally came into existence.

I have always wanted to write a book.  I realized, at age 31, with a more than full time job, this wasn't going to happen soon.  But I wanted to write and I knew I had the time to write short things.  But what would I do with them?  I knew many friends in the same boat; they wanted to write; but where could their writing live?
  
My full time job, I might add, is to create eBusinesses, or on-line businesses, for other people.  I do a chunk of the back end computer work for other people on the road to making their dreams come true.  I like my job, I like my company, I like the people I work with; but I wasn't creating my dream.  

So with all this experience tucked into my back pocket, it dawned on me:  I could create an on-line magazine as a home for the writings of real women and men.  I wasn't quite sure how, but as with all dreams, I didn't need to know all the details then.  I've learned details take their time getting to you, and it's always at their pace, not yours.

After this dream found me, I hosted a party with a close group of friends and planned to share my dream.  I talked about it at length and the enthusiasm in the room encouraged me.  On instinct, I started a "dream spiral" where I started writing on poster board in a spiral what my dream was.  The spiral got passed around the room a few times, until it ended up looking like this:

Have we done that here?  You be the judge - our goal was to create a place where you don't feel imperfect.  You don't feel like you're someone you're not.  And hopefully you'll begin to feel you're perfect just as you already are - just as we yearn to learn that ourselves. 

After creating the dream spiral in April of this year, little by little the details came out to play.  First came ideas for articles, then ideas for names, and I credit two friends: Becky and Kate, for unintentionally telling me to "Be Real" one day when I was in chaos and the sky was falling.  Be Real?  What did that mean?  That I could stop pretending to be happy when I wasn't?  That I could be angry or sad and not stuff my emotions down into a bottomless pit where eventually I vomited them back up?  Wow.  How powerful was that!  Little by little my baby, Be Real Mag, came into focus.  And friends offered to write and edit, for free, because they've always wanted to write and edit and I'd like to think I motivated them ever so slightly by my determination.  THANK YOU FRIENDS!

So here we are.  WOW!  My friends are still talking to me and still encouraging me, so I hope this means my methods of BEing the REAL creator of this on-line magazine are working.  Our goal is to get a new issue out every season.  You can subscribe by joining our yahoo group: berealsubscribers or complete this form and we'll let you know when each issue comes out once you've read this "cover to cover."  We promise not to give your info to others.

This month is about Change.  We have stories about life changes, personality changes, tire changes, career changes, and a really fun piece on that stuff in your wallet.  My life seems to be in a constant flux of change and with our seasons changing as I type, my friends agreed it was appropriate.  

One last thing - I want to tell you how we chose the intentionally imperfect yellow "star" as the logo.  It's an emblem of the North Star, the brightest star in the sky, and you know that wherever you are, you can see it or trust that it is hiding behind the clouds.  I saw it in France; my Mom sees it in Colorado, and my friend Juliette sees it in Washington.  You aren't alone as long as you can see that single star in the night sky.  But it's not only a star - it's also a compass.  This magazine is about the real parts of your life that can't be disguised by outer changes.  North is always North.  We're not here to tell you what to put on your face to change the way you look; your true existence and inner being do not care about cosmetics; they care about what's inside you and they guide you in the direction that is right for you.  We don't know what direction is right for you; our hope is to figure out what direction is right for us and maybe you will too along the way.  Just know that whatever page you're on if you click the yellow star, it will take you home to the front page.

We are honored that you are reading our magazine.  

with gratitude,

Julie Russell Beebe
Creator and Publisher
Be Real Magazine

Be Real Magazine * P.O. box 26606 * San Francisco, California 94126
Copyright © 2000 Be Real Magazine. All rights reserved.
Revised: December 10, 2004