When I first met Alessandro Nivola, we were in our 20s and he was starring in a play at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City. The breadth of his talent shined offstage as well. He was a raconteur of the exciting moments in an actor’s life, playing out scenes with John Travolta or Helen Mirren, all the while strumming his guitar and breaking into a Radiohead melody. “Sandro,” as we called him, was the bright future of stage and screen who has since shown his depth of talent. It’s no wonder he was the perfect choice to play Calvin Klein, and a standout no less, in the popular series Love Story. When my new friend, the glorious actress Leila George, told me she was taking on the role of Kelly Klein, I knew immediately that I had to pair them on the cover for this special issue—two iconic actors as two fashion icons from the ’90s zeitgeist.
Some of my favorite new healing discoveries are also in this spring issue of Purist. Read about TMS, transcranial magnetic stimulation, for myriad mental health issues, cravings, weight loss and perimenopause brain fog. Take a closer look at hormone therapy, which can start as soon as 10 years before menopause begins—it’s not just used as a peri-to-menopause symptom alleviator, but can help regenerate the brain, bones and the whole body. The transformative power of narrative medicine occurs through storytelling, both lived and read (the subject of my recent podcast). Integrative healing modalities in pediatric medicine address the root causes of chronic conditions and mental health.
Other pathways emanate from positive thinking. I noticed that after I received my mindfulness meditation teacher certification last year from Tibet House and Dharma Moon, I experienced an elevation of nonverbal transmission—communicating with others through thought and expression. Nonverbal transmission stems from a deeper understanding of Buddhism and from learning to give pause to oneself in deference to dharma, or the way things are. In giving pause to think, I began communicating better. Thoughts direct energy and energy follows thought. I often ask my kids, Where do you want to direct your thoughts and energy? Pausing to think before acting allows us to connect to the world in a more meaningful way.
