Issue 22 | Face the Current by Face the Current

Issue 22

Wisdom Edition

Winter 2019

fAce the current TRAVEL

CULTURE

MUSIC

SPORTS & FITNESS

HEALTH

Redefining Human History: Exploring Origins &

Wisdom of Ancient Sites of Peru & Bolivia a n e x p e d i t i o n w I T H R e s o n a n c e S c i e n c e F o u n da t i o n AUTHOR Don Jos e Ruiz TOLTEC Wisdom For A Modern World

Rythmia: COSTA RICA retreat with the Potential to Hea l Humanity

Wisdom of the Elders Four Sacred Gifts With Dr. Anita Sanchez

healing power of music with lee harris + nessi gomes

Strala Yoga + Chakra Recipes

Fuel for an inspired life.

EDITORIAL

F tC fAce the current

editorial

Issue 22 · Winter 2019

Connect With Us... @facethecurrent @facethecurrent @facethecurrent @facethecurrent Available at

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BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT Face the Current is creating a ripple effect, inspiring positive change in the world and enhancing lives by encouraging one another to relentlessly discover, explore, question and learn from current and emerging information and perspectives. Driven by a deep-rooted love of learning, creative minds and a great appreciation for connection with other individuals who are passionate about what they do, Face the Current has quickly developed into a growing team and global community of incredible people who believe in living life to the fullest and discovering their true potential.

Cover Image Credits: • Front cover by Sasha Frate and David Aiello

For advertisement and sponsor inquiries: Sasha Frate, Founder & Editor in Chief sasha@facethecurrent.com Ainsley Schoppel, Co-Editor in Chief ainsley@facethecurrent.com Danielle Crosby, Director of Partnerships partnerships@facethecurrent.com All Rights Reserved DISCLAIMER The information provided in this magazine is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider. Opinions and other statements expressed by the kind souls sharing their viewpoint, users and third parties are theirs alone, not opinions of Face the Current. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of the third parties and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. Face the Current Website and third parties may provide links to web pages, web sites, and various resources or locations on the web. Face the Current has no control over the information you access via such links, does not endorse that information, and shall not be responsible for it or for the consequences of your use of that information. All products and services featured are selected by our editors. Face the Current may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this magazine.

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WISDOM Edition We invite you to expand your mind and consider “what if?” as you turn the pages of Winter 2019 issue! Immerse yourself in ancient teachings that have been fused with the latest science to inspire and equip us to enjoy meaningful, empowered lives and careers. Embark with us on an expedition with the Resonance Science Foundation to explore the Origins and Wisdom of Ancient Sites of Peru and Bolivia on a mission to redefine human history and advance our understanding with modern research. We accompanied the Foundation on its 2nd Annual Delegate Gathering to immerse ourselves in the Andean culture and ancient past as we visited Pre-Incan remains at numerous sites on a 16-day adventure! Together we were to consider many possibilities including whether ancient civilizations had knowledge of the organization of space and applied this knowledge to construct massive structures. From there we trek to the tropical forest in Guanacaste, Costa Rica to speak with Gerard Powell, the founder of the Rythmia Life Advancement Center, an all-inclusive, medically licensed luxury resort and wellness retreat. During an intense first-hand immersion at Rythmia, Face the Current had the opportunity to learn more about the powerful transformational opportunities available there. Discover the Wisdom of the Shamans and ancient Toltec wisdom as we learn in our two-part interview with Author don Jose Ruiz how he combines this very wisdom he absorbed from his upbringing with modern insights. He has dedicated his life to sharing the ancient Toltec wisdom by translating it into practical, everyday life concepts that promote transformation through truth, love, and common sense. And in the first of another two-part series, we gain insights on applying apply ancient indigenous wisdom to our modern lives in our interview with Dr. Anita Sanchez, Ph.D, transformational leadership consultant, speaker, coach, and best-selling author of “The Four Sacred Gifts.” After experiencing these global adventures, indigenous and ancient wisdom, sit back and relax with our new Music content curator, Chris Assaad, as he gets intimate with conscious musicians Nessi Gomes and Lee Harris. Both are powerful visionaries committed to creating a positive impact on the world and inspiring others to do the same. Chris explores how Gomes exposes the depths of the most ravishing human emotions to deliver such profoundly moving art. Chris then turns to Harris, who possesses an “angelic singing voice and healing musical expression of a truly gifted artist and songwriter,” his potent intuitive messages, channels and content. I think you will agree upon reading this feature that Harris has a gift for intuitively reading, interpreting and translating energy in a way that truly empowers his fans. Finally, what’s nourishing our souls if we’re not also nourishing our bodies? Find out about nutrient-dense food and drink with insight from Rythmia’s Head Chef, Meg Pearson as she shares nourishing chakra juice and soup recipes. Naturopath, Lisa Guy also provides understanding into some of the best immune-boosting super foods, nutrients and herbs Mother Nature has to offer. Such an incredible issue, and this is just a small sample! It’s no wonder many consider Face the Current their most trusted source of conscious content and contributors! Our team shares the vision of inspiring our community of readers to create a movement towards revolutionizing the way we think, directed by wisdom, compassion and purpose.

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the

team Sasha Frate

Issue 22 · Winter 2019

David Aiello

Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Chief Operating Officer

is a perspective seeker, adventurer, and explorer. She received her Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts and continues to study a variety of subjects within and outside of the academic setting. Sasha brings her personal moonshot approach to life to FtC, aiming to provide an experience for our global community where we inspire one another to stay curious, never stop exploring, and to live with purpose and to our potential.

is an author, musician and photographer based in Portland, Oregon. He has worked with Fortune 50 companies to build their global brands but now applies his natural curiosity to exploring and documenting the world around him.

Andrés Frate Co-Owner & Photographer

Sema Garay Executive Designer Sema is the graphic designer behind the development of the image and magazine of Face the Current. He has developed a multitude of projects, including his previous job leading the Creative Department of BG Life Magazine, in Marbella, Spain. Sema graduated with a Masters Degree in Architecture at ETSA of Sevilla and is proficient in a wide range of design software. He is passionate about all kinds of artistic expressions, and when not active behind the scenes of Face the Current design, you’re likely to find him playing music for Beach Grooves Global Radio or local venues along the Costa del Sol.

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Born and raised in Argentina and Italy, Andres became a jackof-all-trades at a young age. Before reaching college he had become a master mechanic in the auto and marine industries and played professional soccer for Juventus. Always maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit he has owned several of his own businesses over the years. In Hawaii he became a professional karting racer and won the Hawaii State Championships, later shifting gears to become a private pilot. World travel is in his blood and photography has naturally become another talent along the way.

fAce the current

Danny McGee

Photographer and Travel Content Coordinator Danny is one of our team photographer and filmmaker based out of Colorado. For the past four years he has traveled all around the world taking photos and making films, creating cutting edge photo and drone video content. Danny has been chasing and living his dream, unafraid to travel solo, travel deeper, or adventure to new heights to capture some of this planet’s most stunning landscapes and life’s precious moments in connection with people, place, and culture. His goal is to not only share his vision of the world, but to inspire people to get out and explore it for themselves

Ainsley Schoppel Co-Editor-in-Chief Ainsley is a classical pianist, former figure skater, and loves summers at the lake in northern Ontario. She holds an honors BA in Psychology and Arts & Business, and also earned a graduate degree in Hospitality and Business Management while working at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. After working in Toronto on published women-focused research, she moved outside the city to raise her family. While home with her son, she indulges her love of the written word with freelance editing.

Chris Assaad Music Content Curator is a Canadian singer-songwriter who left a promising career in law to follow his heart and passion for music. His fire for music was ignited shortly after he began exploring his love of singing when he was forced to overcome a rapidly progressing hearing loss condition. Two miraculous surgeries later, Chris was given the gift of perfectly restored hearing and a second chance, cementing his path of a life dedicated to his artistry. Since then, Chris has been sharing his eclectic blend of soulful roots music, heart-opening songs and stories across the globe and actively using his voice to inspire others to follow their innermost calling.

WINTER

CREW Nikolaus Meuli

was born in Africa in the highlands of Lesotho, in Butha Buthe. After three years his family moved back to the Engadin Valley high up in the Swiss Alps, where he has been based up to now. Nik worked at a civil engineering office as a technical designer for approximately ten years before becoming a mental coach. He is very passionate about experiencing and immersing in nature, interacting with people, expressing his creative side, traveling the world, science and spirituality. www.nikmeuli.ch

We are a growing team of Up-standers whose intention is to create positive change in the world, through networking, connecting, supporting and developing at an individual and global community level. We are passionate about building our network of experts and industry leaders to deliver cutting edge information to our global community. This issue’s team and crew are based in the US, Spain, Canada, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Australia and Guatemala.

Penelope Jean Hayes

is a self-help and metaphysics writer, contemporary philosopher and theorist, host of “PENELOPE: A Podcast Show” on Apple Podcasts and iTunes, and oncamera television host. She is the author of the upcoming book titled, “The Magic Of Viral Energy: Spirituality Meets Quantum Theory,” about the contagious nature of energy. Penelope has appeared as an expert for numerous TV programs including Dr. Phil and ABC News; and has been quoted in Men’s Health Magazine. www.1penelope.com Twitter: @PenelopeJean

Woody Woodrow

is an internationally touring musician, yoga instructor, and a daily meditator. He helped found his heavy rock band “Our Last Night” over a decade ago and now travels around the globe sharing Yoga and Meditation before his shows. He loves connecting and supporting others to live their dreams and become the rockstars of their own life. You can find him on his blog each week at www.woodywoodrow.com Instagram: @woodywoodrow

Jawn Angus

is a runner who has competed in 44 marathons in 38 US states, Canada and Australia. He is also an Ironman triathlete and owner of Marathawn Jawn Coaching based out of Seattle, WA and Scottsdale, AZ. Jawn is an RRCA Level II run coach, USA Triathlon Level I coach, and ISSA Strength & Conditioning certified trainer who offers running, triathlon and strength coaching online. He holds a degree in Healthy Lifestyles Coaching from Arizona State and studied Sports Nutrition and Exercise Immunology in Australia. When he’s not running, Jawn likes to soak up the Arizona sunshine. www.marathawnjawn.com

Matthew Belair

Mose

spends much of his time in Guatemala where cacao ceremonies, kirtan, and ecstatic dance have had a major influence on his productions and DJ style. It is here on Lake Atitlan that he founded the weekly SunSet Cacao Dances where members of the community have the opportunity to journey deep into dance in a container of deep intention free of alcohol. Having been nomadic since 2011, he has developed a sound all his own through interaction with cultures from around the world. He finds a way to fuse the organic elements of tribal traditions with modern production techniques in order to create an entrancing journey for both relaxed listeners and those eager to move their bodies. http://mosemusic.com https://soundcloud.com/ resuenomusic

Darren Austin

is a sound healer, ceremonial musician and spiritual teacher. He tours internationally, sharing his healing music with the crystal singing bowls and his array of spirituality and wellness workshops and courses. His performances, workshops and teachings are devoted to evolving human consciousness and inspiring a sense of universal truth and unity as well as invoking spiritual activism. He was a featured performer at the TEDx Conference in Toronto and is the creator of the 75HR Source Resonance Training in Sound Healing, Sacred Music & Vibrational Philosophy. His new album, ‘Songs of Source’ is out now. www.darrenaustinhall.com https://darrenaustinhall. bandcamp.com

is the author of the best selling book Zen Athlete and the host of the top-rated Matt Belair podcast. He is an explorer of the mind and world and has trained with 34th generation Shaolin Masters in China, studied meditation with monks in Nepal and survived a near-death experience trekking Mount Everest just to name a few of his accomplishments. He is dedicated to teaching others how to expand their consciousness, connect with spirit and bring more awareness, love and kindness to the planet. www.ZenAthlete.com www.MattBelair.com

Lisa Guy

is a well-respected Australian naturopath, author and passionate foodie, with over 18 years clinical experience. Lisa runs a naturopathic clinic called ‘Art of Healing’ and is an avid health writer and recipe developer for leading publications. Lisa is also the founder of Bodhi Organic Tea, an award winning herbal tea company who makes beautiful unique tea blends all naturopathically blended to enhance health and wellbeing. http://artofhealing.com.au/

Meg Pearson

is the passionate natural foods chef at Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica. She loves to create gourmet healthy cuisine with a strong focus on raw and plant based ingredients. Haling from Toronto, Canada, her wish is to empower the head of every kitchen with the information and tools needed to create delicious, lovingly prepared food, no matter their background or experience. Meg hopes to bring more awareness into the collective consciousness about food, vitality, spirituality, and our environment. www.meghanpearson.ca Twitter: @MAPWellness

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WINTER CONTENT

34 Redefining Human History:

Exploring Origins & Wisdom of Ancient Sites of Peru & Bolivia

60 Don Jose Ruiz

Ancient Wisdom of the Shamans for a Modern World

travel

08. Ultimate Self Care The Rythmia Way: A Life Advancement Retreat With the Potential to Heal Humanity 22. FtC Travel Connection 28. The Kimpton Sawyer Hotel the New Premier Social Destination in the Heart of Downtown Sacramento 34. Redefining Human History: Exploring Origins & Wisdom of Ancient Sites of Peru and Bolivia. An Expedition With Resonance Science Foundation

culture 8 6

Rythmia

Costa Rica Retreat With the Potential to Heal Humanity FACE the CURRENT MAGAZINE

60. Don Jose Ruiz: Ancient Wisdom of the Shamans for a Modern World 68. Caroline Manière: The Wisdom of Empowerment on Canvas 72. The Wisdom of the Elders with Dr. Anita Sanchez: Four Sacred Gifts to Spark Connected Change 82. Energy-Balancing in Nature: Harmonious Lessons from the Great Owl. Sharing Our Light to Change the Current

FtC Issue 22

72 Wisdom of the Elders: Four Sacred Gifts With Dr. Anita Sanchez

94 Lee Harris + 86 Nessi Gomes The Healing Power of Music

music

86. Life & Death: The Musical Healing Of Nessi Gomes 94. Lee Harris: Renaissance Man 102. Retreating Into Creative Flow By Mose 106. The Sacred Musician

118 Strala Yoga

sports & fitness

110. Reaching New Heitz: Jérémie Heitz 118. Strala Yoga 122. Four Keys to Success in Running Your Next Marathon 126. Internal Dialogue and Positive Affirmations

health

130. Natural Healing Wisdom to Supercharge Your Immune Health 138. America’s Nutritive Hunger: How LA’s Eat, Drink, and Support Event is Doing its Part to Help 144. Liquid Nourishment: Mind and Body Re-Set with Juice and Chakra Soup Recipes

144 Juice and Chakra Soup Recipes

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FtC travel

Ultimate Self Care The Rythmia Way:

A Life Advancement Retreat With the Potential to Heal Humanity An interview with Rythmia Founder, Gerard Armond Powell By Sasha Frate

Rythmia Life Advancement Center is the physical manifestation of Gerard Powell’s merged and fulfilled soul. Nestled among private, dry tropical forest land in Guanacaste, Costa Rica guests arrive with an array of opportunities to enjoy the surrounding area, but most will find themselves grounded and feeling complete in the oasis of the beautiful and profound experience provided at Rythmia. What is so captivating about this experience, and how does such an incredible oasis of healing come into existence in the first place? It all started with the eye-opening story of an ongoing path of self-destruction and multiple failed attempts to improve a life filled with everything but happiness, until… a miracle happened. Prior to founding Rythmia, Gerard had sold his latest company at age 41 for $94 million, owned 6 houses, 2 airplanes, 27 cars, a boat, and every other material object that money could afford him. Surrounded by everything he had ever wanted, Gerard found himself unhappy, lacking in self-esteem, and failing as a husband and father. He turned to alcohol, drugs, and sex to mask his

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pain in an attempt to improve his emotional state. As this did nothing to assuage his misery, he moved to California after his divorce for a fresh start. However, Gerard found himself completely without hope and desperate for the desire to continue with life. While vacationing with a shaman friend, Gerard was enlightened about the transformational powers of an alternative medicine available in Costa Rica. After one night of the Costa Rican experience, Gerard’s life was forever changed. He experienced a divine connection that reaffirmed to him that the universe is bound together with love and we are all connected. From that day forward, Gerard was resolved to use his wealth to share this life-altering experience with as many people as possible. Thus, in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Rythmia was born. Using a combination of medically-licensed alternative plant medicine, yoga, metaphysical teachings, colonic cleanses, meditation, breathwork, and healthy food, Rythmia offers a complete mind and body experience designed to awaken the soul and uncover the healing power of happiness.

Photo by Sasha Frate

While the alternative plant medicine is nothing new, it has been used sacramentally by indigenous peoples of South America for thousands of years, recent scientific and medical research is now circulating that presents the benefits and potential one can attain from the practice when done in a controlled setting that is deliberately organized and accompanied by a qualified guide who knows the territory. In fact, world renowned New York Times Best-selling Author, Michael Pollan recently released a book titled “How to Change Your Mind” that further explores the concept of plant medicine and takes the stance that this just may be the very thing humanity needs right now. One of the greatest benefits Pollan highlights is “ego-dissolution,” and he reveals how “you can get there in other ways obviously: Meditation and

psychoanalysis can give you some distance on your sense of self and make you question its reality or power over you. But I got there in an afternoon. That was pretty remarkable.”

experience with 97.55% of retreatgoers reporting that Rythmia changed their lives. Now, we invite to delve deeper as Gerard shares his story and reveals more on this experience of a lifetime!

During an intense first-hand immersion in a week at Rythmia, Face the Current had the opportunity to sit with Gerard Powell to learn more about the powerful transformational opportunities available at the retreat. If you decide to embark on the week-long Rythmia journey, prepare to be guided through an expansive voyage of knowing what it means to be human where you will feel our connection to everything with every cell in your body while also heart-centering into a state of peace, calm, and love. Rythmia provides a safe and guided space to facilitate the potential for the ultimate transformative self-care

“One might call Rythmia ‘the ultimate self-care retreat.’ You show up committed to do deep inner work and self-soul connection, all while surrounded by peace, beauty and the tranquility of the Costa Rican fauna and the grounds of the retreat.You’re here to do some challenging work. The “ROI” can be one of the greatest you’ll have ever experienced in your life, because the return on your financial and whole-bodywork investment is more profound and with more immediate results than you can possibly imagine.” - Sasha Frate

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Sasha Frate: Aside from yourself being a great example of someone whose life was completely turned around by an experience with alternative medicine, can you share another example of a profound life turnaround that you’ve witnessed? Gerard Powell: That’s a really hard one, because there are so many. We have had guests tell us that they’ve had final-stage cancer reversed. Other guests have told us that they were able to cure Lyme disease. We, of course, cannot validate these claims, but it is amazing what I hear on a monthly basis. Bigger than that however, are just everyday people that are living in pain. It’s not physical pain, but the pain of living a life that’s not even theirs. When you see the flip, that has an even bigger “bang” to it than physical healings. Take somebody who’s 45 years old and has worked in a bank for 20 years that realizes they’re unhappy even though they thought they were happy. They don’t have anything to compare it to until it’s confronted. They then get a glimpse of what happiness is and they get it. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. SF: I’ve also heard you describe that as people living in someone else’s story. It’s kind of what is subconsciously imprinted or taught to us and then we think

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it’s our own story. GP: There are so many people that have been chasing love and they don’t even know why. They want a specific relationship, and the medicine we use here shows them that they weren’t supposed to have that relationship. Rather, their love was

with themselves or a career. There’s a good chance if somebody’s been trying to enter a relationship for 30 years that that relationship wasn’t meant to be. For example, if you keep trying to be a football player and you keep failing, maybe you weren’t supposed to be a football player. I’ve also had many doctors here that decided they weren’t supposed to be doctors.

The universe does have a plan for all of us and the thing is, the government has a plan for us, too. The government of the United States wants you to have 2.6 children, find a house to get the mortgage, get loaded up with credit cards, go to expensive schools, and to fund all that with your pension. There’s a plan that works for the economy that they want you to follow. If that plan and the divine plan don’t line up, then you’re an outcast.You might think you’re not wired a certain way, or that you don’t want to do a specific thing, and that makes you feel inferior. Some of that can be brought on at a very young age by the church in different religions.You become guilt-ridden and burdened with a lot of expectations that really have nothing to do with you. Deengineering that to free yourself so you know what you want is a beautiful start to the race. The nice thing about that is whether you’re 65 or 25 and you get to that understanding, you become free. It feels like all the time you wasted is given back to you; you feel like a little boy or a little girl. It truly is like, “Wow, I really can do whatever the hell I want to do!” Most people don’t know that. The competitiveness of life is so controlling. This guy got a car, so I need to get a car. That guy got a promotion, so I need to get a promotion. It’s a crazy life we live.

SF: It is. It seems like there are a few countries and cultures around the world that do a better job of aligning with a sense of purpose.The Blue Zones are an example of this. GP: Isn’t that interesting that the more freedom around personal purpose, the longer people live? We have someone here working at the front desk and her grandfather died yesterday. He was 80 and everyone is shocked at how young he was when he died because if you ask everyone here, most people have family

members in their hundreds. One hundred is not really a big deal here. I would say 1 out of every 3 employees have somebody in their family that’s 100. The freer you are, the closer you are to yourself, and you will gravitate to things like close relationships, family time, and leisure time. Those things are what draw you, not RollsRoyce’s and Lamborghini’s, etc. When you gravitate to truly valuable life components, especially if leisure time involves natural foods, then all of a sudden, you’ll see life expectancy

increase. The Costa Ricans here do drink a lot of wine and they spend an enormous amount of time with family. Their families are super, super close. For instance, on a Saturday, you’ll be driving around, and you’ll see families sitting on their porches. They’ll sit there all day, eating and talking. In the United States, it’s, “Hi, Mom! Bye, Mom.” It’s a big difference. The closer the relationship you can have with yourself, the closer the relationship you’ll experience with other people, and that equates to a long life. www.facethecurrent.com

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When you’re on the medicine here, something happens within a rebirthing process. When you come out the other side, there’s something called imprinting. It’s like when the first thing a baby kitten sees is a duck, she’ll think the duck is her mother. We also have an imprinting of habits here, like the food and the daily practice. When you go home, they stick with you because they’re imprinted.

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SF: Why and how do the additional wellness treatments such as yoga, meditation, the food, and the colonic cleanse support the optional benefits of the plant experience? GP: I think that a lot of these things work hand-in-hand. What most people try to do is complete these things in sequence somewhere; they’ll do yoga for a couple of weeks, they’ll eat healthily for a couple weeks, they’ll get some massages, and then they’ll go do a colon cleanse. What we did is put it all in one experience and the whole is much bigger than the sum of the parts. The parts are beautiful unto themselves, but when you combine them it’s an amplified effect. Two times two is not four, it’s more like forty. When you’re on the medicine here, something happens within a

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rebirthing process. When you come out the other side, there’s something called imprinting. It’s like when the first thing a baby kitten sees is a duck, she’ll think the duck is her mother. We also have an imprinting of habits here, like the food and the daily practice. When you go home, they stick with you because they’re imprinted. SF:You’ve said there’s essentially a shortcut to happiness, but might you add that it still requires showing up and doing some work? GP: Yes, you have to. Take my life for example. There was a time when no amount of work or effort was helping. It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying; I was really trying. I was going to therapy seven days a week and I only missed 2 days in five years; that’s trying. The subconscious mind

and your spirit can’t be forced.You can’t white-knuckle through and force happiness.You might get to your ultimate goal, like no longer drinking, for example, but you won’t be happy. The things that happen at the spiritual and subconscious level are the things that bring joy. For me, I could never stop myself from doing something that I wanted to do. If I wanted to drink, eventually I’d drink. I had to really change the things I wanted. I chose to want peace, clarity, and kindness. When I want those things, I just naturally get them. Maintaining happiness involves practice, and that practice is a practice.You can’t sit down, eat potato chips and junk food, drink booze, and expect happiness to continue.You’ve got to take care of yourself and you have to have a practice. Find something that works like meditation or breath work to

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We do a lot of celebrity work and celebrities seem to have everything because they have money and fame. It’s the same with athletes, and the more they get in life, the more it seems they don’t know what’s wrong with their lives. We commonly hear celebrities and athletes say, “Everything is going great. I don’t know what’s wrong. I have a good life, I have money, but something’s missing and I don’t know what it is.” That “something missing” is the human condition.

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bring you into the stillness. It’s really not work when you like it. It’s work when you hate it. SF:Yes, that’s true. Good point. It really becomes more of a way of life; it’s kind of sinking into it. GP: Yes, and know that as a human, you can get used to anything. There are people in Siberia that live in fifty degree below temperatures every day. You can get used to anything.You might as well get used to something that’s kind of cool and good for you. SF: And something that feels good. Now you’re seeing a full spectrum of people who come through Rythmia, both with differing and similar intentions to heal inner conflict, find themselves, or discover their soul connection. While their reasons for coming to Rythmia

are varied, the majority seem to arrive feeling like everything else they’ve tried has not really given them resolution.You touched on this, but why would you say all these other methodologies are incomplete or ineffective and how is this experience at Rythmia statistically producing such a high rate of effectiveness? GP: I really believe that it’s because it works in the spiritual; in the subconscious level. That’s where the darkness is and that’s where the light is. There’s so much in that. We do a lot of celebrity work and celebrities seem to have everything because they have money and fame. It’s the same with athletes, and the more they get in life, the more it seems they don’t know what’s wrong with their lives. We commonly hear celebrities and athletes say, “Everything is going

great. I don’t know what’s wrong. I have a good life, I have money, but something’s missing and I don’t know what it is.” That “something missing” is the human condition. There’s never been someone that didn’t have something missing and sometimes it takes a life-experience to realize it. Some people just cruise through life and then one day realize it. Others might have a catalyst-event, but eventually, everybody gets to this realization. It’s funny because, like all good remedies, a lot of people know how to change, but very few people do. For instance, I know that not drinking alcohol, eating properly, and working out will make me live longer. How many people actually do it? One out of a hundred? That’s crazy stuff. SF:You say a lot of people know about the medicine, but I think www.facethecurrent.com

R Christian Minson teaching transformational breathwork. Photo by Rythmia

that it’s not quite as known because it’s not so available. A lot of people try medicines and will go to treatments in other countries.There are lots of herbal supplements out there but it’s really kind of hushhush. I feel there’s not a great awareness of the medicine and so it’s not accessible. How many people can really get here to do this? GP: I think about that often too, and I think about other ways to do it. In most countries, there’s a big underground movement of this and it’s even free in some countries. In Brazil and Peru, it’s not hard to get this medicine. Rythmia is a quick way to get it and have an understanding. I deal a lot with Transcendental Meditation folks and their method takes a lot of time and effort.You can definitely do it that way, but it’s a real lifestyle choice. Here at Rythmia, on the right night you can get the whole enchilada; it’s crazy. I’ve always been a guy who liked a good shortcut and this was a shortcut. SF: Modern society seems to

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really like shortcuts; the magic pill. Can you talk about that? GP: Humans love shortcuts. Most people who go through this process the right way will talk about it being the hardest week of their lives. It really drudged up things they didn’t want to see and feelings they didn’t want to have. It can even be a confusing process, so it’s no free ticket; it’s no free lunch. It’s a lot of work, and people are afraid of it because their egos are afraid of it. Your ego has such a vested interest in keeping you just like you are. There’s also a financial interest, too. For example, if I’m working a job that I hate, and I get paid a lot of money, my ego is involved. My ego, my identity, my bank account, everything wants me right where I am. If I make one move, the whole house of cards falls. If I lose my job, I can’t make the mortgage payment, my wife leaves, the kids go with her; kaboom. I hold such a vested interest in believing what I did when I was younger. Mortgages are a 30-year commitment as the result of a oneminute decision. I want to buy that

house and I’ve got to pay for it for 30 years! Oh boy, 28 years from now, I hope I feel exactly like I do today. I hope I like all the same things. SF: It’s so much about identity. GP: Yes, like, “I’m the guy that owns that house. That’s who I am. I’m the guy that has job at Bear Stearns; that’s who I am. Even my wife is a reflection of who I am, so I’ve got to keep everything locked down and going strong.” When you talk to someone with that mindset about drinking some medicine and they research stuff on the internet, they say, “I don’t want to change my life. I’m not drinking that.” SF: We kind of mentioned that Costa Rica is known as being a Blue Zone; a region of the world that supports people that are living the longest, healthiest lives. While this factor of promoting vitality and longevity is valuable to Rythmia, what are some other factors that contributed to selecting this location for the center?

GP: Being 100% honest, the moon journey said I needed to get to this region, and then this place. As crazy as that sounds, it’s the absolute, unadulterated truth. SF: Is there any other country that’s medically authorized? GP: We’re the only one that we’re aware of that has a medical license to do plant medicine. We have a lot of different medicines outside of our primary ones that we’re licensed to do here. In other countries there are no restrictions on it, but they wouldn’t have a medical facility that’s licensed to do it. We also have a doctor here. Of all the emergencies we’ve ever had, the biggest one was a woman fell at a flea market. That was our biggest emergency because the medicine is not going to hurt anybody. SF:That’s kind of a peace of mind though, for your guests. Are there any real physical restrictions for people?

SF: Being here, it’s been pretty evident that truly every detail of the holistic experience at Rythmia has been thoroughly thought out and integrated. Every part of the process and the environment feels intentional and supportive of the whole experience. What is involved in putting all these details into place to create this perfect journey?

Rythmia’s Head Chef Meg Pearson. Photo by Andrés Frate

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One thing we’re really proud of is of Trip Advisor’s 171,000 resorts and hotels, I believe we’re the highest customer-rated one in the world. We’re a little, tiny place, so for us it’s a big thing that we’re doing a good job.

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GP: Yes, if you have a really bad heart, it’s not a good idea. If you’re on certain prescription medications, it’s also not a good idea. But outside of that, it’s pretty much for everybody.

GP: Oh, I love that. It’s been really hard because we’re kind of taking a yoga resort, a colonic resort, and a food resort, and putting them all together. There are a lot of little details to address. I think it’s just going to constantly evolve to become better and better. One thing we’re really proud of is of Trip Advisor’s 171,000 resorts and hotels, I believe we’re the highest customer-rated one in the world. We’re a little, tiny place, so for us it’s a big thing that we’re doing a good job. We’re constantly striving for perfection and we hope that we get close all the time. SF: It really feels like it even with the classes that are offered and the music everywhere. The music in the rooms keeps that peace going. With the ceremonies and the music, it feels so intentional. GP: I’m so glad.

Photo by Sasha Frate www.facethecurrent.com

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This really is an experience that is very hard to find. I was a crazy man, jumping out of airplanes and all kinds of wild stuff. I did all that without ever finding peace. The peace that you get from a week here that you carry with you for your whole life is just amazing.

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Photo by Andrés Frate

SF: Who would you say Rythmia is for and is there anyone that you believe wouldn’t benefit from it? GP: I think it’s for anybody 18108 that wants to gain a deeper understanding of nature and a deeper understanding of their own nature; it’s invaluable. This really is an experience that is very hard to find. I was a crazy man, jumping out of airplanes and all kinds of wild stuff. I did all that without ever finding peace. The peace that you get from a week here that you carry with you for your whole life is just amazing. I can say that because I speak to people after they’ve been here, and we survey them. Six months later, 97.55% of the people that have been here report that this was the week that changed their lives. That’s an amazing statistic.

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It’s a real, verified, electronicallyreported statistic. Not only do you have this amazing thing happen while you’re here, but it keeps showing up in your life afterward and you see the difference that it makes. SF: Even with a personal account of someone sharing their experience at Rythmia, it’s difficult for anyone who hasn’t been here to fully grasp what it’s like, no matter how hard they try. I’ve had lots of people share their experience, and yet I came with so much anxiety from not really knowing what it was going to be like. As you’ve said, some people can learn just by being told the information. Might you say that this is something that just has to be experienced to fully understand it?

GP: Yes, what’s interesting is that most people try to write about it, but the words really don’t match because it’s so experiential. If people have had the full experience, they get to really see and feel divinity. That’s a hard thing to talk about and explain to someone because it’s so emotional and personal. One of the great benefits of going through this experience is that people no longer fear death. Once their fear of death is eradicated, it’s the first time they start to really appreciate life. It’s the opposite of what you’d think because one would assume that the fear of death would make you appreciate life, but it’s doesn’t. The fear of death forces you to try to hang onto life; this is counter-productive to actually feeling good.

The nice thing about riding a roller coaster is that your mind knows that even though it feels like you’re falling, you’re going to be okay. It allows you to throw your hands up and sing! No longer fearing death allows you to ride the roller coaster of life knowing that death is going to be a part of the journey and it will be okay. SF:Yes, the difference between living off fear-based actions. GP: Ah-hah; terrible life. That’s really rough, living off fear. SF: People are coming to Rythmia as couples, as individuals, as mother-daughter pairs… GP: That’s a great one; motherdaughter works great! SF: How have you seen these different scenarios have different impacts? For example, couples do the work individually and together throughout the week.

GP: Fathers and sons are a crazy connection to feel. Husbands and wives, lovers, business partners, mothers and daughters, grandparents, couples of all types; it’s amazing stuff. And it all works. When people are thinking of coming here, it’s more than, “I want to go there.” There’s something else; there’s a soul-pull. The soul is pulling you here and however you’re brought here, it always works out. I’ve seen couples getting into the worst fights by Wednesday and Thursday of their week. Everything gets resolved by Saturday or Sunday, because it all comes full-circle. It all divinely works. This is really a place where we’re assisting the divinity that’s trying to happen. SF: What do you believe is some of the greatest wisdom that’s being gained by those who have experienced the alternative medicine offered at Rythmia?

GP: I always think it’s the knowledge that they are part of God; that they’re eternal and part of God. When you get into your journey and you see a past life, or you see a future life, or you see your own origin, that’s a piece of wisdom. If you go home and get in a legal battle with a neighbor, or get sued by the IRS, you realize that nothing matters. It doesn’t really matter because you know where your origin is, and you know where you’re going. That’s the most beautiful part of this thing; that’s the part that brings joy in all things. SF:There’s also an incredible sense of community-building from day-one at Rythmia. By the end of the week, it seems to evolve into a really heartfelt love and appreciation for everyone. We’re all just going around hugging everybody, you know? GP: Already, and we’re only on Thursday.

www.facethecurrent.com 17 Photo by Andrés Frate

Photo by Andrés Frate

SF: Even those with which you haven’t had the chance to sit down and have a discussion, you see them from across the walkway or across the room and just have this appreciation. What is it like for you to be intimately a part of this community each week? GP: I honestly think I have the best job in the world because I get to meet all kinds of super-cool people, and I get to meet them when they’re their most vulnerable. It’s here that they’re their most true selves. I meet the most beautiful people and part of my job is to get to know them. I wasn’t always a guy that liked people. The only thing people presented to me was problems. So, I went from really disliking people to being in a business where I get to know so many people, and they’re all super-cool. It’s like I have this huge community that I get to be a part of. I get to see people come back and I know them. I’m living a dream.

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SF: It sounds like you came from a place of disconnection. GP: I was completely disconnected and now I’m over-connected. I’m so connected to so many people; it’s really interesting. I get around 60 emails a day, around 30 WhatsApps, and everybody is like, “Hey! How are you doing? Remember me?” And I really do remember them. More than half of my day is spent in communications, but it’s good. It’s really a large extended family. I believe we are having a great impact on people, not only the ones that were here, but their families, colleagues, and friends. It’s really having an impact. I believe that in my heart. SF: Do you get any feedback on this actual “ripple-effect” that you were just mentioning? What is the impact of a transformed community when Rythmia guests take the experience home with them into their lives and the lives of others around them?

GP: Yes, we do. I hear from guests when they come back with their children or their children come here on their own. They’ll ask if I remember their Dad, for example, and when they show me a picture, I do! I’ve had the response, “You know, he used to be an a**hole and he came back a different guy. That’s why I’m here.” I frequently hear that our guests have known a boss or a neighbor that has been here and they saw what Rythmia did for them. Businesses that are built this way are difficult to build, but easy to maintain. Businesses that are built in other ways are easy to build but harder to maintain. We have something that’s affecting people at a core level and they’re talking to others about it. That shows us it’s the right way to build; that’s the right way to do it. SF:Throughout the week, Rythmia offers classes, presentations, and workshops from speakers from around the globe to really provide a full-scope of preparation, integration, and inspiring

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We’ve found that 70% of people do it once, they go home, and they write us about how their lives have changed. Thirty percent of our attendees are seekers that want to go deeper. A lot of people just want to be around people that really want truth. Our medicine is a gateway to truth; that’s all it is. Being around other people that want truth, wholeness, and love, creates a very unique group. It’s easy to find people in your everyday life who say they want these things but finding people who are willing to do something about it is a different story.

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wisdom tools. What type of speakers do you choose to feature here? GP: We have such a wide array of speakers from Michael Beckwith, to Graham Hancock, to Panache Desai, to John Gray. We also have all kinds of authors, including Anita Moorjani. Our speakers are just so varied. The kids from Spirit Science are here this week. There’s no particular schedule, but we have people from the plant community, people from the spiritual community at large, energy workers, energy healers, and even spiritual pet psychologists. SF: Mark Victor Hansen has called Rythmia the ideal environment for inspiring revolutionary positive change. Why and how are people who have experienced Rythmia able to share the positive change with those who haven’t experienced it and done the deep work? GP: I believe that when a person is merged, when they’re back in

their soul, that almost anything they do is an expression of God and an expression of love. So, if you’re a mom taking care of your kids, you’re doing it at a different level when you’re merged as opposed to when you are “split.” It’s not what you can do, it’s that everything you do when you’re merged is healing and loving. You’re just you, and you’re playing the role you were supposed to play. We see such huge life changes. I don’t want to be overly dramatic about it, but it’s crazy when you get to see the difference in your own life if you’ve been separated and you become merged. It’s an intense thing that’s like night and day. It’s as if the lights were off and now, they’re on; it’s a discernible difference. SF: I’m really starting to see that even in a lot of the people this week.They’re just lighting up. GP: Yes, because they’re at the halfway mark. It’s amazing; you’ll see. SF: How would you say that one week at Rythmia can truly be a complete experience and also

why is it that many people still want to return for more? GP: We’ve found that 70% of people do it once, they go home, and they write us about how their lives have changed. Thirty percent of our attendees are seekers that want to go deeper. There are nine aspects of your soul, so it is possible to merge your soul nine times. There is this idea of three-framed treatment where there are three gifts, three levels of awareness, and three freedoms that the moon describes. A lot of people just want to be around people that really want truth. Our medicine is a gateway to truth; that’s all it is. Being around other people that want truth, wholeness, and love, creates a very unique group. It’s easy to find people in your everyday life who say they want these things but finding people who are willing to do something about it is a different story. Being a spiritual doer is different than being a spiritual show-er or a spiritual actor. It just so happens that right now spiritual stuff is cool, so you’ll see a lot of actors in your lives. www.facethecurrent.com

SF:That’s very true. GP: The doers are always more fun than the posers, right? Doers are fun. There are people that talk about fishing and there are people that go fishing; they’re different people. SF: I don’t know if I’ll come back and do the plant medicine over and over again, but I can see myself coming back and being part of the people. GP: Yes, absolutely. What’s interesting is that we’ve never had someone return and not do the medicine.You’ll see the calling. The way you feel now,

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versus how you’ll feel Saturday and Sunday will be completely different. That’s why it’s so interesting to talk to people on Wednesday and Thursday because it’s hump day of everything; it’s a rough day. There’s still another push in there later in the week. SF: There are four nights of ceremonies with different medicine each night. Can you describe the process of the order or why there are different types of experiences that you’re aiming to create?

because the moon told us to do it that way. We’re following a recipe that was created and I don’t even know the “whys” into the detail of it, because I didn’t ask, I just accepted it.You’ll see that people go through a kind of cycle in the ceremonies and have different experiences each night. It’s beyond what I know. I do know that when I tried to change it, it didn’t work, so I’ve learned to not go against what the moon said. I’ve watched the outcome of sticking to what she said and it’s a good outcome; a really good outcome.

GP: This is where it gets mystical Shaman Sarah Saso. Photo by Andrés Frate

Photo by Sasha Frate

SF: How did you select the shamans? GP: They came here. So, just like all things, you put out a beacon and then people start coming to it. We serve more medicine than anyone in the world right now, and the providers that are here have more experience than probably anywhere in the world; they’re very good at what they do. They also love what they’re doing, so it’s an easy fit. SF: From what I’ve seen so far, about 80% of Rythmia’s guests are from North America. GP: Yes, I think that’s because most of our marketing is focused in the Northwest. Most of our guests are generated from that. Even though Canada isn’t densely populated, we have a lot of Canadians here. They’re great people, too; Canadians are super sweet.

SF: When we’re talking about waking-up a soul, can you do that with someone who has psychological issues or has committed serious crimes? GP: There aren’t bad souls. When you reach divinity and you really see how the soul works, it’s nothing but amazing. Even people who have ill intentions, their souls are beautiful. They’ve just had something happen to them on this earth that has separated their soul. Generally, those folks won’t come to something like this. They won’t put it on their life-list to come here. But if they did, and they drank enough medicine, it would be beautiful. I wish they would. SF: I’ve seen a situation where a person has been very destructive, but then, in a moment, you can see that light in them.They may have done

some horrible things, but you can see the light. GP: Absolutely. I had a guy last week, he was a 72-year-old Vietnam veteran and he had been an assassin. Yes, it was wartime, but he did a lot of bad things. He killed a lot people; in excess of 200. That’s a really dark energy, but what a beautiful guy he was. He had a couple of difficult days here, but he was as free as a bird. He’s a really wonderful guy. So, it all divinely works. SF:Thank you very much for this; we appreciate you and the work you do here at Rythmia. GP: I appreciate you guys, too.

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FtC travel

FtC Travel Connection Wanderlusters, Adventurers, Explorers, and Travel Photographers –‘Sharing Our Stories’ ftc travel connection

Justis Cooper

PLACE I Call Home: Vancouver, BC Canada Instagram: @justis www.highonlife.co

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How do you see world travels as unlocking wisdom that could not be gained from a book or “home-study” alone? For myself, reading about countries and cultures has always been different from experiencing it first-hand. Reading a book or an article is great for collecting information before you travel, but it never compares to actually living and breathing a country’s culture. Even a well-told story can evoke an emotion in your mind and help you gain perspective, however it’s not your story and you’re experiencing it through

someone else’s eyes, not your own. Travelling and discovering other people’s cultures has been the biggest teacher for me in my life. It has brought me compassion and awareness, broadened my perspective of the world, and taught me to be grateful for what I have. It has shown me things in the world that I yearn for that I didn’t know existed. Each lesson has been accompanied by tremendous emotion and has taught me things that I will never forget. To me, these lessons are the measure of the wisdom that I have gained from travelling the world; there is no substitute. I wish more people would

and could do the same! There is no doubt in my mind that this world would be in better shape than it is now if more people travelled.

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What is one culture you’ve experienced that was vastly different from your native culture? What did you learn from them that felt unique, inspiring, and/ or life-changing, and were there similarities with your native culture that surprised you? I think the most recent cultural experience that significantly changed me and is very different from my native culture of maple syrup, hockey, and Canada, was spending two months amongst the Balinese people last year. Despite what you know about Canadians being kind, the Balinese are in another league. I’ve never met such a wealth of friendly, patient, and compassionate people that always meet you with a smile no matter the situation. The Balinese are extremely spiritual and for the most part practice Hinduism on the island, which I think accounts for much of their friendly nature and good spirits. They just have a way about them that is so positive all the time; they are constantly smiling, greeting you with open arms, and are always looking out for you. No matter what the mood, the weather, or the frame of mind that they were in, it was always just love, compassion and warmth. The warmth of the people made every day very special which is a contrast to the way people carry themselves where I am from. Back home, it’s very head-down-and-stay-in-your-own-lane, whereas in Bali, it seemed to be all handshakes and hugs. That influenced the way I live my own life, which can generally be very intense and emotional because I focus a lot on work. Their lessons taught me that life is really too short and beautiful to be in a state of anything but happiness while spreading positive energy.

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If you are an enthusiast of the outdoors, what are some of the valuable lessons/wisdom that can be gained from our connection with and time spent in ‘the wild?’ I’ve always been a big advocate for getting out into the wild as much as your life allows. My mind and body crave breaking out of the habits that are created from the day-to-day work/social/life balance. Thankfully, living in Vancouver, BC has made it very easy to get out into nature and escape into the wild an hour from my front door. I’m incredibly grateful for that. For me, the clarity I gain from being out in the wild is invaluable. Leaving all the clutter behind in the parking lot, putting my phone away and being

present in nature gives my brain a much-needed rest from being in constant hyper-drive. No longer am I transfixed by the next task, but I am fully in the moment, focusing on my breathing, the next step, and the sights and sounds around me. The brain and the body need that more than you think. I believe that it’s unnatural and unhealthy to be cooped up in apartments and cities for the bulk of your life. I think our DNA and genetic programming is begging for us to return to our roots and spend more time outside where our ancestors spent tens of thousands of years of living. I don’t know how accurate that is but at least it reminds me to get outside more often!

piece of wisdom that has become apparent to me from my time in nature is that when you strip most humans down and take us out of our homes, away from technology, away from our cell phones, we really are quite simple creatures. I think being isolated in nature can be a very telling mirror where you can really see how reliant we are on our devices and technology, and how hopeless we can be without it. It’s kind of scary when you think about it.

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Over the last couple years, another www.facethecurrent.com

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Nate Luebbe

PLACE I Call Home: Seattle, Washington Instagram: @nateinthewild www.nateluebbe.com

If you have spent time with local Elders or ‘wisdom keepers’ when traveling, what are some meaningful lessons, shared experiences, or perspectives you learned from them? I was fortunate enough to participate in an Inca Shamanic ceremony to the Sun God (Inti) and the Mother Earth (Pachamama) on the solstice. This ceremony has been performed every year for over 600 years, and it was bone-chilling, to say the least. Respect for the planet permeates everything they do, and it’s easy to see the pain they’re feeling for our current path of environmental destruction. I’ve always been a treehugger and avid conservationist, but to see an elder perform this ceremony while apologizing to the earth for our transgressions nearly moved me to tears.

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Do you see world travels as unlocking wisdom that could not be gained from a book or “home-study” alone? Oh yes, absolutely. Travel is the ultimate exercise in improvisation and adaptation. No matter how well prepared you are, the real world will always throw a wrench into your plans and force you to adjust on the fly. It’s thrilling and perhaps one of my favorite things about it! If you are an outdoors enthusiast, what are some of the valuable lessons/wisdom that can be gained from our connection with and time spent in ‘the wild?’ I think it’s extremely important to realize just how vast this world is. It’s easy to forget how fleeting the human experience is when you’re wrapped up in the hustle of city life, but standing on a ridge overlooking a massive expanse of forest reminds me that humans are a very new addition to this planet. It reminds me that I am but a blink of the eye in the cosmos and that there’s more to this life than grinding away at a desk. If you only get one pass through this world, why wouldn’t you want to get out and see as much of it as possible?

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The Kimpton Sawyer Hotel

the New Premier Social Destination in the Heart of Downtown Sacramento By David Aiello Known as America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital, Sacramento, California is located amid smaller, familyowned farms, ranches and vineyards—producing everything from rice to wine grapes all year-round in the ideal Mediterranean climate. In 2012 Sacramento sought to promote this abundance by adopting the Farm-to-Fork Capital designation and the renaissance was afoot! Since then Sacramento has been changing before our eyes. Nowhere is this change embraced more readily than by the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, where the areas agricultural heritage is combined with a vibrant cultural presence making it a key contributor in the rebirth of the city.

Located in the heart of downtown Sacramento, the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel is steps away from Golden 1 Center, home

28 of the FACESacramento the CURRENTKings, MAGAZINE providing enviable views of modern Sacramento from a serene retreat.

Enjoy a craft cocktail at the Revival bar. The Sawyer menus draw from the local bounty for which Sacramento is famous, to create elevated meals that guests approve and applaud. What’s the deal with Sacramento? For years, Sacramento was known simply as the capital of California and completely overshadowed by cities to the west. If you were driving through town on your way to Lake Tahoe or to Napa you encountered numerous vacant buildings as developers were hesitant to reinvest in the downtown area. But now, with more than $3 billion in urban investment being funneled into the region, Sacramento is undergoing an incredible revival. Located just a short (depending on traffic!) 90 minute drive east along Interstate 80 from San Francisco, you’ll find that even while growing,

Sacramento retains a small town feel with a style that celebrates the past while embracing the future. The city’s rich and vibrant history dates back to 1839 when John Sutter settled near the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers. There, in 1841, he established “Sutter’s Fort” with the intent to develop multiple frontier industries. In 1848, during the process of building a water-powered sawmill, a carpenter named James Marshall found flakes of gold in a streambed. Word spread fast about the find and Sutter’s Fort was transformed into a trading and mining epicenter

that became known as Sacramento. Ironically Sutter failed to capitalize on what became known as the ‘Gold Rush’ and by 1852 was bankrupt. Nearly 170 years later, Sacramento received another huge jump-start when in 2015, the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association decided not to relocate to another city despite many offers. The Golden 1 Center, the team’s new home was built and sparked a vast retail and culinary expansion throughout downtown. But the Golden 1 Center wasn’t the only revitalization project transforming Sacramento. In its shadow is the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel. www.facethecurrent.com

The lobby serves as the heartbeat of the hotel. As guests enter, they’ll immediately discover Sacramento’s rich gold rush era history with gold accents featured throughout the property. THE SAWYER IS GALVANIZING THE REVIVAL The Sawyer is part of Downtown Commons (DoCo) which is the cornerstone of downtown Sacramento’s revitalization. With the Golden 1 Center and DoCo just steps away, visitors and locals now have “one stop shopping” where they can stay the night, have multiple retail and restaurant options and attend a Kings game or concert. “There is no better place to take in the beautiful city views while enjoying delicious food and handcrafted drinks,” chimes Gavin Hamano,

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the Sawyer’s director of sales and marketing. “We are excited to be located in the heart of the city and a key contributor to its rebirth.” The Sawyer, which opened its doors in October 2017, is a boutique hotel, creating the ambiance of being a personal guest in a private home, rather than just a hotel occupant. Located on the top floor you’ll find the Residences at the Sawyer consisting of 45 contemporary urban homes offering amenity-rich, full-service living within steps of the city’s flourishing features. The hotel lobby serves as the heartbeat of the hotel as the 30-foot floor to ceiling

windows bring the outside in. Guests are encouraged to interact here during many of the hotel’s community activities such as the evening’s wine hour. The 250 guest rooms draw inspiration from the region’s breathtaking natural beauty and feature bright pops of color, thoughtfully designed for comfort and ease. The woodwork is beautifully milled California oak. Subtle shades of gray and brown echo the Sierra Nevada Mountains and vast fields that produce Sacramento’s farm-tofork bounty.

This is where the Sawyer excels and has even managed to shorten the farmto-fork path. Executive Chef Patrick Prager at Revival at the Sawyer, one of the hotels two main restaurants, says, “We have an abundant herb garden on the 5th floor of the hotel where we source many of our herbs.” He excitedly adds, “Next year we will even be growing vegetables for use in the kitchen!” But it doesn’t stop there. The hotel’s culinary program also supports local farms in the greater Sacramento area where Chef Prager has developed personal relationships with Passmore Ranch, an aqua farm in the area where they have sturgeon, trout, steelhead, as well as caviar; Watanabe Farms with everything from micro greens to figs and peaches; and Riverdog and Del Rio Farms which both concentrate on vegetables, to name a few. Prager values the importance of supporting and buying from these local farms because he believes, “it’s the small local outlets who make the farm-to-fork movement possible.” Patrick Prager, Executive Chef at the Sawyer, frequents farmer’s markets and likes to buy local ingredients that he can use to create dishes with the farm to fork philosophy. “We stay true to that philosophy and manage the line daily to ensure consistency.”

Designed to showcase where their food and drink comes from, Sacramento’s Farm-to-Fork Festival has grown to be one of California’s most-anticipated food events.

The entire region celebrates this effort with Visit Sacramento’s annual Farm-toFork Festival which is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated food events in the country attracting more than 80,000 people last year. Designed to showcase regional food and drink, the event is hosted on Sacramento’s iconic Capitol Mall. This admission-free festival boasts more than 80 vendors highlighting local food, beer and wine, along with exhibits from farms, ranches and other food and agricultural retailers. The month-long Farm-to-Fork celebration culminates on the city’s famed Tower Bridge when 800 diners enjoy a one-of-a-kind culinary experience created by the region’s top farmers and chefs. Now in its sixth-year, Visit Sacramento’s Tower Bridge dinner has truly become one of Sacramento’s most sought-after tickets. www.facethecurrent.com

Sacramento’s month-long Farm-to-Fork Celebration concludes on the city’s famed Tower Bridge when 800 diners enjoy a one-of-a-kind culinary experience created by the region’s top farmers and chefs. The 2018 version of the dinner was led by famed Chef Jeremiah Tower, recognized by Martha Stewart as “a father of American cuisine.” Chef Tower is renowned for leading the kitchen at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in Berkeley, where the insistence on fresh and local ingredients quickly gained notoriety. “The Sawyer is always thrilled to be involved with such an incredible event like the Farm-to-Fork Festival,” explains Chef Prager. “This year we took part in the Legends of Wine event highlighting local wineries and The Tower Bridge event where we featured an appetizer and expedited the actual dinner. I’m really excited to say, we will soon also be involved in the Sacramento Hotel Association Farm-to-Fork Chef challenge.”

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Dive into Sacramento’s coolest pool and hottest social scene at Revival bar and lounge on the thirdfloor pool deck overlooking Golden 1 Center

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE FOOD! Because the city enjoys a Mediterranean climate, distinguished by warm, wet winters under prevailing westerly winds and calm, hot, dry summers, residents and visitors can spend a lot of time walking and biking the nearby American River Bike Trail, hiking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and just enjoying afternoons year-round under the incredible amount of shady trees. “The Mediterranean-style climate of the city gives farmers the ability to farm year-round and provides us with nearly 50 farmers markets,” reveals Hamano. “But we want guests to relax at the Sawyer. Here guests will find yoga mats in all the guestrooms with a 24-hour dedicated yoga/fitness channel, morning coffee/tea service, hosted evening wine hour, pet acceptance with no additional charges, and the only rooftop pool in Sacramento—a one-of-a-kind pool deck overlooking Golden 1 Center— which has become one of the hottest places to be seen in the city. In addition, we want to ensure all of our guests know they can take advantage of our public bikes. Sacramento is a great biking city with miles of bike paths and a great riverwalk.”

A PROUD HISTORY AND FUTURE Sacramento can look back on a proud, colorful history. But the word is getting out about the new Sacramento, a recharged city whose pioneering spirit is driving its growth in both technology and culture. The Sawyer is proud to be part of this rediscovered, vibrant energy. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you’ll find this contemporary boutique hotel the perfect base for exploring all that a burgeoning Sacramento has to offer.

Riverwalk DID YOU KNOW… The original city is actually underground. Due to floods in 1862, citizens worked to pave the city by raising the streets (literally). This ended up creating underground spaces and walkways that are more than nine feet below ground. These days, underground tours, put on by the Sacramento History Museum, take visitors down into the tunnels to share stories about the businesses and lives that thrived below their feet. The transformation of Sacramento has attracted youth and millennials. In fact the Greater Sacramento region is younger than the regions of Seattle, Portland, San Jose, and San Francisco. Sacramento offers an abundance of higher educational institutions. It’s home to the University of California–Davis, California State University, Sacramento State University, no less than eight junior colleges, and numerous vocational schools. Opportunity for educational growth is as abundant as the crops! Sacramento remains relatively affordable. The median square foot price of a Sacramento-area home is $228, compared with $531 in the Bay Area. Accordingly, the US Census

Bureau reports nearly 20,000 people each year relocate from the Bay Area to the Greater Sacramento Region. Sacramento is considered an environmentally friendly city. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is working on a long-term plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. SMUD is known for its renewable energy programs and energy efficiency. By 2030 the city has a goal of obtaining 37 percent of its energy from alternative resources that include biomass, wind, and solar power. Sacramento was where Mark Twain was hired as a special news correspondent with the now-defunct Sacramento Union newspaper in 1866, reporting on the city during its old west days. Sacramento has some unique nicknames, including “The Camella Capital of the World,” “The Big Tomato,” and “City of Trees.” Sacramento is second only to Paris, France, in number of trees per capita in the world.

ymore info: www.sawyerhotel.com www.visitsacramento.com www.facethecurrent.com

FtC travel

Redefining Human History:

Exploring Origins and Wisdom of Ancient Sites of Peru and Bolivia

An Expedition With Resonance Science Foundation By David Aiello and Sasha Frate

When people think of Peru and Bolivia, it is often the vibrant rich culture, ancient cities and ruins, and beautiful, mystical landscapes that forms our impressions. The historical sanctuary of Machu Picchu, a top destination for tourists, prevails over a vast number of ancient sites that exist in the Andes, and the stories that proliferate are those easily explained with conventional archeological logic. Discussions about the history of this region tend to emphasize the Incan Empire, but what happens when we delve deeper and farther back in history? What wisdom can we gain from exploring a more ancient past?

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Machu Picchu. Photo by Andrés Frate

Walking Tour of Cusco. Photo by Sasha Frate

Following the previous year’s Gathering in Egypt, Face the Current set out to explore ancient wisdom and modern research with the Resonance Science Foundation in Peru and Bolivia and delve deeper with the 2nd Annual Delegate Gathering. Led by Nassim Haramein, who has been researching, publishing papers, delivering lectures and creating educational material on unified physics for more than thirty years, the Foundation seeks to challenge the generally accepted history of humanity to ask, “what if?” Together we were to consider many possibilities including whether ancient civilizations had knowledge of the organization of space and applied this knowledge to construct massive structures. The 2nd Annual Gathering sought to expand upon what was discussed during the 1st Gathering in Egypt in 2017 and consider new perspectives and insights that would further challenge and enhance our understanding of the world. Transformational Travel With a recent shift in awareness,

travel is recognized as more than just an escape, but rather as a catalyst, which has the potential to inspire us to create meaningful changes in our lives and the world in which we live. As Nassim reflected, these tours in Egypt, Peru, Bolivia and those to come are purpose driven and meant to transform not only the lives of those who join the tours, but also those around us. “In life we often find ourselves connecting at a superficial level and failing to connect at a deeper, more meaningful level. By being here, you’ll have left behind what is familiar and comfortable, and we’ll visit unknown places both physically and intellectually.” All the factors contributing to a truly life-altering adventure were present in our tour experience. They included traveling with intention, openness, and mindfulness, engaging in challenging physical and/or cultural experiences, and taking time for personal reflection and “meaningmaking.” As people now seek this type of travel experience, it is rapidly replacing typical tour itineraries.

A Global Community Gathers… For Another Adventure! Our journey began at over 11,000 feet elevation in “the archeological capital of the Americas,” Cusco, Peru. Here, one-hundred fifty Delegates gathered from twenty-seven different countries including Australia, China, Finland, India, South Africa, Turkey and the United States assembled to immerse in the Andean culture, connect with historical traditions and explore amazing archaeological sites. From the 20-somethings to a 90-something who inspired us all, our group was comprised of students, fitness instructors, naturopaths, engineers, a farmer, psychotherapists and those involved in a variety of other industries. To gather and share this mindful journey in a unified, connected, and purpose-filled manner, was not only profound but also inspiring to see the potential of a conscious global community to live a more connected life. All came seeking adventure, a betterment of self and our world, connection with like-minded people, enlightenment and wisdom. www.facethecurrent.com

“I want to leave a legacy in this world,” declared Aaron Hutchings a twenty-two-year-old from Long Beach, California. “To do this I want to be around people like Nassim and the Delegates who are making a difference, who are helping each other strive for the best and reach their full potential.” Suzana Salgado of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, her intention for joining the tour, which was in support of Nassim’s unified worldview that bridges the gap between spirituality and science. “I’m here because I do believe science can explain spirituality, and spirituality can be explained by science,” she reveals. “Usually people see only one view or the other. If we continue to try to incorporate both perspectives into an understanding of our place in the universe, this world will be different.”

isolated; there is a specific relationship between these sites as they are part of a network that covers the globe,” Nassim explains. “They are in very specific places that may have been chosen for a very specific reason by an advanced civilization prior to our written history.” As we journeyed through numerous sites, most associated with Incan culture, we discovered that perhaps a

to define a new story about human history. We shared this journey as part of a collective mission to advance our understanding, with one of our guides, Brien Foerster, wisdom keepers of Raqchi, a local diver at Lake Titicaca who revealed submerged ancient ruins, local archeologists, and many others. Like the pyramids of Egypt, the sprawling citadels of Machu Picchu and Tiwanaku exceeded our expectations, leaving us in awe and contemplation. Experiencing and examining such sites shed light on the notion that we must continue to travel, explore, and research deeper, and not assume the orthodox theory of human prehistory taught in schools to be the correct or fully accurate ones.

The Gathering paved the way for unique encounters and incredible insight from local elders at every twist and turn. We received a special gift when we arrived at the village of Beginning the tour in Raqchi, site of the Temple Cusco, we found pisco, of Wiracocha, once one ceviche, and of course of the holiest shrines in ancient wonders— the Inca Empire. There, from the mystique of Nassim Haramein at Portal de Aramu Muru as if guided by some the Urubamba Valley, unseen hand, we happened known as the Sacred upon a family of multi-generational Valley of the Incas, to the sanctuary truer, or more ancient history exists healers and ‘wisdom keepers.’ They of Machu Picchu. This all wrapped in in a story less often told or yet to be told us how they were raised and a climate ranging from desert to lush fully understood. With many ancient educated through a long history of tropical, and the glaciers of Nevado sites containing constructions that oral teachings to become the voices Huascaran, the highest mountain defy logic, it requires an open mind of their elders. They proved to be in Peru at more than 6,700 meters and a variety of applications from an incredible unexpected resource (22,000 feet). science, archeology, engineering, for sharing aboriginal language and Tapping Into A More Ancient geology, multi-generational local culture. They joined with us on Wisdom wisdom passed on through oral the balance of the tour leading us teachings and more to begin to form The sites on our tour’s itinerary through several ceremonies and these new perspectives and potential were not chosen simply because meditations enriching our time explanations. they are incredible milestones in the for personal reflection and inviting human record. “These places are not powerful conversations. We’re not the only ones attempting

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Locals at Tambo Machay discovering the 64 ARK® crystals grid. Photo by Andrés Frate

Local Cultures and Adventures This tour encouraged challenged us in many ways with perhaps a unanimous vote for the Machu Picchu Mountain hike being the most physically demanding! Situated in front of the citadel, Machu Picchu Mountain towers over 10,000 feet in elevation with awe-inspiring views that reward those who make the climb. This was not the highest altitude we would hike to, however it was approximately one and a half to two hours of vertical stair stepping to ascend and another hour and half to descend! Most of the sites we toured sat at high altitudes, ranging from 8,000 to 13,400 feet elevation and required many of us to face the unique challenges brought on by the high altitudes experienced. We summited the highest islands in the world at Lake Titicaca, climbed stairways and trails of ancient terraced sites, and tunneled through caves and crevasses. The adventures also included new experiences with local culture. Walking the streets of Cusco and other villages, we were often met

with colorful traditionally dressed locals, anxious to be photographed with their alpaca or baby goat in hand. Local artisans displayed their hand-crafted goods and tempted us with beautiful items such as jewelry and alpaca scarves and sweaters. Sampling the regional foods, that were naturally farm to table, was a delight. Quinoa, large-kernal Inca corn, Inca plantain chips, and fish straight out of Lake Titicaca were just a few common foods we encountered and enjoyed. We ventured by foot across one of the most incredible border crossings in Latin America on our trip from Peru to Bolivia and visited one of the most exceptional places on earth: the floating Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca. The list of unique experiences we shared is long and unforgettable!

Panchito wearing an ARK® Crystal in Cusco

community and gain their support in integrating the lessons extracted from their experience. As those with wanderlust know, we now need ‘travel’ more than ever to create memories, broaden horizons, provide real-life education, boost confidence, rid ourselves of fear, insecurity and intolerance. Many can complete a journey like this. But to Nassim, the Delegate Gatherings are a chance to grow by gaining fresh perspectives and building relationships. “To have experienced this adventure with our Delegates who are consumed with pure intentions, was a priceless opportunity. Everyone here immersed themselves in the cultures we encountered with a respect I felt was imperative for our success. The Foundation would not exist without Delegates like this. I am grateful.”

Now, Face the Current invites you to Traveling for a Better Life and a join us as we share more on the sites Better World we visited on this tour. We hope Some people like to travel alone you enjoy the journey and become to fully immerse themselves in the inspired to delve deeper, perhaps experience. Others like to travel even joining on the next adventures with a group to build a sense of in Rapa Nui or Mexico in 2019! www.facethecurrent.com

Cusco Walking Tour. Photos by Sasha Frate

CUSCO Inhabited continuously for over 3,000 years, Cusco, Peru is the most ancient urban settlement in all of the Americas. It was here the Resonance Science Foundation chose to convene the 2nd Annual Delegate Gathering as its next stop on a multi-year adventure trail. Delegates assembled to search for evidence of past, advanced civilizations here and explore the relationship between these findings with what was explored in Egypt during the 1st Gathering in 2017. “When most people think of Cusco and the Sacred Valley of Peru they of course discuss the Inca civilization that existed there from about 1000 to 1535 AD,” comments author and researcher, Brien Foerster. ”However, when one delves deeper into the story, with the

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assistance of local wisdom keepers we find out that about 1000 years ago the Inca found an abandoned megalithic center and adopted it as their capital.” As the historic capital of the Inca Empire between the 13th and 16th centuries, until the Spanish conquest, both old and new flourish today in Cusco. Traditional Quechua women carry goods and children in their llicalla’s in front of century old cathedrals, souvenir vendors ply their trade in narrow cobblestone streets, while trendy galleries sell modern art and exclusive boutiques offer the finest alpaca knits. Travel guides described Cusco as seductive, striking and natural. Its history lives in its streets, squares, and mesmerizing landscapes found in the nearby Sacred Valley. This 70mile narrow river valley, formed

by the Urubamba River or “sacred river,” was not even part of the Inca Empire but the personal property of the high or Sapa Inca rulers due to its exceptional natural beauty and incredibly fertile land. Here it seems every mountain is adorned with terraces and you can marvel at incredible examples of engineering from Saysayhuamán, Tambomachay and Ollantaytambo, to Machu Picchu, the Inca jewel. In the heart of the old city, you will find the central square, Plaza de Armas, with wooden balconies, colonnades, and plentiful Incan and pre-Incan wall ruins. In fact, the baroque Santo Domingo Convent located here was built atop the Incan Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha). Also built on Inca ruins and a short walk from the square, is the Inca Museum.

Cusco. Photos by Sasha Frate

Here twenty-four exhibition rooms are filled with information dating back to pre-Inca times, with many items on display having been excavated in and around Cusco. The museum itself is housed in an impressive 17th century building called Casa del Almirante, the former home of Spanish Admiral Francisco Alderete Moldonado.

About 50 km from Cusco, Moray is reminiscent of a Roman amphitheater, with its deep, bowl-shaped basins. It is not found in many guidebooks and subsequently not inundated with tourists, allowing you to enjoy this impressive site in relative privacy.

“While walking the narrow cobblestone streets with Nassim, viewing examples of both Inca and pre-Inca masonry and visiting the Inca Museum, I realized the true origins of humanity are not what we were taught in school,” reflected Richard Salazar of San Antonia, Texas. “This stop convinced me that with all the technology we have today we cannot duplicate what was built by these ancient civilizations who used advanced technologies which have since been lost to history.”

Here we were impressed with the circular agricultural terraces, which are up to 330 feet deep. Even more impressive is how they were constructed using retaining walls connected by an irrigation system. The terraces rise like stairs to the top of the valley. The full purpose behind these concentric terraces is still being discussed although some conjecture the site was once an agricultural laboratory using the terraces to create micro-climates to examine the growth of various crops.

MORAY

Moray. Photo by Sasha Frate

On the valley floor, in the center of the circles, Nassim led Delegates in a group meditation channeling the power of the ARK® crystals. “The presence of the community was palpable as we gathered swiftly, silently into ever larger concentric rings, from the center of an ancient archaeological terraces,” recalled Tara Dubarr, of Boulder, Colorado. “Our resonance with each other, the crystals and the site was powerful as we collectively focused our intention. It was our first such site together as a group. As our collective energy spiraled outward there was an expansiveness in our unity, a heartfelt collaboration we would repeatedly create throughout the trip.”

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Maras Salt Terraces

MARAS SALT TERRACES The salt ponds of Maras is an incredible site that may leave you awestruck as you take in the astonishing vista and reflect on its storied past. Located in the Scared Valley near Cusco, the salt ponds were first constructed almost 2,000 years ago by the Chanapata culture, pre-dating the Incas. The area was once covered by ocean and retains residual salt deposits. Here in Maras there are about 5,000 ponds, most owned by individual families. Each pond averages about five meters square and thirty centimeters in depth. The ponds are fed by a spring water canal called Qoripujio. The pond owners allow their pond to flood and then close it off allowing the water to evaporate.

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Once the pond has dried up, the scraping of the pink salt crust begins. This incredible process continues to produce a pink salt, which has been recommended by experts due to its curative properties, and for those who suffer from hypertension because it has low levels of sodium chloride. Maras salt also contains calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium, making it a perfect medicinal option for skin conditions and to treat swelling. Many people enjoy Maras salt for flavoring their dishes, but in order to retain its medicinal properties, this salt should be added after cooking. It loses its medicinal properties in temperatures higher than 40 degrees Celsius!

Chinchero. Photo by Sasha Frate

CHINCHERO Chinchero is a small Andean Indian village located about 30km from Cusco and is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow and located at 3,763 meters (12,500 feet), is one of a few towns in the region that has a higher elevation than Cusco! Still the picturesque village seems towered over by the Vilcabamba mountain range and the snowcapped peak of Salcantay. Here examples of Inca architecture, ruins and megalithic carved rocks can be seen. In addition to the ancient wonders, Chinchero is also known for its indigenous weaving and colorful market. The beautiful adobe Church of Chinchero sits on the plaza, which

can be visited daily. Now known as the Temple of Our Lady of the Nativity, it was built in 1607 and is one of the first Catholic buildings erected in Peru. It’s not surprising that the church was built on the foundation of an Inca building. Transforming an existing Incan structure was part of the formula employed by the Spanish to convert Incans to Catholicism. “I remember Chinchero was my first encounter, at scale, with the Pre-Inca, molded stonework,” recalls David Knox, of Portland, Oregon. “We all flocked instinctively to that first big wall to touch it, lean against it, and feel its ancient energy in the late day sun. It was a powerful moment so early in the trip. At that point it was hard to imagine that we were on an ascent curve of higher and higher vibrational experiences!” It’s interesting to consider how traveling to these Andean sites exposed us to energies that may have affected our consciousness. Some believed these energies were divine. Others believed they were a result of physical forces, as we learned the magnetic field within the Sacred Valley is one of the major energy centers of the world. Regardless of what you may believe, travel, especially to sacred sites, helps us experience connectedness with something bigger.Your focus shifts from the familiar to unimagined possibilities—one is compelled to expand their perspective and ideas of what’s possible.

www.facethecurrent.com 41 Chinchero. Photos by Andrés Frate

Sacsayhuaman. Photos by Sasha Frate

SACSAYHUAMAN On the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco are many archaeological sites, with perhaps the best-known being the vast Sacsayhuamán Archeological Park that spans 7,643 acres. The name Sacsayhuamán is derived from two Quechua words, “Sacsay,” which means satiate and “wamán,” which means hawk. This could be reference to the fact that the birds were divine protectors of the Incas and the military. Perhaps this is one of the reasons both Spanish and contemporary writers assumed it was a military structure. However, together with resident

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experts and local wisdom keepers, we discussed a more ancient history and construction of this site. What was particularly striking for our tour was the architectural work consisting of megalithic walls made of stones than can weigh from 99 to 138 tons. The stones vary in size and some have more than one hundred angles, each fitted and joined to the other with no mortar of any kind! It’s mind-boggling even today, to consider not only how the engineers moved the massive stones from quarries almost three miles away, but also the amount of materials that they transported.

While most attribute this feat to the Incas, Nassim pointed to evidence of a more advanced, pre-existing culture. “Here at Sacsayhuamán you can clearly see the difference between Inca reconstruction and the original megalithic stones in the walls. Associating everything here to the Inca is wrong and it also denies the true history of the site.” Today we recognize Sacsayhuamán as the location of the most important temples in Hanan Qosqo or Upper Cusco, dedicated to Andean cosmology, the worship of the Inti (Sun), Quilla (Moon), Chaska (Stars), Illapa (Lightning) and the other

divinities. Even today, every June 24th, Inti Raymi, the great feast of the sun is celebrated, which draws thousands of tourists. From the ruins, you can also catch a splendid view of Cusco and the Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue of Jesus Christ, standing some eight meters (twenty six feet) high. The statue was a gift from Arabic Palestinians who sought refuge in Cusco after World War II. TAMBO MACHAY A bit more than four miles northeast of Cusco, and at 3,765 meters (12,350 feet), stands Tambomachay, popularly known as the “Inca’s Baths.” This incredibly peaceful site is comprised of a series of delicately carved aqueducts, canals, and waterfalls that run through its terraced rocks.

Sacsayhuaman. Photo by Sasha Frate

“The beautiful fountains, canals, and terraces beckoned me to fall in love with this place,” said Laura Hames Franklin, of New York, New York. “And to experience this space with a community of amazing people who are working to shift their view of the world, left an indelible mark on my soul.” Tambomachay is better known as El Bano del Inca, or “The Bath of the Inca,” because it is thought to have been a place to bath in attempt to clean the mind and spirit of evil. Clearly however the site was linked to the reverence of water, which originates from nearby thermal springs. The aqueducts and canals were built in such a way that the water flows unimpeded to a little waterfall at the bottom of the structure that was used for ceremonial purposes. Incans worshipped water as the source of life and was one of the pillars of the Andean conception of the world.

Tambo Machay. Photo by Sasha Frate www.facethecurrent.com

Tipon. Photo by Sasha Frate

TIPÓN Tipón is known for its beautiful Inca ruins. As it happens to be relatively hidden in the mountains, it makes for one of the less visited sites in the Sacred Valley. As we explored the site, we came across a serious of well-maintained terraces, which were skillfully irrigated by the Incas. However, it was not the Incans that developed this ancient network of stone canals. A civilization called the Wari thrived in the Andean highlands and built a complex society between 500 and 1000 AD, centuries before the rise of the Incas. Not much is known about the Wari although many archaeological sites reveal they were great urban planners and engineers. They are credited with constructing a series of ancient stone canals, known locally as amunas, like those at Tipón. Many believe the Inca came upon the work at Tipón and claimed the infrastructure work and technology as their own as they took over

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occupation and began to redevelop the area. Locals shared stories about the Wari’s use of the ancient water canals, telling of an advanced technology that served as a “power plant” or “energy source.” This technology, they claim, was what captivated the Incans to take over the site for themselves. The Tipón ruins are some of the most impressive, architecturally in the area, with terraces and water channels that feed the whole complex with water from a natural spring near the top of the site. Some of the aqueducts are still in use today and in fact, such ancient water technologies continue to serve many villages. Lima has been turning to them as well in attempt to revive over fifty ancient Wari canals and alleviate the city’s water deficit. “This was one of my favorite sites,” said David Knox. “It’s three huge

Tipon. Photo by David Aiello

green layers tiered on a gentle slope and flanked by waters still flowing through ancient aqueducts, were not only beautiful to behold, but they had joyous, nurturing, and protecting energies that invited you in to play and nap and breath with elements, all present so harmoniously in this sacred space.” ANDAHUAYLILLAS Built in 1580, the Church of San Pedro Apostol of Andahuaylillas is known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas. The chapel features a simple façade, which is contrasted by its remarkable Baroque interior with its gilded altars, walls, paintings, and polychromatic ceilings. As was their practice to reform the indigenous population, the Spanish built the chapel on an existing Inca temple, and relied heavily on decorative paintings from the Escuela Cusqueña, or Cusco School. Cusco School was an artistic

Church of San Pedro Apostol of Andahuaylillas

tradition that centered on Cusco in the 17th and 18th centuries, after the 1534 Spanish conquest of the city. It is considered the first organized artistic movement in the New World. This movement was a form of religious art whose main purpose was moralistic. The Spanish, who aimed to convert the Incans to Catholicism, sent a group of religious artists to Cusco. These artists formed a school to teach drawing and oil painting. Their work was characterized using exclusively religious subjects, a lack of perspective, and the predominance of red, yellow and earth colors. Here if you look closely, in addition to its altars, wood carvings, beautiful pieces in gold leaf, and its incredible painted ceiling, you can find a portrait of Pope Joan, the only women to have “purportedly” ruled the Catholic Church between the years 855 – 857. Andahuaylillas is also the location of the Museo Ritos Andinos, where

museum director, anthropologist Renato Dávila Riquelme has various types of skeletal remains on display including those with a disproportionate skull, large eye sockets, open fontanelle, and other unusual features. Here our guide Brien Foerster, discussed theories on the unique characteristics and latest understandings of the Huayqui skeleton with its elongated skull. Foerster has done extensive research on elongated skulls along with scientists, archeologists, geologists, engineers and leading experts around the world and shared insights on what he has discovered with the inclusion of carbon dating and DNA testing. He recently shared his expertise on the subject with popular author, Erich Von Daniken for an Ancient Aliens episode that aired January 2019 on the HISTORY channel. In this episode, it was speculated as to whether Von Daniken’s ideas posed in his infamous “Chariots of the Gods” may

Museo Ritos Andinos

soon prove true, fifty years after its publication with more than 70 million copies sold. PISAC Just forty five minutes by car from Cusco and situated at the eastern end of the Sacred Valley along the Río Vilcanota or the Urubamba River as it is also known, are the ruins of Pisac. They’re almost as spectacular, equally fascinating, and far less crowded than Machu Picchu. This is one of Peru’s most intact ancient sites, and it seems that no matter where you stand, you can admire remarkable agriculture terraces that are still being used today. Legend states that at night the city was guarded by pumas, possibly to stand guard over the estimated 3,000 Incan graves resting here. The historical record states there is no evidence indicating preInca occupation at the site so construction probably started www.facethecurrent.com

no earlier than 1440. But like most of the sites we visited, we viewed megalithic stonework that is seemingly incongruent with the style employed by the Incas. According to guide, Brien Foerster, “We see megalithic work here, indicating that the Inca found this place just like they did at Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo and other sites, and built their complexes around it to honor their mysterious ancestors.” Further he adds, “The Inca were not likely capable of this very precise megalithic work because they only had Bronze Age technology. The stones here are basalt or possibly andesite and super hard. Any strike with a bronze or copper chisel would be useless.” Pisac was once an important trading post for the Incas due to its strategic location. From here it was possible to guard the Urubamba River below and a pass that leads towards the jungle to the northeast. Traders would gather to barter for goods, and today the large market every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday flourishes with textiles and handicrafts and attracts many tourists from nearby Cusco.

Pisac. Photo by Sasha Frate

OLLANTAYTAMBO Ollantaytambo, called Ollanta by the locals, lies about 70 km northwest of Cusco and represents some of the best-preserved Inca ruins in Peru. The site was the estate of the Emperor Pachacuti who built the ceremonial center and the town in the mid-fifteenth century. During the Spanish conquest in Peru, Manco Inca Yupanqui, the leader of the Inca resistance, used Ollantaytambo as a fortress. His initial opposition there in 1536 has the distinction of being the only time the Inca’s repelled the Spanish army in Peru. However, victory was short-lived as the Spanish returned with a greater army and eventually took control of Ollantaytambo while Manco Inca fled to the city of Vilcabamba organizing a guerrilla resistance against the hated Spanish until his assassination in 1544. However, many regard Ollantaytambo

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Ollantaytambo. Photo by Sasha Frate

Ollantaytambo. Photos by Sasha Frate

as a pre-Inca fortress, with rock walls of tightly fitted blocks weighing up to forty tons each. “Ollantaytambo has some astonishing megalithic work which defies logic and reason,” Brien Foerster tells us. “The accepted theory that the Inca were building this structure and suddenly stopped working on it does not make sense. I think it was destroyed by an ancient cataclysm long before the existence of the Inca people. Clearly the Inca found this site after it was damaged and they rebuilt it.” Some of the fallen megalithic stones

illustrate just how intricate their construction was. One such block reveals an inside edge that is as smooth as glass with a slight lip, concave along the edge. The stone standing next to it was just as smooth but with a slight convex lip along the edge so that the two would fit perfectly together. Legend that says the stones talked to the ancient stonecutters so that they could be precisely matched when cut. Today we believe the Inca’s used the site for astronomical observations and as a solar clock. The Temple of

the Sun with its monolithic stones soar above the town’s cobbled streets. Ancient symbol-like marks in relief still adorn these huge stones. The complex also includes a stepped terrace as well as an area known as the Princess Baths, where ceremonial bathing took place. A climb up the 200 steps to the top gives a visitor a close look at the remains of several fountains and temples. Those local to the area also like to point out the Inca face carved into the cliff above the valley. www.facethecurrent.com

Machu Picchu. Photo by Andrés Frate

MACHU PICCHU Rightfully voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located on a ridge between the Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountains in Peru. It sits at 2,430 meters, (7,970 feet) and continues to both reveal and shroud mysteries of Inca and pre-Inca civilizations. Said to have been built in the 1450s by Inca emperor Pachucuti, Machu Picchu is thought to have been either a country estate for royalty, or an important place of worship. The exact purpose is still subject to debate. What is not debatable is the humbling and mystifyingly beautiful ingenuity that went into the construction. A large portion of the city was completed using the classic dry polished rock method of

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placing stone on stone without mortar, known as ashlar. This technique also helps strengthen the structure. Peru is seismically active and Machu Picchu itself sits atop two fault lines. It is said, when an earthquake occurs, the stones “dance.” That is, they bounce through the tremors and then fall back into place. Without this building method, Machu Picchu probably would have collapsed long ago. To this day, exactly how the ancient builders managed to move and place these large stones with such precision remains a wonderful mystery! However, some see evidence that suggests Machu Picchu (meaning ‘Old Peak’ in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. “I clearly see different stages of development here where the technology peaked early in the occupation rather

Group meditation at Machu Picchu. Photo by David Aiello

than progressing as time passed,” explains Nassim Haramein. “All around us we see examples of newer Inca work transitioning from superior megalithic construction.” There is a belief among the people of the Andes that the entire planet is sacred. However, they deem some places exceptional because they shelter energies or spirits, or other elements of nature. Machu Picchu is considered a special place because it is situated within concentric circles of mountains while the white Urubamba River winds around its mountain base like a coiled snake. Quartz crystals are abundant here (which is why it is also called the Crystal City) and it was constructed in complete harmony with the cyclical aspects of nature.

In this powerful setting, we sought moments of quiet reflection individually and collectively to reestablish a connection with this shrine of stone and with the people who created it. Many Delegates were drawn to the Sacred Rock, called a Wank’a in Quechua, which means statue or stone. Located in the lower part of the Urban Sector of Machu Picchu, the rock acts as a memorial where the Incas carried out special rituals and Pachamamas (offerings to the earth). Some say the rock resembles the shape of the top of the mountains behind it (most noticeably Yanantin Mountain). Regardless, it remains a powerful symbol in Machu Picchu, and is recognized as being a spiritual area for meditation and absorbing positive energies.

Machu Picchu Mountain hike

When visiting Machu Picchu, we highly suggest you take the time to explore the ruins and add to your adventure by going on some of the additional hikes. There are four options to choose from: Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu Mountain, the Sun Gate, and the Inca Bridge. Many of us decided to climbed Machu Picchu Mountain. At 1,640 feet it is twice as tall as Huayna Picchu which anchors the opposite end of the site. The reward for this effort was spectacular views of the area surrounding the ruins. But start planning early. Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain are hikes that require a special entry ticket. Peak season at Machu Picchu is from April to October when it’s less likely to rain, and these tickets can sell out up to four months in advance. www.facethecurrent.com

Raqchi

RAQCHI Located on the ancient Inca Road in a beautiful valley at an altitude of 3,460 meters (11,351 feet), the village of Raqchi has seen almost 2,000 years of continuous occupation. Although the site had many uses, including religious, administrative, defensive and acting as a repository of food and ceramics, it does not receive as many tourists as other sites. The most prominent feature here is the remains of the Temple of Wiracocha, built by the Inca Wiracocha in honor of the Superior God, “Apu Kon Titi Wiracoch,” who was invisible to the Andean people. This was an enormous two-story roofed structure that measures 92 meters (302 feet) by 25.5 meters (84 feet). It had central adobe walls – which sit on foundations of Inca rock walls – 18 to 20 meters in

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height and with eleven columns on each side. Prior to its destruction by the Spaniards, the temple had what is believed to be the largest single roof in the Incan Empire, stretching 25 meters on each side and covering the columns. Because this was such a large structure, the whole complex here is sometimes referred to simply as the Temple of Wiracocha. Surrounding the site, and still in use by villagers, are several Inca built terraces. It is said that a stone wall once enclosed the area. Unfortunately, not much of this wall remains as the Spanish used the stone to construct the Colonial church in the beautiful neighboring Village San Pedro, which remains home to artisans, farmers and small ranchers. Upon arriving at Raqchi we connected with local indigenous

wisdom keepers. They have resided at this site for generations where they have been passing down their wisdom through traditional oral teachings and practices. Their wisdom and stories were profound and our connection with them was great, so we invited them to join us on our journey as we continued to visit more sites beyond Raqchi. Martina Mamani, Guardiana Del Templo de Wiracocha, together with her daughter Grivanesa Flores Mamani, joined us for the remaining days of our trip in Bolivia as they lead us in traditional healing ceremonies with chanting in their native language and sacred use of various objects such as the local coca leaves and continued to share incredible stories from their multi-generational wisdom on the ancient sites we were visiting.

Geothermal Hot Baths

SACRED VALLEY HIGH ALTITUDE HOT SPRINGS From Raqchi, the tour journeyed onward to Puno, and we encountered a thunderstorm and cold rains. This did not prevent us from our next scheduled stop on the itinerary: the high altitude hot springs! Sitting at 14,300 feet, the amazing Peruvian geothermal baths were surrounded by an Iceland-esque mountainous landscape, and an icy cold river that flowed along the outskirts of the hot baths grounds. The geothermal baths varied in temperature, from ‘extremely’ hot to luke warm, and many here opted for hot-cold hydrotherapy, plunging into the river as well. One covered bath was filled with several herbs and offered an aromatherapy experience. The hot baths left us with a blissful, rejuvenated, and we were grateful not to have passed up the experience!

Group meditation at Portal de Aramu Muru. Photo by Sasha Frate

PORTAL DE ARAMU MURU It’s a surreal landscape. In the Hayu Marca stone forest, “City of the Gods” near the shores of Lake Titicaca, giant red granite sculptures rise from the Altiplano, the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. Erosion has formed natural sculptures, bridges and grottos in the rock. It’s fun to conjecture whether some of these formations were the work of nature or man. But what was recently found here, and the work of man, is Aramu Muru. It is simply a flat stone roughly 23-feet square, with a T-shaped alcove some 6 feet, 6 inches tall carved into it. We do not know when Aramu Muru was made or who created it – but most likely it pre-dates the Incas. Locals are said to call the doorway the “Puerta de Hayu Marca,” or “Gate of the Gods.” Legends apparently

speak of people disappearing through the doorway as well as of strange sights, such as “tall men accompanied by glowing balls of lights walking through the doorway.” They also tell that at some point, these gods will retur n to the Earth through this gate “to inspect all the lands in the kingdom.” The legend of Aramu Muru stayed quiet until the mid-1990’s when it was “rediscovered” by a local tourist guide. He told of seeing the structure in a dream and almost passed out from excitement when he came across the subject of his vision. His story went viral and the old, mysterious stories about Aramu Muru became popular again. It was curious to find several burnpits around the site. We learned from the wisdom keepers traveling with us these were places to provide gifts www.facethecurrent.com

to Pachamama, a goddess revered by the people of the Andes, known as the earth/time mother. Traditionally people leave offerings to help replenish Pachamama because she provides the earth so much energy. Popular offerings include tobacco and a spattering of water. LAKE TITICACA Lake Titicaca spans the borders of both Bolivia and Peru and is the highest navigable lake in the world at over 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) above sea level! There are over forty islands on Lake Titicaca, some of which play an important part in Incan and pre-Incan ancient history such as Isla del Sol (Sun Island), the largest island and the highest point on the lake at approximately 13,450 feet above sea level. The city of Puno sits on the edge of Titicaca and was the portal to launch visits to the famous Floating and Amantaní Islands. Evidence of the presence of preIncan cultures including the Purakas, Tiwanakus, and Collas, and the Incas presence as well can be seen by the ancient ruins that remain on the islands and within the lake. While touring the islands, a local diver shared images he had captured of submerged ancient ruins that lie at the bottom of the lake, some of

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Surrounding landscape of Portal de Aramu Muru. Photo by Sasha Frate

them megalithic in size. A recent BBC report revealed the findings of another local diver, Reddy Guaygua, and archeologist Christophe Delaere of Belgium who has located twenyfour submerged archaeological sites in the lake. These discoveries, which have yielded more than 10,000 items determined to be from pre-Incan and Tiwanaku culture, will soon find a new home in an underwater museum now being constructed in Bolivia. Projected to be open in 2020, the new museum will include an onshore building where items excavated from the lake will be exhibited. Incredibly, visitors will be able to view underwater structures of the “hidden

city” through transparent walls. The lake itself was known to hold sacred meaning for the Incas. In the Incan creation myth, the god Con Tiqui Viracocha emerged from the lake bringing a human with him. After commanding the sun (Inti), moon (Quilla) and the stars to rise, Viracocha created more humans from the surrounding stone and told them to populate the world. The Incas believed the lake is where they came from and that upon death, their spirits would return to the lake.

Isla Del Sol. Photo by Sasha Frate

FLOATING ISLANDS One of the most fascinating sites on Lake Titicaca are the Uros islands, a vast group of more than forty man-made totora reed islands floating on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca. Their inhabitants, the completely self-sufficient Uros tribe, pre-date Incan civilization and continue to hunt and fish the plentiful land and waters they occupy. There literally is no other place like this on earth! The Uros people have been living on the lake for hundreds of years as they were forced into a nomadic existence on the floating islands when the Incas expanded onto their land. Totora reed, which is plentiful along the edges of

the lake, is used to construct their homes, their furniture, their boats, and the islands they live on. As reeds disintegrate from the bottom of the islands, which are four to eight feet thick, residents must add more to the surface, which is soft and occasionally spongy. Each island has a collection of simple, reed houses. Originally the mobility of the islands was used as a defense mechanism but today an Uros family will only move to rid themselves of disruptive neighbors! Even tiny outhouse islands have been created, and the ground roots of the outhouse islands help absorb waste.

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AMANTANI ISLAND Amantaní Island is proclaimed as the “world capital of mystical tourism.” It is the largest island of the Peruvian side of the Lake Titicaca and a place where the traditions of the old empire are preserved and the residents are renowned for their exquisite woven fabrics. Here you’ll encounter decorations of climbing plants, agricultural lands growing quinoa and potatoes, mosaics, stone walkways, and cultural relics. The island has two mountain peaks, Pachatata, “father earth,” and Pachamama, “mother earth,” with ancient Inca and Tiwanaku temple ruins on top of both which are still used to honor these deities by the local population. Hiking to the apex of Pachatata on the island that reaches 13,330 feet in elevation, we arrived at the mountain top and the temple, a site that remains closed by four metal doors on each side of its walls all but one day of the year when it is open for a special celebration. The 360-degree views are breathtaking, and after our group took time to soak it all in, we gathered to experience our own special ceremony atop the remote island. Here, wisdom keeper Martina Mamani performed a traditional healing ceremony for every person in our group.

Ceremony at Pachatata atop Isla Amantani. Photos by Sasha Frate

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For anyone wishing to stay on Isla Amantaní, there are no hotels, however many locals will open their homes to visitors. It is a serene and mystical island, free from many modern conveniences such as cars and electricity is limited. Go and see for yourself why this remote island is claimed to be a world capital for mystical tourism!

Isla Del Sol. Photos by David Aiello and Sasha Frate

Isla de la Luna. Photos by Andrés Frate

“I returned immediately to Isla del Sol after the tour concluded,” apprises Brett Powell, from Cape The Isla del Sol is believed to be Town, South Africa. “This place just birthplace of the sun and the Incan had a huge interest and attraction dynasty. Here, over one hundred for me. I spent almost ten days eighty ancient ruins can be found there and the time was incredible. on this island alone. Our experience Something deep in my belief system on this island revealed itself to be has started to shift since the tour an energetic blend of mysticism and with Nassim. At the Island of the spirituality, truly the personification Sun I did Sun gazing each morning of peace and serenity. and evening, not a practice that I The island is also the site of the have ever undertaken before. The famous Inca Steps. Two-hundred six experience of falling in love and stone steps, built by the Incas, leading feeling love from the Sun, and feeling up to a sacred fountain, made up of that the Sun was intelligent, and full three separate springs that are said intelligent communication with me to be the fabled Fountain of Youth. was profound.” ISLA DEL SOL AND ISLA DE LA LUNA

Brett was not the only person to return to the island. A small group of people including Nik Meuli of Switzerland, immediately went back to further surrender to the peace and serenity found there. “Isla del Sol was a very profound place for me,” mused Nik. “Being surrounded by Lake Titicaca and the snow-capped Andes mountains was beautiful and powerful in itself, but the energy I felt there gave me a feeling of homecoming and allowed me to connect to my inner self.This is why I chose to return there on my own after the ‘reality blowing’ trip with the Resonance Science family to integrate what we experienced as much as possible and essentially ‘give birth’ to a new reality and insights.” www.facethecurrent.com

Pumu Punku. Photos by Sasha Frate

The Ponce Monolith at Tiwanaku. Photo by Sasha Frate

take up to 50 years to uncover what is hidden beneath the surface, the recent survey has already found a Throughout our travels, we examined plaza and two platforms of what is evidence of Pre-Inca occupation, and considered a pyramid. Archeologist one of the most mysterious sites Arthur Posnansky dated Tiwanaku revealing these ancient wonders that to 15,000 B.C., which would make defy logic was the renowned ancient it one of the world’s oldest cities. citadel of Tiwanaku together with While scientists have claimed that Pumu Punku in Bolivia. It is said that Posnansky’s evidence was based on what can currently be viewed above a “misuse of archeoastronomical ground today is just a small glimpse evidence,” new research carried of what may lie beneath the surface out with modern technology and and what once may have existed in scientific efforts may potentially add totality. With the help of modern legitimacy to his claim. With the technology that consists of infrared cooperation of scientists from Japan surveys and precision cameras, recent and UNESCO, this new discovery data has revealed what the Bolivian could force us to rethink long held Ministry of Cultures and Tourism ideas about Tiwanaku and other proposes to be a pre-Inca city buried ancient complexes. beneath the ground.. While it may TIWANAKU AND PUMA PUNKU

56 Courtyard FACE the CURRENT MAGAZINE of Kalasaya at Tiwanaku

At an altitude of 3,850 meters (12,600 ft) it was the highest city in the ancient world and had a peak population of between 30,000 and 70,000 residents. It is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five

hundred years. Walking the grounds of Tiwanaku, you’ll discover the Temple of Kalasasaya and Pumu Punku, the Gateway of the Sun, the Puerta del Sol, the Pyramid of Akapana and many other monoliths and structures displaying extraordinary precision of their cutting and placement. As

incredible as it is to explore the citadel today, it will be interesting to see the unraveling of this ancient marvel as excavations continue to reveal more of the ancient remains and hopefully enhance our understanding of the construction and purpose of this site and others around the world.

www.facethecurrent.com 57 Sun Gate at Tiwanaku. Photo by Sasha Frate

The Journey Continues… Together with Resonance Science Foundation, we have explored ancient sites in Egypt, Peru, and Bolivia, examining evidence of constructions, which seemingly cannot be replicated with equivalent precision in modern times today suggesting an advanced technology once existed. Applying our current understanding of modern physics, exploring and examining sites with local expert archeologists, and considering different perspectives as we connect the dots, we continue to explore the world’s ancient technologies, sacred sites, temples, and ruins to support a mission to advance our understanding of our history and future. This spring, Resonance Science Foundation will continue the journey with a premiere Master Series trip to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), followed by the Mayan Mexico Expedition in fall of 2019 that will include exploration of Teotihuacan, the powerful ancient site of Tula, the largest pyramid in the world: Cholula Pyramid, and much more.

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We invite you to join us, together with Resonance Science Foundation, to embark on this incredible “mission.” We’ll explore pyramids, temples, waterfalls, underground tunnels, caves and evidence of ancient technologies, and beyond to also experience powerful activations with ARK® crystals as well as initiations, ceremonies, group meditations and educational opportunities with faculty, guest hosts and scientists. Learn more about these upcoming travel adventures at https://resonance.is/events2019

ymore info: https://resonance.is Resonance Academy: https://academy.resonance.is Events: https://resonance.is/events2019 ARK crystals: https://arkcrystals.com

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FtC culture

Don Jose Ruiz

Ancient Wisdom of the Shamans for a Modern World By Sasha Frate Born in Mexico City into a wisdomfilled, spiritual family, don Jose Ruiz’s life was naturally saturated with teachers. Today, like his father, don Jose combines ancient wisdom he absorbed from his upbringing with modern insights for the landscape of today. He has dedicated his life to sharing the ancient Toltec wisdom by translating it into practical, everyday life concepts that promote transformation through truth, love, and common sense. Don Jose travels the world, teaching his message of faith, love, gratitude, and humility. He is also the author of “The Wisdom of the Shamans” and co-authored “The Fifth Agreement” with his father, don Miguel Ruiz, a sequel to the very successful and much lauded “The Four Agreements” that has touched millions of lives around the globe. “The Fifth Agreement” takes readers to a deeper level of awareness of the power of the Self and helps to return us to the authenticity with which we were born. This sequel reminds us of the greatest gift we can give ourselves: the freedom to be who we really are.

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We have the intuition, but we betray it a lot. When we identify that we’re betraying it, everything changes.

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Face the Current invites you to unlock your heart and free your mind as we take you through a twopart journey into the wise spirit and teachings of don Jose Ruiz.

PHOTOS BY AARON LANDMAN

Sasha Frate: In the book, “The Wisdom of the Shamans”, you explain that the Toltecs believe that everyone is an Awakened One, but it is the Shamans whose eyes are open to this realization. How does this Toltec view of shamanism differ from that of the global reference? don Jose Ruiz: My family has said it’s always about service to nature. Guess where you “wake up?” In nature. When you close your eyes, you are in nature, when you open them, you’re in nature, but when you’re in service to nature, you begin trusting your inner guide. We have the intuition, but we betray it a lot. When we identify that we’re betraying it, everything changes. We have to be grateful for life. There is negativity in life but we’re not going to sacrifice ourselves to it. We are not going to let our dreams be defeated by it and we’re not going to become uninspired. On the contrary, I once said to my Dad, “I like people who are judging me. Isn’t that weird, Father?” He replied, “No, it’s because you’re training yourself to not take things personally.” When we begin feeling this inner guide, it’s because we wake up the instinct that we are always carrying. From this point on, we’re talking to the divine. It’s not in any language, it’s just trusting that you know you’re safe within yourself. We pass through fears, we pass through challenges, and we’re there; present to nature. SF: Beautiful. Many people are seeking wisdom in all directions, from gurus and present-day leaders, all the way to our ancient past, but you say the wisdom that you seek is inside you. Might we simply consider these gurus and leaders to be guides that help us find the wisdom that comes from deep inside? What is that wisdom of which you speak?

dJR: All of those leaders work for the same boss, just like we work for the same boss. Gurus and shamans are giving us tools, so we can create art with our life and better it. They do it for themselves and they become inspirations. Honesty is the foundation of awareness. SF: Beautiful. What is the role of storytelling for planting these seeds of holy community? dJR: When someone is going through something, they take everything personally. When we find someone that we trust like a parent or teacher and they confront us straight to the point about something, we react,

and we may shut down. Through storytelling, we can use imagination and characters to present something relatable. SF: It’s more of an invitation to relate and identify as opposed to being told what to do. dJR:Yes, because sometimes we know things about ourselves, but when someone says it out loud, it can break our spirit. However, if someone tells us a story, it can be inspiring; it can make us feel like the character and that we can overcome. The beautiful thing about it is when we know that we are hearing our story, but we don’t like what we hear, we can change it. www.facethecurrent.com

SF: Outside of yourself, what have been some of your greatest sources of awakening and wisdom? dJR: We always appreciate something when it’s gone. For me, something that went away and came back was my eyesight. I lost my eyesight for two weeks. I felt irritated and desperate, but then I felt myself surrender. I also felt some loved-ones projecting fear and victimization onto me, so I made myself strong. When I couldn’t see, I was really with myself. I could not run away from emotions; I was seeing and feeling the emotions. The most beautiful thing, however, is that I could see in my dreams and that made me more aware of the connection with sleeping brain and waking brain. It’s all life and we can create and make choices. When my sight returned, the biggest sensation I felt was knowing that it’s not about yesterday or tomorrow, it’s about right now. We cannot go against our

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consciousness because if we don’t take action, our consciousness will not feel good. It’s like the feeling when we wake up and cannot get back to sleep. That’s not the only thing I appreciate, though. I also appreciate the company in my life; I appreciate friendships. I appreciate everything because one never knows when it’s the last moment.

“The Universe of Now is the concept that we are in the university of life where we create our art. It’s not tomorrow, it’s not yesterday, it’s right now. When we are attending class, we’re learning and we’re sharing; You take the blindfolds off and you learn from everything.”

SF:That’s a really great shift. dJR:Yes, especially to have that opportunity to be grateful because that’s when things happen in our lives. When we survive, or we come out of situations, it’s important to feel gratitude and grateful to be alive. SF: Beautiful. I think that’s a perfect lead-in to the question: What is the Universe of Now? dJR: The Universe of Now is the concept that we are in the university of life. So, right now, we are in the university of life; this is where we create our art. It’s not tomorrow, it’s not yesterday, it’s right now. When we are attending class, we’re learning and we’re sharing; it’s happening to me right now.You take the blindfolds off and you learn from everything. That’s why we have so many Gods in the Toltec tradition, like the God of Rain, the God of Air; it’s because we see God the Creator everywhere. It’s formless, it’s not a gender, it’s just energy itself.

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The most beautiful thing is to have the awareness that we can break any cycle. Why wait until we’re physically dead to end things that don’t support us in life? What if we take that good energy, desire, and self-respect, and we disintegrate the negative from our lives right now? It’s like breaking any addiction of suffering.

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SF:You describe the illusion of time being cyclical rather than linear, which is how many cultures portray human progress. How does this difference in perspective lead into the Toltec view that we are living in the Fifth World Age and what does this mean? dJR: Basically, cycles always happen. Waking and sleeping is a cycle. In a marriage there can be arguments where one partner says, “I won’t ever do it again,” but then they do. That’s a cycle. We need to wake up to our cycles. In this last 10-20 years, we’ve been more conscious not only about human life, but animal life, too. Humanity is advancing so beautifully. When we try to hold onto a dream, we create justifications and excuses. This is when we take things personally and react. Everything in life changes and so we have to let go of everything. We can’t blame our ancestors because they didn’t know what we know. For instance, in the

40s and 50s, they said cigarettes were healthy and helpful for stressed people. Everyone really believed that, but now we know better. So now, it’s about having awareness and not repeating those things again. This is where forgiveness is very powerful. That’s why in the Universe of Now, we learn from our mistakes. The most beautiful thing is to have the awareness that we can break any cycle. Why wait until we’re physically dead to end things that don’t support us in life? What if we take that good energy, desire, and self-respect, and we disintegrate the negative from our lives right now? It’s like breaking any addiction of suffering.

how we look at life, and how we look at ourselves. If Mother and Father can forgive all their children no matter what they do, we can forgive our brothers, sisters, and ourselves.

SF: It’s kind of a matter of things that are comfortable and a fear of change.

dJR:Yes, it is. It’s also happening in music, in art, in poetry, and in blogs. My stepson is 23 years old and he said, “Inside is what matters. It’s about being kind to people. I want to be remembered by the way I treat people because that’s what makes me feel happy.” That inspired me because the world is getting it. When we respect what’s outside of us, we respect what’s within, too.

dJR: Many people just project onto other people without doing their own work. It’s not about changing others, it’s about changing ourselves. This is the biggest habit we need to break and the biggest cycle we need to end. What matters is within us,

In one of his books, my Dad explains what it’s like “waking up” as the only sober person in a room where everybody is drunk off of knowledge and ideas of what will make them happy. The trouble is, they’re not living it yet. They have the concepts but haven’t dared to take action. Taking action is what’s going to create change and that’s the beautiful thing about the time we live in now. SF: And it’s happening for you.

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act of taking it to nature. SF:That brings me back to our interconnection with everything and our tendency to pull away and feel disconnected when we’re caught up in these stories. dJR:Yes, and one of the biggest beliefs that I had all my life is that I was an introvert.You know what? I wasn’t. I just said that because I wanted to run; I wanted to be alone and I wanted my separate space. After I began meditating with eyes open, I realized I could create my safe space without separating from humanity. When I was separated from people, I would really chew on the heaviness, but when I was around people and reflecting their positivity, there wasn’t room for that negativity. This is one of the beautiful things in life: what if we can be comfortable wherever we are? We wouldn’t have to run anywhere because we’re just in our skin. It’s so beautiful to reach that awareness in our younger years. It’s tiring to talk the language of negativity, gossip, and hatred, and that’s where we can change. If you change everything in yourself, in your house, everywhere becomes home. SF: And peaceful.

SF:That’s beautiful. Why do you say that nature is one of the best places to strengthen one’s awareness practice? dJR: Nature doesn’t cost a buck to us. My Dad once said to me, “You have problems? Go talk it through with nature. It has the patience and will hear everything. It has more patience than me.” When I did that, it was like nature took everything and did a cleansing of me, so I could

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let everything go. The beautiful thing that I noticed when I was talking and complaining to nature is that my issues really don’t matter. If I go home today with my problems, will it matter? I wasted so much time on them. Nature helps to get me back into my own time because you go back to the car and go, “What was I complaining about? What did it give me?” It doesn’t matter what the story is behind the problem, it’s the

dJR:Yes, and we especially don’t want to let people disrespect us. It’s a priority that others shall do us no harm. When children see that we are respected, we don’t have to have conflicts to tell them, “No.” They will respect us, and we can simply say, “No.” SF:You mentioned the coming of the time that we’re at now; the coming of an age when it would be necessary to return the wisdom to the people. Do you believe that we’re currently really at that time? dJR:Yes. SF: What are the signs that it is necessary for this wisdom to now be returned to the people?

dJR: The important thing is that we are alive right now. We are alive, and we have to start. We have wisdom to share, but how do we share it? By leading. When we believe in our wisdom, there is no end to our cup. Our cup will always be pouring. My Grandma always said the holy grail is the cup that never goes empty. With the power of the internet, there are lies and there’s the truth. There is a lot of activity on the internet, so let’s contribute positivity. The internet has made the world a smaller place so let’s put it out there. Someone in India can connect with someone in Europe or the Americas and they can hold energy together and spread it further in their lives. It’s magical to work together. Before she passed away, my Grandma told me that she saw beautiful changes coming. She was so happy that we were going to experience them and we’re seeing it now! [Malala Yousafzai] was shot by terrorists for standing up for

change in the Middle East and now she’s spreading so much power and education in that part of the world. The internet is something good.

“The ripple-effect is very powerful. We’re amplifying our intent. We’re getting into a different time and it’s beautiful to pass the torch and light like our ancestors did to us. The important thing to remember is life is never the same as our ancestors; it’s always evolving.” SF:The ripple-effect that can happen from that is really powerful. dJR: It is very powerful. We’re amplifying our intent. There are some

kids out there who are just brilliant at it. We’re getting into a different time and it’s beautiful to pass the torch and light like our ancestors did to us. The important thing to remember is life is never the same as our ancestors; it’s always evolving. That’s something else my Grandma told me: “Don’t stay in the past.” You can study the past, but we don’t live there anymore. The Toltecs of the past didn’t have our tools and life wasn’t as fast as it is now. SF: But then we can take the knowledge and wisdom of that time as it has modern applications that are really powerful. dJR:Yes, exactly. Especially how we feed ourselves. Our ancestors used to eat food that didn’t have preservatives; they just ate what was in nature. In the last four years, I’ve lost over one hundred pounds. SF: Wow!

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dJR: I started taking care of my body. I turned to veganism and I started changing my old habits. People who know me had said, “You’ll never do that.You will never do that!” But it came a point where my body was not working and if I was going to be walking my path, it was time to unlearn. Now, I have no craving for the past, because I prefer to feel healthy. SF:You described the human mind as a sort of virtual reality and you make a distinction between you and You. One is real, and the other is not. One is the truth and the other is virtual. Can you describe the difference and how these two are constructed? Are there any events at which the two become one?

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dJR: The important thing is that I trick myself; that’s how I learn. There’s a part of me that likes music, that likes rock and roll; that’s my meditative time. I keep Jose happy by playing guitar and creating art; I love doing that. The other part of me that loves to share a positive message is my calling in life. I love sharing my heart and my life’s experience of things that I’ve learned. Now, I grow awareness and I give it to myself as well. I give myself the permission to play, to have fun, to not take life too seriously. I don’t want to become a professional musician, I just want to play. My passion is my calling and when I feel the perfect equilibrium between sharing my heart and my music, and I can put them together, that is the real Jose. When I started spirituality, many people said to me, “You have to

stop listening to rock and roll, stop watching movies, and just be in the pathway.” So, I did that for ten years and what I noticed is that I went against myself because I was just following someone else’s dream. It wasn’t mine. When I began letting go of that, I began letting go of the judgment first. It really is okay to satisfy my heart for a moment. It was perfectly clear, and I became happy. My Pop once told me that some people don’t want to be children; they only want to be serious. However, you have to have that childlike energy to enjoy life or else you can fall into obsessions. If you obsessively look for spirituality, you’re not going to enjoy it. I love my rock and roll lifestyle; I am living my dream and I’m happy doing what I love to do. It’s a beautiful thing when everybody balances out their life.

“The First Attention is when we’re not aware of what we’re doing. The Second Attention is about awareness and action. All of a sudden you begin working on your own garden. You don’t realize it when you’re living in the Third Attention, because you’re loyal to the divine. That’s what makes a warrior. Your presence, living in your heaven, can inspire the flame in others’ heavens. When we begin reflecting this love to everybody, they wake up.” SF:You call the dream of the Second Attention by another name: the dream of the warriors.You describe it as a rebellion against all the lies in our knowledge where we begin to challenge what we believe and question all the opinions that we learned, while trying to

recover our authenticity. Why do you say that we have to be the warriors and that it cannot be up to God, or Jesus, or Buddha, or Moses, or Mohammed, or any master, shaman, or guru? dJR: The beautiful thing is that all of those great beings give us the tools and the words, but we have to do the work. They’re not going to come and build a house for us. They give us the wood, the nails, and the hammer, but we have to do it. If we don’t, we’ll be living by blind faith. The First Attention is when we’re not aware of what we’re doing. The Second Attention is about awareness and action. There are many people who use the power of suggestion to manipulate other people, but they manipulate themselves, too. It’s around this thin line where we begin to respect power. By being of service to others, you are doing it for the love of your life, and this is truly a way of life. All of a sudden you begin working on your own garden.You don’t realize it when you’re living in the Third Attention, because you’re loyal

to the divine. That’s what makes a warrior.Your presence, living in your heaven, can inspire the flame in others’ heavens. Showing people their true power and love is a beautiful reminder of the Toltec. When we begin reflecting this love to everybody, they wake up. When I read “The Four Agreements,” I went to my Dad and said, “I know this information. I know it!” He replied, “Of course you know it, because it’s integrity talking to integrity; everyone knows that.” That’s when it was my time to get all the wood, hammers, and nails that I’d need to build my home. I build my home so that the younger generation can play and grow in it, because some day they’re going to build one for themselves. SF:Thank you. dJR: Thank you, sister.

ymore info: Website: www.miguelruiz.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/ToltecLife IG: https://www.instagram.com/donjoseruiz www.facethecurrent.com

FtC culture

Caroline Manière The Wisdom of Empowerment on Canvas By Ainsley Schoppel Caroline Manière’s art is the result of a beautiful collision and fusion of inspirations. Born in Dijon, France, Caroline’s Father inspired her to draw illustrations for her poetry books. It wasn’t until university, however, that Caroline fully connected with the power of art. Caroline was not enrolled in a fine arts program, but knowing her daughter’s talent, Caroline’s Mother encouraged her to try her hand at some evening art courses. Caroline’s enthusiasm and natural talent for fine art were apparent, however she completed her schooling in graphic design and went on to become the art director for major advertising firms over the following 12 years.

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Slowly succumbing to the frustration of not having freedom to create art with her hands, Caroline left the business sector and enrolled in a decorative painting school. “I made trompe-l’oiel and large murals first,” she recalls, “and then I began to paint for myself, first on wood and then on canvas.” Around this time, Caroline was beginning personal therapeutic work and chose to tell the story of her inner journey through women she painted. “I decided to paint women, each one as if they came back from traveling with a key, a revelation, a secret of transformation, or an understanding. This became my ‘Explorers Collection,’” she notes. Thanks to feed-back from pleased and energized customers, Caroline realized that her art held within it a frequency of healing. “Because of this, and by following my own inner path, the women I painted became ‘Medicine Women.’” Now living in the Fontainbleau Forest near Paris, Caroline finds deep inspiration from nature. She works mostly in her studio, rarely assembling exhibitions as most of

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her work is commissioned. Within her studio, Caroline has honed the process of painting and creating collections. “I begin with a ritual,” she explains. “Every day around 9, I create a particular space in my workshop

for my creation. I burn sage, light a candle, and listen to some sacred music. I prefer shamanic drumming, icaros, Mongolian overtone singing, Amerindian Native songs, and even mantras.” This ritual allows Caroline to enter into a borderline meditative state to connect with her piece. It’s not always magical, each and every time, however. “My mind likes to play with me and that makes it easy

to waste time, but the easy way is to listen to my heart and to let myself be guided.” Caroline follows this guide and paints instinctively, following her intuition. “I let the colors and patterns come to me; I am the only tool,” she explains. For her current collections, Caroline paints on copper foil surfaces as she is drawn to the way the light illuminates the characters, providing them with respect and sacred majesty. When speaking of her “Femme Medicine”, “Homme Medicine”, and Animal Totem collections, Caroline explains that, “All of the women, men, and animals come to me. They transmit their message, wisdom, knowledge, experience, power, and brilliance. They accompany us, they reveal unto us, and they awaken what we bear within ourselves. They remind us of our connection with the great All and with Mother Earth.” Used to working on commissioned pieces, Caroline connects with each of her clients, taking the time to gain insight into their being. “I let my intuition guide me. From there, the character that comes through is his or her ‘medicine’, guide, or somewhat of an avatar. If it’s an animal totem piece, the creature becomes their power animal,” she says. Each piece brings a special frequency and message of connection to its owner.

“The receiver can connect to it,” Caroline describes. “The owners of my work can receive understanding, fulfilment, love, evidence, energy, answers, awakening, and healing.” For Caroline, totems can be akin to healing shields, protection, guides, and vibrational tools for her clients. Caroline credits her personal therapeutic work with the transformational and impactful result of her art. “I have experienced family constellation, psycho-genealogy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), breath work, dreams,Vedic Art, and shamanism,” Caroline reveals. “It helped me reconnect my essence and find what I have come to Earth for.” Caroline truly believes that the best work you can ever do is on yourself, and it shines through in her transcendent pieces.

Her studio door is always open for whomever wishes to meet her and connect with the energy of the canvas. So, stop on by or visit her website to learn more and find your guiding light brought to life on canvas.

ymore info: www.carolinemaniere.com www.facethecurrent.com

FtC culture

The Wisdom of the Elders with

Dr. Anita Sanchez Four Sacred Gifts to Spark Connected Change BY SASHA FRATE Dr. Anita Sanchez, Ph.D is an Aztec and Mexican-American, a transformational leadership consultant, speaker, coach, and best-selling author. Through her own difficult life lessons and priceless immersion in ancient teachings, Anita bridges indigenous knowledge with the latest science to inspire and equip women and men to enjoy meaningful, empowered lives and careers. Establishing herself in the corporate world – including Fortune 500 companies, governmental groups, and non-governmental agencies – Anita has spent four decades sharing indigenous wisdom with executives and their teams the world over. She is a member of the Transformational Leadership Council alongside luminaries such as Jack Canfield, Marianne Williamson, and John Gray. She is also a member of the Association of Transformational Leaders, the Evolutionary Business Council, and she serves on the boards of the Bioneers organization and the Pachamama Alliance. “The Four Sacred Gifts” is Dr. Sanchez’s best-selling book based on Mohican Don Coyhis’ dream of a sacred hoop calling for all peoples to come together as one. In her book, Anita calls on us all to pause, take a breath, and remember our unbreakable human bond. In this, the first of a two-part interview with Dr. Sanchez, Face the Current explores what it means to apply ancient indigenous wisdom to our modern lives.

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Some people say we’re faulty human beings. It’s not that at all, it’s just that the longer you’ve forgotten the wisdom, the longer the awakening takes. There is a re-patterning to understand the illusion of separateness. You need a personal practice of the wisdom, which of course, indigenous wisdom keepers have done for millennia.

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Sasha Frate:You’ve said that we yearn for wisdom, not more information, and you believe that the real human desire is to connect with the original wisdom. What are you referring to by original wisdom and how do you show in your book the ways in which wisdom is power? Anita Sanchez: For decades I trained and consulted with people from corporations and communities all over the world. I love learning, I love knowledge, and I appreciate the technological things happening around us; however, what I began seeing is that we’re overloaded with all of that. When you talk to anyone who has kept up with their emails, social media, and the daily bombardment of information, it’s apparent that we have enough tools to solve a lot of the problems that exist in the world. What we lack is the collective will. Part of that is because we have forgotten the original wisdom. By that original wisdom, I’m talking about the understanding had by some peoples and wisdom keepers, many of whom are indigenous. These people really stay attuned to our collective connection. It’s our connection

was what I was always taught: everything is sacred, including me. SF: I feel that thinking about something being lost over time makes it seem difficult to regain. Instead of loss, it’s a disconnect where we can recognize it and start trying to connect again.The original wisdom is still present and still with us, we’re just disconnected from it.

to earth, people, and spirit; it’s a connection to all beings. Whether it’s through chanting, plant medicine, dancing, prayer, or meditation, it’s about living in harmony with ourselves, other people, and nature. When a person remembers and understands that we’re not separate, they’ve recognized the illusion.You go from a mind racing and working, bombarded with many external things, to one of stillness, truth, and original wisdom. That wisdom is a form of power – not power over, but power with. People want that; they crave it regardless of age, and that’s really heartening. That’s what I see as the power of the sacred. It’s inside of all of us and as an indigenous person who is also Mexican-American, that

AS: Yes. Some people say we’re faulty human beings. It’s not that at all, it’s just that the longer you’ve forgotten the wisdom, the longer the awakening takes. There is a repatterning to understand the illusion of separateness.You need a personal practice of the wisdom, which of course, indigenous wisdom keepers have done for millennia. It’s not about exactly replicating theirs; rather, it’s about developing some method of your own while understanding that learning from others is part of the journey. It’s then that we can awaken and be a life-giving connection to ourselves and others. When I was only 14 months old, I had a near death experience. I also had repeated abuse through my life and experienced the murder of my father. I had therapists tell me, “You www.facethecurrent.com

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We can’t Google wisdom; it comes from inside us. It’s a natural, ongoing yearning and I see the awakening happening for people all over. It’s a realization that they don’t buy into the accepted worldview, the assumption of separateness.

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should be dead,” but that’s something that should never be said to anybody. Instead, it should be, “Wow! You really have a reason to be here.” I tried to take my life when I was 13, and yet my first therapist at 15 still said that to me. I didn’t want to get close to death again because I realized I had forgotten. I’d forgotten the dance, the song, the silence that can be filled with so much. I forgot how to be still, to pause. This journey is about putting down your phone and your computer because we can’t Google wisdom; it comes from inside us. It’s a natural, ongoing yearning and I see the awakening happening for people all over. It’s a realization that they don’t buy into the accepted worldview, the assumption of separateness. Too much suffering happens when we operate as if we’re separate. If we come from the worldview that we all belong to each other – that we are all related – then we need to think and act like many indigenous tribes; we need to talk about making decisions,

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both big and small, based on seven generations from now. If we don’t think about that future, who will? We are in charge of a lot right now, so be still. When this realization happens, things begin to shift. We need to take care of the earth because we are just energy beings in earth suits. We can never forget that we can be good medicine to ourselves and others. Anything or anyone can be good medicine if it brings into alignment the spiritual, mental, emotional, psychological, and physical. If you’re not connected within yourself, this is very hard to do and sustain. The original instruction with all of this is to just test it out. Investigate. SF:Yes, to see how it applies and where you’re currently at. AS: Yes, yes. SF: Would you say that the good medicine is also the “medicine” that you refer to in re-claiming all our relations? AS: Yes, that’s absolutely good

medicine. I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and we were quite poor. A couple times a year we would go to the Osage Reservation in Kansas to be with my grandmother and family. When we’d come in every afternoon, we’d sit on the floor and my uncle would show us what it means to be a whole human being. He’d make his hands into a big circle and say, “To be a whole human being is to understand and live your connection to people, earth, and spirit. When you do this, it is from that place of being a whole human that you’re able to create harmony and balance in your life and in the world.” He’d continue, “If you hurt another person, you not only hurt them, but you also hurt the earth, the water, the animals, and the spirit. When you hurt the earth by polluting the water, you not only hurt the water, you hurt the spirit and the people.” When the sacredness of everything is forgotten, you hurt the spirit, the people, and the earth. He would just keep making a circle and, on the one hand, I remember thinking, “Wow. I have a lot of power.”

On the other hand, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I don’t want to hurt anything!” I also grew up back in the city and went to Catholic school, and I assumed everybody was being taught these things, but that wasn’t the case. Not everybody had these valuable wisdom keepers. Even so, everyone has access to the sacred, to the wisdom, but it takes practice. So, we get to choose in every moment. Some people find that to be a lot of responsibility, and it is, but it’s such joy to know that we can discover and trust our gifts. We can become, because we are already meant to be, a life-giving connection to all. SF:Yes. It can essentially be something simple to attain. It doesn’t have to be so farreaching as it may seem to a lot of people. AS: Yes, it can be as simple as sitting and eating a green bean and really being one with it and grateful for it. You’re grateful for every moment of

every bite as it goes through your body, nourishes you, and fulfills its role. Then as you continue, your waste goes back to earth, and the cycle keeps going. When you begin to have this understanding at the simplest level, then some of the bigger issues that require bigger gifts, such as forgiving the unforgivable, seem more possible. Nothing is possible without the worldview that we are all one, and that’s a powerful place to stand. SF:Yes, definitely. In your book, you describe the four sacred gifts. How, and by whom, were they created, and what exactly are they? AS: Many of us indigenous people live in part by prophecy. Many people have visions of what could be and then attract other people to that vision. In 1993, an indigenous Mohican Elder, Don Coyhis, had a vision that showed him the building of a hoop. The spirit was telling him we’d been in a great winter and it was going to

get worse. Humans had forgotten the important original wisdom about life-giving connection and being in the right relationships with each other. He called out to indigenous wisdom keepers from all over the world and in 1994, 27 elders answered the call at Turtle Mountain, Chippewa. In that weekend, they spoke their languages, prayed, meditated, danced, and chanted. They created a hoop out of a twig, just like the prophecy, and hung 100 eagle feathers from it. During a ceremony, spirit told them to put four gifts into the hoop, and if they are used, the original wisdom won’t be forgotten. The first gift is the power to forgive the unforgivable. How we define something that is unforgivable is up to us. The second gift is the power of unity. We are all connected, so we’re meant to be of service to support evolution, rather than the destruction of human beings, other species, and the earth. The third gift is the power of healing. It’s not about the pharmacy or going to the doctor, although those can be valuable. It’s about getting hurt and www.facethecurrent.com

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The first gift is the power to forgive the unforgivable. How we define something that is unforgivable is up to us. The second gift is the power of unity. We are all connected, so we’re meant to be of service to support evolution, rather than the destruction of human beings, other species, and the earth. The third gift is the power of healing. It’s not about the pharmacy or going to the doctor, although those can be valuable. It’s about getting hurt and broken and finding a way to repair that. The fourth gift is hope in action. Hope is an energy source.

I’ve been using all of these gifts for 25 years now, not only for myself, but with executives, community leaders, families – many different kinds of people. Going back to the gift of hope: it can be given away, but nobody can take it from you, and I know that firsthand. I was sexually abused from 4-13 and I kept it a secret. At age 9, I thought that there was no way I’d ever be free. However, on one especially painful afternoon, coming through the window of our little house, in the middle of a black ghetto in Kanas City, was a ray of sunshine. As the sunshine landed on me, I knew that I was part of something bigger. Even though I was experiencing a crushing moment, the moment wasn’t me. The sunshine helped to remind me that there’s always something bigger: there’s hope. But when I was 13, my father was murdered. It was a racially charged murder; he was mistaken for a black man in a bar one day after work. A white man came into the bar looking for a certain black man, and because my father was sitting in the place where he had been, the man shot him in the head. My father was my abuser, but I also loved him. This was very

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broken and finding a way to repair that. The fourth gift is hope in action. Hope is an energy source. However, it feels like the world is so focused on consumption that we forget about hope. Without hope, you just sit on the sidelines, paralyzed and not doing anything.

difficult for a 13-year-old. At first, I thought that since he was gone, the memories and pain would go too, but they didn’t go away. I eventually tried to kill myself, but in that time, I asked my grandmother and my elders for help, and they responded. I have shared this story everywhere and haven’t cried until now. Thank you for giving me this space. SF: Absolutely. AS: I think you’re carrying the energy where I can just open right up. In my moment of almost dying, where my sisters, brothers, and mom were standing around me and begging me not to go, I saw two things. I saw my rocking chair that my grandfather had made me. He only made two in his lifetime and one was for me. It’s a small toddler’s rocking chair and it reminds me of love. The second thing I saw was from a story my mom had told me of when she was a little girl. My grandmother came to the States after having one child and was told she wasn’t going to be able to have more children. She went on to have eight more. My mom would help her during deliveries by getting hot water and rags. I asked my mom how she was able to do that as a little girl. She told me it wasn’t hard; it was like something was helping her to carry the water up the flights of stairs. She would press her ear against the bathroom door when her mom was laboring in the bathtub and hear voices. She said she could hear many voices calling on my grandmother. They were calling on

the ancient ones, on the power of spirit. That story came to me as I was laying on the floor hoping not to die. I continue to understand and embrace the fact that we’re all connected. No one is ever alone. It’s a human condition to feel lonely, but it’s a lie that you’re ever alone. That knowing caused me to assertively, intentionally, lovingly, drop the illusion of separateness. I dropped the armor that I had, and I think a lot of people wear heavy armor. My armor was so heavy it could stop anything from hurting me. However, the problem was that it also kept out the good stuff. After I lost my grandmother and I hadn’t been going to the Osage Reservation anymore, I came to Colorado. There are so many indigenous people here that I got to reconnect and experience pipe ceremonies. I’ve been the keeper of a pipe for over 20 years now. I’ve understood that I will still have hard times, but I have amazing relationships here that will always support me. This allows me to walk without the fear that most people have – the fear of power in other people and the fear of death. I volunteered with AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society) for many years. At the gatherings, I would give away knowledge for free that I would have charged corporations for. I’d talk about how to keep our values, culture, and worldview even if it was antithetical to what was around us.

By 1994, I was starting to lose hope. I’d been consulting on diversity and inclusion, trying to help women and people of color to rise up, for over 20 years. I felt I had to do something else because it wasn’t happening fast enough. One night of volunteering, Don Coyhis used a hoop surrounded by 300 of us in concentric circles to explain the four gifts. The wisdom is not just for indigenous people; it’s for everyone. It’s so essential to know that to get us to the springtime and ensure humans are present. That re-energized me, and now I’ve just celebrated 42 years of my work. I would never choose a different life. That was a long way of explaining the four gifts; thank you for letting me do that. SF: Absolutely.The strength of

the human spirit and using that energy source of hope can be really profound. It can really help us to transcend experiences, especially when they become so layered. It’s hard to see when you’re in a traumatic situation or experience. It’s hard to see past it or understand how or why something so horrible could happen to us. How could we be something wonderful, beautiful, with an incredible purpose, and have to endure something like that? So many people have such traumatic experiences in life. How can we use them like a chapter in our book, to learn from them and forgive? It sounds crazy to say but having gratitude for something like that can take you far.

AS: It can take you very far. The danger is doubt. I spoke last December at the NAIS People of Color Conference in Anaheim. There were 6,200 people there, 80 percent of whom were people of color. At first, the energy toward me seemed like they expected me to tell them what to do; however, when they heard what I’d been through, it gave me credibility. I explained that indigenous people all over the world have faced genocide, yet we are the people who are saying to forgive the unforgivable.You do that by using the gifts. It’s easy to get mired in the everyday, by what we’re bombarded with on the news, but the practice for dealing with that is hope.You find hope by being still in gratitude and by dreaming.

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Every year I lead a group for the Pachamama Alliance at the sacred headwaters of the Amazon in Ecuador. We stay with two different cultures, the Sapara and Achuar people. They don’t separate anything; they are one. They don’t separate dream time from waking time. They have more than enough; they’re healthy and they’ve got everything they need because they live as one with the forest. They don’t live in the forest – they are part of the forest.

That’s why I go every year to the Amazon. I lead a group for the Pachamama Alliance as a volunteer; we go to the sacred headwaters of the Amazon in Ecuador. We stay with two different cultures, the Sapara people and the Achuar people. They don’t separate anything; they are one. They don’t separate dream time from waking time. They have more than enough; they’re healthy and they’ve got everything they need because they live as one with the forest. They don’t live in the forest – they are part of the forest. They begin every day with a beautiful ceremony around 4 a.m. where they all drink caffeinated tea. They share their dreams from the night, from the smallest member to the eldest; based on those dreams, the community decides what will happen that day. Sometimes the dreams are so long, they dictate full months. They dreamt my going there, in terms of following the soul’s journey.

Around the time I wanted to quit my career, I received the gift of volunteering with these indigenous youth. I ended up staying involved with my corporate work and it’s what I continue to do. In 2007, I learned about the non-profit, the Pachamama Alliance, and I decided to take my family to Ecuador. We met some amazing people there and we were instructed to read many books before we left. Something struck me in one of the books because it was about one of my former clients. I had worked with this corporation on diversity inclusion and helping to raise up women in the organization. The company wanted to drill in sacred waters in Ecuador and the CEO requested the signatures of indigenous leaders before they began. They were not able to get the signatures, so they left. When I was training these executives, they told me they treat everyone the same. I pushed them on that and asked if they got signatures or contracts from indigenous people or poor people when they wanted to use their land. They were silent. I explained that they’re taking — and if they keep taking, it won’t be sustainable. I’m sure there were many factors involved in this company leaving Ecuador, but in the midst of me doubting myself and my mission in life, 13 years after the fact I felt like I really had an impact. Again, separateness is an illusion. We must understand there’s far more outside of ourselves.

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Post-traumatic growth is a real thing and it’s about what happens afterward. We get to choose to use the gift of hope to grow. They coined the phrase “post-traumatic growth” in the 80s, and it perfectly captured what was happening to me. That thinking is needed now. We’re manufacturing reality; we’re creating it.

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Post-traumatic growth is a real thing and it’s about what happens afterward. We get to choose to use the gift of hope to grow. They coined the phrase “posttraumatic growth” in the 80s, and it perfectly captured what was happening to me. That thinking is needed now. We’re manufacturing reality; we’re creating it.

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The indigenous people in Ecuador allow outsiders in a couple times a year and when the outsiders are asked about their lives, they will start unloading. The Ecuadorians always look puzzled and say, “You need to dream a new dream.You need to change that dream.” This rings true to everybody; it goes right through the heart. We can pretend other people can’t understand the complexity of our lives, but we know the truth. SF:Yes! AS: There’s hope! There’s hope in action. SF: I think there’s also hope in recognizing our potential and that our life, our path, can completely change on any given day or moment. Being open and

receptive to new connections and opportunities really helps people land on their purpose and their right path. Even when you’re in the most tragic situation in the present moment, it’s just a moment.The next day can be an entirely different life and path. We have to be open to realizing that our potential is huge. AS: I agree with you and it is changing. Since 1990, HewlettPackard has been one of my clients. Back in 2005, their ink print sector – just that one small piece of HP – was a $25 billion business. They hired my firm to complete a year-long strategic plan for them. It was part of an initiative to ignite leadership all over the world. We used positive

psychology and appreciative inquiry. We connected to the idea of belonging to each other by pulling them apart to let them see the reality of who and what they are as individuals, and what they could be together. They moved from $25 to $29 billion in a flat market after that and people wondered what happened. See, it’s not about pushing difficult or challenging issues to the side, because they will eventually pop up anyway. We must take a hard look around us and decide what we want to do. Asking “why” can often get the brain cycling and fabricating stories. Focusing on “what” and “how” catapults action. There is hope in action and the power of unity. People can hurt each other a lot in the workplace so it was about forgiveness. www.facethecurrent.com

It’s not always about these big examples, though. It’s about the little ones, too. Name the issue and let it go because we are all worthy of love. Use our gifts and our path becomes about loving and caring for ourselves. Because we’re part of the hoop of life, it means that we must love and

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You can see people all over the world who are struggling, but they have each other. They laugh, meditate, and pray; they’re with nature. We have everything we need to solve our issues.

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care for others. It seems like a heavy responsibility, but we don’t do any of it alone. It’s actually a lot of freedom. I can’t say there isn’t anything unforgivable, including the genocide of my own people, but it doesn’t mean I forget. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you’re weak or that you’re

being disloyal. Without forgiveness, the hurt end up locked in a prison. When you begin to listen, find supportive relationships (including animals), and embrace unconditional love, you move toward action – and the result is amazing. It changes your definition of freedom.

You can see people all over the world who are struggling, but they have each other. They laugh, meditate, and pray; they’re with nature. We have everything we need to solve our issues. I’m forever learning but I’m really grateful to spirit, the universe, energy, God, Allah, Buddha, whatever energy it may be that came through for the 27 elders to give the four gifts, because it transformed my life. I’ve now authored four books in the last few years. The one we’re talking about is my first solo book, “The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times.” But before that, I was writing a book for my mom; when she died, I grieved for two years and couldn’t write. When I started writing again, her book wasn’t coming out, it was mine. I believe it was my sacred self. My head and heart were racing but I knew I needed to speak my truth to the most influential group I knew. At that time, I had recently become

a member of the Transformational Leadership Council, which is comprised of about 140 people including Jack Canfield and Marianne Williamson. Twice a year, they accept proposals for talks so I put mine in, knowing I wanted to talk about the four gifts. I was accepted, and the talk was in Mexico. That didn’t feel like chance; I think the universe and my ancestors did that. I gave my talk and people were moved to tears and happiness exploring the four gifts. They were so glad I brought that forward. Afterward, a young woman approached me and told me that everything I spoke about should be a book. She told me she was a new member and said, “I’m a publisher for Simon & Schuster and we want your book.”

couple months earlier, saying they were looking for someone like Don Miguel Ruiz but they wanted a Latina woman who was ideally indigenous. The world was calling me forward. Don Miguel Ruiz wasn’t an immediate sensation and the publisher knew it would be a 20-year tail for me as well. People will begin to use the gifts. Things continue to unfold for me. Whatever it is we’re supposed to do, large or small, it’s about finding joy and meaning, and seeing the ripples. The indigenous people knew about me in their dreams but now I’m in with them, continuing to grow in enlightenment.

SF: Oh, wow!

ymore info:

AS: I’ve never had an agent and it became a big book. As it turns out, they had done a vision-board a

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FtC culture

Energy-Balancing in Nature:

Harmonious Lessons from the Great Owl By Ainsley Schoppel and Penelope Jean Hayes

“Wise as an owl” is a ubiquitous phrase, but from where did it originate? The answer to this connection dates back to ancient Greek mythology where Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was traditionally accompanied or represented by an owl. Though wisdom is a commonly associated attribute, owls carry various meanings in other cultures around the world. In ancient Egyptian, Celtic, and Hindu cultures, owl symbolism centered on guardianship of the underworld; they were seen as protectors of the dead and rulers of the night. In Native American cultures, the owl is associated with wisdom and foresight and is viewed as the keeper of sacred knowledge. In Aboriginal Australian and West African cultures, owls are considered to be messengers of secrets and companions of seers, mystics, and medicine people. In medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches and wizards in disguise.

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While the connections and meanings are obviously varied, owl symbolism permeates many cultures around the globe. Due to their nocturnal predation and silent manner of commanding their surroundings, it’s no wonder they have been revered and held in esteem for generations. Self-help and metaphysics author Penelope Jean Hayes experienced an encounter a decade ago where a giant owl opened her up to energy recalibration and synchronization, something that she instinctively began calling osmotic-energybalancing. After moving to Nashville

in 2007, she frequently visited the surrounding parklands to hike, think, and write. Like many, Penelope felt greater creativity and wisdom when surrounded by nature. In that area of Tennessee just outside Nashville’s city center, the fragrance of late Fall leaning into a new Winter is musty and earthen with a trace of soft tannins like cellared red wine. The day Penelope encountered the owl was no different. After a long trek that day, she arrived at her spot in the woods; the spot on top of a ridge that made for a perfect hiking destination. (It was the

very spot that she had once carved a heart in oak containing her now husband’s name joined with hers. This was a symbolic remembrance that Penelope visited even during difficult times in her relationship, as it reaffirmed her belief in the power of love and nature.) Prepared to stay for hours, Penelope had water, a bag of almonds, a pen and paper, and a cushion for comfort. There was nowhere else to be, and she was content to stay all afternoon, if for nothing else than just to breathe in stillness.

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The forest was dense; a different world from the nearby city. There were no sounds of traffic, only the rhythm of a twig-crackle followed by silence, trailed by a bird call, punctuated by more silence. Penelope pondered life, wrote about it, and sat in gratitude. Whether or not she realized it at the time, her practice was a meditative form of spiritual medicine. The vegetation canopy of the expanse before her opened up to a vantage-point exposing rolling hills of orange and green backcountry that transitioned to a spectrum of monochromatic yellows and reds. She sat and admired the trees gracefully bending in the wind. Penelope listened to the leaves dancing and ruffling in the breeze like a hundred million tiny chimes. Together, the music and choreography of the spectacle were as ironic as an animated Disney classic, replete with the flitting of busy birds and the

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stumbling of lanky fawns. Chipmunks nosed their way under groundcover, making a ruckus louder than she would have expected from the pip-squeaks that would eventually emerge. The scene was a symphony of the senses and each layer of it was in harmony with the next. The forest was alive with movement and sound, yet it was also calm and peaceful. Soon, Penelope was not writing or thinking, she was just being. She was perceiving without judgment and without feeling the need to attribute or label her experience with words. She might have already been immersed for two or three hours when a shift began.

the wilds were exposing the fourth dimension. It was not a hallucination or the result of a substance-enhanced trip, and it wasn’t a vision or even a dream. Rather, it was a clear-headed perception of the environment around her in its raw and unmasked state. Everything became lighter, shimmering as though Penelope could see the actual energy-field of the forest. It was ethereal and vaporous, where each element of the environment was a fraction of something unbound, like the inbetween essence of a bubble as it bursts.

Just then, a large body moved in Penelope’s right vision. With a span as wide as a car is long, it kited on the Penelope started to slowly see the colors around her grow more vibrant. air, slowly, silently, and seemingly with authority. The Overseer had arrived, It was beyond three dimensional; she was seeing the forest in another and he was a giant owl. Without a single flap, he pulled in his wings and dimension as it popped up before mutely landed on a branch in front of her with incredible depth. Perhaps

her. Not six feet away, he was directly across from Penelope’s position on the cliff. For long, peaceful minutes, she remained locked on him as he went about his wide-eyed business of surveying the area with a confidence that was both steadfast and resolute. Time slowed, yet Penelope was not measuring it or concerning herself with doing anything; she was only observing and being observed. The owl was aware of her presence but was neither concerned nor bothered by her, and it did not fear or avoid her. Nature had accepted Penelope and she was one with the forest. This reminded her of primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall’s first immersion in the jungle of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park in 1960, and how she did nothing but sit in close proximity to the wild chimpanzees without imposing herself upon them. In time, Jane’s energy assimilated to the natural world and the great

apes accepted her. There on the cliff, exchanging energy acceptance with the owl, Penelope achieved the same. It was through Penelope’s own experience of this visceral intimacy with Creation that she gained awareness of its built-in process of energy-balancing, one of nature’s magical portals to Universal Intelligence. She also realized that when hunting, the owl had to be completely in-tune with the environment if he was to be successful. When Penelope encountered the giant owl that day in the forest, her energy field synchronized to vibrate in harmony with her surroundings as well. In that state, Penelope was incapable of causing discord to the energy around her; she was one with it. The great owl recognized Penelope as part of its environment and for those moments, her energy was completely

balanced with nature. Whether it’s wisdom, foresight, protectiveness, or magic, owls can represent many things to many people. For Penelope, the owl she connected with taught her about quiet observation, stillness, and environmental energy-balancing. In this all too frequently frenetic world in which we live, perhaps we can emulate the calm yet alert energy of the owl to survey our surroundings and calculate our next move in life. With energy-balancing as a first step, anything is possible.

ymore info: www.1penelope.com Upcoming Book Release: The Magic of Viral Energy: A Guide to Supernatural Happiness

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FtC music

Life & Death: The Musical

Healing Of Nessi Gomes Conscious Artist Feature By Chris Assaad It takes a special kind of artist to capture the piercing truths, the raw intensity, and the immense beauty of our shared human experiences and to express them in a language that speaks to the heart of an audience. It takes an equally courageous human and soul adventurer to plumb the depths of the most ravishing human emotions and brave exploring the hidden corners of one’s own consciousness to birth such profoundly moving art.

86 FACE CURRENT MAGAZINE Credit: Lindathe Blacker

Enter Nessi Gomes. Born on the tiny island of Guernsey to a Portuguese family, British singer-songwriter Nessi Gomes has forged a path less traveled into her artistry by relentlessly pursuing her own journey of self-discovery and channeling her most painful, revelatory and liberating experiences into her powerful musical creations. Nessi seamlessly fuses the traditional Fado folk music style of her ethnic roots, her more contemporary influences, and a weaving of her pure, sultry, emotive voice, along with the most intimate revelations, and a sprinkle of fairy dust, into one cohesive sound that is truly her own. All of this is clearly evidenced on her critically acclaimed release, Diamonds & Demons (2016), a timeless collection of songs both deeply haunting and healing. I had the pleasure of diving deep with Nessi in a heart to heart chat that affirmed the origins of her rich artistry, and her consistent willingness to unabashedly open up and reveal all. I left the conversation feeling moved by her vulnerability, inspired by her journey to devote myself deeper to my own highest visions, and with a renewed hope in the wave of musical messengers that are showing up at this time, to unite us as we move through our moments of darkness into the light. In this Conscious Artist Feature, we get an up close glimpse into the inner world Nessi has so fearlessly navigated and bared in her music, and the trials and tribulations that preceded her currently “mostly blissful” life. Nessi shares about her unexpected threeyear long stay at the PachaMama community in Costa Rica at a crucial point on her path, where she had her first experiences sitting in plant medicine ceremony and where the direction she was to take in both life and music were revealed. Nessi generously grants us a peek into the creative dance of an artist committed to exploring ever-new territory, and avoiding the confines of classification or any potential complacency in her expression. She also offers her perspective on the healing powers of the voice, and sheds light on her work supporting others in accessing and furthering their own vocal liberation in her Voice Odyssey workshops. Last but not least, Nessi took the opportunity to honour and acknowledge her beloved life partner and collaborator in all things, Lino, who is soon to be the father of their first born child. Credit: Linda Blacker www.facethecurrent.com

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I remember the first day that I started to explore my voice and I started to sing, and it was like electricity in my body. Credit: Ottavia Poli

From Troubled Beginnings It would be easy to look at someone’s greatest accomplishments and visions realized, and to overlook the ardor of the journey endured to bring them into fruition. Despite the seeming ease, effortlessness and confidence with which she inhabits her musical world, Nessi’s foray into music, singing and songwriting began, not by choice, but by necessity. She opened up about her early struggles in adolescence with depression, a sense of not belonging and an eventual failed attempt to take her own life. “It’s been a journey. Like I’m sure everybody goes through all these different challenges. For me, I’ve been doing music for a very long time. I started kind of exploring sound and music when I was about 14. I started writing poetry, actually. I was a pretty troubled kid. I was suffering lots of depression and isolation, and I think being Portuguese. I’m very proud of who I am, but when I was a kid, I had a lot of shame around who I was.

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Growing up on such a small island, there was always this feeling that I always wanted to fit in, and I found it very hard because I had so much shame around being Portuguese, so I didn’t want anything to do with it. So I didn’t want to learn the language. I was just embarrassed. I didn’t want to walk down the street with my parents because I so wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to feel like I was accepted for who I was. I wanted to be English. I am English. I was born there, but in my early years, I just felt like I was in no man’s land because I never felt fully English because I was fully aware of my Portuguese roots. There was kind of a lot of racism back in the 80s. I think also because people didn’t travel the way they do now. People are a lot more open minded and compassionate and have more empathy. They also get to experience how it is to be in another country and feel like a minority. So I feel like that changes a lot of people’s perspectives, but in the 80s nobody really traveled that much, especially being on such a small island, it

was very narrow-minded.There was a lot of Portuguese there at the time, so there was a lot of discrimination and racism. I was very aware of it, and I just hated it. I felt so dirty.That’s the only way I can explain it. I felt just that I wasn’t worthy, and I’m sure everyone kind of experiences that in some way. But for me, that’s how I found music. When I started to get into music, like I said, I was pretty troubled.Very troubled. Suffering depression. Didn’t know who I was. Being a teenager’s really challenging without all these other complications. I think at the age of, like, 15, yeah, 15, I tried to take my own life.Thankfully, it didn’t work out.” The Healing Process & Finding Her True Sound For Nessi, music and songwriting arrived as much needed allies in one of her darkest moments. She empathetically recounted how her exploration of the voice was truly a lifeline that helped to relieve her adolescent torment and guide her healing process.

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The moment I opened my mouth, I wasn’t a good singer. It wasn’t like I had velvet and gold pouring out. I wasn’t interested in that. I just remember how it made me feel. All of a sudden, I was able to communicate parts of my being that were just so buried and had been so silenced and so oppressed and it became like an addiction.

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Credit: Kfir Bolotin “I feel what really contributed to my recovery was music because it was a bridge.When I started to write poetry, and it’s funny because I found these poems that I wrote when I was 14, and they’re super dark. Really. It’s kind of like your heart’s breaking to know that younger self of who you were. It was like a cry for help, but what happened was those poems became songs. I remember the first day that I started to explore my voice and I started to sing, and it was like electricity in my body. It was like all of a sudden, because on some level as well, words are limited. The moment I opened my mouth, I wasn’t a good singer. It wasn’t like I had velvet and gold pouring out. I wasn’t interested in that. I just remember how it made me feel. All of a sudden, I was able to communicate parts of my being that were just so buried and had been so silenced and so oppressed and it became like an addiction. I just remember the first moment I started to sing, and then, every day I’d finish school, I would go and crawl into the music room, and I’d stay there for two

hours, just playing on a piano. And I can’t play piano, but I just used to kind of improvise and make sounds. I’d just be there. It was my way of escaping as well, but not in a kind of unhealthy way, but just creating a world where I felt safe, for myself, where I felt like I belonged, and slowly, slowly over the years and especially in those early times, I felt all these pieces coming slowly back to my spirit, feeling this reconnection to myself. I feel through music and through singing, I’ve really learnt so much and I continue to learn so much about my Being and the way it’s given me confidence. For sure, I still have my insecurities and I still have my judgments. It’s not to say that now I’m spared from it. I’m not, but I know how to navigate these energies a little bit more than I used to.” From those somewhat awkward first attempts, a new path opened up that brought a wide range of Nessi’s formative musical experiences, and that eventually led her to formally study music therapy, a significantly influential step on her path in which her connection to her own true

sound began to emerge. “That was my starting point.When I started to kind of explore that and get into singing, it really had nothing to do with wanting to be a professional singer. It was like my medicine.This was my way to heal myself, and I wasn’t conscious of that. I didn’t know that’s what I was doing. I was just riding it. So that’s what then kind of led me into studying music therapy and voice therapy. I sang. I joined bands, I was in a funk band for five years, which I loved.That was really fun. I was really getting to know myself through the voice, and I think it was only when I started to do music therapy, I started to tap into my own sound a little bit more. I got more into improvisation, and I was really starting to kind of peel back the layers and starting to figure out my own kind of vibration through the voice and sound.Whereas before I was still trying to be like somebody else and trying to impersonate, and I think that’s natural when you’re starting off.”

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PachaMama,The Medicine & The Music Imagine drinking a naturally sourced elixir of some of Mother’s Earth’s most potent medicine, being cracked wide open and carried to the places in your Being where the most painful wounds, the most ancient rememberings and the most illuminating Truths wait to be released, rediscovered and reclaimed. Then, consider the possibility of taking this journey, while being aided by the sounds of songs shamanic in their potency, crafted with an intimate knowledge of such depths and an understanding of what it requires of us to travel there. Indeed, such music would have to be sacred, powerful, born of experience, and channeled from a place far beyond the machinations of the human psyche. Nessi shared about her life-changing time spent at PachaMama, the ecological, spiritual community in Costa Rica, her deeply transformative experiences with sacred plant medicine, and the profound shift that followed in her writing and musicmaking. “I guess I’ve always been a bit of a seeker, but not really in an obvious way. I guess because of my journey with what happened when I

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was younger and also with the music. I always tried to find ways to nourish my spirit. So when I met this girl and she told me about PachaMama, I just felt, “Oh, this would be a really good place for me. I feel like I’ve done a lot on the road and I’ve been doing a lot of charity work, and I feel like I want to nourish myself and take care of myself a little bit.” I was planning to only be there for like five weeks doing a work exchange program, and then in my very last week, I met Lino. He had lived there for twelve years. I had no intention of even meeting somebody.This is life.You think you’re making plans for life, but life makes plans for you. Those three years were so life-changing for me, to live in a community like that. I was writing during that time. It was lots of transformation work, doing workshops, meditations, silence. It was very profound.This is where I first drank the tea. That was a huge turning point for me, actually, and a huge turning point in my music writing. Before I actually did my first ceremony, all my songs were mostly about boys.Which is beautiful, and

it has its place. There’s so many amazing love songs out there, but I think, yeah, my first ceremony, which I guess was nearly eight years ago.Wow. I don’t know what it did, but it definitely shifted my creativity, my writing, my perspective in a very different direction. And I would say probably half the songs on the album were from inspiration from my journeys on the medicine. A lot of the insights that I received. I really feel in ceremony in general, of course, the medicine is very powerful, but I think the music is also playing a huge part. Especially, ceremonies that I did where singing is involved, you’re not just kind of receiving the music, you’re also kind of very much part of the music. They would last all night until the morning, and I think that combination with the medicine is very powerful because singing can also put you into an altered state, whether you’re drinking or not. It has that ability. It’s that powerful. It’s been around for hundreds of years, the power of chants,Tibetan monks. I’m so grateful for that shift as well. It gave me so much. It just gave me a very different perspective to create from. I felt like I was feeling music in a different way as well.”

Credit: Nuno Andrade

Credit: Anouska Beckwith It is in such a context, that many have come to discover the magic of Nessi Gomes’ music. Known to many of her faithful listeners as a medicine singer, her enchanting world of mystical messages and melodic imagery have graced many a sacred ceremony. And despite having had no immediate intention to serve that end, Nessi acknowledges that the plant medicine community’s embrace of her music was a key piece in helping to spread her work. “I didn’t see it coming at all. I literally used to record my little demos, my sketches on my iPhone, and I would just put these little sketches on SoundCloud. It was only from social media that the music started to move. People would write to me, and over the years, I’d slowly start getting invitations. “Hey, do you want to come and play here? Do you want to come and play here?” That’s how it started for me. I had no intention of, “Right, I’m going to conquer the whole medicine world.”Ten years ago when I left my island to go traveling, my intention was to go away for a year and then come back, and then I’d settle down. If someone said to me, “You’re going to end up living at PachaMama,

in a community in Costa Rica for three years.You’re going to be drinking ayahuasca for the first time.You’re going to marry somebody from another country.You’re going to be doing music as your profession.”There is no way I would have ever known. I would have not believed anybody. It’s amazing. I think for me, also what the tea gave me... because I grew up in a kind of Catholic upbringing, I had a lot of resistance to it, because I never really resonated with the church, and I didn’t like the whole concept of faith and fear and guilt and all this stuff that kind of comes with that whole path. I feel like what the medicine gave me was a different church. All of a sudden I started to really believe again. My faith and my trust and just trusting life more. It really gave me so much, not just in music, and also giving me strength to take risks in my life, not just to settle and kind of really expand who I think I am.” What’s perhaps just as incredible, is the notion that the same portalopening music has been enjoyed and experienced by just as many listeners, in more traditional settings and live venues.

This is where I first heard Nessi’s soulful, sultry voice, reverberating through Toronto’s Burdock room, a space so silent on this night that every whisper and wondering could be heard with crystal clarity, and equally received as the pure medicine that she has harvested for all to bask in. As her time at Pachamama came to a close, Nessi was very clearly guided to pursue music, and bring that to fruition, though it did not come without further bouts of struggle, self-doubt and great discomfort. “It was painful. It was so painful the first couple of years. I felt so paralyzed and fearful, and on one of the songs on the album, “These Walls” is all about this whole experience of feeling completely paralyzed by this whole new change of way. It didn’t come easy to me because I had to kind of break a lot of concepts of who I thought I was. It’s easier now. Those voices can still raise their ugly head but I don’t feel so afraid of them anymore because I recognize the energy. At the time it was so new for me, and it just paralyzed me, and sometimes it just stifled my creativity because I just believed I couldn’t do it. I’d ask myself www.facethecurrent.com

“

The voice really reveals so much of who we are. It’s like a mirror, and it’s not that I think, I know and I feel that everybody has this ability to connect to sound. You don’t need to be a professional musician in order to receive the benefits of using your voice.

“What am I doing? Why am I doing this? I need to get a real job. I’m a fraud.” Whatever those voices were. I realized it doesn’t matter what you do in your life, you’re going to be faced with these challenges. It was an opportunity to grow.With every kind of growth, there’s growing pain. It’s painful because you’re having to kind of step out of your comfort zone.” Refusing to be put in any boxes, Nessi asserts that she isn’t just a medicine singer and that she doesn’t want to have to sit down and write a meaningful song every time. At the same time, she acknowledges that her music, born of her own healing is conducive to such an experience for the listener, while maintaining her claim of the space to be free in her expression, and the ways in which she delivers it. “It’s an onward journey. It’s never-ending. In a way, the music that I share. At least with the last album, it wasn’t necessarily something I planned. It’s just these songs, they do come from a healing space.

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Credit:Vesa Kivinen I don’t consider myself to be a performer as such. I also don’t want to put myself in a box. I feel very passionate about that because sometimes people think they understand me or they think that I’m a medicine singer, and I find that quite hard as well. I think there’s a part of myself that just sometimes wants to sing about nothing. So it’s something that, yeah, I don’t ever feel, I just feel the moment. I don’t want to feel this pressure, like now I have to write a song that has some kind of deep meaning. I find that a little taxing. I think there’s so much beauty out there in songs and that’s just where I’m at, at the moment.” Voice Odyssey & Holding Space For Others Having experienced her own radical transformation through vocal expression, the supportive element of sacred settings, along with a deep dive into the study of music as a healing modality, it followed naturally that Nessi would be poised to be a conduit to a similar initiation for others. It is in this spirit, that her Voice Odyssey workshops came to be

a central part of her work, alongside her music. These well-attended and highly intimate containers for the participants’ liberation through vocal exploration have been stewarded by Nessi and her partner, Lino, and have been offered in cities all around the world. “The voice really reveals so much of who we are. It’s like a mirror, and it’s not that I think, I know and I feel that everybody has this ability to connect to sound.You don’t need to be a professional musician in order to receive the benefits of using your voice. I think with the voice, it’s the most intimate thing we have, so it can be the most powerful in some ways as well, because it’s coming from us. For me, it’s like my compass. I know where I am when I’m singing. If I’m in my head, it’s amazing to see how much that affects the quality of my sound as well. But the workshops have been really powerful and really profound. Just watching people and witnessing people really step into their power is very courageous. It’s super scary for some people.

But the work we do has nothing to do with teaching people how to sing. I’m not a teacher. I’m not interested in that. For me it’s creating a space where people can come together in community and really allow themselves to give voice to parts of themselves that maybe have been silenced or never been given the opportunity to really be expressed to its potential.Yeah, it’s all kind of one, the music and the workshops, it’s really connected somehow because they all link.” Birth, Death & New Life Beyond Diamonds & Demons In the same way that Nessi’s body of work has been so closely and intimately linked to her personal evolution and life unfolding, Nessi shared the news of a soon to be arriving new member of her family that came, not surprisingly, as new life was beckoning to be birthed creatively as well. Confirming that her poetic lens is one through which she views all of life, Nessi also spoke about the necessary release of the old as a “death of sorts”, requiring of her to make space for what’s coming as she moves forward into the exploration of new sounds and new musical territory. “Before I found out I was pregnant, I already had the intention not to do any shows next year because I’ve been touring for the last four years, and I’ve been playing the same kind of songs. I love them, and I feel like I’ve been on such a journey with them, but I also feel like I’ve kind of moved away from it as well. I still manage to bring that sincerity into the singing and to the songs, but I feel ready to explore a different part of myself. I find it’s not that possible when I’m touring. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds because you’re in a tiny car and you’re running around from one place to another.You’re eating crap food, there’s no routine.You don’t have privacy.You stay in kind of cheap hotels. I wish I could be one of these people that create on the road, but I don’t. For me when I create, I need to be very still, so when I’m touring, I don’t feel like it nourishes my creativity. It’s too hectic.

Also, because I’m playing the same songs, it keeps me in that frequency. I feel like, right now, I’m kind of in the death cycle. I think it’s so important to go back to those places of being in the unknown and experiencing death through our creativity because of course it feels great to feel comfortable and to know what you’re doing, but I feel like I’m at a point now where it’s time to grow, it’s time to move on, which is happening physically in my body. Also, I feel like it’s time to do my creativity. I’m very slow at creating. I’m not fast at writing songs, maybe because I’m a bit of a perfectionist as well. I bought myself an electric guitar. And I bought all the pedals and I’m so excited. I feel like it’s time for something new. I don’t want to get stuck in the same patterns, so I kind of want to just try different things, and next year I’m going to be exploring a bit more of something. I don’t know what’s going to come. I have no idea what’s coming but I feel super excited just to play and just to make some new music.”

After having shared so generously and sparing no detail in recounting her path to this moment, I asked Nessi if there was anything else she felt was essential to include. Without hesitation and with a sincerity true to the romanticism in her lyrics, Nessi took the opportunity to shine a light on her partner and greatest ally of all. “I wanted just to mention also that a huge part of my journey, the reason it’s been so successful in this way is the support from Lino. He’s been amazing. I just feel like I really want to honor him as well. From day one, he’s just believed in the whole story, and he’s been driving it.We’re just this team.We live together, we breathe together 24/7.Without him, I really don’t feel like I would have been able to do any of this. I feel like I just wanted to say that.”

ymore info: www.nessigomesmusic.com www.nessigomesvoice.com www.facethecurrent.com

FtC music

Lee Harris: Renaissance Man By Chris Assaad

There are a lot of things to love about Lee Harris. One experience of his monthly Energy Update is enough to know why over a hundred thousand people tune in every month to get Lee’s pulse of what’s moving energetically and collectively for so many. Lee has a gift for intuitively reading, interpreting and translating energy in a way that gives insight, understanding, clarity and not least of all, hope and empowerment to his audience. He is also extremely genuine, kind, funny and almost surprisingly grounded and down to earth for someone with such strong ethereal ability. And all of that is just the beginning and an entry point for many, into a rich world of highly transformative and deeply healing offerings from a globally-acclaimed messenger, leader and multi-talented artist, who truly embodies the spirit of what it means to be a renaissance man.

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Among these are Lee’s channeled spoken and written messages, which launched his career as an intuitive messenger and transformational leader over a decade ago. Then there’s his vast library of guided meditations and healing sound journeys on a range of topics from Cultivating Joy, to Money, to Sex and Sexual Energy. There’s also his increasingly popular online courses, the most notable of which is his annual Rebirth course, which takes people through an intentional discovery and visioning process to set the tone for the year ahead. Dig a little deeper and you might come across a few hidden gems in the Writing section of Lee’s back catalogue of creations, and a new book to boot, Energy Speaks, that’s being published by New World Library and due out in late March of this year.

PHOTOS: Tanya-Malott

Shining throughout his body of work, and often subtly but powerfully underscoring and interwoven into his potent intuitive messages, channels and content, are the angelic singing voice and healing musical expression of a truly gifted artist and songwriter. A closer look at the man behind the Lee Harris Energy world of wonder-filled creations, reveals a true artist and lover of many art forms, whose first creative passion was for music. A powerful visionary committed to creating a positive impact on the world and inspiring others to do the same, Lee is a gentle, old soul deeply committed to thriving in this human life and using his voice as a healing balm and guiding force to his ever-growing community in these unprecedented times.

It is our great pleasure to present this feature on Lee Harris, and to shine a spotlight on his music. In this intimate interview, Lee shares about his journey from pursuing a traditional music career to his unexpected success as a channeler and healer, and the emergence of a truly one of a kind offering that features sound healing and live music as key, essential ingredients. Lee also shares about his passions and inspirations, including his more recent discovery of painting and visual art as an expression and outlet. Last but not least, Lee’s wisdom, warmth and healing energy permeate his thoughtful and heartfelt responses as he opens up and shares more about some of his own greatest creative challenges and breakthroughs, and sheds light on a powerful message that continues to come through with urgency in his work. www.facethecurrent.com

Chris Assaad: Though you are most widely known for your monthly energy updates and your transformational offerings, you’ve described music as your “favorite art form” and “your deepest source of connection to Spirit.” How did your journey with music begin and what makes that form of expression so special to you? Lee Harris: As a kid, I loved to sing along with songs I would hear on the radio, and later, in shows at school (musicals and concerts). My mum tells a story that when I was 5, I was given a solo in a school Christmas show, but that I never told her I was doing it. So the day of the show, she’s there to watch and she saw me walk alone to the front of the stage, and immediately started to panic, as she thought I was doing something wrong. I sang a song called ‘My Pigeon House’. She still remembers that to this day. I have no memory of it now, but I do remember feeling confident as a kid with anything to do with

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music and singing, as at school and in shows, I could learn and remember melodies very fast, and also create harmonies to musical lines. I didn’t realise I had an affinity for it - I just thought that’s what everyone did at the time. But now I see that I had an ear for music early on. Music was my sanctuary as a troubled teenager. Listening to music was a place where my sensitivity could rest, and my emotions could expand, and I could escape from what I was struggling with in my internal life. I devoured a lot of musical theatre between age 8-14 and from then on, singer-songwriters became my gurus, with their message-based lyrics, and emotionally liberating music. I didn’t start writing my own music until I was 21, and I was shocked when it happened. The experience of hearing melodies playing in the ether, sometimes with lyrics too, and then bringing them to the guitar to craft and write was just pure magic to me. It felt like the best thing in the world and it was about a year later when I

started to verbally channel my guides, which I also didn’t foresee. I see the two as very connected.

“People feel music first, and understand it second. We all want (and trust) a direct experience, and music is a seemingly invisible force that we culturally have learnt to let into our bodies, hearts and minds.” CA: What have you discovered, personally and in your work as a transformational leader and facilitator, about the healing power of music? LH: That music goes directly to our senses, our feelings and our soul, without the mind being a gatekeeper that we need to navigate first. People feel music first, and understand it second (if mental understanding

ever becomes something people do around music). We all want (and trust) a direct experience, and music is a seemingly invisible force that we culturally have learnt to let into our bodies, hearts and minds. When I run my transformation events and retreats, if they are longer than a day, I always bring live musicians and/ or drummers into the room. Music becomes the pulse underneath the work we do, and for many, it helps them feel their way into the work and themselves far faster. Plus, it makes it more fun for all of us! CA:Your latest musical release is entitled “This Is The Voice” and you’ve shared that it was “a joyous labor of love to create”. What was the inspiration behind that song and what was the creative process like in bringing it to life? LH: I’d agreed to record a channelled message on ‘Feminine Energy’, and as is often the case, I knew that creating a song for it would be the way into

it for me. That I couldn’t create the spoken word channeled message, until I first had the song. So I created a mantra, the centerpiece of the song, that Davor Bozic and I then fleshed out across a seven day period, adding other vocals and instrumentation. We were on a tight deadline as we were both headed to Costa Rica to run a retreat, so in theory, we really didn’t have time to do it. But music, when it’s alive, doesn’t care about your plans - haha! It was fantastic and so nice to be consumed by something that had such a power and strong driving force energy to it. CA: In 2012, you independently released a full-length album entitled Golden World.This project came after several years of having put music on the back burner during your rise to success as a channeler and intuitive guide. What was your experience of coming back to your passion for music and how did you feel knowing you had an established audience ready to

receive your newest creation? LH: The irony was when I had the vision for Golden World, I thought it would be easy to do and the idea for it happened in a really great time in my life. But as soon as I embarked on the project, so much fell apart in my personal life, almost overnight, so the whole thing actually took two and a half years to complete, and the nature of it changed as a result. I didn’t really know what the audience for my channeled work would think of the album, but I knew I had to do it for myself, as I had neglected music while the other work became in demand. Perhaps the most interesting (and surprising) part of the process for me was I went through so much selfjudgement about my singing voice while making that record. I was very unhappy with my vocals in the first year of recording, and was much happier with my songwriting and our production work.I felt this internal pressure to not mess the album up www.facethecurrent.com

as a vocalist, and that was tough. So it became a real healing journey for me as a singer. My voice as a speaker and channeler had found an audience, and I no longer judged my speaking voice at all. But my voice as a musical artist, wasn’t in that same place. So those sessions in the vocal booth were painful, difficult and like going into the boxing ring with my own mind. But the process worked out great, as I committed to keep going at it, and eventually, I got over my own mind, tired of all the self-doubt and was able to finally accept myself and my voice in a new way. I’m so proud of that album now, the vocals, and the beautiful work Dan Burke did on it as co-producer and instrumentalist, and it remains my favourite full length release so far. I hear that comment from a lot of my audience too.

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CA:Your live events and workshops have evolved over the years and blossomed into a beautiful blend of teaching, group facilitation, energy work, channeling, live music and sound healing. How did live music and sound healing find their way into your transformational work? LH: It was organic, really. I got put with Davor Bozic from Slovenia, who I collaborate on nearly all my recorded music with lately, onstage in Vienna, where I was a guest speaker at a conference. We clicked and I didn’t realise Davor had such a wealth of musical expertise and experience, but on an instinct, asked him to collaborate more with me. He felt the same, so we started working together in live workshops, with him bringing instrumental music and

percussion to my healing work, and then we made a pop album called ARISE together too. We found, as the years went on, that songs add a great element to channeling and meditative spoken messages, so that became a new thing too and it has evolved organically over the years. Kirtan artist Narada Wise would do the live workshops in the USA and Canada with me, and Davor would do the European events. CA: A big part of your work and your live offering is channeling wisdom in the moment for your audience on a specific theme, often with live music as a companion. How do you go about preparing for this and creating music to match the theme of the channels?

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It is important to finish something. Produce things, get them out into the world, not be afraid to tell people your ‘thing’ exists

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LH: Occasionally, there is a song from the back catalogue of albums that has never been performed live but seems to fit what’s going on in the room that day, so we will rehearse and play it together, sometimes an hour or less before performing it. But more often than not, we literally write brand new songs to order on the day, which lets me craft lyrics that directly relate to things that were said and shared by participants in the workshop sessions. This adds a certain pressure at the events and means you don’t get much free break time during a long day and evening, but it’s a great way to literally ‘channel’ the group into a song and works so well. And you choose the songs intuitively for what you sense the evening message will be about. Sometimes my mind has wondered why a song we’ve written is so gentle and sweet, and I’ve learnt now not to question it, as often the channeled message (which I never know the details of beforehand) might be strong or impactful, so the gentle song was the necessary balance. It’s

amazing how it always works out. CA: What guidance can you offer to any multi-passionate creatives and artists out there who are often faced with the pressure to choose and focus on the one thing that they can do best? LH: Ha! That hasn’t worked well for me. Even in my work every day, I wear many different hats, between CEO, Creator, Collaborator, Author, Speaker, Intuitive, so I think if you are built that way, which most people in younger generations are these days too, you will suffer if you don’t get to express the different sides of yourself. But that said, it is important to finish something. Produce things, get them out into the world, not be afraid to tell people your ‘thing’ exists. I think often finishing and marketing your own work is the stumbling block for people, so they don’t choose to focus because they’re afraid of what might come up in and for them if they finish something and put it into the world. Sabotage yourself first rather than be criticized by others, which

is a dangerous place for us to be, and actually causes more harm than putting something out into the world despite your fear of the response.

“I had many people in the early years tell me what I ‘should’ be doing to be successful rather than helping me become more of who I was. And I was so wanting things to go well for me that I think I took some of it to heart more than was good for me. It took many years for me to let go of what other people thought and start to tune in on why I made music, and trust what felt right and good to me.” www.facethecurrent.com

CA: It’s been said that musicians deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people experience in a lifetime. Have you had any experiences of rejection on your journey as an artist? If so, how have you dealt with and overcome them? LH: I had many people in the early years tell me what I ‘should’ be doing to be successful rather than helping me become more of who I was. And I was so wanting things to go well for me that I think I took some of it to heart more than was good for me. One guy who owned a music studio, saw me at an open mic and offered to give me feedback. After listening to a demo of mine, he told me that a song I wrote wasn’t finished and I should rewrite it because the chorus didn’t rhyme and he kind of told me off about it. I was really shocked but sort of believed he could be right, and then he told me I should try to write and sound more like THE BEATLES, which was his favourite band. But then other people started to connect with that song and several told me it made them cry. So I realised, while I

would never be The Beatles, I could write a song that made people feel. But it took many years for me to let go of what other people thought and start to tune in on why I made music, and trust what felt right and good to me. CA: In addition to your gifts for music, writing, channeling and speaking, it seems you are also an avid and prolific visual artist, and have even recently launched an online gallery for your art. What do you love about painting and where does it fit into your already full creative flow? LH: I found art in 2010 during my tough time, and would on and off have these bouts of painting, just intuitively letting things happen on the canvas. I am more regular with it this past couple of years and I find it really meditative and moving. Challenging too, as there is a lot to learn, but when it’s flowing and you get to play and express, it’s such a luxury to get to do it. It calms me, and very occasionally really annoys me too, but that’s a great ride to

take with art - let all your feelings fly when you make it. I also love it because it’s a brain break and I can listen to music while I do it! CA: What are some of your most essential practices for maintaining your center and well-being, and staying grounded amidst the fast-paced flow of your work life, and the energetic demands of constant content creation, travel, holding space and being a guide for so many? LH: Like everyone, there are times I do well with that and other times where balance is more challenging. For me, the biggest key in all of it has been learning to recognise the signals of overwhelm in me. I can run a lot of energy for a period of time, but I’m definitely an ambivert - someone who goes between extroversion and introversion. I spent years not understanding that about myself, so I would crash and burn or push myself. Now I know what my limits are more, so in busy periods I try and include painting, listening to music, going and being with our cats, sitting quietly with my husband, or anything else that is not a ‘doing’ or stimulating activity. I also workout five or six mornings a week and that helps my energy stay strong. But the older I get, the more I enjoy moments and short bouts of silence in order to replenish - sitting looking at a tree, or the wall, or watching what the cats are doing helps me come back to the present. CA:You often talk about “the wheel” of creativity and wisdom that we all benefit from and can equally contribute to with our own expression. Who are some of your greatest heroes (musical, spiritual or otherwise) and what moves, motivates, or inspires you most about them and their work? What have you learned from them? LH: I would say two of my first big loves musically were Kate Bush and Tori Amos. Kate is extraordinary, as is Tori in a different way. With those two, I loved the power and the

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elaborate sonic worlds Kate would create in her productions, then the raw intimacy and genius piano work from Tori. This past year it has mostly been Sufjan Stevens, Johan Johansson and Olafur Arnalds. When a musician creates work that feels like it fits you like a favourite outfit, it’s heaven. And it’s an undefinable thing. Maybe it’s the way the song sounds in the production, or the way it was written, or the voice of the artist. It’s like a communion experience with your mind, body and soul when that happens. As for heroes in life and spirituality, I loved “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz when I first read it twenty years ago, and I gifted copies to friends. In life, I think the heroes to me are those who persevere in difficult circumstances in life. Who continue to show up and demonstrate their spirit and life-force. But equally, most people I meet are having to be a hero about something in their lives that we may or may not know about. They’re a caregiver, or an overworked parent, for example. That to me is being a human hero and I meet people like

that all of the time and I try to see that as clearly as I can and be more compassionate about the unseen struggles of others. CA: One of the prominent and recurring messages in your writings and channeled transmissions this past year has been, “You are needed and now is your time.” Who is this message for and what does it mean to you? LH: We are living in very new and uncharted times on Earth, and I know that fear can make people recoil or panic about what they’re seeing, and I can understand that. But, and this is what the message is about, we aren’t here to shy away from life. Sure, in moments, that’s fine. But we are here to create the new, every day we’re here, and too often we get encouraged into patterns and habits that don’t let us do that. So the message is really a call to arms beyond that, and to live for today.

make people recoil or panic about what they’re seeing, but we aren’t here to shy away from life. We are here to create the new, every day we’re here, and too often we get encouraged into patterns and habits that don’t let us do that.” CA: Are you currently working on any new music? Do you have any plans to release another album in the near future? LH: Yes. Davor and I are working away on an album that will be in the same vein as “This Is The Voice.” You never know quite how long these things take, especially when you don’t do music full time, but I am hoping we should have it out by the fall of 2019.

“We are living in very new and uncharted times on Earth, ymore info: and I know that fear can https://www.leeharrisenergy.com

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FtC music

Retreating Into Creative Flow By Mose

Mose is a producer & DJ primarily playing organic, midtempo/downtempo steady beat music, spending much of his time in Guatemala where cacao ceremonies, kirtan, and ecstatic dance have had a major influence on his production and DJ style. It is there, on Lake Atitlán that he founded the weekly Cacao Dances where members of the community have the opportunity to journey deep into dance within a container of deep intention free from alcohol. Having been nomadic since 2011, Mose has developed a sound all his own through interactions with cultures from around the world. For him, music is an opportunity to journey to deep spaces. Mose finds a way to fuse the organic elements of tribal traditions and modern medicine music with his unique production techniques in order to create an entrancing journey for relaxed listeners and those eager to move their bodies. Whenever he is producing or playing, it is his intention to be taken; to let go into the depths.

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Credit: Albert Bitton

Credit: Greg Clough For Mose, it is an ongoing practice to open his channels, allowing something more than himself to flow through. The entrancing steady beat of the drum is something that has taken him to beautiful places within himself over and over again, and his production process emulates this. He always reminds himself that if he doesn’t “get high” from the music he’s making, how could he ever expect anyone else to? For him, great music is that which opens these altered states of consciousness in a substance-free way.

Credit: Daniel Davis

Lake Atitlán. Credit: Mose Cagen

Credit: Amir Weiss www.facethecurrent.com

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While in retreat, I explore the depths of mystical qabalah, dream interpretation, the borders of science, religious ideas, philosophy, psychology, and the spaces between these disciplines. My interactions with the dreams become a major part of the guidance for these retreats and the tree of life (from qabalah) is my map.

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The Space Between Music is a tool to convey that which can not be communicated through words. As an artist, I see music as an opportunity to explore more subtle realms of experience and to transmit these experiences through a more emotive expression in sound vibration. For me, all art comes from a realm beyond the individual and so we as artists have an opportunity to dive deep within to find something new, something unique to our experience of life, and to put that experience into form. I think the form that this expression takes is colored by our own unique personality but the greatest art is that which is colored least of all by the personality. The most compelling music I can create is an expression of something which extends far beyond my own personality. I do the best I can to get out of the way for this expression to come through me and into the physical realm in its purest possible form.

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Credit: Julie Sarah Romano For me, every time I create it is an opportunity to touch this special energy and it becomes a practice to open myself as much as I can. The more connected I feel to the unity of all things, the easier it is to enter into a flow state. The flow state is where the magic happens. It is here that I begin to merge with the music I am creating. The creator becomes the created, subject merges with object, and a sense of deep peace and connection to all of life arises. My own process of creation, and more fundamentally, my process in life as a whole, involves going into retreat in order to cultivate a stronger connection to this way of experiencing life. Over the years, I have gone into solitude for months at a time with different intentions each retreat, but always with a fundamental yearning to connect more with this all-pervading unity. I find that by disconnecting from the external world I am given an

opportunity to deeply connect more with the internal world. By exploring this internal world, I discover more about myself and more about how I fit into this bigger, unfolding picture. By having a clearer view of this bigger picture, I can see more precisely how I as an individual can find greater alignment to support a more balanced and thus more beautiful life. While in retreat, I explore the depths of mystical qabalah, dream interpretation, the borders of science, religious ideas, philosophy, psychology, and the spaces between these disciplines. My interactions with the dreams become a major part of the guidance for these retreats and the tree of life (from qabalah) is my map. I quickly find that I have support from an invisible realm to help me find this greater clarity and to give me answers to the questions I feel arising from deep within. I typically go about my day pretty spontaneously in retreat. I wake up without an alarm

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Music becomes a primary tool of reflection during my retreat process and always helps me to learn something new about myself by expressing these energies arising within; it all comes in waves.

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Credit: Amir Weiss and immediately try to remember my dreams to see if there might be a message there to weave into my day. A morning tea is typically part of my ritual and once I feel up and activated, I like to dive into my production process. I usually produce in a very casual posture, many times just lying down in bed with a pillow to prop me up. I am sure this contributes to my more laidback approach to production. I like to sink back into the comfort of being and let the music flow. While in retreat, I may enter that creative process for a few hours before giving space for any other inspiration that might arise. Sometimes just taking a walk in nature can be the most spiritually connected activity of my day. I think by allowing everything and anything to be, it helps me feel more aligned and thus, allows the music to flow. Music becomes a primary tool

of reflection during my retreat process and always helps me to learn something new about myself by expressing these energies arising within; it all comes in waves. Sometimes beautiful melodies and pulsating rhythms effortlessly flow out and reflect back to me just how blessed I am to be a vessel for such vibration. Other times I find myself blocked, pushing, trying to create when the inspiration just isn’t there. I learn from these experiences just as much as the more effortless ones. I am shown to let go, to release from needing any particular outcome, to allow the music to come when it is there, and to give my attention and focus to something else if it isn’t. I really do my best to be of service in this process of creation and if the inspiration is not flowing, it is clear that it just isn’t the moment. When this happens, it just means it is the moment for something else! By detaching myself from any particular outcome with anything

that I do, I find that everything that I do is more effortless. I find that life flows through me and the support is there stronger than ever. It is only when I think that I know what is best, or when I allow my selfish personal desires to drive my actions, that I start to feel friction arising within my experience. My intention with anything that comes through me is that it brings more love into the lives of those that it touches. I am continually seeking deeper levels of peace in my life and so, it is important that I am at peace in my creative process. It is this vibration that I am exploring in my own life that then comes through in the music, because the music is just a reflection of my vibration in those moments of creation.

ymore info:

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FtC music

The Sacred Musician By Darren Austin Hall The word sacred can be traced to roots in the Indo-European word sak which denotes power and also means “to make holy”.’ When we connect with the sacred, we not only feel powerful, but we create power. We feel sacredness or this higher kind of power when we are profoundly inspired, lost in the ecstasy of creativity where time becomes timeless. When we create from sacredness, our creations truly do “make holy” in the sense that they inspire a sense of wholeness and harmony, and this is inherently healing. In our present time, more and more artists are beginning to leave commercial motivations behind to seek a more sacred connection through their art. This is one of the great revolutions of our extraordinary times. The sacred musician endeavours to perform music as an expression of their deepest nature; to connect to the realm of soul where infinite creativity, ecstasy, and union abound.

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Photo Credit: Hana Wolf

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Music is inherently not performed by anyone. It is a receptive process by which music is channelled through us. Any musician who writes songs knows this but perhaps hasn’t deeply considered it. Think of anytime a song comes to us. Where does it really come from?

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Photo Credit: James Monette We approach these deeper statesof-being anytime we are so present in our experience that the mind becomes more receptive than active. Children at play exude this as they become completely engaged in their experience. The mind gets out of the way yet can still be employed as a critical tool, but it is more about letting the body become fully alive. When this happens, our feelings expand as the relenting mind allows the energy it would normally monopolize to flow more expansively through the field of the body. The sacred musician understands this, though it may take some reclaiming work as so much of modern music-making has been about refined performance, static recorded songs, and achieving a kind of perfection that is admirable though not the whole picture. This reclaiming need not be difficult to achieve; one can simply recall their first experiences with music as a child when they were more apt to be receptive, less analytical, and less selfconscious. All musicians who wish

to deepen their art as a spiritual practice would do well to spend long periods of time reflecting on these memories; there’s a wellspring of wisdom there. Perhaps in time, such memories will be so renewed, that the small child will be alive in us again during performances. When music is performed in this way, we are literally getting out of the way to allow something deeper to come through us. This reminds us that music is inherently not performed by anyone. It is a receptive process by which music is channelled through us. Any musician who writes songs knows this but perhaps hasn’t deeply considered it. Think of anytime a song comes to us. Where does it really come from? Most certainly, as songs develop in their composition, there are technical additions of harmonic structures and textures that demand more of our active role as composer, but the initial spontaneous moment of creativity is something inherently mysterious and should be honored. Creativity is always available and ready to bring through more music

anytime we feel so inspired. This is a great gift of which to be aware and it is our human birthright to be connected to an infinite creative reality that constantly innovates our culture and personal lives. Many traditional indigenous cultures know and honor this human capacity and many shaman healers make their music in this fashion. Among the Kalahari Bush-people, the shamans “catch songs” from an ethereal realm which they are open to through prayer and ritual. They say this realm is inhabited by the spirits of ancestors, along with many other powerful spiritual masters, angelic, and otherworldly beings and creatures, who are constantly singing powerful healing songs. It is these songs which the shamans catch and then bring through with their own voice and instruments to be shared in community music experiences in which people join in, rousing them into powerful energetic states. The result is dance and robust singing that lift the spirit and even the individual from states of illness. In general, anyone who sings knows www.facethecurrent.com

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this feeling whether they sing in the sanctuary of the shower or before an audience in a great hall; a few minutes of singing can completely alter us.

of the flow and can even surprisingly bring in useful musical elements and humor to lighten the mood which the audience will playfully dip into. As one builds more of a relationship with the deeper realm from which music comes, more and more harmony is brought through. We are literally giving expression to the great harmony of the cosmos which the mystics have always decried, receiving with the antennae of our being, and transmitting through our musical expression.

the pure transmission that comes through is of a much higher skill. The sacred musician understands that they are part of an ancient tradition of music-makers that stretches to The sacred musician is more the beginning of our species. They comfortable with improvisation delve into the study of how music has because they understand that they evolved, quite quickly realizing that are immersed in a bigger realm music has primarily been used as a where their songs are sourced from medicine to lift spirits in community, a constant abundance of melodies. to pray ecstatically, and to connect This relationship with that realm may to divinity. The Greek God Apollo take time to foster as our culture has was the God of both medicine and not taught us about these realms and music, harkening to this notion. As St. how we are to access them. Children Augustine said so beautifully, “To sing are great masters of connecting with Sacred music does not connote is to pray twice.” When we perform these realms of infinite creativity improvisation all the time. music, the vibrations we make with and can teach instruments and us much. At voice have an the beginning immediate effect (especially on our self and for a trained others. This effect musician), can be made all it will take the more powerful time to quiet by the intention the analytical to which we musical voice make our music. that is attached A sacred musician to theories might take time and technical before performing proficiency. to go into prayer This voice is and meditation, not adept in connecting to the the freedom divine realm to of improvised centre themselves. performance It’s the realization and may actually that they are St. Augustine said so beautifully, “To sing is to pray twice.” be resistant offering a great to it. The key service to those becomes willing the attention to Improvisation can be invited within for whom they are performing, as surrender, cleaving to receptivity already composed songs or can be people are intensely affected by music. in a committed and even devoted utilized in its fullness to bring through It brings suppressed emotions to the fashion. The sacred musician also entirely uncomposed songs in the surface, so they may be processed lets go of making mistakes as the moment. Improvisation is one of toward a resolution by the inspired transition to a more improvised the essential practices of the sacred order of harmony. Music also creates artist may be clumsy at first, veering musician. It teaches us to connect states of altered consciousness, between total delicious surrender to the source of music but it need instantly transforms moods, and even and thinking about what to do next. not be the sole expression, merely inspires a sense of divinity. In time, there will be a skillful dance a very profound tool. What I have between the two and the musician discovered in my own art is that Music has been considered a sacred can surrender in one moment to sometimes songs that are completely art for eons. It has only been recently harmonies that sway their being, improvised are of such genius that that it and many cultural expressions and then actively and intentionally I could never hope to structurally have been sabotaged by the profitadd harmonic elements with voice create a song that way. The sacred motive which limits outcomes to or instrumentation. Here, opposites musician humbly bows in those be more agreeable to “consumers”. merge, yin and yang come together, moments, knowing that they could This is a sad affair and yet a great and mastery is engendered. Moreover, perhaps create such genius through opportunity for renewal. It is often mistakes become honored as part pain-staking analytical effort, but when we lose something, like the

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As we reclaim this ecstatic way of music-making, we are literally reconnecting with a long lineage of ancestral practices which will instantly inspire our lives and our art.

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essence of music, that we find ourselves yearning and reclaiming it with even greater love and passion than before. Freely singing in a surrendered way used to be a traditional religious practice whereby people became utterly consumed by divine, ecstatic energy. However, many cultures the world over outlawed ecstatic singing practices when “sophisticated civilization” genocided much of the wildness of our innately indigenous nature. As we reclaim this ecstatic way of music-making, we are literally reconnecting with a long lineage of ancestral practices which will instantly inspire our lives and our art. So many musicians are currently disenchanted with modern music practices and the business saturating it in commercial prejudice. The sacred musician sees a way through and it is the key to their joy. The very word music comes from Greek, meaning “art of the muses”. The muses were seen to be ethereal

creative spirits who would transmit their songs, stories, and other art into artists to be brought into our world. When we make music, in whatever capacity, the muses are present as it is the essence of the meaning of music to be connected to the divine. Many musicians and artists taking on this sacred work will realize it is this relationship to the muses, to divine inspiration, or whatever we want to call the spontaneous and ecstatic source of our art, that is the essential relationship to build and develop in our lives. It’s at this juncture that the path of the sacred artist truly becomes a life path as we become increasingly devoted to becoming better channels for sacredness. The more we channel the sacred, the more we understand that this creative realm that we are inhabiting is infinite and composed of such harmony and beauty, and the more our prayers will be awe-inspired.

When we relate to reality in this way, our faith in the essential harmony, beauty, and goodness of the universe is emboldened. We know it not from reading books but directly from the expression coming through us. We become conduits of the harmony of the universe and we transfer this to others who experience our art. This can save and restore so much in our world that has become so bereft of sacred experience and so disconnected from the innate harmony of nature. Furthermore, this can transform all aspects of our lives and the world, aiming all that we do to a higher and consummate purpose that can nourish inspiration, beauty, and truth for a lifetime and for lifetimes to come.

ymore info:

www.darrenaustinhall.com https://darrenaustinhall.bandcamp.com www.facethecurrent.com

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Reaching New Heitz:

How Jérémie Heitz Uses the Wisdom of the Alps to Push the Limits of Freeriding Interview By Nik Meuli Learning to walk is a momentous developmental feat that we simply don’t remember achieving. Similarly, imagine not being able to remember when or how you learned a discipline, instead growing into awareness in the sport.This is exactly how Jérémie Heitz got his start in skiing at the age of 2 on the mountains of his native Switzerland. Now 29 and sponsored by Red Bull, Heitz is a seasoned big mountain freeskier. As the runner-up in the 2015 Freeride World Tour, Heitz has conquered mountains in another way, putting together La Liste, a collection of 15 dream Alpine peaks to spotlight the challenging athleticism of freeriding. While no stranger to injury, Jérémie insists his is a sport of confidence, terrain-management, and most importantly, fun. Face the Current presents this chat with Jérémie Heitz, a man who has quite literally seen the most breathtaking peaks and valleys this planet has to offer.

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Credit Mika Merikanto. Red Bull Content

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The education we received as children is directly in parallel with my sport. We didn’t do football, we learned about mountaineering.

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Credit: Jeremy Bernard. Red Bull Content

Nik Meuli: What came first for you, the high-altitude mountaineering or skiing, and what has driven you to be a steep wall skier? Jérémie Heitz: I was born in a small village called Marécottes and we have a small resort there. I started in Alpine skiing with my village’s ski club. I did a lot of alpine skiing and a lot of racing until I turned 16 years old and then I naturally switched to freeriding. My father is also a mountain guide, so it was pretty easy for me to quickly access and learn the techniques for the terrain.

of the 4,000 meter mountain peaks. NM: Nice! JH: Yeah, I just wanted to try the biggest mountain we have here. And then, also knowing Sam Anthamatten, because we were racing together on the Free Ride World Tour. We just had the same objective, same motivation for that kind of skiing. So we just tried to ski those big walls in the Alps, and we found that to be really fun actually.

NM: I totally understand that; that’s awesome! You said you found your calling as early as the age of two when your skis were NM: What drove you to be a strapped to your feet. Do you steep wall skier? believe it’s an instant wisdom JH: I wanted to discover a little bit that leads us to our calling in life, or is it wisdom shared through more. I live in the Alps and when influence by others? I’m in my kitchen, I can see some

JH: It’s for sure the influence of my family, because my older brother quickly became a pro snowboarder. After school every Wednesday we’d jump on the bus and go skiing. Every weekend was filled with skiing, too. It was pretty easy to have skis under our feet; it was just the sport everyone does in this little village. If I was born in Lausanne or another city, it would have been a different story. Location and the passions of your family are a big influence. NM: Exactly, and when you experience it and it feels right, you know it’s your passion. JH: Yeah and also the education we received as children is directly in parallel with my sport. We didn’t do football, we learned about mountaineering. www.facethecurrent.com

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NM: “Race the Face,” is touted as “the steepest race the world has ever seen,” where standing at the start gate at 4,000 metres is already an accomplishment! You skied The Hohberghorn, near Zermatt, “an imposing face with an average 50 degrees steepness that can only be skied if the conditions are perfect.” One might say that you were not only up against World Champion, Daron Rahlves, but also Mother Nature herself who “set the rules of the game.” JH: Yeah, exactly. That was the trickiest part, actually, to have the right conditions in that moment. Daron was super motivated to come, but he lives in the USA with

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his family. He only had a short window of time that he could come, and the timing was perfect. We watched the weather forecast and set the race. The big plan was to have a snowfall between setting the race and the race day to cover all tracks. NM: Right, exactly. JH: Our perfect timing was pure luck. NM: So, you’ve been challenged with Mother Nature then? JH: Yeah, of course. It’s something that you cannot control.You stop to wait for snow or wind. Our original plan was to do it a year earlier, but I got injured on the Freeride World Tour. It turned out that the face wasn’t in condition a

Jeremie and Daron. Credit: Mika Merikanto. Red Bull Content

single day that season, so we just got the perfect timing last season. NM: For “La Liste,” you challenged yourself to ski the 15 most beautiful and steepest mountains over 4,000 meters in the Alps, in only two years. Would you consider this your biggest project to date? JH: Yes, but I’m starting on another one already. I already did one year of a three-year project. It’s going to be following “La Liste,” but we ski some mountains over 6,000 meters.You have to travel with a big crew and have perfect timing in a country far from home. The altitude is also quite new for me. So that will be the biggest challenge, for sure.

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There is a huge challenge for the cameraman to be able to film this kind of skiing. The next project is going to be in high altitude, and we’re going to ski very fast, so we’ll need aerial shots. For example, we went to Peru and couldn’t have a helicopter with a camera on it, so we used different drone techniques. The cameraman has to climb the mountain with us, and stays around 5,000 meters altitude. It’s a big crew. It’s not just about us skiing; it’s a lot of teamwork.

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NM: I see; wow! Can you share what you loved about and what you learned from this experience in preparing for “La Liste?” JH: We didn’t ski all 15 faces, but I have finished “La Liste” now. It was amazing because I was competing in the Freeride World tour at the same time. In the Alps, there are still good conditions in June for high altitude skiing. So, I had two big projects in a long ski season that were full on. When the summer came, I was super, super happy to put my skis in the garage and have a few months of rest. It was intense. NM: Did you learn anything from that project that you

La Liste. Credit: Tero Repo. Red Bull Content

can use in the future? JH: There is a huge challenge for the cameraman to be able to film this kind of skiing. The next project is going to be in high altitude, and we’re going to ski very fast, so we’ll need aerial shots. For example, we went to Peru and couldn’t have a helicopter with a camera on it, so we used different drone techniques. The cameraman has to climb the mountain with us, and stays around 5,000 meters altitude. It’s a big crew. It’s not just about us skiing; it’s a lot of teamwork. NM: Right, it’s not only you. The biggest challenge is the whole crew around you.

JH: Yeah, and to have the timing together. NM: Do you have any specific mental preparation before you drop in besides being focused and present? JH: I have a checklist always in my mind. I’ve been doing that for a very long time. The snow conditions and weather have to be super precise. The crew I work with is very professional, and as I said before, my father is a mountain guide, so I know the Alps really well. I have many friends living in different parts of the Alps, so I trust the information they give me. 90% of the project is planning. Sometimes the skiing is less than one minute. www.facethecurrent.com

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NM:You said, you always have scared to watch you ski? a checklist in your head! What JH: No, he’s confident. I’m super is it about? lucky that my family is confident in me. JH: It’s about all the “routine” I have concerning materials NM: What does your and daily weather conditions. typical mental and physical Questioning myself about training routine look like for things that I can control such as freeriding? materials, and then plenty of other JH: The physical training is similar questions during the climb and to Alpine skiing. Three to four before dropping in. If I have the months before the season, we green light and I feel good, I go... go to the gym and do strength if not, I try to understand why to know if I can fix it or if I just have and balance training. During the summer, I also do a lot of to go back home and try another mountaineering. Biking is also day… or year. something to do to train and have NM: Does your father join you fun in the Alps. sometimes? NM:Training combined JH: Yeah! with fun. What do you see as a necessary training NM:That’s cool. He’s not too

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Pennine Alps. Credit: Tero Repo. Red Bull Content

component to get to the next level? Do you need to train differently for extreme steep wall skiing? JH: The most important thing is to spend hours on your skis, even if the conditions are bad. Skiing in the morning and finish your day in the gym. Training only in the gym will not give you the same results. Skiing as much as you can on the mountains gives you confidence in all situations. Bad weather and flat light teach you balance on your skis. NM:You’ve expressed a desire to progress freeriding one step further. How has that evolved so far and where do you want to take it?

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My motivation is just to discover. We’re going to try skiing 6,000 meters and be aggressive about it. I don’t need to go further just for the sake of it. At some point you need to stop.

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Credit: Mika Merikanto. Red Bull Content

JH: My motivation is just to discover. We’re going to try skiing 6,000 meters and be aggressive about it. People have asked if we’re motivated to go to 8,000 meters, but I don’t think it’s realistic to find the conditions that we’re looking for. I’m super focused on this new project until 2020. I don’t need to go further just for the sake of it. At some point you need to stop. NM:That might be a next generation thing. How much of what you do is about the sport and how much is about being on the mountain? JH: A lot is about being on the mountain. Skiing is a beautiful sport; you just put on your

skis and you can go really fast and jump big things. I also like this method of transportation through the mountains, but being in the mountains is definitely the highlight. Even in the summer I paraglide and mountain-bike because it’s about living on the mountain. NM:The sports are actually just tools to enjoy the mountain. John Lubbock is quoted saying, “Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” If you were to write a book

on the “wisdom of the mountains,” what would you reveal as some of the top lessons we can learn from time spent on the mountains? JH: That’s a tricky one.You learn to be humble, to not get too excited.You have to take every situation as it comes, so you have to be adaptable. If things don’t work out, you just have to try again. NM:Too true. Have you ever felt that you were pushing boundaries to the point of risking your life? JH: No, never. NM: Never? www.facethecurrent.com

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With some of the mountains I’ve skied, there is no space for falling, but that doesn’t mean I’m risking my life because I’m super confident. We also usually climb up the mountain the way we intend to get down, so we really check the conditions and find where the ice and rocks are. We do that quite carefully. If I ever stand at a summit and feel there’s a 50% chance that I won’t make it home, I won’t do it.

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Valais. Credit: Mika Merikanto. Red Bull Content

JH: With some of the mountains I’ve skied, there is no space for falling, but that doesn’t mean I’m risking my life because I’m super confident. We also usually climb up the mountain the way we intend to get down, so we really check the conditions and find where the ice and rocks are. We do that quite carefully. If I ever stand at a summit and feel there’s a 50% chance that I won’t make it home, I won’t do it.You can always go home and try again another day. It’s a lot of mental work and feeling and knowing yourself. That’s the reason Alpine is about the strong, experienced guy; it’s not about youth.You have to have experience and know yourself. 116

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NM:Yeah, true. Being a competitive pro athlete tends to naturally create significant internal and external expectations. How do you handle expectations from yourself, family, friends, sponsors, and media? JH: As I mentioned, my family is really into it and very confident. My mother was stressed when I was competing because I would get hurt sometimes, but that’s just part of the sport. The sport can be a little selfish because if you get hurt (or worse) it can be hard on the family. But they also know that you need to be happy. The other side of things is the business side. Sponsors pay you to ski, so

you need to concentrate and be the best you can. There is no business side if you’re not skiing, so I always like to put the skiing first. There are contractual things that are very clear and that need to be attained, so it’s a balance. Knowing when to stop is also very important. NM: Exactly. When you say you’re living your dream, is this it or is there something greater that you dream of? JH: No, I’m definitely living my dream. I get to do what I want every day. I ski and climb mountains and that’s what attracts me most right now, so I’m super glad that I can live that.

Valais. Credit: Mika Merikanto. Red Bull Content

NM: What would you recommend as the top ski area to ride in Switzerland? JH: It’s a huge playground. There is a little resort where I’m living near Marécottes called Little Alaska. It’s small but there are plenty of options to climb around.You’ll have great photos and filmwork results there, too. NM: Good luck with your future project! JH: Yeah, we already went to Peru and did one 6,000 meter and we’re working on permits for other ones. It’s not going to be 15, for sure, and we don’t know the exact number yet, but it’s all coming. NM: Nice. Thank you very much for your time. JH:Yeah, thanks to you!

ymore info: www.jeremieheitz.com

Credit: Romina Amato. Red Bull Content www.facethecurrent.com

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Strala Yoga By Woody Woodrow

“Strala combines the movement wisdom of tai chi with the forms of yoga, tai chi, qigong, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, as a way to help people release stress, heal, and move more easily through all kinds of challenge.” - Stralayoga.com

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Strala yoga is a gamechanging style of movement inspired by the philosophies of Tai Chi, Qi Gong,Yoga and Chinese Medicine. In Strala, emphasis is placed on efficient movement and creating a healthy practice that is sustainable, empowering, and freeing for everyone, regardless of experience or body type. Strala is so powerful because it is more than just a style of yoga; it’s a movement-based mindset that can be applied to any area of life. Strala can be practiced standing in line at the grocery store, working out at the gym, dancing, playing music, and walking down the street. It’s a philosophy rich with East Asian inspiration that makes living fun, expansive, and explorative. The founders of Strala, Tara Stiles and Mike Taylor, didn’t create Strala because they thought there needed to be another style of yoga. They used their expertise of yoga, mindbody medicine, and East Asian arts, and applied it to traditional yoga forms. Their intention was to give the world a personal practice built to sustain, heal, prevent injury, and feel mega-badass in the process. What makes Strala so effective is one of its core principles: softness. Softness is the relaxation before the breath. It’s the release, the lettinggo of tension before moving, which allows the expansion and contraction of the breath to guide movement. When this happens, the relaxationresponse is created within the body

allowing for deeper awareness, deeper feeling, and deeper healing. When practicing Strala, it is healthy to rethink traditional yoga poses and sequences to see what feels most intuitive as not everyone is going to move the same way. Because of this, not everyone will look the same and that’s perfect. Strala yoga creates the space where it’s okay to explore and

move in whatever way feels good. This leads to another core principle of Strala: be easily moveable. One way to be more easily moveable (while standing) is to bend the knees, this mobilizes the hips and our center of gravity. From this position, effortlessly shift weight onto one leg allowing the other to be weightless. Notice what it feels like to de-weight the www.facethecurrent.com

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This is yoga that moves far beyond poses, helping you blow past your goals and get into your dreams. It’s a freedom flow that expands your limits and cracks you wide open. You reveal your radiantly inspiring self.” – StralaYoga.com

leg before moving it. Then with ease, glide the weightless less forward. Now switch, shift the weight to the other side see how that feels. Play around. It seems super simple, but that’s why it’s so profound. Getting back to the child inside, exploring the body like it’s brand new. This concept, applied to movements like down-dog to crescent lunge and low-lunge to plank, allows everyone to move in ways that set them up to be balanced, healthy and sustainable with their body and their energy. Shifting weight to one side to them move the other, conserves energy, and allows everyone to accomplish more, with less effort.. Why would doing more with less energy be

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important? Well, if how we do one thing is how we do all things, then learning to accomplish more with less effort on the yoga mat would have resounding effects in our everyday lives. Another way to think of being moveable is to think of someone standing, clenching every muscle in their body, joints locked, and filled with tension. Now, imagine another person comes along and shoves them. The stiff person will most likely lose their balance and perhaps fall over. However, if this person softened with bent knees and was in a balanced space, the force of the push would be manageable. With ease in the body and a balanced foundation, perhaps

the person would flow with what comes and remain standing. “Strala is a way of being, moving, and healing, that helps people connect with how they feel, move how it feels good, and handle challenges with ease.” – StralaYoga.com The practice of Strala (finding softness, establishing breathbody connection and being easily moveable) goes beyond the yoga classroom and into everyday life, becoming a lifestyle. It can be something that is always practiced and used to explore life in healthy, fun, and connected ways that feel damn good.

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Strala is a way of being, moving, and healing, that helps people connect with how they feel, move how it feels good, and handle challenges with ease. – StralaYoga.com

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ymore info: StralaYoga.com youtube.com/TaraStilesYoga www.woodywoodrow.com www.facethecurrent.com

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Four Keys to Success in Running Your Next Marathon by Jawn Angus Maybe you’ve already conquered a marathon or two. Maybe you’ve always wanted to tackle a marathon but got lost somewhere in the uncertainty of the training quagmire. For most people, running a marathon is one of those intimidating bucket-list items that is often pushed down the list in favor of experiences that require less of a time commitment.The distance, 26.2 miles, may also seem daunting and unattainable, but do not let this intimidate you. If you have some patience and a plan, running a marathon can be achieved in as little as 20 weeks.You will gain confidence, look and feel better, and improve your mindset in the process. Whether you’re starting out or need a routine recalibration, the following are some tips to pave the way for success on the path to your next marathon.

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Be patient. Most of us take twenty years to get out of shape, but we want to get back into shape in twenty days. It is important for runners to strength-train as this prevents common injuries, and this takes time. A good training plan will provide time to strengthen the body for the physical training that it will endure. New runners can also start with jog or walk workouts. Jogging for a short period of time followed by a brief session of walking is great for beginners; it’s the first step to experiencing long durations on your feet while only jogging a fraction of the workout. This strengthens the mind and builds confidence over time.

Get the proper equipment. Shoes are the most important equipment for a runner. A good pair of shoes will set a runner up for success and consequently, a great marathon experience. A local running store has professionals who fit runners in shoes that work with different foot types and running styles. Most local running stores allow consumers to run in a pair of shoes for thirty days on a trial basis. To avoid blisters and chaffing on the body, you should also run in high-quality fitness gear. Look for technical fabrics like polyester, spandex, and nylon as these fabrics stretch while you run, helping to wick sweat in the process. If training during the winter months, it is imperative to buy cold-weather running gear. A warm, but lightweight hat or headband that covers your ears makes it tolerable to run on those cold winter mornings. Most running hats also have a nifty slot in the back for runners with ponytails. In addition, gloves and a running jacket are ideal for wet and windy runs. Investing in a GPS-enabled running watch is also highly recommended. Activity trackers are great, but a GPS watch will track distance, time, pace, calories, and sometimes cadence, altitude, and heart rate depending on the type and model.

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Keep it positive.

Have a plan.

Finishing a marathon is a major achievement. A good goal for your first marathon is to finish strong and with a smile on your face. Training for a marathon is a major time commitment, physical challenge, and a financial investment. Keep the training process positive and avoid stressors such as finishing under a certain time or placing in your age group; save that ambition for the next one. Keeping lofty goals and expectations at bay are keys to a successful experience.

There are many intangibles when following a marathon training program. Nutrition and rest/recovery are vital during training. Experiment with foods and hydration before, during, and after your training to find what works best for you. Expect a training plan to incorporate interval workouts, hilly runs, cross-training, strength-training, and long runs. It is also important to dial into a specific race pace. Observe your paces during long runs and find a pace that can be comfortably run. Lock into your desired pace early in the race and keep it throughout the marathon. This strategy will ensure you finish with a smile on your face. Friends will be in awe at your marathon-finishing photo where you are beaming from ear to ear.

20 WEEK BEGINNER-INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED RUNNING PROGRAM Beginners - Very little or no running experience with some experience in hiking, yoga, walking, or other general activities.

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Intermediate - Running a few times a week for several months and can comfortably run 3-4 miles. Also have experience with cross-training, such as CrossFit, racquet sports, hiking, basketball, biking, yoga, swimming, etc.

Advanced - Consistently running over 25-30 miles per week for at least several months and have experience with cross-training.

• Strides: Toward the end of your training run, do 3-5, 15 to 30 second bursts at tempo pace. Every 4th week is an easier week to give our bodies a little more time to rest/relax. The weekly volume/mileage generally increases 10-20% each week. After week 4, the beginners switch from tracking their volume in time (minutes) to miles. The sooner you go online and register for a race, the better! Being financially committed to a race gives us that extra motivation. Also, to break up training, there are several training races to run throughout your 20-week journey. Included in this plan is a 5k race at week 4, a 10k race at week 12, and a half marathon at week 16. Adding in races along the way allows us to practice race-day nutrition and hydration and mimics the excitement and nervousness that we will feel on FACE themorning. CURRENTTreat MAGAZINE marathon these smaller races as dress-rehearsals to prepare for your big day!

WEEK 1 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 25' 3M EZ 4M EZ

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY Jog / Walk 25' 4M Fartlek 6M Fartlek

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY Jog / Walk 20' 3M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides

SATURDAY Jog / Walk 35' 5M LR 7M LR

SUNDAY strength / cross-train strength / cross-train 4M EZ

MILES 105' 15M 26M

WEEK 2 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 30' 4M EZ 5M EZ

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY Jog / Walk 25' 4M Fartlek 6M Fartlek

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY Jog / Walk 20' 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY Jog / Walk 40' 6M LR 8M LR

SUNDAY strength / cross-train strength / cross-train 4M EZ

MILES 115' 18M 29M

WEEK 3 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 30' 4M EZ 5M EZ

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY Jog / Walk 30' 5M Fartlek 7M Fartlek

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY Jog / Walk 20' 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY Jog / Walk 45' 7M LR 10M LR

SUNDAY strength / cross-train strength / cross-train 4M EZ

MILES 125' 20M 32M

WEEK 4 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 2M 4M EZ 5M EZ

TUESDAY cross-train or rest cross-train or rest cross-train or rest

WEDNESDAY Jog / Walk 3M 5M Fartlek 7M Fartlek

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY Jog / Walk 2M 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 5k RACE + 1M 5k RACE + 2M 5k RACE + 2M

SUNDAY Recovery Walk Recovery Walk 4M EZ

MILES 11M 18M 27M

WEEK 5 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 3M 4M EZ 5M + hills

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 5M + hills 7M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY Jog / Walk 2M 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 5M LR 8M LR 12M LR

SUNDAY Recovery Walk 2M EZ 4M EZ

MILES 14M 23M 34M

WEEK 6 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 4M 5M EZ 5M + hills

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 5M + hills 8M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY Jog / Walk 2M 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 6M LR 9M LR 13M LR

SUNDAY Recovery Walk 2M EZ 4M EZ

MILES 16M 25M 36M

WEEK 7 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY Jog / Walk 4M 5M EZ 5M + hills

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 5M + hills 8M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 3M EZ + strides 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 7M LR 10M LR 14M LR

SUNDAY Recovery Walk 3M EZ 5M EZ

MILES 18M 27M 38M

WEEK 8 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY REST 5M EZ 5M EZ

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M EZ + strides 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 3M EZ + strides 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 5M LR 7M LR 10M LR

SUNDAY 2M EZ 3M EZ Recovery 5M EZ Recovery

MILES 14M 23M 32M

WEEK 9 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 3M EZ 5M EZ 6M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M + hills 5M Tempo 8M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 3M EZ + strides 4M EZ + strides 6M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 8M LR 12M LR 15M LR

2M EZ 4M EZ 5M EZ

WEEK 10 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 3M EZ 5M EZ + strides 6M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 6M Tempo 9M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 9M LR 14M LR 17M LR

2M EZ 4M EZ 5M EZ

WEEK 11 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 3M EZ + strides 6M Fartlek 7M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 6M Tempo 10M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 11M LR 15M LR 18M LR

3M EZ 5M EZ 6M EZ

WEEK 12 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 3M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 6M EZ + strides 9M EZ + strides

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY SUNDAY 10k RACE + 3M EZ REST or cross-train 10k RACE + 3M EZ 5M EZ 10k RACE + 5M EZ 6M EZ

MILES 20M 30M 40M

WEEK 13 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 3M EZ + strides 6M Fartlek 7M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train 4M EZ + strides

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 7M Tempo 8M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 12M LR 15M LR 18M LR

4M EZ 6M EZ 6M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 27M 39M 50M

WEEK 14 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 7M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train 5M EZ + strides

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 8M Tempo 9M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 14M LR 17M LR 20M LR

4M EZ 6M EZ 6M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 30M 43M 54M

WEEK 15 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 7M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train 6M EZ + strides

WEDNESDAY 5M Fartlek 9M Tempo 11M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 16M LR 18M LR 22M LR

4M EZ 6M EZ 7M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 33M 47M 60M

WEEK 16 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 3M EZ + strides 6M Fartlek 7M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train cross-train

WEDNESDAY 4M Fartlek 7M Tempo 9M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 3M EZ + strides 3M EZ + strides 5M EZ + strides

SATURDAY Half Marathon Half Marathon Half Marathon

4M EZ 6M EZ 6M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 27M 35M 40M

WEEK 17 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 10M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train cross-train 7M EZ + strides

WEDNESDAY 6M Fartlek 10M Tempo 13M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 6M EZ + strides 8M EZ + strides 8M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 17M LR 19M LR 20M LR

4M EZ 6M EZ 7M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 37M 50M 65M

WEEK 18 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 10M Fartlek

TUESDAY cross-train 6M EZ 7M EZ + strides

WEDNESDAY 5M Fartlek 9M Tempo 13M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST 4M EZ

FRIDAY 6M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 18M LR 20M LR 22M LR

4M EZ 6M EZ 7M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 37M 55M 70M

WEEK 19 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 7M Fartlek

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY cross-train or REST 5M Fartlek cross-train or REST 9M Tempo cross-train or 5M EZ 11M Tempo

THURSDAY REST REST REST

FRIDAY 4M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides 7M EZ + strides

SATURDAY 12M LR 12M LR 14M LR

4M EZ 6M EZ 7M EZ

SUNDAY

MILES 29M 41M 46-51M

WEEK 20 BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

MONDAY 4M EZ 5M EZ 5M EZ

REST REST REST

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 5M EZ (1M @ RP) REST 6M EZ (1M @ RP) REST 7M EZ (1M @ RP) REST

FRIDAY 3M EZ + strides 3M EZ + strides 3M EZ + strides

SATURDAY SUNDAY MARATHON RACE 20' EZ Recovery MARATHON RACE 20' EZ Recovery MARATHON RACE 20' EZ Recovery

CHART KEY

• • • • •

TUESDAY

EZ: Easy pace LR: Long Run Cross-Train: Hiking, swimming, biking, or other sport activities. Tempo: Think of this as comfortably uncomfortable. A pace that isn’t EZ but is something that you can maintain (in between 10k and half marathon pace for advanced runners). Fartlek: Translates to “speed play” in Swedish. This is intermittent fast running followed by periods of slow running (recovery).

SUNDAY

MILES 20M 30M 40M

SUNDAY

MILES 22M 34M 44M

SUNDAY

MILES 25M 37M 48M

ymore info: www.marathawnjawn.com

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Internal Dialogue and Positive Affirmations Reaching Your Full Potential in Sport and Athletics Through Conscious Awareness By Matt Belair One of Muhammad Ali’s most famous quotes is, “I am the greatest!” He said this loud, proud and often. In the personal-development world, this is known as an affirmation and is also utilized as the principle of “fake-ituntil-you-make-it.” Athletes today are always looking for “the edge,” and working toward gaining the “mental edge” is becoming more commonplace. It’s my goal to help you learn the most effective way to program your mind in any situation in order to activate more of your potential at any given moment. By doing this, you’ll learn how to program your mind and body to experience every ounce of your potential.

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“

As athletes, we must be vigilant over our internal dialogue and strict, unforgiving rulers over what we allow to cross our mental thresholds.

“

Our internal dialogue plays a critical role in our performance. Athletes in every sport encounter moments of risk and/or intense stress: divers standing on the edge of the platform, golfers standing over a tournamentwinning putt, and gymnasts preparing to attempt a difficult vault, for example. At some point, all of these athletes have said: “I hope I don’t fail.” “I don’t think I’m good enough for this.” “Something always goes wrong when I’m under pressure.” For the athlete that ruminates on these thoughts, success is not very high. As athletes, we must be vigilant over our internal dialogue and strict, unforgiving rulers over what we allow to cross our mental thresholds. This one simple and astoundingly powerful technique will forever change your performance, give you confidence under pressure, and increase your potential. Whenever your internal dialogue registers something that you do not want to happen, whenever it is limiting or negative, simply STOP, acknowledge the dialogue and then, ASK yourself, “So, what do I want?” To use the above examples: “I want to nail the entry on this dive.” “I’ve made putts like this before; I have all the necessary skills to make this one.” “I perform my best vaults under pressure.” While this is a simple strategy, the challenge is being aware of the mind even in low-risk situations such as day-to-day training. If you can learn to be incredibly vigilant with your internal dialogue, you will literally be programming your mind for success.

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“

In “Scientific Healing Affirmations” by Paramahansa Yogananda, Yogananda explains why so many people who use affirmations do not achieve their desired results. The simple answer is that the individual lacks “will.” We say our affirmations or positive declarations but without the will, soul, or feeling behind the words.

“

We can take this one step further to amplify the technique. In “Scientific Healing Affirmations” by Paramahansa Yogananda,Yogananda explains why so many people who use affirmations do not achieve their desired results. The simple answer is that the individual lacks “will.” We say our affirmations or positive declarations but without the will, soul, or feeling behind the words. If you imagine Muhammad Ali right now in your mind saying, “I AM THE GREATEST,” you’ll be picturing an affirmation replete with will; his is an approach to emulate. Now, to take a monumental leap, imagine a mother whose child is trapped under a burning car, and the will, force, and certainty of power she would need to lift the vehicle;

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that’s another level of confidence. The mother wouldn’t worry whether or not she was in shape, if she stretched that day, or how much she could squat or deadlift; she would walk over to the vehicle and with every ounce of her potential and all the energy of chi, earth, and spirit, she would use every fiber of her being to move that car. The mind only has one goal and all energy is channeled to achieve it. Now that we understand the situation-specific power of the mind, you can add formidably positive affirmations to your training.You can do this by selecting statements that you find useful. To get clarity, you can also write them down as you monitor your internal dialogue to discover what it is you want.

Here are a few examples: “I am a great athlete.” “I quickly learn any skill.” “I have incredible strength.” “I have infinite endurance.” “I am always focused and aware.” “I adapt quickly and easily.” “(SPORT) comes easily and naturally to me.” “I always perform my best.”

“

If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

“

-Bruce Lee

The final step in this process is making your statements unique to your sport and situation. If you need help, imagine some of the best athletes in your discipline and visualize what they would think and believe and write that down. You can begin to code that programming and achieve your desired results through positive affirmations. By making a simple guided meditation for yourself, you can even embed the commands using selfhypnosis. The mind is programmable only through conscious awareness. When we become aware of what we are thinking and how we are thinking, we gain clarity on our preferences and the optimal way of thinking to achieve results. Once we identify those thoughts and beliefs, we can encode them into our mind and body with consciousness and attention.

ymore info: https://mattbelair.com

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Natural Healing Wisdom to Supercharge Your Immune Health By Lisa Guy, Naturopath and Founder of Bodhi Organic Tea Our immune system has the extraordinary job of protecting the body from infectious microbes and other foreign invaders. The immune system is made up of special cells called white blood cells, which include B and T lymphocytes, neutrophils, macrophages and natural killer cells. These immune cells seek out and destroy pathogenic organisms like viruses and bacteria, and inhibit cancer cell growth. White blood cells are made and stored in lymphoid organs throughout the body, i.e. the thymus, spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes. A well functioning and balanced immune system is crucial for maintaining good health and prevention of disease. When our immune system is working optimally it can fight off infections effectively and will defends us from cancer and other chronic diseases. However, if there is a problem with how the immune system is functioning, its ability to fight off infections like viruses that cause colds and flu will be affected. This leaves you vulnerable to illness and the development of allergies, autoimmune disorders and chronic diseases like cancer. A strong functioning immune system is dependant on many factors, including getting adequate sleep and regular exercise, managing stress through meditation and yoga, and most importantly eating a wholesome well-balanced diet. Embracing the wisdom of herbal and nutritional medicine by including immune-strengthening foods and herbs in your daily diet is one of the best ways to bolster your immune defences to ward off colds and flu and other winter nasties. Here are some of the best immune-boosting super foods, nutrients and herbs Mother Nature has to offer.

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Fermented Foods

FERMENTED FOODS Maintaining good gut health is vitally important when it comes to immune health. Not only is the gut our first line of defence against pathogenic microbes, but 80% of our immune cells lie within the gut walls. We have around 500 different species of bacteria that live in our bodies, a majority of them live in the gut. We need a healthy balance of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ gut bacteria for good health and a strong functioning immune system. Fermented foods such as yoghurt, kefir, kvass, miso, kombucha and sauerkraut contain beneficial bacteria that help promote a healthy balance of these beneficial bacteria in the gut. The fermenting process also boosts foods digestibility and nutrient content. Fermented foods have traditionally been apart of most cultures around the world dating back to the Roman times. Including a variety of fermented foods in your diet daily is an excellent way to support immune and gut health and prevent pathogenic bacteria like Candida from flourishing. Some delicious ways to incorporate more fermented foods into your diet

include adding natural yoghurt to Bircher or natural muesli, smoothies or salad dressings. Coconut yoghurt is a good dairy-free alternative that works well as a topping for healthy pancakes, scones and desserts. The beneficial bacteria present in unpasteurized miso are killed by prolonged cooking at high temperatures, so add miso to soups and other dishes just before removing them from the heat. Try making your own fermented vegetables, they are easy to make and much cheaper than store bought varieties.You only need to add a spoonful of fermented vegetables to salads, curries, dahl, or Buddha bowls to reap their fabulous health benefits.

Garlic

faster. (1) Garlic has antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties, which makes it beneficial for fighting a variety of infections. Garlic acts like a natural antibiotic with the added benefit of supporting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics that destroy all of the good and bad bacteria in your gut.

Eating garlic regularly is one of the best ways to protect yourself from colds and flu during the winter months. The way you prepare and cook garlic will affect its health benefits. Allicin is activated when you cut or crush garlic. Heat does destroy some of garlic’s allicin content. Allowing garlic to sit GARLIC for 10 minutes after cutting will help prevent loss of its medicinal Garlic has been used as a natural properties when it’s cooked. Eating medicine for centuries to support immune health and fight off infections. garlic raw when you can is ideal, added to salad dressings, dips and Garlic contains an active compound bruschetta. Garlic is so versatile it can called allicin, which gives garlic its be used in many dishes including pasta super immune stimulating powers. sauces, lentil dahls, curries, stir-fries, Garlic can help enhance the diseasesoups, and homemade garlic bread. fighting action of white blood cells. Garlic has been found to reduce the risk of getting a cold or flu, and if you 1 Josling. P, et al. Preventing the common cold with a garlic supplement: a double-blind, are sick it can reduce the severity of placebo-controlled survey. Adv Ther. 2001 Julsymptoms and will help you recover Aug;18(4):189-93. www.facethecurrent.com

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Medicinal mushrooms MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS Medicinal mushrooms have been used traditionally in Eastern medicine for thousands of years as an immune tonic. Medicinal mushrooms like shiitake, reishi, maitake, turkey tail, chaga and corydyceps contain incredibly powerful immunestrengthening compounds that help bolster the immune system to improve the body’s ability to fight off infections. Make sure you buy certified organic mushrooms as they can easily absorb whatever they are grown in, including chemical pesticides and herbicides. Shiitake and maitake can be enjoyed in soups, stews and stir-fries. Turkey tail, reishi, chaga and cordyceps on the other hand are not ideal for cooking due to their bitter taste and hard woody texture. These mushrooms are best taken as a powder and used to supercharge smoothies, veggie juices, coffee, hot chocolate or chai. Medicinal mushrooms are best consumed

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over 3-4 months to best enhance immunity. Medicinal mushrooms contain active compounds called beta-glucans that stimulate the immune system by enhancing macrophage and natural killer function, which play an important role in our immune system (2, 3). Beta-glucans also help the immune system slow down the growth of tumours and protecting the body from cancerous compounds. Mushrooms are also a rich source of un-digestible fibre called polysaccharides, which act as a prebiotic fibres that act as a food for gut microbiota so they can grow and flourish. Turkey tail has the added immune benefit of being a prebiotic food that feeds the good gut bacteria.

Chaga mushrooms are classified as an ‘adaptogenic’ food. Adaptogens support the functioning of the adrenal glands and help the body deal with stress in a healthier way. Longterm stress weakens the immune system resulting in you feeling exhausted and more susceptible to illness. Shiitake mushrooms have been used for centuries in Asia as a food and traditional Chinese medicine, for the treatment of respiratory tract infections and as a Qi (life force) tonic. These immune powerhouses offer plenty in the way of protection against winter nasties, making them a perfect addition to your winter casseroles, stir-fries and soups. Shiitake mushrooms improve the efficiency of the immune system, enhance gut immunity (4), and

2 Akramiene D, et al. Effects of beta-glucans on the

immune system. Medicina (Kaunas). 2007;43(8):597606. 3 Deng G, et al. A phase I/II trial of a polysaccharide

extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom) in breast cancer patients: immunological effects. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2009 Sep;135(9):1215-21.

4 Dai X, et al. Consuming Lentinula edodes

(Shiitake) Mushrooms Daily Improves Human Immunity: A Randomized Dietary Intervention in Healthy Young Adults. J Am Coll Nutri. 2015;34(6):478-87.

Brassicas prevent malignant tumour growth. (5) Shiitake mushrooms are an effective natural antibiotic, killing pathogenic microbes, and leaving beneficial bacteria unharmed. (6) BRASSICAS Brassica vegetables such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts are high in antioxidant vitamins C and E, carotenoids, sulphur compounds and phytochemicals that all help maintain a strong functioning immune system. Studies have shown that brassica vegetables can stimulate the immune system and decrease the risk of cancer. (7) Some great ways to enjoy brassicas 5 Fang N, et al. Inhibition of growth and induction

of apoptosis in human cancer cell lines by an ethyl acetate fraction from shiitake mushrooms. J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Mar;12(2):125-32. 6 Ciric L, et al. In vitro assessment of shiitake

mushroom (Lentinula edodes) extract for its antigingivitis activity. J Biomed Biotechnol. 2011;2011:507908. 7 Kapusta-Duch J et al. The beneficial effects of

Brassica vegetables on human health. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2012;63(4):389-95.

includes adding raw shredded kale to salads. Massage your kale first for a few minutes with some olive oil and lemon juice to break down its tough fibres. Whole cauliflowers are delicious oven baked covered in spices. Cauliflower also makes a delicious gluten-free pizza base or rice alternative. Toss shredded cabbage through salads, make sauerkraut or healthy coleslaw. Brussel sprouts taste best when they’re pan-fried or roasted with spices and olive oil. Toss collard and mustard greens and arugula through salads for extra flavour. BONE BROTH Bone broths are a wonderful way to give your next winter soup or casserole a nourishing boost. Bone broths contain nutrients and specific compounds that are particularly beneficial for the immune system. Bone marrow contains a compound called alkylglcerols, which is needed to produce white blood cells. This immune boosting lipid has also been found to help inhibit cancer cell

Seaweed growth.You will also find alkylglcerols in mother’s breast milk. Chondroitin sulphate also found in bone broth has anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing properties. Bone broths also contain collagen and glucosaminoglycans that support gut and immune health by helping seal and heal the gut lining. SEAWEED Seaweed is a highly nutritious superfood known for their immune boosting properties. Including seaweed in the diet can help increase white blood cell production and reduce the risk of cancer. Seaweed is also rich in minerals, particularly zinc, iron and selenium, which are essential for a strong functioning immune system. There are many different types of seaweed including kelp, nori, and arame, that can be used to make nori rolls, miso soup, stir-fry’s, and added to fermented veggies. Seaweed flakes are a great way to supercharge pasta sauces and other winter dishes. www.facethecurrent.com

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Manuka honey

Turmeric MANUKA HONEY Manuka honey, native to New Zealand, is known for its impressive antibacterial properties. Manuka has around 50 times the anti-microbial action compared to other honey varieties. Manuka contains the active compound methylglyoxal that gives this special honey its super antibacterial action. Certain Manuka bushes contain a ‘Unique Manuka Factor’ (UMF), which is a very effective antibacterial property unique to some Manuka honey. Look for a number from 1020 after the letters UMF on Manuka honey labels. This will indicate its antibacterial strength. The higher the number, the stronger its action. Manuka is commonly used for wound healing and sore throats. It’s

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antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties makes Manuka beneficial for enhancing our immune defences. Manuka is particularly soothing for sore throats and is delicious added to ginger tea. UMF is heat stable so it won’t be easily destroyed when added to hot drinks.

The best way to eat turmeric is raw grated through vegetables, rice or quinoa, in salad dressings, curries and veggie juices. When you mix turmeric with some black pepper it increases curcumin’s absorption significantly.

TURMERIC

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the most popular cooking spices used throughout the world. Ginger has been traditionally used by Chinese herbalists for over 2,500 years to treat colds and flu and digestive problems.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been a much-loved staple in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine for thousands of years. Turmeric contains a powerful antioxidant called curcumin, which gives turmeric its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous and immune-boosting properties. Studies have shown that curcumin can modulate the activation of immune cells and can enhance antibody responses. (8) 8 Jagetia GC, Aggarwal BB. “Spicing up” of the

GINGER

Gingerol is the main bioactive compound found in ginger, which is responsible for much of its immune-boosting benefits. Gingerol immune system by curcumin. J Clin Immunol. 2007 Jan;27(1):19-35. Epub 2007 Jan 9.

Green tea

Ginger has powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancerous properties. Ginger also helps support the immune system through its antibacterial action. Ginger is a great addition to winter meals to enhance the body’s ability to fight off respiratory infections. Adding fresh grated or powdered ginger to your next soup, curry, stirfry, veggie juice or salad dressing is a delicious way to boost your immunity. Ginger tea is a delicious way to enjoy ginger with some fresh lemon and a little Manuka honey. GREEN TEA Green teas immune benefits have been well known for centuries in Eastern cultures. Green tea’s immune boosting effects have been attributed to the presence of high levels of polyphenols,

called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which have potent antioxidant, antiinflammatory and anti-cancerous properties. According to new research these beneficial compounds have the ability to increase the number of T-cells that play a key role in our immune function and suppression of autoimmune disease. (9) Drinking 3 or more green teas daily can help support healthy immune function. BERRIES Berries contain some of the highest levels of antioxidants of all fruit and vegetables, especially those with dark-coloured skins such as blueberries, black berries, black 9 Ngoc B. Huynh. The Immunological Benefits of

Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) International Journal of Biology;Vol. 9, No. 1; 2017

Berries current, elderberries and ‘purple berries’ maquai and acai. Their vibrant red, blue and purple colours signify the presence of an important group of antioxidants called anthocyanins, which give berries their anticancerous and immune-enhancing properties. Berries are also abundant in immune strengthening vitamin C and A. Blueberries, raspberries, black berries and strawberries are delicious added to muesli, Bircher, porridge, smoothies and smoothie bowls, yoghurt, homemade ice cream, salads, and raw desserts. Dried berries make a tasty addition to trail mixes, and super berry powders (maquai, acai and camu camu) can give your smoothies, veggie juices or bliss balls an added boost. www.facethecurrent.com

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Citrus fruits CITRUS FRUIT Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits and limes are packed with immune boosting vitamins and phytochemicals. Citrus fruits are abundant in vitamin C. This potent antioxidant is one of our most effective immune enhancers, having potent anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Immune cells such as T-cells and phagocytes need vitamin C to work optimally to protect us from pathogenic invaders.Vitamin C also supports the functioning of the epithelial barrier of the skin and gastrointestinal tract, against viruses and bacteria. A deficiency in this important vitamin will lead to impaired immunity and a higher susceptibility to colds and flu and other infections. The flesh and peel of citrus fruits are particularly rich in protective flavonoids that have a strong

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antioxidant action, which supports the immune system and lowers the risk of cancer. Red and pink grapefruits also provide vitamin A, which has been shown to benefit the immune system and help fight off infections.

impaired immunity and an increased vulnerability to colds and flu and other infections. A deficiency in these vitamins and minerals will also increase your risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer. Low vitamin D levels are also associated with the development of autoimmune diseases. Some of the best sources of these immune-boosting vitamins and minerals are citrus fruits, berries and kiwi (vitamin C); cod liver oil and egg yolk (vitamin D); olive oil and avocadoes (vitamin E); red meat and lentils (iron); fish, nuts and seeds (zinc); and Brazil nuts (selenium).

Citrus fruits can best be enjoyed on their own or added to breakfast cereals, salads, raw deserts, veggie juices, salad dressings, or squeezed over salads, fish and veggie dishes. Give sweet and savoury dishes an extra immune boost by topping them with citrus zest. IMMUNE SUPPORTIVE NUTRIENTS Optimal levels of vitamins A, C, D, and E and minerals iron, zinc and selenium are needed by the body to strengthen our immune defences and enhance white blood cell production. A deficiency in any of these vital nutrients will lead to

IMMUNE ENHANCING BOTANICALS There are a wide variety of highly effective herbs used by herbalists and naturopaths to help strengthen and regulate the immune system. Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) is one of the most widely known

Echinacea immune-stimulating herbs commonly prescribed for colds and flu and other infections. Echinacea increases the production of white blood cells and stimulates the overall activity of the immune system, making it more efficient at fighting bacteria and viruses. Echinacea should be taken as soon as cold and flu symptoms start and continued until symptoms subside. Andrographis (androgaphis paniculata) is a traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine that is also known as ‘Indian Echinacea.’ Andrographis is another excellent immune-stimulating herb that is beneficial for treating acute infections. This herb is best taken in the initial stages of an infection, then continued for the duration of the illness. Immune stimulates like these are generally only used short-term. Astragalus (astragalus propinquus),

Ashwagandha (withania somnifer), Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus), Liquorice (glycyrrhiza glabra) and Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) are all immune-modulating herbs. These herbs help regulate the immune system. They boost immune responses when the immune system is running below par, and calms it down if it is overacting, like in the case of autoimmune diseases and allergies. Immune-modulating herbs can be taken daily and used longterm. They have a balancing rather than stimulating effect on the body. These herbs are recommended for people who get frequent infections or autoimmune diseases. Elderberry and Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) are two immune tonic herbs that can be taken longterm to build and strengthen the immune system. These herbs are also suitable to use long-term for people with poor immunity.

The best way to protect yourself this winter from colds and flu and other infections is to start incorporating a variety of these super immunestrengthening foods and herbs into your daily diet. Start experimenting in the kitchen with new nourishing recipes and herbal teas that use these healthful ingredients.You should always try were you can to get all of your nutrients through wholefoods, however nutritional supplements can be extremely beneficial to complement a healthy diet. Nutritional supplements can help correct any nutritional deficiencies and will ensure that you are getting optimal levels of all the crucial immune-boosting vitamins and minerals you need for a strong functioning immune system.

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America’s Nutritive Hunger: How LA’s Eat, Drink, and Support Event is Doing its Part to Help By Ainsley Schoppel While the United States (or U.S) is certainly considered a land of opportunity and possibility, it is not necessarily always a place of abundance. When considering the issue of food production and distribution across a country as big and diverse as the U.S., it may surprise many people to learn that “food deserts” exist in great numbers across the country. Food deserts

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are defined as areas of the country lacking in fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods, and they are most commonly impoverished areas. In the U.S., 23.5 million Americans live in food deserts. In 2009, 2.3 million Americans lived over a mile away from a grocery store and did not own a car; that’s over 2% of all households. For families facing the challenges of living in a food desert,

the difficulties are many. Culturallyappropriate food is difficult to obtain, dietary restrictions such as lactose intolerance and gluten allergies are difficult to manage, the travel and time costs of grocery shopping increases the desirability of fast food over prepared meals, and the price variances of food across small markets and stores decreases the desirability of healthy food.

It’s no secret that eating fast and highly processed food is harmful to our bodies, but the collective effect of an entire neighborhood or area eating unhealthily is staggering. People living in neighborhoods with the lowest availability of healthy foods are 55% less likely to have a high-quality diet than those living in areas with greater availability. When fruits and vegetables are priced high, there are greater increases in children’s weight over time. People living in areas with greater availability of healthy food have a 45% reduced-incidence of diabetes over a five-year period. When families moved to non-poor neighborhoods, body mass indexes were significantly reduced. Shockingly, $71 billion in healthcare costs related to chronic illnesses could be saved with healthier eating. According to the US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, 20% of those living in a food desert have an income at or below the federal poverty level for family size. While there are many factors involved in families’ circumstances including economic pressures, job shortages, cost-of-living increases,

and education limitations, the clear message is that there are far too many families struggling to access healthy food options. The reassuring news is that work is being done to help. Thanks to initiatives like the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, grocery stores and healthy food retailers are being established in underserved rural and urban communities across America. Salad Bars to Schools provides three million students with access to fresh salad bars in their schools, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 increased funding for school meals and snacks for over 50 million students. While these larger-scale initiatives are much-needed and essential to bridge the gap of nutritional disparity in America, so too are smaller nonprofits and fundraisers. Eat, Drink, and Support is a fundraiser held in Los Angeles in December to benefit the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has distributed enough food for more than 1 billion meals

since 1973 and Eat, Drink, and Support was the last event closing out the Food Bank’s 45th anniversary year. Held on December 22nd at the Food Bank’s downtown LA location, Eat, Drink, and Support was attended by 500 guests with all ticket sales donated to the Food Bank. With every dollar equating to 4 meals for people in need, the fundraiser generated 200,000 meals for the LA community. In an afternoon of culinary samplings and musical entertainment, celebrity chefs and musicians volunteered their talents in support of the LA Food Bank. Chefs Bruce Kalman, Tyler Anderson, Antonia Lofaso, Nick Shipp, and Duff Goldman supplied delicious offerings like meatball parmesan sandwiches, pizza, rigatoni, fire-roasted corn, ratatouille, and warm bread pudding à la mode. Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl was also in attendance, serving savory smoked meats from his newest venture, Backbeat BBQ. The event also featured musical performances by Jessarae, Jessica Childress, Chevy Metal featuring Taylor Hawkins, and Wiley Hodgden with special guests Nikki Sixx and Dave Grohl.

Chefs Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Nick Shipp take a short break from cooking at Eat, Drink, and Support benefiting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Credit: Alex J. Berliner | ABImages www.facethecurrent.com

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Organized by culinary emcee and producer Billy Harris, and producers Paul Vitagliano and KC Mancebo, Eat, Drink, and Support was a monumental success for the LA community. “This facility serves 30,000 meals every day and distributes to six or seven hundred different organizations in the city including missions, homes, and shelters,” Harris explained to FtC. “This event brings awareness to an

amazing organization and the work they do on a daily basis. Everyone loves to eat, drink, and have a good time, so we can do that and help those that are a little less fortunate; it’s a win-win for everybody.” Vitagliano noted that, “Events like Eat, Drink, and Support shine a spotlight on issues affecting our community while raising much-needed funds. Unfortunately, there are many in our community that need help as food,

housing, and healthcare are critical for survival. They are our collective responsibility and we need to ensure our community is supported.” For KC Mancebo, it’s all about bringing a community together. “We need to help strengthen the fabric of our society and the culture of our city. It’s about raising awareness about the needs of our fellow citizens to help build a stronger community.”

Lance Robertson, also known as DJ Lance Rock from Nick Jr.’s Yo Gabba Gabba! was also in attendance and thrilled to bring attention to a great cause in his hometown. Credit: Eamon Sylvester

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Lance Robertson, also known as DJ Lance Rock from Nick Jr.’s Yo Gabba Gabba! was also in attendance. A Los Angeles resident himself, Robertson was thrilled to bring attention to a great cause in his hometown. “This is one of the best things you can do, especially around the holiday season,” he told FtC. “We’re so fortunate in Southern California; we’re so blessed and have such an abundance of things. It’s a great thing for so many people to come together and give back. It’s a great feeling and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.” As Lance notes, there are many great causes and charities that provide specific services, but the commonality in humankind is our need to eat. “People need sustenance,” he noted. “We need sustenance to stay healthy and this is a really great event for Los Angeles to be a part of. People are getting behind this and I think it will continue to grow. Los Angelenos tend to commit to something when it’s to help their fellow man.”

From left to right: Chef Bruce Kalman, Chef Tyler Anderson, Chef Nick Shipp, Culinary Emcee and Producer Billy Harris, Chef Antonia Lofaso, Chef Duff Goldman and L.A. Regional Food Bank CEO, Michael Flood. Credit: Alex J. Berliner | ABImages

The emotional draw to put on an event like Eat, Drink, and Support is a sentiment shared by its producers. “I believe that if you have the means to do so, one of the best things you can do is give back to your community and that is what we are doing at this event,” Billy Harris said. “It’s the simple pleasure of knowing that many in our community are not going hungry tonight that makes all

the effort, planning, and execution of Eat, Drink, and Support worth it.” Vitagliano agreed: “We invited C-CAP students (Careers Through Culinary Arts Program) to work side-by-side with the likes of Chefs Antonia Lofaso, Duff Goldman, Bruce Kalman, Nick Shipp, and Dave Grohl. This experience is priceless and is something these young people will remember for the rest of their

lives.” As a fifth generation Angeleno, Mancebo has been volunteering since she was young. “I think it’s my civic duty to volunteer. Creating events like this allows me to give back to my community and helps to show the great need that our fellow Angelenos have,” she explained. “I like to think that I am helping to create more compassion and empathy in our society.”

Foie Grock (with special guest Dave Grohl) performs at Eat, Drink, and Support benefiting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Credit: Alex J. Berliner | ABImages www.facethecurrent.com

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While the community turn-out was fantastic, corporate support also bolstered the event in a big way. Breville erected a full café for the event, while Imperial Western Brewery kept the drinks flowing in the beer garden. Barilla donated 2,600 pounds of pasta to the Food Bank which is 16,000 servings and they are also extending their partnership to support the East LA mobile market in 2019. Wells Fargo also presented Eat, Drink and Support with a cheque for $10,000 as part of their second-annual Holiday Food Bank program.

Chevy Metal lead singer Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) performs at Eat, Drink, and Support benefiting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Credit: Alex J. Berliner | ABImages

For Paul Vitagliano, philanthropy is a vital part of his work. He is the executive producer and partner of the Billy Harris Dinner Series of culinary events, and together with Harris, they have raised over $350,000 through their dinners for charities including the LA Food Bank, No Kid Hungry, Alex’s Lemonade, and The Trotter Project. Mancebo also has an expansive philanthropic reach, working with Whole Planet and Whole Kid Foundation. “Whole Kid is a wonderful program that teaches children how to grow their own food and raises money to provide grants to schools across the country to grow and expand their school gardens,” she shared. “This program is so important as many of the students in the U.S. school system have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Eat, Drink, and Support event producers Billy Harris, K.C., Mancebo and Paul Vitagliano. Credit: L.A. Regional Food Bank

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Dave Grohl. Credit: Alex J. Berliner | ABImages

Moving forward, the challenge for the U.S. will continue to be supporting communities in-need to create a more sustainable food system that ensures no one goes hungry while also making sure that healthier food options are more readily available and accessible. “People think it’s a lack of food in the country, but it’s all about access to good food,” Harris noted. “We actually have more food than we know what to do with. There are a number of really great programs doing good work including No Kid Hungry’s Summer Meals Program and In School Breakfast program just to name a couple.” Vitagliano feels that there needs to be a societal shift to get back to basics in terms of growing, distributing, and consuming food. “Minimally processed foods, thoughtfully grown foods, and sustainably and humanely raised proteins that ideally are organic and non-GMO are the ultimate goal,” he stated.

“As a society, we need to focus more on locally-produced food. We see this with urban farms, community gardens, and school farming projects. We also need to better utilize unused lands and protect the oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams from overfishing and pollution. We have the resources and the knowledge, it’s just a matter of shifting priorities and actions to reflect what is really important to us as a community.” For KC Mancebo, she feels that much can be gained through food education. “I have worked with local school districts for the past 10 years to make small changes to the school food system,” she said, “focusing on eliminating plastic water bottle sales, moving to refillable water stations, reducing the amount of processed food presented to children in the school breakfast and lunch programs, and increasing school garden projects.

Building more teacher and student participation builds more awareness about food and sustainability.Teaching children about food and where it comes from will help to move our communities forward.” There may not be a simple or streamlined answer to eradicating hunger and food deserts in America, but thanks to the hard work of many organizations and charities big and small, steps are being taken to improve the quality of life for struggling Americans. Look for opportunities in your local community to support food banks, community gardens, and school programs.You can also host your own personal or neighborhood fundraisers to help serve organizations in your area. And as the attendees of the event can attest, although it’s delicious to Eat and Drink, it’s gratifyingly divine to Support.

ymore info: www.lafoodbank.org www.facethecurrent.com

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FtC health

Liquid Nourishment

Mind and Body Re-Set with Juice and Chakra Soup Recipes By Meg Pearson Another year is upon us and so is another opportunity to live our very best life! Since you are an FtC reader, I bet you know a thing or two about the importance of nourishing your body with nutrient-dense food and drink in order to lead a fully nourishing life. My personal food philosophy is based upon years of my own struggle with food and my body, and so I don’t adhere to any hard-and-fast rules when it comes to how I think we should feed ourselves. Deciding on a dietary direction is a highly individual endeavor, and yet, one thing that I do know to be true is that we all deserve to fill up on more fresh fruits and vegetables, no matter our culinary convictions. Enter, juice and soup. Long practiced as a way to lose weight, rehydrate the body, break the processed-food craving cycle, and to flood the body with super nutrition, liquid feasting for a short period of time is a great way to reboot your body and flush it with fresh produce!

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Why Juice? Juicing extracts fruit and vegetable liquid from fiber, thereby allowing your body to more quickly assimilate and utilize the vital nutrients and minerals found in the juice. Because you are eliminating the fiber or pulp, juices give you more bang for your buck! Think about it: in one cup of green juice you can consume an entire head of kale, 2 lemons, and 2 whole cucumbers! Juices are a great way to start the day or re-fuel between meals.

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Check out four of my favorite juices:

Spicy Lemonade 1 3/4 cups of filtered water 3-4 juiced medium lemons 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper 1 tbsp of agave nectar or coconut sugar liquid Juice all the lemons in a traditional juice squeezer and mix with water, cayenne pepper, and nectar.

Morning Green Juice 5 kale leaves 1 large handful of spinach (about 1 cup) 3 romaine leaves 1 cucumber 3 celery stalks 2 small apples 1 lemon, peeled

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Calm 3 large kale leaves 2 medium cucumbers 1 medium lime or lemon, peeled 2 small handfuls fresh mint leaves 1 cup pineapple

Blood Love 2 large beets 3 medium carrots 1/2 green apple 1/2 lemon, juiced Handful of parsley 1/2-inch fresh ginger

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Chakra Soups

I am always telling my clients to “eat the rainbow.” This is very simple to do if we are selecting the majority of our foods from the plant kingdom. Perfectly purple cabbage, magnificently yellow mango, ruby red raspberries; the kaleidoscope of color in Mother Nature’s bounty is plentiful to say the least. Seven specific colors found in nature are also linked to special centers in our body: the seven chakras. These are the energy centers in our body in which energy flows and when they are blocked up, we may experience discomfort or stagnation not only

Crown Chakra

physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. The word “chakra” is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “wheel.” Literally translated from Hindi, it means “wheel of spinning energy” and we can nourish these vortices with foods that support their purpose while keeping our body and soul in balance. Let’s go over the seven primary chakras, the ways in which we can best feed their powers, and recipes that will nourish each one:

Sanskrit Name: Sahasrara Color: White Location: Situated at the crown of the head The all-powerful and connected part of us that links us to all of life such as the cosmos, the planet, and the rest of the human race. It is the seat of our spiritual experience. Unifying Nourishment: sunlight, moonlight, clean air, unconditional love. White foods like mushrooms, garlic, ginger, onion, lychee, coconut, and other tropical fruits. Crown Chakra - Raw Cream of Mushroom Soup 2 3/4 cups water, divided 2 1/2 cups white mushrooms 3 tbsp white onions, sliced 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp miso paste 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 cup cashews, sunflower seeds, or 3/4 cup tahini paste 1 tsp sea salt 1 tbsp dried rosemary In blender, combine 1/2 the water with all other ingredients except rosemary until smooth. Continue to add water until you achieve a creamy soup texture. Pulse in rosemary.

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Third Eye Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Ajna Color: Indigo Location: Situated between the eyebrows Presides over our intuition, insight, imagination, psychic abilities, and inner perception. Sometimes we allow our intuition to be overridden by our intellect and in doing so, we lose sight of our highest path. Inspiring Foods: herbal teas, poppy seeds, deep purple foods like eggplant, concord grapes, purple carrots, blackberries, blueberries. Third Eye Chakra - Purple Carrot and Ginger Soup 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated 3 tsp curry powder 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped 1/2 kilo chopped purple carrots 3 cups of water 1 x 14 ounce can coconut milk 1 1/2 limes, juiced 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped 1/4 cup of chia seeds In oil, cook the onion, salt, ginger, curry, and garlic. Add the carrots, water, lemon juice, and coconut milk and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low heat and simmer, covered, until the carrots are very tender: about 30 minutes. Add cilantro. In batches, puree the soup in blender or use an immersion blender. Transfer the pureed soup to a clean saucepan and place over low heat until just warm. Stir in the chia seeds and serve.

Throat Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Visuddha Color: Sky blue Location: Situated at the base of the throat Governs our communication and creative expression. It reflects our authenticity and illuminates our truth and choices. It is also the portal of entry for foods and the space where we can honor our personal truth by listening to our body’s needs, eating mindfully, chewing carefully, and communicating focus. Foods for Communication and Truth: water, liquid foods like soups, sauces, and juices, sea plants (seaweeds), and blue and black foods like purple carrots, blueberries, and blackberries. Throat Chakra - Blueberry Soup 3 pints blueberries (about 4 cups) 3/4 cup sugar 1 stick cinnamon Zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 tbsp cornstarch Sea salt, to taste 1/2 tbsp rosemary, minced Fresh yogurt to serve Bring blueberries and 3 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until berries begin to burst: about 12 minutes. Strain, saving cooking liquid. Using a spoon, gently press the berries to extract all their juice; discard berries. Return liquid to saucepan and add sugar, cinnamon, zest, and juice. Bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch and 2 tbsp water in a bowl. Add to pot and cook while stirring until soup is thick: 3-5 minutes. Discard cinnamon. Season with salt and serve with rosemary and www.facethecurrent.com 149 yogurt.

Heart Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Anahata Color: Green Location: Situated at the heart center The energy center from which we radiate love, joy, happiness, and compassion. The heart chakra encompasses our ability to give and receive love and it blossoms when we express gratitude for eating and when we infuse love into our food. Rejuvenating Foods: organic leafy greens, green vegetables, sprouts, basil, thyme, cilantro, foods rich in chlorophyll. Heart Chakra – Dairy-Free Cream of Broccoli Soup 1 bunch of broccoli (6-7 cups chopped) 1 large onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 4 cups vegetable stock or water 1 large potato, cooked, peeled, and diced 1/4 cup cashews Salt, black pepper, to taste Place the broccoli, onion, garlic, and stock or water in a pot. Bring the broth to a boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook over low heat until the broccoli is tender: about 8 minutes. Put half the broccoli and broth in a blender with half the potato and cashews. Blend until smooth. Pour in another saucepan, and repeat with the rest of the broccoli, potatoes, and nuts. Heat the soup, covered, over low heat for about 10 minutes. Check seasonings and add salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper to taste. Serve topped with fresh arugula.

Solar Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Manipura Color: Yellow Location: Situated just above the navel and below the rib cage The solar plexus chakra is quite literally our energy center and gives us the spark we need to get things done. It governs our personal power, ego, self-esteem, and self-discipline. Energizing Foods: low glycemic complex carbohydrates, whole grains, legumes, flax and sunflower seeds, ginger, chamomile, turmeric, cumin, yellow-colored foods like bananas, sweet corn, pineapple, yellow peppers. Solar Chakra - Spicy Cream of Corn Soup 2-3 cups fresh corn kernels 3 tbsp olive oil, divided 15 ounces light coconut milk 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp cumin 2-3 cloves of garlic 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp sea salt 2 tbsp chili sauce or Sriracha 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves

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Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss corn kernels in 1 tbsp oil and add 1/4 tsp sea salt. Place on baking tray. Bake for 15 -20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove kernels and let cool. Place corn and remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend until creamy. Pour blended soup into a stock pot. Heat on medium heat until it comes to a soft boil. Serve with chili sauce, fresh basil, and crumbled goat or feta cheese.

Sacral Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Svadisthana Color: Orange Location: Situated on the spine just below the navel Associated with our physical manifestation, it is the seed of our creativity and ability to “go with the flow.” It aids in balance and governs our self-worth and our relationships with others. It is the center for feeling emotion, pleasure, intimacy, and a connection to others. When out of balance, you may become prone to overeating to keep your emotions down, but when you unleash your emotions, it gives your spirit the energy to create and enjoy! Sacral Chakra - Blender Squash Soup with Cilantro 2 cups water, divided 1/4 medium butternut squash, chopped 1/2 cup celery, chopped 1/4 cup white onion, chopped 1/3 cup red pepper, chopped 1/2 avocado, chopped 2 tbsp raw cashews 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari 1/2 cup cilantro In blender, combine 1/2 the water with all other ingredients except cilantro until smooth. Continue to add water until you achieve a creamy soup texture. Pulse in cilantro.

Root Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Muladhara Color: Red Location: Situated at the base of the spine Represents our foundations, being grounded, and finding stability in life. When in balance, the root chakra holds the energy to release the fear of eating and feelings of distrust. Nourishing your root chakra will aid in movement, feeling safe, and trusting in survival and self-esteem. Balancing Foods: root vegetables, protein and mineral-rich foods, deep red colored foods, paprika, pepper. Root Chakra - Tomato Tortilla Soup 1 large tomato  2-4 cups vegetable broth  1⁄2 red pepper, diced  2 cloves of garlic  1⁄4 cup sun-dried tomatoes  1⁄2 tbsp olive oil  1 tbsp hot sauce (like Sriracha)  1 tbsp nutritional yeast 1 tsp cumin 1⁄4 tsp turmeric  1⁄4 tsp pepper  1 1⁄2 tsp salt (to taste) In blender, combine all ingredients and puree until smooth.

Use these chakra-guided recipes to try a new approach for mind and body nourishment! There is no time like the present to recalibrate and focus your body’s energy to live life as the strongest and most energized version of yourself! So, get in the kitchen and mix it up; bon appetite!

ymore info: www.meghanpearson.ca www.rythmia.com Meg Pearson is the passionate natural foods chef at Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica. www.facethecurrent.com

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d all inde m e k 19. nd li sts a in 20 e s u e r g u ecial vent lty, sp citing ad u c a f x , ese e staa of th arch e e s r e o r ein, or m aram t on one H m e i plan Nass Join r the e v o l al from SPRING 2019

Masters Series Rapa Nui April 12 - 20th 2019 A rare opportunity to learn and collaborate with Nassim Haramein and a small group peers in the vortex spot of Easter Island. Dive into the islands mysterious culture and history, discover evidence of ancient wonders, enjoy spectacular beaches, Moai statues and uplifting energy.

SUMMER 2019

Resonance Community Retreat July 29 - August 2nd 2019 ARE YOU READY to unleash your full potential and increase your positive impact on the world? If your answer is yes, join us for a week of science, community, connection, education, inspiration, practice and purpose.

FALL 2019

Mayan Mexico Expedition Dates Coming Soon Get ready for a real live INDIANA JONES experience complete with powerful ARK® crystal activations, ceremonies, group meditations and educational opportunities on this magical mission to Mexico.

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Learn more at www.resonance.is