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v i e w p o i n t n movements for peace, justice, and sustainability, living without fear means you are courageous enough to be an ally to those who are unnecessarily discriminated against. It’s much easier to not focus on struggles for well-being and equity, especially if you aren’t living in struggle. But when I think of a state of consciousness operating in a condition of no by Brennan fear, I think of these necessary allies. Without them we are alone. While our allies can take on many forms—and let’s be real, we need them all— those who share a belief that in eliminating oppression we open the doors towards actual attainment of peace, justice, and sustainability resonate with me the most. More specifically, I’ll use examples drawing from the many “interlocking systems of oppression” that noted theorists, scholars, and activists have written about (most notably, bell hooks, née Gloria Watkins) to better articulate what I mean by living in a state of no fear. Race/Culture/Ethnicity Be the person who speaks up. “The other” identity is still as common today as it has ever been. Just because you see a Latino man in California doesn’t automatically make him a Mexican. Sure, maybe he is, but don’t just assume. Native American tribes are alive and well. They still fight for the right of self-determination and to save their traditions, and if a tribe doesn’t want an American Indian to be a mascot for a baseball or football team, don’t blame them, join them. Gender Women still do not receive the same pay as men do, across the board, for the same amount of equal work. Sexism can go both ways, but when you see it happening in your work place, do you speak up? Whether you think it’s appropriate or not, don’t let it just happen, because a failure to act, like it or not, is allowing the discrimination to persist and moves a step back rather than a step forward. Sexual Orientation A gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered person didn’t choose his or her sexuality. A gay couple loves one another just as profoundly as a heterosexual couple, so why shouldn’t they be able to get married if that’s how they’d like to express their commitment to one another? Why do people still use the word “gay” as a derogatory word? Act in solidarity with all people who are sexually discriminated against; break down the dominant paradigm that is heterosexual privilege. Class “Classy” and “ghetto” are two adjectives that create a linguistic divide for those in the “high” class and

In Movements

“low” classes of society. Being judged by your street address, designer label, or choice of filet or wild salmon may seem like a daily occurrence, or perhaps the “way it should be” for some. Many live in a world where having an address at all is a feat for the family name. And having clothes that don’t evoke harassment in the halls of your junior high by the preppy Lagasse Abercrombie wearing princess squads is the goal, and having the gall to question whether the fish sticks are “wild” is unheard of. Others fall everywhere outside or in between. Classism is pervasive, and having the courage to see through one’s superficial exterior opens the door, not the golden proverbial door to climb the falsity of the social ladder, but rather the door into people’s hearts and minds—a value that is priceless. Age If you and I are lucky enough, someday we’ll be old and wrinkly. Just because someone has lived two, three, even four times as long as you have doesn’t make them the nuisance they’re sometimes made out to be. Ageism is very real, and allowing stereotypes to persist because they are aging or a senior citizen doesn’t promote the well-being of anyone’s community. Stop it before it starts and stand up for an older person who may need a hand. You may be that person before you know it someday. Ability (Physical/Mental) One of the most inappropriately overused words in the English language is the word “retarded.” If you don’t have a retardation or a disability you don’t have the right to use that word in a derogatory way. The next time you hear someone use the word “retarded” inappropriately, talk to them in a serious tone and tell them you never knew. Religion/Spirituality Be the person to stand up for and honor indigenous peoples’ rights to sacred sites. Why can a church stand with such reverence against a sacred mountain that “must” be exploded to mine its minerals? Stand up for the rights of all to worship in a way that’s respectful. All major religions and orientations of spirituality that believe in peace and justice preach to be kind to one another. Not all Muslims are terrorists, for instance; they are some of the most gracious people on the planet. Practice respect in all ways. Environment The vast majority of toxic waste facilities are located in communities of lowincome people of color. The environmental justice movement begs us to connect the dots and speak out for equitable distributions of benefits and burdens in society. It’s bad enough that the earth and its natural resources and non-human species are regarded as lesser quality members of our greater biotic community. Take a stand for old-growth forests, the ocean, the air we all breathe, and the communities we all live in. If you won’t, who will? In the absence of fear, great obstacles can be overcome, but getting to the point of no fear, like most things in life worth fighting, takes a lot of conscious thinking and conscious acting. It can be a lonely stand to take against any of the interlocking systems of oppression, but in that stand the word “fear” is obliterated, and the dream of living with no fear becomes reality—not just for you, but for those with whom you have stood in solidarity.

For Peace

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

Brennan Lagasse is a writer and environmental consultant living in Lake Tahoe, CA. His recently published book, Waiting for the Snow to Fall: First Nations, Federal Policy, and Environmental Justice, explores the tenets of holistic sustainable land-use policy applied and understood through critical examination of the plan to expand the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort near Flagstaff, AZ. He can be reached at brennanlagasse@hotmail.com.

M A R C H 20 11

A Perfect Spirit

magine having your first and only child at age 40, risking your sanity to give birth to a healthy by girl, while losing your brother to suicide Alexis Hennessey just prior to your pregnancy, and being hospitalized twice for psychosis, a side effect of going off medications for Bipolar Disorder. Then imagine going back on your medications after the birth of your beautiful baby girl and raising a healthy, loving child, only to find out shortly after her fourth birthday that she had Stage 4 cancer? Michiko Lindsey is a Harvardeducated attorney living in San Diego facing any mother’s worst nightmare: her daughter, Kimiko, age four and a half, is fighting for her life. Kimiko was formally diagnosed with neuroblastoma (NB) cancer on September 21, 2010. It is one of the most common forms of childhood cancers, but is very rare (about 600 cases per year in the United States). She had a softball-sized tumor next to her left kidney that was inoperable at that time. It was Stage 4 (the worst stage) and the cancer had spread to her bones, blood, bone marrow, and soft tissue. The five-year survival rate given was 20 to 35 percent. Overnight, Michiko had to learn to become a germaphobe, to sanitize everything in her home and maintain a shoeless household. When Kimi is neutropenic (low or no immunity), she has to wear a mask outside and eat a special diet. While a low sugar and low animal protein diet is recommended for cancer patients, it is difficult to get Kimi to eat at all anymore. Michiko had water filtration systems installed, and they saw an energy healer as an adjunct to traditional medical treatment. Kimi started her first of six rounds of chemo at Rady’s Children’s Hospital three days after her diagnosis; her tumor has now shrunk to the size of a large grape and has been deemed highly operable. However, Kimi’s surgery scheduled at Rady’s was recently canceled as they have decided to go to New York City to have the surgery performed by Dr. La Quaglia, the world’s expert surgeon in neuroblastoma who is at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Here is an excerpt from Michiko’s Caringbridge journal describing a miraculous epiphany in an otherwise horrifying situation (see www.caringbridge.org/visit/ kimikobeatscancer): “Someone asked me if I could not still find the ‘gifts’ in Kimi’s cancer. There just aren’t that many. The more research I do, the more I learn…it is almost all bad. Frightening. Dismaying. When I really want to torture myself, I read about hospice care. One of the parents said to make videos of your child and take lots of pictures, more than you think you will ever need. I have always kept a special journal where I write things for Kimi. I make videos. I take pictures. I don’t know that I necessarily am doing this any more often now that she is sick. A part of me resists that urge, as if I would be acknowledging that I could lose her. But the reality is that none of us know when our time will come. Since my brother was sick, I have always made an effort to make the most of our time. I have no regrets about the time I spend with Kimi. She has always been my top priority. My life’s treasure. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose her. Not that I don’t try sometimes. And I know that the reality will be so much worse than the pain I can now contemplate. So I try not to do it. I don’t think that trying to anticipate that will make it any easier if it does happen. And the pain of now is more than enough to satisfy any V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

h o l i s t i c h e a l t h masochistic leanings I may have. And then, tonight, in the stillness of our hospital room, I held my precious little girl sleeping peacefully in my arms and anointed her small bald head with my tears, begging God silently and desperately over and over, ‘Please don’t take my baby!’ The pain was suddenly completely gone, and I was instead filled with the most intense feeling of gratitude for the gift of my child. No matter what comes, I was so incredibly thankful for the chance to create this life. I was filled with the blessing of Kimi’s awesome courage and acceptance of her illness and treatment. Her positivity. Her energy. Her sense of humor. Her loving nature and empathy. Her intelligence and wit. Her focus and brilliance. Her radiance. Her smile. Her hugs and kisses. Her assurances that she loves me ‘best of all.’ How did I forget this gift? With all the stress and the pain and the fatigue and the worrying, I somehow forgot that there are no warranties in life. God never promised me that no harm would ever come to Kimi, or indeed to any of us. I knew the risks of becoming a mother. I knew that there is a dark side to loving anyone. I received God’s gift of the perfect little girl that I dreamed of all my life. And now she isn’t perfect physically anymore. We found out yesterday that she has permanent hearing loss that is likely to continue to worsen due to the side effects of the chemo

continued on page 40

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ho l i s t i c h e a l t h hrieking and cowering on its hind than not, I could not say what I wanted to legs, the Gollum-like cat bares and say or act how I wanted to act because I was gnashes its fangs, hissing. Although too busy dealing with the overwhelming free to roam in a beautiful, garden-like situation. by Stephanie Monroe setting, it is frozen in its tracks, writhing And so 10 years ago, I set out on a path in hunger and desperation, seemingly to intentionally meet my fear daily in cornered and tormented by an imaginary meditation and yoga. abuser. Evil and slithering, it has the eyes of It was easy for me to recognize my the violently abused, never at rest, trapped, Shadow on my meditation cushion. In the humiliated, overcome with hatred and fear, silence of this practice the workings of my gasping for breath, unable to see the docile mind are amplified and seen for what they world around her. are—a part of me, and not the result of some My Meditation by Sgavrish external circumstance. Initially, when pain Yes, I think to myself, I recognize this animal—my Shadow, my Dark Side. My companion all these years. arose, I could barely take it. My heart raced as I feared the pain would increase. I open my eyes from the exercise. I am reading “The Dark Side of the Light Soon, a pain in my hips would spread to my entire body in pulsing, throbbing Chasers” by Debbie Ford. “Your life will be transformed when you make peace waves, causing my mind’s fear to increase even more. This fear caused my body to with your shadow,” the book reads. “You will no longer have to pretend to be tense up more, creating more pain, in a downward descending cycle. I would end someone you’re not. You will no longer have to prove you’re good enough. When my meditation with my body quite literally twisted and contorted with tension. In you embrace your shadow you will no longer have to live in fear.” Fear of what? compassion for myself I would take rests to clear the pain and fear from my bodyFear of being discovered for who you really are. And the shadow, as defined by Carl mind and then start anew. If this sounds horrible, it wasn’t. Somehow a lightness Jung, is the parts of our personality that we have rejected out of fear, ignorance, and hope emerged from each new sitting. It felt cathartic, empowering. shame, or lack of love. What I know from this daily journey is that fear increases pain. What I don’t So this is the story of one woman’s journey to her authentic Self, an inner know but I suspect is that pain IS fear. journey, as most are, through Fear. Years later I was able to stay with the pain and fear for longer periods of time, Are there any Type A’s out there? Maybe you can relate. I was always in a hurry. first observing it with sorrowful resignation and later with curiosity. My physical Overbooked, overwhelmed, anxious, restless. And sleep was hardly a respite since pain would no longer spread to my whole body but stay limited to one location, the chasing continued there, always pursued in my dreams by some malevolent even dissipate altogether. Now I can often muster up a “Bring it on!” attitude force. When a difficult (or overwhelmingly wonderful!) situation arose, my heart when faced with pain, and I am simultaneously aware of light, pleasant sensations felt like it was pounding out of my chest and all I wanted to do was run. More often on other parts of my body, and a general sense of wellness and connectedness, an awareness that everything will be okay. My heart feels more open, my body relaxed, my breath free-flowing. In my external life, my heart no longer pounds in my chest during difficult situations and I am usually able to continue breathing and act with choice and honesty instead of from a place of fear. I move and speak more slowly. I no longer to your body. dream of being chased. My ability to slow down has allowed me to connect with ® people at a deeper level, increasing the intimacy of my relationships. By overcoming They just like each other. fear I have been able to truly embrace my Shadow self. Yes, I love to have fun and not work all day. That may be counter-culture but it’s who I am. Yes, I’m sensitive, Study with a Master, Learn from the Best and that is a great strength. Yes, I’m nice, but not too nice. I get angry. I have boundaries. Check online for our Master Class Series of Workshops And my Shadow has changed, too. The once vicious and desperate creature is 3/5 Ayurvedic Medicine w/ Guy Gabriel now a noble tigress that walks, uneasily provoked, in a powerful state of peace. 3/12 Viniyoga Introspective w/ Leslie Bogart We are becoming one with each other. I have integrated her anger and power into myself. I am overcoming her fear. She has taken on my peace and self-control. Much, much more @www.yogaatthevillage.com Take a moment to visualize your Shadow. What does it look like, sound like? How does it move? Where in your life do you most often encounter your Shadow? 2011 Ongoing Yoga 300 Hour Teachers' Training: What would it mean for you to face it, observe it, even welcome and befriend it? And what is the reward for facing your fear and embracing your Shadow? In Become an RYT-500 Debbie Ford’s words, “We live under the impression that in order for something to be divine it has to be perfect. We are mistaken. In fact, the exact opposite is true. To be divine is to be whole and to be whole is to be everything: the positive and For workshops, register online, by phone or drop by. the negative, the good and the bad, the holy man and the devil.” When we take the time to travel through our fear to integrate all parts of ourself, we will understand New Student Special: 10 Classes in 10 Days for $30! the Persian poet Rumi’s words, “By God, when you see your beauty, you’ll be the idol of yourself.” With this Ad...Can you do it?

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Stephanie Monroe is a Certified Professional Life Coach, CPCC, in San Diego, California. Contact her or sign up for her blog at www.bealivecoaching.com. Photograph: My Meditation by Sgavrish, www.deviantart.com.

M A R C H 20 11

g r e e k t o m e I would have stayed on this illusory course ad infinitum but by that point I had surrendered the wheel to Fear because I was too afraid of hitting a wall, of sorts. So in the name of self-inflictedwounds-masquerading-as-acts-of-salvation, I let Fear graze the wall with alarming regularity. Upon moving to Los Angeles, film and television roles became my objective; thus, acting in theater became a rarity. But with ever-increasing frequency, those roles shrank. I felt like a polar bear standing on an ice cap, only to discover that there was some global warming to contend with. My bad. It was around that time that writing crept into my life with more than a little urgency. Unlike with acting, though, there was something about the act of writing that didn’t make me want to hide. In fact, just the opposite. I suddenly became very interested in what I was writing if only because it proved to be the best barometer to understand what I was feeling. Emotional states of being that would carom within me, unidentified but definitely felt, were surfacing in words that felt as if they had come by way of me taking dictation from an Ouija board. And as that reality set in, I felt a new-found disinterest in speaking other people’s words—they didn’t resonate with me enough anymore to justify

Knowing Fear, No-ing Fear

s a transplanted Midwesterner living in southern California, I have made the drive across the country many times. Traversing the expanse between Chicago and Los Angeles I was left with one inescapable conclusion: It’s a good thing this country wasn’t dependent on me to settle the untamed West as I would never have made it past Nebraska. This really hit home whenever I was knifing through the impossibly flat Midwest, and off in the westward horizon I would see those snow-capped sentinels, the Rockies, jutting up majestically, seemingly out of nowhere. Clearly, Mother Nature wanted a little privacy, I reasoned. Who was I to question her unambiguous expression of divine territoriality? Despite that, though, I continued on, however reluctantly. Sadly, I brought the same approach to exploring the unseen frontiers of my inner landscape as well. Which is to say that in this trek, I took on a silent road partner. Fear rode shotgun. Many years ago I quit being a lawyer to pursue an acting career, a move that I fancied to be brave. Now up to that point in time, I was very invested in the notion that my identity sprang from my “primary activity.” A primary activity wasn’t so much a job as it was the thing that took up most of my psychic energy. I just always tried to make whatever job I happened to hold be that activity. And though I never articulated it, for me, one of the occupational hazards of being an actor involved a deep exploration of those characters I was trying to portray. This conveniently allowed me to avoid any meaningful examination of my own terra incognita—I was justifiably too busy trying to depict the individuals I encountered onstage for any significant self-exploration to occur.(Coincidentally, this suited Fear just fine.) Not only was acting fun, it played right into a congenital flaw of mine—a dysfunctional behavioral trifecta comprised of my unwillingness/inability/distaste for excavating my true nature. This state of being was buttressed by my unspoken dread of what it would say about me if I set out to explore my inner existence, only to discover that the me I thought I was was nowhere to be found. Who would I be if the identity I unearthed was less than the towering pillar of virtue I imagined myself to be? Thusly bound, I reminded myself of a favorite childhood toy of mine. It was a battery-powered car whose front wheels were essentially fake. What powered it was a single spinning wheel on its underside that propelled the car forward until it hit something. Then the unseen spinning wheel would rotate, redirecting the car in a new, albeit random, direction. It would proceed until it hit the next object, when it would repeat its manic bump-and-veer all over again. Though not a bad modus operandi for a child’s plaything, as a blueprint for a healthy life it was nothing more than a roadmap for the straightest way to hell. V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

speaking them. It’s been years now and I’ve since moved to a seaside community where many of the locals surf. One of them happens to be one of the preeminent big-wave surfers in the world. I asked him what it felt like when he mounted and rode the 60-foot wave that made his career and reputation. He told me that his first instinct was to jump off the wave because it was too big to ride. But by that point he had no choice—trying to get off would mean certain death. The urgency of the moment trumped his fear, whether he wanted it to or not. In my own humble and decidedly less physically dangerous way, I know how he felt. I’ve benefited greatly from embarking on an expedition that didn’t allow room for Fear to assert itself. I was given a gift, one which exposed an essential truth— that he who is driven by Fear ultimately never gets any place that he can call his own. And that by exposing ourselves to forces that will drive us from within, we can leave Fear in its rightful place—at the side of the road, in our rear-view mirror. Michael Raysses is a writer/NPR commentator/actor living in Los Angeles. E-mail him at MichaelRaysses@hotmail.com.

M A R C H 20 11

L i f e Q u a k e ™

Ask the

LifeQuake Doctor ™

Dr. Toni Galardi

Dear Dr Toni: Four years ago, my now 23-year-old son disclosed to me that he is gay. He has had health problems for the past two years. He gets colds easily so I imagine his immune system is weak. It doesn’t bother me that he’s gay. What bothers me is that he seems to have trouble dealing with life. He had to drop out of school his sophomore year and now he’s pursuing dance. On his 9th birthday, he asked to wear a dress and he still likes to cross-dress occasionally. Now, we live in a suburb of Chicago. I am concerned about him. Do you think he might actually be a girl inside? Confused Dad Dear Reader: One of the hardest things that happens when our children begin to reach adulthood is for us to let go of our dreams for them so that they can have their own. This also applies to sexual identity. It sounds to me like your son is in an identity crisis that may or may not result in becoming transgender. Has he actually mentioned anything about wanting to change sexes? That said, sometimes a parent can see things in their children before their children do. If we were to go on the premise that you may be right, the health issues may, and I emphasize may, be a result of hidden unconscious fears he has of being truthful about his true sexual identity. The immune system is strongly connected to the psyche in that instead of attacking foreign substances that are toxic to the body, it starts attacking the body itself, and one can develop autoimmune conditions. Sit down with your son and come with your heart open. Have no agenda. Ask questions like: What about cross-dressing do you like? How does it make you feel? Have you ever considered becoming a woman? There is a lot to consider, and it may have scared him too much to delve into his own psyche very deeply. Your acceptance could make all the difference. Dear Dr. Toni: I have been working as a corporate executive for 15 years. I have been married for 10 years and have no children. My boss and I began having an affair two years ago. I love what I do and therefore I am not leaving my job. I have tried to break it off with him several times, but the attraction between us is so strong that I always end up back in his arms. I read your book, “The LifeQuake Phenomenon,” and I think I am in stage two. I feel depressed and trapped by my desires for this man. What should I do? I feel like I’m dying a little every day. The only ray of hope I have, I actually got from your book, [is] that maybe this addiction could be a spiritual awakening. Your thoughts? Dazed and Confused

Dear Reader: Relationship, love, sex, and fantasy addictions all have as their root the same etiology as drug and alcohol addiction. They often stem from an inability to source your Spirit for joyous oneness, and so we look to substances and people to get that high. However, the true longing is for connection to your soul. There is an opportunity to go inward inside of the very compulsion that can feel like the agony and the ecstasy. Meditation helps. Attending twelve-step meetings in love addiction called Sex and Love Addictions (SLAA) can help. Most importantly is to reframe this as a call from your soul. If you really are in stage two of a LifeQuake, then the old identity is indeed dying and it can feel like clinical depression. I am going to share with you and our readers an exercise to help with the surrender and acceptance that moving through this stage requires. Heaven and Hell: This exercise is a combination of both contemplation and writing, so have a notebook or journal handy, along with a pen. In this exercise, there is no judgment on your attachments. We will look at our attachments as three tiers to suggest the psyche as layers. Make a simple graph labeling the tiers as follows from each part of the exercise. After reading this exercise, begin by closing your eyes while seated in a comfortable chair. Take a moment to settle into your body through focused breathing. Now, think of the one part of your identity that you are aware of being most attached to. It might be your job, your health, your partner, your home, etc. Imagine that it has been taken from you through whatever circumstances you can think of. Notice what you feel in your body and where you feel it. Breathe into it with long, slow breaths. Now allow yourself to experience a radiant violet light coming in through the top of your head, traveling all the way into where you are feeling the loss and pain. Keep open, while allowing this light to ﬁll you up. One by one, bring in the next thing or person to which you have the greatest attachment. Do the same process. Stay with this for ten minutes, if you can. When you open your eyes, list the people or things to which you have the greatest attachments in your graph of the ﬁrst tier. Now, the second tier is to think about addictions to substances and outer directed beliefs you are attached to. Imagine how you would feel if, for example, you gave up alcohol, sugar, or prejudices about others you may have. Now, imagine what your life would be like if each of those beliefs or habits were gone. The last tier is to imagine giving up traits of the inner critic, such as self-criticism, shame, and self-loathing. What is your fear around giving them up? Take each one separately and experience yourself without it. Write about your experience as to how you feel in your body in their absence. This exercise (along with a genuine desire to use this attachment you have to this man for the purpose of transformation) can accelerate a radical severance from your old life, and you may find yourself opening to new professional opportunities elsewhere. Dr. Toni Galardi is a licensed psychotherapist and career coach and is available for consult by phone or SKYPE. You can reach her at 310.712.2600 or DrToni@ LifeQuake.net.

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

Remove Yourself from Fear by Erin Tagan

hese days, it’s difficult to turn on the television without seeing an advertisement for anti-anxiety medicine. The ready availability of these medications suggests that there are a good number of people (in fact, approximately 18 percent of adults in the United States) who are suffering from anxiety enough to utilize them. Tom Stone, author of “Vaporize your Anxiety,” defines anxiety as “dancing around the outer edges of fear.” Considering this definition, anxiety is inhibiting over 18 percent of adults from living their lives. The medicine accessible to anxiety patients provides them with temporary relief from living in fear. However, subduing the fear does not necessarily provide a better living environment; it merely masks the problem. Numbing the feelings of anxiety and fear means you are also numbing other feelings as well, even the good ones. But what if there were a way to not only relieve anxiety but to eliminate it? Through “Vaporize your Anxiety,” Tom Stone offers patients an alternative to medicine, allowing not only freedom from fear, but also the ability to continue experiencing emotions. He identifies the beginning of anxiety as occurring early in life, before one is even able to speak. Because we are constantly over-stimulated at this young age and our brains have not yet developed the methods of processing emotion, we are “emotionally overwhelmed” and restrict ourselves from accessing our ability

m i n d s t a t e s to feel. Thus, later, when we are able to process emotion, we have already blocked them from surfacing. According to Stone, we inhibit ourselves from feeling emotions, even during adulthood, because we conditioned ourselves against it at an early age, and as a result, we suffer from anxiety. His argument and the techniques employed for fighting anxiety stem from the belief that “the fundamental breakthrough we need to make is to let go of our conditioned avoidance response, and truly make the decision to feel things fully.” Once we can experience emotion in its most raw form, we can move towards the achievement of pure awareness, “the experience of living fully in this moment, in the now.” It’s so easy to live in concern with the past or the future, but if we are able to let go and just feel, without concern for what we should be feeling or doing, we can realize our potential as individuals. Pure awareness is our innate existence, without thinking twice about it. If we can live in harmony with our creative instincts and trust ourselves and our actions without analyzing them, we can escape the fear, of fear, that is anxiety. The point, then, is to let go of the past conditioning we have inflicted upon ourselves emotionally, and to allow ourselves to essentially live in the absence of awareness. Without constant awareness of how we feel or why, we can focus on the experience of our “essential nature.” In order for his readers to gain further understanding, Stone provides a chart he calls “The Absence of the Core Dynamics of Human Conditioning.” He defines the core dynamics as “our reasons continued on page 40

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m i n d s t a t e s

How to Be Free From by Tony Samara

Fear

or me, fear is a major problem in Western and Eastern societies, and today even in most native societies, because we get dictated to so much by lacks and limitations based on fear. For example, there is the fear of not having enough, the fear of being alone, not being accepted, not being good enough, or the fear of not living up to your expectations or someone else’s expectations. These fears take up a lot of energy—a lot of physical energy beyond what we realize, a lot of emotional energy, and a lot of mental time. They dictate many of our actions, and to be fearless is an amazing sense of freedom. It’s a freedom where it doesn’t mean you’re perfect but you can make choices that are not dictated by the belief, “I have to do this because if I don’t do this, then this and this and this will happen.” I was reading that because of the economic crisis many people are committing suicide because their reality is changing so much and the fear becomes too immense. They don’t know how to cope with it, so they just say, “This is too much for me,” and they can’t see that perhaps the situation is a gateway to an immense change and the realization of something that couldn’t happen without that change. I find that children are fearless. Children are more creative, more open, and more able to adapt to situations very quickly and enjoy those changes much more than some people. So for me, being fearless is being open and creative and joyful. When you are able to be free in that sense, you open your mind to a creative knowledge and wisdom that goes beyond what we can see. I’ve known people who have lost their jobs and it’s been a crisis for sure, and painful, but they have told me they would have never changed that experience because what it has shown them is to do something totally different. To maybe

reassess their values and reassess their priorities in a way that allows them to do something that they wouldn’t have done before because things were going in a way that was just okay. Losing the job has pushed them to the edge and I think that’s what letting go of fear is. It’s going to the limits of what you feel comfortable with so that you can really look at what is out there and be open to all of those things, all of the possibilities out there. But what can you do? You know that you’re fearful, that you’re panicked. What is the next step? One step is not to get so serious. Many people, when a crisis hits and their fear overwhelms them, tend to spend a lot of time trying to resolve the problem using their mind or using the old programs in the mind. They spend time thinking, or talking to friends in a way that’s useful for a little while but doesn’t actually address the problem. So for me, the first step is to move beyond the fear by raising the energy inside of your body. One way to move that is by moving the body. Rather than sitting down, I would take up an interesting exercise like walking or dancing and just do something. Move, because the movement actually moves things inside of your mind. And breathe. Breathe deeply into your belly so you can see perhaps there is more than just that old program in the mind that is coming up. Next, it is good to be open and watch the signs around you—interesting synchronicities, interesting things that tell you perhaps to move in a direction that seems totally crazy. Your friends may say, “Are you sure you can do this?” but follow your gut intuition and stay with it; even if it fails once or twice or three times, keep going. I find that when you completely trust a new situation, people come your way, and this is what business people have told me. They’ve said that they’ve met people, sometimes their own colleagues, who have helped them to start something that

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they have always wanted to do. Actually, people help them much more than the mind gives them credit for, when the trust is there, rather than when the fear is being experienced—people help, situations arise, and things fall into place. This has happened to me many, many times to a point now that I don’t even worry about anything; I just trust. I know things work out. But it’s not the hippie sort of, let’s just wait and see what happens. You have to actually take those steps. You have to take action in a real sense. Feel the intention, know the intention, and move forward and not fear the possibility of failing. My experience was that I told my family when I was much younger that I had no intention to go and do what was expected to be my path in some people’s eyes. I just wanted to travel and experience life in a way that was amazing, and to open my mind in a different way than doing those normal things that I didn’t feel would help me. I had no money, no way of supporting myself, and now twenty years later I’m still doing this, traveling and experiencing life. I’m writing books and I’m doing exactly what I want to do. And had I not gone through this journey that I write about in one of my books, I would never have been able to be where I am now. These experiences form your whole life. You meet people and you have experiences. For me, you only live once, so you might as well live completely and intensely and fully and not let fear stop you from taking those actions that need to be taken for you to live life in a way that makes you happy and free. I conduct seminars and retreats, rather than coaching people one-on-one, in order to work with many people as there are many people that really need help right now. Generally, I do this in places that I find beautiful—in nature, in car-free, industry-free, pristine locations for people to experience something (the beauty of nature) that may be lacking in their daily lives. The retreats and seminars usually

m i n d s t a t e s work with fear—letting go of the limitations of fear and seeing the wisdom behind them, seeing what is not really being understood, expressed, and completely experienced. Fear, to me, is not negative. Fear is actually like anger. It is a communication that has a deeper message. Once we let go of the superficial, there is a deeper message that you can understand. I would like to share with you a meditation that helps to bring us back to the consciousness that many have lost in our civilization. We have lost it as we have developed more and more into a society where everything is fast and everything is about impact rather than actually coming back home to oneself, coming back to the essence. I would like you to take a few moments to practice this: Close your eyes, because by closing your eyes the senses relax a little bit more. It is good to sit up and good to have your back straight so that you’re really focused on the conscious aspect of this meditation. As you sit up and close your eyes, take a few moments to breathe in—the in-breath is very important. So don’t just breathe in, in an automatic way, in a mechanical way. This is part of our attention moving always to the external aspects; even the breath then becomes external to you. So when you breathe in, what you are doing is you are bringing everything around you a little bit closer to you. Basically you are saying to yourself, “I allow my heart to feel more intimate with life. I allow my heart to be more vulnerable to the waves that come and go, that life is always creating around me, with no fear.” As you breathe in, it’s impossible to feel fear. If you take a deep in-breath, what you are doing is allowing the fear to move out of that space that occupies feelings. If you breathe in deeply, what you are breathing in is a life force that is very continued on page 41

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m i n d s t a t e s

Know

Fear:

No Fear by Charles H. Curry and

Tauheedah Shakoor-Curry

ost dictionary definitions of fear touch on “feelings of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.” Seen in this rational light, fear can be a good thing, as a warning to be ready to respond to an influence outside ourselves that could be hazardous to our well-

being. However, it is well accepted that not all fear is rational. We even have a word, “phobia,” to describe extreme, persistent, and abnormal fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid the feared stimulus, as in arachnophobia (abnormal fear of spiders) and agoraphobia (abnormal fear of open or public places). Our experience at The Imagine Center supports that there is another class of habitual, persistent, and unreasonable fear that can be just as debilitating as these phobias, but because they are not perceived and characterized as fear, they are more likely to be left unaddressed. Left to thrive insidiously, these fears can masquerade through our lives as all kinds of negative influences like bad karma, bad luck, and general misfortune, contributing to a sense of lack and limitation. These unacknowledged fears can stem from any number of experiences that we have internalized negatively, starting in our childhood. We’re told from our earliest memories that we’re not thin, smart, fast, or talented enough to deserve the love, admiration, and respect of others, and we are reminded daily in the media of what “good enough” looks like and we see clearly that it bears very little resemblance to what we are. So we build mental and psychological facades to hide our presumed imperfections from ourselves and others, pretending to be and actually believing we are something that does not match the truth of who we really are. If living our truth leads to fulfillment, then living a lie must be unfulfilling. At its worst, fear, acknowledged or not, can freeze one into inaction, paralyzed in place and unable to move. We often sink under the weight of our fearful states. In the cases of internalized, unacknowledged fear, we know we want our circumstances to change for the better but may feel trapped and unable to find the way to a harmonious and peaceful place of authenticity. The fundamental purpose of The Imagine Center is to create openings for our clients and customers to step into what we know awaits them on the other side of fear and self-doubt—infinite opportunity to experience the beauty and joy that resides, often hidden, in the unique being that we each are. Our passion is service and our intent is to be a powerful resource for living a fulfilling life. We are in the practice of helping move human consciousness into higher states of spiritual liberation. We support people in releasing the subconscious conditioning that leads to separation from Self and that impedes the union between heart and mind. Challenge in relationships is the theme that we see most often in our work. And generating positive movement towards healthier relationships represents some of our most rewarding work at The Imagine Center. One of our greatest challenges in doing so is helping people to see that they are not defined by their experiences, but informed by them. The way that we internalize our experiences determines what we believe and project. V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

So, for example, if one whom we love or respect indicates to us that we do not measure up and we accept the thought as our truth, we live with that limitation, and it colors the choices that we make. If we believe, even subconsciously, that we are not worthy of a loving, caring, sharing relationship, then we continue to experience unfulfilling relationships. The universe is wired to give us what we believe we deserve. To change these experiences we live we must first develop an awareness of any unhealthy beliefs and assumptions we are projecting onto the canvas of life, a first step in flipping our scripts for a more harmonious outcome. Transformation begins with a desire for change. Energy shifts on the mental level can lead to new thoughts that produce wiser choices, resulting in personal growth. The Imagine Center offers a sophisticated yet heart-driven array of products and services to provide permission to believe that each of us possesses, innately, the knowledge and power we need to create sustained fulfillment in life. To aid clients in getting in touch with the personal power that resides within the Self, we offer books and CD’s on dissolving barriers and aligning divinity. We also offer a broad array of rocks and stones to support opening, receptivity, grounding, and transformation, psychic readings to assist in knowing the inner Self and one’s spiritual path, and classes and workshops to assist in personal growth.

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

m i n d s t a t e s Our inventory of books is updated regularly to incorporate new works of compassion, inspiration, courage, understanding, and forgiveness to help create breakthrough moments in the journey of self-realization and ascension. Our crystal inventory has been enhanced greatly in recent months and includes geodes, polished, free form, flames, and many others. And if we don’t have the crystal our customer seeks, we will research and custom order them. The Imagine Center’s Psychic Readers and Spiritual Counselors provide empowering knowledge, confirmation, and affirmation to our clients. Our ongoing classes and group services include the Psychic Skills & Techniques Circle which supports people in the discovery and use of their intuitive senses (on Saturdays), and the Oneness Meditation Service in which participants support each other in aligning and anchoring greater unity within (on Sundays). A new Crystal Healing Circle will be added this spring. Charles H. Curry and Tauheedah ShakoorCurry are the proprietors of The Imagine Center in Tarzana, CA. We invite you to send comments and feedback to info@theimaginecenter.com, to “ like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theimaginecenter, and follow us on Twitter at TheImagineCtr. Visit us online at www.TheImagineCenter.com, or stop in at 18635 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91356.

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c u l t u r e n 2008 I was invited to my first sweat lodge. Its name was One Heart Lodge and was located in North County San Diego. It was considered to be an eclectic lodge as they did not represent a specific tradition or ceremony but practiced one that brought together songs and teachings of many religious and spiritual paths. One Heart welcomes people of all backgrounds so long as they come with an open heart and an open mind. They also create balance in leadership by rotating by Ned small groups to lead each month. These men and women have all had many years of experience in relation to this ceremony, so I was very warm to the idea and decided to attend. When I arrived, I was in awe at how beautiful the location was: a place that was nestled away that had an air of magic, which felt long forgotten. Old trees, dirt roads, and beautiful hills abound in this sacred landscape. There would be a potluck after the ceremony, so I put my food up in the kitchen and then headed down to the grounds. I was welcomed by a designated greeter, who smudged me with white sage. I always loved the smell of burning white sage and was happy to see it in use, as I, too, used it as an instrument of cleansing my energy. I then joined in the gathering around the fire as the leader of the Lodge began the ceremony. He offered prayers and honored the fire that would be with us on this day. He and a group of dedicated fire tenders began lighting the neatly stacked pile of wood. In between layers of this stack lay stones of different sizes and shapes. I would learn that these stones would eventually be going into the Lodge with us, and by then they would be the catalysts of our purification as water was poured on them. The person leading the ceremony then had us walk to a circle of chairs close by while the fire tenders stayed by the fire to focus on their task ahead. Sitting in the chairs, I participated in my first talking circle. Going clockwise around the circle, we each gave a short introduction to bring us all a little closer. After the circle was

complete we were educated on the basics of the Lodge’s proceedings. Then when the stones were ready we went to the fire again and each made relations with it by offering up tobacco and heartfelt prayers. Through this I felt myself shift into a sacred space as I gazed into a now roaring fire. When I offered my tobacco to the fire, I felt its radiating temperature. As I did this I felt that a bond was sealed and that the most important part of the journey of this day was about to take place. There were many unknowns that now floated Charpentier in my head as we circled the Lodge to go in. Would I be able to make it through this? One at a time we were smudged again and crawled into the Lodge. Crawling and not walking into the Lodge was in reverence and respect to our Earth Mother. Moving clockwise inside, we each sat wherever we were each called to. It can be a tight fit in there, so I knew there was no room for ego. There were no windows and only a door on the east and west, which would be closed when we began.

My First Sweat Lodge

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Inside the Lodge Once we were all settled in, the leader asked the fire tenders to bring stones into the Lodge. They were placed in the center where a small pit was patiently waiting. Here began the first of four rounds. As each new stone entered the Lodge I could feel more and more heat building. I had never experienced anything like this before; the stones weren’t just giving off heat, but also had the vibration of a healing affect. They seemed to speak wisdom in ways which ears are of no use. The leader then poured water on the stones, and in an instant the Lodge was full of a warm blanket of steam. Beads of sweat instantly began pouring down my face. I was amazed at what I saw, for although it was pitch dark, the whole center of the Lodge glowed red from the stones. As they all lay there together I saw them as a family, and in it I felt as part of them. As they smoldered only a few feet away from me I felt their heat continue to grow. I felt their energy throughout my whole being and soon space and time were of a different level as I felt a heightened state of awareness grow within me. As I noticed my pores open, so did my emotions. Things in my life that I was grateful for suddenly came to the surface. They were all so vivid it was like I was there in those moments. I felt a release as tears of thankfulness moved down my face and went to Mother Earth. As the first round was ending, the leader began singing songs that we joined in on. The second round began and I remembered as we had gone into the Lodge that there were people 40 years my senior. Now side-by-side with them I began to wonder how they could get through this whole ceremony.

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c u l t u r e around me, and as I lay among the blades of grass I said out loud, “What a world.” After the ceremony was complete, I got up and joined everyone for the potluck. Here, too, experiences were sharper, more in focus. Water had never tasted so good and the food we all shared was delicious. These new appreciations filled me, and I was quiet and at peace as I took it all in amongst these glowing people. Today Today I still attend One Heart Lodge. Through the Lodge and through the community that creates this space, I have continued to learn much about my self and my spiritual path. I hope that you, too, someday visit the Lodge and learn a little bit about yourself and your path.

Logic began to creep in, and with this, fear began to surface. I was mixed with doubt as the beauty I was experiencing now only centered on the physicality of the heat. The heat began to take its toll on me, and soon I forgot about all the good that had happened so far and instantly my energy plummeted. I did a 180 in my thoughts, and now over and over I thought that my body would not be strong enough to get through this. How much longer is this? I thought. How is everyone else doing this? The beauty I was experiencing up until this point was now replaced with inner panic. Because of fear, this now became a harsh environment, and instead of having feelings of bliss, I began to suffer. I just could not stop thinking how my body felt in a negative way, so it only continued to worsen for me. I felt weak, my posture slouched, and my spiritual connection faded away. At the end of the round I asked for permission to leave; I could not take it any longer. As I crawled out of the Lodge, I felt a lot of different emotions swirl around me. I felt relieved to be out, and at the same time ashamed that I had not finished what I had started. Where did I go wrong, I asked myself. Confusion reigned. It was a lot to take in, so I lay down on the grass to rest. As I lay there gazing upward to the night sky, my eyes saw everything in a surprisingly vivid way. Everything was richer and more full. All that about me had a greater presence, and appreciation from seemingly out of nowhere filled every atom in my body. I was in awe at how peaceful the sky and the stars were. Negative emotions that had surfaced in the latter part in the Lodge for me instantly went away. I continued to gaze at the stars and I saw that they, too, were glowing, just as the stones did earlier. I felt a deep connection to all of this, and as I lay in a somewhat exhaustive state, everything around me seemed to be at my aid, from the trees around me, to the ground, to the large hills that were covered in the moonlight. In this moment I felt a wonder that words would do no justice for. I was full of a presence of interconnectedness. An entire Universe was before me and I felt as only a small and insignificant part of it, while at the same time intimately connected to it. Here I knew the fire, the stones, and the water in the Lodge had humbled me. Through this humility great insight had come. Love filled my heart and gratitude was abounding within myself to be part of this ceremony. I continued to look all

Ned Charpentier was born and raised in Massachusetts. He moved to San Diego three years ago to begin a new chapter in his life that focused on studies in Religion and Spirituality. Leaving Roman Catholicism in his late teens, he has since focused on an eclectic path from Neopaganism to ADF Druidry and now studies Native American teachings, Ancient Egyptian thought-form, and Mystical Christianity. He is a Reiki Master (Teacher) and is passionate about sharing his insights through word, pen, and pixel. To find out more about One Heart Lodge, please visit www.sacredsweatlodge.org.

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M A R C H 20 11

march b y

forecast

A d r i e n n e

A b e y t a

Adrienne Abeyta presents a unique forecast blending the tarot with astrology. A gifted reader of intuitive arts, she offers private consultations and psychic entertainment for parties and events. AdrienneAbeyta.com. To set up an appointment, she can be reached at 619.917.0998 or Adrienne@AdrienneAbeyta.com. (See her ad at the bottom of the page.)

Aries: Lovers (2 of Wands) 3/21 – 4/19 A new relationship with a person or situation offers fresh possibilities. Your life’s direction is about to change, and you’ll be faced with choices that will take you outside of your comfort zone. Consider the effect your decision has on those closest to you, don’t let issues of passion or security influence you too much, and examine what your motives show about who you are. It’s not what you do that defines you, but rather, why you do it! Those in a love affair, get ready for a deep conversation. You could be faced with a tough decision. Taurus: Wheel of Fortune (3 of Wands) 4/20 – 5/21 This should be an exciting month; something long in the making will show signs of fruition. There are still loose ends that need to be tied up, though. The beginning of the month will present the first phase of this project, and an important person will show up to help synthesize aspects of it. It’s to your advantage to organize your plan well. Be sure to network with people of like minds, get your name out there, and make a strong impression. By the end of the month, your plan will be in motion and you’ll be ready to roll. Gemini: High Priestess (2 of Pentacles) 5/22 – 6/21 You’re experiencing a state of flux this month, and though it feels uncertain, there’s a natural cycle emerging. It’s important to align yourself with goals that are most sacred to you. Anything sought for the sake of status or pride will be stripped away. Your passion for the mundane might begin to wane, but don’t worry—your motivation will soon return. Those involved in secret relationships or covert tactics should be careful this month, as things have a way of slipping out. Also, this isn’t a great time to make financial investments; if something looks too good to be true, chances are that it is! Cancer: Justice (6 of Swords) 6/22 – 7/22 It’s hard to have a balanced perspective when you won’t consider constructive criticism. While striving for peace this month, consider the opinions of others. When confronted with someone’s opinion of your character, you can either defend yourself or accept it. The latter provides powerful material for reflection—the secret ingredient for a calm mind. Although the inclination to argue is strong, you’ll benefit by counting to ten before you respond. Steer clear of people you’re not fond of, as the temptation to bicker will be too strong. If you’re traveling, take extra precautions and don’t break any laws. Leo: Strength (5 of Swords) 7/23 – 8/23 Your courage will be tested this month as familiar challenges arise. A situation you’ve been ignoring will present what seems to be an impossible task. It would be better to refrain from an aggressive posture; yield to this opposition and you’ll find a valuable solution. Around the 19th, an emotionally charged situation will provoke you to resort to underhanded actions. Beware that this test has serious consequences; respond with integrity rather than reacting. For those in a troubled relationship, surrender your pride and look at the issue from the other person’s perspective. You’ll notice that being right is not as important as maintaining a loving relationship. Virgo: Hermit (Queen of Swords) 8/24 – 9/22 It’s important to balance your need for reflection and solitude with attention to your close relationships. Although you may need more time alone this month to tend to personal matters, be sure to offer support to those who may feel you are neglecting them. It is important to stay focused on your goals, but it’s equally important to nurture your relationships. Watch out: a strong-willed woman may cause an upset. While you might feel criticized, remember that you don’t have to adopt her opinion. Be sure to choose your words wisely or they will come back to haunt you.

Libra: Hanged Man (4 of Swords) 9/23 – 10/23 Although you may feel puzzled by a seemingly impossible situation, suspend your judgment and wait for a sign. Planning and plotting will not alleviate your stress, so there’s nothing to figure out right now. Find ways to calm your mind and you’ll realize the answer to your dilemma. This so-called “problem” is actually a blessing in disguise! Resist the urge to go for the easy solution, as it’s only an illusion. Also, don’t jump at the first opportunity because a much better one is coming your way next month. Patience is your friend. Scorpio: Tower (9 of Cups) 10/24 – 11/22 Even when the walls come crashing down, there’s opportunity to rebuild, oftentimes stronger than the original structure. Something you are emotionally attached to will be threatened this month, yet before you set out to save it, consider how losing it could improve your situation. After the fall, you may begin to notice people and situations you had been unaware of. Watch out for offers that are too good to be true. Even when you’re most afraid, don’t be tempted by pleasures and so-called treasures—all that glitters is not gold! Sagittarius: Emperor (6 of Wands) 11/23 – 12/21 You’ll be rewarded for all your hard work, be it at work, with your family, on a project, or on yourself. While you’ve recently felt that your efforts went unnoticed, the fruits of your labor have bloomed and those around you want to help you celebrate. What’s most impressive is your commitment and consistent work on your goal. Don’t be ashamed to flaunt this; in fact, be sure that people know how proud you are. There’s nothing better than feeling respected for what you’ve accomplished. The week of the 25th is a great time to ask for a raise or a vacation. Capricorn: Magician (King of Wands) 12/22 – 1/20 A magical month indeed! Take action on your ideas, build your dreams, and pursue your goals. You’re in a position of great power this month and others know it. Your abilities to persuade, sell, and influence are top notch, so use them! These are very positive and creative skills when your intention is to help rather than take advantage. Focus your attention on what you want to achieve and don’t allow the opinions of others to cloud your judgment. Pay close attention to strange coincidences the weekend of the 22nd, as they may present a window of opportunity. Aquarius: Moon (5 of Pentacles) 1/21 – 2/18 There is nothing to fear when you believe in yourself—a powerful cliché too often ignored. An unknown territory is just around the corner, and though the temptation may be to turn back, you must venture forward. This month will present inescapable fears and insecurities, most of which are related to finances. Your test is to develop new resources for dealing with these annoyances. Remember, fear is usually nothing more than an illusory threat, distracting you from what’s most important. A minor health concern at the beginning of the month is nothing more than stress, so remain calm and breathe! Pisces: Star (8 of Pentacles) 2/19 – 3/20 Faith is the greatest resource because it provides light in dark times. Even if only a flicker, it is enough to work with. Around the 15th, you’ll be faced with a tough decision—whether to follow your heart or your intellect. Rather than depending on rational evaluations, trust your intuition. Ask for a sign and it will come. Because you are in a sensitive situation, the temptation to avoid harsh feelings could push you deeper into a rut. Trust yourself enough to commit to a decisive move.

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M A R C H 20 11

No Fear

c u l t u r e e are born without putting our hands in a flame. fear. It is something I believe there is no healthy that we acquire form of fear. There is only awake by Greg Friedman and integrate as though it were and present versus asleep and a natural component of who we removed. If we are awake, we don’t are. But it simply is not; it is not need to fear the monster under innate. Fear is something that we the bed or putting our hands in learn. It would serve us more if we a flame. All we have to do is deal were taught that fear is a useless with what is, choose what serves emotion. Whatever occurs, our us, and act accordingly. Fear does only option is to address it to not serve us; being awake serves the best of our abilities. We have us. a natural ability to love and be Oftentimes fear is worse than loved, and in that love we are the thing that we are afraid of. powerful and capable. Fear is An event can be painful, but fear what we learn as we unlearn love. compounds that pain and creates Fear is born of our feeling suffering. It can prolong pain impotent. If we didn’t feel we had the power to through fi xation and can even cause suffering for make appropriate choices while crossing the street, an event that never occurs. A mother can fi xate “The thing you fear most has no power. Your we would fear crossing the street. If we recognize on the possibility of harm coming to her child so fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth that we are capable of making healthy choices, much that she misses being present with that child really will set you free.” —Oprah Winfrey then there is no fear associated with crossing the and all of the gifts that brings. The same is true of street. The word “fear” has its roots in danger. We all of the people fi xating on the possibility of the have taken the threat of danger and fantasized it into something else that makes it world ending in 2012. Or a person with a broken heart can be so afraid that they more difficult to deal with than real danger when it is present. create a lonely, isolated life of suffering. There are so many methods of being in As we develop and gather data experientially and environmentally, we can be fear, but there is only one result—when we live in fear, taught to fear. We can be taught false equations based on false evidence. The more we are thieves. We steal our own lives from ourselves. we learn fear, the more it erodes our recognition of ourselves as powerful, loving Breaking the cycle of fear is like waking from a beings. nightmare. As we strive to break the pattern, we often We are taught that if something negative happened in the past it may happen struggle, going back and forth, similar to tossing and again in the future. We are taught that if something wonderful happened in the turning in the midst of a nightmare, until we thrust past and it didn’t repeat itself we should fear abandonment and fear the loss. ourselves out of it and we wake up. When we wake I use an acronym for fear in my practice. Fear is just False Evidence Appearing up, we see that the reality that terrified us so deeply Real. Fear is something that becomes a pattern because we’ve defaulted to it often was false and that this is our reality. We wake up and enough for us to believe it is a “natural” reaction. We hypnotize ourselves into realize we are okay. believing that fear is appropriate. We are told that fear is something that serves us. It is a natural part of our “fight or flight” mechanism. If we operate as dumb, Greg Friedman is a spiritual guide and master with the intention to “ help you live ignorant animals, then it can serve us. The good news is that we are not dumb, a realized life.” He offers one-on-one sessions, workshops, and opportunities to travel ignorant animals. We are not relegated to a base reactive mechanism. abroad. For more information, please visit www.gregfriedman.com. Many psychologists, theologians, and philosophers justify fear by dividing it into two categories: unhealthy fear and healthy fear. An example of an unhealthy fear would be a phobia such as the irrational belief that there is a monster under the Specializations Include: bed. A healthy fear would be along the lines of something that is dangerous, like Spiritual Counseling

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M A R C H 20 11

SUICIDE: h e a l i n g

a r t s

There Is Always Another Way

irst and foremost, and with all due respect to those who have thought about or attempted it, I wish to remove all the charge and stigma around this delicate and emotional subject by stating, unequivocally, that God views suicide the same way God views every other initiation and choice that we make in our lives. Everything that happens to us and everything we do occurs solely for the purpose of our God-realization. Thus, suicide is yet another life lesson, a life experience from which we learn and grow and expand into higher and more loving consciousness. Furthermore, all choices we make come with consequences and create karma, either positive or negative. The same is true with suicide. It is a form of murder, the murder of one’s own holy body; thus, a tremendous karma is incurred. It is a rather moot point to even mention that because anyone who has become so forlorn, depressed, and in despair, as to no longer place any intrinsic value upon the greatest gift ever given to a soul by the Creator, is not even thinking about karma, much

by Louix Dor Dempriey

less concerned about it. Therefore, I will not spend any more time addressing the karmic aspect. Suffice it to say that all our choices bear consequences in the great cycle of life. Does that mean suicide is a “right” course of action to resolve a hopeless situation because it is “just” another life lesson? First of all, it is important not to speak in terms of right and wrong, good and bad. From most perspectives, it is a very sad and tragic “loss,” regardless of the perfection in all things. Just to put minds at ease, God does not view suicide as bad or wrong or ugly. God is the constant emanation of unconditional love and acceptance and adoration. At the same time, if you want to personify God and see Him/Her as the Divine and loving parent, there would of course be a sadness in the way any truly loving parent would view the loss of its child. God looks at a lot of things that way (i.e., with sadness), in the personified understanding of God as parent—when people turn their backs on God, when people constantly choose to act non-lovingly when they could so easily be loving, when people choose to betray themselves by making very unwise or foolish choices when they know better. God views all those things as very sad and tragic. But, again, that’s looking at God in a personified sense. God, as seen and understood in terms of the Creator, as the constant and consummate emanation of unconditional love, sees and accepts suicide as one more life lesson that people have chosen to undergo. This is completely independent of consequences that the individual (who has taken his or her life) would incur. Now, does that mean I am advocating it as an option, a solution to one’s problems? Absolutely not! And I will now elaborate as to why. One of the very hallmarks of my teachings is the universal principle that everything is forgivable and everything is redeemable. By definition, then, suicide is no exception—and this is true. It is also true that some people reach a point in life, whereby they believe—to the very core of their being—that they do not have any other choice, any other way out. They believe they have lost all hope. Here is where the crux of this discourse comes into play. Before I continue, and to circumvent any judgments readers may have of my writing these words from a didactic perspective only, I would like to make some important clarifications. For decades I have been communing with and assisting many souls having just left their embodiments, as well as those contemplating this tragic crime against Love, against oneself, helping them to understand and helping them find their way again. And from the human perspective, I have had much experience with this subject. In my teens, I went through a period during which I contemplated taking my own life. I also had the huge undertaking of having to save the life of a dear friend in college, whom I found lying in the grass one night after having just overdosed. Keeping her awake and having to watch her go through that ordeal was extremely painful. Almost 10 years later, this scenario played out again while I was living in Hollywood; this time, however, the victim was my very

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dearest and closest friend and soul mate in the world, and he called me well into his overdose. I barely got him to the hospital in time to save him; he was already unconscious, and then I had to watch the hideous stomach pumping and all the other graphic and horrific aspects (which I will omit here) that accompany this ordeal—the worst of which is what it did to his body (and to his mind). Finally, I lost my only son to suicide in 2007, at the tender age of 15. Words fall infinitely short of describing the toll that event took on my life and on the lives of all our family. What I want to say to all those who are now considering, or have contemplated, suicide is this: The very first thing that every single victim of suicide discovers and cries out to the heavens, moments after leaving his or her embodiment is, “Oh, my God! I did not have to do that.” Other immediate realizations they all have are: a wish to not have done it and a huge feeling of frustration over not being able to cross back over the threshold and back into their embodiments; never having conceived of the ramifications of it upon their lives and soul journeys; not having had any idea of the impact their suicides were going to have on their friends, relatives, and loved ones (which they can now clearly see from the other side); and a willingness to give anything to have the chance to make that choice over again, this time choosing to live. I have never once encountered a single exception to this chain of reactions to one’s suicide. Why I’m telling you this is so that you don’t have to go through that same trauma, after the fact. The second most important thing I want to say to anyone who may be reading these words, or hearing them in whatever form they have reached you, and who may be considering the taking of your precious life, is this: There is always another way. There is always a way to find your way out of the maze and out of your predicament, without having to take your own life—always. So please, never give up hope. If you are not finding the help you need where you are, go somewhere else, find it somewhere else, in someone else, whatever it takes—by phone, by foot, by bus, by plane. Please, you must know that there is always help available. And if you feel you have tried everything to get help, please call even louder to God and He will send help. All prayers are heard; all prayers are answered when the call is sincere and persevering. God will show up, will answer the soul’s cry for help; it is a parent’s instinct. But it is only through faith that we gain intimacy with God. You must have faith. Believe. When Moses stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, he said to the woman (who would later become his wife) that he was very angry about the plight of his people, dissatisfied with what was being done (by God) about it, and that he was going to walk up that holy mountain and talk to God. He was going to get some answers. Bewildered, she said to him, “You can’t do that. You can pray to God, but God’s

h e a l i n g a r t s not going to show up for you, and God is certainly not going to talk to you.” With that, Moses said to her, “Oh, God will talk to me. I am going to demand—and command—His presence, and I am not coming off that mountain until He does.” The whole world knows the rest of the story. He did speak to, and hear directly from, God. And Moses went on to have many personal encounters with God. Why? What commanded God’s presence was the purity of his motive and the power of his faith, as well as his courage, conviction, and perseverance. We all have those qualities. We all have those abilities. We all need to know this, to believe it, command it, and demand it, hopefully, in a loving and reverent way. But if you have to do it in an angry and nasty way, so be it. God is not so much concerned with how we come to the altar, only that we come. Human anger and feistiness shows passion and aliveness. The most difficult ones for God to reach are the lethargic, the indifferent, the apathetic. But the people who are lovingly passionate and the people who are rip-roaring mad—they are alive. So get all fired up if you must. Simply know, have faith, believe, and persevere. Never give up. Ask and you shall receive. Louix Dor Dempriey is a spiritual Master who currently lives in Southern California. Dempriey teaches self-mastery, conscious and holistic living, and personal inner peace through discourses, meditations, and ceremonies. For more information, please visit www.louixdordempriey.com

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M A R C H 20 11

h e a l i n g

a r t s

It didn’t seem like such a bad urfing is more than a sport—it is a taken it. On a w day like that I am ave, otherwise I would have lifestyle—when a place coined The my head and ne somehow I find choosy. I took off, the thing go ver es over myself in this hu Cliffs of Insanity can be turned put my arms ab ge wave. I coul d into a playground, where limits are tested, water. Oh crap ove my head, kicked my feet out and never to have , “How did I ge uched love is gained, and where fear cannot reside. t in here?” I th matter how hard ou Since the first documentation of I went up and I leaned, I felt myself going up ght to myself. No ov and up. Sure en ou the Cliffs, both the spectator and the the wave popp er the falls. I was down so lo ng, the sheer po gh, ed my ear drum wer of . I was almost ou surfer have been amazed. In Captain I go to scrape some air, a seco nd wave crashe t of air. Right when James Cook’s Journal, Cook’s Voyages, made it to the d on top of me. surface. While ba I ne ck 1779, Lieutenant James King describes is it, I have to breathe. Someh under I thought to myself, wel ver ow at the very l this watching as natives paddled out on gasping and co last ughing for air.— long wooden planks, into the depths of Jenny Lindeliu second I surfaced, s the ocean. There they awaited the perfect swell to carry by Amanda Hinds them onto shore. The destination, calm waters, could only be reached after pushing through crashing waves breaking towards them. This was shocking to early sailors, for most did not know how to swim. Not only were these natives twisting and turning, lashing here and there, they were headed straight for sharp boulders. One wrong turn would send them straight to their death. Chiefs used this to exert power and prove that they were strong, showing no fear while catching some of the most gnarly waves. Surfing was part of their culture, an art, something that was a part of them—it was felt in their souls. Originating in the Hawaiian Islands, the sport of surfing still stands its ground, widely known as one of the most extreme sports. Since the 20th century, surfing has grown in numbers and popularity. Jenny Lindelius, 41, remembers being in the water 20 years ago, with barely anyone in sight. Now the waters are packed with people trying to share the waves. “I think it is because you can surf when you are old, and more young people are getting into it,” Lindelius says, regarding the increasing numbers. Twenty-year-old California native Cory Phillips grew up surfing. Having 13 years of experience behind him, Phillips is comfortable in the water. “You have to know your surroundings and what you are doing so that if something were to happen you could have time to prevent it,” says Phillips. “You always have to be thinking.” Phillips stresses practice in overcoming fears and helping one grow comfortable in the water. Enjoying smaller waves, Phillips still pushes himself into bigger ones. “You have to just go out there, even if it is for 10 minutes,” he says. “The next time try 20 and then 30. Try to push it more with big waves and you will eventually be able to handle it.” When it comes to fears, Phillips explains it quite frankly: “Everything has its fears. You just have to overcome them. When you fall into the water, just hold your

Fear Riders

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

h e a l i n g

a r t s

r r e

Photo by Dani Grimshaw breath. You know you can swim, it’s not hard. Just relax everything, don’t have thoughts running through your head. That’s when people panic and they go down; you have to accept your surroundings.” Cory’s Fun Facts: Current Board: 6 ft. 1 in. Tri Fin. Favorite Board: Fish. Favorite Surfer: Rob Machado. Favorite Spot: C Street and Ventura. Phillips spread his love for surfing to his cousin, Paul Grimshaw. Twenty-five-year-old Grimshaw has been surfing for about four years. Having a bit less experience than his cousin, Grimshaw admits to being easily frustrated. “It’s fun, even if you aren’t that good,” says Grimshaw. “It’s hard. Just keep going out and trying. You aren’t trying to impress anyone—just do it for yourself.” Grimshaw awes at the ocean’s raw spirit. “It’s gnarly. Even if you respect the ocean, it’s not going to change,” he says. “That is the scariest and coolest thing about the sport.” Even in his most frustrating times, Grimshaw looks past fear, focusing on getting back on the board and trying again. Grimshaw says, “Just go for it.” Paul’s Fun Facts: Current Board: 6 ft. 1 in. Fast Board. Favorite Board: Biscuit. Favorite Surfer: Bobby Martinez. Favorite Spot: San Onofre. “I remember San Onofre, praying I would be able to make it out,” says Lora Cannon, 42, of her earliest surfing experience. “All I wanted to do was surf, but it was so hard to just make it out.” Cannon has 10 years of experience surfing, is a working mother, and is absolutely in love with surfing. “It sets me free, any stress I have. If I paddle out, it clears my mind,” she says. Being a mother, Cannon’s biggest fear is if she would get hurt and not be able to take care of her family. However, she says that “Some of the best days are when it’s really big and I am scared, [but] then I just go for it. You’re not afraid after you catch a couple of good waves.” Lora’s Fun Facts: Current Board: 7 ft. 5 in. Barry Vandermeulen Fun Board. Favorite Board: Fish. Favorite Surfer: Her husband. Favorite Spot: South side of Huntington Pier. With more experience behind her belt, 41-year-old Jenny Lindelius says, “Fun is my goal. I don’t need to prove anything. The whole reason I have been surfing so long is because it is fun.” According to Lindelius, fear begins to fade with experience. “When I was a new surfer, I was scared. Then you just get used to it,” she says. “If you go down hard a few times, you realize it wasn’t so bad. You may break a nose or get some stitches, but it’s not going to kill you.” When paddling over huge sets, instead of choosing fear, Lindelius recites a favorite Bible verse: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. —Isaiah 41:10 A working mom as well, Lindelius rationally pushes herself in the water. Heavily influenced by her brotherin-law, Leonard Lopez, when going after a big wave, she says to herself, “Leonard would do it.” Lopez was left with half-vision in one eye after surgery from an inflicting brain tumor. “He has no equilibrium due to the surgery and yet he rips,” says Lindelius. Lopez is a knee boarder, always in good spirits and ready to ride some killer waves. “He has no fear, he can’t see, and he takes off on these huge waves,” she says. “Even when he wipes out, he gets back up with a huge smile on his face.” Even after a near death experience, Lindelius shows no hesitation in the water. She says, “There’s nothing like this in the world.” Jenny’s Fun Facts: Current Board: 6 ft. Surftech Fish and 7 ft. 6 in. Napapa Mini Log. Favorite Board: Napapa Mini Log. Favorite Surfer: Brother-in-law, Leonard Lopez. Favorite Spot: Traveler. Ted Girvin, 41, started surfing when he was 12 years old. “I have always been in the ocean,” he says. “I actually have pictures of me standing on a board when I was 3.” Growing up in San Gabriel Valley, Girvin made trips to the ocean with his dad and brothers. “Once I was able to drive,” says Girvin, “I would get out of school and drive to Huntington to surf in the afternoon.” Girvin was never interested in competing. He says, “I always did it for the love and freedom.” Even with continued on page 41 V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

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7 March: Darshan: 7:30 p.m. The 15th Anniversary of Louix’s Enlightenment

The Hills Hotel 25205 La Paz Road, Laguna Hills, CA

25 March: Darshan: 7:30 p.m. Seaside Center for Spiritual Living 1613 Lake Drive, Encinitas, CA

14 May: One-Day Retreat 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Cost: $250.00 (includes vegan lunch) Norman P. Murray Senior Center 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA *All events are by donation, except the One-Day Retreat *

For more information or to register for the retreat, please contact Samantha: phone: (888) 288-3735 e-mail: samantha@Louix.org To register online, go to: www.LouixOC.org All attending these three events consent to having their names, voices, images, and likenesses recorded and used for commercial purposes. Photo of Louix: Michael Helms

f e a t u r e

Changing The World: “I Am,” a Documentary Film A Conversation with Tom Shadyac, Creator and Director by Sydney L. Murray

o often in the world many of us look for inspiration to live a more fulfilling life. I can honestly say that a new film does just that. The documentary film “I Am” by Tom Shadyac can open your mind and heart to living a more authentic life. So often many of us are caught up in creating a life that involves having more and doing more. Shadyac, a successful Hollywood director of such notable films as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “Bruce Almighty,” had what it seemed we all want. A huge house, as well as financial and professional success, he appeared to have it all. Fast forward to a bicycle accident and his subsequent post-concussion syndrome in which he suffered from debilitating pain and depression and wondered if he would survive. An epiphany he experienced during this period compelled him to ask kindly about the meaning of life, and from that question comes this amazing documentary. On a national tour to promote this important film I had the opportunity to speak with him. He is truly an inspiration in myriad ways. Vision Magazine: What is a courageous life? Tom Shadyac: I would say an authentic life. Courage comes from two French words, age and heart. ‘Coeur’ is a French word meaning heart, so courage means age of the heart. I think to have courage we have to live a unique life that is our own. So we have to filter out the peripheral and institutional voices and stand on the ground of our own truth. That can manifest itself in many unique ways. VM: What does No Fear mean to you? TS: I think no fear may be not necessarily the goal, but [it is] recognizing fear (we are human and we do have fear) [and] what you do with that fear. So, to recognize fear, to see it for what it is, and then to have the courage to move through the fear. Fear is what rises up many times from illusions. We have a fear of public speaking, but it’s the illusion that we will die in front of our friends, when we will actually be fine. It is the illusion of the ego speaking. So fear calls us to examine truth, and what is true and not true about the fear. If you see a bear, that fear may be very appropriate. But if you see societal influence telling you, you have to be something to be a success, then that fear is worth examining. VM: Please give us a brief synopsis of how this film “I Am” came about. TS: Well it was born from my near—death experience that happened after I got into a bike accident that left me with post—concussion syndrome, which is a brutally torturous condition where the symptoms of a concussion simply don’t go away. After struggling for four or five months, I didn’t think I was going to live and I asked myself, if I was going to go and leave this planet, was there anything that I wanted to say or express before I went. And it gave me the courage; it knocked me from my head into my heart, and gave me the courage to make a film about ideas that had been inhabiting me for the greater part of a decade. Long ago after some success came my way I began to see a hypocrisy surfacing in my own life and I began to call some of my behavior into question and I went deeper and deeper into those questions and it caused me to shift things. This film and the accident gave me the courage to talk about and make a film about what I was experiencing. VM: How did you choose the title? TS: It happened quite late in the process. The film used to be called “Imagine,” because I wanted the film to imagine what a new world could look like. You have to be able to picture something and then bring it into reality. The more I explored the film and what the film was telling me, the more “Imagine” didn’t seem concrete enough. So the title “I Am” emerged, and when you see the film I think you will realize why it’s the only title for the film, [due to] the fact that it is the original utterance of God [who told Moses in the Hebrew Bible, “I Am that I Am”]. Very interestingly, when you look at the word imagine, it was in the word all along; the first three letters of imagine are “I am,” slightly transposed. VM: How do you believe people can live with less? TS: It’s less for me of what you are living without and what you are moving away from as what you are moving towards. I moved from [a] 17,000 square foot three-home complex to about 1,000 square feet in a beautiful mobile home community. Rather than giving something up, it’s more about what I embraced, and I embraced a simplicity. Mentally, all of the burdens of taking care of a home that was so big and had so many problems and so many mechanical systems, so many grounds—that was all lifted from me. So my energy could go to other things. And those things paid off exponentially in my life, like getting to know my neighbors and becoming more involved in organizations and art that I was passionate about. Emerson writes an essay called “Compensation.” There are compensations like, there is a law in the universe. That when we use the car, for example, we give up the use of our feet. So there is compensation. There is a compensation in a very positive way when you move from a more complicated lifestyle to a different lifestyle. I think the idea that we are giving things up can be very un-sexy. The truth is that you find something that is even deeper or richer. Because if in giving things up you live a less fulfilled life, then it would not work. This is why the mystics, by choice, empty themselves, because they know they will be filled with something that is greater than what they were filled with before. They empty themselves of the world’s goods and the world’s voice and then they walk with nothing and then they find everything inside of that nothing. VM: In what ways do you think that the American Dream is changing? TS: I think it is being appropriately reexamined now. The American Dream came out of a very specific history. We V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

came to this country feeling oppressed for freedoms—religious freedoms, freedom to express ourselves, whether that was through a faith or business. We took that to an extreme and we’ve tested that. This life is an experiment, if you will. We’ve seen now that we may have gone too far in some areas, by putting fences up in between our lives, the fences we build when we try to push our neighbors out. We have forgotten, as Einstein said, the positive value of the social instinct, which is one of the most basic instincts of the human being. Then I think we equated in the American Dream the accumulations of things and material wealth with personal contentment and happiness. We’ve studied that now in Positive Psychology and realized there is a definite feeling to what money and material things will do for our happiness. Once our basic needs are met, money and material things don’t make us any happier. We didn’t do this because we were greedy. I think greed is overstated. I think that someone that might be accused of being greedy thinks that greed is going to bring them personal happiness and maybe [is] basing that behavior on this illusion. Now we have seen enough evidence and have had enough experimentation in our paradigm and in our model that we can see what is and is not working. One of the most troubling statistics is what they [use to] measure national happiness. America has never been number one. America is obsessed with being number one. Strangely, when it comes to happiness we have never been even close to number one. Sometimes it’s as low as 25, and I think there is a reason. I think we are ready now to examine what other countries are doing well that we can learn from Tom Shadyac with Desmond Tutu them. Denmark has been number one for the happiest country for several years. It’s been Denmark and it just became Costa Rica. Costa Rica has given up the idea of a military and uses all of that money for other things. VM: How do you think your college students are different from when you were in school? TS: They are different and I think they have benefited from the conscious evolution of their parents. Their parents are slightly different from the generation before them; their parents are a little further down the road. I think if you look at humanity, even though we seem to have this dark story, there is much light in evolution. One hundred years ago women couldn’t vote and were even considered property. Just before that, slaves were still normal [in parts of the country] and those things have shifted and changed. We are whittling away at prejudice and sexism. I think this generation has benefited from that. They have also benefited from the problems we are facing. Problems are opportunities. So, they see the frustrations of this generation that is running things now, in terms of trying to build a just economic way of being. The thing that is consistent is that youth are more open. Youth are cultured to the source; it’s what Thoreau said, “I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.” Our youth are closer to the day they were born, so they don’t have as much on their backs, and [they are] not as much invested in a way of life. So people my age, for example, have lived in the paradigm for 25 or 30 years and they don’t want you to mess with their way. It can create a kind of stuck-ness. Youth don’t have that as much. That combination of a product of a more evolved consciousness and that openness is really potentially very exciting. When I work with these kids they give me incredible hope. My lawyer is a wonderful man who works for justice in the world. I just sat down with him and he said he is just not hopeful. And I said, you need to hang out with the youth, you need to hang out with my college students V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

f e a t u r e and that will change. VM: Who has been your most important teacher in your life? TS: I don’t want to be trite with this but it’s really everybody that I meet. My students are my teachers. They teach me in so many ways. Also, my parents are my teachers. Society is my teacher. A teacher doesn’t have to present things in a positive way; even things that are not working are opportunities to learn in a new direction. I have been very deeply influenced by the moral teachings of Jesus. I was raised Catholic and never responded to the dogma, but the moral teachings and power of that life that I could intuit and feel have been probably the greatest influence on my life. Tom Shadyac with Rollin McCraty But I don’t compartmentalize it and leave it there. I see that same power in my students. I see the joy of the youth or the child all around me. I think all life is a classroom. I have many teachers; I am a Ralph Waldo Emerson lover. I consider him my best friend. I love Thoreau and the mystic poets, Hafiz and Rumi, and a modern day poet called Mary Oliver. She is the best selling poet in America. Her anthologies are wonderful. She is exquisite. VM: What do you think of the revolution that just happened in Egypt? TS: I think it is a beautiful example of how we don’t necessarily see what is happening. We think that our behavior isn’t having an effect—maybe a conversation with an Egyptian friend, where you reach out to that Egyptian and have a conversation about what it feels like to express yourself and to live in a free society, what someone may have written on the Internet about something tending toward love or expression—and we don’t see what is happening. Then all of a sudden we see one day, because of a Facebook event, that the world for Egypt changes. But there are, as Howard Zinn says in our film, millions of tiny acts that go into that “sudden change.” I think we will have to wait and see. I think it is a beautiful opportunity now for the idea of democracy and cooperation to surface now in this society. We will have to be patient. For me, it’s similar [to] when I was growing up and the Berlin Wall fell down. It looked like it happened so quickly, but Tom Shadyac with David Suzuki it was everything from rock n’ roll music, which again got into the youth’s head and hearts and gave them what Daniel Quinn says [are] “bad ideas”—millions of pieces of information or tiny interactions that build and build and build and then a wall falls. I think it is a wonderful example for the revolution that I think we need, this revolution of how we do business with each other and how we view our enemies. The idea of a universal brotherhood, not just with humanity but with the whole natural world. As Einstein felt, that is the way we get there. That is the way the human species survives. And I think those tiny acts are building. I hope this film is one of those acts. VM: Where do you think we are, at least with the United States, in terms of a competitive society versus a cooperative society? TS: I think we are opening up to new ideas of cooperation. You can still hear this idea of competitiveness, even in our President, who I think is a wonderful continued on page 44

M A R C H 20 11

f e a t u r e

The Opposite of

Fear Love is

An Exploration with Spiritual Leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar by Jeffrey Ainis

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

t the height of the post-invasion violence in Iraq, an interview appeared on CNN. Spiritual leader and humanitarian His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had just returned from meeting with political and religious leaders, widows, youth, relief organizations, and many others in the war-torn region. He had also visited Iraq’s most dangerous “red zone” at night. When asked if he felt fear, he said, “Absolutely not. You know, that’s the strength of spirituality. It brings such an inner strength to you and gives such enormous confidence in the power of love.” So he seemed like an ideal person to help explore the theme of living without fear, as well as someone to look to for understanding the problems that affect both everyday life and conflicts on a larger scale. Sri Sri (as he is known) is one of the modern era’s spiritual leaders, and he is also a social activist who has brokered dialogue and helped bring actual peace between warring groups in several regions. Working for non-violence and human values, he has spent several decades bringing peace to both individuals and communities. He cites the example of Mahatma Gandhi, but also offers specific tools to help people overcome the internal fear and stress that has sparked so much conflict around the world. He is probably best known for his two major nonprofit organizations—the Art of Living Foundation and the International Association for Human Values—both non-governmental organizations with consulting status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council. They have reached more than 25 million people in 152 countries, bringing trauma relief to such regions of conflict and natural disasters as New Orleans after Katrina, New York after 9/11, Israelis, Lebanese, and Palestinians, all sides of the conflicts in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and Central Bihar, and PTSD relief to veterans of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Kosovo. Programs have also been brought to such environments as IBM, NASA, Intel, and to UN Peacekeeping forces. V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

In India, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a household word, with a range of notable leaders participating in his programs, from the country’s president, a Supreme Court justice, and the head of the India’s FBI, to a Miss Universe, a string of movie stars, and many more. But his work has also transformed prisons and schools. Referring to what was formerly South Asia’s most violent prison, United Nations Civilian Police Advisor, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Dr. Kiran Bedi, noted, “The same [Tihar] prison that was once considered a curse by the prisoners, turned into a blessing. It was no longer a prison for them. They started calling it an ashram! Many prisoners said that they did not want to leave this ashram, as it was much more fulfilling for them to be there. Some of them even remarked that each and every person should be imprisoned at least once so as to get the benefits of the Art of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Iraqi Prime Living workshops.” Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad Sri Sri’s programs have had similarly positive outcomes in the United States as well. The former head of the juvenile detention program for Los Angeles County’s most violent youth,postponed his retirement because Sri Sri’s programs were the first ones that had a significant impact. With so much of spiritual life oriented toward connectedness, expansion, and higher values, fear seems to throw a major wrench in the works. We thought a look

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with council leaders after a meeting in Baghdad

M A R C H 20 11

f e a t u r e where we will be going back. You know, in another 50 years, 60 years, none of us will be here. Where will you go? Where did you come from? What is your relation with this cosmos? What is your relationship with people around you? Pondering this, understanding the emotions, your thoughts, your own body, your breath, your mind, and your needs and your capabilities, your own beauty, you’ll come out of fear. And once the fear is out from life, respect will stay forever. The closer Vision Magazine: Our theme this month is “No Fear.” What is the cause of your partner, or anyone, comes near you, the more they’ll respect you. fear and how can we overcome it? If we can start coming from a space of contributing, giving, right from today, Sri Sri: Some people are afraid to go to bed. The fear is, they think they may your relationship will start flourishing. Giving what? Is it giving money, or giving not wake up. People are afraid of love, people are afraid of meditation, people time, or giving this or that? It’s keeping the patience and creating the awareness. are afraid of death, people are afraid of themselves. Lack of understanding of life Then you can row any boat, any relationship. Of course, if the boat has a hole in causes fear. Just a glimpse of the Being, of the Self that you are, roots out the fear it, you change the boat! totally. VM: What are key things people can do to improve their lives and help the You can be stressed to the brim of your capacity, but even then, the love remains world? untouched deep inside you. There may be any SS: Being peaceful, in a meditative, prayerful amount of stress or negativity, but in the center state, will definitely help. Don’t think, ‘‘What We tell people who are very close to us, core you are only bliss and love, nothing else. can I do?’’ or that you are insignificant, when “If you need me, I am here.” Meditation is that process of dwelling deep in the world has a problem. You, too, have a role that area of yourself that is love. to play. Like a tiny homeopathic pill, which If we could say this to anybody— There are many people who clinically die has a one-hundredth or one-thousandth “If you need anything, I am here”— for a few moments, and then they are revived. potency, can make an impact on a body then all problems would be over. They know it’s nothing to be afraid of. You are that is 130 or 160 pounds. In the same way, much more than your body. There is no end to every individual—everyone who is breathing, —Sri Sri Ravi Shankar your Being. talking, walking, thinking—has an influence Fear is that sensation which runs throughout the body, which creates an alarm on this cosmos, on this planet. We can all radiate peace, good thoughts, good in every cell of your body, all the organs. Everything wakes up in fear. This is wishes, and that will definitely make an impact on the planet. similar to the experience of love. Fear and love and hatred are three different I’ve seen this over and over again. When there is a conflict and you interact with flavors of the same energy. You can transform one into another. When there is both the groups engaged in the conflict, they soften up. When communication love, there is no fear. When there is fear, there is no hatred. When there is hatred, breaks down, it causes turbulence, which in turn causes stiffness and rigidity. But there is no fear, and there is no love. when you re-establish communication, Observing, they change colors. Also, through love, through peaceful means, observing the fear coming as though through patience, it does yield. it’s happening elsewhere, in some other One thing that is absolutely essential body, can help. to avoid fanaticism and religious Of course, a pinch of fear is essential terrorism in the world is a multito maintain the body. Just like you cultural, multi-religious education for put a little salt in the dough, or in the children. It is because a child grows up soup, or in noodles. Otherwise, you thinking that other religions or cultures would jump off the cliff. You would are bad or no good that they are ready do things that would destroy the body. to give up their life for that cause. But If it is more than the right amount, it when a child grows up knowing a little becomes unbearable. The same fear bit about all other religions, cultures, which maintains the body can destroy and customs, then there is a sense of the body also. Do you see the irony in belonging with everybody. it? The need of the hour is to recognize Fear is always of the unknown. And humanity as our highest identity. When devotion is love for the unknown. attention is given to the spiritual aspect VM: What role can fear play in of one’s life, it brings responsibility, relationship problems? a sense of belonging and compassion SS: The urge in us is not just for UN Peacekeeping Forces doing Art of Living and caring for the whole of humanity. love, but also respect. The greatest Spirit upholds and sustains life. It fear in any relationship is of losing respect. Respect demands some distance. Love makes you strong and solid. It breaks down the narrow boundaries of cast, creed, cannot tolerate distance. This is the basic conflict in all the relationships. When religion, and nationality, and gives you an awareness of life present everywhere. you are not centered and when you lack depth within you, how can you gain It is through this awareness that we can be more successful in our career, our respect? As someone becomes close to you, they come to know about your fears relationships, and other aspects of life. When the subtle becomes strong, it brings and your anxieties and your small-mindedness. Then you are afraid, “Oh, I may success in life. It is only through this awareness, this uplifting of consciousness, lose respect.” that wars can be eliminated and human rights restored in the world today. So take some time for yourself to cleanse the system of all these negative VM: What is the Art of Living? emotions. Take some time to find the source from where we have come up and continued on page 41

at some of Sri Sri’s thinking in this area might be helpful. With flowing dark hair and a twinkle in his eye, Sri Sri speaks with gentle humor and a compassionate tone. Totally at ease himself, he puts the listener at ease, conveying a refreshing combination of innocence and experience, peace and action, happiness and wisdom.

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

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PAST LIFE THERAPY HAVE YOU LIVED BEFORE? Discover your past life connections - what they can do for you. Release from guilts, habits. Gary 619.929.7815 gary@15thstep.com 03.11 psychic SPIRITUAL PSYCHIC & COUNSELING. Tarot reading - To help you with problems or questions regarding jobs, love or money 619.263.0473 or yemayaochun05@yahoo. com ARE YOU A REBEL WITH A CAUSE? Psychic readings by Lisa, the Punk Rock Psychic. See punkrockpsychic.com for details. 03.11

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PSYCHIC SUPPORT SOMETHING MISSING IN YOUR LIFE? Assistance may await you at The Imagine Center, the West Valley’s premiere metaphysical and spiritual service center. Our psychic readers act as a bridge to the authentic you, empowering selfknowledge, confirmation and affirmation. We help you make wise choices to manifest your dreams and goals by serving as a conduit to your Higher Self, delivering messages from your soul to your conscious mind. Our spiritual healers hold the space for your natural healing power to emerge to cleanse, purify, rebalance and renew your mind, body and spirit. Use our online appointment calendar at http://www.theimaginecenter.com or call 818.345.1100 to book an appointment, today! Service hours are Tues-Fri 10am7pm, Sat & Sun 11-5 (closed Mondays). The Imagine Center is located at 18635 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356. Walkins welcome.

reiki SACREDTRANSFORMATION.NET offers 30 CEU’s to nurses, acupuncturists, LCSW & MFT for Level 1-2 Reiki along with in-depth energy healing course. Wednesday, March 16th, 6 week Reiki Energy Class. Saturday, April 9th, 6 week Reiki Energy Healing Class. Contact 619.204.0504 for more info. 03.11

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SACRED TRAVEL EGYPT STARGATE SPRING EQUINOX March 12-24, 2011 Powerful transformational journey. Heart activation ceremony within the Great Pyramid for Equinox. 5-star Moon Goddess Nile Cruise & hotels with many extras. Come Home to Egypt where you will experience miracles that will change your life forever. Early registration discounts and fabulous pricing. Call Joy Travel 1.800.569.5010, vanda-joy@ixpres. com, vanda-joy@sbcglobal.net and web www.joytravelonline.com 03.11

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Stay Strong,

Keep Your Faith Alive by Shannon Nies

n May 2010, kirtan chant artist and singersongwriter David Newman heard a melody in his sleep, and immediately sang it into his phone. Months later, on July 4, after traveling and touring in the United States, and reflecting on the Gulf Coast oil spill, Newman remembered the melody that he had recorded and began writing lyrics to it. He began with just one, yet powerful, line: Stay strong, keep your faith alive. While the song was evolving, Newman and his wife, Mira, were thinking of ways to help the global community and the environment in the aftermath of the Gulf Coast disaster. Newman said of the crisis that there was “a real sense of hopelessness and helplessness. So I wanted to do something to help out that situation.” He and Mira thought that the “Stay Strong” song would be the perfect opportunity to do that. The idea was to spread a message of hope and positivity during those difficult times and bring love and healing to our earth. When Newman shared his vision with his friend and colleague, Sean Johnson, a Kirtan singer in New Orleans, Johnson passed along Newman’s project idea to Richard Wegman, COO of Global Green USA, a non-profit environmental organization that was founded in 1994 by activist and philanthropist Diane Meyer Simon. Global Green not only aids in the Gulf Coast recovery process, but also takes on other environmental concerns, including global climate change, clean drinking water, and sustainability. Global Green’s efforts appealed to Newman, and so he partnered with Global Green, giving the organization 100 percent of the proceeds from the Stay Strong Project. “Stay Strong” is a dynamic, uplifting song that brings together different people from the yoga and chant communities. Some of the people who participated in the song and music video include: Krishna Das; Wah; Jai Uttal; Snatam Kaur; Sharon Gannon; Donna De Lory; Seane Corn; Shyam Das; Sean Johnson; Gaura Vani; Dave Stringer; Girish; Shantala; Suzanne Sterling; Govindas and Radha; C.C. White; Kirtan Rabbi; Saul David Raye; Prema Hara; Yvette; Radhanath Swami; and many others. Newman suggests two main ways that “Stay Strong” shares a message of unity and positivity. “The first way,” says Newman, “is just to show the community coming together…to see all these people who have busy schedules and are well-known and just decide to participate in something like this.” “The second thing,” he says, “is just the message of the song [which] speaks for itself—stay strong, keep your faith alive. Life has its challenges, it has its obstacles, both on personal levels and on global levels. To know that things happen in cycles, and to stay positive and to do what we can to keep that faith and to help others is an important thing.” Newman’s song also encourages people to live in a state of no fear in challenging times, even in the most frightening or difficult circumstances. Newman explains, “When you look at life from the perspective of being a victim, you kind of feel like life is happening to you. But when you feel connected to spirit, you feel like you’re on a journey, and there is a kind of co-creation principle that’s happening. So whether it’s something good or something not so good, whether [it’s] something you want to happen or something you didn’t want to happen, you see that equally as the hand of grace and something that is enabling you to learn about yourself, learn about your V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

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environment, learn about others. These are opportunities to open our hearts and to see what’s in it for us to learn. So when we just stay open to life and keep our hearts open and realize that it’s all part of the great plan and we are open to learning and also to utilizing any situation as an opportunity to not only serve our own growth and evolution, but to serve each other—that’s a fearless kind of orientation.” Although the Stay Strong Project is just at its beginning—the song was just released a few weeks ago—Newman is open to the possibilities that the future holds for the project. Newman sees a possibility of continuing to work with Global Green in the future, as he feels that he and the other Stay Strong participants have a “real synergy” with that organization. “The partnership with Global Green is a real strong one,” says Newman, “and we really believe in what they’re doing. They’re not only involved in the Gulf recovery, but also involved in eco-building, in clean water projects, in nuclear reduction, and all kinds of environmental issues.” One of his ideas is to do an eco-tour, bringing together musicians to travel

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

and make music. Newman himself has already traveled and performed across the world, having toured the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Europe, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. “I’m on the road about 70 percent of the time,” says Newman, “playing at festivals and conferences and yoga spiritual centers and sometimes theatres and clubs as well. I make my living sharing music and sharing positivity.” This April, Newman, along with several other Stay Strong Project participants, will be sharing this empowering and dynamic music and positivity at the Bhakti Fest Spring Ommersion in Joshua Tree. Newman will perform as well as speak at this three-day event of Kirtan, yoga, and workshops. Just like Newman’s “Stay Strong” song and music video, the Bhakti Fest brings people together as one community to celebrate love and unity. So this April, join Newman and othe luminaries for three days of love, devotion, and community For more information on the Stay Strong Project, or to buy the song or music video, please visit www.staystrongproject.org. To learn more about Global Green USA, visit www.globalgreen.org. The Bhakti Fest Spring Ommersion will take place at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center from April 15-17, 2011. For ticket pricing, housing options, and other information about the event, visit www.bhaktifest.com.

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h o l i s t i c

r e v i e w s

s someone who is essentially unfamiliar with qigong and its benefits, I was thrilled to read and learn about this beautiful art form in Christina J. Barea’s book, “Qigong Illustrated.” The book begins with a helpful introductory guide to qigong for readers like me who may have never encountered it before. The author provides everything from the pronunciation of qigong, to the word’s definition, to qigong’s practical uses in daily life. Barea shows in her text that qigong is so much more than just its translation of “the practice of energy cultivation over time.” Just the world “qi” alone can mean “energy,” “life force,” “breath,” “air,” and more. And qigong isn’t just regular exercise either. Unlike regular exercise, such as weightlifting or aerobics, which only focuses on the body and breathing, qigong touches on a third very important element: the mind. Barea explains, “It’s the consciousness, deliberation, and visualization, or intention, that we add to the movements that makes the difference. Although trying to fathom what the qi (energy) in qigong actually looks like can be a bit difficult, especially for those who are new to qigong, there are a multitude of very practical applications and benefits of qigong. In fact, Barea highlights three specific applications of qigong: martial; medical (health); and spiritual. Martial qigong’s focus is to increase bodily strength, resistance, and power by emphasizing tendons, muscles, and bones. Taking a more gentle approach, medical qigong focuses on joint flexibility, cardiorespiratory capacity, organ health, and blood circulation. The benefits of the medical application of qigong are tremendous. Just a few of the health benefits include: increased blood circulation and oxygenation; regulation of blood pressure; balancing of hormones and endocrine system; increased bone mass; increased overall energy, and stress relief. Finally, the spiritual application of qigong, appropriately, focuses on developing one’s spiritual path. For readers to achieve the health and relaxation that qigong offers, the author provides detailed, easy-to-follow, step-by-step pictures of how to perform different movements. She guides readers with setting up a qigong routine, then goes into describing exercises for different purposes: internal organ strength; optimal health; stress relief; and relaxation. by Christina J. Barea One of the greatest things about qigong, as Barea shows, is that review by Shannon Nies it can be practiced by anyone—young, old, male, female—and can be started at any time in one’s life. Even those with certain physical limitations can participate in most of the movements (by practicing in a chair). It is never too late to start practicing qigong, and Barea’s “Qigong Illustrated” is the perfect guide to get you started.

Qigong Illustrated

Qigong Illustrated is available for purchase on Amazon or on the publisher’s (Human Kinetics) Web site, www.humankinetics.com.

Life Coach • Energy Healer NLP Practitioner Addictive Behavior Specialist

“Decide where you want to go and we can strengthen the beliefs that will naturally drive you towards your goals.” — GALEN TICE

FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION! Once I gave up but New Year’s is a time to start and now 53 pounds lighter, I’m getting to reasons why I over-eat. Fitness and healthy living is now part of my life and Galen is the factor in that change. He did the same battle and he was ready for each and every one of my objections along the path.—Cicero 2011

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h o l i s t i c

p r o d u c t s

by Sydney L. Murray

ou smell so good! I love to hear this, and in the past I had worn essential oil blends from a very old New York City apothecary. No longer able to find them, I must admit I was thrilled when I found Heaven’s Alchemy. The Heaven’s Alchemy line consists of fifteen pure perfumes. Loving vanilla, I chose the St. Petersburg from Heaven’s Alchemy. This exquisite, pure perfume blend is really a very layered scent, strong and sensual initially but then wears down to a soft and welcoming scent. The blend is certified pure with top notes of lemon and orange, middle notes of gourmand and jasmine, followed by base notes of musk with vanilla. I love the fact that the team who created these scents has chosen the intrigue and romance of some of the world’s most exciting cities to represent in their multi-layered perfume line. Inspired by their own East-West romance, Scott and Michele Latifi decided to bring their dream to life in which they combined their vision and expertise. Scott’s business acumen and experience in the highly demanding semi-conductor industry and Michele’s passion for perfume was the starting place for their exciting journey. Their mission was two-fold: first, to create a line of the purest perfumes possible from the finest ingredients without alcohol, color additives, harmful chemicals, or animal testing; second, to capture the passion, beauty, history, romance, and glamour of the world’s most captivating cities and to honor women in their unique

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beauty worldwide. With degrees in Anthropology and French, Michele drew on years of research to perfect the concepts for each perfume. The results were breathtaking. With years of meticulous development and scrupulous attention to detail complete, Heaven’s Alchemy Exquisite Perfumes debuted in 2006 and has rapidly gained a passionate following. The company quickly moved from its modest location to a larger facility and soon needed a second site. The joy and excitement of Heaven’s Alchemy is in traveling the world through perfume. It is in experiencing beauty and romance through the eyes of a different culture. It is the thrill of feeling more oneself in a foreign land than at home. It is the world and all its magical possibilities unveiled through the transformative powers of pure perfume. The name Heaven’s Alchemy means the Divine Art of Transformation. It represents the transformative power of love, be it Storge (familial love), Philia (friendship), Agape (altruistic love of humanity), or Eros (romantic love). This power is known, understood and cherished by all cultures. The Heaven’s Alchemy Medallion is an artistic expansion of the Alchemical symbol for gold, the mystical symbol of enlightenment. And as a further enticement, they sent me the sample set of all of the perfumes represented by various international cities. Now the dilemma is to decide what to order next. I love so many of them. Dubai is a front-runner with a mix of floral and amber; it is sublime. Perfect for yourself or that special woman in your life. These are truly olfactory treasures that you and your loved ones will love for years to come. For more information, call 888.927.3738 or visit www.HeavensAlchemyPerfumes. com.

M A R C H 20 11

h o l i s t i c

l i v i n g

Heavenly Skin Care at: by Sydney L. Murray

t’s often hard to work time into our busy schedules to take care of ourselves. I do my best, but months may pass where I fail to get a massage or a facial, or a detoxifying body wrap. Recently, after several reminders and invitations from the great team at dk hair, I booked an appointment with their new esthetician, Jody Layon. I can tell you her hands are magic. I arrived harried from a busy day in deadline and turned myself over to a true professional. During the facial she even tackled my tense neck and upper back muscles; her hands were strong and sure. And with a soothing and warm hand treatment I even left with softer hands. I walked away after little more than an hour relaxed and refreshed. A friend told me that night at dinner that my skin looked so fresh. And a nice addition that Jody offered was an eyebrow tint. Well let me tell you, what a difference a brow makes! My eyes really looked brighter and more open with the simple application of a vegetable dye. The change was subtle yet made a difference. Many people don’t realize the benefits of facials and see them as more of a once a year special treatment versus an ongoing series month after month. Every face is different, but investing in facials really offers long-term results as well as protection against the ravages of aging, including, for myself, enlarged pores, fine lines and wrinkles, and brown spots due to sun exposure. At dk hair, their goal is beauty that is obtainable for everyone. The products used in this facial were effective for cleansing as well as soothing and brightening my overall complexion. I also spoke to Jody about a series of peels. Ken Bradshaw, one of the co-owners

of dk hair informed me, “Many people are looking for a simple way to improve their skin without surgery or a facelift. Aging and sundamaged skin may develop redness, blemishes, facial veins and pigment, deep wrinkles, cancerous or precancerous lesions or spotting. It’s important to have an esthetician look at your skin to evaluate your needs. This procedure uses a chemical solution, usually an acid, to ‘peel’ away the top layers of the epidermis in order to improve conditions such as acne, irregular pigmentation, or wrinkles. Chemical peels have been in use for a number of years and are a highly popular way to improve the texture and look of skin. Over half a million people have a session performed each year. There are a wide variety of peels available, each with its own unique benefits as well as risks. dk hair is dedicated to providing people looking for better skin a place to become educated about the use of these peels, and whether they may be right for you.” After seeing how just two treatments really brightened up one of their coworker’s complexion, I am ready to sign up! Looking at their Web site I found that they have one called the Reveal Anti-aging Peel for an hour, which uses lactic acid at a 30 percent solution, or the Replenishing Peel that is 50 minutes and offers an extremely hydrating treatment. The next visit for myself at dk hair has to be the ultra elegant aroma luxury transformation for an hour and half. I can feel the relaxation already. Book an appointment today, as Jody Layon is personable and knowledgeable, with over nine years of experience. And I can tell you that with the addition of warm towels, her knowledgeable hands, and their great products, I was in skin care heaven. For more information or to book an appointment, call 619.546.4550 or visit www. dkhair.net.

Professional Portraits

March 26 at DK Hair

A framed portrait of you looking and feeling your best is a great gift for loved ones, and remember, your Digital Download is perfect for social networking sites and online dating profiles. Renowned photographer Miguel Salmerón will capture the shot that you will treasure forever. And the best thing is our team of professionals can do hair and make-up so you can look your best. Our hope is that your first experience with Salon Portraits will exceed your expectations. Capturing you at your best, for less

Miguel Salmerón support@salonportraits.com www.SalonPortraits.com Call and Book Your Appointment Today at: www.DKHair.net V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

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THETA HEALING CURRIE CAMERON - CERTIFIED THETA HEALER AND REIKI PRACTITIONER ThetaHealing® is a technique that utilizes the Theta brain wave to help us achieve many health beneﬁts such as reducing stress and relieving anxiety. Theta is also very effective in helping us break unwanted habits and move through old patterns that no longer serve us. For more information or a session please contact Currie at Cristiano Spa & Wellness in Little Italy 619.236.0300. Email curriecameron8@gmail.com. 03.11 VEGAN EVOLUTION FAST FOOD San Diego’s only vegan drive through restaurant. healthy vegan food that is affordable and tasty. 2949 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92103 619.550.1818 evolutionfastfood.com VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEER FOR THE 22ND ANNUAL EARTHFAIR 2011 on April 17 in Balboa Park, San Diego. EarthFair is the world’s largest free environmental fair - produced by volunteers. Visit www.EarthDayWeb. org for full info and to sign up.

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WATER PURIFICATION

HEALER

Prayer for Reuniting Twin Flames

WATER-N-ICE STORES

In the name of my Higher Self and the Higher Self of my Twin Flame I pray that we reunite I call for the consuming of all portents of our returning negative karma, clouding our ability to recognize each other, and creating a sense of separation. I call to dissolve the human imposed self-limitations that keep us from the full expression of our twin flame identity, and the fulfillment of our original contract with Spirit in service to mankind.

Laura Geralyn Kline

773.354.6841

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M A R C H 20 11

PSYCHIC

“A Perfect Spirit” continued from page 7

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Please visit www.helpkimiko.org if you would like to help Kimi fight cancer; donations are tax deductible. Proceeds will help her family with medical and related expenses and will be used for cancer research when Kimi is cured or in the event that Kimi loses her battle. Alexis Hennessy is a freelance writer residing in North County, San Diego who enjoys eating organic foods, reading spiritual books, and striving to achieve her Entelechy. She is passionate about helping others overcome cancer and other serious diseases. Contact her at alexish06@gmail.com. “Remove Yourself From Fear ” continued from page 11

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drugs. She most likely will need a hearing aid. She may have permanent damage to her heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver and may develop secondary forms of cancer. Her hair may not all grow back. But I know that Kimi’s spirit will always be perfect. God will never change that and no one can ever take that away from me. That is my gift. Thank you, God.”

Gina LaVerde is a Reiki Master Teacher, Intuitive Healer and Body Ecology/Raw Foods Coach who helps clients from around the world recover from autism, illness, pain and debt to align with their truest selves

for acting, reacting, and responding the way we do to certain stimuli.” Without these dynamics, we are able to stray away from thoughts implying that something within us is missing or that we should be afraid of being overwhelmed with emotion (both of which, together, cause frustration). To let go of these dynamics is to recognize that we are full and complete in our identities, we embody pure awareness, and we are able to feel fully, providing an environment conducive to the development of “trust, wholeness, growing and connection.” As frustration is eliminated, we continue to expand our capacity to process emotions and therefore trust our intuition, believe we can rely on ourselves, and open our minds. Stone’s method for abandoning core dynamics in order to make personal progress towards pure awareness includes compiling a list of things that make the anxiety patient anxious, followed by learning his Side Entrance Expansion (SEE) and CORE techniques. The SEE technique assists in resolving fear with regards to the future. It refers to moving your awareness outside the realm of an emotional response and therefore eliminating the negative association with the emotion by moving past it. The patient is no longer aware of the emotion, but only in the negative context with which they associate it. The CORE technique challenges the patient to venture into the very experience inhibiting him or her from the desire to feel a certain emotion, and allows relief from fear associated with past traumas. After learning these techniques and constructing a list, Stone suggests that the patient channel the anxiety generated by each item on the list and use the techniques to annihilate the energy of fear associated with each of them. In order to confirm that the anxiety has retreated, he encourages the patient to access the experience of each item on the list—through the Gentle Provocation System (GPS)—to ensure that he or she can eliminate unresolved issues of the past and decidedly move forward. These methods of destroying anxiety promote an alternative to medication— the human mind. Rather than succumbing to the power of medicine to reduce feeling in the hope to reduce anxiety, patients can channel their thoughts and inner strength, not in anticipation of suppressing their feelings, but rather to allow themselves to experience emotion fully, without subconsciously constructed fears hindering them from personal growth. Vaporizing anxiety is not a quick fi x or a way of masking the problem. Instead, these methods address and analyze the symptoms and issues at hand, allowing the patient to embark on his or her own journey to not only vaporize your anxiety, but achieve, a cure for the fear. For more information on Turn Stone visit: www.vaporizeyouranxiety.com. Originally from San Clemente, CA, Erin Tagan moved to San Diego five years ago to attend SDSU. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and is now working as an intern for Vision Magazine. Please contact her at eetagan@gmail.com.

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

“How to be Free From Fear ” continued from page 13

“Fear Riders” continued from page 23

vibrant. Breathe in deeply and then, as you breathe out, let go, breathe out, let go, and imagine that all those aspects of life that are swirling around in your mind, or are occupying the space of the heart, are moving out from your body, out from your feelings, out from your mind. It requires a little bit of discipline to do this because it’s so easy to drift back into another thought, another feeling, another situation, another idea, another dream. Rather than drift back, have the intention so clear that all that will happen now is that you are letting go and becoming a channel, becoming an open vessel for the divine aspect that is inside of your heart. Let go of the mundane, no matter how important it is, no matter how practical those issues are that need to be dealt with. Give your heart a moment to deeply relax, to really come back to itself so that you are doing nothing; all you are doing is breathing in deeply again. And as you breathe in deeply, not trying to change anything, not trying to change the thoughts or the feelings, simply allowing the vibrancy of the in-breath to fill your body, what is happening is that you are helping the body move to a higher vibration, to a higher state of being. And this is the only possible way to change any situation around you. This is the way to move beyond it, not to be attached, not to be caught up, not to be stuck or limited by whatever life is throwing at you, but rather to completely let go as you breathe in, to completely let go of everything except the gratitude of being alive, because all that counts is this moment. And this moment is your in-breath. As you breathe in, everything else is of no importance because after the inbreath, there is a moment between the in-breath and the out-breath where you can be still. And in that stillness there is an open space, a feeling that goes beyond human feelings. There is a deep, divine feeling that begins to bubble up from the depths into this wonderful being that is you. The human aspect that is you. And you begin to feel better. This is how transformation happens. You transform through joy and happiness. When we know that time is precious, and that life is precious, we utilize this gift in a very special way. We don’t waste it, we don’t create limitations around it. And that is the out-breath. We let go of whatever stops this feeling. We let go of the limiting negative emotions, of selfishness, of feeling insecure, lack of self-esteem, all of those human aspects that are important but that take us nowhere. Take a few moments to bring your consciousness back to the area of the heart, the heart energy point. Feel this in the chest and realize that you are not alone, that by doing this action you are connecting to many, many conscious beings around you, who at this moment, are celebrating the divine, and you have just been invited to this celebration. When you breathe in and out and feel good, and there is happiness inside your heart, you celebrate and you invite more people to this wonderful space that is ever expanding. As you move to this space of celebration, take a few moments to bring this awareness into your whole being so that the whole physiology of your body can begin to change. This meditation takes just a few moments, and it changes much more than you may realize. In every moment there is a choice. I believe that the world today is beautiful and I celebrate it wholly, not with fear but with joy and happiness and a gratitude for being alive. This is what I ask people to consider experiencing now, in this moment. Tony Samara, a living spiritual master, has chosen to incarnate at this time to realize the evolution of human consciousness. He is a bridge to unlimited beauty, a mirror of what is possible, a shining reminder of the endless potential of being human. Join Tony every Wednesday live (in audio format) on www.TonySamara.TV or visit the archives of this site in any moment of any day from wherever you are. For more information about Tony Samara and the Samara Foundation, please visit www.TonySamara.org.

his busy lifestyle as a single, working parent, Girvin continues to find time to surf. “It’s my church. It brings so much to me mentally and physically,” Girvin says. “You get a feeling riding on water that you can’t get anywhere else.” Confidence is key with Girvin. Fears subside and then he can focus on why he is out there—for the love. “The more you expose yourself, the less fear you will have,” says Girvin. “I think because I was exposed at such a young age, I was really never fearful.” Ted’s Fun Facts: Current Board: 8 ft. Performance Board, by Barry Vandermeulen. Favorite Board: His current board. Favorite Surfer: Brothers & Shane Dorian. Favorite Spot: North end of Bolsa.

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

Whatever their reasons, surfers fearlessly continue to connect themselves to Mother Nature’s unyielding ocean. Fear is pushed aside to make room for the love and passion that these surfers bring to the waters. This no fear mentality has a place in each surfer’s heart, for the love of surfing is well worth the risks. Amanda Hinds is a graduate from Kent State University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She is currently a design intern at Vision Magazine and has created cover art for several issues as well as page designs for the magazine. Contact her at 330.858.0445 or e-mail manderz0266@yahoo.com. “Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ” continued from page 27

SS: If we see our mind, it oscillates like a pendulum. It’s always thinking about the past, regretting the past, angry about the past, or anxious about the future, fearful about the future. You’re regretting the past, saying, “Oh, this was bad. It shouldn’t have happened.” We are always regretting what happened already, and we are anxious about the future. So the mind, every moment is oscillating between fear and anger. This oscillation happens every second [moves his hand like a pendulum], like that, like that, like that, like that. The moment [stops the pendulum]; that is meditation. Right in the moment, being in the present, going deep and deep and deep. So the art of living is to gain this ability in life. Very simple. Just the skill, the ability, to free your mind of the past, to free your mind of future fears, and to be able to play with every situation that is in front of you. To be able to take every situation that is in front of you. A complete new vision comes. The way to deal with life becomes very different with this. VM: The breath plays a key role in many of your programs. Why is that? SS: The breath has a great secret to offer, because for every emotion in the mind, there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. And each rhythm affects a certain part of the body. In sleep we get rid of fatigue, but the deeper stresses remain in our body. Through the breath you can throw off negative thoughts and difficult emotions, and feel fresh and new again. You know, you dust all over the place. If there is dust on your table or window, you clean your windows, you clean your tables. You dust. You wash your clothes. But we forget to wash this mind. Years and years of dust is sitting on it, but we don’t keep this mind dusted each day. Free and clean. Sudarshan Kriya is a powerful tool that cleanses the system from inside. It is one of the tools in our programs. Jeffrey Ainis is a freelance writer. He is an editor and author of several nonfiction books, and a former editor at the Hollywood Reporter. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be in Southern California, April 16-19, at the historic Art of Living Center, 948 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007. For more information on the public talks and the workshops he is giving in Los Angeles, visit www.artoflivingLA.org or call 310.820.9429.

M A R C H 20 11

Calendar

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Introductory Offer: Prepay for 3 ads and get the 4th free. Prepay for 6 ads and get a FREE standard 2x2 display ad. Large vertical ads (2 x 3.25) are $159. Standard size (2x2) ads are $135. Discounts for multiple issues. Call today at 866.804.8444 or listings@visionmagazine.com. Visa & MC accepted. Deadline is MARCH 15

MARCH MARCH 5 SATURDAY REFLEXOLOGY – (Open to everyone - Required for Spa & The Massage Therapist Certificate Program) Learn and experience traditional zone therapy, modern hand & foot reflexology, other release points, different styles, including ear/auricular massage. Give and receive treatments. Steve Schechter, NP, HHP, NHI Director, Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. MARCH 7 MONDAY ACCESS CONSCIOUSNESS with Dr Lisa Giusiana. Learn fast easy tools and processes to change any area of your life NOW. . .and forever! March 7th 6:30pm class. Details at www. AccessYourPhenomenalLife.com MARCH 8 TUESDAY SPIRITUAL AROMATHERAPY CERTIFICATION COURSE LEVEL I starts March 15th, Tuesdays 6:30-9:30pm. Free introductory class March 8th, Amrita Wellness Center 7820 Ivanhoe Ave. La Jolla, CA. 92037 858.779.9120. www. drmatea.com MARCH 9 WEDNESDAY DREAM INCUBATION 4 weeks starting in the waxing moon cycle to help accelerate a desire or solution to an issue in your life $25/session. For more details contact www.sacredtransformation.net 619.204.0504.

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MARCH 10 THURSDAY YOGA, TEA & CHAT: Learn about Nataraja, informally, from current students! Complimentary Yoga at 5:30 PM. Tea & Chat at 6:30 PM. RSVP: programs@ vogelinstitute.com or 858.731.9879. Nataraja Meditation & Yoga Center - www. evogel.net. MARCH 11 FRIDAY HOW MEDITATION CREATES FOCUS 7:00-8:00pm - Learn simple techniques, with lasting results. FREE Lecture in Ventura. 805.633.4776 or visit www. RaisingHumanConsciousness.org for details. Weekly classes commencing mid March. MARCH 12 SATURDAY HOST OF HGTV’s FUN SHUI Stephanie McWilliams presents “7 Simple Steps to Design a Space for Success”. Learn her best-kept feng shui secrets – Change your Space, Change your Life! 122:30pm Saturday March 12th @ La Jolla Brewhouse, 7536 Fay Ave. La Jolla. $15 RSVP: MeetUp.com/GoddessNetworking-Group/ or 858.692.9095 or email michelle@pure-goddess.com INHALE LIFE! TRANSFORMATIONAL BREATH INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP. Learn and EXPERIENCE this profoundly empowering technique. Encinitas, 1-4 pm. Mention VISION for $5 off. More information: 760.445.4264 or www.breathflow.com MARCH 13 SUNDAY

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V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

Tuition is $25/advance and $30/door. For more details and registration visit mytransformationcircles.com

M A R C H 20 11

MARCH 16-18 WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY IET PRACTITIONER INTENSIVE with Bonny Kraus, Top 30 Master IET Instructor in HONOLULU, HI. 3 levels of certification for self, distant, and client healing with the Angels. Includes 3 DNA Attunements. 24 CEU’s. 928.300.0359 www.learniet.com/ bonny_kraus.asp MARCH 19 SATURDAY MAKING PEACE WITH ANXIETY Activate your inner peace through body awareness, meditation, and deep relaxation. March 19th 1:00 -4:00 p.m. www.yogawell.com ENERGETIC / VIBRATIONAL HEALING Learn Therapeutic Touch Polarity, Chakra Balancing, Aura, traditional Laying-Onof-Hands, More. You will experience and practice these modalities plus. “Read” the body’s energy fields to assist you and your clients in clearing energy blocks. Methods to receive information about specific energy centers (chakras). Learn to actually see and sense aura! Visually assess energy blocks. Highly experiential!! 18 Credits. Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P., NHI Director, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com MARCH 20 SUNDAY LABYRINTH WALK March 20 Sunday EVENING 7:00p.m. – 8:30p.m. FREE Pamela Underwood, BFA, MA, RSVP Required: 619.857.8820 visit www. pamelaunderwood.com or email pamela@ pamelaunderwood.com, MARCH 22 tuesDAY FOOD POWER & SUPERFOODS Rx Dr. Steve Pratt, M.D., New York Times Best-Selling Author. 3.5 Credits. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www. naturalhealinginst.com MARCH 24 thursDAY WINE, WOMEN & HORMONES Get all your questions answered about bioidentical hormone therapy with Janette Gray, MD and Chris Givant, Rph - national experts in the field of balancing hormones and healthy aging. Thursday, March 24, 6:30p.m. -9p.m., RSVP at 619.814.5500 MARCH 25-27 FRIDAY-SUNDAY AKASHIC RECORDS PRACTITIONER TRAINING/ LOS ANGELES: Learn to read the Akashic Records for yourself and others in one-weekend certification trainings. Access the vibrational dimension of your Soul’s journey through lifetimes for guidance, healing, creative evolution. Private readings also available. Barbara Schiffman, 818.415.3479, www.YourLifeandSoul.com, www.Meetup.com/AkashicLA

MARCH 26 SATURDAY

ENERGETIC / VIBRATIONAL HEALING Learn Therapeutic Touch Polarity, Chakra Balancing, Aura, traditional Laying-Onof-Hands, More. You will experience and practice these modalities plus. “Read” the body’s energy fields to assist you and your clients in clearing energy blocks. Methods to receive information about specific energy centers (chakras). Learn to actually see and sense aura! Visually assess energy blocks. Highly experiential!! 18 Credits. Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P., NHI Director, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com MARCH 28 MONDAY ONE-DAY INTRODUCTION TO PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE, Monday, March 28, 2011 with special guest lecturer James Hillman, Ph.D. This special program has been designed to give prospective students a comprehensive introduction and orientation to the unique educational features of the school. Please visit the Public Programs page at www.pacifica. edu for information about pricing and registration. Or call 805.969.3626 ext. 103. MARCH 29 tuesDAY SYNERGY OF FOODS + FOODS FOR LIFE + PREGNANCY + MORE Dr. Pratt, M.D., New York Times Best-Selling Author. 3.5 Credits. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485, www.naturalhealinginst. com MARCH 30 WEDNESDAY ONE HEART ONE-MIND 7-9pm Discover a new way of interpreting Christianity, compatible with inclusiveness and love. Free Event presented by Dr. Tom Sannar, One Heart-One Mind CSL, 10225 Barnes Cyn. Rd. Ste C-100, San Diego, CA 92121 858.453.9830, www.oneheart-onemind. org

APRIL APRIL 2-9 SATURDAY-SATURDAY DR. PAT ALLEN “THE ART OF RELATIONSHIPS” cruise to the Mexican Riviera for singles and couples. April 2 – 9, 2011. www.drPatAllen.com. Contact Blanca at Willett Travel 800.994.5538.

APRIL 2 SATURDAY IMMUNE BOOSTING LYMPH MASSAGE Learn major lymph channels, highly effective techniques for clearing and detoxifying lymph system. + Unique techniques presented for stimulating immunity, thymus, spleen, bone marrow, developed by Steve while co-directing largest U.S. Medical Detox Clinic. 18 Credits. Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P., NHI Director, 760.943.8485, www. naturalhealinginst.com APRIL 9 SATURDAY IMMUNE BOOSTING LYMPH MASSAGE Learn major lymph channels, highly effective techniques for clearing and detoxifying lymph system. + Unique techniques presented for stimulating immunity, thymus, spleen, bone marrow, developed by Steve while co-directing largest U.S. Medical Detox Clinic. 18 Credits. Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P., NHI Director, 760.943.8485, www. naturalhealinginst.com APRIL 9-10 SATURDAY-SUNDAY WEEKEND RETREAT WITH KARL RENZ, author of “If You Wake Up, Don’t Take it Personally.” April 9-10, 10:00-5:30. Tamarack Beach Resort, Carlsbad. To reserve, call Inner Directions: 760.599.4075, or online: www. InnerDirections.org APRIL 13 WEDNESDAY PRO PENINSULA INVITES YOU TO SYRCL’S WILD & SCENIC ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL Wednesday, April 13th 2011 @ The Town & Country Hotel! Join us for another inspiring selection of films that will change your world! Take advantage of our early bird 2-for-1 special by purchasing your tickets online before March 15th. Visit: http://www.propeninsula.org/wildscenic for more event information.

APRIL 16 & 17 SATURDAY & SUNDAY YOGA INSTRUCTOR, SOMOTICS & MOVEMENT THERAPIST (YISMT)™ & Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) ™ training series for Certification and National Registration. 200 Credits. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485, www. naturalhealinginst.com LEVEL I/II RECONNECITVE HEALING SEMINAR with Doug De Vito Discover why hospitals and universities around the world are investing time and money in an attempt to understand these unprecedented healings… and how you too, can master this extraordinary work! TheReconnection.com APRIL 17-19 SUNDAY-TUESDAY THE ART OF LIVING COURSE Sri Sri will teach portions of this workshop, The cornerstone of this workshop is Sudarshan Kriya a highly effective technique that uses the rhythms of breath to improve health and increase joy. ArtofLIvingLA.org Register Now! 310.820.9429 UPANISHADS COMMENTARY – A CHANCE TO SIT LIKE ASPIRANTS OF OLD AS SRI SRI goes deeply into the Ancient Upanishads. ArtofLIvingLA.org Register Now! 310.820.9429 APRIL 18 & 19 MONDAY & TUESDAY LEVEL III THE RECONNECTION SEMINAR taught by The Reconnection Teaching Team The Reconnection brings in “new” axiatonal lines that reconnect us on a more powerful and evolved level than ever before. This course will teach you how to bring in and activate these new lines, allowing for the exchange – beyond energy – of light and information, the reconnection of DNA strands and the reintegration of “strings”. For more information visit: TheReconnection.com

APRIL 15 FRIDAY RECONNECTIVE YOGA WORKSHOP taught by Doug De Vito with Elizabeth Polito. Reconnective Yoga™ unites the practice of Yoga with Reconnective Healing® and creates a powerful new way to align your body, mind and spirit. Reconnective Healing uses energy, light and information in a powerful new spectrum of frequencies to bring your entire being into balance. You’ll experience direct alignment with universal oneness and discover a new dimension of Yoga! April 15 @ 7:00 pm. TheReconnection. com

APRIL 30 SATURDAY RECONNECTIVE KIDS CLASSES TAUGHT BY HOLLY HAWKINS. Reconnective Kids! is a new program from The Reconnection® – created to teach children Reconnective Healing®! Reconnective Kids! engages children in a powerful and interactive play-workshop format designed to introduce these intelligent, empowering and transformative new healing frequencies to children. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 4 - 7 year olds (parent invited) 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. 8 - 14 year olds (children only) For more information contact Holly Hawkins, email: Holly@ HollyHawkins.net or call 760.803.4297.

APRIL 16 SATURDAY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR In This Time of Great Change an evening of wisdom and grace with his holiness. ArtofLIvingLA.org Sat. April 16, 5 and 7:30pm. Get Tickets Now! 310.820.9429

YOUR NATURAL BABY FAIR a FREE event for all your fertility, pregnancy, birth, and baby care needs, will be held at The NTC Promenade at Liberty Station in San Diego, California. This is an all-day event with education and fun on April 30th from 9:00am to 5:00pm. 760.689. BABY (2229) www.naturalbabypros.com

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

APRIL 30 SATURDAY STUMBLING INTO HAPPINESS RETREA Explore the wellspring of happiness within. Cultivate happiness in your own life, for all beings and our world. 9:30 3pm. Abigail@spiritmountainretreat.org or www.spiritmountainretreat.org 04.11 APRIL 30-May 1 SATURDAY-SUNDAY STAR ESSENCE FLOWER & GEMSTONE ESSENCE PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION COURSE Santa Barbara, CA. For more information please visit: www.staressence.com. 805.965.1619/888.277.4955 or email bliss@staressence.com.

ONGOING SUNDAYS

Harmony Grove Spiritualist Association

Services

Incorporated and Serving ALL in California Since 1896

SaturdaysHealing 1:00pm Church 2:00pm Sundays Healing 10:00am Church 11:00am

Psychic Fair

1st Sat. of Month, 10:00am-4:00pm

Certification and Personal Growth Classes

• Mediumship • Healing • Ministerial • Ordinations

Private Readings Available Information about Speakers & Directions

760-745-9176

Escondido, CA www.harmonygrovespiritualist.org FIND THE CENTER OF DIVINITY WITHIN! Inspirational prayers, metaphysical teachings, music, social hour to follow. 10:30a.m.-11:30a.m. Teaching of the Inner Christ 1100 N. Second St. Suite 1114 El Cajon, CA 92021. 619.447.7007 03.11 ONENESS MEDITATION & ENERGY ATTUNEMENT – Offers deep breathing meditation and alignment of your personal energy field. An interactive Oneness group where each shares their gifts and holds the space for each other’s healing and empowerment. Don’t know your gifts? Goddess Light and Ordained Metaphysician Tauheedah Shakoor-Curry creates safe space and delivers spirit messages to help clarify your calling. 11am – 1pm at The Imagine Center, 18635 Ventura Boulevard, Tarzana, CA 91356. $10 love offering. Register at 818.345.1100 or online at ww.theimaginecenter.com. The Group does NOT meet on the fourth Sunday of the month.

SUNDAYS SPICA – WAY OF LIGHT INSPIRATIONAL SERVICES 2nd Sunday of the month at 10am, 4th Sunday at 9am. Myztic Isle Bookstore, 8036 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA. 619.588.6483 for information. MONDAYS NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION TELECLASSES: Learn empathic healing for yourself and others. Enhance your effective communication and relationship skills. Join anytime, ongoing. www. walkyourtalk.org or 805.898.9336. FREE PSYCHIC READINGS every FIRST Monday 7:30p.m. by students in Vessa’s INTUITIVE INSIGHTS Clairvoyant Program, 4455 Morena Blvd. #108, 858.509.7582 www.MyIntuition.Net 06.11 $8 BEGINNERS YOGA CLASSES Monday @ 6:00p.m. Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m. 2333 Camino del Rio South #240 92108 www.yogawell.com 619.917.0998 MIRACULOUS MONDAYS - Complimentary Holistic Health classes 6-7, 7-8 or 6-10p.m. Zen-Touch & Massage sessions 8:15-9:15p.m. (by donation or Massage CEUs available $15/hr). School of Healing Arts, 1001 Garnet Ave. #200, Paciﬁc Beach, 92109. Contact Joy to register. 619.316.6714. joy@zen-touch. com. 04.11 TUESDAYS CLINICAL NUTRITION (CNC)™ Full Certiﬁcation. Special Discounts. Most comprehensive training from nationally honored Nutritionists. Revised! 7:00-9:55p.m. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485, www. naturalhealinginst.com. 02.11

WEDNESDAYS MIRACLE CIRCLE MEDITATION Connect with your inner divinity through deep meditation, inspirational prayers, and group discussion. 7p.m.-8p.m. Teaching of the Inner Christ 1100 N. Second St. Suite 1114 El Cajon, CA 92021. 619.447.7007 03.11 CLINICAL MASTER HERBOLOGY. Introductory or Full Certification. Special Discounts. Most comprehensive training from nationally honored Master Herbalists. + Herb Walks. Revised! 7:00-9:55 pm. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst. com THURSDAYS FREE DETOXIFICATION AND WEIGHT LOSS CLASS 1st Thursday of every month. 6:30p.m. Easy and successful program. Register @ Body Basics Health Center, San Diego. 619.296.7390 06.11 FRIDAYS HAPPINESS CLASSES - Based on the lifehealing teachings of VERNON HOWARD, Fridays - 8p.m.; Sundays - 10a.m. New Life Foundation, 5779 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA. 714.899.9300 Conquer stress, handle difficult people with ease, banish problems. Donation basis. 04.11 SATURDAYS PSYCHIC SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES WITH CORRINE – This practice circle meets on the first and third Saturday of each month and will help you increase your intuitive abilities and strengthen your connection with Spirit. Focus is on receiving and delivering loving messages from spirit guides, angels and deceased loved ones. The goal is to relate messages that are for the highest and best good of each participant. Saturdays; 3/5, 3/19 and 4/2 from 1 – 3p.m. at the Imagine Center, 18635 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91356. $15 minimum donation. Register at 818.345.1100 or online at www. theimaginecenter.com .

“Tom Shadyac” continued from page 25

spirit. But this idea that we have to be number one, that we have slipped in terms of education, to me those numbers, that linear way of looking at things, is not important. What is important is, are Americans becoming fully themselves? If we are in our authentic selves, number one in science, then fantastic. It’s not the number that matters, it’s the blossoming of the human being and their unique talents. I think we are evolving. Competition is a part of who we are and I think the film states that. I think we enjoy watching an athlete, to see how fast he or she can run or jump. We enjoy seeing the most incredible mathematician calculate before our eyes. The thing what we have to examine is whether “to the winner belongs all the spoils.” I think we have to move away and have a conversation of the elevation of the winners as opposed to the celebration of the winners. What we tend to do, as a society, is we elevate them. There are lists of people that make the most money, movies that grossed the most money, whose businesses take in the most profits. I think that [type of evaluation] has to be reexamined. If there are going to be lists in the future I think those lists might look different. The person who has been able to build something socially or add a value to his or her V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

community will be someone that might make a list in the future. But it certainly won’t be these linear things. The only act of giving, pointed out in the Old Testament, was a widow who gave a penny, even less than a penny, but it was all she had. I think we have a bit of that. VM: How can we get films like “I Am” to become more mainstream? TS: We would like as many people to see the film as possible, for no other reason than to start a conversation and to open up to these ideas and possibilities. I think it starts as our society begins to evolve and people hunger for something new. We are frustrated right now, we have seen an economy that can’t be fi xed, and we’ve seen an environment that has got major challenges for our future. As we become more and more frustrated I think we will become hungrier and hungrier for something new. So that is going to create an opportunity for films like this to get into the zeitgeist. A few years ago no one would have thought that “An Inconvenient Truth” could have made it into the mainstream. It is a very difficult film, and tells a very dire story, but it was time. I think people could sense it. Our hope and belief is that it is time for this conversation. Hopefully this film will meet some of that need. The stress levels of our society are so high. We have young people entering college who are at the highest stress levels recorded, for so many reasons. They see an economy that, in their minds, they won’t be able to step into, and have a future and the pressure of education where education separates them from their peers and they have to rise above their peers, and they have to be better than their peers or society tells them that they will not make it. Those kinds of stresses I think we have to reexamine, because when you are that stressed out, it’s what a Guru once told me, when you are sick you can’t feed someone spicy soup. We have a culture that is being fed broth a lot of the time. I think our TV today, has things that we respond to, even in these reality-based shows, that don’t have much to do with reality; they are an artifice of reality, they are broth. They allow someone to move away temporarily from a stress, but it doesn’t feed them for long like a nice meditation would, or a nice piece of reading would, or conversation with their family would. But they need that broth now. So I think we have to reconstruct as a society and as we do that we are going to crave more and more spicy (elements). VM: Overall, do you have hope for our world? TS: Because of this process, and it hasn’t been without its share of challenges— we have had many—I have actually moved from hope to faith. Hope is the belief that it may happen and faith is knowing that it is going to happen. I believe that it is going to happen. That belief can be challenged. The reason I believe is because the end result, shifting to a more service-based society which is happier, more fulfilled, more content, more purpose-filled society. The end result is so positive that I think that model is going to spread worldwide. Not that we aren’t going to have our problems or challenges—they will be plentiful—but it will be inside of a context of a shift from this idea of, I take care of me first, to reawaken to the positive social function. That, we already know, brings lives that are joyful and fulfilled. If it were the opposite, bringing lives that were meaningless and purposeless and dissatisfied, it wouldn’t work. When you look at the people who are serving, the young people, for example, that started Invisible Children, they could have been corporate bosses making six to seven figures but who devoted their lives to freeing child soldiers. And if you look at their lives and you see how that ripple effect of the joy and purpose and the passion that is their life, you see how that ripples through the youth. And how hundreds of thousands of our youth are following them. You can see how their lives are going to work. Their lives are richer for having attached themselves to true wealth, which is helping their fellow human beings. For more information on the documentary, I Am, please visit www.iamthedoc.com. I Am is now playing in select theatres in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. Beginning March 4, the film will come to theatres in California as well as other US states later in March.

M A R C H 20 11

“I an of th ca mo tu Il br sto yo yo rem to El fre us pu

v i s i o n a r y

a r t i s t

Peekaboo

“I was born in Moscow, central Russia. We would go with my parents to the sea in the summer, and those were my happiest memories. The sun, the smell of freshness, the salty air, the sound of the waves, the breeze, the colors of sunrise and sunset, the vastness of the water, the stars on the night sky, shapes of the clouds, changing every single moment and never repeating—you can multiply all this many times over for the Bahamas, where I live now. It’s magnificent. The most beautiful place on Earth. I live on the small island, surrounded by ocean. Clean, clear, turquoise water. I love being underwater, to be liberated from the bounds of the earth, to pause and catch my breath, to slow down and reflect. For me it is the most peaceful and serene experience. Time stops and you are immersed in the present moment. No future, no past, no worries. You can hear your breath and heartbeat. All sounds are muted, and from within, all perceptions change and you are cocooned in warm liquid. That must be the feeling in the mother’s womb, if you could remember it. The experience leaves you refreshed, rejuvenated, content. It is an escape—escape to the real present from the illusional reality.” Elena Kalis specializes in underwater photography, and at the present moment she works as a freelance photographer, apart from her dedication to personal projects. Her images have been used for book, magazine, and CD covers, and have appeared in print magazines and online publications.

Walking on Water V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

Imposter

www.elenakalisphoto.com sugarock99@gmail.com Time stops and you are immersed in the present moment

Who Are You? M A R C H 20 11

u n c o m m o n

p e o p l e

Y Rael:

ears ago, everybody knew that the earth was flat, everybody knew that the sun revolved around the earth, and today everybody knows that life on earth is either the result of random evolution or the work of a supernatural

An Exploration with Florence Angel

God. Or is it? In “Message from the Designers,” Rael presents us with the vast amount of information that he received during his UFO encounters in 1973, a third option: all life on Earth having been created by advanced scientists from another world.

Vision Magazine: What is Raelianism? Florence: It’s an atheist religion. I know that sounds contradictory, but Raelians are very spiritual even though they don’t believe in God or any other supernatural force. The spiritual side of Raelian philosophy emphasizes meditation, love and harmony, and it also explains that since both time and space are infinite, there was no “First Cause.” Raelians reject both evolution and the idea of any supernatural deity. We believe science is crucial to humanity’s future, but the theory of evolution is exactly that—a theory. It’s a theory full of holes, and an increasing number of scientists are starting to see that the so-called missing links are missing for a very good reason: they never existed in the first place.

Vision Magazine: Where does your philosophy come from? Florence: Our philosophy comes directly from humanity’s true creators, the extraterrestrial scientists referred to in all ancient scriptures. In the Bible, for example, they are called “Elohim.” They came to Earth and created all life on this planet, including human beings, through advanced genetic engineering. Their science is 25,000 years ahead of ours, so they were mistaken for gods by our primitive ancestors. Vision Magazine: How did they share this information with Raelians? Florence: The Elohim have sent a series of messengers to help guide humanity’s progress. Rael, who founded the International Raelian Movement and still serves as its spiritual leader, is the last of those messengers. He is their final prophet because the Elohim want to return to Earth now that humanity’s progress is sufficient for us to understand the truth about our origins. Rael gives seminars around the world and after nearly 40 years, he is still carrying out his two missions—spreading the messages given to him by the Elohim and working to build the embassy they’ve requested as a condition for their return. Vision Magazine: Where can people learn more about Raelianism and the Elohim Messages? Florence: Rael is giving a seminar in Las Vegas from March 27 to April 2, 2011. He will be speaking daily at the Alexis Park Hotel, and Raelians from around the world will attend this event. The seminar is known as the Happiness Academy, and it’s free of charge for all those who attend for the first time. We hope as many people as possible will come and listen to the Elohim’s last mes™ senger while he is still with Energetic Cosmetic™ Skin Spray us. But if you can’t attend, you can contact us through the website and we’ll put Revitalizes “water of youth” in skin you in touch with a Raelian Restores luster and smoothness Improves skin elasticity by up to 50% Guide in your area. Meetings take place regularly in many cities across the United States and around the world. In the Age Defying Youthful meantime, you can downBeauty That Improves load Rael’s book “Intelligent with Every Bottle Design” for free. It contains the messages given to Rael by OR Your the Elohim, which provide a Money Back! comprehensive template for human happiness. That’s why we named the THE AGELESS SECRET is the Energetic Cosmetic upcoming seminar “The that helps recreate that healthy, youthful glow. Happiness Academy.” We This all natural and organic product restores skin luster and smoothness and reconditions and tones were created to be happy, muscles to give long term results. and it’s easy to be happy if we follow the advice of our Results further enhanced by LED Beauty Light. creators!” For more information about THE AGELESS SECRET You can register online at Call Paula or Jim at 888.424.4247 or 760.341.2255 www.rael.org. Florence Angel www.AgelessSecret.com is a Raelian Guide and the Pacific regions manager.

THE AGELESS SECRET

™

V I S I O N M AG A Z I N E

M A R C H 20 11

FEMININE REFORMATION A Goddess Meta Narrative

Book by Jayne Marie DeMente

“Feminine Reformatio n: A Goddess Meta Narrative, by Jayne Marie DeMente, is a great resource for tho se newly discovering the reclaiming of fem inine spiritual insigh t outside that which is called mainstream religion. With a concise outline, an informative bibliograp hy for each chapter and presenting workshops for the reader/student, it is a veritable Godde ss 101 course textbook and would be a welcome addition to curricula in Community & City Colleges as well as in Undergraduate course s at the University.” - Patti Davis, MA

Women’s Spiritual Edu cation & MA Women’s Arc haeology. Research Film Contributor: Signs out of Time: the sto ry of archaeolist Marija Gim butas

of “Jayne Marie DeMente’s anthology represents the authentic spirit ting apprecia by growing ly constant s, program ity Women’s Spiritual of our foremothers, yet respecting them by voicing our own points ng expressi and knowing of ways of variety wide a view, embracing our truths while inviting everyone into the conversation and the work of changing the dominant paradigm, and thereby opening the possibility of a better world. I also take a maternal joy in ﬁnding several of my students in what Jayne calls this ‘primer’.”

Philosophy, - Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Ph. D., Professor, Department of Studies, Religion, and Women’s Spirituality, California Institute of Integral San Francisco, California

“I think the book is such a needed an welcomed ad d dition to th e growing co of women re rpus vealing the feminine wis traditions in dom both history and context… that by women know reclaiming w oman’s roots her true power and from history, that a renaissa and rebirth ar nce e as inevitabl e as is a blos opening from som the bud. A bu d is about surviv and a blossom al about beauty and symphon unfoldment. ic I am reminde d that the la renaissance st was man’s lo oking back golden age, it to a is time for wom en to do so and to this call you ar e responding and your wor efforts are de k and eply apprecia ted.” – Le igh McClosk ey, Actor, W Spiritualist riter, Filmmak er,

I am frequently asked why this information is so important for me to share and this is my response: not everyone chooses to be a sage and walk a path to enlightenment. They look to the sage to tell them the true “story”. Therefore, it is ethical and right that we tell the most “truthful” story we know. - JMD Writer, Editor and Contributor - Jayne Marie DeMente, holds a Masters Degree in Religion and Philosophy, with an emphasis in Women’s Spirituality from the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA, USA. She is also Founder/Director of Women’s Heritage Project and Spiritual Cultural Arts Endowment Program, having given 20 grants to women’s research topics and she Co-Hosts an online monthly radio program, Creatrix Media Live. www.blogtalkradio.com A Thea/olgy Textbook on What’s This Goddess Stuff All About? It is a basic primer guidebook for BA programs, libraries and book clubs, circle facilitators and spiritual leaders, physicians and healers, and global spiritual and political earth activists. Theology, Spirituality, Activism, Religion and Philosophy and Self Awareness. $45 Copyright 2005/2010 & ISBN # 4779 - Amazon Sales are Pending

www.WomensHeritageProject.ning.com Women’s Heritage Publishers (a Women’s Heritage Endowment Project) 310.384.0066 Mystic Journey Bookstore, 1319 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 310.399.7070

In this time

of great change . . . a n evening of Wisdom, meditation & grace With his holiness

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Sat., April 16 5 pm & 7:30 pm Get Tickets Now!

“Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s approach to inner peace is like fresh air to millions.” — The Washington Post

artoflivingLA.org

•

310-820-9429

Also during Sri Sri’s visit . . . The Art of Living Course

Upanishads Commentary

April 17–19 • Sri Sri will lead portions of this workshop. Includes practical knowledge and tools for living a life of fulfillment. The cornerstone of the workshop is Sudarshan Kriya, a highly effective technique that uses rhythms of breath to release stress, improve health, increase joy, and bring the mind to the present moment.

April 17–19 • A chance to sit like the aspirants of old, as Sri Sri goes deeply into one of the ancient Upanishads, considered the pinnacle of the ancient wisdom. Upanishad is a Sanskrit word that means “sitting close.” When explored with someone who lives it, the wisdom can be transmitted as a direct experience.

The Art of Living Center, 948 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles 90007 ArtofLivingLA.org • breathing, meditation, yoga, kirtan, special events & more … The Art of Living Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational & humanitarian organization. 152 Countries • 25 Million People • 30 Years of Service & Celebration