Vision Magazine Back to Nature by Vision magazine

inside Catalyst for Conscious Living

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Viewpoint Reconnecting To Nature

7-8

Holistic Living Medicine Cabinet Makover Dementia

Greek To Me Hunting: A Day In the Life

Ask The LifequakeTM Doctor Advice About Life Transitions

11-13 Mindstates Whole Being Weekend Coming Back to Nature Back to Our Essential Nature

16-19 Culture We Can Sense How Long We Can Live Finding Our Nature Inside and Out 18

Astrology August 2012 Forcast

20-23

Healing Arts Portable Grand Canyon Season of the Spider Matrix International University

Contributing Writers

Adrienne Abeyta, Dr. Toni Galardi, Michael Raysses, Daphne Carpenter, Rev. Gerry Bedard, Jana Tzinberg, Charles Creekmore, Joshua Besenette, Shannon Nies, Joseph M., Teresa W., Abjiraj D., Jennifer M., Sean Cutie, Anthony William, Jill Mettson, Alicia Sacks

24-27

Features Bhakti Fest 2012 New Life Awakening With Yogiraj

Community Resources

34-37

Vision Café Witch Doctor Body, Mind Spirit Expo South American Imports Emotional Healing From Flower Sounds

Holistic Living Confessions of An Animal Lover

Calendar

Visionary Artist Zara Kand

On the Cover

Yogiraj Cover Photo by Atul Sharma August 2012 Theme: Back to Nature

Next Month, September 2012 Theme: World Hot Spots

End Mental Blocks and Soar Freely Order this powerful Vernon Howard compact disk today!

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VIEWPOINT

Reconnecting to

Nature by Rev. Gerry Bedard

efore moving to California, I lived in a small New England town in Massachusetts. In the late 1950s, our town still had a horse-drawn milk wagon and 10 farms. It was easy to find quiet open space or woods to enjoy nature’s simple pleasures. As children, we would play in the woods near our house until the streetlights came on, signaling it was time to go home. Unfortunately I would eventually watch our town lose the farms and open space to urban expansion. Homes and shopping malls took the place of trees and fields. Our last major wooded area, The Great Woods, was cut in two by a highway expansion project. Our town had lost most of its natural innocence. As an adult, I continued to seek out what was left of my quickly disappearing childhood playground. Urban sprawl had eaten up virtually all of the open space. Home centers, fast food, and industrial buildings were now common. We had only one farm left, still family-owned, I should add. Last year, fate stepped into my life in the form of an opportunity to move to Encinitas, California. I had been visiting Encinitas for the past 11 years, so I was familiar with the area. I took a leap of faith, sold everything, and drove across the country. I immediately began to get reconnected with nature. I bought Jerry Schad’s book, “Afoot and Afield,” and began exploring the forests, mountains, deserts, and beaches of San Diego County. Getting back to nature is one of the best and cheapest ways to improve your well-being and connect to your higher self. Life’s “hamster wheel” can leave us feeling stressed, irritable, angry, or physically sick. Getting back to nature and her invigorating energy

The first step for me is finding a place to hike or walk and taking the necessary hiking gear. I leave behind all electronic devices—iPod nano, blackberry, cell phone, etc.

allows peace, creativity, and calm to return. The first step for me is finding a place to hike or walk and taking the necessary hiking gear. I leave behind all electronic devices— iPod nano, blackberry, cell phone, etc. Before I start, I do a brief meditation (a mind flush) to get centered. I look around and familiarize myself with what I see, really notice my surroundings, and try to become aware of the peace that exists around me. As my walk begins, I remain aware of what I see. The other senses begin to make their presence known. The wind touches my skin. I hear sounds now that were not apparent moments ago, such as the cry of a hawk overhead. My sense of smell awakens with the pungent smell of wild rosemary. If I catch myself thinking or labeling something, I don’t get involved with it. I just accept it as it is, myself as I am, and the moment as it is, entirely perfect. Then all of a sudden everything just stops at the awareness of something truly beautiful—a flower, a twisted juniper growing out of solid rock, or an unusual sandstone formation. I realize that my thinking has stopped for a few seconds and I feel briefly reconnected, one with that moment. The gaps, without thinking, increase. My awareness, presence, and connection with natural energy grow. My feet feel the ground beneath them. What sounds are they making? Am I walking on leaves, stones, or sand? My senses become as hyper-aware as I imagine our ancient ancestors were. When working with others, I may encourage them to find an object as they walk, and pick it up. It could be a stone, a seashell, a stick, whatever. Now study that object. Don’t think about it. Just look at it without judgment. Use your senses to “feel” it. What do your senses tell you about your object? Is there energy in it? Continue walking. When you find a suitable spot (not man-made), sit down. Be aware of your breathing and your senses. Avoid places that look or feel distressed, such as trees with misshapen branches, lack of vegetation, or beer cans. Take two deep breaths. When you breathe in, think “still,” and upon exhaling, think “ness.” Now, through your root chakra, feel earth’s energy flowing into your body. You have an energy field. Everything you see around you has an energy field. These energy fields or waves radiate out, mingling with other energy waves traveling around Mother Earth out into space, the universe, and beyond. You are not doing the work; nature is working for you, through you. Be an open channel. You may feel a slight tingling as you do this. Be aware of the silences between the sounds you hear and keep your eyes open as you do this. Just be a silent witness to everything around you. Just be. When you are ready, stand up, and in your own way express, gratitude for your experience. Begin your return journey. Continue your way back with your heightened awareness. Be aware of your breathing. Feel the natural energy in your body as it soothes and relaxes you. You can stop at any time and just be in the moment. Everything is connected. Reconnecting to nature gives us peace and serenity. It can restore us to our higher selves. It can quiet the internal noise of constant thinking and get us off the hamster wheel. Time spent in nature is our time to think about nothing and to reconnect to this powerful source. I feel that getting back to nature grounds me and brings me to a place of peace. It’s a good practice in staying in the present moment and staying in touch with your higher self. Rev. Gerry Bedard is an experienced dowser and energy healer. Historically, dowsing was used to find water and minerals in the ground. In the last few hundred years, and as it is used today, dowsing has identified energy lines, vortexes, power spots, and a host of other naturally occurring energies. All things have a detectable energy field and anyone can dowse. Gerry also teaches classes on reconnecting with natural energy. For more information, visit www.healingconnection.info.

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HOLISTIC LIVING

Medicine Cabinet Makeover by Jana Tzinberg

hat would you say if I told you I could replace all of your overthe-counter medications with essential oils? Well, I can, and I am here to share with you how to do that. First of all, you want to make sure that you are using Certified Pure TherapeuticGrade (CPTG) essential oils. Many times we may think we are using pure oils because of what the labels say, but you have to investigate this further to be sure. Most essential oils have some type of synthetics or fillers in them that can be harmful to our bodies and could cause some side effects. That is why the labels will tell you not to take them internally. CPTG essential oils are exactly what they are labeled to be. Nothing has been added or subtracted from these oils; they are pure. When you open your medicine cabinet, like most people, you probably have an assortment of over-the-counter medications to help with all kinds of ailments. I used to have anti-itch creams, upset stomach pills, nasal sprays, toothache gels, etc. It was all there for when I would experience a symptom or problem. When I got introduced to CPTG essential oils and heard about all of their health benefits, I was eager to learn more. After all, these oils date back to 1500 B.C. and beyond. They were civilizations’ first medicine. Somehow we lost this knowledge and were led to believe that the answer to all of our health issues came from a prescription pad. I was one of the many who followed this course. That is until I was introduced to essential oils. What a great ride it has been! So let’s start at the beginning and clear out your own medicine cabinet. Let’s start with lavender. Lavender is called the “universal oil” by essential oil lovers. They say, “When in doubt, use lavender.” This oil is amazing. Basically any skin issue you could have can be helped with lavender—sunburns, itching, acne, rashes, scars, bites, stings. It is also a great sleep aid. It helps relieve

anxiety and stress. This is the oil that I think everyone should start with when they are new to using essential oils. Melaleuca oil is the second most common oil. You may know it by its more common name of tea tree oil. This oil is great for most skin issues and is also known to help with pain from canker sores and for helping with ear aches and ear infections. There are even studies being done right now on how melaleuca is helping with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. The next oil that can replace many of the medications in your cabinet is peppermint. This oil helps bring down fevers in children and relieves headaches. It is a cooling oil that is commonly used for sunburns and heat rash. It actually increases the oxygen levels in the body, which helps with pain and swelling. For digestive issues, there are a couple of oils I use that work really well. Fennel is great for people who experience diarrhea and digestion problems. Ginger works well for indigestion, nausea, and vomiting. It has been used for motion sickness as well. Frankincense oil is called the “king of essential oils.” There are many studies on this oil regarding cancer treatments and neurological issues. It has also been used for high blood pressure and immune system support. Frankincense has also been known to help with depression in many people. This oil is one of the oldest oils known to man and is considered a holy oil in the Middle East. Eucalyptus oil is used for most respiratory issues. It is known to help relieve symptoms from bronchitis, congestion, coughs, and asthma. It is antiinflammatory and works very quickly on people who are suffering from these issues. Clary sage essential oil is every woman’s dream oil. This oil helps with all

Lavender, Frankincense, Melaleuca, Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Clary Sage, Lemon, Bergamont, Grapefruit, Wintergreen, Marjoram, Fennel...

OILS THAT WORK!

continued on page 46

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HOLISTIC LIVING

Decrease Your Risk of Alzheimer’s and Other Types of Dementia by Dr. Diane Darby Beach

n estimated 5.5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease. This number is expected to double by the year 2050 as the elderly segment of our population grows. As Baby Boomers age, the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease will increase dramatically. Is there anything you can do to prevent this from happening to you or someone you love? The answer is this: You may not be able to completely eliminate the possibility of getting the disease, but you can reduce your risk significantly by living a “brain-healthy life.” Recent research has linked certain lifestyle components to an increase in cognitive function and a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. A brain-healthy lifestyle includes the following: physical exercise; mental exercise; sound nutrition; social connection; and avoidance of cardiovascular disease.

Physical Exercise: Get Moving! Recent research studies show that regular physical exercise (three to four times a week) may have significantly positive effects on brain function. Ideally, you want to aim for exercise sessions of moderate duration (30-40 minutes each). If you can combine cardio or aerobic exercise with strength and flexibility training, you’ll get the greatest cognitive benefit. Some examples include: walking; tennis; jogging; swimming; strength training; yoga, tai chi; and dancing. You will be more successful at exercising if you do something that you like and something that is convenient. What does that mean? If you hate walking, don’t make it your goal to walk 4-5 times a week. You will give up after a few times. Also, don’t choose an exercise class that is 15 miles from where you live or 12 miles from work. You will be a lot less likely to make it to class! If You Don’t Use It, You Will Lose It: Exercise Your Brain! Studies show that if we don’t “exercise” our brains, we may actually lose brain

function. For example, regular participation in activities that require higher levels of concentration or social interaction are associated with better cognitive function. In fact, people who engage in cognitively stimulating activities are less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, those who frequently engage in leisure activities such as reading, playing board games, attending classes, or playing a musical instrument are significantly less likely to develop dementia. These types of activities actually stimulate new brain cell and neurotransmitter growth at any age. You can be 8, 18, 80, or 108 years old and still grow new brain cells! You Are What You Eat Studies show promising results regarding nutrition and brain health. For example, there appears to be a direct correlation between vitamin E and risk reduction of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, research shows the benefits of both vitamins C and E as a protective measure against dementia. Enrich your diet with deep, leafy green veggies such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and prunes are all great for your brain. Vitamin E can be obtained by eating almonds, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds. Lastly, consuming fish high in omega-3 fatty acids—such as salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, and whitefish—has been associated with a significant reduction in risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Stay Connected Researchers have noted that social connection reduces the risk of developing dementia. People who isolate are at greater risk of depression, which has been repeatedly associated with dementia. As such, remaining involved with friends and family may protect you or your parent from the detrimental cycle of loneliness that often leads to dementia. Heart Health Equals Brain Health Cardiovascular disease has been linked to brain health. In other words, what is good for your heart is good for your brain! Researchers have documented that those of us with high systolic blood pressure (the top number) have a 2.3-fold greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, individuals with low levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) are more than twice as likely to develop dementia compared with those who have high levels of this good kind of cholesterol. Watch your numbers; monitor your diabetes, control your blood pressure, and reduce the bad type of cholesterol. A Brain-Healthy Life Though preliminary, many study results give hope to those wanting to improve their brain function while possibly preventing the development of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. Additionally, the lifestyle outlined here provides a plan for staying healthy, avoiding depression, and enjoying life! Diane Darby Beach, MPH, Ed.D., is the Director of Education and Outreach for Vista Gardens Memory Care Community in Vista, CA. Dr. Beach has a master’s degree in Public Health and a doctorate in Education. For the past 24 years, she has worked in the areas of health promotion and dementia and has presented her work at several different national and international conferences. She has published many articles in a number of health-related journals.

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Hunting: A Day in the Life

his month’s theme is a banana peel, strategically positioned to invite a slip and fall of indeterminate outcome. “Getting back to nature” implies having been there in the first place (I wasn’t). And if the Bible is any authority in this regard (it’s not), we’ve arguably been trying to get back ever since Adam and Eve got their divine eviction notice. The vehicle that gets me back is my memory—that rusting clunker that I garage somewhere in the expanse between my head and heart. The one whose crank I turn with increasing frequency if only because I’m all too aware of the gap between what the number on the odometer conveys versus how I feel. I take it out for regular spins. Sometimes the ride is a sprint where speed is as important as the endpoint. Other times the trip is a marathon, and I’ve forgotten how to get where I want to go. This is where my memory defies logic because unlike every other vehicle I’ve known, it drives me. It picks me up based on the subtlest of triggers: a meandering smell wafting through the air, a random sound, a fleeting image so scant that it skims my subconscious, barely felt. I was recently taken back by the Beatles’ song, “A Day in the Life.” It transported me to when I was barely old enough to begin thinking about who I was beyond my name and my status as a member of my family. I was nine or so, and resigned that I was never going to be a Beatle, something I had devoted a lot of energy to up to that point in time. Even with that realization, though, I still tried to pass myself off as a friend of the Fab Four by blackening the back side

GREEK TO ME

I think of that almost every time I hear the Beatles’ song, “A Day in the Life.” of a Beatles card and claiming it was a picture I’d taken at a concert they’d given at the Sherwood Club. Or there was the time I called Ronnie Whitfield on the telephone and told him the Beatles were at my house playing for me, my proof being the scratchy 45 I played in the background. But Ronnie was too cagey to fall for my radioactive fantasy. Not becoming a Beatle cast me adrift— who was I? What was I? Enter my Dad and his older brother John. They were hunters. Which is to say, every autumn, they would pull out their shotguns, donning long underwear and hats I couldn’t imagine wearing anyplace but where you were highly unlikely to see anyone—or at least anyone who wasn’t also wearing a likeminded hat. They would find some distant patch of land on the farthest reaches of some unknown farm, and traipse through fields in search of game, ‘game’ being rabbits or pheasants or ducks. Each species had its season, some of which overlapped, something I found odd because I thought that each animal somehow knew when it was its respective season and dreaded it accordingly. continued on page 40

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LIFE QUAKE ™

Ask the

LifeQuake™ Doctor Dr. Toni Galardi

Dear Dr. Toni: I, like you, am a trained therapist. So why am I writing to you? Well, my practice is down, so I cannot afford to see someone as a patient in our profession, and you seem to have sound advice for your readers. I have been in practice for almost 30 years. Now, at the age of 55, I am feeling uninspired to do my clinical work. I also feel scared. I have been doing this a long time and cannot go back to school at this age nor am I interested in pursuing another degree and credential. Can you help me? I have been having a recurring dream. In the dream I am rowing a small boat out into a huge ocean. My arms start to get tired but I’m afraid that if I stop rowing, the boat is going to sink. The dream always ends there. I know I need to stop rowing but am consumed by fear that I won’t survive. If you have any thoughts or tools for me, I would be most appreciative. J Dear J: Although you do not mention any other skills you have besides counseling, I will share with you how I have used my degrees and credentials without having to get any more for many years. Since you have been counseling people for 30 years, do you have a specialty? Is it something you could speak to groups about? Public speaking and leading workshops can be mastered through going to Toastmasters and National Speakers Association boot camp. Do you like to write? You could

write a blog, an advice column, or a book on a subject you feel passionate about. In this day and age, you don’t need to go to a formal publisher. You can write an ebook and put it up for sale on your Web site. Do you have training skills? Perhaps you have something to teach in corporations. I developed a change management method that I took into the corporate world, and I had never worked in Corporate America. If you live in San Diego, Los Angeles, or the San Francisco area, you could attend ASTD meetings (The American Society for Training and Development) and get information. Have you worked with addicts? I developed a relapse prevention method that I then brought to treatment centers. Do you like being in front of the camera to deliver a particular message? I did a local television show on cable for two years and got clients from that, as well as practice being in front of the camera. When my book came out, it was easy for me to promote it on television because I had done it locally. One more thing I added to my practice that has been very useful is astrology. I was trained in the Jungian tradition and Jung was a big advocate of astrology. It helps me to see the complexes an individual is here to work out in this life and also what other influences besides their immediate environment are affecting them now, and how to focus our work together. For those clients who cannot afford ongoing work, I can give them a blueprint or a map, so to speak, for what they need to work on right now and for their particular life path. What is most important is to follow what you are passionate about and stay curious. It is not too late to move in a new direction. Now, I would like to address your dream, because we covered the outside possibilities, but this is an inside job, too. Look at the juxtaposition between you in a little rowboat and the ocean. In waking life, you would see a rowboat on a lake or in a bay maybe. The ocean can be used by our unconscious mind as an archetype for the deep emotional realm. Your arms are getting tired but you are afraid to let go and be carried. Perhaps what might want to come first by your soul is to surrender and be still for awhile. If you trust that you will be taken care of by the watery nature of life if you stop for awhile, you will be less exhausted from trying to tread water. Take 15-20 minutes a day to be still and just watch your breath going in and out. The mind will chatter loudly at first, but over time it may quiet down. Then scan the day and notice what made your energy go up. Pay attention only to that and write it down. Start to notice what interests you now. What do you care about? What issues engage you? Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss and then a door will open that would open for no one else.” Good luck! Have a question for the LifeQuake Doctor? You can contact her through DrToni@ LifeQuake.net. Dr. Toni is participating in an amazing tele-summit program along with Jack Canfield, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Dr. Bernie Siegel, and Mantak Chia, to name a few. It is called “Life School.” Use the summer and fall to radically change your life! Visit http://www.thisislifeschool.com/?affID=76 for more information. Dr. Toni Galardi is an author, licensed psychotherapist, professional speaker, and life transitions strategist and is available for consult by phone or SKYPE. You can reach her through her Web site, http://www.lifequake.net, DrToni@LifeQuake.net, or 310.890.6832.

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M I N D S TAT E S

The Whole Being Weekend I

by Alicia Sacks t was spring of 1971 and a group of free-spirited friends came up with the great idea of a camp retreat for learning, growing, and sharing, where the guests would volunteer to give seminars, make meals, and run the weekend. It was the wonderful and exciting beginning of The Whole Being Weekend at Camp Cedar Glen in Julian, California. The Whole Being Weekend soon turned into a marvelous tradition of celebrating well-being, diversity, music, healing, spirituality, growth, connection, hidden talents, and so much more. It wasn’t long before we outgrew beautiful Cedar Glen and moved to Camp Marston, also in Julian. Over the many years of celebration, we continued growing and eventually moved to Buckhorn Camp, in Idyllwild, about 15 years ago. The Whole Being Weekend is like a summer camp experience and a New Age revival, all rolled into one great weekend. Everyone deserves a bit of time getting back to nature, and at The Whole Being Weekend (WBW) everyone

can experience nurturing, love, happiness, joy, music, fun, and growth. It starts Friday night and runs until Sunday afternoon. There are icebreakers to help people meet each other, delicious and healthy vegetarian meals, and a wonderful line-up of learning experiences available to all ages. Celebration through music and dance are an important part of the WBW. This year we are having Larisa Stow and Shakti Tribe open on Friday night, with a world beat and mantra dance party. The Saturday night concert will feature the amazing music of Karl Anthony, who has been doing these concerts as long as this writer can remember—maybe even for the 25 or more years I’ve been attending. He brings an interactive and connecting energy to the evening, and it really is an unforgettable event for everyone. There are many other rewarding pastimes to enjoy at the WBW. We have a Bistro Cabaret, where anyone can sign up to perform, play an instrument, sing a song, recite a poem, dance, or show off whatever talents one may have. continued on page 40

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M I N D S TAT E S

Experience the Power of Divine Healing Hands with

Master Zhi Gang Sha

World-Renowned Soul Healer, Inspired Teacher, Divine Channel

and Master Peggy Werner and Master Ximena Gavino Divine Channels and Worldwide Representatives of Master Sha

Dr. Sha is an important teacher and wonderful healer with a valuable message about the power of the soul to influence and transform all life. – Dr. Masaru Emoto, The Hidden Messages in Water

I have the power to heal myself. You have the power to heal yourself. Together, we have the power to heal the world. – Master Zhi Gang Sha

Coming Back To

nature by Anthony William

I Master Peggy Werner

Master Ximena Gavino

MD in China and certified doctor of TCM and acupuncture in China and Canada. Grandmaster of ancient arts including tai chi, qi gong, kung fu, I Ching and feng shui Honored with the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission Award in 2006 for his humanitarian efforts

Divine Healing Hands Free Soul Healing Evening Wednesday • August 29 • 7–10 pm • Free Holiday Inn, 1500 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco 94109 Live in person or via webcast

Tao Soul Mind Body Enlightenment Retreat Thursday-Sunday • August 30–September 2 10 am–10 pm • $350, $250 pre-register Holiday Inn, 1500 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco 94109 Live in person or via webcast

Soul Masters Film and Divine Healing Hands Blessings with Master Sha Tuesday • September 4 • 6:30-10pm • $15 Brava Theater, 2781 24th St., San Francisco, CA 94110 Register: Brava.org

Divine Healing Hands Soul Healing Evening

Thursday • September 6 • 7–9 pm • $15 pre-register Ananda Temple, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 94306 Register: East West Bookshop, 650.988.9800, www.eastwest.com

Divine Healing Hands Training Program with Master Peggy, Master Ximena and Master Sha Friday-Sunday • September 7–9 • 10 am–10 pm • $625 Marriot Union Square, 480 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94108 Apply: DivineHealingHands.com

Personal Consultations

By appointment only • call 415.971.7373

Visit DrSha.com for a complete list of Master Sha’s events during his only visit to the Bay Area.

More than an invitation ... a sacred calling! Master Sha’s Soul Healing Center 1549 California St. • San Francisco, CA 94109 • 415.971.7373 Institute of Soul Healing & Enlightenment™ 888.3396815 • DrSha.com • Facebook.com/ZhiGangSha

n day-to-day life, we lose touch with our ground. Stress, worries, and concerns accumulate each day and take us further away from a connection with nature and thus further away from our roots. We are continually exposed to electromagnetic fields from cell phones and various other devices. We walk in shoes on concrete daily and further lose our connection to the earth. We face challenges which lead us away from the innate healing source of nature. All of these things are the opposite of grounding, and they aren’t solid, yet they push us further into a mental frenzy to which we become accustomed and we forget that we come from the earth. To heal, we must touch the earth and allow it to touch us in body, mind, and spirit. In order to become grounded again, we need to incorporate nature into our lives. By saturating ourselves with nature, we regain a connection with the earth, which is our grounding mechanism. Fortunately, there are many ways we can incorporate nature into our lives. By tapping into the healing power of nature itself, we can overcome various obstacles in our lives and nourish our being to set the ground for thriving health. Touching the Earth With Yoga Yoga practice is an excellent way to get back into our bodies and attain mental, physical, and spiritual health. Yoga is advantageous in that it can be practiced in any environment. Initially, we may become accustomed to practicing yoga in a room or a studio, which is fine, yet we can also take it outside and practice on the grass in bare feet. This puts us directly in contact with the earth and nature. The poses arise from nature, so it only stands to reason that they can be practiced in nature to realign our energy with it. The grass or sand may seem like an unsteady footing at first, but in a short period of time you’ll feel yourself relying on the ground that nature provides. Practice directly upon the earth itself (without a mat) in order to reap the full benefits and reconnect with nature. Mentally and physically plant your feet in the ground and become nature, then practice the poses of yoga as an extension of nature. A beach is another excellent place for yoga practice and is considered a powerful form of meditation. Practice near the edge of the water and feel the waves dissolve tension and stress from your body. Breathe in the pure air and tap into the rhythm of the sea. Feel life infuse into your being and set you free from the chaos of the mind. Yoga practice in this environment balances the body and mind while having longlasting positive effects on one’s entire being. Also try practicing yoga in a forest under canopies of trees. Think of the trees as your lungs and life, and sense the release this provides. Practicing yoga in nature has profound healing energy and it brings life to your body. You can recall this sensation in later practice sessions no matter where you are.

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M I N D S TAT E S Gardening Gardening is another way we can easily feel a union with our natural environment. Through gardening we become one with nature and we become a part of the vibrant life which sustains us. The garden can be large or small—it doesn’t matter. The point is to work with the soil and touch the ground. Secure your life force and strengthen it by working with the soil. The earth strengthens your life aura and your internal organs. The liver begins to detoxify and the organs become revitalized by the natural energetic detoxification provided by the earth and its soil. The Healing Power of a Beach Sitting on a beach is an ideal way to mentally be in nature. This is a meditation which the earth provides, and it does the work for us to align our minds with nature. As human beings we are constantly thinking too much and don’t take the time to listen to other human beings. The power of nature gives back our ability to listen. As we sit on the beach in open-eyed meditation, we are directly in nature and we begin to truly hear again. We listen to the birds, the wind and waves, the seagulls, and every other sound which arises. Hear these sounds and allow them to permeate your spirit. Meditate with the waves of the sea and feel the waves take away fear, guilt, and doubt. Soak your feet in the water on the beach and it will clear away the static of daily life as it gives your ground back to you. Watch worries and fears dissolve away with the flow and rhythm of nature. Nature gives back a person’s spirit, heart, and wellness, and a beach offers this healing platform freely to anyone. Even if you don’t have access to a beach on a regular basis, a single sitting of meditation on a beach can be recalled at any time in any place. This is a powerful meditation. Recall the sounds and senses experienced at a beach. You can do this in your own backyard and reap the benefits. Let the sun shine on you and use the power of your mind to take you back to the sensations of a beach. Imagine the waves rolling in and going back out to sea, taking your restlessness and anxiety away. Of course, anytime you do get the opportunity to meditate on a real beach, take it. Plan a trip to the beach. Collect some seashells or other objects from the beach to take back with you. Use these objects to bring the mind back to the healing power of the beach whenever you wish. Hold shells in your hands as you meditate, and experience the vibrant life and balance you felt when you were actually at a beach. This is a great way to take the healing power of the beach with you to places where there is no beach, whether it is in your own yard or even in a quiet room. By touching parts of nature, our bodies become aligned with it. Connect With the Sunset and Sunrise Watching the sunset is a powerful way to build trust. When the sun sets, you can trust that it will rise again. This is something that you can actually count on more than the busy lives of other people. Try watching the sunset in the evening, and then get up early to watch the sunrise. This simple meditation has profound healing effects and does wonders for the distrustful malaise caused by PTSD and other difficult challenges in life. By connecting with the sun, we restore our trust in the natural order of the world and we discover a reliable friend to guide us through each day. continued on page 41

Enjoy Spiritual Nourishment for your Soul! Hay House, Inc. proudly presents

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M I N D S TAT E S

Back to Our Essential

Nature A Conversation with Carolyn Coleridge by Sydney L. Murray

When we’re anxious and then we ground ourselves, we can be more settled and more focused within ourselves. We need to be part of the earth, walk with the earth.

ntuition, understanding synchronicities and even our soul, sometimes seems to be like a foreign language. But learning this language is why we are here. I would say understanding our soul is the deepest form of getting back to our essential nature. How can we find out about our souls? I would need help, so I turned to Carolyn Coleridge, who provides a service that can offer deep understanding and healing. Her intuitive gifts and her allopathic background create a strong base of knowledge and experience that is helpful in many different situations. Vision Magazine: When did you first realize that you had the gift of healing or intuitive insight? Carolyn Coleridge: I think I’ve always been sensitive. I’ve always been aware of things. I come from a sensitive family. My mom was psychic although she works as a chemistry teacher. Both my grandmothers and grandfather and great grandmothers were highly intuitive. I think the gift really started for me when I became a therapist actually, because when I sat down in front of people, I would start seeing auras and lights, and I would hear their guides. I was always exploring spirituality and different metaphysical things. So my passion and my work intertwined. So as I was working, I still remember ‘reading’ people as a counselor, giving them information, or giving them soul insight. And it was coinciding with my own personal research. The healing gift has always been there. People can become healers in many ways. It’s just raising your energy vibration, raising your resonance of spiritual knowledge and awareness. It’s almost like upgrading your soul energy. And then you can transmit energy through you. So the more aware you are, and the higher the intention, the more you can do it. The higher healing comes when you’re really connected to the Source and the spirit world, and mostly God, and then the information comes through, because you’re resonating with the spirit and the energy of the other side. VM: You’ve worked in very high-level hospitals. How do you balance the Western medical work and the spiritual work that you do? CC: I remember hearing an interview on KPFK [radio] with Caroline Myss, and she was talking to Lisa Garr, on the Aware Show. Caroline Myss said we need healers in the darkness. Some hospitals can be very dark. So I think that God put me in these environments to spread the light. When I was a therapist people were coming back and calling their friends, telling them to come see me as a therapist. And my boss was a little bit nervous about that, just jealous. She was dark and a little suspicious. It’s just a lot of politics [working at a clinic]. And when you’re an intuitive, sensitive person, you see a lot of the bull-crap you have to deal with in the corporate world, like, ‘You guys are lying to patients.’ It wasn’t a healthy environment, so I ended up working at another hospital as a medical social worker. And I realized that I learned a lot more being a healer from working at the hospital, because I learned about the body. Now being a healer in a hospital is hard. But I pretty much was undercover since I am a social worker. The universe was training me about what needs to be healed. Now I know about pharmaceutical medicines, I know about addiction, I know about what doctors do, what they go through. How pt’s are

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M I N D S TAT E S scared of Doctors. I think it makes me a more skilled healer, or a different kind of healer. You would be surprised how a soul message in a hospital setting can really soothe someone’s soul. I try to ignite their light, their spirit, so they can heal. I realized that the plan is bigger than me. So to further train as a reiki healer, I would volunteer often at Agape International spiritual center in Culver City. I was doing an event there and a woman next to me that I bumped into as I was healing said she was working at UCLA as a psychologist. And she said, “The Pediatric Pain Program is looking for a healer, and you should apply.” And I said, “Really?” She said, “Yeah. You go to rounds and you do different things, you work with kids.” So I went and introduced [myself to] the Pediatrician, Dr Lonnie Zeltzer who started the program and a psychologist for 10 minutes, and they just hired me right away. I was working at UCLA, doing rounds and going to the kids’ homes, and doing readings on the side. Then I appeared on CNN demonstrating this work and you can see it on You tube. Working for God really worked, and everything kind of picked up. As I answered the call to work for God, everything fell into place. VM: That seems so challenging to see little kids in pain. CC: This program had about eight different modalities. There were massage therapists, hypnotherapists, myself a healer, an acupuncturist, and a meditation teacher, Yoga and two pediatricians. The kids would have incredibly psychic and spiritual abilities. I would explain to them what the aura is and how I’m helping them heal their energy field, and a lot of them would know about it already. Like this little boy. He said, “Oh, you mean the chakra system?” I said, “How did you know that?” He said, “I looked it up on the Internet.” He was 11. And then I would ask them, “What do you feel like you’re here for?”

Celebrate Life

Because I always like to find people’s missions, no matter how old or how young. That’s when your spirit becomes alive and the spirit heals. So a lot of the kids would tell me, “I’m here for world peace.” One little girl said, “I’m here to clear up the oceans.” Another kid said, “I’m always aware of global warming.” And the parents would say, “How did you get that information out of them?” Carolyn Coleridge And I would say, “I would just ask their souls.” It was amazing. And the parents didn’t even know that the kids had these goals. I was shocked, at 11 or 12, they just knew that they had a plan a mission. It’s like these higher vibrational beings are coming in to earth and they’re getting sick. And I’m sure there are higher vibrational beings that are not sick, but the ones I dealt with were. One little boy I worked with just connected to me on Facebook; he’s now 19. He was into world peace, and he had been working on Obama’s campaign. It’s just amazing, all the things he’s been doing. VM: Our theme for August is “Back to Nature.” What do you think is our essential nature as a human being? CC: I still see people privately for spiritual counseling, and I do readings and intuitive development classes and sometimes I get people that are really psychotic or ‘off,’ hearing voices that really aren’t higher vibrational, and they think it is a spiritual experience. Even my yoga teacher was extremely drained. And I asked, “Do you ground yourself?” Grounding is so important. We’re all energy beings here on the earth plane; we have to respond and respect our energy. When you think of lightning, when the lightning hits the ground, it neutralizes the energy. So lightning is energy—static energy—and we’re energy. When we’re anxious and then we ground ourselves, we can be continued on page 46

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As part of his world tour, Kambiz Naficy, founder of the Joy of Life Organization, will visit Los Angeles, CA, USA, to offer a Joy of Life workshop. His workshops are based on three foundations: 1. Kriya Yoga meditation (Coming from the lineage of Kriya Babaji Nagaraj). 2. Eliminating subconscious self-limiting beliefs. 3. Loving support of an international group of friends. Benefits of Kriya Yoga Meditation: • Safe awakening of Kundalini. • Direct experience of the God Force in your life & body. • Joyfulness and love instead of fear & anxiety. • Mindfulness, focus, and clarity.

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C U LT U R E

We Can Sense How Long We Can Live by Guy Joseph Ale

n several senses, we are living at a remarkable period in time. The last century has given us more scientific discoveries than the entire preceding human history before it. Emerging fields of new cosmology, neuroplasticity, and epigenetics are presenting a view of humankind as the eyes, ears, and mind of the cosmos with far more to discover in the world inside us than in the universe at large. New Cosmology shows that we are the offspring of supernovas. We are made of star dust. The carbon in our body could not be created in the universe in any other way than through the collapse and explosion of a star. We are embedded in this evolutionary process: just as a single drop in an ocean contains in it the character of the entire ocean, so each of us carries in our genes the entire information of existence. As we have not reached the end of time, we also have not reached the end of our potential. We simply don’t know what it is because existence means constant change, mutation, progress. As we discover more about the universe at large, we come to understand more about the world inside us, in an interconnected exploration of scientific and spiritual awareness. In neuroplasticity, rather than the old belief that human brain stopped neural regeneration at the age of three or four, recent studies are showing that the brain is changing constantly, in response to learning, disease, exercise, and other stimuli thru our entire lifespan. This means that a person can stay active and engaged in life for as long as they practice a lifestyle that stimulates both the body and the mind. In quantum theory, the growing consensus is that at the level of space-time geometry, consciousness is fundamental to the universe. It’s the source of energy, information, space, time, and matter. This field of consciousness is the field of infinite possibilities, where everything exists in potentia. Epigenetics reveal that our consciousness modulates our biology. With every thought and feeling we reshape the neural networks in our brains. We live in a participatory universe. We create the reality that we

anticipate. Our brains are energy fields Unlike wild which send out particle waves in the form of thought and expectation. When we focus creatures our attention on the amount of years that who are blind we sense that we can reasonably live in this instruments of body, we cause the body to adjust itself to this new consciousness. their DNA, we These are some of the insights that the humans have latest science gives us of how our minds work. Now, let’s look at the human body to the capacity see exactly how it works. The human body to understand is a well-designed machine for living with built-in mechanisms for self-healing and the amount of self-correction, provided we don’t harm it energy that our with bad habits. body contains, So the answer to the natural question of, how do you know how long you could and use this live is: the body knows. Just like we know energy in the when we’re hungry, tired, or cold, when we develop higher awareness of our physical manner that we and mental states we gain access to our choose. intuition, which is the age-old wisdom inherent in our genes. The foundation of this awareness rests in the biological fact that every living organism has an optimal duration of existence. This is the amount of years that they’re expected to live under optimal conditions. For example, whales who live 80 years and shrews who live 2, both have approximately one billion and a half heartbeats in a lifetime. They operate at different frequencies. Unlike wild creatures who are blind instruments of their DNA, we humans have the capacity to understand the amount of energy that our body contains, and use this energy in the manner that we choose. Self-management Skills help us create the conditions where we can live the longest and healthiest life possible in this given body. The latest medical studies describe the relationship that genes and lifestyle choices play in determining a person’s longevity as roughly 30 percent - 70 percent in favor of lifestyle choices. Our family history is an important element in determining our approximate lifespan, but the crucial factor in affecting the quality and quantity of our life is our behavior. For example, a lifelong smoking habit cuts on average 10 years off a person’s potential lifespan, and long-term obesity shortens life by the same amount of years. We begin the Self-management Skills with breathing because when we learn how to master our breath we can be in control in every situation in

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C U LT U R E

For example, whales who live 80 years and shrews who live 2, both have approximately one billion and a half heartbeats in a lifetime.

life. Our daily routines are filled with small and big annoyances, and potential causes of anxiety. When we find ourselves in a “tight situation,” the natural tendency of the body is to stiffen, and the breath to become restricted – these are the hereditary responses of the fight or flight instinct. The solution for situations like these is to learn to do the opposite – Breathe deeply and evenly. The oxygen of the whole world is available to me Another important thing to realize is that our breath is our personal domain. No one can enter this private space uninvited. Whatever negative circumstances we encounter, we can always draw inside, center ourselves, and regulate our breath – steady, free, and effortless. The second essential Self-management Skill is good nutrition: what we eat becomes our body. Our body metabolizes - converts - what we eat into energy and nutrients, and there’s a direct link between what we put into our body and the condition of the body. Our brain weighs about 2 percent of our body mass but consumes over 20 percent of the oxygen and nutrients that we intake. It’s important to acknowledge that it is very hard for most people to change their eating habits to lose weight and keep it off for the duration. The vast majority of diets are effective for just a short period of time because they’re based on restricting our food consumption to only certain items. After a while, this causes our body and psyche to rebel, people react by binging, this creates the seesaw effect, gaining a lot of weight, losing a lot of weight, and this is harmful to the body. The much healthier and longer-lasting approach is to learn the basic rules of good nutrition, and eat everything you like in moderation. This way you won’t feel that you’re depriving yourself of foods you love, and will be able to manage your weight over your entire lifespan. Here are the basic guidelines: get most of your nutrients from –vegetables, fruits, nuts; lean protein such as poultry, fish, soya products; and satisfy all your cravings in a responsible manner. Stay away from packed and processed foods, refined sugar, and preservatives. Nothing that comes in a can or a package is better than what is found in nature.

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The next Self-management Skill is sufficient rest. Without proper rest the body and the mind cannot complete their natural cycles of cleansing, healing, and resetting. Getting enough sleep is critical to our wellbeing, because during sleep the brain arranges the mental furniture it has accumulated through the day; gets rid of unnecessary debris; files away information in the subconscious; and prepares itself for the following day. The last important Self-management Skill is active lifestyle: to keep both the body and the mind fit. Here again, simple and sensible choices are the best solution. No one expects us to become Olympic athletes. Rather, we advise convenient activities that can easily fit into our daily routines. - Walking half an hour several times a week - Taking the stairs instead of the elevator on a regular basis - Riding a bicycle - Getting up and stretching on a lunch break to generate better blood flow in your body - Hiking on weekends It is worth repeating that our thoughts affect our genes and not the other way around. You don’t need to see yourself as declining in health as you age. Rather, you’re making choices that enable you to be the best version of yourself at every age. For example, a healthy 85-year-old active and engaged in life; granted, in an 85-year-old body, but the best version of that body at that age. Our essence is eternal, but while we are in this physical plane, mastering our body’s energy leads to a more graceful existence. Guy Joseph Ale is Founder and President of Lifespan Seminar - http://www. lifespanseminar.com, ale@lifespanseminar.com 818.795.4088

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AUGUST 2012 FORECAST By Adrienne Abeyta

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.

Aries: Fool (3 of Swords) 3/21–4/19 A problematic situation may worsen this month if you don’t take immediate action. Look around and see what you are missing. Don’t be too sure of yourself, and be honest about whether your actions are just. By the end of the month you’ll discover a betrayal by a so-called ally. It would be best to keep your private affairs private. A wolf in sheep’s clothing isn’t your friend. Don’t be surprised by the enormous changes this betrayal triggers; after the crisis there will be plenty of time to reflect. In the long run, it will be better that it occurred.

Libra: Death (3 of Pentacles) 9/23 – 10/23 You are beginning a new chapter in both your family and career life. Your productivity and concentration are at a peak during this transitional phase, so make sure you express yourself though positive outlets (maybe an old hobby that you put on the back burner or a new one you’ve always thought about trying). Focus on synthesis, such as a new project at work or collaborating with others. Involving your lover in your plans will bring you closer together. The week of the 25th is an excellent time to finalize your plans, but don’t be surprised if the plans totally change!

Taurus: Judgment (5 of Wands) 4/20 – 5/21 It may feel like you’ve been beating your head against a brick wall when nothing seems to move in the direction you desire. These complications are the consequences of previous actions. As you realize this, you will find that you still have choices and room for movement. The week of the 13th brings power struggles with others. There’s no need to prove your point—just move on. Unfair as it may be, there is more freedom in accepting what is and starting again. If you’re looking for new employment, you might want to change the direction of you search.

Scorpio: Devil (4 of Cups) 10/24 – 11/22 When you focus too strongly on what is wrong, a pervading sense of ambivalence will creep into your life and blur your sense of reality. You’ve been putting too much emphasis on some form of security—a relationship, job, or lifestyle. You don’t realize how much this is holding you back, and you’re overlooking an opportunity right in front of your eyes. Concerns over safety often prevent you from exploring the inner reaches of your soul—dive in! You’ll be offered something strange the weekend of the 4th. Before you dismiss it, consider how it could benefit you.

Gemini: Sun (10 of Swords) 5/22 – 6/21 To see the radiance of the light, you must clean the cobwebs from the windows. Ask yourself how your perception has become muddied by destructive or repetitive thoughts, and your emotions polluted by resentments, anger, desperation, and fears. Although these are simply feelings, they are preventing you from moving on. The week of the 12th may be explosive. Use this energy constructively to dismantle your fortress of negativity. You must change your inner vision in order to affect your outer circumstances. Taking a look at your emotional attachments, you’ll be surprised by the amount of “clutter” you have.

Sagittarius: Moon (8 of Pentacles) 11/23 – 12/21 Your new commitment is much harder to keep than you expected and you may be feeling the weight of that responsibility. Keep in mind that this feeling is only temporary and the work you’re doing will pay off in time. Get comfortable with delaying satisfaction. Self-discipline is another area that could use your attention. Remember, too much discipline and you’re likely to act out destructively; not enough and you’ll undermine your efforts. The first week of the month will present some unexpected challenges, so be sure to remain focused and present even if it costs you something. .

Cancer: Empress (Page of Swords) 6/22 – 7/22 Those little nagging voices of self-contempt may be in need of a sweet lullaby. As you venture into a new phase of life, you may be accompanied by an annoying sense of doubt, causing you to question your capabilities and dedication. Instead of denying this voice, find a way to soothe it. Engage in a compassionate conversation, asking it (a.k.a. yourself) what there is to fear. Also be wary of others who place uncertainty in your path; don’t take on their fears. Ask for what you are worth at work, and refrain from bickering in relationships. Choose your words wisely!

Capricorn: Wheel of Fortune (5 of Pentacles) 12/22 – 1/20 New opportunities for growth will emerge from the challenges of the past, but you must show up to claim your golden ticket. Poverty consciousness is not only about what you have or don’t have, but it’s a mindset that precludes you from the abundance of the universe and your inherent resources. If you look within yourself to find wealth, you may discover that what you thought was missing was simply misplaced. How do you expect to collect more when you neglect what you already have? A circuitous question perhaps, but nothing will satisfy you if you cannot satisfy yourself.

Leo: Strength (8 of Swords) 7/23 – 8/23 Areas in life that feel stagnant have more potential than you realize. If you accept your circumstances, you’ll regain your momentum. Your restrictions are self-imposed and the result of misplaced ideals. Re-examine your lofty goals and see how they have become a hindrance rather than an asset. You may be ignoring your own power or projecting it onto something outside you. The most important lessons are those in which you overcome yourself. Find resolve in accomplishments from the past. After the 25th, your challenges will begin to dissipate; take advantage and make a move. Those who have not vacationed this year—go!

Aquarius: Star Star (7 of Cups) 1/21 – 2/18 Dream the impossible dream. Your imagination is quite fertile this month, so feel free to plant seeds of fantasy. Visions may unexpectedly bombard both your waking and dreaming mind. Within each are buried treasures; however, to reap their value you must detach from your rational thinking. Find ways to connect with your deeper feelings: listen to music, meditate, walk in nature, and spend quality time with those you care about. Most importantly, have faith in your visions and trust that their language is as essential as that of your logical mind. Strange coincidences will yield favorable results.

Virgo: Justice (10 of Pentacles) 8/24 – 9/22 Take inventory of what you value, then ask yourself what matters most. Be honest about your priorities and how you invest your time. Do you feel that work is taking away from time with your family, or that your family is interfering with the pursuit of your dreams? Be honest about the excuses you make; it’s always easier to blame the situation than to accept responsibility for your actions. After all, most situations are a consequence of your choices. Brutal objectivity forces you to remove the mask and face the mirror. Around the 17th, pleasant rewards await those involved in legal matters or other business arrangements.

Pisces: Hierophant (7 of Swords) 2/19 – 3/20 Beliefs form the basis of personal philosophies, which directly influence the justifications we give. In the search to discover meaning, it can be unfortunate to fit new experiences into an outdated context. You’re being challenged to reinvent yourself, beginning with the ideas you are defined by. Look beyond the labels and qualifications to find the real you. You’re not simply a collection of qualities; you’re an infinite source of wisdom. Though it may be challenging, you must identify and release your limiting beliefs. This month, advice will come in a most unexpected way.

Becoming Who YOU Are! Adrienne Abeyta, Sacred - Self Coaching

Using Astrology, Numerology, & Tarot to discover the hero in your life story. Answering the questions:

• What is my purpose • What is the lesson of this challenge • When will my life look different • Where do I go from here Contact Adrienne for consultations, events, and private lessons.

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C U LT U R E

Finding Our Nature, Inside and Out A Conversation With Swami Kriyananda by Camille Udan

hat does it mean to get back to nature? Some people may view it as physically being out in nature, be it laying on the grainy sands of the beach, taking a dip in the ocean, crossing a raging river, taking a sip out of a calm stream, hiking the greatest heights of mountain peaks and screaming at the top of your lungs, or just sitting underneath a tree at a nearby park. Some view it as getting in touch with our true nature by going in and exploring deep within ourselves. This journey can start at any time. Sometimes we may not even be aware of it, but once we realize it, we commonly lead ourselves to beginning with a meditation by ourselves or in a group setting, or seeking those who have long been on the path to impart wisdom, down to leaving the identity we have created behind in the hopes of starting fresh and new. At the core of our intention is a desire to know ourselves at a soul level when we are ready to look beyond the superficial lives in which we are living. We could be inspired by someone else’s imparted vision, a word, or a phrase. Or you might see a sign that reflects an answer to the question you’ve been thinking about. But innately it is with great desire for any being who is on the path of expansion to get to know themselves on a much deeper level than we have ever come to know. Nature is the most apparent starting ground to any traveler seeking truth. Being with nature is like being with a good friend or an elder who is wise beyond our years and one we trust will share their truth. It is through nature that we begin to know God, Source, Infinite Divine, or however we depict the once source from which all creatures come. Vision Magazine spoke with one such a person who is a true example of one living closely with God: Swami Kriyananda, a devoted disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda. We asked Kriyananda to share his wisdom with our readers. Vision Magazine: Our theme for August is “Back to Nature.” What comes to mind when you hear that? Swami Kriyananda: I was desperately seeking truth for many years. I was still a teenager and I finally decided that I had to seek God. That God was the only truth there was, and I thought, well, nobody has ever thought this way before and I must be going crazy. Then I thought, well, maybe what I need to do is get back to nature. I remember I took a bicycle tour in upstate New York and went to Indian Village. I walked out into the countryside and I saw the sun rise like a rainbow in a teardrop. And I thought mentally, that is beautiful, but I cannot feel it. And I felt frustrated and I realized then I had to improve myself. I had to open up myself in some way. I had to know God. Then I can appreciate everything—

but only then. VM: To you, does “Back to Nature” have more to do with our inner work or the work that we do outside with nature? SK: It’s a difficult question because I think that we do need to get back to nature. I think that city living brings all sorts of wrong emotions and wrong attitudes, in greed and hatred and selfishness, and so on. I think we should get back to nature. But mostly we should find out our own nature and our relationship to that and to God. VM: You have started up projects of communities. What do you see when you imagine what a community looks like? SK: I have started nine communities now. We have over a thousand people living in them. The first one [community] is 44 years old. So, I don’t imagine it; I see it with my own eyes. VM: Why is it essential now more than ever for us to learn to cultivate our own produce for ourselves? SK: Because, I think, for many reasons. One is that the government has been producing extremely corrupt projects. I read that there is even a rule that they can stamp over the GMO [Genetically Modified Organisms] to make it unclear that there is GMO in a product. We grow our own food and we buy very little. It’s a very wonderful thing. And we have all been very healthy. Very healthy. VM: How important is it that we recognize the value of community building? SK: I think that it is very important because it is very difficult for people to live in the cities and maintain their emotional equilibrium. There is so much. There’s everything, greed…all the things that come with that. And living closer to nature, you can get yourself more enveloped. But living alone… You need people. We are a social animal, you might say, and we need other people who share our ideals. I am a good writer, but I’m not a good farmer or a carpenter, and if I have people with me with those things in a community, then there are different people with different skills. And with a number of people with different areas of skills, and we need anything, then we come to know that there is something about it. So, you see, in that reason, too, a community it is very helpful. I encourage people to buy a land with friends in the country. VM: What are the main things that we can do or follow and apply in our everyday lives? continued on page 39

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HEALING ARTS

The Portable

Grand Canyon

Take the Spiritual Energy from the Grand Canyon With You Wherever You Go, to Energize Your Spiritual Life by Charles Creekmore

ack in 1999, I needed a break from hard, banal, and blasphemous reality to treat a bad case of world-weariness. So I ran away to the Grand Canyon, where I signed on for minimum wage at Grand Canyon Village as the world’s oldest errand boy. My pilgrimage to the Grand Canyon soon turned into a crash course in spiritual energy, that life force which, according to American Transcendentalists such as Henry David Thoreau, fills us with wonder at any lovely vista, manifests itself throughout nature, and gives us power to rise above the slings and arrows of everyday life. In fact, my four months at the Grand Canyon transformed me in much the same way

as Thoreau’s time at Walden Pond transformed him. It convinced me that nature’s spiritual energy is a method for the madness of the world. Now I take that spiritual energy with me wherever I go and find it every day in my own backyard. Yet my routine at Grand Canyon Village was anything but “Walden-esque.” The professional job description included collecting trash from barrels along the south rim of the canyon, cleaning toilets and urinals at the Bright Angel Lodge, mopping floors all over the village, doing odd jobs for grumbling guests, and cozying up to the resident ghost rumored to be residing in the historic El Tovar Hotel. I liked to think of this paranormal guest as Teddy Roosevelt, minus his horse laugh and all the Rough Rider protoplasm. As I was carrying out these duties, I couldn’t help but notice how well my English degree had prepared me for my job. It undoubtedly qualified me for Garrison Keillor’s Professional Organization of English Majors, or POEM, along with all the other English grads working at Burger King or Stop & Shop. The only fringe benefit of my underemployment was free mental health insurance. My chores allowed me to indulge my real purpose for being at the Grand Canyon, which was total immersion in spiritual energy. I was there to get back in sync with the laws of nature, get back in touch with the eternity of myself, back in harmony with the pulse of life. It all amounted to the same thing. Chasing that secret agenda, I interrupted my work many times each day to take a break from unfettered life. I would stand on the rim of the canyon and suck up the atmosphere churning invisibly, invincibly, indivisibly inside. One universal truth I learned from my four months living on the edge of forever was a real shocker: that I didn’t need to be there to conjure up the Grand Canyon and all its splendor. I found that we carry the Grand Canyon with us wherever we go. It squeezes into any back pocket. We can pull out the Grand Canyon anytime, anywhere we are, by simply sensing the mysterious, majestic, wild, and welling energy thrumming through all nature. My discovery of this portable Grand Canyon also recycles the basic tenet of the Transcendentalism practiced by Thoreau at Walden Pond. “Generative energy,” as he called it, pools in the font of everywhere, permeates nature, and springs eternal in the human soul. You can make contact with that energy right now, right here, right away, even as you read this article. Imagine yourself on the south rim of the Grand Canyon and feel the natural power throbbing through everything. The throb is out there in the wind currents. The throb is out there in the wing beats of condors. The throb is out there in the vast rock formations, shivering like water. The throb is out there in brushstrokes of sienna, ocher, cadmium, amethyst, rouge, and rust, which dab the canyon lands with divinity. The throb is out there in the Colorado River as it traces its lifeline in the palm of existence. The throb is out there in the electric silence. Feel the throb. The Cosmic Tumblers Click Into Place Spiritual energy acts as the transformer for our interconnected universe, generating a vast chain reaction of ‘accidentally on purpose.’ It’s an intuitive concept I can easily continued on page 41

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HEALING ARTS

The Season of the Spider by Joshua Besneatte

s very few things scare me, I find many of my interests gravitate towards the exciting, dangerous, and downright stupid. I have always been enticed by heights and claws and creepy crawlies, fangs and legs, eyes and wings, things that bite and things that sting. Costa Rica and I are a perfect match. There are 17 different types of poisonous snakes here as well as puma cats, black widows, Brazilian wandering spiders, cliffs, and millipedes—a list of beauties carved from a page that’s a mile long. And that’s just on the land. God knows what’s in the water. I live and am building a house on the Eco Sanctuary Farm in the cloud forest mountains that stand above the Orosi Valley of Costa Rica. On a daily basis I forage and hike the jungle, scaling cliffs, walking narrow trails and filling water bottles from 10-meter high waterfalls. Only two weeks left on this current visit—oh how time flies! Last night a tarantula-esque spider spindled its way from the ceiling of our lean-to and paused, spinning right next to my face. I caught a glimpse of her in my peripheral and flinched, at first thinking it was some sort of enormous winged creature, only to leap from my chair as I realized what she really was. “Holy f***ing s**t, look at that spider!” I pointed and giggled as she descended to perch on the arm of my chair. Beautiful and brown, approximately 10 centimeters across, and all kinds of fuzzy, she stared into our souls and I could feel her silently laughing as we stared back in awe. Melisa does not like spiders

at all, but Paul and I sidle up next to her for an excellent photo opportunity. She seems pretty mellow, I thought, but hopefully she won’t attack our smiling faces. It must be the season of the spider. They are everywhere, silently helping us eliminate the plethora of insects that are making their home on the farm. After taking the photos, I coaxed her onto a plate to move her somewhere less populated by humans. With utmost dexterity she leaped to the other side of the plate and then to the ground, matching the earth so perfectly that it took me a few minutes to locate her again. Finally, with adrenaline-amplified hands, I got her back onto the plate and walked her to the underbrush, all the while spinning the dish as she ran across it. I finally got her far enough away from the public area to let her go. Then, of course, the dog wanted to sniff at this strange creature and I had to shoo her away to avoid any potential catastrophe. The pulchritude of the Costa Rican jungle comes in many forms. Was she one of the deadly ones? (Later Internet research proved her to be the Central American wolf spider—not poisonous, but probably not too pleasant to be bitten by either.) Regardless of the answer, we all emerged unscathed. That is, assuming the dog didn’t eat her. The wonderful adrenaline buzz lasted the rest of the evening, the only downside being the itch and twitch that persisted throughout the rest of the waking night. I am certain that none of us will ever again forget to inspect shoes and gloves before pulling them onto our extremities, never again climb into a sleeping bag without first giving it a good look. Pants, shirts, and cloaks are shaken much harder before wearing. The jungle is constantly reminding us that her beauty comes not without a price. Man, I love living in Costa Rica! Joshua Besneatte is a writer, yoga teacher, Web developer, and DJ. He also does construction, auto repair, and IT. Besneatte tries to live a life that promotes peace, unity, and a clean planet. Learn more about Besneatte by visiting his blog, http://besneatte. blogspot.com/.

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HEALING ARTS

M atrix International University: Taking Us Back to Our Natural, Intuitive Selves A Conversation With Patricia Bankins by Shannon Nies

here are so many incredible schools in the world today which offer various types of metaphysical and alternative health studies, many of them integrating the concept of body-mind-spirit into their programs. Matrix International University, however, is unique in the fact that it addresses the four human elements: body; mind; spirit; and emotions. The university is devoted to guiding students through their spiritual evolution, choosing to “bring about definite change, balance, and health in both the students’ and clients’ lives.” Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rev. Patricia Asheme Bankins, faculty member at Matrix International University and founder of the The Crystal Matrix Healing & Learning Center. Here is what she shared with me: Vision Magazine: What does a Crystal Therapist do? How does your work as a Crystal Therapist, Reiki Master Teacher, Melchizedek Facilitator, and Past Life and Regression Integration Therapist aid people in their transformation and spiritual evolution? Patricia Bankins: In its simplest form as a Crystal Therapist, l place stones on a person’s body and create an electromagnetic correction and healing of the physical body and the emotional body. These corrections from the crystals and colored minerals bring about renewed health, emotional ease, and elimination of pain. Many times during a session, the person will experience a deep sense of bliss, enlightened consciousness, spiritual awakenings and psychic visions, mystical states, and memories of a past life. They may see colors, hear musical tones, or receive guidance from a spiritual guide. Along with the healing modalities I’ve trained in, I also have 25 years of study in assorted metaphysical fields. So besides successfully working with individual clients, I’ve been teaching channeling techniques, Reiki, Crystal Healing, Merkabah studies, and Shamanism for most of those years. When a client needs additional assistance, she and I will discuss what other healing modality might aid in bringing about the best results, or even what subjects might aid in her growth and evolution. That evolution may be emotional, mental, or spiritual, depending on where the client starts and what results she’s seeking. VM: What can you get at Matrix University that you cannot get anywhere else? Also, why do you think Matrix University is an important addition to the realm of spiritual education?

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Matrix International University, however, is unique in the fact that it addresses the four human elements: body; mind; spirit; and emotions.

HEALING ARTS PB: When I first started on this spiritual path (realizing it was going to be a life path), I saw that metaphysical studies and healing techniques would be an accepted healing practice in probably 20 years. It has taken longer than that, but I think we are finally starting to see a greater acceptance of these ancient, viable, successful techniques more in the public arena. The term “vibrational medicine” is now largely used, and more non-metaphysical Patricia Bankins people are aware of what these medicines are, how they’re used. More of the general public now come to vibrational medicine practitioners for treatment. It’s pretty exciting. Eleven years ago, I had a vision of creating a metaphysical school that could teach a broad section of alternative studies. I have been waiting for an appropriate time to launch such a school, and I now have the Matrix International University. I had to seriously consider the name since everything is “branded” now, and while I didn’t want to be to grandiose, I also didn’t want to think too small. Everyhing we do today is so four-dimensional—our computers, our phones, Skyping, tweeting. Everything is geared toward creating a world community. So I went with creating a school of metaphysics that can reach around the world. When I first had the vision, I had no idea it could be as big as the potential I see. So there are days when I think to myself, “Oh my goodness, what was I thinking?” When we step on a true spiritual path, we have to surrender to the dictates and direction of spiritual guidance. The Matrix International University has four “branches” or majors that cross over one another to provide each student with a full course of study rather than a student just learning one metaphysical modality or level of interest. I’ve created the school so that students learn a good cross section from each major so that they have a fuller understanding of the metaphysical world. The goal is to create such a school of study that we will be eligible for state acceptance as a fully accredited school within California. That means you could attend the MIU and receive a bachelor’s degree in metaphysics in the near future. I know it can be done, and I know that we are in a social position to actually achieve the goal. VM: Our theme for August is “Back to Nature.” What does this mean to you? Do you feel that we as a society, as a world, need to get back to nature? PB: Shamanic teachings, natural healing techniques, and intuitive skills are an integral part of each of us. To a greater or lesser degree, we are each naturally intuitive, we each have a respect for the earth and her own vibration and powers, and we all have the power to change and correct our health. Our mothers, our grandfathers, our great-grandmothers, even we, in another lifetime, used herbs, crystals, and hands-on healing long before we gave our personal healing power over to a medical doctor. I think we remember on a cellular level how to heal ourselves and each other. Having had both positive and a few negative experiences with both holopathic and allopathic healing, I would like to see these two useful worlds working together rather than us negating either one. The creation of a world community is so important right now, and it’s vitally important within our healing communities. VM: What is the nature of your school and your spiritual teachings? PB: The work I do, and the classes I and the rest of The Crystal Matrix and the Matrix International University teach, are a gateway to bringing us back to our natural, powerful selves. This “new” school is merely a rebirthing of our past so that we can remember who we really are and make the difference we have been dreaming about. To learn more about The Crystal Matrix Healing & Learning Center and Matrix International University, please visit www.thecrystalmatrix.com and www. thecrystalmatrix.com/VMU. Contact them at 323.644.7625 or info@matrixuniv.com. W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M • AU G U S T 2 012 • VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E

Bhakti Fest 2012 by Daphne Carpenter

n its fourth year, Bhakti Fest returns to Joshua Tree this September stronger than before. What’s unique about 2012 is that the planet has experienced a profound year of uprising. People all over the world have bravely stood up against oppressive regimes, demanded their human rights, and valiantly fought for freedom in the face of tyranny and subjugation. The human spirit cannot be subdued, and as we’ve seen in the past year, people will do anything to be free. And many of us find that freedom through the practice of yoga and Bhakti Yoga. “When I photograph someone, I see that everyone wants freedom,” says Robert Sturman, whose enigmatic photos of yogis in graceful poses have become ubiquitous in yoga and art communities. “Yoga is a perfect form for us to express this deep longing. The asanas contain the poetic foundation to express humanity’s longing to touch the divine.” Can we nourish ourselves and our lives through mindful, contemplative practice? Bhakti Fest founder Sridhar Silberfein calls this concept “spiritual food.” In August 1969, at 19 years of age, Silberfein stood on stage next to his guru, Swami Satchidananda, at Woodstock while the Swami led half a million flower children in chanting “Om Shanti” as the opening invocation for the legendary festival. “At that moment, while I was standing there looking out at that sea of people, the seed for Bhakti Fest was planted,” Silberfein told The Bhakti Beat. For this year’s article, Vision Magazine let the artists and participants speak from their own hearts about what the concept of Bhakti and Bhakti Fest means to them. CC White Bhakti Fest is the pure example of a Love Fest. It lovingly brings all nationalities, cultures, men, women, and children together, and plants a necessary seed of sweet inspiration, natural bliss, and, most importantly, LOVE in the highest and purest form, amongst all who come to share and celebrate at Joshua Tree. When you leave, the feeling lingers in your heart and resonates throughout your soul. Bhakti means “devotional service, divine, devotional love,” and Bhakti Fest is an ecstatic celebration of that in the most exquisite form. The style of kirtan that I do is “Soul Kirtan.” This comes from my roots and the kind of music I was raised with. The mixture of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Southern Blues, even a little bit of Latin, all together with kirtan, is yet another blessed path that kirtan is traveling on today. It adds to the expression and the beauty that kirtan is all about. When I first started to chant with all of the amazing Wallahs and Spiritual Leaders—Radhanath Swami, Jai Uttal, Shyamdas, Dave Stringer, Girish, and more—they never

asked me to change who I was. Instead, they welcomed me in and supported my spirituality and devotion, honoring me and the kind of music that was within my soul. For that I’m eternally grateful. Larisa Stow Yoga, meditation, chanting, and expressing our love of the divine within and without gives us a direct experience of our true selves—our heartcentered awareness—and raises our vibration. We’re lifted up into the sacred light of our soul though consciously focusing our attention on love and forgiveness. Gathering in community (come unity) amplifies this vibration even more. Chanting with Shakti Tribe and hundreds of open-hearted souls at Bhakti Fest, seeing the light in everyone’s eyes, and feeling the freedom that comes from riding the wave of love takes me beyond my mind and personality and is absolutely ecstatic and soul nourishing. This year Bhakti Fest is going to be an epic opportunity to send a huge wave of love to ourselves, one another, and to our planet as the world as we know it comes to a glorious end. Some say that 2012 will mark the end of time and I think they are right. Doesn’t it appear that the unconscious desires of the soul are rising to the surface like never before—in individuals, families, and even countries? We’re becoming even more aware of what’s not in alignment with our spirit and waking up to what truly matters. And in doing so, we seek to rise above the suffering that comes from experiencing separation from our essential selves and one another. It is the end of the world as we know it, and hopefully the end of suffering as we know it—the suffering that comes from believing that we are anything less than love. This realization holds the frequency to set us free. Jai Uttal Thousands upon thousands of pages have been written attempting to define, or simply convey, what Bhakti Yoga really is. But how can the mysteries of the heart actually be defined? The world of emotions within each of us is so different. Our spiritual concepts, our prayers, our longings…we’re all so unique and our journey to the Infinite must also be unique. The image of a single devotee crawling through the dust of Parikrama Road (a footpath that circles the holy town of Vrindavan) crying, “Shyam, Shyam, Shyam!,” with his face covered in dirt and mud and tears, fills my mind right now and threatens to burst the rain clouds of my heart. I guess we don’t really need to ‘understand’ Bhakti, just live it. But how? Certainly as we sing kirtan and do Japa, we begin to touch the shores of a great sea of sweetness and bliss. How awesome that is! But what do we do next? What do we do with that bliss? Well, we can hold on to it and cultivate it until it grows and grows and grows and we find ourselves living in a very rarified inner environment. Not a totally natural way of life for us Westerners, raised in a culture of self-centeredness, is it? But I think we’re just being asked to try. I’ve often heard it said that if we take one baby step to God, He flies to us with His arms wide open. And then, through grace, we can start to truly live a life of Bhakti.

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Deepak Ramapriyan To me, Bhakti Fest means a gathering of a family, united with devotion, service, community, and love, all singing to the

F E AT U R E heavens and celebrating together in unison! Bhakti, meaning “devotion,” drops us back into the heart where we’re all connected with the Energy Source beyond this plane. Therefore, we’re empowered to let go of scarcity (a third dimensional concept) and stay in abundance—full of multidimensional, infinite light. The practice of Bhakti Yoga can help us tune the body, the mind, and the Spirit, to remain in this place of presence more often than not. I feel blessed to be a part of all of this. It’s the practice of getting out of our own ways that allows the Divine Vessel to sail the seas of consciousness with grace, ease, and power. In terms of where we are now, in 2012, we’re in the high tide of the beautiful wave of the Breath of Life. The ebb and flow of energy over time, over centuries, over millennia always has done a yin and yang of contraction and expansion. In this year of 2012, there is a remembrance of who we are, rising among the masses, while global forces are gathering and attempting to suppress this energy. Again, this is all basic nature, even if it doesn’t seem so, and is a perfect part of the beautiful story of the human and earthly existence. It makes it fun. There are characters, protagonists and antagonists, and we all get to choose and take stands and be in this intriguing drama of life that gives us purpose, or not choose and simply observe and wait to see what happens. All are perfect places to be. Jah Bless. Dr. Lorin Roche When you love someone, you carry them inside you and will think of them during pranayama, savasana, and meditation, even if you try not to. You can’t help but be bothered by your love. Your awareness is sneaking off to practice Bhakti Yoga, and will do so no matter what style of class you are in, no matter what you call your meditation system. In the Bhakti Yoga stories, otherwise honorable and diligent women (the Gopis) are always getting up in the middle of the night and slipping away to worship Krishna down by the river. In daily life, attention steals moments of Bhakti here and there to muse about the lover, baby, cat, dog, or creative project. Loving any one being is devotion to your local part of the infinite universe. This is a tangible thing you can do, an act of power and creativity. Bhakti Fest is the happiest party I know of—totally cheerful and joyous. I’m looking forward to it. Erika Burkhalter Cultivating community has been a central tenet in my teachings for as long as I’ve been teaching yoga. Our grandparents and even our parents gathered together to play cards, to knit, and to just socialize on a much more regular basis than we do now. In a world of high speed Internet and interactions (via things like Facebook), coming to a yoga class not only provides an hour and a half of “time out of time,” something apart from the rest of our world. We surround ourselves with a supportive community of like-minded souls. Bhakti Fest is the epitome of that experience. For a few days, yogis can completely immerse themselves in an ocean of celebration—joining together in enjoying music, asana, and meditation, in an environment permeated by Shakti’s natural beauty. Even the stars seem to

twinkle a little more brightly in Joshua Tree when Krishna Das, Girish, or Marti Walker are singing to us with so much love in their hearts. And hopefully when we leave, we carry away with us a little bit of the essence of that experience and it’ll have a lingering effect, not just on us, but on all of those in our lives whom we touch. Brother Echo, Living Foods Chef and Transformational Wellness Coach Bhakti is all about devotion, and Bhakti Fest is evidence that there are more people in the world walking a path of peace, self-discovery, and taking on roles as spiritual seekers. I live my life devoted to loving myself unconditionally. Over the past several years, since I began practicing yoga and meditating consistently, it’s been my experience that by also putting more living foods into my body, a.k.a., sunlight, I open myself up to receive influences from realms that have no name. There’s a metaphysical and spiritual aspect to feeding the body living foods that one cannot fully explain, just like the concept of Bhakti Yoga. This festival has come along at the perfect time and is helping to facilitate significant change in the lives of thousands of people. I love Bhakti Fest! Wah! Bhakti, the feeling of devotion generated from spiritual practice, is an undercurrent of grace. It bubbles up through everything we do, like a happiness that doesn’t end. As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “There are two states of mind: good and perfect.” There is no other way to feel when you are doing devotional practices. We’re playing a midnight set directly following Krishna Das, so we’re going to rock it steady and bring up the bliss for the Divine Mother! Jai Ma! *** Bali from the Mayapuris (who’s also a conscious hip-hop artist) told me that kirtan doesn’t only exist through traditional Indian sounds and instrumentation, but rather, is a profound sense of love and devotion to God through music and chanting. “It’s celebrating our existence through sound vibration and mantra. It’s not a style of music,” he says. “It’s everything. Gospel music is kirtan.” The integration and infusion of kirtan into more mainstream communities is happening with good reason; it’s a mystical movement that’s gaining momentum because it’s so inclusionary. Kirtan welcomes everybody. What could be a greater calling than to live our lives in true bliss? Swami Satchidananda notably referred to music as “the celestial sound that controls the whole universe.” Bhakti Fest is drawing near, at a time when people all over the globe are uniting in a common effort to live in peace and harmony. Could there be any more evidence of a “shift” in 2012? That this time would reveal planetary changes, a shifting of attitudes, and in the way we take on challenges in life’s journey? Let’s not follow our bliss—let’s live it. In Lak’ech. This year’s Bhakti Fest will take place September 6-9 in Joshua Tree, CA. For details on the festival, and to purchase tickets, visit www.bhaktifest.com. Daphne Carpenter can be reached at alienforestxx@gmail.com and http:// paintzflwrs.blogspot.com/.

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F E AT U R E

New Life Awakening with Yogiraj A Conversation With Kriya Yoga Master, Yogiraj Siddhanath by Joseph M., Teresa W., Abhiraj D., and Jennifer M.

riya Yoga Master Yogiraj Siddhanath is now on his 2012 world tour, spreading his healing and empowerment through his spiritual retreats and teachings. As he travels from India to Europe to the United States this summer and fall, he will offer New Life Awakening Retreats, Satsang-Healing Empowerment Workshops, and Kriya Empowerment Workshops. In light of these upcoming retreats, Vision Magazine spoke with Yogiraj to learn more and listen to him share his knowledge of the power of Kriya Yoga and natural living. Vision Magazine: I have heard you say, “Do your Kriya meditation daily and everything else will fall into place.” That certainly has been my experience with this powerful and complete practice. Apart from the core spiritual practices you suggest to your disciples, is there any advice on how one should live day-to-day? Yogiraj Siddhanath: Apart from the core practice of Kriya Yoga, dayto-day living should be very natural. By natural I mean do what you can do with the creative peace, eat the fruits of the season, follow the norms of today, and be as natural as you can without excess in any habit of eating or exercising or living your daily life. If you moderate your life, apart from the Kriya practice that you do—if you moderate your life to natural living—then the wear and tear of the body and mind shall be lessened a great deal. If you live life one day at a time, you can cope with life. Avoid excessive wear and tear, and also, prolong a healthy life. This is my advice. VM: You say repeatedly to ingest more light through the practice of Surya, Kundalini Kriya Yoga, and meditation. It sounds to me that the first two practices are more important than meditation. What is it about “spinal breathing” that makes this practice so powerful? YS: According to me, all three of these are important techniques of meditation. But Surya Yoga and Kriya Yoga are what I call “dynamic meditation.” They are moving with life and fire, and therefore it raises the bar of the level of the human being practicing this spiritual technique to override any sort of crisis that may come his way. VM: I know from my own experience that this has enhanced my spiritual practices immensely, and I am so pleased that you will be offering these teachings at your upcoming events in San Diego and Los Angeles. I also reviewed your Web site, Siddhanath.org, and the inspiring and healing YouTube videos on your SiddhanathTV and HamsaYogi channels. I personally have experienced your face visually changing into different beings while meditating with you. Some of these beings have been famous in our history, like when I saw you turn into King Arthur, Sri Yukteswar, and Moses. Are these personalities from past incarnations and many

incarnations you have had on earth? YS: This is a very personal question, and difficult to answer in the sense that each individual who has associated with me gets his own personal experience. That is the first thing. The second thing is that all of these great personalities who appear on my face—which is transforming—are all shape-shifting. [But this] does not necessarily mean it is my past life. It could also be people with whom I was associated in my past life. So there are two things that one must keep in mind. One is that, yes, it was one of my past lives; the face that you see was one of my past lives. The other is that I was connected intimately to that face, but you see an ancient face. Now, each individual will be able to tell for himself. Those who see me during meditation and during the satsang gatherings, who see these various faces of mine, should individually decide whether it was my past life or whether it was me associated to that great face. This will be able to be answered by the individuals who saw these changing faces of mine. It would be very pompous to assume that all the faces were my past lives. This is a very awkward question to comment on and say, “Yes, I was so-and-so, and I was this and I was that.” I would rather that people would realize through their own meditations, their connections with me in a past life, who I was for them in a past life, and who I was to myself in a past life. VM: There have been testimonials worldwide of you appearing in peoples’s dreams, conveying messages and performing miraculous acts. Don’t you get any sleep at night? People wonder if you sleep at all. How do you do this? YS: You think this testimony all over the world that I am appearing to them in the night in their dreams and doing various chores and giving various messages, performing healing acts—this is true to a large extent, I would have to admit to this. I do do astral traveling and I do appear to many people in their dreams, many times, at the same time, to various people. This is due to a yogic technique called Kaya Vyuh, a yogic feat where the developed astral body of a yogi can take more than one form and enter the dreams of various people to heal them or give them a certain message. This, of course, is being done by high command and the supreme Master Shiva Goraksha Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, the Christ, and

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F E AT U R E

America is advanced in imagination. India is advanced in being and doing.

Sri Yukteswar. As they command, we the servants obey, and we do these things in order to serve humanity, not with arrogance but with humility. We do this to serve humanity as our larger self. The second question is, “Do I get sleep or not?” Let me tell you two facts. The first is, yes, the physical body does sleep. It has to rest. The astral body gets out of the physical body and it travels to those people to whom it has some message to give or some healings to perform with and also to prepare them for the coming world scenario where they will be better able to cope with the world’s warlike situation, or catastrophe situation, or cataclysmic situation. So these things, these interventions by the yogis, are to serve humanity, to get them out of the crises. I’ve shown people that to practice deep meditation and Kriya Yoga, they will get out of these crises. The change always comes at the critical time, and our great Masters have done it before and they can do it again. They are saving us from the crises that the people apprehend are coming in 2012 and after. But there are many good things that are happening in 2012 and after as well, as far as the evolution of humanity is concerned. VM: You are offering this experience during your September retreat in Carlsbad, San Diego, California, called Dreamweaver, correct? YS: Yes. VM: So that would be something to actually look forward to. You are conducting the Dreamweaver experience for your disciples. YS: Yes. You see, it all started a long time [ago], back when people were telling me to look at a picture called “Dreamscape,” where, in the depiction it says, ‘Look at how beautifully America has made these pictures; they’re so advanced in their thinking. They make the villain enter the so-called president’s dream to get him. The president’s men hire another person to enter the president’s dream to protect the president, and these two have a feud to fight. One to kill and one to protect.’ They thought this was very high fancy, so I told them, “This is not a fancy. It is a fact that yogis in India can easily do it.” And they said, “Yogi, you just talk. Can you do it? Can you show us?” So this surprised me that they asked such an arrogant and powerful question. I was not ready for this. So I just told them, “In the movie, they appeared in one man’s life, in one man’s dream. Two people appeared in one man’s dream—that is the president. Here I was a single man that can appear in 100 peoples’ dreams.” America is advanced in imagination. India is advanced in being and doing. In the astral, yogis are actually doing the feat. Then I started doing the Dreamweaver. People testify to healings that happened, and to my appearance. Some people see me and some just felt a rush of energy and were totally cured. Some saw me, some didn’t, but all had a great sense of well-being. So this is how the Dreamweaver came into being. And then I had permission from my Master who said, yes, you can serve humanity in the astral level, to cure them in their dreams. So let me tell you, I say this with all humility because these are cultural shocks for the Western mind. I don’t want to appear to be a pompous person trained to do something special. I do this with all humility. This is a very important point to know that many times the healings that I do—actually people come and tell me—I am not even aware that I have healed the person. I am not even aware many times. I’m happy I’m not aware because

this helps me to subdue and keep my ego at zero. For the moment I feel, I’ve done this or I’ve done that, it will give rise to my ego and that will cloud my spiritual prowess, my spiritual skills, and my ability to serve humanity. VM: During the retreat, I also had the experience of you entering my dreams and teaching me how to fly, and it was very fun. YS: So you are the proof yourself. So you agree? Flying, psychologically, was to get you out of a certain blocked state of inhibition, to move forward and take a bold decision. So this was symbolized as an action. It was not a dream flight. It was an actual flight in the astral, and this was to remove a block, an inhibition, of not being able to decide and to make you believe. VM: Yes, It had to do with overcoming my fear. A very powerful experience. Thank you. Sometimes when I meditate on your picture, I feel I slipped into a white hole of some sort. Could you explain what happens when a disciple meditates upon the Guru’s picture? YS: The Master dies to the disciple to the extent of the degree of his concentration on the Master (when the disciple is focusing on the Master’s picture or even mentally connecting to him). The Master is sitting before you; this is one place. And he is also part of the innermost essence of your true self. He’s in two places: in your heart and here. So he is subjectively in your heart and objectively here. Is that clear? Now you begin to concentrate on the Master. As you concentrate, you will find your thoughts are running away. But then you bring it back to his face, his hair, his beard, and as you keep praying, the Master creates magnetism. It’s a dynamic progression. It’s an actual happening. Then the disciple keeps looking. And the atoms of the disciple’s eyes and the Master’s atoms get connected into one form. And the gaze of the disciple steadies on the Master. His mind stops running. The Master in Indian language is called “Guru.” The “Guru” word comes from “Gurutva…Gurutvakarshan,” which means “magnetic attraction.” So the Guru is one who has gravity to bring out the hidden knowledge of the disciple and enlighten him. This is my description. He cracks the code of Maya, the dream you are presently in, and takes you to Brahma (the Creator). That is the Guru: he who is the gravity, gravitational well. So as you stare, the Guru starts dissolving, and the disciple’s gaze turns into a meditation. And the Guru is gradually dying into the disciple by his gravity, and merging into the disciple. The disciple’s atoms are one with the atoms of the Guru and he has become an integral part of the disciple’s meditation. From concentration, the disciple has gone to a deeper layer of meditation. The whole of the Guru and the disciple have become one in meditation. As the disciple keeps looking at the Guru, the Guru further dies into the disciple’s awareness and makes the disciple enter from the atomic to the sub-atomic layer. The Guru loses form. The eyes of the disciple are fixed on the Guru and the disciple can see the aura around the Guru. The aura is expanding more and more. It’s continued on page 40

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Witch Doctor

by Sean Cute

very so often an event comes along that dances to the beat of its own drum. Witch Doctor is an event born from a small tribe of two modernday musical shamans. Groups once formed around fires with drums, but the natural necessity for gathering has not changed. Bi-coastal but collaborative DJs Matti Folks and Joel Moreno live apart by a great distance, but they have the same length to the same destination. From two different coasts, they carry together their original musical and spiritual mission: to bring the group back to the fire. Vinyls on spinning steel platters replace skin-stretched drums and LED stands as alternate to flame, but the crowd dancing as one remains the same even though the “four on the floor” beat doesn’t change. “We are just borrowing it from the ancestors,” Folks says of the concept. Folks will be flying in from Washington, DC, where he is a sought-after nightclub sound engineer. “There is nothing like it, and no words to explain the feeling of feeding off the energy of a crowd” says Orange Countybased Moreno, who is a techno guru rooted deep within the underground

scene. Their dual journey to San Diego is a precursor to a spiritual journey on the dance floor. Folks and Moreno blend together the rhythmic sounds of dark, tribal techno and the body-shaking bass of “fidget” style house music. Both began listening to electronic dance music at a young age, and now they aim to show their wisdom to a crowd of the new, the in-the-know, and the about-to-find-out. Folks wants to bring back the old-school “PLUR” style—Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect—which was once the law of the dance floor. “There was just this incredible sense of unity and togetherness… The PLUR was for real, and I felt welcome.” Two friends will be joining Folks and Moreno on their journey, one old and one new. Long-time collaborator Jared Denish will be bringing full vibes during his dubstep set, while LA’s Seven8seveN will be fully armed with scores of his original tunes, which is a blend of dubstep and electro. Last year’s highly successful Witch Doctor was the San Diego premiere, and involved circus performers and fire dancers. This year’s edition involves a spectacular lighting display, bizarrely illuminated go-go dancers, masks, face paint, and outdoor fire dancers who will be ushering in the good spirits. Live artists including local phenomenon Danger Pig will be in attendance.

go-go dancers, masks, face paint, and outdoor fire dancers who will be ushering in the good spirits.

Witch Doctor will occur Saturday, August 11 at The Ruby Room, located at 1271 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103. Visit www.RubyRoomSD.com for more information.

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Discover Body Mind Spirit Expo in San Diego, September 2012

...uncover your own glorious inner being while meeting up with your future likeminded friends.

t Body Mind Spirit Expos we have dedicated ourselves to helping you discover the radiant life that surrounds you in every moment. We return to the Doubletree Mission Valley on September 1-2, 2012 with a weekend filled with the finest presentations, exhibitors, and entertainment, all designed to help you grow internally and show you to “believe, and everything is possible.” Once you arrive at the expo, you will discover an outstanding offering of 55 of the nation’s most intriguing exhibitors, offering the latest findings in natural health, personal growth, and—our specialty—metaphysics. Browse for hours, receive a healing or soothing massage, and experience a reading from a gifted psychic. Want a chance to catch your breath? Head to the lecture halls where we offer a phenomenal schedule this season. Meet and discuss the latest discoveries with more than 30 incredible presenters and authors. The weekend’s highlights include author Beth Green’s workshop on “Creating a Vortex of Change.” Beth is a locally based, internationally known spiritual teacher. Inspirational empowerment facilitator Vessa Rinehart will offer an insightful hour on “Read the Aura & Heal Yourself.” Dr. Debbie Goldring will share “Gentle Techniques to Stay Healthier.” The always popular James Goi Jr. will show you how you can attract much more of what you want in your life with “Manifesting Made Easy.” Our schedule will leave you inspired and ready to accelerate towards a glorious and graceful awakening in 2012. The excitement doesn’t end with one day either. Your admission to the expo works for both days, so you have the time to reflect, call your friends, and come back for more fun on Sunday. Body Mind Spirit Expo offers you the tools and techniques to uncover your own glorious inner being while meeting up with your future like-minded friends. Save $2 off the already low weekend admission simply by downloading a coupon from www.bmse.net (make sure that all your friends sign up, too, so that each receives the discount) or even buy and print your tickets at home. Mark your calendar now. The expo takes place September 1-2, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday, at the Doubletree Mission Valley in San Diego, CA. Weekend admission is just $12 and parking is free. For more information, visit www.bmse.net.

Sat., 25 Aug 2012: Darshan: 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to come and receive a personal blessing from Louix. Prema Drala Ashram, 25742 La Serra, Laguna Hills, CA

Sat., 15 Sep 2012: Darshan: 7:30 p.m. Prema Drala Ashram, 25742 La Serra, Laguna Hills, CA

Sat., 29 Sep 2012: One-Day Retreat: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Immerse yourself in this spiritual Master’s wisdom, grace, love, and humor as you receive His personal guidance to move you into deeper levels of self-mastery. Ways to attend:

• In person: $150.00 (includes a vegan lunch), with lower pricing for children (inquire) • Via live online video streaming: $75 (includes the option to download and keep the content)

New Year’s Eve Retreat

Sedona, Arizona, Enchantment Resort, 29 Dec 2012 - 3 Jan 2013

* All events, except the retreats, are by donation *

For more information, please contact Samantha: phone: (888) 288-3735 • e-mail: samantha@Louix.org To register online, go to: LouixOC.org or LouixNYE.org

All attending these events consent to having their names, voices, images, and likenesses recorded and used for commercial purposes. All proceeds from these events will be used to support the Louix Dor Dempriey Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization.

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South

A merican I mports by John Chandler

aving worked many years in the San Diego area as an intuitive healer/Reiki master, one of my most rewarding discoveries has been South American Imports in Old Town San Diego for their amazing selection of clear and supportive gemstones. The positive healing attributes of gems and crystals have been valued for millennia and have traditionally been used to cure the physical symptoms of illnesses. Today they are used in spiritual and holistic practices to remove or neutralize the energies that create imbalance, before they lead to physical illness. I employ a variety of gemstones in my healing work to help balance the chakras and thus balance the whole person—emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical. David Vince is the proprietor of South American Imports, and his shop includes a large variety of stones of the highest caliber. Since the business opened in 1980, they have been offering tumbled stones, skull carvings, polished crystals, agate stones, mineral specimens, and other items. They now have over 500 items to choose from, in 12 different categories. Their specialties are agate, amethyst, and quartz crystals, which they bring back from their trips to Brazil.

Of great importance to me as an energy healer is where stones are obtained, how they are maintained before being put to work, and, especially, who picked the stones, for they imprint them with their energy. David’s stones can always be trusted for their clarity, energy, and high vibration. I always enjoy hearing about his buying trips to South America, Asia, or other locations and seeing and feeling the energy of the beautiful specimens he brings back to San Diego. In my Healing Cottage are rows of his gemstones waiting to assist me and my students. But you don’t need to be an energy worker to appreciate David’s fine selection; South American Imports has gemstones for everyone. He and his staff are quite knowledgeable about their stones’ many attributes, and their prices are very reasonable. You can walk in with $5 and find healing stones that will work for you. And if you are looking for large showpiece specimens, you will not be disappointed. I am happy to introduce clients, students, and friends to South American Imports for gemstones to adorn their homes and aid in their spiritual quest. David’s ability to find the clearest healing gemstones, and his own clear energy, provides some of the highest quality healing gemstones I have ever worked with. Please take your family, connect with a friend, or go on your own gemstone discovery tour to South American Imports. You’ll see why I and others return again and again to this “gem” in historic Old Town San Diego. South American Imports is located at 2461 San Diego Avenue #104, San Diego, CA 92110. For more information, call 619.299.3877, e-mail dave@saimport. com or visit www.saimport.com. John Chandler is an intuitive healer and Reiki master in San Diego, CA. Contact him at www.chandlerspiritworks.com or 619.723.3828.

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E motional

H ealin g fro m

F lower So un ds by Jill Mattson

lants have always been the primary source of healing substances for mankind. Man inherited a wealth of knowledge about plants and their medicinal uses from his forefathers. Plants growing in the wild offered abundant variety and powerful tonics for early man’s use in healing. Now, even modern pharmaceutical companies systematically study and test plants for new drug development programs. To this day, plants are responsible for more far more beneficial drugs than man-made synthetic routes. The race is on to find rare new plants in the jungles of the Amazon for pharmaceutical uses before they are lost forever due to extinction. Plants clearly have a unique physical nature which we and other living beings depend upon for food and nourishment, important material and chemical components (building and clothing needs, for instance), and powerful medicinal properties and healing powers. Beyond these obvious applications, a deeper appreciation of the power of plants is arising. As we increase our understanding of the holistic, irreducible nature of the universe and all living systems, it is indisputable that plant life functions on many sophisticated and subtle levels. It may not seem like it, but plants are actually sentient beings. They demonstrate consciousness, they feel and move, and they constantly respond to the surrounding environment. Experiments dating back to the 1920s showed that plants possess a nervous system. Polygraphs have demonstrated that plants respond to human thought and speech. These “simpler” forms posses a life force, and this has important implications for us. Plants and people share in the divinity of the grand design of nature. One of the most famous and respected names associated with the unique use of plants in healing is Dr. Edward Bach of England. Bach discovered that certain flowering plants are able to alleviate human emotional and physical problems. He learned to extract the essence, or vibratory imprint, from particular flowers and to transfer this energy imprint into pure water, which is then ingested orally or placed sublingually. These nonmaterial essences function as vibrational medicine— healing energy. The flower essences work on the multidimensional mind-body-spirit being. Each healing flower offers unique benefits to an individual. Eventually, Bach identified and prepared 38 healing flower remedies. Long before Bach, though, ancient tribes in South America similarly found native flowers useful for soothing physical, emotional, and psychological illnesses. The flower essences work to balance, unblock, and harmonize the various subtle and fine energy systems of the mind-body-spirit being. They are gentle but effective in helping a willing person bring about change and heal himself. An exciting new development has surfaced in recent years that allows the direct application of the flower essences through sound frequencies, bypassing the physical flower altogether. In this novel approach, the same marvelous benefits that many

have long enjoyed via the traditional waterborne flower essences, can be quickly and effectively bestowed through sound. Pioneers such as Sharry Edwards and Dr. Royal Rife spent their lives studying, measuring, and deriving vibrational energies for healing. Eventually, sound healers were able to identify exact wavelengths of sound to address specific ailments. The precise mechanisms are not yet completely understood, but as with other vibrational healing, it appears the effect works on a holistic basis, providing benefits to the spirit and the mind of the person, helping a person heal oneself. There are emotional benefits that are inseparable from the overall healing process. At the deepest level, everything (and everyone) is energy, and energy heals most directly! As reported above, the benefits of the flower remedies can be passed directly through the use of sound. The author’s work has endeavored to extend the benefits of the flower essences by composing complete “Healing Flower Music” (Symphonies) that employ the sound frequency equivalent to the associated soul flower. The characteristic flower frequency is embedded in a complex musical composition. The listener receives the flower essence energy from this frequency, and much more. The frequency need not be loud or isolated, as the body is adept at incorporating subtle frequencies. The experience offered by the combination of the healing flower essence coupled with the musical encounter present in the symphony, can produce a powerful, healing state that impacts physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energies. One example of healing flower essences is the clematis flower, which is for those who live in a dreamy, not-fully-awake and alert state. The clematis is the reality flower essence. For those who suffer from anxiety or excessive worry, the mimulus is known as the “bravery flower.” It helps those with fears of illness, pain, accidents, poverty, loneliness, and misfortunes. In closing, the benefits of the healing flower essences have been widely utilized by people since ancient times to gain a gentle emotional lift or a helpful resolution. There now exists a total vibrational energy path to the same blessings—listening to the frequency equivalent of the desired flower. By adding specially designed music to the experience, even greater advances are possible. Certain people have reported extraordinary results when they simultaneously listened to the “Flower Symphonies” and took the flower essences sublingually in the traditional manner. The transformation of sentient plant energy to pure vibrational energy (both available for uplifting the human spirit) is yet another manifestation of the concept that all living entities and all energies are one in the grand design. For our part, we need to care for and preserve nature; enjoy the bounty of a simple wildflower to help fill your deepest emotional needs.

Jill Mattson has spent the past 20 years researching vibratory sound energy for healing. She has three books on this subject. She also specializes in sound secrets of ancient civilizations. Mattson composes and produces her own CDs, employing unique sound healing techniques and energies, as well as her original musical score. To learn more, visit www.jillswingsoflight.com and www.jillshealingmusic.com.

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Confessions of an Animal Lover by Daphne Carpenter

think I understand animals better than I do people. When I was little I was convinced that I had special powers that allowed me to talk with animals. Snails took on whole other life forms, cats would tell me their pain, birds would share with me their ecstasy of flight. Naturally interpreting to others what the animals were saying, some people believed I was either crazy, or as I got older, arrogant enough to think that I could speak with creatures. Since I’ve been living in my tent again this summer, I’m back in that state, more acutely sensitive to the natural world—plants and animals—and have, to

some degree, once again become a nuisance to people around me. Here’s some history about where this started. Like many of us when we’re young, I had a heightened sensitivity to animals. When I’d see a caged or stray animal, I’d have to stop everything that I was doing, and I’d catatonically zone out. About 30 seconds into my trance, tears would start to flow. When it came to not being able to rescue animals that roamed the cruel city streets—where there was no nature to hunt or to keep safe in—I’d feel helpless. Sometimes I’d just break down and cry in my parents’ car as we were driving. With my non-intellectual mind, I hadn’t yet conceptualized the fact that humans have encroached upon animals and destroyed their natural habitat to the point of annihilation. I just knew then that the possums that crept along our back wall after 9:30 p.m. appeared hungry and timid and were very nervous. They were often shooed away by angry neighbors. My mania and concern for animals never improved. One summer day, the scraggliest of mutts came wandering down my block. Even though he was a stray and had probably been through it all, he held his head high and he had an air of courage about him. Vaguely resembling a Yorkshire terrier (the kind that requires consistent facial grooming—eyebrows and beards—just to be able to see), Scruffy had been white in a previous life, and along the road he had turned a grayish-brown gutter color. He had traveled from afar, from “along the highway,” I had imagined, and my keen animal sense, paired with my eagle-sharp vision, picked up on him from way down the street. He saw me, too. We connected from a distance (even through all of the street noise), and as we started towards each other, it was as if we were somehow re-uniting. But before I got to him, my eyes had swollen with tears and my heart was burning. In that one minute, I had relived what I perceived to be Scruffy’s suffering—hunger, fear of traffic, loneliness, getting kicked by someone. Unconsciously, I had taken on his suffering, and at that moment, I felt that my only role in life was to care for him.

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My dad helped me put food and fresh water by our front door. I so wanted to keep him as my own, the Florence-Nightingale-to-the-animals that I was, but there was a big obstacle when it came to helping stray animals back in the day— my mother. Raised on a ranch in Mexico, animals were either of two things: food and/or commodities. My mom had little to no sensitivity towards multilegged creatures, and in this case, Scruffy, who in my eyes was a survivor and a sweet little soul, was to my mom an irritating, flea-ridden pest. She wouldn’t come near him, nor would she allow him in the house (or backyard) even after I had washed him with soap and cold water from the hose. (The little guy was a trooper, though; he let me bathe him). The next day I sobbed uncontrollably when Scruffy (who had sadly, but valiantly, accepted his sentence to “keep on going”) took off down my street just as freely as he had wandered in. In terms of having compassion for animals, I knew from early on that I was fighting a battle in which I often stood alone. I thought it odd and also grim that some people couldn’t “hear” animals, or wouldn’t listen to what they were saying. I often had to interpret for the animals—“So-and-so’s dog doesn’t like that kind of food,” I’d say. “And just how do you know that?” they’d ask me. “He’s saying it,” I’d reply. What I was trying to say (although I couldn’t articulate it then) was that an animal’s body language—its vocalizations, its eyes, its instinctive movements— tells what it is thinking. My friend’s parents would get so annoyed at me when I’d say over and over again that their indoor cat just wanted to step outside for some fresh air. “No, she’s fine,” they’d say, “she likes it in here.” Hmm…fine? You can’t hear her talking with her entire body—huge mannerisms, looking at you and then glancing out the window, then back at you, then out the window? (Note: I knew the cat wouldn’t run away because I often snuck her outside when they weren’t looking.) That cat spoke so loudly, so expressively, and with those piercing green eyes it felt like she was sending the message right into your soul. But you grown-ups can’t hear her? She’s fine? Well that’s the stupidest, most ignorant s*** I’ve ever heard, and I’m only 7 years old! What idiots you all are! Because of these moments, I genuinely started to believe that I must have had “special powers” to talk to the animals and that many grown-ups, or humans, in fact, couldn’t hear their cries. I was right. There’s a de-activation switch that we humans possess which allows us to turn off the frequency that would otherwise keep us open to the sounds of the animal world. If we were to spend more time outside, we’d be more tuned-in. We’d know who our animal neighbors were and we’d even be able to identify personality traits of certain birds—the ones that live in our backyard trees, for example – or even the personalities of our wild, tree-hugging possum friends. But we humans turn off that switch when it’s more convenient to just not listen, for whatever reason, be it that we don’t want to deal with our house pets at that moment, or even to a larger degree, when we disregard the destruction of an entire eco-system so that our businesses can prosper, even at the expense of the animals. We’re so closed-off from the natural world that it has become “us and them” or “us versus the animals.” We forget that we are animals. I really enjoyed something that Lori Spagna, animal intuitive and communicator, said at this year’s Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo. She said, “[Animals] are here to help us learn to co-exist and grow… They help us see ourselves more clearly.” Typically, in our society, animals aren’t accepted as our equals. I’ve always hated it when people say, “Don’t leave food for them; they’ll keep coming around.” What about when it’s a malnourished cat, searching desperately for food and water so she can go back and nurse her kittens? And there are so few options to hunt. Of course we have to help them! I’m using creative licensing to write the following, so please don’t come at me with objective antagonism. I’ve always had this recurring thought that someday I

might find myself out in nature, and, who knows, I could be wrong and it could be a bear that rips my frickin’ head off, but I can’t shake the feeling that being a friend to the animals will work in my favor at some catalytic moment. I have this dreamy fantasy that I’ll be rescued by some wild animal(s) in nature after an accident or natural disaster, and maybe taken to live with the wolves or dolphins or something incredible like that. And I can sense that there’s a special place in heaven for friends of the animals. Check out some of Lori Spagna’s informative YouTube videos about animal communication and/or visit her Web site at www.efilsgod.com. Also stay connected for an upcoming interview with her. Visit Daphne’s blog for other adventures with multi-legged creatures at www. paintzflwrs.blogspot.com, or e-mail her at alienforestxx@gmail.com. “Finding Our Nature” continued from page 19

SK: Well, I have said that I invite you to buy land and pursue that, but of course if you live in the city, make sure that you meditate and live a calm life.Surround yourself with friends—real friends that will support you and not friends who will pull you downward. Friends who are kind, generous, helpful, and cheery. In a community out in the country, it is easier to create with that, and you have to get the right people. If you get a group of very angry people, then they will be just as angry in the country as they will be in the city. But if you get a group of compatible people and sharing people and you go out there with them, you will find it is much easier to live with those qualities. VM: What fascinates you about nature? SK: Well, I’ve always loved nature. I was not born in the city, and I’ve always grown up in the country. I was born in Romania, out in the country. Then I went to school in Europe in England, and again, I was in and out of the country in the northern border. Even in America when we lived in Scottsdale, we lived in the suburbs, which was in the country in a way. So I have lived in the country [versus the city] almost all over the place. VM: For those who don’t know the first steps to start to embrace the idea of community, what would you say to them? SK: I would say that the first step should be to look for land that is arable where there is water, because water is a very important thing, as you know. Look for land out in the country far from the big and small city. Besides that, land is cheaper in the country that is far away from the cities. And then try to find friends, and if you can’t, then find people interested in this idea. The thing is that once you start a community…then they realize that they like the country living more than city living. VM: What would you say to those who don’t understand the importance of building a community? SK: We have many communities people can come and visit. We have some in Northern California, we have one in Nevada City, and we have one in Portland, Oregon. I would say come and try them out and decide for themselves and see if they like it.

You need people. We are a social animal, you might say, and we need other people who share our ideals.

Swami Kriyananda is the founder of Ananda, a movement based on the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. Ananda has communities and temples, teaching centers, and meditation groups around the world. To find a location near you, and to learn more about Ananda, visit www.ananda.org. Also visit www.swamikriyananda.org.

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“Greek To Me” continued from page 9

Looking back, they probably hunted for a couple of reasons. Practically speaking, we actually ate whatever they bagged. It was also a chance for them to maintain a brotherly connection. And just maybe it provided them an opportunity to get back to nature—by tromping around, shooting off firearms that ripped to shreds the silence typically found on a farm very early in the morning. Or as my Uncle John so eloquently put it, by “busting geese.” Regardless of why, hunting was a big deal. It required getting up so early that it was still dark, something that would never have occurred to me. It felt like some bad practical joke we were playing on the sun by beating it to its appointed rounds. Over time, though, I understood it as part of a special project undertaken only by men, which ultimately struck me as something cool if only because it began to fill in the blank that was me. After bundling ourselves against the cold and filling thermoses full of steaming coffee, we’d drive silently into the inkwell countryside. Once there, guns were loaded with great deliberation and a silence that draped the ritual in ceremony. Though it was technically still dark as we stood around our car, off to the east I could almost hear the sky release its fierce grip on the night so gradually, as if it were laying down a precious item it could no longer bear to hold but didn’t want to break. Eventually, my Dad and Uncle spoke in a stage whisper: loud enough to be heard, but delivered in such a way that great effort was being expended to respect the silence despite the sound. I took my cue from them. Not talking reduced me to spectating. Everything seemed new, freshly minted. The dew on the ground reminded me of floor wax, making the ground shiny and slippery. Guns ready, we set out. Sometimes we’d walk in fields, down rows of corn that had long since been harvested, the fallen stalks crisscrossing the ground. My feet would get tangled and I’d fall like the corn, something that felt as unmanly a thing as I could do. Initially, my job was to keep pace and not fall behind. But by my third time out, I was tasked with wearing the game coat: a jacket with large pockets inside it to store our take. Once we were walking between a railroad track and a creek when we spooked a rabbit ahead of us. Uncle John dispatched it with a shot, grabbing its limp body and dropping it into the game coat, right next to my chest. No sooner was the flap closed than I felt this frantic thumping where the rabbit was—it’d come back to life and was thrashing mightily, trying to get out! I was so shocked I couldn’t even scream. I stood riveted to the ground, waving my arms. In motion as fluid as the rabbit’s was frantic, my Uncle reached in, pulled it out by its ears, gave it a swift chop to the back of its neck, and returned it to the pocket where it had been an instant ago. I’ll never forget that feeling. What had been so alive a second before was now a leaden bag of fur and bone, literally dead weight, still warm against my body. I think of that almost every time I hear the Beatles’ song, “A Day in the Life.” In that song’s famous final chords, a musical technique called deceptive cadence was used whereby the listener assumes the next chord, or melody note, will go somewhere it doesn’t. They’re led to expect a certain outcome, but the writer/ arranger intentionally surprises them by going someplace else musically. Like that song’s interminable last chord, my hunting experience led me to expect a certain outcome, but I ended up some place else altogether. I was trying to take a step toward becoming what I thought was a man, only to discover that path is defined by its missteps as much as by its forward progress. Sometimes when you go hunting for one thing, you inadvertently bag another, which is lyrically Greek to me. Michael Raysses is a writer/NPR commentator who lives in Malibu, California. You can follow him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/MichaelRaysses/159019634181724. Or e-mail him at MichaelRaysses@hotmail.com.

“Yogirag” continued from page 27

a white cottony gold with flashes of violet, purple, rose, and indigo. Rosecolored, golden-colored. And the disciple keeps looking. His eyes are watering, not blinking. The Guru’s form is disappearing. He goes to the formless state. That means the disciple and the Master have entered from the atomic structure to the subatomic structure of the Guru’s form, where they see not his form so clearly, but they feel the joy, they see his attributes. So I do not see the Guru’s face, his beard, so clearly, but I’m now beginning to experience his sub-atomic energy of Ananda. So this is from the third stage. [In the] second stage of meditation, he goes deeper into a state of ecstasy, the first stage, which is a sub-atomic stage of the Guru’s energy of peace. And his mind is fixed upon his Guru. The Guru has died from the form and become a formless Ananda of the heart of the disciple. VM: If you could be asked any question during a interview, what would that question be, and your answer to it? YS: I would like you to ask me no questions, but sit down and meditate and do your Kriya Yoga and get to the state yourself. VM: Yes, that’s the answer for everything: do your Kriya Yoga! YS: Yes. Do your Kriya Yoga and dissolve yourself. Yogiraj Siddhanath will begin his 2012 US tour in mid-July, visiting the East Coast first, followed by Southern California and Seattle. He will arrive in Southern California and host Healing Enlightenment Satsangs and Kriya Yoga Empowerment Workshops in Encinitas and Los Angeles, August 11-19, followed by a New Life Awakening Kundalini Kriya Yoga Meditation Retreat in Carlsbad, CA, starting September 27. For registration and more information, please visit www.Siddhanath.org, e-mail events@siddhanath.org, or call 1.866.YOGI.RAJ. “Whole Being Weekend” continued from page 11

We have a healing garden with massage therapists and other healers giving free treatments. Also available is a pool, nature walks, disc golf and human foosball, and the glorious views of the San Gorgonio Mountain. Attendees can stay in cabins, and there are many areas for tents. Most of the workshops are given throughout the campgrounds in the glory of nature, but we have cabins and rooms where workshops are also presented. Besides the many seminars on anything from Sufi dancing, to finding the perfect life partner, our presenters are you. Do you have anything to share? You can share your gifts with others and be a presenter, give a workshop, and/or go to any of the workshops. They’re all free! Past workshops have included yoga, dance lessons, laughing, play activities for youngsters of all ages, art, meditation, personal growth, relationship healing, massage, energy work, prosperity and abundance, singing, and magic. Anyone can do a workshop, so presentations differ each year. The WBW has indeed changed my life. For the first three WBWs, I attended all the workshops I could, and I barely said a word. I attended a dance presentation. The presenter insisted that I be in the talent show

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(now we have the Bistro) on Saturday night before Karl Anthony’s performance. So I bit the bullet and agreed to be Minnehaha to his Hiawatha, dancing to a beautiful song about the poem. That evening and on Sunday morning, people kept asking me how long I had been studying dance and saying how wonderful it was to watch me. Imagine that! (This was before everyone had cameras of some sort, so there is no documented account of this.) Well, that really opened the door for me, and I began dancing whenever I could and even entered dance contests. But wait, there’s more. I also took an improv workshop. That led me to improv classes, and I ended up performing in “Out on a Whim,” an improv group that presented to senior groups. I even did the opening exercises for the WBW when our regular presenter for Friday night wasn’t able to attend. From a reluctant participant afraid to speak up at a workshop with 7-10 people, to presenting in front of hundreds of people with ice-breaker exercises, to eventually doing my own workshops—well, that’s priceless. My Whole Being experience resulted in me becoming a public speaker on the environment, entering and winning (third place) dance contests, and essentially becoming an extrovert. Thank you, Whole Being Weekend, for changing my life and enriching it so very much. The Whole Being Weekend is from September 21-23 at Buckhorn Camp in Idyllwild, CA. For more information, visit www.thewholebeingweekend.com. Register at http://www. thewholebeingweekend.com/reg/index.php. “Coming Back to Nature” continued from page 13

Hold shells in your hands as you meditate, and experience the vibrant life and balance you felt when you were actually at a beach.

Direct Sunlight Even if you don’t have access to a beach or you don’t have a garden to work in or you don’t practice yoga, the sun is always available. Spirit recommends 10 minutes of direct sunlight first thing in the morning, and another 10 minutes again in the afternoon. Take your shoes off and stand directly in the grass with your arms reaching up into the sky. Your arms are reaching to the heavens, your source of inspiration and life, while your feet are rooted in the earth, your source of nourishment. Like a tree, you are grabbing solar energy from the sky and rooting your body more deeply into the earth. Again, never underestimate the power of where you are to bring you back to nature. It is right outside your door at all times. Through a clouded sky you can still see and feel the light of the sun. A good way of looking at a clouded sky is to understand that things in life are not always clear, yet the source of light is always there. This restores real faith and brings balance to our lives. Collect Stones From a Hike in Nature Another way to get the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing power of nature into your life is to hold stones. Consider collecting your favorite stones while hiking on a nature trail. You may also wish to collect sticks. Any natural object that will bring back the memories of a natural environment will do, much like the seashells from a beach. Stones are an excellent way to continue this connection in any environment. You can bring them home and into the office to remind you of the times you spend in nature. Hold the stones during meditation and feel the grounding energy they hold and share with you. This aligns your energy with the

earth regardless of the setting you’re in. Pieces of nature will always restore balance. PTSD can be healed by connecting back to nature. It’s all about restoring trust, and nature is the most trustworthy source for healing energy in everyday life. Simply holding the stones you’ve collected, even for a few seconds, can restore balance and trust in life as a part of the natural cycles of the earth. Anytime we touch nature, we can feel life. Anytime we feel natural life, whatever the source, we become alive. Trust in Nature No matter how we find a way to connect with nature, the elements remain the same. It’s a matter of touching nature in some way and doing so directly. Embrace life and don’t run from it. Nature holds many keys to open, forgotten doorways. These doorways can be opened in many ways. Sit against the trunk of a tree or dig your toes into the sand or soil. Touch the leaves of plants and smell flowers. Watch life literally buzzing and crawling around you and truly become alive. Always remember your experiences with nature and hold them in your heart. Collect objects which represent these connections and you will never be truly alone. By gaining a connection with nature, we regain our ground and begin to understand our part in nature as a whole. It’s all too easy to forget where we come from, and with these simple reminders we can become one with our environment rather than struggle against it. For over 20 years, Anthony William has devoted his life to helping people heal and overcome illness and disease. His skilled services are unique and highly valuable for those seeking answers and direction concerning their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. His unprecedented accuracy and success rate in healing has earned him the trust and the love of thousands worldwide. His professionalism and phenomenal source of detailed information has made him a top referral amongst leading national medical doctors, physicians, chiropractors, and naturopathic doctors who need additional insight into their more complicated cases. Anthony William offers phone consultations seven days a week. To schedule a consultation, visit www.medicalmedium.net or call 941.429.8384. “Grand Canyon” continued from page 20

believe each time I gaze into the coincidental universe manifesting itself, minute by minute, ad infinitum, in my own backyard. Any moment of our lives can also become an encounter with spiritual energy. Any moment can become an encounter with the Grand Canyon. It’s only a matter of mindfulness. When imbibing spiritual energy, I’m often reminded of a line from the “Field of Dreams” film: “There comes a time when all the cosmic tumblers have clicked into place and the universe opens itself up for a few seconds to show you what’s possible.” There’s no reason in the world not to take pleasure in our collective field of dreams right outside. Nature’s spiritual energy is our most ancient legacy, and this is where we can go to claim it: in our own backyard. Here is what the miraculous simplicity of “Walden” was all about: delighting in the simple, elemental, and elegant things that make life worthwhile. This article was adapted from Charles Creekmore’s free electronic book, Back to Walden, posted on http://www.backtowalden.com/. Charles Creekmore wrote the self-help book, Zen and the Art of Diabetes Maintenance, published by the American Diabetes Association in 2003. More than 20 literary journals have published his poetry, and as a freelance journalist he has written for the New York Times, Psychology Today, Travel & Leisure, National Wildlife, Islands, Runner’s World, AARP, the Boston Globe, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other mainstream periodicals. Contact him at ccreekmore@mindspring.com.

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Calendar OF EVENTS

Line Listings are 20 words for only $20!

Each additional word is only .50¢/word. 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 AUGUST 15

‘Star’ Continues to AUGUST Appear Worldwide for MAITREYA the WORLD TEACHER

AUGUST 12 Sunday TEACHERS INFORM, A MASTER TRANSFORMS - HIMALAYAN MASTER YOGIRAJ SIDDHANATH - USA Southern California 2012 5-9 pm, 1613 Lake Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024 Kriya Yoga Workshop and Empowerment with Yogiraj Siddhanath ($125) Registration: 866-YOGI-RAJ or events@siddhanath.org or www.siddhanath.org/MeetYogiraj

and collective consciousness. It allows one to experience freedom from their mind - life streaming from their heart. Feel fully alive and connected. The Oneness Meditation accelerates a permanent shift of humanity towards ultimate Presence, abundance and peace. Live Events: San Diego & Encinitas $8.00 Donation http:// www.omsocal.org/ AUGUST 18 Saturday

Aug. 12-19th Sunday Spiritual Healing (Classes for novice and advanced healers) Subjects include how to protect yourself from negative spiritual energies, how to remove unwanted spirits, and how to conduct self-healing. Advanced techniques will be taught by a local shaman. Now enrolling. For more information call Maryvel at (562) 556-5560.

Huntington Beach, CA, Jan. 2012

Introductory Presentations 3pm 1st Sunday of month Controversial Bookstore 3063 University Ave - SD 6:30pm 2nd Thurs of month Philosophical Library 2091 E. Valley Parkway #D Escondido SD Cable Public Access Channel Time Warner Saturday 5:30pm Visit our booth at local street fairs Serve Humanity through Transmission Meditation 9:30am Sun, 7pm Tues & 8pm Fri in San Diego meditation.meetup.com/430 (619) 223-6703 For LA/SF info about events & Transmission Meditation groups in other cities: LA: (818) 785-6300 SF: www.sharingforpeace.org www.share-international.org

AUGUST 11 Saturday TEACHERS INFORM, A MASTER TRANSFORMS - HIMALAYAN MASTER YOGIRAJ SIDDHANATH - USA Southern California 2012 Tour 7-9 pm, 1613 Lake Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024 Satsang and Experiential Workshop with Yogiraj Siddhanath (Free)Registration: 866-YOGIRAJ or events@siddhanath.org or www. siddhanath.org/MeetYogiraj AUGUST 8-16 Wed-Thurs AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR TEN PEOPLE – CALL TODAY The National Guild of Hypnosis Certification Course will begin a new class. It is a course you don’t want to miss if you are looking for a life time profession and career. When you are finished with the course you will be ready to go out into the real world and start your business and if you are committed to be successful you will be making money in a very short period of time, I promise. 41720 Winchester Rd. Ste. A Temecula, CA 92590 (951) 9707868 • www.hypnosiscentersoca.net

Grow your business for 2012! Call us 1-866-804-8444

AUGUST 13 Monday The New Human Demonstrating Lost or Forgotten Yet Teachable Human Abilities Group Healing Session & Lecture by Richard Gordon- $20 - 7:30 pm Agape International Spiritual Center 5700 Buckingham Pkwy # 200 Culver City, CA 90230 AUGUST 16 Wednesday The New Human Demonstrating Lost or Forgotten Yet Teachable Human Abilities Artla Gallery/Bergamot Station Arts Center - 7:30 pm2525 Michigan Ave., Bldg. D5, Santa Monica, Ca 90404 www. quantumtouch.com AUGUST 18 Saturday TEACHERS INFORM, A MASTER TRANSFORMS - HIMALAYAN MASTER YOGIRAJ SIDDHANATH - USA Southern California 2012 7-9 pm, UCLA Ackerman Student Union, Grand Ballroom 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA Satsang and Experiential Workshop withYogiraj Siddhanath (Free) Registration: 866-YOGI-RAJ or events@ siddhanath.org or www.siddhanath.org/ MeetYogiraj AUGUST 18 Saturday THE ONENESS MEDITATION is an absolutely unique transmission of Divine energy that powers a quantum leap in individual

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Native American Flute Workshop 1 - 4 PM (Please arrive by 12:45) Optional introductory/review class at 10:30 AM Instructor: Al King The sixth in a popular series. Please join us for this wonderful music-making experience.Please note: all participants will need a Native Americanstyle flute. The best choice is a six-hole mid-range flute with the root note tuned to A. Al will have some available for $55. Please call ahead. Participants are welcome to bring a lunch. A three-ring binder will be helpful for hand-outs. Reserve your space by e-mailing or calling the Sunburst office at 805-736-6528. Suggested donation: $25 workshop; $30 for both AM and PM sessions. www. SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@ SunburstOnline.org

AUGUST 19 Sunday TEACHERS INFORM, A MASTER TRANSFORMS - HIMALAYAN MASTER YOGIRAJ SIDDHANATH - USA Southern California 2012 5-9 pm, UCLA Ackerman Student Union, Grand Ballroom 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA Kriya Yoga Workshop and Empowerment with Yogiraj Siddhanath ($125) Registration: 866-YOGI-RAJ or events@siddhanath.org or www.siddhanath.org/MeetYogiraj

ture preserve for revitalizing yoga, meditation, song circle, hiking, group activities and delicious home-cooked meals. Take a leisurely walk through pristine nature, or walk the Hopi Labyrinth. Sit in the shade of the redwoods and restore yourself! Discover inner and outer sustainability. Camping available. Suggested donation: $40 www.SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@SunburstOnline.org • 805.736.6528

AUGUST 24 Friday GATEWAY TO THE GODDESS Awakening Divine potential, women’s workshop. 8/24, 7:00pm-10:00pm. $25 4320 Campus Ave. #6, 92103 Facilitator Devra Gregory 619-861-5496, devra1@cox.net

AUGUST 25, Sat. Dances of Universal Peace Eat, dance and pray together. Enjoy the simple, meditative and joyous circle dances with friends. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to open your heart and try it out. A love offering is appreciated. Please call ahead if you’ll be attending dinner afterwards. 3:30 PM; Dinner 5:30 www. SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@ SunburstOnline.org • 805.736.6528

AUGUST 24-26 Fri-Sun AKASHIC RECORDS PRACTITIONER TRAINING with Barbara Schiffman, ARCT. Deepen your Soul-connection to the Akashic Field in 2012. Learn to read the Akashic Records for yourself and others. Includes Ancestral Connections healing tools and certification via Linda Howe’s Center for Akashic Studies. $325, LA location. Pre-Registration: 818-415-3479, www.YourLifeandSoul.com, AkashicLA@ gmail.com AUGUST 24-26 Fri-Sat Celebrate Life! Sunburst invites you to experience a deeply restorative and joyful weekend. Come out to our 4,000 acre na-

sential Oils on your Spiritual Path, Feng Shui - Colors and Cures Massage Therapy, Reiki Healing & Wish Candle Making. Spend 15 minutes at each for only $20! Metaphysical Basket(s) of Goodies will be raffled! Hand Crafted Jewelry & Spiritual Gifts for Mind, Body & Spirit by Kelley Grimes of ‘The Magical Gemstone’ will be available for purchases. A light buffet of snacks and water included in price. Hosted by ‘Spiral Earth Explorations’ at Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 1600 Buena Vista Drive Vista, CA. 92081 Questions? Please contact Misty Kirkman @ 760-525-0351

AUGUST 25 Saturday METAPHYSICAL FAIRE - 8 different activities for your sampling - Palm Readings, Rune Readings, Tarot Readings Es-

AUG 31-SEPT 3 Fri-Mon INSIDE JOY: Celebrating Keys to Ascension ~ A Sacred Retreat SEDONA MAGO RETREAT Experience and learn new paradigms for transcendence, ascension guidance, tai-ji with Chungliang Al Huang, Sacred Union with Paul Horn & Ann Mortifee, Kirtan with Geoffrey Gordon, Ven. Tenzin Yignyen, flutist Nawang Khechog with pianist Peter Kater, LionFIre,ThunderBeat with the Sexy Skulls, and so much more...! www.insidejoy.eventbrite.com or phone 855.809.2272

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER 1-2 Sat.-Sun Body Mind Spirit Expo Coming to San Diego for the 12th year, Sept 1-2 Body Mind & Spirit brings to life a positive, healing environment. Weekend admission of $12 includes all lectures and demos as well as admission to the exhibit hall. Visit our website, www.bmse.net for a $2 off coupon!! San Diego Doubletree Mission Valley, 7450 Hazard Center Dr. Sat 10-7 Sun 11-6. For Vendor Information call 541-482-3722. www.visionmagazine.com

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Calendar continued

40th Annual

CANCER CONVENTION SEPT. 1, 2 & 3

Sheraton Universal, Hollywood

– Alternative Therapies – Nutritional Approach including Laetrile, Gerson, Hoxsey, Poly-MVA & Immunotherapy. Also Chelation, DMSO, Oxygen, Herbal, Cellular & Electro-Magnetic Therapies For All Diseases.

Lectures / Movies / Exhibits $40.00/day CEU’s for Nurses & Dentists $45.00/day Tijuana Clinic Tours – Sept. 5 & 15

CANCER CONTROL SOCIETY (323) 663-7801

www.cancercontrolsociety.com SEPT.11 and 12 Tues-Wed The Artist’s Way - Nine-week journey to self-discovery and creativity. Begins 9/11 in Encinitas and 9/12 in San Diego. 760.436.8848 www.excoveries.com SEPT. 8 Saturday Has a painful divorce or breakup left you worried…even afraid of the future? 4 Experts guide you to ReCover, ReNew, and ReInvent your Love, Joy, Career and Finances after a breakup or divorce. Registration: www.PostBreakUpWakeUp. com OR postbreakupwakeup@gmail. com September 13-16 Thurs-Sun Kriya Yoga II Meditation Retreat Empower your spiritual journey, creating a fulfilling, purposeful life. Learn ways to create vibrant sustainability for yourself and for the sacred Earth. Prerequisite: practice of Kriya I meditation technique. Camping available. Suggested donation: $100 www. SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@ SunburstOnline.org • 805.736.6528 SEPT. 16-20 Sun-Thurs HEALING THROUGH THE AKASHIC RECORDS 5-DAY RETREAT with Akashic expert-author Linda Howe. Learn to utilize Akashic Light for spiritual healing for yourself and others. Transform your emotional wounds into sacred evolution opportunities. Includes Akashic Healing Practitioner Certification via Linda’s Center for Akashic

Studies. Location: Glen Ivy Retreat Center, Corona CA. Info: Barbara Schiffman, 818-415-3479, www.YourLifeandSoul.com, AkashicLA@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 21-23 Fri.-Sat. The Whole Being Weekend celebrates 40 years of bringing a mountain summercamp experience to the New Age and Wholistic Communities of Southern California. Registration includes all meals, lodging, massage, seminars, concerts, networking and a beautiful outdoors experience with like minded open-hearted friends. www. thewholebeingweekend.com 619-9447838 SEPT. 22-23 SAT.-SUN. HOLISTIC ARTS FAIR, 10 AM-7 PM. Free psychic, health, art fair. Yoga for Your Eyes workshop, panels, speakers, etc. 1540 Hicks Ave. San Jose. Free parking in lot/along streets. Exhibitors wanted! (408)448-6726; eric@philosopherswheel. comphilosopherswheel.com/haf.htm SEPT. 27-30 Thurs-Sun TEACHERS INFORM, A MASTER TRANSFORMS - HIMALAYAN MASTER YOGIRAJ SIDDHANATH - USA Southern California 2012 Hilton Garden Inn, 6450 Carlsbad Blvd, Carlsbad, CA, USA 2012 California New Life Awakening Retreat with Yogiraj Siddhanath Registration: 866-YOGI-RAJ or events@siddhanath.org or www.siddhanath.org/MeetYogiraj

ONGOING

EXPERIENCE THE SEVEN SPIRITUAL LAWS OF SUCESS AT A MUCH DEEPER LEVEL. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Transformation Circles Adopted from the best-selling book by famed author, Deepak Chopra. These workshops will help you connect with you life at a much deeper level. With the practice of these laws you will be able to create affluence and abundance for yourself and others, have better relationships,and live the life you love. Our Day of Transformation also includes discounted Spa Day passes for $30 at the luxious La Costa Spa. after 3:PM. Also all attendees will receive a 15% discount at the Chopra Center store the day of the workshop except for jewelry. Tuition is $25 with advance registration and $30 at the door, and incluces the book “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by

Deepak Chopra” and the Transformation Circles Companion Guide. For more information and to register for this fun and informative workshop and Day of Transformation please visit www.mytransformationcircles.com. The Law of Giving - August 12th - Keep the affluence and abundance of the universe circulating in your life through giving and receiving. The Law of Karma - September 16th - Create happiness and success for yourself and others by becoming the conscious choice maker. The Law of Least Effort - October 14th - Use energy creatively, do less and accomplish more. The Law of Intention and Desire - November 11th - Harness the power of intention to fofill your dreams and desires The Law of Detachment- December 16th - Access the creative force of the Universe through intention, surrender, and present moment awareness.

FIRST Monday 7:30p.m. by students in Vessa’s INTUITIVE INSIGHTS Clairvoyant Program, 4455 Morena Blvd. #108, 858.509.7582 www.MyIntuition.Net Mondays June 4, July 2, August 6, September 3, October 1, November 5, December 3.

SUNDAY

WEDNESDAY EVENINGYOGA AND MEDITATION Yoga: 6 – 7:30 PM; Quiet Meditation: 7:30 – 8 PM, Sunburst Sanctuary Allow yourself to feel the peace within during a yoga class followed by an optional quiet meditation. www. SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@ SunburstOnline.org (805) 736-6528

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 THEOSOPHY CLASS IN JULIAN/SAN DIEGO, “What is Theosophy and How Does it Apply to Life?” 760.765.1090 619.283.0142 theosophy@theosconf.org www.theosophysandiego.org Sally & Jim

MONDAY

FREE PSYCHIC READINGS every

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$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.

TUESDAY

ARE YOU A TRUTH SEEKER interested in making a difference for the bigger picture? Learn about spiritual life before religions (over 5,000 years ago) Led by an expert in Ancient Matri-Centered Partnership Societys. Introduction is FREE. 6:30 pm San Diego Call for waiting list. 619.255.4519 robynkay7@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY

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.

FRIDAY

HAPPINESS CLASSES - Based on the life-healing 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. 8.12

SATURDAY

SATURDAY DEEP MEDITATION 6 – 9 AM Come and go quietly during this special time of deeper meditation. www. SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@ SunburstOnline.org (805) 736-6528

v i s i o n a r y

Zara Kand

a r t i s t

Zara Kand was born Feb. 26, 1987 in London, England. With parents being artists and musicians she experienced a childhood enriched with a creative environment that encouraged her to always express herself. After living in various parts of Europe and the East Coast, she moved to Los Angeles in 2003 and it has been home to her ever since. In this time, having focused her talents on oil painting, she has developed a unique style and actively participates in arts events and exhibitions primarily in the Los Angeles area. Zara loves translating emotions onto canvas, especially the ones overlooked that reside in dark corners. She feels the closer we can get to confronting the vast world within ourselves, the more power we may possess towards individual assertion amongst a society continually trying to control and deface. Using the elements of the cosmic plain, dreams, and nature as the bed from which her creations wake, she portrays melancholic yet curious faces, reaching hands, blue skin bursting open with the demons of fear and desire -these being the transporters to an awareness beyond our immediate surroundings. Stay tuned for a feature showing of her latest works at The Hive Gallery, downtown LA, in March of 2013. For more visit, www.zarakand.com or email ubiquitousbliss@hotmail.com

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“Nature” continued from page 15

more settled and more focused within ourselves. We need to be part of the earth, walk with the earth. When people are psychotic, sometimes grounding really helps them stabilize. Grounding is when I get people to meditate, focus on the energy in their heart chakra, and push all the energy that’s in them down into the ground and make roots. And then you actually connect to the Mother. So, they can feel the connection. And then you bring the energy up through the Mother, all the way through the body, clearing all the chakras (because the earth has healing energy), and bring it all the way up to God-source through your crown chakra. And you go all the way up to the universe and whatever you imagine God to be—a light, a person, whatever—connect to His heart, and let Him bring energy down. You put it in your heart and create a bubble around you. Most people I do it with say, “Oh my God, I feel more together, I feel more centered.” So grounding and protecting and going out in nature is just so important. I just did this reading the other day, of this engineer, and he said, “Why do I keep seeing this bear?” And he said, “Oh my God, I love bears!” And I said, “Why do I see a forest and a tree and fishing?” He goes, “Oh, I did it all the time. I haven’t done it in years.” I said, “You have to go back. Your soul is calling you.” There’s also something interesting called the “Law of Time,” with José Arguelles. He wrote “The Mayan Factor,” and a lot of people don’t know about him, but a lot of people do. He was a Princeton professor and had a powerful experience at Teotihuacan a spiritual site in Mexico. A lot of people don’t realize that he created Earth Day. And he also was the person who created the Harmonic convergence in ’87 in Sedona. This event kind of rushed in the new age. So he got messages in Mexico about the earth, and he said the Law of Time is that we as humans are off the natural laws of nature. We work these night shifts, we get up when we feel like it, we don’t honor the natural vibrations as the animals do and the plants do. So we’re actually kind of throwing off nature. So he says that we need to honor the Law of Time. You go to sleep and you get up and you go with nature, and you go with their rhythm instead of creating our own, because we’re throwing off the whole balance. I really believe in that. We have to coincide with the earth plane. We are the caretakers and gatekeepers. VM: I know that you work on helping some of your clients removing their blocks to growth. If there would be one thing to remove the blocks that hinder us, what would it be? CC: I do that with theta healing, and I have to give all credit to Vianna Stibal, who created that. She’s from Idaho. So there are all these belief systems that are stored in us. Theta heals us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually ThetaHealing® is best known for the Belief and Feeling Work on all four levels; Core, Gene, History, and Soul. And what we do is we go up to a higher realm; we go up to the theta level. Right now we’re in beta, which is just regular awareness. When you go to sleep, you’re in delta. When you meditate, you’re in alpha. And theta’s a little above alpha; it’s a state of consciousness. And she [Vianna Stibal] teaches you how to go up there really quickly. And then you hear the belief and you shift it by asking for it. She works very closely with God in this work because she healed herself of cancer in her leg by going up to God and asking him to talk to her own cells. She figures, these are our cells, we have control of them and we can change them, meaning we can change the beliefs that are stored. A woman came to me and said, “I don’t believe I can make money as an actress,” and her belief was “yes.” I muscle-tested it with kinesthesiology, and it was “yes.” So I change it. I go up really quickly and I say, “Take a deep breath,” and I shift the belief on all the different levels. And then we tested it again and she said, “Whoa, it goes away!” And we muscle-tested it again, and it [her belief ] was weaker. So her belief, ‘I can’t make money as an actress,’ is gone. She is now doing really well and her movie project is getting some, ‘buzz.’ People have confidence issues or belief systems about finances, abundance, relationships, a lot of different things, that are buried that we’re not aware of, that

take so much longer in therapy to get to. I just go right there. So that’s why I call my work “Intuitive Soul Healing.” The soul of somebody tells me, intuitively, what they need to heal. It’s their soul broadcast. And they’re like, “Wow, you can get all this information.” It’s not really from me. I just raise the vibration enough to hear that higher information. And everyone can do it, too, because the universe works with you. That’s why we are on earth: to heal on a soul level. That’s why our soul has brought itself here—to play this earth game, in these costumes, in these suits, so we can become human, understand the difference between the dark and the light, and to make the better choices and heal issues that are holding us back. We use that horrific experience to turn things around, and that’s why many people go through these experiences. If I didn’t have a tumor and I didn’t get sick in a hospital and almost die—as I saw the hospital try to kill me because they made all these mistakes—I don’t think I would be as good of a healer as I am. Because I can have the compassion on that level, and be right there. So, people have to look at some of their horrible tragedies. And it’s not easy. It’s not something you have to do right away; it’s not something that just turns around the next day. But if you learn that these are seeds to your spiritual evolution in your soul’s growth, then you can have a different perspective. Carolyn B. Coleridge, LCSW is a spiritual life coach, intuitive soul healer, and trained psychotherapist. She has a master’s from Columbia University in Clinical Social Work. To learn more about Coleridge and her work, please visit www.intuitivesoulhealing. com or e-mail her at carcole9@hotmail.com. “Medicine Cabinet” continued from page 7

things associated with the hormonal system: PMS; bloating; mood swings; menopausal issues, etc. It has brought calm to many households! For aches and pains in muscles and joints, the most common oils to use are marjoram and wintergreen. Both of these oils can be massaged into the affected areas with almost immediate results. For sensitive skin, you can dilute the oil with a carrier oil so it’s not so strong. Depression is a huge problem with people, and I get a lot of e-mails from people regarding this subject. Fortunately there are many essential oils that can help. The most common oils used for depression are: orange; lemon; frankincense; bergamot; grapefruit; and lavender. You can use these several ways—diffusing in the air, topically, and internally. Wearing them like perfume is a common way for people to enjoy the benefits of these uplifting oils. As you can see, there are many ways to help our health issues using natural alternatives. Listed above are just a handful of oils and their benefits. There are hundreds of uses for these oils, but I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone who is just beginning to use them. When I first got introduced to essential oils, I knew nothing about their many health benefits. I submerged myself for three months in researching the history of the oils and their documented uses. It was truly an education and it changed my life. I do not have any over-the-counter medications in my house any longer because I have essential oils that have taken their place. And I don’t worry about side effects from them because there aren’t any. One last thing I want to touch on is this: In the modern medicine cabinet, you have medications that are synthetic, have side effects, have an expiration date, and only treat symptoms of health issues. In the natural medicine cabinet, you have CPTG essential oils that have positive effects on the body, don’t have an expiration date, and are efficient and simple to use. And the results speak for themselves! Jana Tzinberg is an Independent Product Consultant for doTERRA CPTG Essential Oils. If you have any questions about CPTG Essential Oils, you can reach Jana by going to her Web site at www.BuyEssentialOilsHere.com or by e-mailing her at jana@ buyessentialoilshere.com.

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