Vision Magazine Digital Edition Feb. 2012 by Vision magazine

inside Catalyst for Conscious Living

1281 University Avenue, Suite G San Diego, California 92103 www.visionmagazine.com Voice 619.294.2393 866.804.8444 Fax 619.296.1910 www.visionmagazine.com e-mail: comments@visionmagazine.com Executive Editor & Publisher Sydney L. Murray sydney@visionmagazine.com editor@visionmagazine.com Editor at Large Kennedy Carr Copy Editor Shannon Nies Graphic Design Sloan Gomez Intern Erin Tagan Contributing Writers Adrienne Abeyta, Dr. Toni Galardi, Alan Diperna, Kristina Berwyn-Shaw, Donna Barnett, Michael Raysses, Daphne Carpenter, Penny Carnathan, Brennan Lagasse, Erin Tagan,Sloan Gomez, Marsha Lucas, Shannon Nies, Arielle Ford, Dave Lesinski, Adam Jacobs Sales sales@visionmagazine.com Sydney L. Murray, Trevor Watson, Terry Nielsen, Ann Weir, Sloan Gomez, Katie Gallanti, Kennedy Carr Listings: Online & Print Sales sales@visionmagazine.com Vision Magazine® is a ® registered trademark of Vision Global, Inc. published on a monthly basis and distributed free of charge. Subscriptions are available for $27 for 12 issues (one year). All rights reserved. Advanced written permission must be obtained from Vision Magazine for partial or complete reproduction of any part or whole of Vision Magazine, including advertising material contained in its pages. Opinions expressed in Vision Magazine do not necessarily represent those of Vision Global, Inc., its employees or representatives. Vision Magazine disclaims any responsibility for claims made by its advertisers. Artwork, fiction, letters to the Editor, and manuscripts are welcome, however, unsolicited manuscripts without SASE will not be returned. Copyright © 2012 Vision Magazine

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Viewpoint You Open Your Heart, You Open Your Mind

7-8

Holistic Living Your Vote in 2012

Greek To Me A Valentine from the Edge

Ask The Lifequaketm Doctor Advice About Life Transitions

11-15 Mindstates Personal Balance Comfort Technology La Soledad 16-17 Culture Take Your Love Life to Sweet New Heights Valentine’s Day Resolution 18

Astrology

20-21 Culture Panther Baby Electric Ganesh 22-23

Healing Arts The Personal Art of Happiness

24-27

Features The Conscious Catwoman Connecting Soul with Role

Community Resource

34-37

Vision Café South American Imports 8th Annual Health and Freedom Expo

Holistic Review A General Theory of Love

Calendar

45 GROW YOUR BUSINESS FOR 2012!

On the Cover

Visionary Artist “A Test of Skill” Kevin Radthorne www.kevinradthorne.com Kevin Radthorne February 2012 Theme: Heart Mind Next Month, March 2012 Theme: We Are Human

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VIEWPOINT

When You Open

Your Heart, You Open Your Mind by Brennan Lagasse

here is an undeniable connection between the human heart and the human mind. In simplistic terms, the heart is pure, full of love, full of grace. While the mind can and does display similar feelings, the mind is what makes sense of the consciousness that comes from the heart. But the crux is that what is felt and created energetically in the heart is not always translated out by the mind. Think about a child that is born into a home of care, support, and unfiltered love. The child is nurtured, coddled, and taken care of with utmost concern. The energy from the heart of the parents or care providers is undeniable in that they feel such a connection to this being that their joy to take care of it is profound. The energy and love translates out to the child. As the child grows, that grounding of love is instilled in the heart and makes its way into the child’s mind. Although this child will grow and have conflicting energies presented to him or her along their path, that base will always be there. But what about a child that is born into a home of turmoil, anger, and anxiety? Even though that child may have a completely different upbringing than the child brought up with love, there remain core themes that are easily exchangeable amongst the two. Sure, as unfortunate as it is, atrocities of the world are commonly seen with the treatment of children that are not brought up in supporting, loving homes. However, for a child to grow in adolescence and adulthood, some form of nurturing has to take place. In the end, there must have been some amount of love bestowed to the child; otherwise it would never have been able to grow. From the very beginning of human life, love is a power instilled in the heart. We all have it. This energy can evolve and take the form of many things, but as growth takes place, changes come about mentally that “make sense” of the feelings in one’s heart. I will argue it’s impossible for a human to see another human suffering, or an animal suffering, without some feeling of helplessness, remorse, or angst in the heart. The translation to action, to help the other being in a time of need, may be deep within the heart, but without a connection to the mind, the viewer may not feel compelled to act. Likewise, if over time a person is continually shown the darker side of humanity, then the natural energy in the heart to share, grow, and foster love will subside. How is it that a young or old human can torture another? Even be so moved to take the life of another? It happens in the translation from the heart to the mind. The more one is taught to not give in to the compassionate feelings naturally occurring in one’s heart, the more “natural” it becomes to resist it. Truth be told, in a world where socially constructed forms of hate, destruction, and oppression continue to run rampant, it’s hard for even the most adamant and vocal supporters of well-being to argue for sustainability, peace, and justice. To overcome this crux, the connection between the heart and the mind must

be unobstructed. It must be free so that what’s felt in the core of the heart translates to the mind without filter to ask. While on the surface this may seem overly idealistic and troublesome in certain scenarios, the reality is that when you open your heart, you also open your mind. Humanity has a long-drawn-out history of giving in to what has been described as “natural tendencies” to dominate. Wars, the above mentioned tools that have placed one person, one gender, one culture over another, continue to play out. The fact of the matter is, in 2012 we know. Now we know that in our hearts, in everyone’s heart, lies the ability to stop a thought or an action that we know is putting another living being in harm’s way. It doesn’t mean that it’s easy, but the truth in knowing we can make the effort to resist domination via the mind, and give into the love fostered through the heart, means there is a very stark reality that when the heart and mind are working as one—recognizing the diversity between the two, as well as the mutually beneficial relationship born when both are acting as one—great things can and will happen.

This February, think about the feelings in your heart and how those feelings get translated to your mind. What is your heart saying to you and how does your mind react? Perhaps it’s a dualistic reality that acts in unison for you, but perhaps it’s not. In either case, take the time to acknowledge these feelings and think about trying to keep your heart open, listening to what it’s telling you in situations, and follow it. Likewise, do the same as these feelings flow up to your mind and see what happens. Do your best to keep both heart and mind open whether they are in conflict or not, and meditate on the results. In the end, I trust you’ll see and feel benefits, and in the greater scheme of things, others you come into contact with will also see and feel these results. In this act you will not only have taken a major step towards inner peace for yourself, but you will also be playing a positive role for the betterment of all life forces around you. Brennan Lagasse is a writer, teacher, and mountain guide living in Lake Tahoe, CA. Brennan can be reached at brennanlagasse@hotmail.com.

VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M

How Your Vote in the 2012 Presidential Election May Impact the Air You Breathe

H O L I S T I C H E A LT H

by Donna Barnett

he “Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC,” which was inherited by Jon Stewart, is brilliant! A brilliant way to learn about politics! The Super PAC calls attention to the hypocrisy of our political system, a system that affects the air you

breathe. The stakes have never been higher for the environment. If you’re on my site, ChasingCleanAir.com, because you’re looking to breathe clean air and stop suffering air pollution impacts of asthma and allergies, nothing is more important than leadership. We need leaders to uphold the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the EPA, and create jobs with cleaner technology. It’s up to us to elect officials who help not hurt our air, a finite natural resource. If I were voting in South Carolina’s Saturday primary, I’d take Jon Stewart’s advice and vote for Herman Cain, who is no longer a viable candidate but is on the ballot, thereby not voting for Mitt Romney, who is against regulating tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks, and against regulating carbon emissions from coal-powered plants, which cause global warming, extreme weather, and negative health impacts. This would also mean not voting for Ron Paul, who wants to dismantle the EPA and do away with our sacred national parks.

If you live downwind of a coal power plant, Romney is not your friend. While he shut down one coal plant when governor, he now believes in “clean coal.” There is no such thing.

The Most Anti-Environmental House in History Republicans in the house today (the 112th Congress began January 3, 2011) are the most anti-environmental in history. They voted against environmental protections 191 times, according to Representative Henry Waxman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. (Waxman did us a huge favor and created a searchable database of all the anti-environmental votes of this Congress.) Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he wants to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks—regulations that

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H O L I S T I C H E A LT H

have helped clean the air in car/truck-rich Southern California where we have an epidemic of asthma, allergies, headaches, etc. And let’s not forget that air pollution contributes to cardiovascular disease and cancer, too. Los Angeles and New York have the highest cancer rates in this country due to air pollution. If you live downwind of a coal power plant, Romney is not your friend. While he shut down one coal plant when governor, he now believes in “clean coal.” There is no such thing. Naturally, he doesn’t believe in regulating clean coal. As one with a PR background, I can tell you that clean coal is spin. If you care about your health, and the health of your family, know that

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Romney does not want to regulate carbon emissions, which he does not believe is a health issue even though top scientists and doctors know otherwise. Increased carbon dioxide levels are linked to an increase in death rates. Nor is Romney convinced that global warming is man-made despite our best scientists saying it is. What kind of Mickey Mouse advisers would Romney prefer? I read that he uses advisers with deep pockets in the coal industry! (Look what coal is doing in China, where they recently grounded planes for an inability to see through smog.) Mr. Romney, if you were to travel throughout the western United States like I do, you’d see just about every coastal area is preparing for sea rise as a result of global warming. Ron Paul is so out of touch with the reality of what happens when you don’t enforce environmental regulations. I say, if you’re voting in the South Carolina primary and you care about the air you breathe, vote for Herman Cain. Given the Republican choices, he’s the only one that makes any sense. Thank you, Stephen Colbert for opening our eyes to how the political process works. I hope I’ve opened my readers’ eyes as to how presidential wannabes may likely vote, should they have the opportunity to impact your lives and lungs. To follow her chasing clean air search and explore air pollution solutions, subscribe to Donna Barnett’s Chasing Clean Air RSS feed via her Web site, www.chasingcleanair.com. (This is a reprinted article, with permission from Donna Barnett, from her environmental travel blog, www.chasingcleanair.com.)

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GREEK TO ME

A VALENTINE FROM THE

edge

“Kid, you wear your heart on your sleeve. Too bad you wear your brain in the seat of your pants.” My Uncle Tasso

or as long as I can remember, I have loved a good story. A tale that engages me from the start, holds me aloft as it piques my curiosity and fuels my interest, only to set me down when its narrative thrust has given way, depositing me in a better place than when I started. It was an affair exclusively of the heart until I decided to try my hand creating that which had become such a source of joy. I was in the third grade. Life got a lot more complicated when writing became the object of my heart’s desire, carrying me into the realm of my mind. It created a tug of war between the two that lasted far longer than it should have. The third grade was also the time I had my first conscious experience of Valentine’s Day, that holiday whose sanguine hues and chocolate covered intentions were a welcome respite from the relentless gray and icy prison sentence imposed by a Midwestern winter. My third grade teacher Mrs. Lawbaugh was a wisp of a woman old enough to have been my grandmother, her manner more akin to a blood relative than that of just a teacher. She was firm but clear about what she expected from us, and like her policy on candy (if you brought for one, you had to bring for all), if Valentine’s Day cards were brought to class they had to be distributed to everyone. Inscribing cards to my classmates brought each of them to mind. I was just starting to discern the differences in those around me, learning the invaluable lesson of reconciling them with myself in the process. Bruce Hmurovic was already almost a head taller than me. Elisa Potucek didn’t pronounce the last letter ‘g’ in words like “running” or “playing.” And the list went on. The night before the big day, my Mom was reviewing my cards when the look on her face signaled that something was wrong. It turned out that I had signed all of my cards with the inscription “Love, Michael,” something she gently explained to me was inappropriate. Not fully understanding her reasoning, I changed them accordingly. It was a stark introduction to the act of being edited, to be sure. From that point forward, my relationship with the concepts of love and the role that my mind had in the equation of the balance of the two were set in furious and steady motion, something that came into unforeseen focus when I was serving food one night and discovered a story I felt worth telling. Valentine’s Day is arguably one of the busiest days of the year in the food services industry, second only to Mother’s Day. For purposes of pressure and social dysfunction, though, it is on a par with no other event. If Mother’s Day brings guilt from parents whose lives have become footnotes in the stories of their children’s lives, Valentine’s Day brings love’s locomotive force, with boxcars full of hydraheaded expectations waiting to fulfilled, knowing that by evening’s end there will be blood on the tracks. One night stands out in particular. I was working at a very high end establishment, a place that used to be Ground Zero for what became known as Old Hollywood. But on this night the house was jammed with deuces, tables for two. I was waiting on an impeccably dressed couple in their forties. The gentleman ordered the most expensive vintage champagne on our list, as well as the forthcoming meal. At first I thought they were so deeply taken with each other that they were in that cone of silence that love sometimes creates for couples when they’re in public where everything is conveyed with a glance or a brush of the hand. But that was clearly not the case here. In fact, as the evening progressed the two took on the aspect of a

couple of boxers who had each been banished to neutral corners pending more implied acts of pugilism to come. Dinner came and went without a word spoken. Dessert was also a mute affair, with the woman smearing chocolate mousse over her plate with the back of her spoon like it was a caulking knife. Finally, when she was done, she picked up her flute of champagne, leaned back in her chair, and contemplated her partner one last time. That is, before she flung its contents into his face, the fluid splashed perfectly, sluicing down the creases of his face like they had been dug there just for that occasion. She threw her napkin down and was gone. He, without missing a beat, dabbed at the open wound of his face and gestured for the check, which I presented as quickly as if it were a life preserver. And, for him, in a way, it was, assuming that life and dignity have more than a passing

relationship. I think about those people till this day. Were they ever in love? If so, what happened? Where did it go? Did it drift from their hearts, only to end up in their minds, where it died a slow, torturous death whose certificate they signed that night in champagne thrown across a dinner table? That Valentine’s Day back in the third grade turned out to be a pivotal experience for me. The morning I got to school, I took the cards out of the brown paper bag I carried them in and changed all the inscriptions back to reflect my original choice. That’s because I had thought about it; and my thoughts led me back to what I felt, leaving me with the inescapable conclusion that in the tournament between my head and my heart there was no contest: The mind is the heart’s water boy, nothing more. That is something I could raise a glass to. Love, Michael. Michael Raysses is a writer/NPR commentator who lives in Malibu, California. E-mail him at MichaelRaysses@hotmail.com.

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s we enter the second month of 2012, so much has already begun to happen in our country. The world truly is in a major transition as old structures are breaking down so that new ones that are more fitting to this century can be constructed. As this is the month dedicated to love, I would like to suggest that everyone reading this column take a moment and send love out to all of humanity for about five minutes. And on Valentine’s Day, if you are not in a relationship, call five people who have really supported you in your life and communicate all the ways you love and appreciate their place in your life. Appreciation is the gift we give ourselves. Dear Dr. Toni: I am 47 years old. I work in corporate America in a high-level position. I am a single woman who is stressed out! I follow your column when I stop for coffee. I know there is a more spiritual approach to my job, but it seems that unless I am tough, I am not taken seriously. Recently, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. My doctor suggested I learn how to meditate. Who has time to meditate? Can you give me some quick suggestions for managing my stress before I burn out completely? Jane (not my real name) Dear Jane: Yes, I can. Move to Italy. I’m joking. Actually, Italians are coping better with these tough economic times because they have a lifestyle that supports producing high levels of oxytocin. What neuroscience is showing us is that people who have high levels of oxytocin are more resilient and adaptable in the face of constant and sudden change. You say you don’t have time to meditate. Meditation can take only 10 minutes. Many people in Western society struggle with quieting their minds, so traditional meditation can be challenging. I produced seven guided visualizations for helping people adapt to change called The LifeQuake Method. If you go to my Web site, http://www.lifequake.net/products, you can purchase it as well as my book and other products that are free and will support you in managing a life that is fraught with constant stress. Here are some tips I devised for thriving in business, Italian style: 1) Maintain an intimate connection with whomever you relate to as family. Oxytocin rises when we feel emotionally connected to others. 2) Be like my Italian grandmother who hugged everyone. Place your hand on someone’s shoulder or ask them if they want a hug if they are stressed, even if you

don’t know them very well. The worst thing that will happen is they will say no. 3) Love your body just the way it is. Italians love curves and we all have curves, even men over 40. 4) Prayer is very important in the Italian culture. They pray to the Pope and the saints. (Many believe Frank Sinatra is one now!) My version of that is, meditate and ask for spiritual guidance. Take a few moments during the day and move your breath into any places where there is constriction in your body, and then think of three things you are grateful for. And if that doesn’t work, put Andrea Bocelli’s “Romanza” on your iPod for a few minutes! 5) Avoid extreme diets that do not allow for enough complex carbohydrates. Sophia Loren said, “Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.” If you live in a glutenfree world, eat brown rice pasta. Chop a couple of tomatoes, sauté some garlic in olive oil, and then throw that over the pasta. You wouldn’t believe how much that increases serotonin, and that elicits calm and joy. 6) Stoke the fire of your sensuality even if you are single and celibate for the moment. The core of sensuality is being aware of all your senses. When you put lotion on your body, really pay attention to how your skin takes it in. When you’re cooking or someone else is cooking, enjoy the smells, then be present to all the flavors of the food you eat at each meal. 7) The Italians take a nap in the afternoon after the midday meal. If you work in a place where that is not possible, take part of your lunch break and go out to your car. Getting enough rest is one of the biggest challenges Americans have, and yet it is a major anti-aging practice. Billionaire Armand Hammer took a nap in his office every day. Unfortunately, it took a heart attack for him to get this. Endometriosis is now being called the “executive woman’s disease.” You may not think you can afford the time, but can you afford the exorbitant hospital bills you will incur if you don’t slow down? There is an expression in Italy when people get stressed out about not getting everything done: “Domani. Ci sono sempre domani.” Translated: tomorrow, there is always tomorrow. Jane, if you engage in these practices, you will tap into your inner Sophia Loren and the other Sophia as well—the goddess of wisdom. Buona Fortuna! Do you want to work on YOUR stress levels? Call Dr. Toni for coaching and she will teach you what she learned from her Italian family on how to have a fun, passionate life. She will also be giving a tele-workshop, “Abbondanza: Creating Prosperity the Italian Way,” beginning March 27, for seven Tuesdays in 2012, on using the seven secrets she learned from her Italian grandmother for developing serenity, sensuality, and security to make your business thrive. Call today for the early bird discount. Dr. Toni Galardi is a licensed psychotherapist, life transitions strategist, and author 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

Personal Balance Equals Family Balance by Dave Lesinski

f you’re not careful, the stress from life could be like carrying a heavy bag of groceries from the car to the kitchen. You’re so focused on getting the bag to the kitchen counter without it ripping open that you don’t fully notice the beautiful flowers growing in the garden, the bright blue sky, or the family member requesting your attention. Attempting to successfully carry this weight grasps too much of your attention, preventing you from being fully present and available to the needs of the people you love most. Currently, many people are in the midst of a massive transition. You may have noticed that everyone seems to be in the middle of some sort of shift in their life. While some are experiencing the changes more subtly, others are experiencing emotions never before felt, massive shifts in personal awareness and life situations requiring heavy decision making. At times like this, you must remember that while life transitions can be challenging, frustrating, and un-grounding, they typically are for the better and things generally work out well for all involved. During these times of transition, you must remember to nurture yourself. You shouldn’t forget that the key to being the best family member or friend is by first taking care of yourself. This is certainly the most unselfish approach to take. Start by first attending to how you’re feeling and truly noticing how healthy and balanced you are physically and emotionally. If you are “off balance,” then take the time you need to address the imbalance. This can be done in many different ways. Sometimes finding balance can be simple. You can take a calm walk in nature, schedule time to meditate, have fresh flowers around, or enjoy a bath with your favorite essential oils. You may feel better from just sitting for 10 minutes while

sipping on some tea and listening to your favorite music. If this isn’t enough, splurge on a massage, relaxing yoga class, holistic medicine consult, or any other style of personal care you enjoy! You’re lucky to live at a time in which many different holistic styles of balancing and healing are available. You may have to work with family members and friends to schedule the time you need to stay balanced and healthy. This time to yourself is crucial if you want to stay healthy, present, and fully available to your family and friends. You can’t forget this core principal; if you’re not at your best, those closest to you are indeed negatively impacted. Luckily, this principal works in both directions. When taking the time you need to stay balanced and healthy, your family is strongly impacted for the better. It makes sense—they’re getting the most vibrant and healthy you! Nurture yourself so this transition can be the smoothest and most positive transformation of your life. And always remember, you and your family deserve it. Dave Lesinski, M.A. Ed., RYT-200, Ayurvedic Consultant, spent the last 10 years teaching children with severe emotional impairment using traditional teaching methods coupled with a spiritual practice. He has been supporting adults as an Ayurvedic Consultant for the last three years. He enjoys working with people of all ages in bringing more peace and harmony into their lives. For more information, please visit www.yogablendseven.com.

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M I N D S TAT E S

Comfort Technology: The Little Clock That Can Change Your Life BIG TIME An Interview with Kenneth Lesser by Sydney L. Murray

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Sunday Gathering 10am 12

Vision Magazine: How did you come upon this technology [Comfort Technology]? Kenneth Lesser: In 1984, a couple of friends and I moved into a lovely house next to a park and an elementary school with the sounds of beautiful children at play. Terry, Patricia, and I all attended the same church and got along very well. I was exercising and eating a healthful diet. Things were great at first. Therefore, it was a big surprise to me that within a couple of months of moving in I was not sleeping very well, having problems concentrating, and was experiencing some mood swings. I began getting worried and started seeking the assistance of some highly skilled alternative health practitioners. I began to think I was cursed or something because for the next seven years, no matter what doctors I went to, my symptoms got worse as I found myself dealing with insomnia, chronic fatigue, irritability, severe mood swings, depression, anxiety, confusion, difficulty focusing (ADD), and forgetfulness. I became very frustrated and angry from the financial distress of wasting $50,000 for treatments that worked for others but not for me. In my seriously weakened condition, it got to the point of some intense guilt, self-loathing, desperation, and even thoughts of ending it all. A friend begged me not to give up and to let them take me to just one more doctor, and I’m so glad I did. This doctor was unique in that as part of his patient intake, he asked about my exposure to electric energies. When he saw that I was living under power lines and using a computer almost every day, he said that he probably had the answer to why other treatments had not worked for me. Even better was that he was able to offer what could be the solution to my health problems: the tiny plug-in, Comfort Technology. VM: How has the Comfort Technology influenced your life? KL: To this day I thank God for this doctor explaining to me the serious health problems that can arise from our almost constant exposure to the toxic electro-pollution (EMF/RF) radiation in our high-tech world. Now, 17 years later, I am still deeply grateful for him introducing me to the Comfort Technology, which turned my life around and over time helped completely restore my health. Better sleep is one of the first positive changes I experienced after plugging in the Comfort Technology clock. Various doctors have indicated that EMFs can negatively influence the pineal gland’s production of melatonin, which can affect sleep cycles. Even worse is the problem raised in the following excerpt from a 1998 report from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle, WA that puts forth a possible link between EMF exposure and breast cancer: “Exposure to relatively low magnetic field levels decreased the production of melatonin in women” when they were exposed to them at night, according to Scott Davis of the Hutchinson Center. The researchers say the result was a reduction in melatonin levels, which may trigger other hormonal changes such as a reduction in the levels of estrogen. Reduced estrogen levels have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in animal studies. “Melatonin reduction in animals is associated with the development of mammary carcinoma in rats, for example,” says Davis. I noticed more energy within a couple of weeks of having the Comfort Technology in my sleep and work environments. Of course, better sleep will help increase energy, but I learned about another important component, EMF and cell membrane permeability (i.e., the ability for cells to take in nutrients and release toxins), from Dannion Brinkley, a noted researcher and fan of the Comfort Technology. Dannion, author of “Saved by the Light,” has been struck dead twice by lightning and is very sensitive to electric energy. He reported, “This tiredness does not always Ken Lesser

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M I N D S TAT E S come from us not getting our rest. It comes from picking up the electromagnetic interference, the magnetic radiation that comes from everything electrical, and it depletes our ability to absorb minerals, to digest our food, and it negatively affects our way of consciously keeping focused in what we’re doing. You will be amazed at what products like this will do for your everyday working environment as well as your mental health and spiritual attitude.” Another area in which I noticed great benefit from the Comfort Technology was big reductions in my negative mind chatter. From my seven years of financial loss and intense frustration, I was dealing a lot of the time with my mind, my internal dialogue frequently ranting and raving. We know that being upset with what is going on doesn’t help, but in my weakened condition I could not help myself. Sadly, this makes things worse. Along comes the huge stress relief from the Comfort Technology, and within a few weeks I noticed a substantial reduction in my negative mind chatter. Whew, what a relief! If you drive a car under power lines while listening to AM radio, you notice the signal getting all messed up, right? The brain is an electrical processing instrument that is much more sensitive than a radio. No wonder with electropollution there is so much more ADD, problems focusing, and confusion. With the Comfort Technology supporting me, I was thinking more clearly and making better choices. This led to making fewer mistakes, which meant more relationships and money saved. Many have heard how important it is to meditate regularly, but just can’t get into it. With the Comfort Technology I found that it was easier for me to do my TM meditation and be able to go more deeply into that relaxed, healing state. VM: How does the Comfort Technology affect the electromagnetic fields and other sources of electro-pollution? KL: The digital clock into which the technology is added acts as a hardware platform, much like a computer is a hardware platform that comes to life when specific software is added. Through a proprietary process (i.e., a trade secret) based on cutting-edge principles in quantum physics, software is added to the

micro-circuitry of the clock that enables it to emit an omni-directional field of soothing, stable, coherent subtle energies. Being around untreated EMF can be very aggravating and stressful physically, emotionally, and mentally. It is like being near a good friend who, when in a bad mood, is very hard to be around. We want to keep the convenience of our high-tech world, but we do not want this stuff stressing us out or making us sick, right? Much like helping our friend to get into a better mood, perhaps by giving them a hug, the Comfort Technology reduces or eliminates the irritating stress of EMF pollution so powerfully that you become wrapped in comforting, harmonizing energies for better sleep, or improved productivity and more peace when awake. VM: Why is this amazing technology housed in an ordinary looking digital clock? KL: All ordinary digital clocks, like all other electronic equipment, produce some EMFs, but once the Comfort Technology is added to the clock, the EMF problem from the clock and other electro-pollution sources within the Comfort Technology’s operating area are mitigated. The following are some reasons why a stylish digital clock is used to house the Comfort Technology: First, it makes it inconspicuous and more easy to be used in various situations: One, it can be added to a work station without drawing attention to what it is doing or causing problems with having to explain why some “weird” energy thing is being added to the environment, while no discussion is going on about the serious problem of electro-pollution. Two, from my 17+ years of working with this technology, I have formed the opinion that more women than men are open to things dealing with subtle or invisible energies like electro-pollution and the Comfort Technology. Therefore, there have been numerous instances in which the woman of the house would invest continued on page 46

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Quiet your Heart Mind by Erin Tagan

eople speak of a differentiation between mind and heart, as if the organ in the chest is responsible for fabricating emotion, even though we know, in all reality, emotions stem from the brain. This differentiation is attributed to a distinct line between rational, logical thoughts and feelings we seem to have no control over. What if the gap between mind and “heart” could be bridged to the point where our logical thinking is capable of controlling emotion? If we acknowledge the “heart” and mind as one entity as opposed to two, peace of mind is exponentially more rewarding, as it can also be considered “peace of heart.” By exploring our negative emotions and applying rational thoughts toward proving those emotions to be untrue, happiness would be much easier to achieve. Essentially, we would be talking ourselves out of emotional pain into a place where heart and mind co-exist symbiotically, our emotions giving us reason to think logically, and our logical thinking actively improving our emotions. Byron Katie, author of “Loving What Is,” demonstrates an exercise she calls “The Work” for training our hearts to follow our minds, as opposed to the other way around. She maintains that our minds make up stories with our thoughts, and by letting go of these thoughts or disproving them, we shatter the illusion that we’ve created about reality and are set free by understanding things the way they really are, rather than our perceptions that are causing us to suffer. It is our thoughts about certain situations, not the situation itself, that upset us. The means by which she encourages people to let go of their misconceptions is through a line of questioning. You begin this process by writing down thoughts of a person or situation that upsets you, and then question those thoughts. The line of questioning is as follows: Is it true? Can you absolutely know that it’s true? How do you react when you think that thought? Who would you be without the thought? After thoroughly exploring your answers to these four questions, you turn each of the thoughts around. Katie instructs readers to “rewrite your statement. First, write it as if it were written about you.” If you originally declared someone else is unkind, turn it around to state that you are unkind. This enables you to discern whether the statement is “truer when applied to you,” as opposed to the other person, presenting you with a more objective view of your own actions and the opportunity to evaluate them. Katie continues, “Another type is a 180-degree turnaround to the extreme

“Step aside from all thinking and there is nowhere you can’t go.”

opposite.” In other words, if you had written a thought down about what should be, rewrite it as “shouldn’t” be, in order to acknowledge the reality of the situation. It shouldn’t be simply because it’s not. Answering these questions facilitates the realization that you would be happier without the negative thoughts (or at least after turning them around into a productive challenge for yourself). Ultimately, there are really no reasons to continue believing the story your thoughts have compiled. “[The questions] will burn up anything that isn’t true for you.” Burning the story (the untrue) exposes not only your ability to come to terms with the reality of a given situation, but furthermore, to come to love it. In accordance with the understanding that our minds control our thoughts, and our thoughts provoke our emotions, we posses the aptitude to control our realities. Since our emotions are a product of our thoughts, logically, letting go of our negative thoughts yields the recession of our negative emotions as well. Feelings of inadequacies and self-consciousness are all illusory constructions our minds design. Katie explains, “You are the storyteller, the projector of all stories, and the world is a projected image of your thoughts… The work gives us a way to change the projector— our mind’s—rather than the projected.” Because our minds are originally responsible for creating these false realities, we alone have the capacity to deconstruct them. Once we let go of the false perceptions and see reality as it actually is, we won’t be subject to the emotional tension caused by wishing things were different. Envisioning reality as it is will replace our tendency to think in terms of what should be. In which case, the projected reality surrenders itself to the fact that nothing should be that is not. Katie discovers that in most cases when she asks people what they would be without their thoughts, they answer that they would be at peace. If we direct our attention towards loving reality for what it is rather than struggling to change it, we simplify the journey towards peace and harmony of mind and heart. Katie opens her book with a quote from Seng-ts’an (the Third Founding Teacher of Zen): “Step aside from all thinking and there is nowhere you can’t go.” Without the preconceived notions of what should be, there are neither expectations nor limitations constricting our existence. There is only existence. Originally from San Clemente, CA, Erin Tagan moved to San Diego five years ago to attend SDSU. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and is now working as an intern for Vision Magazine. Please contact her at eetagan@gmail. com.

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La Soledad by Daphne Carpenter

oledad could hear the incessant ticking sound of the clock outside her sterile white-walled room. She counted each second under her breath as though it were to be her last. The cruel bed and its leather restraints from which she had been freed was to her left, and to her right, nothing but invisible memories. At this time, the young woman sat on the cold tiled floor against the wall, dressed in a light blue hospital gown that tied in back, and white bloodstained underwear. She was barefoot with her knees bent in towards her chest, and as she sat there wavering in and out of this despondent state, she could feel a tiny network of electromagnetic pulses moving their way through her body, torturing her. “WHAAT!?” she screamed again, towards the overshadowing camera on the wall. She could see “them” staring back at her through the lens. Dispelled by the drab desolation of the room, her mind wandered. They were in love. He was warm and tall, soft, not harsh, and they slept with their limbs intertwined. For the first time in her life, Soledad could sleep with both eyes closed, safe. Something of this nature had to be a dream (or at least this is what she had convinced herself of ), so for that, Soledad had decided to never wake up. After a short time in the nectar of love, Soledad was with child. This was a source of intense emotion on many levels. It made Soledad—an otherwise troubled young woman—happy, no longer like a lone tree in a dark forest, but like a flower in a lush jungle of endless possibilities. For the first time, she was in her heart mind. But now began the nightmare. The events of Soledad’s first night back on the unit were fateful. She panted in anxiety as two male orderlies, the same ones as before, led her abruptly towards the end of the dull hallway and through the doors that opened up into Unit B. She wasn’t supposed to be there. But somehow her deep and complicated history with the place had manifested her return. The familiar stale scent of oatmeal, worn office carpet, and bleach sliced into the poor girl as soon as the doors closed behind her. When she spiraled around to face the circumstances of her environment, her eyes began to twitch in desperation. They scanned the room, but nothing had changed in that ugly place where, as an adolescent, she had suffered extreme depressive black-outs, trying to erase from her memory the Man’s hands, sliding invasively over her bare, private skin. This of course was long before her metamorphosis into womanhood had begun. (When Soledad was 14, she crossed paths with this man again, and of course, she had not forgotten. So what happened next was foreboding; as he slept in his bed that springtime, when the air was alive with flowers, she approached him with vacant eyes and an arsenal of hateful thoughts. The cut went in deep, enough to make him remember her until the end of his days. Ten days after this encounter, Unit B became her home, and hence began one girl’s new hell—pills, wrist restraints, needles, cold empty rooms, bruises, ghosts.) She managed to escape from Unit B once the curse had been lifted.

But now the two male orderlies were dumping her back into that haunted realm of misery. And the nurse was waiting. “Welcome, Soledad,” droned Nurse Scary, in the same sickening tone as ever before. She made her way towards the young woman with her grey arms extended. She was floating, hovering just above the floor as she approached. “I’ve been expecting you.” (The nurse was a reptilian-eyed despotic robot, a dispenser of numbness who stripped unlucky humans of their lives and emotions with forced doses of whites, blues, yellows, pinks, and also with those debilitating injections.) Immediately in defense, Soledad’s protective claws came up to the surface, and like a frightened animal, she launched at Nurse Scary with the strength and ferocity of a bear. The young woman’s piercing shriek was heard for miles. But what was to come in direct overlap was inevitable; the two male orderlies worked swiftly to take the girl down into submission—just as they had done many times before. Soledad’s belly hit the ground first, and it was at that moment that a lightning bolt of desperate despair shot through her. Her screeching eyes flashed like strobe lights—mouth wide open in a colossal silent scream—before the light faded into darkness. Soledad disappeared. After the surgery they took her to the cold white room. Her skin had turned a translucent white, and bruises, like rain clouds, painted her wrists and arms. No longer was there a warm feeling in her belly. In the sterile white-walled room she sat catatonic, staring at them stare at her through the lens. Her mind wandered in dark distraction as she waited. She waited for The Dream. She could feel him drawing near—she could hear the trees move open to the sides as he made his way towards her in the wind. But until she could touch him, Soledad took a deep breath, and into her own mind she vanished. To Be Continued.

Daphne can be reached at daph.occupylamedia@gmail.com and at www. paintzflwrs.blogspot.com.

Spring Renewal Weekend April 6-8, 2012

Renew your body, mind and soul with guided meditations, energizing exercises, simple meals, music and good fellowship. Refresh your spirit in the natural beauty and tranquility of Sunburst Sanctuary. Please contact us for more information and donation suggestion. The Sanctuary is located 40 miles north of Santa Barbara, California.

www.SunburstOnline.org Email: ContactUs@SunburstOnline.org (805) 736-6528

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C U LT U R E

Take Your Love Life to Sweet New Heights: Chef Shares Secrets for Enjoying the Sensuality of Food by Penny Carnathan

hanks to the proliferation of outrageously popular TV food shows, Americans have grown to appreciate the aesthetics of a meal almost as much as its flavor. We’ve discovered our chefs are artists as well as cooks and bakers, and their colorful salads and abstract chocolate sculptures are works of art as well as good things to eat. But there is yet another dimension to food to be explored, says Italian-born Chef Tiberio Simone, a James Beard Award winner and author of a provocative new coffee table book, “La Figa: Visions of Food and Form” (www.LaFigaProject.com). Shot by Matt Freedman, it features full-color, artistically rendered portraits of the naked human body decorated with fresh ingredients. Incorporate food in your love life, says Simone, and you’ll discover the sublime. First, choose fresh, natural, organic foods. Sexy food still has the taste nature gave it, and there’s no better choice than organic food because it’s grown with love. A farmer’s market is a great place to shop because you can touch and smell the produce. Watch out for food allergies—even if you don’t plan to eat the food. If you’re planning a sensual meal for your lover as a surprise, be aware of any food allergies or sensitivities he or she may have. Also, foods can cause irritation, burning, or rashes when placed on the skin if a person has a sensitivity. This can be especially true for certain delicate body parts. Bring your lover on your food shopping excursion. View it as a bit of sensual foreplay. You can have a lot of fun caressing and gently squeezing the foods, and inhaling their aromas. The conversation should be entertaining, too. Taste the sensuality of the food while you and your partner eat. This sounds obvious, but it’s not. Seduce your senses by breathing in the aroma of the dish. Close your eyes and inhale slowly so you can analyze and take in the ingredients. Take a small bite, roll the food around your tongue and in your mouth, and make small sounds of pleasure. You might feel ridiculous, but it’s fun, especially on a romantic date. “Food and touch are truly the basic ingredients of life. If done properly, they will not only provide pleasure, but also engage and delight the senses,” says Simone.

“Sp end a li ttle time looking for the sensual asp ects of food, and I guarantee you will become a pro at enjoying the sensual side of li fe.”

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C U LT U R E Photographer Freedman adds, “Any food can be beautiful and sensual if it has qualities that appeal to what you and your lover find sexy and enticing.” Take a peach, for example. “Start by looking at its shape and colors,” Simone says. “Press it just hard enough to feel the firmness and the touch of velvety skin, just like when you touch the skin of another person. I believe that fruits and vegetables respond to touch by releasing beautiful aromas for us to breathe in.” Simone says his Italian heritage and his culinary fluency heightened his awareness of the sensual similarities between fresh, organic foods and the human body. Like the human body, every food in its natural state has beauty in its lines, shape, color, and texture. And like the human body, food gives us exquisite pleasure on a primal level. He says, “Spend a little time looking for the sensual aspects of food, and I guarantee you will become a pro at enjoying the sensual side of life.” Born in southern Italy, Tiberio Simone is a James Beard Award-winning chef. He has been cooking for as long as he can remember, beginning in his mother’s kitchen. Tiberio started his career at an Italian restaurant in Seattle. He eventually became the pastry chef at Seattle’s Four Seasons Olympic Hotel. He now runs his own company, La Figa Catering. Matt Freedman is a professional freelance photographer and technologist who combined his photography, writing, and technical talents to produce the first iPhone app about the Burning Man festival. He is also the former staff photographer and director of technology for the bi-monthly magazine, JUST CAUSE. His photographs have been published in Trekking Nepal: A Traveler’s Guide, and the French book, Artivisme: Art, Action Politique et Résistance Culturelle.

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 2 F O R E C A S T 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 By Adrienne Abeyta at 619.917.0998 or Adrienne@AdrienneAbeyta.com.

Libra: Devil (Queen of Wands) 9/23 – 10/23 In order to see yourself in your entire splendor, you must not cling to value judgments of good and bad, as they are irrelevant and often distracting. As you embrace both your light and dark aspects, you’ll find more space for honest self-expression. You may also want to question the value of your current relationships. Is what you’re getting out of them equal to what you’re giving? As you have compassion for your own shortcomings, so will others. And as you accept and come to respect all that is within you, you will have the freedom to accept others.

Aries: Hermit (2 of Pentacles) 3/21 – 4/19 Although life demands a great deal of activity, it doesn’t need to be to the point of exhaustion. Being productive isn’t the same as being busy. In fact, the quality of your work is less dependent on what you do than how you do it. Notice how you may be using work as a way of avoiding deeper reflection. Make an effort to be present with yourself while dealing with life’s affairs. You’ll see that much of your frenetic energy dissipates. Taking time each day to reflect and regulate your sensitive system is the best way of ensuring optimal productivity. Taurus: Hierophant Tower (9 of Swords) 4/20 – 5/21 You can be wasteful or productive—the choice is yours. Your high energy level, if properly channeled, can assist you in accomplishing a great deal in a short time. Without a strong focus, you could just be hyperactive and scattered. Prepare to meet your worries and fears. All the worrying you’re doing will bring you face-to-face with a mighty challenge which is meant to develop your character. Scary as this challenge seems, the lesson here is to pick up the pieces and build again. Be mindful, as temptation meets opportunity; you may be knee-deep in a situation before your conscience kicks in.

Scorpio: Strength (Page of Pentacles) 10/24 – 11/22 Passion is fleeting and overrated, especially when it’s the only currency you depend on. What might start out as an inspiration will easily dissolve into fantasy if not supported by consistent action. If you plan to be effective, then you must be willing to commit yourself to the entire process, menial as parts of it will be. You have considerable resources to make the most of what you want, but be sure to keep taking small, detailed steps and complete what you start. Chances are your small projects will gain enough momentum that you will find yourself busier than you expected.

Gemini: Chariot (Knight of Wands) 5/22 – 6/21 Get ready for a wild ride this month. The goal is action; however, a reckless pursuit will land you in the middle of major upheaval. If you act with clear intention, you are likely to catapult yourself into the next major phase of a project or life situation. Avoid “the grass is always greener” syndrome and focus on how to bring more passion to what you’re already doing. If you’re traveling this month, take extra caution and be sure your vehicle’s maintenance is up-to-date. If you’re about to enter into a new job or living situation, this will be a successful month.

Sagittarius: Lovers (10 of Swords) 11/23 – 12/21 An important decision must be made, and unfortunately with this choice comes the harsh reality of a sacrifice. The end result is not as important as what motivated the choice in the first place. If you believe the negative messages running through your mind, you will find yourself in a stressful gridlock. Reason as you may, there is actually no right or wrong choice. However, your choices say more about you than you realize. The end of the month finds you at a crossroads in conflict with your values; be sure to choose with integrity.

Cancer: Sun (4 of Pentacles) 6/22 – 7/22 Self-acceptance is the highest form of personal power. When you embrace the totality of who you are, the desperate need for material security begins to diminish. During the darkest of times, it is not the physical comforts that will save you, but rather the awareness of your uniqueness that will lead you back into the light. As you grow to trust in the Universe and the nature of your character, you will find positive reflections of that knowing. Use this time for self-expression and focus your energy on making conscious decisions. You will find fulfi llment in even the smallest of tasks.

Capricorn: World (5 of Wands) 12/22 – 1/20 Problems arise and recede like the waves on the ocean, but no one ever promised life would be easy. Take a look at what’s been bothering you lately and remember that, in some way, you have contributed to the onset and/or upkeep of the issue. Before getting defensive, keep in mind that acknowledging this offers you the power to change it. The solution to this quandary could be a blow to your ego. Nevertheless, you will have the freedom to choose how you react. Spend time examining your most perplexing problems, then try turning the drama into comedy.

Leo: Emperor (6 of Swords) 7/23 – 8/23 When you were a child and had not yet developed your autonomy, authorities like parents, teachers, police, and the government represented authority. Then, as a natural life passage, you rebelled against that establishment. Through this process, you developed a deeper understanding of your own unique power. In the areas that you feel disempowered, you are again being called upon to reclaim a sense of command. No one can make you feel subservient but yourself. This shift of authority will lead you to a place of least resistance. When you accept responsibility for your journey, you are truly your own keeper.

Aquarius: Hanged Man (Page of Swords) 1/21 – 2/18 Too much thinking has caused your current impasse. Your focus on trivial concerns has stunted the development of fresh ideas, and your recurring stress is nothing more than ongoing commentary in your mind. Fortunately, if you suspend analysis, you’ll get a new vantage point from which to quietly view your life. A project in the making will encounter several frustrating delays. Don’t listen to the naysayers, including the ones in your head. To pull yourself out of this mental deadlock, you will need to make a radical paradigm shift. Be mindful of your words this month as ears are everywhere.

Virgo: Star (10 of Pentacles) 8/24 – 9/22 Hope is a gift often overlooked and undervalued. Even when life seems dull, there is a shimmering light of hope just beyond the shadows of doubt. However, it is your responsibility to detect it, and more importantly, it is your choice to believe in it. Failure is merely an inability to see and believe in another possibility. Family finances weigh heavily on your mind; you won’t be comfortable unless you can provide for and protect those you love. Although your faith will be tested regarding what you consider to be a stable situation, you will know what to do.

Pisces: Judgment (5 of Cups) 2/19 – 3/20 If you really want to move out of the dark, you’re going to have to let go of the hurt you’re carrying around. Yes, your expectations have not been met, and yes, it hurts, but if you dwell on this too long, you are as much to blame as the situation. As they say, “Cry a river, then build a bridge and get over it.” Take responsibility for your feelings and reevaluate your intentions. You’ll find that you’re either pushing too hard or holding on too tightly. Your refusal to move forward is only prolonging the distress. Behind the dark clouds is the sun.

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.

AdrienneAbeyta.com • (619) 917-0998 18

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Valentine’s Day Resolution: Install Love 2.0 by Marsha Lucas, PhD

“O

h, man, I hate Valentine’s Day!” I hear this a lot in my office as February 14 approaches. Since I focus on helping people create healthier relationships, you can probably guess why. Valentine’s Day is the bane of anyone who’s single but doesn’t want to be. It flings daggers of loneliness rather than the gentle arrows of Cupid. And if you’re in a relationship, Valentine’s Day can feel a little like an episode of “Survivor”—are you (or your relationship) surviving, thriving, or getting voted off the island? Instead of dreading another February 14, consider turning it into your day to make a healthy relationship resolution. You could call it a new year of the heart, the first day of the rest of your love life. But wait! Before you start making your long list of habits that you could resolve to change, you need to remember that cultivating new or better relationships isn’t about admonishing yourself to stop yelling, or putting little sticky notes on the mirror about how wonderful you are. You’ve probably (repeatedly) tried scores of ideas like those, and your relationships still don’t cut it; the same old problems keep resurfacing. Here’s the thing. The way your brain is wired is mostly what helps—or hurts—when it comes to satisfying, healthy relationships. You need a wired-in “Operating System” (OS) that supports better relationships from the ground up—the kind of OS that supports “apps” for keeping your anxiety or anger from hijacking disagreements, or increasing your resilience when it comes to your emotional reactions. I’m sharing here my list of the most important apps for better love—the skills that seem to be the most powerful in creating and sustaining a healthy, vibrant relationship. Best of all, these are acquirable apps, skills you can develop and grow within yourself, within your brain, starting with the most basic and getting progressively more sophisticated. These apps, or skills, include: better management of your body’s reactions; regulation of your response to fear and stress; increased emotional resilience; more flexible responses to relationship challenges; improved insight (self-knowing); healthy, balanced empathy and attunement within yourself and with others; and a perspective shift from “me” to “we.” Installing and running these love apps isn’t about resolving to be, say, more empathic, or to practice stress management. Trying to install these apps won’t really work if you haven’t dealt with your underlying “relationship OS.” All of us who have struggled with self-improvement or self-acceptance—or any other method for trying to make healthier relationships with ourselves and others possible—often fall into the trap of trying to get our cortex (the intellectual, insightful part of our brain perched way up top) to make changes in the way the deep, lower parts of our brain drive our relationships. But if you have a faulty OS trying to get those two areas to work together as a team, it’s a bit like trying to get an iPhone app to work by typing in DOS commands. It’s just not going to go well. Sorry to say that there’s a bit more bad news: most of your brain’s relationship OS was developed unbelievably early in your brain’s history, before you were about two years old. Your first experiences with relationships—those you had with your parents—have a huge influence on how you deal with relationships throughout your life. The your-parents-to-you relationship covertly operates in important, behind-thescenes ways in your later you-to-your-partner romantic relationships. And the style of attachment you develop in childhood (secure or insecure, anxious

C U LT U R E or avoidant) is most often a lifetime deal. It informs and influences how you interact with others, how you see yourself in relationships, and, as much as you might not like to believe this, it deeply influences the kinds of partners we attract and are attracted to, leaving us to play out the same relationship patterns over and over again. The lessons of our primary childhood relationships run so deep and so strong—and often way outside our conscious Marsha Lucas awareness—that we all find it extraordinarily challenging to overcome them. It’s a buggy operating system. Unfortunately, you can’t just order a replacement OS on Amazon. But you can rewire your brain for better relationships, starting now, with your Valentine’s Day resolution. You can rebuild your OS for love. How? Recent studies by leading neuroscientists and biobehaviorists—researchers from Harvard, UCLA, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Cambridge, to name a few— have shown that the practice of mindfulness meditation promotes changes in the brain in areas and ways that can promote healthier relationships with yourself and others. And it doesn’t take years of practice. Many beneficial effects are seen in the earliest stages of practice, in as little as a few weeks of practicing 20 minutes a day. Can’t do 20 minutes? That’s perfectly okay; start with two. Now, if you’re not finding the love of your life, or if you’re in a crummy relationship, you don’t usually say to yourself, “Hey, I know, I need to start meditating!” But let me share this perspective with you: I’ve been practicing psychotherapy for over 20 years. I’ve always felt deeply honored to help people as they dig in and do the often difficult work of creating better lives for themselves. And since I began using mindfulness meditation with my patients, I’ve been privileged to witness some of the most amazing shifts and improvements. It has been the single most remarkable and elegantly simple way to update your OS that I’ve ever seen, and the neuroscience evidence backs that up. By practicing mindfulness meditation, you can rewire your brain’s relationship operating system, get the amazing love apps, and make this Valentine’s Day the beginning of Love 2.0. Marsha Lucas is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist in Washington, DC, and author of Rewire Your Brain for Love: Creating Vibrant Relationships Using the Science of Mindfulness (Hay House, February 2012). To learn more about Lucas’ book, visit www.rewireyourbrain.com. You can also visit her Web site, www.marshalucasphd. com.

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Panther Baby An Interview with Jamal Joseph by Sydney L. Murray

t is incredible to see how early life experiences, especially those of extreme adversity, affect a person’s many possible outlooks on life and our world. For Jamal Joseph, former Black Panther Party member, moving past adversities has helped him see the world in a more positive light—one of family, friends, community, and love. Here is what Jamal shared with us: Vision Magazine: How have your early experiences changed your life? Jamal Joseph: I grew up without a father and found direction in the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party. I learned that community and cooperation can be created by like-minded people. I also learned that family goes way beyond genes and biology. Family, in the sense of safety, happiness, and growth, can also be created by people coming together. VM: How has adversity made you who you are? JJ: I spent close to 10 years in prison as a teenager and young man. An older prisoner gave me great advice when I first arrived. He said, “You can serve this time or you can let this time serve you.” I took the advice to heart and earned two college degrees behind the wall. I also became a poet and a writer and formed a theater company. Prison taught me that the mind can never be locked up and that the creative spirit can soar free. There are no chains that can bind a positive and no expiration date on dreams. VM: Why do we have to go through hard times? JJ: Hard times are the universe’s way of helping us see our greater selves. Diamonds are created when a lump of coal is subjected to years of extreme pressure. The challenges and losses of life help us grow toward greater truths and to appreciate the simpler moments. VM: Our theme for February is Heart Mind. What does Heart Mind mean to you? JJ: Heart Mind means stilling the busy thoughts of the active mind and listening to the energy of our loving heart. Some call it intuition, others inspiration. It comes down to the feeling of love and rightness that flows when our mind is guided by love and the spirit of humanity. Being a loving human being is what Heart Mind leads us to. VM: How do you make the world a better place? JJ: I set aside several days each week to work with young people (tweens and teens) in the creative arts. Impact is a youth theater program that I co-founded that stresses the ideals of SOS (saving ourselves) through the

practice of Safe space, Outstanding effort, and Service to our family, friends, and community. When I was in the Black Panthers, I learned that the greatest act of revolution was love and service to others. For a short time, the Panthers led safety patrols in Oakland with guns. But the majority of the work in the Panthers was running free programs like the children’s breakfast programs and free health clinics. We would work 12-18 hours a day until we were exhausted. But we felt fulfilled by the knowledge that we were serving the community. I try to pass the ideals of community love and service to young people through the creative arts. Impact’s motto is, “Keep a positive thought because a positive thought cannot be denied!” Positive youth energy is truly our greatest natural resource. VM: How can our hearts help us overcome adversity? JJ: Our hearts will lead us to serve others. I know a group of mothers in Harlem who have lost children to gun violence. They have healed by mentoring other children and creating marches and events against gun violence. The heart knows that the best way to heal is through love. And the best way to express love is though service. Jamal Joseph is a writer, director, producer, poet, activist, and professor. His memoir, Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention, will be available for purchase beginning February 2012. For more information, please visit www. jamaljoseph.com.

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ELECTRIC GANESH:

“L ong noted for the effortless grace and mellifluous lyricism of his acoustic guitar work, GuruGanesha has turned his World Devotional Guitarist talents to his first love, and Pioneer GuruGanesha the electric guitar, to ignite Singh Plugs In the incandescent sound of the GuruGanesha Band.” by Alan Diperna

ollowing a triumphant debut at Sat Nam Fest last September, the GuruGanesha Band has embarked on its inaugural tour, delighting and inspiring audiences up and down the West Coast. This entrancing new group is the latest project from the mind, heart and guitar of the world devotional music pioneer GuruGanesha Singh. Renowned for his work with sublime vocalists like Snatam Kaur, Nirinjan Kaur and Tina Malia, GuruGanesha steps into the limelight with his most recent musical venture, leading a multi-talented ensemble culled from the A-list of players and singers on today’s rapidly-expanding kirtan/chant/yoga music scene. “This is a project that I’ve had in my heart for many years,” says GuruGanesha. “The idea behind the GuruGanesha Band is to bring to the world music scene a group that can musically hold its own with the great guitar bands of all time, but instead of using conventional lyrics, singing mantras and divine poetry to transport audiences to a profoundly beautiful and transcendent place. All the spiritual and musical work I’ve done for the past 39 years has been preparing me for this.” Long noted for the effortless grace and mellifluous lyricism of his acoustic guitar work, GuruGanesha has turned his talents to his first love, the electric guitar, to ignite the incandescent sound of the GuruGanesha Band. With shimmering, glassy tonalities and evocative textures, he takes the vast sonic potential of modern guitar electronics to a new and blissful place. Accompanying him on this musical journey are master cellist/multi-

instrumentalist Hans Christian (who has performed in the past with RASA, Krishna Das, Robbie Robertson, Harry Manx), tabla/percussion stalwart Daniel Paul (Jai Uttal, Jaya Lakshmi, Donna De Lory, K. Sridhar), beguiling and unforgettable newcomer Michelle Hurtado on vocals, Spirit Voyage recording artist/ kundalini yoga teacher Sat Kartar Singh on acoustic guitar, and kundalini bass guitar magician Gurusangat Singh (recording artist and producer of the popular Miracle Mantra Series). GuruGanesha describes the GGB sound as “a unique blend of kirtan, raga, rock, and deeply meditative folk music. I’ve hand-picked the musicians not only for their musical virtuosity but also for their ability to channel the spiritual energy that the band will be serving. The vocals are a group effort with plenty of rich two and three part harmonies, though Michelle regularly steps out front with amazing vocal improvisations. The audience is encouraged to fully participate, whether it be singing along, dancing or just meditating deeply on the music.” In a sense, the roots of the GuruGanesha Band go back to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s—back before GuruGanesha was even called GuruGanesha. He was the lead guitarist in an up-and-coming rock band named Cat’s Cradle. But in 1973, the young guitarist left rock and roll behind to walk the spiritual path, embracing the Sikh faith and practice of Kundalini Yoga. It was a hard choice. But his spiritual guide, the worldrenowned Kundalini Yoga master Yogi Bhajan, told the young man, “Whatever you leave behind to walk this path will re-manifest later, in a higher form.” Donning the white garb and turban worn by Sikhs, commencing the growth of his now-iconic long white beard and adopting the spiritual name GuruGanesha, the new yogi moved over to an acoustic guitar. “Back when I first got into the spiritual path,” he recalls, “I put the electric guitar in the closet and did what most of us do when we join an ashram—switch to an acoustic. And for 30 years, I was strumming chords and leading chants.” continued on page 41 W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E

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The Personal Art of Happiness by Arielle Ford

The following excerpt is adapted from the new book, Wabi Sabi Love: The Ancient Art of Finding Perfect Love in Imperfect Relationships, by Arielle Ford. Reprinted with the permission of HarperOne. ©2011.

was about to nod off on the stuffy, crowded airplane as the flight attendant began her safety demonstration. Snapping the seat-belt buckle tightly, then releasing the latch with practiced deftness, she smiled down the aisle of the airless cabin. “In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling. Put your own mask on first before attempting to help anyone else.” Having logged hundreds of thousands of air miles in my lifetime, I have heard that line more times than I can count. But that day, crammed into a window seat overlooking the rolling tarmac, I really heard it. In order to help someone else, I first had to take care of myself. I first needed to have enough oxygen in my own mind and body before I could even think about giving anyone assistance. As I pondered this seemingly new information, I realized that when I chose to skip my workout to meet a work deadline, or rushed through a less-than-ideal meal to save time for something I deemed more important than my own nutrition, I was not contributing to that which was my highest good. What I had were seemingly good excuses for not taking the time and energy to nurture and care for myself. In my naïveté I believed that putting myself first meant that I was self-centered or, dare I say it, egotistical. When my husband Brian and I first began living together, I began to notice his patterns. Every morning he would wake up happy somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00 a.m. He would make his coffee, eat a small breakfast, read the paper, and then go work out for around two hours. Brian was and is one of the most consistent people I have ever met. Brian already knew that by focusing on taking care of himself—body, mind, and spirit—he fills himself up and has

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From Barack’s point of view, he was focused on the big picture and felt that many of her complaints were petty. “I love Michelle,” he shared with his grandmother, “Toot,” “but she’s killing me with this constant criticism.” more to give me and everyone around him. All too often we look to the other person in our relationships to provide everything we need for our keys to happiness. But by looking within and realizing the power we have over our own circumstances, we pave the way for a happier and healthier relationship. Make Yourself Happy Barack and Michelle Obama married in 1992 and began building a life together in Chicago. Michelle was the major breadwinner, while Barack began his political career. Several of their biggest issues surfaced early: They both had major debt in the form of student loans. While she handled the family finances, he was downright cavalier with money. He was also a chain smoker and a slob. He thought nothing of leaving his clothes strewn about and wet towels on the floor. Several years later, while he was heavily engaged in his political career in Springfield, Michelle was in Chicago, working full-time, raising two young girls, and home alone each night, feeling tired, angry, abandoned, overworked, and out of shape. She was also very concerned that they would have to someday file for bankruptcy. “He seems to think he can just go out there and pursue his dream and leave all the heavy lifting to me,” she complained to her mother. From Barack’s point of view, he was focused on the big picture and felt that many of her complaints were petty. “I love Michelle,” he shared with his grandmother, “Toot,” “but she’s killing me with this constant criticism.”

returned, the girls were fed and all was well. From that day on, whenever Barack was home, this became her new routine. Michelle began to take a new approach to the problems in her marriage. As the saying attributed to Sister Mary Tricky goes, “If you really want to be happy, no one can stop you.” Michelle had been waiting for Barack to be the one to change, but she now saw that she had to stop being mad at him and start problem solving. Slowly but surely, she began to cobble together the resources she needed to make herself happy. That meant finding ways to create more time and space for herself. Michelle finally took her mother up on her long-standing offer to help her take care of the kids. She also found a new job with higher pay and less stress. Being married to a politician certainly required some sacrifice, but just as often she told her husband, “I’m not doing this by myself.” She insisted that Sundays be reserved as family day and that Barack make the time to be actively involved in the girls’ lives, attending parent-teacher conferences and recitals. She brought structure where chaos once reigned. With the same determination she had brought to everything in life, she found a way to live this dream while keeping herself, her marriage, and her family happy and fulfilled. As Michelle Obama discovered, it’s about knowing that our happiness is up to us. Our happiness resides within us, and the choices we make, like the one to put our own oxygen mask on first, lie within our realm of responsibility. It requires deep listening to the requests whispered by our souls. We were all raised with many misbegotten myths about “happily ever after” only to discover that our princess or knight in shining armor arrived with some serious baggage and dents. Shedding the fantasies of what we hoped our mates would be while shining a loving and bright light on the beauty of who they really are is the true path to happiness and contentment. Arielle Ford has spent the past 25 years living and promoting consciousness through all forms of media. She is the author of the international bestseller, The Soulmate Secret: Manifest the Love of Your Life with the Law of Attraction. Her new book, Wabi Sabi Love: The Ancient Art of Finding Perfect Love in Imperfect Relationships, offers a groundbreaking shift in perception showing couples how to have a deeper, more loving, and more fulfilling relationship. She lives in La Jolla, CA with her husband/soulmate, Brian Hilliard, and their feline friends. For more information, please visit www.wabisabilove.com.

They were at a crisis point. Early one morning around 4:30, as Barack lay next to her soundly asleep, Michelle suddenly realized that if she simply got up and went to the gym to reclaim her workouts, he would be forced to take care of the kids when they got up. She tiptoed out and headed for the gym. Sure enough when she

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The Conscious Catwoman Speaks at the 2012 Conscious Life Expo A Conversation with Julie Newmar by Shannon Nies

any people who are familiar with Julie Newmar remember her as Catwoman from the original 1960s TV series, “Batman.” But she is so much more than that role. She has been a pianist, a dancer, a broadway actress, an entrepreneur, and more recently, a writer. In fact, Julie recently published a book, “The Conscious Catwoman Explains Life on Earth.” And this February, Julie will be speaking at the Conscious Life Expo in Los Angeles, sharing her wit and wisdom with her listeners. I was fortunate to be able to speak with Julie beforehand. Even though she was trying to recover from the flu at the time of our interview, Julie was still energetic and enthusiastic—about the interview, about the Conscious Life Expo, about life on Earth. Here is the conversation I had with this charming, funny, and truly brilliant woman: Vision Magazine: What made you decide to speak at the upcoming Conscious Life Expo in Los Angeles? Julie Newmar: Well, I’ve been there a number of times, and I’m thrilled that they asked for me. What a nice turning of the tables! And it means a lot to me. Any time you’re asked to do something, you are forced to think more clearly about the “it” of it. VM: What do you hope listeners will take away from your presentation? JN: I’m probably best [at] the one-on-one, which means you could have one in the audience or a hundred in the audience. There’s a sort of give and take that the audience tells me what they want rather than me just scripting it and spooning it out to them. So, of course I’ll have some idea—I know who I am—and maybe they [the audience] will tell me something new about myself. I think the best relationships are ones of self-discovery. VM: Who is the Conscious Catwoman? JN: Catwoman, for sure, or enough people have liked the version that I’ve done of it…they keep putting back on my shoulders. I gave away the costume to the Smithsonian Museum a year or so ago. Anybody can wear it [the role of Catwoman], and many will in the future. It’s a marvelous part. So, the “conscious” part or the “Catwoman” part? VM: The “conscious” part.

JN: In life, is an ascension. And whether you can still run the mile in the minute or the minute in the mile—no, it’s four minutes isn’t it? Whatever it is, it just seems like life is more and better. There’s always something new to learn and see and do. VM: How many of the proverbial cat’s nine lives have you lived? JN: Gee, I must be getting up around the eighth one now there—between seven and nine. If it comes to careers, let’s see, I started out as a pianist. And then dance took over. It was really the favorite of Julie Newmar all the things that I’ve probably done in my life as a career. And from dance, acting, age 24, first time on Broadway. Won an award. Lucky, of course. Acting has a length of life to it. Dancing, a shorter career; acting, longer. And then around 50 I was a mother. So what’s that, four [lives]? And then writing kind of crept in. And writing’s only a way—the source—of exploration. Whatever you’re exploring, writing is your activity to get there. So, I guess that leaves me with three more to go? Yeah, I’ll become a stunt pilot! [Laughs.] VM: In your bio on the Conscious Life Expo’s Web site, it says you will share the secret of your “nine plus lives.” Are there more than nine lives? JN: Well that sounds like me bragging! I added the “plus.” The nine we know about, haven’t gotten to that yet. Seven and a half, I guess. There’s definitely plus. I love hanging around with people at the Expo because they’re so evolved. It reminds me of the first time I went to a really great university. I think it was Cal Tech. And something [happened]— well it physically happened—but it happened in the other realms of consciousness. You walk where people are very intelligent. First of all, they’re taller in the high-end university. [Laughs.] The men give you that straightforward ‘glad to see you there, kiddo’ look. And I think I’ll be hanging out in a very high-level atmosphere at the Expo. So that’s something I look forward to. It will definitely be a shared hour and 45 minutes, whatever they are going to limit me to. VM: Could you please tell us about a few how to’s you offer in your book [“The Conscious Catwoman Explains Life on Earth”]? JN: I like some of my quotes: “Lack of responsibility lands you in the hospital, the poor house, or with ‘friends’ who want to hurt you.” [Another quote is:] “Words, thoughts, eventually have a life of their own. Never say something you don’t want to be true.” I like this one: “Never mind changing the world. Make everything you have better. People will notice.” Here’s a cute one: “I hide my annoyance when people tell me, ‘But you can wear anything!’ Anything…is what I don’t wear.” And this one is especially good: “Good manners are wisdom practiced backwards. Bad manners are the throne of selfishness claiming to be individuality.” I like things you can kind of peel off and put on your refrigerator or your mirror where you wash up in the morning. They’re kind of like good life rules, get you out of your doldrums. And in the last couple of years, I’ve accomplished a very good thing, and that’s no more depressions. VM: That’s wonderful. JN: Yeah. Those are good things, when you think of all the hospitals that are full of people who seem to be practicing the wrong stuff. And here’s the one [quote] I have to think of every day; it’s just one line: “Every profession has its scullery duty.” Like for me, writing. Writing is kind of like singing. It’s a lonely career; you have to be alone to practice it. Now, dancing and acting don’t. You’ve got a lot of people around, you get to enjoy each other. And people, at some point in their lives, will be thinking, oh I’ve got

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F E AT U R E the wrong line of work here. And I’m sure even the President of the United States thinks that way. But every profession has its scullery duty. Of course some people have to ask me what “scullery” means. [Laughs.] Oh here’s one I like a whole lot: “Tall girls…” (Okay, I’m tall.) “Tall girls, don’t slump. Think of how many short guys out there would love to have your offspring. Stand up for them.” All you need is one good line to change a bad habit and become admired again. That’s why I wrote the book. I’m not garrulous, I’m not talky. I’m a better listener than I am a tall tale teller. I’m not your average entertainer. I like to put the other person on the pedestal or give them a chance to feel good in my presence. That warms me up. And I’m first born, so that doesn’t make sense. [Laughs.] Maybe I’m both those things. But it’s a nice little book. It’s a high-end looking little book at an affordable price. And there are 70 really nice pictures in it, [and] with the help of a very talented friend, I designed the whole book myself. You know Louise Hay’s [book]—it’s been my favorite book for years, have it always by my side here—“Heal Your Body: The Mental Causes for Physical Illness.” My book is kind of like that. It’s got about 75 pages and it’s a problem solver. It’s definitely a keeper; you’ll have, or anyone will have, this book for 25, 30 years. And you’d be giving it to your daughter, and it’s a nice kind of thing to share. I’m actually proud of it. VM: How do you explain life on Earth? JN: Well, maybe it is between the lines. Maybe none of us know and we

all know. It’s a sharing business on Earth, see. Every so often you have this ultra-absolute knowingness, do you not? I had it one time when I was about 18 years old, when I was on tour in Baltimore. I was walking toward one of those monuments at a park, and all of a sudden it was if my feet were lifted a foot off the ground and I was walking on air. And for, I don’t know how many minutes—15, 18, 20 minutes—there wasn’t any question I could ask myself that I didn’t know the absolute truth and perfect answer to. It was a sort of a feeling of ascension—remarkable feeling. I haven’t had anything quite like that since, but I get these high points. Like the thrills where the goosebumps go down to the ankles and it says, oh yeah, I’m the right part, or, oh yeah, that’s the direction you want to go in, or this is the person to be with. It’s those instinctual pullings. It’s quite nice. VM: What inspired you to write this book and really start writing? JN: You wake up in the middle of the night and you’ve got this humdinger of an idea. So I turn on the light, hopefully not wake someone, find a pencil and get a piece of paper and write it down. It’s just so good, so good, so good. So little pieces of paper were kind of piling up, notes were being made and lists were happening, and pages were getting typed out, and shape was coming through. And editing was being done, and printing was coming forth. And talking about it, actually, out loud—takes the courage to do that even then. Then I thought I had it and I didn’t. And then I thought I had it again and I still didn’t quite have it. And then I worked with a friend of mine; we put it so you could get it through on the Internet, and send it—whiz-bang—to have someone give you a yes/no answer. It took time, a couple of years. Maybe it took a whole 10 years. But in the meanwhile, I’ve written four books. Haven’t finished them, but they’re presently in the works. I think writing is putting your life in a nutshell. I have one chapter—I think it’s about the third chapter—that tells you how to solve the most intractable problems, and to use writing as the solution. Because there’s something that we can’t always tell another person or it just gets kind of caught in our sense of right and wrong about what to say. But it somehow comes from your brain to your consciousness and down through your arm and out through your fingers. Using a pencil or pen, and down on a piece of paper, you ask yourself a question, and just kind of sit there quietly. And lo and behold, it’s like a genie bottle. Words kind of fall onto the page, and sentences form. It’s like opening a present to yourself. You get answers that make life a hell of a lot easier. I think I did better that way than with any psychiatrist. (Pardon me, I’m not against anybody’s therapies.) In truth, each one of us individually has our own separate answers. I can ask my body what it needs to do this or that for me. Or it’s already speaking up for me and saying, you need a little more calcium, let’s go get some milk. Last night it was ice cream. [Laughs.] Well, ice cream is a reward—not too often. Writing is the best way to answer your own questions. And the clearer the question, the easier the answer will come to you. Isn’t that right? Don’t they always say, in the question is the answer? So I’m just in a space there at the hotel [for the Expo], wherever it’s going to be, to reflect the best out of people. And I have this sixth—I don’t know, I think it’s my twelfth—sense. Somebody could call me up on the phone, 2,000 miles away, and I’ll hear what’s bothering them. I’ll hear, almost in a sense, what they’re doing. It just kind of filters through to me. Like Abraham-Hicks says, put yourself in the vortex. Simplify. Don’t come with a lot of baggage; just show up. Take it easy. We stress too much. continued on page 46

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Connecting Soul with the Role: San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine’s Remembrance Rituals Honor Patients, Promote Self-Care by Kristina Berwyn-Shaw

or Kristen Carlson, Spiritual Counselor at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, walking alongside patients during their final journey is a privilege that she appreciates daily. “I often say that our patients are my teachers and every life represents an amazing journey that we are privileged to walk alongside for the final duration,” says Carlson. But for Carlson, and many in the field of hospice and palliative care, working closely with individuals who are at the end of life, and processing the feelings and emotions that arise following a patient’s death, can be demanding. Often, they are challenged to reconcile and balance their heart, such as their feelings towards an experience with a patient, with their minds, such as continuing to be able to fulfill their role as a professional caregiver. “Every member of our staff cares deeply about our patients and their families,” says Jonathan Flood, Patient Care Manager at San Diego Hospice. “San Diego Hospice care teams work tirelessly to ensure the patient, and their loved ones, are treated with respect, dignity, and warmth during their end-of-life experience. This can be a taxing undertaking. As such, it’s imperative for staff to be able to renew themselves in order to balance work and life, as well as replenish their capacity to care.” As part of self-care, and to help balance the heart and the mind, San Diego Hospice care teams conduct a “remembrance ritual” after a patient’s death. As part of

A San Diego Hospice care team member pours a vial of colored sand during her team’s Remembrance Ritual to honor a patient who recently died. Photo Credit: Typesettra Creative

By writing the name of a patient who passed away, San Diego Hospice’s Children’s Care Team reflects on the recent loss of a patient. Photo Credit: Typesettra Creative

their remembrance ritual, each team conducts a different visual ceremony in addition to sharing stories about the patient and setting aside time for staff members to express their feelings and experiences. For example, the San Diego Hospice care team that is based in the South Bay area of San Diego ties colored ribbon on a wreath as a way to symbolize the connection between patients and their care team members. Another visual ceremony, conducted by San Diego Hospice’s Children’s Care Team, is to write a word or name in memory of the deceased patient on a smooth stone, which is then placed in a glass vase. Once this vase is filled, it is displayed at San Diego Hospice’s Inpatient Care Center in Hillcrest. “As part of my team’s remembrance ritual, we pour a vial of colored sand into a clear vase,” says Carlson. “The mixing of different colored sand is an open representation of the beauty, diversity, and vibrancy of the lives that have touched ours. To me, this remembrance ritual is a chance to ‘connect soul with role,’ while honoring the patient’s life and helping me process their death.” Usually these rituals are conducted at the San Diego Hospice care teams’ weekly or monthly meetings. But some staff members are moved to remember their patients more immediately. Staff members at the Inpatient Care Center, for instance, light an electric flame when a patient passes away on their floor. This instantaneous remembrance is a way for them to pause and reflect during their busy shifts. “When I feel challenged by the demands of my role as part of a hospice care team, I often turn to a quote that I read recently in an inspirational book: ‘Life is about choice. We are all given a choice every day to choose love or fear, happiness or pain, wealth or poverty,’” says Jocelia Kidio, a Certified Home Health Aide at San Diego Hospice. “To me, our remembrance ritual personifies this choice because it lets me remember the patients in my own way, with my own words. That is very powerful.” Staff members have also taken to heart the importance of remembering and honoring those who have passed in their personal lives. One San Diego Hospice care team intermingles the names of their loved ones or friends who have recently died with the names of their patients who have died, on silk

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F E AT U R E San Diego Hospice’s Children’s Care Team finds comfort through sharing stories about a deceased patient during their Remembrance Ritual. Photo Credit: Typesettra Creative

flower petals. These petals are then arranged into flowers, becoming a beautiful display of hope, love, and grace. “When I hear about these rituals, see them displayed in various places, and listen to how they positively impact our staff, I am reminded why spirituality is such an integral part of our journey through life, both in caregivers’ self-care practices and for patients when they face end-of-life issues,” says Ben Marcantonio, M.Ed., MS, LMFT, Chief Administrative Officer at San Diego Hospice. The traditional philosophy of hospice care has always included spirituality as an important component of care for terminally ill patients, as requested by the patient and their family. San Diego Hospice honors this philosophy by creating an interdisciplinary care team, which includes nurses, doctors, social workers, and spiritual counselors, to prevent and relieve suffering and promote quality of life, regardless of where a patient is during their journey through life. By incorporating and encouraging spirituality in their hospice and palliative care practices, San Diego Hospice staff can provide patients and their families healing on physical, emotional, spiritual, and social levels. In addition to medical expertise in alleviating physical pain and suffering, San Diego Hospice also puts an emphasis on following and promoting the core guidelines for spiritual caregiving in a hospice environment. These include self-knowledge of one’s own spiritual needs, authenticity and respect for the beliefs and practices of the patient and family,

“We are all given a choice every day to choose love or fear, happiness or pain, wealth or poverty.”

Colored vials of sand poured during San Diego Hospice’s Remembrance Rituals represent the beauty, and diversity, of each patient who has received hospice care. Photo Credit: Typesettra Creative

San Diego Hospice’s South Bay care team ties ribbons on a wreath to honor patients who have passed away. Photo Credit: Typesettra Creative

and being empathetic and supportive throughout the spiritual process. This type of individualized patient and family care, along with education, research, advocacy, and practical support, is how San Diego Hospice helps patients and their families make the most of each moment for as long as life lasts. “Whether spirituality is part of a patient’s compassionate hospice care or a team member’s self-care, we believe individuals’ spirituality and beliefs should be respected and supported,” says Marcantonio. In death, as is often in life, it is the simplest of ceremonies and stories that provide lessons of growth and change as well as offer a chance to accept and embrace the next chapter with anticipation and hope. San Diego Hospice invites others in the fields of hospice and palliative care to be attentive to their self-care through the inclusion of remembrance rituals, or find other ways to nurture and care for themselves. For more information on the importance of self-care in the fields of hospice and palliative medicine and caregiving, as well as ways to connect heart with mind, please visit San Diego Hospice’s blog series on The Caregiver’s Corner (www. sandiegocaregiversblog.com). As the region’s oldest and largest nonprofit hospice and palliative care provider, San Diego Hospice brings compassionate, expert medical care to more than 1,200 seriously ill adults and children each day throughout San Diego County. For more information, visit www.sdhospice.org or call toll-free at 866.688.1600. Kristina Berwyn-Shaw works in San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine’s Communication Department. Contact her at KBerwynShaw@SDHospice. org.

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South American Imports A Conservation with David Vince by Sloan Gomez

ince 1980, South American Imports has been offering beautiful, high quality crystals and minerals at their shop in Old Town San Diego. They pride themselves in hand-picking many of their crystals in Brazil, during trips they take there throughout the year. Vision recently had the opportunity to speak with David Vince, owner of South American Imports. Here is what he shared with us: Vision Magazine: What are some of your more popular items? David Vince: We have 60 kinds of tumbled stones, quartz crystals, Palo Santo incense, Moqui marbles, gemstone jewelry. A lot of people are looking for stones that do things. Each stone has different properties. Some are for calming. Some are for energy. Some for protection. Some people come in looking for something for their love life, and rose quartz is what they’re usually after. VM: Can you tell us what a tumbled stone is and what the process is for creating one?

“Most of the time I carry a stone in my pocket. I’ll usually carry something blue because it’s calming.”

DV: It is a piece of rough stone that is put in a tumbler that rotates. It takes about 1-2 months to complete the process. Sand is placed in the tumbler and it turns and turns and makes rough stones smooth. In Brazil, larger 55-gallon drums are used for large quantities of stones. There’s also a vibrating tumbler that vibrates the stones until the stones are smooth, and this usually takes the same amount of time as a traditional tumbler. I have to say, some people like the natural texture of an original stone—not tumbled, not smooth. The stone is natural and rough and original, from its original state. Just like it was born from the Earth. VM: What part of South America do many of your stones come from? DV: Most of the stones are from Brazil, but I also import from Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala, India, Morocco, and Madagascar. Stones come from all over the world, but a lot of the nicer stones come from Brazil and Madagascar. For some reason that’s where a lot of the real nice stones come from. VM: What made you decide to get into the business of selling these beautiful objects? DV: I went to Brazil for the first time in 1985 and saw the vast amounts of beautiful crystals that were available. This was also a time

VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M

VISION CAFE

when the New Age awareness was peaking. [In] 1985 I bought my first rocks in Brazil. I brought them back and the response was really good. At that time in San Diego there weren’t a lot of shops that specialized in rocks. For the size of a city like San Diego, there just weren’t a lot of specialty rock shops. VM: What is the rarest item you sell in your store, and where does it come from? DV: Probably Uvarotite from Russia, green garnet, or Cobaltoan Calcite from Zaire, Africa. Uvarotite makes a beautiful druzy. VM: What does druzy mean? DV: Druzy is a term given to the tiny crystals [which] has gotten very popular in jewelry. VM: Our theme for February is “Heart Mind.” Are there any semi-precious stones or minerals that best represent the heart, and ones that best represent the mind? DV: We carry a wide variety of gemstones carved in a heart shape. These come in many different materials. The prices range from $3 to $150. Rose quartz is for the heart chakra and is a love stone. For cleansing, selenite is a good clearing stone. I guess this soft crystal could be good for cleansing the mind. The selenite crystal also makes a beautiful lamp. The light emitted from selenite is warm, comfortable, and brings a good feeling to any room. VM: What are your thoughts on crystals and vibrations? Do you have many customers coming in looking for that one particular item that they feel a connection with? DV: Customers are always looking for crystals that attract them. That is usually how it works. They are either attracted to them for the physical beauty or the way they feel. We have reference books here at the store that people can use for clarification on what stones may be good for, i.e. their positive attributes. Most of the time I have a stone in my pocket. I’ll usually carry something blue because it’s calming. South American Imports is located in Old Town San Diego at 2461 San Diego Ave. #104, San Diego, CA 92110. Call 619.299.3877, e-mail dave@saimport.com, or visit www.saimport.com.

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VISION CAFE

The 8th Annual Health Freedom Expo Returns to Long Beach Convention Center, March 2-4, 2012 The Time for Action is NOW!

he time to make positive, concrete decisions about your health is now. And we’re here to help by creating three days of dynamic speaking programs with world renown doctors, practitioners, and health experts. The 2012 featured speakers line-up includes: Deborah Ray; Catherine Austin-Fitts; Mike Anderson; Kevin Trudeau; George Noory; John Robbins; Dr. John Apsley; Dr. Theresa Dale; Chef Alex Jamieson; Jonathan W. Emord; Mike Adams; Dr. Leonard Coldwell; Robert Scott Bell; Christian Wilde; Vaishali; Dr. Cochraan and others. In addition to speakers sharing their expert knowledge, a buzzing, active expo hall will feature over 200 booths filled with cutting-edge products, knowledge, and services as well as informative hot topic panels and award-winning documentary films endorsed by critics, celebrities, and natural health practitioners. It’s all here, under one roof, at one time. The Health Freedom Expo, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is sponsored by the HealthKeepers Alliance, a lobbying organization. Year round, the organization works to defeat restricting legislation that limits positive health freedom choices and awareness. Their primary intention is to

VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M

protect consumers’ rights and defend practitioners who use natural and nutritional cures, and to create full awareness of what health and wellness choices are available to the public. They do this at both the state and national levels of government. No other health event in the country supports legislative initiatives and educates the public about the outcomes to this degree. “There’s no other natural health expo like it,” noted consumer activist and author Kevin Trudeau states. “What sets the Health Freedom Expo apart from other health expos is [that] the information presented is not ‘just to sell product to consumers.’ It’s about people who are passionate about sharing information. It’s about how our health freedoms are being taken away, and it is about exposing the truth. Other shows are designed to sell product. Here, that is available, but that is not the emphasis. The Health Freedom Expo is about educating and being empowered, and that is what makes it different.”

“No other health event in the country supports legislative initiatives and educates the public about the outcomes to this degree.”

VISION CAFE The Health Freedom Expo will take place March 2-4, 2012. Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 am.-6 p.m. on Sunday. The address is: Long Beach Convention Center Exhibit Hall A., 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802. The cost of the Expo is just $20 per day or $45 for the three-day weekend. For complete details and to purchase tickets, please visit www.healthfreedomexpo.com or call 888.658.EXPO. (Speakers and line-up may be subject to change.)

LIVE IN CONCERT 15 March Encinitas, CA 16 March Encinitas, CA 17 March Santa Monica, CA 18 March Santa Monica, CA 23 March Santa Rosa, CA 24 March Santa Rosa, CA 25 March San Francisco, CA 28 March Santa Cruz, CA 30 March Berkeley, CA Tickets & Information: www.guruganesha.com

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HOLISTIC REVIEW

A General Theory of

Love

by Adam Jacobs

ll general unified theories, like love itself, are authors detail, with going to be magnanimous and breathtaking in “Fathers and teachers,” wrote anatomy, diagrams, the reach of their diameter; far and wide the Dostoyevsky, “I ponder the and experiments, circle goes and still the center holds. “A General how the future— Theory of Love,” written a decade ago by Drs. Thomas Lewis, question, ‘What is Hell?’ I and who and M.D., Fari Amini, M.D., and Richard Lannon, M.D., has maintain it is the suffering of how we can such a focal eye still staring into the present day. Though the love—is attracted book is sometimes like a pretty tornado of effusive language being unable to love.” back towards lost in its own opaque whirl, it is vivacious and sincere. —A General Theory of Love the past, like a Because love is part of us and we are part of river flowing forward as its waves ripple back. the physical universe, “love has to be lawful,” the It is not until the end of the story—as it seems authors say, and so “like the rest of the world, it is governed and described in life, in general—that the book rapidly coheres and creates some of the by principles we can discover but cannot change. If we only know where and most stunning vistas of the possibilities of therapy, relationships, and love. In how to look, we should be able to find emotional laws whose actions a person the closing chapters, the authors, done with the explication of the previous could no more resist that he could the force of gravity if he fell off a cliff.” 200 pages, can give way to their personal connection to what deeply inspires The authors, psychiatrists by profession, look for love in the brain, using as their their work. It is here in the calm of the conclusion that there is passionate template the triune brain—reptilian, neocortical, and limbic. The reptilian brain satisfaction—how to provide for children, the yearning beneath drug use, the knows itself, and the neocortex knows the abstract, but it is the limbic brain that loves pathology of corporation, and how to heal the ancient mission of healing the another.The limbic brain of amygdala, thalamus, and hippocampus maketh mammals sick. What emerges from behind the theory of the book is a visionary eye and of us, giving us the distinction of sweet motherhood, playful brotherhood, and love. a rhapsodic heart. “A good deal of modern American culture,” the authors It is this receptive and giving brain that obeys the law that “people cannot be stable finally conclude, “is an extended experiment in the effects of depriving people on their own—not should or shouldn’t be, but can’t be… We recognize instinctively of what they crave most.” But no matter what “humanity’s future holds, that healthy humans are not loners.” How we then relate and regulate each other we will never shed our heritage as neural organisms, mammals, primates.” is buried, like gravity, in the core of the limbic brain, amidst its vast intertwining A General Theory of Love (Random House, 2000) is available for purchase on neurons, fleshed out in the memories, emotions, and vibrations of the past. The Amazon.com. Contact Adam Jacobs at bowofrain@gmail.com.

LoseAll-natural, Your Pain, Not Your Health. herbal extract from hops relieves pain without the dangers of drugs. New Vinoprin softgels contain concentrated humulones extracted from hops flowers, which are used to provide flavor in beer, and have been used medicinally for over a thousand years. Vinoprin relieves ordinary aches and pains quickly by reducing the level of pain-causing cox-2 enzymes, while maintaining the important enzymes that protect the heart, digestive system and other organs. In double-blind clinical tests, those taking the supplement were able to reduce or eliminate the use of over-the-counter pain relievers such as Ibuprofen, reporting significant improvements in comfort while walking, standing, climbing stairs and lying down. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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Living the Spiritual Life in a Material World

Feb 12

True Religion: A Universal Need

Feb 19

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Feb 26

Expanding Your Awareness of God

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The teachings of

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San Diego Temple 3072 1st Avenue 619.295.0170 Encinitas Temple 939 Second St. 760.436.7220 Services every Sunday at

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“GURU GANESH continued from page 21

The acoustic guitar served GuruGanesha well in his spiritual and musical journey, particularly when he founded the Spirit Voyage record label in 2000 to launch the career of a mesmerizing young singer named Snatam Kaur. She soon became one of the best selling artists in world devotional music. And GuruGanesha’s supple acoustic guitar stylings became an integral part of Snatam’s sound, also grounding his own well received solo albums Grateful Ganesh, Pure Ganesh, Joy is Now and Kundalini Surjhee. But GuruGanesha never abandoned his first musical love. The electric guitar came out of the closet at a landmark live performance with pop icon Seal at the 2000 Summer Solstice celebration in the Jemez Mountains near Santa Fe, New Mexico. He returned to the instrument midway through his 2011 Song of the Soul tour, which he co-headlined with Tina Malia. “The first time I played electric guitar on that tour was during our May concert in Berkeley, CA,” he recounts. “It was beautiful for me to see how quickly people’s faces lit up. It was an exhilarating experience!” Always a consummately expressive guitarist, GuruGanesha soars to new heights when he picks up an electric. One can still hear the graceful lyricism and deeply devotional flavor of his acoustic playing. But the marvels of modern guitar electronics awaken new dimensions of tone and expressiveness. “For me, it’s the way I can most totally express my heart and soul,” he says. This expanded tonal palette became the foundation of the GuruGanesha Band. Multi-instrumentalist Hans Christian’s masterful handling of saranghi, sitara, cello and nickel harp add a breathtaking range of instrumental colors. Bassist Gurusangat Singh and tabla player Daniel Paul anchor the sound with earthy east-meets-west grooves. Longtime GuruGanesha cohort Sat Kartar Singh lends an organic flavor on acoustic guitar. And every beautiful note sung by the gifted Michelle Hurtado is deeply drenched in devotion.

" We

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are Human"

call to advertise! 1-866-804-8444 BE PART OF A GLOBAL COMMUNITY!

The GuruGanesha Band’s inaugural West Coast tour begins on March 15 in Encinitas, CA, and culminates on April 12 at Sat Nam Fest West in Joshua Tree, CA. Look forward to an intimate evening with one of the great innovators of world devotional music.

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Calendar OF EVENTS “star’ heralding Maitreya shown on NBC, CBS

Jerusalem Dome of the Rock

Learn about the World Teacher Maitreya Introductory Presentations 3 pm 1st Sunday of month Controversial Bookstore 3063 University Ave - SD 6:30 pm 2nd Wed. of month Philosophical Library 2091 E. Valley Parkway #D Escondido

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 FEBRUARY 15

FEBRUARY Maitreya manifests

FEBRUARY 1 WEDNESDAY HERB FORULA MAKING & SYSTEMS APPROACH (Open to everyone – Part of Clinical Master Herbology Certificate (CMH)™ Program). Learn way of herbs, self-help, Clinical Master Herbology for professional practice. Herb formulas: cleansing, building, balancing organs, glands, blood, lymph, muscles, nerves, emotions, other energy systems, common symptoms. Highly effective methods — NBC 1/28/11 newscast combining clinical and scientific with traditional, holistic and energetic approach Learn about the — will be fully integrated into a system of World Maitreya making balancedTeacher and individualized herb formulas. Uniquely comprehensive, easy Presentations to learn. Introductory Steve Schechter, NP, HHP, NHI Director, integrates 3 pm 1stdifferent Sundaytraditional of month systems of herbal formula making – the Controversial Bookstore height or apex of herbal medicine! Natural 3063 University Ave - SD Healing Institute, 760-943-8485, www. naturalhealinginst.com

Cairo Horseman

6:30 pm 2nd Wed. of month

FEBRUARY 4 Saturday Philosophical Library

2091 E. Valley Parkway #D Escondido

SD cable public access channel Wed 9:30 pm Cox Sat 5:30 pm Time Warner

Visit our booth at local street fairs

Serve through Transmission Meditation 9:30 am Sun, 7 pm Tue and 8 pm 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

You’re always welcome. Visit us at www. YogaattheVillage.com or Call 818-2659833 GATE 2.0 Transformational Story Conferences. 9am to 5pm at The WADSWORTH THEATER, 11301 Wilshire Blvd. For more information, complete list of performers, presenters and tickets, please contact www.GATEcommunity.org FEBRUARY 4-5 Sat-Sun Reiki 1: Energetic/Vibrational Healing. Heal both yourself, others. Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485. FEBRUARY 6 - 13 Monday Aromatherapy –Certified Clinical Aromatherapy (CA)™ program. Learn self-help, plus enhancing professional practice. Taught by world renowned Aromatherapy instructor. NHI had the 1st State Certified Aromatherapy program in U.S. Course covers all Aromatherapy aspects. Natural Healing Institute, 760943-8485. FEBRUARY 7 Tuesday 7pm “A Better Life with Isabella Stoloff” on internet radio http://w4wn.com/ In today’s world with so much on our plates it can be a bit overwhelming. Join Isabella Stoloff Shaman.Speaker.Spiritual guide for her new show A Better Life, Tuesday nights 7pm Pacific and 10pm Eastern. Isabella has experienced many challenges in her life and wants people to know they are not alone. Each week she will have an information packed hour on a range of topics. So tune in and enjoy a better life! Interested in being on Isabella’s show? Do you have tips to create a better life? Call 714-603-8624 check out healing videos @ www.ochealingcenter.com or email isabella@isabellastoloff.com

For LA/SF info about events & Transmission Meditation groups FEBRUARY 8 Wednesday 7:30-9pm Group Healing-Chakra clearing other cities: YOGA AT THEin VILLAGE. Introduce your mind to your body. 200 Hour Hatha (818) Yoga TeacherLA: Training. We785-6300 also offer 300 SF: www.sharingforpeace.org Hour on-going Training. Call and drop in to sample any training session. We are a Yoga www.share-international.org Alliance approved RYT school.

meditation with Isabella Stoloff $25. At SMHAS in Irvine, CA. RSVP 714-6038624 or www.ochealingcenter.com FEBRUARY 10-13 Fri-Mon COME TO THE CONSCIOUS LIFE EXPO

VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M

What if 2012 is actually a tipping point, the marker of an historic time in individual and planetary evolution. What if there really is a new consciousness, a planetary consciousness, rising in our midst as the Mayan Calendar and Galactic Alignment crescendo might suggest. At the 2012 Conscious Life Expo we explore the vast alignment of people and ideas that constitute this transformation. Join us. Check out the early-bird Get-Away Packages if you’re planning on staying the whole weekend.: Join these amazing speakers at the 2012 Expo: Dannion Brinkley, Eric Pearl, George Noory, Gregg Braden, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Laura Eisenhower, Susan Miller. Maria Russo, Jason Martell, Susan Shumsky, Vickie Gay and many more. Visit www.consciouslifeexpo.com to register and find out more about this life-changing weekend. This is a year not to be missed. Exhibit Space Available 800.367.5777. FEBRUARY 8 Wednesday Feb. 6: Aromatherapy – Certified Clinical Aromatherapy (CA)™ program. Learn self-help, enhancing professional practice…. In-Depth. Practical. Covers all aspects. Taught by world-renowned instructor. NHI had the 1st State Certified Aromatherapy program in U.S. Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485, www. naturalhealinginst.com FEBRUARY 11 Saturday F.A.I.L.S.A.F.E. elimination diet infoValley Center Library Sat Feb 11, 11:00 a.m. to Noon See www.fedup.com.au. or email bhtnc@hotmail.com. Learn about natural food chemicals, salicylates, amines, etc. FEBRUARY 12 Tuesday Marketing, Business Development. PRODUCTIVE, COMPREHENSIVE, experiential, FUN. Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485. FEBRUARY 14 - 21 Wed Vitamins & Minerals – Certified Clinical Nutritionist Consultant (CNC)™ Program. Preventive, therapeutic uses of vitamins, minerals, appropriate doses, quality, 7:00

pm Natural Healing Institute, 760-9438485.

YOGA MASSAGE Or Yoga For Lazy People! Bring your Sweetie or a Good Pal! with Elyse Briggs, ERYT-500, NCTMB YOU WILL LEARN A ONE-HOUR ROUTINE THAT YOU CAN PRACTICE WITH ANYONE IN NEED OR JUST BECAUSE ITS FUN! BOTH GIVER AND RECEIVER GET A GREAT WORKOUT. FEBRUARY 18 Saturday YOGA AT THE VILLAGE The practice of Iyengar yoga focuses on proper body alignment which allows the body to develop harmoniously in an anatomically correct way, as well as guiding the mind into the proper channels to make the body a fit vehicle for meditation. Because all bodies have different weaknesses and strengths, Iyengar Yoga applies the use of props (wooden blocks, chairs, blankets and belts) to help the body into the correct positions so that one can work in a range of motionthat is both safe and effective.

FEBRUARY 15 Wed Herb Formula Making & Clinical Master Herbology Certificate (CMH)™ Program. Learn The Way of Herbs for self-help and Clinical Master Herbology for professional practice. Herb formulas for cleansing, building, and balancing organs, glands, blood, lymph, muscles, nerves, emotions, other energy systems. Herbal formulas for common symptoms. Highly effective methods of herbal medicine—combining clinical, scientific, traditional holistic, energetic approaches— integrated system of making balanced individualized herb formulas. Uniquely comprehensive. Easy to learn. Steve Schechter, NP, HHP, NHI Director, integrates different traditional systems of herbal formula making – the height, apex of herbal medicine! Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485. FEBRUARY 17 Friday 7:00-9:00 Peruvian Mediation with Isabella Stoloff @ The Narrow Gate Studies soiree; a metaphysical study group. No charge. RSVP omnibloom@ gmail.com FEBRUARY 18 Saturday YOGA AT THE VILLAGE 1:00 - 4:00pm A VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL! THAI

FEBRUARY 25 Saturday 7pm-8:30pm Join Isabella Stoloff for a very special evening of Healing through Movement at the Temple of Light Cost $25.

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 past life healing tools and certification via Linda Howe’s Center for Akashic Studies. $325, Burbank location. Pre-Registration: 818-415-3479, www. YourLifeandSoul.com, AkashicLA@ gmail. com FEBRUARY 28 Tuesday Antioxidants: Certified Clinical Nutritionist Consultant (CNC)™ Program. Preventive, therapeutic uses, appropriate doses, quality, 7:00 pm Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485. Steve Schechter, NP, HHP, NHI Director

MARCH

MARCH 1 Thusday Understanding Lab Assessments & Clinical Health Analysis. Blood chemistries, urine analysis, saliva hormone testing, stool analysis, much more. 6:30 pm. Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485.

FEBRUARY 26 Sunday, YOGA AT THE VILLAGE 9:00am-12:00 Noon Sutra Study with Nancy Goodstein Hatha Yoga offers a rich physical study, but it’s practitioners know its most rewarding gem is for the mind and guidance towards a life of well being. It is for clear teachings in this we turn to, The Sutras of Patanjali. FEBRUARY 26 Sunday YOGA AT THE VILLAGE 1:00-4:00pm Back Bends with Back Bend Prep with Carl Dawson, ERYT-500* Backbends are exhilarating, strengthening, opening and move you into the unknown because you can not see where you are going. Back bends encourage strength and energetic flow as they release tension and blockage. This workshop will explore the best way to improve your backbend, explain how and why it works, and why, sometimes, it doesn’t. TEACHERS: Earn continuing education units toward your Yoga Alliance renewal

MARCH 15-23 Peru sacred adventure equinox in Machu Picchu. For more information Please visit www.StarEssence.com, call 888-277-4955 or email Bliss@StarEssence.com

FEBRUARY 24-26, Fri-Sun AKASHIC RECORDS PRACTITIONER

Grow your business for 2012!

MARCH 3 & 4 Sat and Sun Shaman Certification Course with Isabella Stoloff. First part of a 4 class series. Become the Shaman in your own life! 714-603-8624 www.ochealingcenter. com isabella@isabellastoloff.com

Call us 1-866-804-8444

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Calendar continued MARCH 15-23

APRIL

APRIL 6-8 FRIDAY-SATURDAY SPRING RENEWAL WEEKEND – Renew your body, mind and soul with guided meditations, energizing exercises, simple meals, music and good fellowship. Refresh your spirit in the natural beauty and tranquility of Sunburst Sanctuary, www.SunburstOnline.org, constactus@ sunburstonline.org or 805.736.6528

ONGOING MARCH 17 Saturday Vision Magazine presents BOOMERANG “A New Monthly Community Cabaret for 2012” at the WorldBeat Cultural Center 2100 Park Blvd. (Balboa Park) San Diego, California Saturday, March 17th 8PM til Midnight Vision Magazine is presenting a new monthly event at San Diego’s WorldBeat Cultural Center that will feature LIVE Visionary Art, Music, Dance and Education with a positive message. Come join us at our Spring Activation Party featuring the Bay Area’s HOTTEST Eco-Afro-LatinFunk Band “AFROLISCIOUS” and the Pleasuremakeer Djs. Joining us as our keynote speaker will be internationally renowned Peace Maker and author Doug Noll sharing from his new book “Elusive Peace” a book on the new paradigm of WORLD PEACE. Included in the celebration will be Dr. Bronner’s booth with samples of their latest products. International Cuisine and Beverages will be available for purchase from the World Famous Prophets Restaurant. Admission $12 at door. Call Kennedy for more information 619-294-2393 MARCH 30-APRIL 1 FRI-SUN DEVELOP YOUR SOULD HEALING POWER WITH MASTER SHA and Master Ximena Gavino and Master Peggy Warner – Divine Healing Hands Training Program Live in San Francisco and via webcast from India! Unique and Extraordinary Training Program. Experience Divine Healing Hands Blessings Master Sha’s Healing enter 1549 California St. San Francisco, CA 94109 www.MasterShaSoulHealingCenter.com 888.339.6815 www.Dr.Sha.com Facebook.com/ZhiGangSha

FENG SHUI MASTER TRAINING CERTIFICATION 4 weekends of January 2012 at The International Feng Shui School with Amanda Collins. Please visit www. AmandaCollins.com for more information 3.11 FREE MEETUP GROUP with SPIRITUAL COACH John Abe. Learn Universal Enlightenment with “I Am Totality.” Build your life to order, do nothing to accomplish everything. Join Meetup.com to learn times and locations of “I Am Totality” Meetup Group. 1-800-584-1640, www. iamtotaltiy.com.

SUNDAYS Harmony Grove Spiritualist Association

Services

Incorporated and Serving ALL in California Since 1896

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

Psychic Fair

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

Sunday Soul Awakening Services Join Tom & Trisha Kelly for all or part of your Sunday practice. 8am Meditation. 9am Sacred Movement Yoga. 11am Yoga Church Not in the Encinitas area? Log on to Soul-TV.com! The Soul Center 627 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas www.soulofyoga.com 760.943.7685 SPICA – WAY OF LIGHT INSPIRATIONAL SERVICES 2nd Sunday of the month at 10am, 4th Sunday at 9am. Myztic Isle Bookstore, 8036 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA. 619.588.6483 for information. LOOKING FOR A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY? You are always welcome at the Celebration of Light Church. Visit our website for program. www.CelebrationOfLightChurch.org. Vicente @ 23rd St. – San Francisco. 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 Colbert Meets: 1st & 3rd Sunday Mornings 10:30 a.m. to Noon with cookies CALL FOR DIRECTIONS SOLAR RAIN WATER – Good for you and Good for the planet. Find out more. www.solarrainwatery.com.

MONDAYS

FREE PSYCHIC READINGS every FIRST Monday 7:30p.m. by students in Vessa’s INTUITIVE INSIGHTS Clairvoyant Program, 4455 Morena Blvd. #108, 858.509.7582 www.MyIntuition. Net 12.11

Certification and Personal Growth Classes

$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.

Private Readings Available Information about Speakers & Directions

TUESDAYS

• Mediumship • Healing • Ministerial • Ordinations

760-745-9176

Escondido, CA www.harmonygrovespiritualist.org

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

CLINICAL NUTRITION (CNC) ™. Introductory or Full Certification. Special Discounts. Most comprehensive training from nationally honored Nutritionists. Revised! 7:00-9:55 pm. Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M

WEDNESDAYS MIRACLE CIRCLE MEDITATION Connect with your inner divinity through deep meditation, inspirational prayers, and group discussion. 7p.m.-8p.m. Teaching of the Inner Christ 1100 N. Second St. Suite 1114 El Cajon, CA 92021. 619.447.7007. Soul Live! 7pm - Join Tom and Trisha Kelly each Wednesday night ‘Live’ for this new interactive spiritual talk show with an exciting line-up of very special guests. Not in the Encinitas area? Check it out at Soul-TV.com! The Soul Center 627 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas www.soulofyoga.com 760.943.7685 2nd Wednesday of every month: FREE Feng Shui Classes. Please visit www.AmandaCollins.com for more information. 3.12

ONGOING WEDNESDAYS CLINICAL MASTER HERBOLOGY (CMH)™. Introductory or Full Certification. Special Discounts. Most comprehensive training from nationally honored Master Herbalists. Revised! 7:00-9:55 pm. Natural Healing Institute, 760-943-8485. www.naturalhealinginst. com

THURSDAYS

FREE DETOXIFICATION AND WEIGHT LOSS CLASS 1st Thursday of every month. 6:30p.m. Easy and successful program. Register @ Body Basics Health Center, San Diego. 619.296.7390 11.11 GODDESS Gatherings 3rd Thursday of every month. Please visit www. AmandaCollins.com for more information 3.12

FRIDAYS

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. 09.11

Kevin

v i s i o n a r y

a r t i s t

Radthorne Kevin Radthorne is an author and illustrator who finds inspiration among the tall trees of the Pacific Northwest. His illustrations have appeared on book covers, Web sites, trading card games, and at art show displays at science fiction and fantasy conventions. His influences range from Maxfield Parrish to Alphonse Mucha, up through James Gurney and many other contemporary artists with positive images of beauty and hope. His written characters, both honorable and devious, populate his series of Asian-themed fantasy novels, “The Tales of Tonogato.” A theme of choice, the decisions one makes in life that are rarely black and white but often difficult shades of grey, runs throughout the books (amidst the adventure and magic, of course). At Kevin’s Website, www.KevinRadthorne.com, one can peruse the complete first chapter from one of his books and view his art gallery. His latest art pieces are also viewable at radthorne.deviantart.com.”

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“Ken Lesser” continued from page 13

in the Comfort Technology with her own money to avoid a confrontation and possible argument with their spouse. Because the Comfort Technology looks like an ordinary digital clock, when it is added to the home, there is no discussion about why did you get a new clock. And three, most people who are aware of the electropollution problem have many in their circles of friends who don’t think it is a problem or don’t want to discuss it. People have shared with me that they take their “pet clock” or “good luck clock” with the Comfort Technology inside with them frequently when meeting at the homes of family and friends or even when they go visit the doctor, dentist, or other health practitioners who are not addressing electro-pollution. They simply ask if they can plug in their good luck clock, and people indulge them. If the people in an environment notice a difference, then the subject of what the good luck clock is actually doing can be brought up. Second, it makes it convenient for travel because of its compact size and function as a clock with a wake-up signal included. Finally, it makes it convenient for public speakers and for meetings to both be able to keep track of time as well as bring better energy into a room for people to be more relaxed, focused, and attentive. VM: I have the Comfort Clock near in my bedroom and I’ve been experiencing multiple dreams. Why would you say that occurs? KL: The toxic electro-pollution radiation makes it harder to relax into the lower brain wave states that promote more dreams and more vivid dreams. Jack Canfield, co-author of over 100 million “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, reports, “I keep a Comfort Technology Clock next to my bed and another one in the credenza behind my desk in my office. What I have noticed at home is that I sleep more soundly, have better dreams, remember more of my dreams, and awaken very refreshed.” VM: How does the Comfort Technology work? KL: The Comfort Technology works in the Unified Field subtle energy realms to create a strong, stable, soothing, coherent field of energy that is believed to create a change in the form and structure of the electro-pollution to mitigate the stress and irritation it causes. A way to understand this is to think of a process that perhaps we are familiar with in our personal lives. There is a saying that a person is known by the company they keep. Another way of saying this is that a person’s vibrations will become like the vibrations of the dominant people around them. There are many recorded instances of out of sorts or very ill people with low vibrations having a healing or changing their vibration to better match that of a profoundly loving spiritual being like Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, etc. That is why some people refer to the Comfort Technology as a “Clark Kent clock with Super Powers,” or call it a “guru in a clock.” VM: How can people learn more about this? KL: People can learn more by visiting AdvancedLivingComfort.com. They can also call 303.284.8461 to schedule a FREE evaluation to learn more and discuss options for their individual needs. You can’t put a price on the positive effects, and you can know, when you choose to own the proven Comfort Technology, that the investment is one of the best decisions you have ever made. Kenneth Lesser is the CEO of Advanced Living Comfort. For more information on Comfort Technology, please visit www.advancedlivingcomfort.com, call 303.284.8461, or e-mail comfortclock@advancedliving.com.

“Julie Newmar” continued from page 25

VM: What is the secret to passionate living? JN: Well that would be, being in the moment. Definitely, no question. I was born with perfect pitch in music; that’s quite a choice thing. And to me it’s a very simple thing. You just get still and hear. I guess that’s why people like to go to the mountains or look out beyond the ocean. There’s all that distance for connection. The whole point’s to fall in love with yourself anyway, and your life, of course. You want to do that as much as you can. So falling in love with others is a good way of practicing. And that is a moment-to-moment experience. It’s funny, it’s almost musical in a sense. People will come to your tone or your key. Be irascible, they’ll be irascible. Complain, other people will sense [it], return your complaints— their complaints—to you. Pick your methodology about living. VM: How did acting change the way you engaged in the world? JN: Well, it gave me more world to engage in, because acting has a bigger audience than dancing has, or lute playing, I don’t know. [Laughs.] I wrote a wonderful essay; I have it on my Web site. (I have two Web sites, Julie Newmar Writes, and my main Web site, JulieNewmar.com.) So I’ve decided in my next life I’m going to be a pianist. Well, I’ve practiced, so I’m halfway there. Everyone gets a choice. I mean, if you’re buying a ticket to Japan, I hope you’ll get off in Japan! VM: Do you ever get tired of speaking of your iconic role of Catwoman? JN: No, not really. It’s like being a woman; I don’t get tired of being a woman. As a matter of fact, [in my] next life I’m going to be a female. I like how men treat me, and despite [the fact that] I’m not answering your question, the answer is still no. I don’t get tired of it and it’s lots of fun. It’s a winning character as far as playing character roles. It wasn’t hard to play. I mean, I didn’t have to go out and learn Chinese. VM: If there is anything that you have learned that has made the most difference in your life, what would that be? JN: I must say I would give credit to this wonderful Abraham-Hicks. I started out as a Christian Scientist, so that gave me a makeup, sort to speak, in being attune to higher thoughts. Religiosity—I liked it, I enjoyed it. I loved Sunday school. I now of course follow that strain of thinking. And most of us do in a way. I really think that all religions say the same thing. So we’re all in the harmonious balance whether we think it or not. But I’m unduly impressed with the teachings of Esther Hicks. VM: Could you briefly explain the teachings? JN: It’s a modern version of Christian Science, and probably the most cuttingedge wherewithals of thinking that we can do in our ordinary and extraordinary lives. It’s a kind of guidepost to me. It’s my teacher. Give credit; I give credit. So I think that’s a fair answer to your extraordinary question. The 2012 Conscious Life Expo in Los Angeles will take place at the LAX Hilton, February 10-12, with a post-conference on Feb. 13. (Julie Newmar will be speaking Sunday the 12th at 3 p.m.) To view workshop and free lecture schedules, to purchase tickets, and to learn more about the Expo, please visit http://2012.consciouslifeexpo. com.

VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E • FE B R UA RY 2 012 • W W W.VI S I O N M AG A Z I N E .C O M

This is a lifestyle enhancement program designed for teachers and anyone wishing to create balance in their lives, delve deeper into spiritual practices and learn to connect with their inner wisdom, guide and intuition.

Hemalayaa

Jeffrey Armstong

Allison Stillman

Geeta Maker-Clark, MD

Felicia Tomasko

Rita Soman

Hilary Kimblin

Jason Weisgerber

Flo Lysaght

S. Stephen Huntsman

More information at www.HemaWellness.com or to register, call (866) 436-5621