Carolyn Vinup

This is one of her many taglines: “Creating sacred space where your soul can dance.” Carolyn is passionate about cultivating conscious spaces and her work is powerful and transforming. She integrates Feng Shui, sound healing, qigong, space clearing and blessing techniques in her work with individuals, businesses, events, integrative health and wellness centers. She is a seasoned event producer with over 25 years of success. Host of the audio program “Edge Learning Well” on Edge Talk Radio (first Tuesday of each month), Carolyn coordinates learning opportunities in integrative healing and wellness for Normandale Community College.

How does she define herself?

“I am a creator, a collaborator, a visionary, a developer and a maximizer,” she says, “who makes great things happen. I am a big picture person who can also dive deep into the details to turn ideas into a reality. I am action-oriented, focused, clear and productive. I explore the possibilities for developing and growing businesses, specific business areas, programs, ideas, and events. I attract partners who want to be the best they can be and share their talents, gifts and strengths with the world. I create opportunities for everyone to win.”

People like Carolyn Vinup create an environment for the holistic community in the Twin Cities to thrive. The following is an interview The Edge conducted with her, so that you know more about someone who is making a difference.

Carolyn, your business resume is impressive and you are to be commended for the work you are doing to motivate, inspire and expand awareness for businesses and individuals. I’m curious, as a young girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Carolyn Vinup: As a young girl, I always valued having freedom, being independent, creative and curious. I valued having the freedom to choose, think, and have my own ideas. If people tried to force me to do things their way or squash my spirit, I would fight to get “out of their box.”

My parents were entrepreneurial. They demonstrated the versatility and benefit of having multiple income streams. They were farmers when I was young, so they had to be resilient, independent, creative and problem solvers. Then they owned an Our Own Hardware store where I watched them run a business while my younger sister and I rode tricycles down the store aisles as they did inventory, book keeping, merchandising and marketing on the weekends. Then my father went to work for a plastics firm where he rose from warehouse to VP and became a designer for many product prototypes.

My mother worked, as well, in the plastics factory and then as a bookkeeper for a jewelry firm, and then worked for years in the hospitality and catering business for Leeann Chin and D’Amico & Partners. She retired at 78 from the catering business but still works with my nephew Antonio and cares for the plants at Parma. Toward the end of my father’s life, he ran a hearing aide business and then was a courier. My parents loved to remodel homes and made the inside of their homes beautiful, and the outside gardens were their pride and joy. Both parents were active, willing to try new things while providing for our family. It wasn’t always easy, but they were strong, resilient, independent, get-it-done sort of people.

I started working in the hospitality business when I was 18 and quickly rose to manager for LeeAnn Chin while attending college at the University of Minnesota. I graduated with a Political Science Degree, wanting to defend the underdog, but my true love expanded when I started in the catering business, managing parties for Leeann Chin, becoming the operations chair for a benefit for the hungry and the homeless called Taste of the Nation, and then my true love really exploded when I worked for Apres’ Party & Tent Rental, where I became the Sales & Marketing director and was involved in some of the larger events in the Twin Cities — Super Bowl 1992, opening of the Target Center, and the U.S. Open. I managed thousands of parties in my seven years there. Being in sales allowed me to control my own destiny again and I experienced freedom to create, connect, develop and grow.

I started my own business in 1998. I wanted even more freedom. I was tired, exhausted and not very happy. Mike and I were both working so hard, we didn’t have much time together and our little girls were growing up. We wanted more flexibility, time to be a family and have some fun.

My first business was called Vinup, Unlimited, Inc. I named it Unlimited because I wanted a name that would expand and grow with me. In 2001, I started another business called Creating Sacred Space, my holistic practice. In 2005, I created HPSS Global, Inc. and combined my other two businesses, events and wellness into one. I still run HPSS Global but became aware in 2008 that I needed to shift again and started working with my own name as a brand.

In 2010 I was hired to take on a new project for Normandale Community College for WorkForce Partnership & Development. This gave me an idea: I would create a website that communicated the work I was doing for the project I was working on. It became my current resume of work. Now I was creating something brand new again, working with dislocated workers, career changers and job seekers. I utilized my abilities to network, connect people, places and things and produced large events called “Join a Different Herd – Rebrand Your Career” with 600+ attendees and created a new program called the New World of Work. Currently the Carolyn Vinup website is about ready to launch, combining my three areas of focus, business consulting for: Integrative Health, Events, and WorkForce Partnership & Development.

I am grateful that my businesses, websites and marketing have morphed with me as I have changed and developed. They are a clear reflection of my vision and mission and who I am in the world right now. It’s important to stay flexible, fluid and open to the gentle nudges that lead us on our journey in life. I know that the universe is conspiring to co-create with me. As one project finishes, another will open. We are always growing, changing and becoming something.

What or who were the major inspirations for you in your life that led you to become this spark of creativity for others?
CV: First, my family – my husband Mike, who loves me unconditionally and just allows Carolyn to be Carolyn, and my daughters Elise and Haley, who love seeing me happy. Cyndi Dale co-created Vinup Unlimited in a business development session in May 1998. After that session, I felt like a large metal hook with a heavy chain attached to my heart yanked me forward, and that’s when my life really shifted. It’s like I was yanked out of one life path onto the path I am currently on. Since that time, I have trusted and known that my life is guided and supported. It was my job to learn how to communicate, act on and expand into what I was going to become. I honor Carole Hyder, with whom I studied in 1999 and 2002 to become a certified Feng Shui consultant, and I honor Jonathan Goldman, with whom I studied in 2001 and really expanded my understanding of vibrational energy, the power of sound and the impact I could have by consciously working with sound formulas.

You have quoted spiritual author and speaker Alan Cohen, who wrote: “Your entire world could open up with one expansive thought!” Did this happen to you?
CV: Dare to be you…Wake Up…What are you waiting for…Illuminate your brilliance…Dance in the magic of the universe…this life is your playground…have some fun! These are my internal mantras.

These were all examples of expansive thoughts that had a huge impact on my life. I recognized that when I was in the energy of these thoughts, my life flowed better and I was magnetizing opportunities to me. I began to play more thoughtfully with the principles of the law of attraction, the power of intention, listening and paying attention to the nudges and signals from the universe, taking more classes and expanding my knowledge of holistic practices, trusting and honoring my intuition, playing games to manifest my wishes and desires, and recognizing when I needed to reach out and do some more internal work when I would bump up against limiting beliefs and negative inner-self talk.

When I created HPSS Global, this quote was on the website and my intention for all who worked with me was to “Illuminate Brilliance for All.”

What is your intention and what is your goal when coordinating events and classes at Normandale Community College, and through the monthly program “Edge Learning Well” on Edge Talk Radio?
CV: I feel so lucky to be part of the Health, Wellness and Integrative Health Education team at Normandale Community College. Brenda Dickinson, dean of Continuing Education and Customized Training, is a champion for health and wellness. She is entrepreneurial, visionary and strategic. Sunny Ainley, associate dean for Health & Wellness, is strategic, business savvy and a marketing expert. Terry Clegg, the Health & Wellness Coordinator, is a holistic professional and instructor cheerleader. And I am a business developer, brand expander, program specialist, talent spotter and event producer. Combining all of our talents together creates an amazing opportunity to expand the Integrative Health Education Center and become known as the go-to place for classes, programs, workshops, training, certificates and special events.

“Edge Learning Well” on Edge Talk Radio gives us a voice to expand awareness, cultivate consciousness, developing community and partnership, sharing insight and knowledge and making the world a better place.

If people were to ask me what my vision for Integrative Health Education and Businesses in the Twin Cities is, I would say: to expand awareness, cultivate consciousness, developing community and partnerships, sharing insight and wisdom, and ultimately making the world a better place.

The big question for you is this: in this downturn of the economy, which is particularly hard on small, holistic businesses, what advice do you have for small business owners to not only survive, but thrive, in 2012? To what extent is the internal work just as vital or more so compared to the external things that need to be done?
CV: Here’s what I do. First of all, I focus on what I can create and control. I tell myself, people are still doing business with other people and organizations and I ought to be one of those people they are doing business with. So, I am the one in a million who is thriving and growing and expanding.

A local restaurant group says that in a downturned economy, they open up a new restaurant. Their thought is, people still go out to eat and they want to see what’s new. I do the same thing. I open to the new possibilities and set an intention that says, “Allow my talents and strengths to be noticed, seen and utilized and allow my business to expand and grow during these times.”

Small businesses also try to do it all themselves. That takes them away from doing what they love to do and make money doing it. Be willing to hire other professionals to do the things in your business that drain your energy. By sharing abundance with others, it will be shared back to you. It’s impossible to be good at everything.

What are the most important things for businesses to consider when branding themselves?
CV: You are only as good as the last project, client or experience you create. Make everything you do a home run. If there are issues, make it right. Become part of winning teams. Today’s world is about collaborating, teaming, partnering. Teams come and go as needed. It’s active, fun, creative and fluid. Stay current with technology. Know who you are. Position your business for your areas of expertise. Don’t try to be something you’re not.

What are the most common approaches to business that no longer apply now in 2012 — and why do they no longer work?
CV: Lack mentality — holistic businesses have a terrible time with this thought form. It needs to be shattered. This pattern never did work — ever! If you are clear about the type of business you are, the kinds of clients you want to attract, then be open with who you are, share your talents, gifts and strengths with the world. Get rid of what you don’t want so you can make room for more of what you do want!

Carolyn, what I’d really love is for you to give us an overview of the holistic community. How would you describe the holistic climate in the Twin Cities?
CV: In my world, it’s alive and growing. We could all combine our efforts and create a morphic field that spreads the thought form, “All is well in the Twin Cities. The holistic community is alive and well, sharing its talents with the world. People from all over the world flock to the Twin Cities to work with the holistic community here, because of the talent, inspired and healing work that is taking place here.” That’s how I view it.

You collaborate with a lot of businesses and individuals. What is the recipe for success when collaborating with others?
CV: The recipe for success…is that everyone wins. I am a developer. I generate hundreds of ideas and like to be part of teams that are willing to grow, and create something new. I love to hear other people’s ideas and weave the ideas/concepts together. I like to be part of projects where something has to be figured out and we get to be creative in how we provide solutions.

Brenda Dickinson, Dean of Continuing Education & Customized Training gave this quote to me, and she said, “Carolyn this is who you are”:

“The best collabornauts are good at making connections, both human and intellectual. They are constantly on the lookout for new ways to benefit from combining forces with partners. They venture into unfamiliar territory, make deals, and return with knowledge that transforms their home world. They bring organizations closer together, introduce people, and build relationships among groups that can initially seem like aliens to one another…they convince their colleagues to forget the old rules and try something new, something that comes from having partners.” — Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author of Evolve

What do you do, personally, to maintain your sense of hope and optimism, especially when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel?
CV: I am in touch with my energy and body signals. When I am in a place of flow, information, people, places and things show up very quickly. To me, the secret is determined by how much fun I am having. I know I am in a place of flow when I am laughing, being playful and creative. I have to create something almost daily in order to feel alive. When I am not creating, laughing or having fun, I know I have fallen off my stream of energy where all things are possible. When this happens to me, I sometimes just get into the car and drive. Driving and moving seems to jump start my creative thoughts and information and solutions start to show up again. I also take this time as a signal for me to pay attention to me. I will get a massage, get my hair cut, clear clutter in my house or office, do a blessing ceremony, play music really loud so I can chant and sing to shift the vibration in me, the house, where ever I am. I focus on the inner talk that’s going on inside my head and remind myself that I need a new story, a new message. I surround myself with people who love me. I forgive myself. I go out to eat with my husband Mike, I play with my dogs and I go to movies, theater or get outside.

I am creating another business website right now called ManifestingMamas — a place where I can be playful, creative and share thoughts, ideas and create a community where we can join forces together to make wishes come true.

For more information on Carolyn Vinup, visit CarolynVinup.com and www.HPSSGlobal.com. Email CarolynVinup@yahoo.com. For more information on Integrative Health Education through Continuing Education at Normandale Community College, call 952.358.8133 and visit www.normandale.augusoft.net.

The critically acclaimed and Academy Award-nominated film Food Inc. – filmmaker Robert Kenner’s exposé of corporate farming in America – also is one of the top-grossing theatrical documentaries of all time. In the three years since its release, Food Inc. remains part of the conversation as America wrestles with obesity, diabetes and other health conditions that are linked to the poor quality of food consumed by Americans and produced by only a handful of multi-national corporations.

Director Robert Kenner will appear in Duluth to speak about the making of Food Inc.

Until seeing the film, many Americans did not know that food production has changed more in the past 50 years than it had in the last 10,000 years. They didn’t know the extent that food corporations force growers to stay in debt, that animals are not the only species being mistreated by the food industry. And they didn’t know how often corporations put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our environment.

Kenner will speak on Food Inc. at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Romano Gym at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, brought to campus by Access For All. A question-and-answer session will follow the lecture. It is free to the public and will be interpreted in ASL.

The event is co-sponsored by: Duluth Whole Foods Co-op; Wellness Renaissance; Essentia Health; Duluth Grill; Slow Food Lake Superior; The Edge Magazine; UMD Office of Sustainability; UMD College of Liberal Arts; UMD College of Education and Human Service Professions; UMD Swenson College of Science and Engineering; Medical School Duluth; UMD School of Fine Arts; College of Pharmacy Duluth; UMD Labovitz School of Business and Economics; UMD Office of Civic Engagement; UMD Food and Vending Services; UMD Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation; and Minnesota Public Interest Research Group.

“I will be talking about making of Food, Inc. and the surprises I had along the way and where I’m going from there,” Kenner said in a phone interview with The Edge.

The filmmaker remains devoted to public education. He’s currently creating a campaign of short videos called “Fixed Food” to help drive a consumer-led change toward more natural and organic food that is sustainable and in balance with the environment.

Kenner’s video campaign is expected to launch in November, but in the meantime he said the food industry — through the Alliance to Feed the Future, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association — is preparing to launch multi-million-dollar campaigns of its own to convince Americans that the food it creates is healthy.

“On one hand the consumers are ready to make these great changes,” Kenner said, “and on the other hand, some of industry wants to change and some of it wants to go on the offensive and talk about why they are serving the healthiest food, why this processed food is the healthiest and best food we can get.”

What was your intention in making Food Inc. and did that intention change by the time the film was completed?
Robert Kenner: My original intention was to have a conversation about how to feed the world and is our food sustainable, our food system, and by the end I realized that so much of the industrial food world was not ready to talk to me. It was very hard to have that kind of a conversation. So much of our present day food system is off limits to the consumer. They don’t want us peeking behind the curtain to see how this food is made – “they” being the industrial system. It really does not want to engage in a conversation about how this food is made.

You’ve said in an interview that you weren’t wanting to preach to the converted, but to enlighten people who were not aware of what is going on.
RK: I am hoping really to expand the circle to let people know. I guess I started to make this film because I was curious to know where our food came from, how it’s grown, what’s on our plate and what it does to us. I had no idea how difficult it would be to make that film. I wanted to make a film for people who had not thought about their food, people who are just eating this stuff and just presuming it is not a problem and that nothing’s changed, when in reality, our food system has changed dramatically in the last 40 to 50 years.

What challenge did you face in tackling the role of the multi-national corporation in our food system? Did any of them speak to you for the film?
RK: Well, they spoke to me off the record, constantly. I tend to think if I had made the film a few years earlier they would have spoken on camera, because no one thought that the food system presented any danger. I had a friend who made a film on Frito-Lay and they were able to talk about getting to the heavy users. By the time I was making Food Inc., they realized they can’t be seen talking about such things.

Makers of the small documentary King Corn had a hard time talking about high fructose corn syrup.
RK: Industrial food makers don’t want you thinking about where your food comes from and what’s in it.

Do you think the public’s desire to know that is growing?
RK: Absolutely. People are becoming more and more concerned and people are becoming more and more aware that this system presents dangers. I also think the industrial food makers are about to engage in a campaign — spending close to $100 million, different groups are spending $30-40 million dollars — to tell the public that this processed food is good for you, that we should be eating more meat, all the things that we might have questioned. But ultimately, people are becoming more aware and more conscious that we have to put better things in our stomach and this system is making us sick.

I listened to a recent interview about nutrition, specifically the amount of education doctors get in nutrition. It was said doctors only get 30 hours of study in nutrition during medical school, and if there was a greater emphasis on nutrition, it would make the country a lot healthier overall.
RK: What is the saying, “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.” That used to be how we lived, and today, we have companies that are plying us with massive amounts of sugars and salts. Now we have to come out with new diabetes drugs. So they are on the one hand making us sick and on the other hand providing us our cure.

How did the making of Food Inc. make you feel personally? Did it change your life?
RK: Well, it makes me much more conscious, both about what I’m putting in my stomach, as well as to the role of corporations in our society. Some are trying to change things, but there are many others that are willing to sell you food that is making you sick — and they are ready to put pressure on the government not to be regulated in any form or fashion, even though they are getting massive amounts of subsidies from the government.

While watching your film I was struck by how it epitomizes the whole discussion of corporations’ role in our everyday lives.
RK: I think on some levels that Food Inc. became about more than just food. I had no idea that was going to happen when I started to make it.

What has been the result of the film overall? Has it made a difference?
RK: I think it’s made a huge difference. I have been very pleasantly surprised what kind of reception it has had. We were one of the most successful selling DVDs of the year. And more people saw it on the internet than they did on DVD and/or in theaters.

It became part of a conversation, which was very exciting. I think it fed into what is a growing movement out there. People are concerned. Organic is the fastest growing segment of the food business. Ultimately this movement is being led by moms, who might not have thought about where their food comes from, or dads, or parents buying food for their children, and parents want their children to eat healthy food. It’s not democrats or republicans, it’s parents.

People felt their lives were changed on some levels. This is a growing movement, and Food Inc. was one of the many things that played into this movement, along with Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, films like King Corn and all that’s out there. It’s really helping to change. People are being affected by it.

I even take encouragement by people like Jamie Oliver and his “Food Revolution.”
RK: Oh, of course! Listen, when I travel around, the food that you saw going to the school system was frightening. You would not want to feed it to dogs.

For those who have not seen Food Inc., what positives can people take from the film?
RK: First of all, I know a lot of people were scared to watch the film thinking it would be filled with upsetting images. We really tried to go out of our way to make a film that you didn’t have to keep your eyes shut to watch, but could open your mind instead. We tried to add as much humor as possible.

I think the ultimate positive, if you look at this in a historical context, is that things change. Tobacco is a great example. People lied about what the effect of cigarettes on our health was. They stood up and said things that were absolute lies — lies that they were fully aware of — and testified in front of Congress. But as people started to understand what those lies were and people understood how unhealthy those cigarettes were for us and how much they were costing us as a society, we eventually put taxes on those cigarettes and were able to change patterns in this country and save lots of money and lives.

Industry will fight any form of regulation and they don’t want to pay for the externalities that they are creating. But at the same time when we start to understand what those externalities are, I think we will, as consumers, want to start to become healthier and change our own habits.

I think I am much more optimistic about consumer-driven change than I am governmental change. Anything can happen in government, but I do think we consumers can drive true change. Look at how people complained to Wal-Mart about the growth hormone in the milk. Wal-Mart changed its policy. That was a surprise for me, too, by the way. I had no idea that Wal-Mart would end up being a good guy in our film.

For more information on Food Inc., visit www.foodincmovie.com

Center for Conscious Living: The renewed vision of LHSC with Theresa Rose

Theresa Rose offers an inspiring Sunday message at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community | Photo by Wendy Houser Blomseth

MINNEAPOLIS — The names have changed, but the energy beneath the dome at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community remains just as refreshing and awakening as ever. It inspires people to reconnect with their true nature, go beyond what they thought was possible and embody the soul that yearns to be expressed.

The energy here inspires change — perhaps the only constant in the community’s 23-year history in the landmark church building at 44th and Upton Avenue South in Linden Hills. Sitting high in the neighborhood, towering over the shopping district to the north and the tree-lined homes leading down to the banks of Lake Harriet to the east, the silver-domed structure is home to one of the nation’s most vibrant spiritual communities. And while many inspiring speakers, worship leaders and members have come and gone since 1988, every transition has inspired the community to evolve into a new expression of what is now.

One senses when speaking to current leaders that Lake Harriet Spiritual Community (LHSC) is in a completely new space, one that it has never been in before. It as if this collection of eclectic souls is coming out of the closet to its city, fully accepting of itself for who it is and no longer afraid to be judged for being different by its neighborhood.

New spiritual director Theresa Rose – an ordained minister, national motivational humorist, award-winning author of Opening the Kimono: A Woman’s Intimate Journey Through Life’s Biggest Challenges, wife and mother — acknowledges that the LHSC is relaxed as it embarks upon a new path of integrating with its more mainstream neighbors by recognizing their shared values of seeking a balance of body, mind and spirit.

“We’ve changed our tagline to A Center for Conscious Living,” she says, “and we really want to create Lake Harriet Spiritual Community as a center for Minneapolis and St. Paul to come for not only Sunday services, but for classes and workshops and concerts and movies and other performance art.”

It sounds like it may be an opportunity for Lake Harriet more than ever before to announce itself and really step out into the Twin Cities community as a whole.
Theresa Rose: That’s exactly right, and that is our intention. We not only want to introduce ourselves to the larger communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but we also especially want to extend our hands out to our community in Linden Hills. Those are the people who hear the concerts coming out of the sanctuary, and they’re the ones who come to yoga classes, and they’re the ones who walk to our Sunday services.

We really want to be more integrated with our neighbors in the Lake Harriet area. Connection to our community is good. We want to support members of our community who can walk to where we are and whose businesses we support locally. So, it’s a real synergistic relationship we’re trying to create with our local neighbors.

Recording artist Michael Monroe performs | Photo by Wendy Houser Blomseth

What is your vision of what a Center for Conscious Living is?
TR: It is a gathering place where we offer services, classes and special events that support one’s personal spiritual growth. Anything related to consciousness, anything about increasing our own awareness of our power and developing a spiritual relationship with the Divine – walking on this Earth with a light footprint.

We don’t want people to just merely see us as a church. Sunday service is just a small portion of what we’re offering, and we’re continuing to expand. For example, we are having Gina Citoli come in September for a fundraiser for LHSC and present her Cabaret of Consciousness, a concert that we’re going to be sponsoring with her.

And we’re very excited about Allison Scott, who is going to be here on October 13 to do a fundraiser for us. Allison is a phenomenal singer who is starting to really make a name for herself in the Twin Cities music scene. She has been identified as one of the up-and-coming musical artists and has a really large following. She is a soulful singer who plays at the Dakota and at festivals. She has been a musical guest at one of my Sunday services, and we’re fortunate to be able to have her come for an entire concert. We hope that new people can come see LHSC as the result of their connection to Allison. I encourage everyone to check her out. She is really, really wonderful.

Our goal is to build our presence in the community by bringing in events and offerings like this to appeal to wider audiences.

Is there a reorganization of what’s already existed at Lake Harriet or are there new ideas that are being implemented into this vision?
TR: Both. First of all, there is a reorganization of what we’ve already done, but we have also endeavored to include a lot more offerings than we previously have in the past. We want to not only offer classes and services for people who are well down the path of spiritual development, but also for those who may be just beginning, opening our doors to them, as well.

We’re looking at things that we haven’t looked at before, like fitness classes, nutrition classes, parenting classes, relationship classes, different things that really haven’t been happening at LHSC. I want to even bring in a hula hoop class, because that’s a great way to get in the body.

We want to support the body-mind-spirit triad by looking at things we hadn’t brought in previously because we were focusing solely on metaphysical studies, whereas now we’re really expanding our vision.

What sparked this change?
TR: The universe started pushing us in different directions with some people departing the community and new people coming into the community — and different inspirations developed. One of our motivations is to maintain a thriving community, and to do that we really want to offer what people want.

This is not an exclusive club. We want it to be an open community, a really thriving center. And so, change was something that was being called for.

What is changing at Lake Harriet from a leadership perspective?
TR: We have restructured the spiritual leadership at LHSC. Previously, as you and your readers may be aware, we had ministerial guides. Those ministerial guides were elected for a period of two years and they led one Sunday service a month. There were anywhere from three to five MGs, as we called them, and then we occasionally had guest speakers.

As the community has evolved and morphed, what the community decided was that it would be more effective, and ultimately more of a representation of who we are, to have one spiritual director and a group of resident speakers. Resident speakers are leaders in the spiritual community nationally who were not able to commit to once-a-month services as a typical ministerial guide and did not want to be too terribly involved in the day-to-day operations of the community.

We have selected four of our six resident speakers so far, and they are going to be doing services on a quarterly basis. They include: noted jazz vocalist and radio personality Patty Peterson; spiritual teacher, healer and Pleiadian channel Christine Day; intuitive, author and “Michael” channel Linda Elwell; and intuitive counselor Cindi Claypatch. All of these people come from a different perspective, from their own unique perspective, from a spiritual development perspective, and from a consciousness perspective, but they all are in such harmony with the energy of LHSC and they all bring a unique voice. That’s what we’re really excited about, that they’re going to be here on a regular basis and be able to provide that sort of leadership to us.

And then, we’re going to continue to have guest speakers once every month. We’ve had such notable guest speakers as Leonard Jacobson and Kathryn Harwig, and all sorts of different people from different realms have shared their expertise with us, and we encourage differences. We want to see lots of different voices and we want to hear from these amazing teachers who can share with us their own guidance, their own messaging.

What is the value for somebody to become part of this spiritual community?
TR: I think the value lies in the welcoming, nurturing community that we offer. It’s more than just a beautiful building and more than just a calendar of events. We are really creating a spiritual family, a spiritual community that can provide all of those tools that we need to traverse this world and to get through the challenges that we face. The value is helping you move into a greater place of joy and health and connectivity to the Divine. That’s what we offer.

Maybe for some it is just about entertainment. So if you want to see wonderful music being played through joyful hearts, that’s what we offer, too. Everyone is looking for something different, but our goal is to provide that sense of home — a spiritual home for people.

What will a first-time visitor experience at a Sunday service at Lake Harriet?
TR: They will experience a morning full of inspiration and music, meditation, fellowship, community and lightness. That’s the through line of every single Sunday service, whether it’s me who is delivering the service or one of our resident or guest speakers. Each week will be completely different, but visitors will get some nugget of what they can do to move in this world with more grace and more connection and more power. They’ll hear from lots of different sources on how to do that.

The community is building and it’s very loving, and I’m really excited about how we are all becoming the best of who we are as individuals and as a community. We’re really rising above a lot of fear and really stepping into our power more fully, both as individuals and as a community.

It’s a really beautiful thing to be witnessing, and I’m really just privileged to be a part of this.

For more information, please visit www.lakeharrietspiritualcommunity.org or search for Lake Harriet Spiritual Community on Facebook.

Annette Bruchu was gifted early in life with an opportunity to explore two of the Earth’s most basic elements: water and stone. The Minnesota native grew up in a home built near a rock quarry. A stream ran through the property, and as a young girl, Annette spent time playing with the stones, with the water, and in the process she discovered a connection with herself.

She now is an intuitive healer who, in concert with a group of other healers, assists people in connecting with their true selves, their intuition and wellness. At the Helping YOU Heal Center in Stillwater, MN, she and others offer their healing touch and intuitive gifts, and in doing so, they bring balance to themselves.

Annette says her upbringing was a spark that inspired the woman she would become.

“My entire childhood was indirectly guided towards the metaphysical world because of where I grew up,” she says. “I believe that stones and water are two of the earth’s elements that are simple, but yet powerful, sources of energy that aid in our awakening and inner understanding. Because of this environment, I was fortunate to discover the gift of metaphysics at an early age. I was able to actually liberate the gift in the early stages of my life.”

Her path toward healing was not unique, for many holistic practitioners are raised believing that traditional careers are the only option.

“I once thought that I had to be successful in a traditional career to serve a purpose,” she says, “but I soon learned that helping others to achieve their success — whether it be through physical or emotional healing, success in their relationships or guiding them in awakening their gifts — was my purpose.”

She felt an inner desire to connect with and help others. The healing came easy, and soon her clients responded to it and began to heal. “I felt good as a result. This feeling not only inspired me to continue to help people, but it also helped me to realize that this was the work I was supposed to be doing.”

The result is the wide array of services, classes and events she now offers at the Helping YOU Heal Center at 1775 Industrial Blvd. in Stillwater. Private healing sessions. Personal intuitive readings. Healing and intuition blended in a single session to promote balance. Foot ionizations to promote healing. Energy massage. Aura photos to show the energy coming from you. Other healing – Reiki, Qigong, Healing Touch, Craniosacral and Myofascial Unwinding, and much more – is offered by a collective group of energy healers who collaborate with her.

And she offers a variety of classes:

• Intuition Tuesday — Going strong now for more than four years, this class is from 7-9 p.m. and is open to the general public with no registration required. The fee is $15.
• Interactive Thursday – Offering more of a hands-on approach, the public is invited to drop in to take part in mind exercises, meditation and activities to promote more insight from 7-9 p.m. The fee is $15.

“Everyone has inner knowing, but not everyone listens to it or trusts it,” Annette says. “When your inner knowing awakens, you begin to see and hear the energies around you. And when you talk to them, they hear you. It’s exhilarating when you finally get it. For those who don’t hear or feel it, it can be an inner annoyance, because the knowledge arrives in bits and pieces or messages that don’t make sense. That’s when people call me.”

Annette also offers classes on ghosts, workshops on crystal healing and gallery reading evenings where everyone’s questions get answered.

She says these challenging times require us to be gentle with ourselves and to follow our intuition related to what we do and the people with whom we spend our time.

“The way we start our day often determines the tone for that day,” she says, “so it is important to allow yourself to wake gracefully. You may want to wake to a gentle meditation CD, some favorite music or the sounds of nature. Do your best to enter the day on your terms. It may not always be possible, but make it happen when you can.

“Let your body live. Your body has normal, everyday functions like breathing. Take time to breathe. Fill those lungs with air and do it often. It’s free! When possible, surround yourself with people who make you feel good. There will always be people who are on this planet to ruin the moments in your day. After they are gone, it’s your day again.”

Contact Annette Bruchu at 612.247.9719, email helpingyouheal@msn.com and visit www.UnemployedAngelForHigher.com.

An Edge Interview

By any stretch of the imagination, people who randomly pick up her books and browse through them would declare them to be science fiction. But author and lecturer Dolores Cannon, a regressive hypnotherapist and psychic researcher, says the truth can be much stranger than fiction.

Her many books focus on such topics as Nostradamus, Jesus and the Essenes, the Afterlife, the original birthing of humanity on Earth, Past Lives – and everything from the birth of the planet to extraterrestrials and abductions shared in an ongoing series of books entitled “The Convoluted Universe.” They arise from Cannon’s unique technique of regression using hypnotherapy that taps into the “Superconscious” of the client, revealing not only past-life issues that affect the client in this life but information related to mysteries of the universe. That’s not all. Cannon’s hypnotherapy clients also are being healed spontaneously of diseases and conditions as serious as life-threatening cancer.

Her latest book, The Three Waves of Volunteers and The New Earth (Ozark Mountain Publishing), reveals that since the two atomic bomb explosions in Japan in 1945, three distinct groups of souls representing beings from across the universe have been volunteering to be birthed as humans so they can uplift the frequencies of Earth and help prevent a global catastrophe.

• The First Wave: Now in their late 40s to early 60s , these volunteers are disturbed by the violence, anger and hate that they experience on Earth. They have had the hardest time adjusting to life as humans, and many of them try to commit suicide.
• The Second Wave: Now in their late 20s and 30s, these volunteers are more comfortable in bodies and are said to be beacons or channels of energy who can affect others just by being near them. Their mission of just sharing their energy with others means they don’t have to do anything but just be.
• The Third Wave: The new children, many of whom are now teenagers, have all the knowledge needed to exist on the planet after the dimensional shift and transformation takes place. Their DNA is more advanced, and the greatest challenge they face is being misunderstood by humans as having a condition (ADHD) that needs to be medicated.

The challenge for these souls, Cannon said, is that when they are born they lose all conscious memory of who they once were and why they volunteered to be born here in the first place. She shared more about these volunteers during a phone interview with The Edge from California while on a national tour to lecture and teach her hypnotherapy technique to others.

For those who have not heard of you or are not familiar with the vast amount of information you have gleaned from your willing hypnosis clients, how would you describe the thread that ties all your work together and what does this new book add to what you have already done?
Dolores Cannon: Well, I’ve been doing hypnosis for over 40 years. I developed my own technique down through the years. It’s not like any other hypnosis technique out there. We are able to contact what I call the greatest force there is, and it’s a source of all knowledge. I found the way to have it come through every single person that I work with, and I’ve worked with thousands of people.

In my classes, I teach others how to do what I do, and we have found we can have instantaneous healing in just one session working with this power, because it can come through anybody. This is what I am teaching now all over the world.

When you see thousands and thousands of clients, as I do as a therapist and a counselor, you begin to see a common thread going through many of the cases. Earlier on, it used to be that everybody would go back to a past life and I’d find some of the answers there, and then I’d explore the source of all knowledge to answer all of their questions and do the healing.

Just in the last five years or so, I began to see clients who weren’t all going into a past life on Earth. I began to find they had never been on Earth before and that they had come here directly from God, from the Source, from other planets, other dimensions, where they were light beings.

That’s the common thread that I have been finding, and that’s where I came up with the theory of the three waves of volunteers. When I began talking about this on my radio show and on “Coast to Coast” and at all of my events, people began contacting me from all over the world saying, “Finally, it made sense.” They said, “I thought I was the only person in the world that felt like that.” Like they didn’t belong here and they wanted to go home. They did not understand Earth. They just knew this wasn’t home. They didn’t know where home was, but they knew it wasn’t here, and they all wanted to leave because Earth is such a strange place. And they began to find out, “Well, I’m not the only one out there.”

That makes them feel a whole lot better, that there are thousands of people who feel the same way. Well, we found out why – because they have not been on Earth before. They are part of this special group that have come to help us through these times we are going through right now.

What are the volunteers here to do and why should we, as citizens of the planet, be interested in their presence here.
DC: They’re here to save the Earth, because the ones who are caught on the wheel of karma cannot do it. They are so ingrained in their own karma and repeating their same mistakes over and over again that there is no way they can keep us from blowing up the world. But souls coming in that are pure and have never had any lives on Earth can do the most good.

But now in body, these people don’t have any memory of why they came. They come in and an amnesia descends on the person and they don’t remember why they are here. But this group has an energy that they have to project. It is a loving energy that will change the mindset here on Earth. It will change history, just them being here. They don’t realize they are doing it, but they are generating positive energy to offset the negativity of the world.

But they don’t want to be here. They don’t like it here. They don’t understand Earth: “What am I doing here. I want to go home.” They just know this is not where they’re supposed to be, but they’re here to generate positive energy that will benefit everyone. They are here to raise the vibration of Earth.

Some of these people, especially the second wave of volunteers, said they can walk through a crowded mall and their energy will affect everybody they walk past. They don’t have to do anything. This energy is just projecting out of them, and it influences everyone in positive, beautiful way. So the average person should be grateful for that, because it is changing the vibration of the world and getting it away from negativity.

Toward the end of the book you even talk about a fourth group of volunteers, the Keepers of the Grid. Can you tell us about them?
DC: That was something I discovered as the book was being put together. I have written about Atlantis many, many times in my other books, in the Convoluted Universe series, and I thought that I had found all of the information on Atlantis, on why it went down, but I learned that Atlantis wasn’t the only civilization that was destroyed. There were many, many others before that.

Each time when people got to the point when they were using energy in the wrong way and couldn’t control it, they had to be stopped. And every time, everything would be reset on this planet. The civilization would go back to the primitive stages and start all over again.

That’s why they don’t want to have it happen this time. They don’t want to start over with the planet and begin life for humanity one more time.

Then I learned about the Keepers of the Grid. During a hypnotherapy session, a woman went back to Atlantis and was telling me the prime reason for Atlantis being destroyed. It was not what I’d heard before, and I told them, “I’ve never heard this theory.” And they said, “That’s because we’ve never told it to anyone before, so it’s new theory.”

I was told that there were scientists at the time of Atlantis. I thought they were fooling around with crystal power, and they were, but there were others who were fooling around with what they called Dark Matter. I was told that this is the same thing scientists are doing now when they are fooling around with what we call Anti-Matter. In those days, they were trying to do the same thing, out of curiosity, to create their own universe and wormholes and things like that by experimenting. They said we have to know this, because the scientists are doing the same thing now. The Large Hadron Collider experiment in Switzerland is the same thing. They are messing around with Anti-Matter. The scientists who are now fooling around with the Collider experiment don’t have any idea what they are really doing, and it’s very highly dangerous.

In the days of Atlantis, this experimenting got out of hand. The Dark Matter began to collapse the grids of the Earth, so outside observers from the universe had to step in and stop it at that point.

Many of these people are coming back into body now, and their job is to energetically rebuild the grids of the Earth. But none of these people, the waves of volunteers or the Keepers of the Grid, know this consciously. But their presence here is extremely important.

If those experiments had continued at that time in Atlantis, it would have broken down the grid of the planet, causing an implosion of the Earth, and it would have reverberated to the point where it would have broken the grids down of the entire Universe. But they stopped it before it got to that point, but destruction took place.

Do you find that there are spiritual seekers out there who are curious if they are volunteers?
DC: Oh, yeah, a lot of them ask me that. Many people, who go back to past lives still have karma to be repaid, have written and e-mailed me saying, “I think I’m first wave” or “I think I’m second wave.” Because they resonate with the description of what they are. But, we never know until we do the session if they are or not. There’s always those people who want to be these things, and then you’ll find after you do a session there’s nothing there at all.

I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of these cases, and that is when I began to put the whole story together and it began to make a theory that I’d never heard before.

Perhaps it doesn’t really matter if we know that information, if we’re volunteers or not, and we should maybe just focus on living our lives the best that we can.
DC: That’s what I tell everyone. That’s why the memories were taken away, so we can just live and do what we’re supposed to do. The job is to help everybody, to help people. That’s the purpose of everyone who comes to Earth, even though they don’t realize it.

You’re not here to get rich and drink and party and all of that. You’re here to help each other, so if they’re doing that, at least they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing in some way or another. There’s a lot of different ways to help each other. But, it’s better off if you don’t know why you’re here and then you can just fulfill your mission.

From the surface, it seems to me that the average Joe who picks up your book for the first time might look at it and say that what you have here is science fiction.
DC: I have some people at my lectures who say, “You’ve got to be the best fiction writer in the world!” There’s no way on Earth I could make this stuff up.

I have 16 books out there now, and all of it has come through the cases I have worked on with the average person just walking in off the street. I did not know these people until they came through the door of my office, from every walk of life you can imagine: CEOs of companies, professors of colleges, priests, shamans, and many ordinary people. I have not found anyone who has not had a past life. So, that should be one answer to the skeptics out there. It’s never what they were looking for to be the answer to their problems, but it’s definitely not fiction.

To me, this is real because I’ve worked on it for so many years, and it makes perfect sense to the client because it explains their problems and they can understand where it’s coming from. They put it into place and they can go on having a normal life. But even the average Joe who picks up my book is fascinated by it. They say they may not understand these concepts, but it makes them think, and that’s the important thing. They’ll know it’s not fiction once they get started into it.

Something inside of them will resonate with them when they start reading it?
DC: Yes. When I began writing The Convoluted Universe series, I wondered if anybody out there would be able to understand it, because I said that book is for people who want their minds bent like pretzels. Readers said the same thing: “It makes us think.” We go into all kinds of concepts and theories that even people who have studied metaphysics for years have never come up with, so it’s interesting.

My job is just to produce lost information and bring it back to our time. But, yeah, people when they read it say, “I know this and I don’t know how I know it, but I know it and I know it’s true.”

For more information on Dolores Cannon, visit www.ozarkmt.com.

An Edge interview

Dolores Cannon’s latest book, The Three Waves of Volunteers and The New Earth (Ozark Mountain Publishing), reveals that since the two atomic bomb explosions in Japan in 1945, three distinct groups of souls representing beings from across the universe have been volunteering to be birthed as humans so they can uplift the frequencies of Earth and help prevent a global catastrophe.

• The First Wave: Now in their late 40s to early 60s , these volunteers are disturbed by the violence, anger and hate that they experience on Earth. They have had the hardest time adjusting to life as humans, and many of them try to commit suicide.
• The Second Wave: Now in their late 20s and 30s, these volunteers are more comfortable in bodies and are said to be beacons or channels of energy who can affect others just by being near them. Their mission of just sharing their energy with others means they don’t have to do anything but just be.
• The Third Wave: The new children, many of whom are now teenagers, have all the knowledge needed to exist on the planet after the dimensional shift and transformation takes place. Their DNA is more advanced, and the greatest challenge they face is being misunderstood by humans as having a condition (ADHD) that needs to be medicated.

In this concluding Part 2 of her interview with The Edge, Dolores continues the discussion of how the Universe is responding to an ailing planet Earth.

This new book and many of your other books talk about the fact that humanity on planet Earth was seeded from more advanced civilizations in the Universe, just like we would seed plants and watch them grow, but it seems like something has gone wrong with the growing project here on Earth.
Dolores Cannon: That’s just people creating problems. There’s nothing gone wrong with the seeding. Because when they seeded the Earth, they said, “Let’s give this beautiful planet a creature with intelligence and knowledge and free will and see what he does with it.”

We’re the only planet in the Universe that has free will, and along with that is the Star Trek directive that is not fiction: the Law of Non-Interference. Once you have created a civilization, and have given it free will, you cannot interfere with the development of the civilization. So they have to just sit back and watch what we’re going to do with free will and how we run our world. Everything we do is our own doing, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

I like the discussions in your new book about the Prime Directive, because on one hand it seems like even the small step of sending volunteers onto the planet could be some mild form of interference.
DC: I explain that very carefully: It is them giving us an advancement. Every time Earth has needed another advancement, it has arrived.

Down through history, when the creators were living among the people as they were developing the planet, they lived for so long that the people considered them to be gods. That’s where the gods of theories and legends came from. Every culture in the world has a legend of the culture-bringer, such as the Corn Woman of the Indians, the different ones who bring them the next advancement in their civilization, and this has been down through time.

Now that we have so many people on the Earth, they can’t live among us, so they put the idea out into the atmosphere. They don’t care who invents it, as long as it’s invented in the timeline.

I asked them, “Isn’t that interference, to give us these advancements that we need?”

They said, “No, it’s a gift we give you one time, and then what you do with it is free will.” And they said, “Most of the time what you do with it is not what we intended for you to do with it. You turn it around, turn it into a weapon or something.”

And I said, “Well then, can’t you come and tell them they are not doing it correctly?”

They said, “No, that is interference.”

That’s the difference. And that’s why they had to step in with these volunteers, because at the end of World War II they saw that we had discovered atomic power and we invented the atomic bomb.

I said, “Well, we do use it for positive. We use it for electrical power.”

And they said, “No, it was not as it was intended to be because it was invented as a weapon. That way it will always have this aura of negativity.”

We were not supposed to get it at that time. They knew we couldn’t handle it, that we could destroy the world with it.

There are councils that oversee everything in the universe, using rules and regulations. Nothing is by chance. They went back to the councils and they said, “What are we going to do? We can’t interfere.” They came up with this brilliant plan. “Well, we can’t interfere from the outside, but maybe we can influence from the inside.” This is when they asked for the volunteers to come in to help Earth. Earth is in trouble – who wants to come and help? So all these new, pure souls that have never been caught on the wheel of karma have come into body. Hundreds of thousands of them have come in since the end of World War II.

They told me, “Now we have tipped the balance,” and they think we are going to be able to save the Earth. It’s not interference.

A comment was made by the superconscious aspect of a client in the new book that said, “I would say God be with you, but we are all God, and we are all One, so we are all together all the time.” What have you learned over the years about the concept of God and the concept that we are all One.
DC: That’s what I lecture on. The basis of all my work is that we are all God, that we all came from God in the beginning and we can never be separate from Him. We think we’re alone, but we’re never, ever alone. We are all part of God and we are Him. We are God. People don’t realize the power they have. They can do anything. Nothing is impossible. They said many, many times that there are no limitations. You just have to know what you want to do and set out and do it. Once you realize how powerful you are, because if you’re all God, then you can do anything.

You have written extensively about the transformation of the planet, that as its vibration rises, a New Earth will emerge. Is there a general guideline that you can point to to tell somebody whether or not they are on the right path to being part of the New Earth?
DC: I tell people at the lectures that if they are interested in these kinds of things, then they are on the right path. There are a lot of people who are so deep into negativity that they don’t want to change. They like the negativity. They like the drama and all the things that are going on. They are the ones that are not going to go. But that’s okay, we’ll all get there eventually anyway.

The key is that you cannot change the frequency and the vibration of the body too quickly, because it would destroy the body. It has to be done gradually.

But the ones who are into negativity, they will stay with what they created. They can’t change that quickly. But, it’s all right. They are where they are supposed to be. You’re not supposed to worry about them. You’re supposed to think about yourself now and moving into the future and doing the very best you can. If someone else is into negativity, that’s their thing to work out. We can’t work out anybody else’s problems for them.

What have you learned lately about the New Earth that you didn’t know before?
DC: It’s an ongoing process of questioning, because people at my lectures are always asking so many questions. When I ask about that during sessions, they’ll say, “We can’t tell you everything, because we don’t know what’s going to happen. We can’t answer all your questions because we don’t know. This is the first time it’s ever happened in the history of a universe that an entire planet is going to change vibration and frequency and move into another dimension.”

So, they’re not really sure what’s going to happen, but it’s the greatest show on Earth. All of the ETs and all the beings from the other planets are all watching us from out there. They all want to see if we are going to be able to pull this off. It’s so important and it’s never been done before.

In my new book I’m working on now, The Convoluted Universe: Book Four, I include more information since The Three Waves was written. I keep coming with more information, little bits and pieces. The New Earth is a concept we don’t really know because it’s an amazing process that has never happened before. It’s extremely important.

What information are you personally interested in learning more about at this time?
DC: I just head directly to whatever comes as I am working. I have so much information, enough for three books. I decided to pull out the information about the three waves because that was what I was lecturing on, what everybody was interested in, but there’s tons of other information that I have to figure out where to put it. Every time I do a session, we get some more information on some of this, but that’s my job. I’m the reporter, the researcher, the investigator of lost knowledge. It is my job to get it back and bring it forth in our time. So, I’m interested in whatever comes from the next client.

I’m curious about the people you are teaching to do what you do. Are they learning to be reporters just like you are?
DC: I am teaching this all over the world. I have trained more than 2,000 people. On this trip I’m on right now we’ve already taught 150 people, and we’re teaching more and more and more. I had 91 students at a class in Perth in Australia.

We set up a support group for my students so they can contact us and let us know if they’re having any problems, so we’re following their progress. They are experiencing the same miracles that I am experiencing. They are able to have the instantaneous healing. They are learning how to do it, and I’m really proud of all these students all over the world. Not everyone who takes the class is going to go and do it, but the ones we hear from are having dramatic results. So I found out that my technique IS teachable, and others can do the same things that I do.

You describe in your book healings that take place related to particular issues that the client has asked about. The superconscious apparently responds that there is a healing that can be done to help remedy a situation. Do you know more about how that process works?
DC: It’s amazing, and this is done with everybody we see.

First we have to find out the cause, because clients make themselves sick. Everybody does. You’re not supposed to ever be sick. You’re not supposed to have any aches or pains. If you have any symptoms at all, the body is trying to give you a message, and you have to figure out what the message is. Once we do that in the session, you learn whether it came from a past life or this life, why you made yourself sick, and it goes away instantly.

I’ve had people come to my office in Arkansas from all over the world with all kinds of illnesses. I see lots of cancer patients. A lot of people come who are scheduled for surgery. If we can get them before they have the surgery, they don’t need it. That’s the beauty of this. It is instant, and to me it’s very gratifying to see the person walk out completely cured.

I see when the superconscious is working on them, because it works with white light energy, shooting it through the body to the affected places. I can see the body jumping and jerking as the current goes through them. It is miraculous, because it heals instantly.

That’s the main reason that I’m teaching people how to do this, and I’m working all over the world. That’s why I travel so much, to go to these countries to teach more and more people. The healing aspect is the greatest part of my work, I think. I like to write about the information, but I really like to do the healing. Remember, I am not doing it, the client’s superconscious is doing it. I’m just the facilitator. I found how to allow it to come through so the person can heal themselves. So, it’s a very fascinating process.

Do you think in time that there will be a way for a person to do this whole process of healing through the superconscious without the need to visit someone like you?
DC: I used to say this is the therapy of the future, but now they’re telling me that it’s a therapy of now. People don’t understand the power of their minds. That’s why you can have anything you want. You can create anything you want. There is no limitation, so this also relates to illness.

So, yes, there will be a time, and people are already learning how to do it on themselves, but right now, because I work in the deepest possible level of trance, they need someone to ask the questions because they can’t do it themselves or they would fall asleep if they go that deep. For now, it’s better to have someone to ask them the questions and work with them to go through the process.

Of all the information that you present in the new book, what would you love to share with every single person on the planet right now?
DC: I think we’ve been talking about it. We are moving into a new frequency, a new dimension where it is going to be the New Earth, and it’s going to be extremely beautiful. They have described it in the books – the beautiful colors, that everything is total love.

We’re moving away from the negativity of the Old Earth, and it’s going to be a complete turnaround, beyond belief, and we’re all going there now. The New Earth is where it’s at. The Bible in the Book of Revelations talks about the New Heaven and the New Earth. That’s the same thing we’re having now. It’s just that St. John, when he had the vision on the Isle of Pathos, didn’t realize it was going to take another couple of thousand years before it was going to happen.

The most important thing is that we are living in the most important time in the history of the universe, and it’s very important to be here now. There are thousands of souls who want to be here to experience this – even if they can just be here for a few hours. They say even if they’re born and die right away, they can say, “I was there when this occurred.” This is how important this is to the entire Universe. So, you’re living in a very wonderful time that will never be repeated again.

Are there any specific directives for people to make the most of this experience living here now, in terms of meditation or diet or mindfulness?
DC: Meditation is very good because it relaxes the body and it helps the body a great deal, and they have told us many times about the diet. If you’re going to move into this other dimension, the body has to become lighter, so you stay away from the heavy meats that pull you down, especially beef and pork.

They say the best diet is live foods – fresh fruits and vegetables, organic if possible. You can have some chicken or fish, because they are lighter. But, stay away from sugar and to drink lots and lots of water. They said the value of water is beyond belief.

They said we are going to find more and more people who are going to be drinking liquid diets. When I mention that on my radio show, people will say, “I wondered why I’ve been wanting to have more smoothies.”

After we’ve been on the New Earth quite a while, we won’t need to eat anything at all, so we’re going that direction. Lots of people at the lectures ask, “Do I have to die to go to the New Earth?” No. You’ll take your physical body with you. This is a gradual process. You won’t even realize when it happens. It’s not just going to be bam and then you’re there. It’s a gradual process – and then way, way, way down the road, we will turn into beings of light.

What are the most common questions you get at your lectures?
DC: They always want to know, “What about my family, my husband, my children, are they going to go, too? How can I be sure they’re going to go?” You can’t. You never know another person, no matter how much you think you know them. You don’t know what their plan was when they came into this world. I tell people that each of us has to make up our own mind if we’re going to go or if we’re going to stay. We can’t do it for someone else.

For more information on Dolores Cannon, visit www.ozarkmt.com.

Native Australian Christine Day, a spiritual teacher, healer and author, has channeled information from extraterrestrials known as Pleiadians for the past 20 years, seeking to assist and awaken humanity during this acknowledged time of great transformation on planet Earth. Through a channeled healing modality, Frequencies of Brilliance, and book, Pleiadian Initiations of Light, she has offered people tools to awaken consciously to their true nature, and a new online teaching program that is being introduced – the Pleiadian Enlightenment Academy – will allow people worldwide to access information now only offered during select seminars.

Christine Day

Speaking through Christine Day, the Pleiadians said this about the new online program:

“This ‘Language of Light’ work has been brought forth at this time to enable those of you who feel called to do so to take giant steps toward your own enlightenment process. We have crafted energies that will support you in being able to move back into a place of re-alignment to the Self, and remembrance of your place within the Universal Consciousness.

“The time has come for many of you to reconnect to this aspect of your Self, so that you can navigate your place within the Collective. As you make your way back towards Self, you undergo a transformation that enables you to hold an “energetic platform” – an energetic mirror, as it were – for others to meet that aspect of themselves. In this manner, you enable many other humans to follow in your footsteps. This is part of your mission here, it is what you came here to do, and now is the time for this unfoldment.”

Christine Day spoke with The Edge from her home office in Minneapolis about the Pleiadians in general and the expanded teaching in particular, as well as her upcoming three-day Pleiadian Seminar on July 22-24 at the Ramada Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.

For those new to the Pleiadians, can you briefly explain who they are and why we should take note of their presence?
Christine Day: The Pleiadians are here at the moment on our Earth plane and they are bringing their energies here to support us in these changing times, in this new dawning that is taking place on our Earth plane. We are going through a birthing of a new dimensional consciousness on the planet. The Pleiadians are here to work with not only the Earth’s energy, but with each one of us if we are willing to open up for the support that they bring. Part of that is just holding space around us to birth ourselves.

They are not bringing anything to us. They are assisting us in birthing ourselves. They call this time the New Dawning, and they say we are the New Dawning, that every human being is a New Dawning and is part of the birthing of consciousness that is going on. So that is their commitment, to work with individuals and the collective energy on the Earth.

Let me ask you something that came from a channeling I heard a number of years back. It related to the fact that the people on Earth are doing something that maybe no other beings on any planet have ever done, and that is to consciously evolve themselves and their planet. Would you have anything to say about that?
CD: Well, I totally agree. The principle message the Pleiadians are bringing to everybody is the importance of the role that we are playing here in this experience of having a human experience and awakening consciously to our awakened states. They emphasize how important it is for us to embrace our humanness and to honor ourselves for the courage it has taken to come here and have this experience of being human – and birthing consciously into our enlightenment.

They say one of the most important things for human beings to understand right now is the journey of loving ourselves as human beings and understanding we’re going through a deep, changing relationship with our humanness. They say that we are helping human beings to understand their humanness, and that what we need to do is turn back towards ourselves with much love and compassion for everything we’ve experienced here on our journey so far in this lifetime. So, absolutely, I totally resonate with that.

For people who may be new to the spiritual path, explain what it actually means to “awaken.”
CD: It is a remembrance process. Awakening is the gradual opening up and understanding of ourselves as being more than this limited human aspect living on this third dimensional illusion.

There is this shift in consciousness taking place on the planet, birthing from the third dimensional planet to a fourth- and fifth-dimensional planet. It is bringing us slowly awake into remembering that we are interconnected with other human beings, that we are interconnected to the natural forces, to the Earth, to the Sun, to the trees and the plants. We have this interconnected consciousness, this Goddess, within us. It’s about slowly waking up and having direct experiences, suddenly feeling a deep loving connection with Nature, with another human being and understanding they’re not alone.

Part of that waking up is understanding that we actually have incredible, unlimited abilities to create and be magical creatures. The third dimensional mind, the ego-mind, is not who we are. As we connect to our heart, we start to connect and remember our magical aspect of ourselves. That is what is taking place.

Birthing back to our heart actually is a very simple process. It’s not complicated. In the process of feeling your heart and connecting to the Spirit of yourself you remember and wake up to your magic.

Fear doesn’t exist in that magic. That’s really a very third-dimensional thing, the fear, the struggle, the tiredness, the belief that we don’t have enough. All of that is connected to the ego-mind.

There is a lot of fear out there, especially a lot of fear being put out about these changing times. And the fact is, there is nothing to be afraid of, because when we connect to that part of ourselves that is magical, then we are able to relax and rest in this changing place, in the birthing that’s going on.

There is a lot of suggestion by religion and by the media and by movies and entertainment that these times that we’re in are the End Times and the world is going to end. But aren’t we actually just moving from one level of consciousness up to a higher level?
CD: Exactly, and the Pleiadians say this is your next step. They remind us that we have said yes to being here at this time. Each one of us has made a pre-agreement to be here on this Earth plane at this time to be in this change. It’s been a great gift, and it was an honor for us all to be received here.

The Pleiadians say we’re all making just another step, and it’s a beautiful step and a glorious step as we start connecting into the magic of ourselves. Part of my work is bringing these energies through. That’s what the Pleiadian seminar is about. It’s actually an awakening seminar for people to take another step towards the magic of themselves so they begin to take another step into the remembrance of themselves.

There is change coming, it’s true, and the human ego-mind does not like change. But the heart knows the truth of that change and the beauty of it, and it’s really very much a Divine time for us, very exciting.

What takes place for an individual who attends the three-day Pleiadian event?
CD: A tremendous transformation takes place. There is an accelerated awakening of the individual, and any person who comes begins to align and awaken during those three days. They go through a very deep awakening process that maintains after they leave the seminar, so it’s a huge step forward for whoever wants to come in.

Physical healings take place in these events, and for many people there’s some very, very deep reconnections to their own aspect of their light, so they start awakening and remembering who they are in that fourth- and fifth-dimensional state.

There’s also a very strong interconnection between the people who come, a unique bonding and expansion within the group itself. It is a group dynamic, and there is a unique dynamic for each individual. There’s a group initiation, and then there’s an individual initiation with the light, and it seems to call in soul groups.

I see groups of people connecting and meeting, and then after the seminar, networking with each other in a very strong way, so that’s very nice, too. They also get to form a deeper relationship with the Pleiadians at the seminar, so that when they leave they are connected to a Pleiadian team that will go on working with them after the seminar. This is part of the support that people agree to at the seminar. If they don’t want that connection with the Pleaidians, they don’t have to have it, but there is a moment in the workshop when they put up their hand and the Pleiadians read the energy through the palm of their hand and a Pleiadian team is given to each person who says yes to it.

We also work with the spiritual realms there at the Pleiadian seminar. They enter in force because the Pleiadians set an energetic grid in the whole room. Angels and light beings can walk one-on-one with the people, as well.

Participants also learn how to work in the dimensional crystal vortex. The Pleiadians guide me to dial these huge crystals, and as they’re moved, a dimensional energy opens up. It’s like a womb is created that births each person back into that remembering place, and they have that experience of coming back to themselves and remembering and being able to anchor and maintain that connection with themselves.

We have a teaching dialogue from the Pleiadians and a space for channeled answers for questions that are asked. We also work with the energetic matrix, which is a geometrical process. The Pleiadians design sacred designs and everyone sits within that matrix and goes through a very deep process of union with consciousness.

So at these events, there are a lot of different processes that go on. People are really going through rapid transformation, but it’s very gentle. Each person is uniquely working within themselves at their own pace, so it’s not like there’s too much energy for people to digest. They take what they can handle, so there’s integrating processes throughout the workshop. It’s very special.

As a result of what you’ve built up through these events, do you sense it is now time to expand the teachings outward to more people? I understand you’re beginning to do that through online teachings now called the Pleiadian Enlightenment Academy.
CD: Yes, the first online program is called “Language of Light.” The Pleiadians have created eight video classes – two classes a month for four months. Students are given homework through channeled audio files that they receive. They work with sacred symbols and sounds that birth them deeply into their remembering, awakening process. It’s very powerful and empowering.

There are going to be three modules of the Language of Light. It will end up being a 12-month program, 24 classes, two classes a month. The first module is now available, and others will be coming in August.

What I love about how the Pleiadians have designed this first module is that it’s designed to assist people in coming back and embracing their humanness as they birth their spiritual nature. The Pleiadians are saying that we need to turn back to our human selves and start loving our human journey and honoring our human journey and the courage we have had to be here, that we need to bring the human content of ourselves into the awakening process.

We can’t leave the human self behind. We have to bring ourselves with us into the fourth and fifth dimensional energy. Otherwise, we’re in separation. Some people think we have to be enlightened and leave our human egos behind, but that’s not the case. We do need to bring our human selves with us. This program is designed to work with the human aspects of ourselves as we awaken, as we start to evolve and forgive ourselves and move into a state of love and self-devotion, as we birth and remember.

So, the overall idea is to expand this information out to more people throughout the world?
CD: Absolutely it is. The Pleiadian Enlightenment Academy is at a new site, ChristineDayOnline.com. There are free downloads where you can click and explore the Enlightenment Academy. And on YouTube we offer some little experiences of what the class would be like, so people can go and explore it and feel if it’s right for them.

Please continue with Part Two of this interview.

For more information on Christine Day and the Pleiadian Enlightenment Academy, visit frequenciesofbrilliance.com and ChristineDayonline.com.

Christine Day, a spiritual teacher, healer and author, has channeled information from extraterrestrials known as Pleiadians for the past 20 years, seeking to assist and awaken humanity during this acknowledged time of great transformation on planet Earth. Through a channeled healing modality, Frequencies of Brilliance, and book, Pleiadian Initiations of Light, she has offered people tools to awaken consciously to their true nature, and a new online teaching program that is being introduced – the Pleiadian Enlightenment Academy – will allow people worldwide to access information now only offered during select seminars.

The following is the conclusion of the interview conducted with Christine Day from her home office in Minneapolis about the Pleiadians in general and the expanded teaching in particular, as well as her upcoming three-day Pleiadian Seminar on July 22-24 at the Ramada Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. She shares what this transformational shift will look like and how we can support ourselves as we move through it.

Christine Day

What is your role with the Pleiadians? Are you Pleiadian yourself?
Christine Day: Yes, I have a Pleiadian aspect. I have absolutely come here to have a human experience, but on top of that I have a very strong Pleiadian aspect and connection. The Pleiadians see me as an ambassador for them on this planet at this time, representing them and acting as a bridge between, educating humans that the Pleiadians exist and they are here to support and making human beings aware that that support is available.

But also I act as a bridge another way. Through my experiences in this body, the Pleiadians have learned more about human beings and how they can design these energies, what they call light initiations, to support the human being; how it can be user-friendly for the human being to be able to utilize what they have to bring us. So, that has been part of my contract here.

Are there other ambassadors for Pleiadians here on Earth?
CD: I’m sure there are, Tim, but I don’t know of any. I haven’t connected to them, but it makes sense that I haven’t because I think we’re all pretty busy. There’s a lot of work going on and I know I’m not the only one. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Would you say the same response to the question about other star brethren who may be in contact with humans providing other assistance, aside from what the Pleiadians are offering?
CD: Oh, yes. The Pleiadians are working in alignment with a lot of other star system energy people who are coming in, too. You see, the whole universe has focused its attention on planet Earth right now because of this incredible shift we are going through. The Pleiadians see themselves as part of a collective team of extraterrestrial energies that are here to support what we are going through here.

Would you say that the awakening process in general is an unending process where we just deepen into our souls and our hearts and who we are?
CD: It’s always an ongoing journey. We’ve always got more to unfold into. That’s the beauty of it. It’s not ever a destination that we’re getting to. Some people want a destination, an end of the journey, “I just want to get there!” Actually the true joy is in the journey itself, and the journey is never ending. We just move and evolve into more and more understanding and growth and birth of ourselves, and to me that is really beautiful.

You’ve said that the Pleiadians call this time the New Dawning, and on your video from March 27 you indicate that “as we experience Earth changes outwardly, simultaneous changes are taking place inwardly ourselves.” Can you elaborate on what’s actually going on?
CD: Yes, this is really an important point because what’s happening relates to every earthquake anywhere on the Earth plane or any volcanic activity that takes place.

The Pleiadians give me a picture, almost like a door opening and a beam of light hits the Earth, and the Earth in that moment moves a little bit more out of third dimension and births the fourth- and fifth-dimensional energy. This is what’s gradually happening at a very slow rate. As that energy opens, it also affects our energetic field and the cells in our body. You see, our cells also are going through a new dawning process. As the Pleiadians say, we have a transmitter in ourselves that actually is birthing, waking up. It’s actually beginning to have a pulse or a heartbeat with the birthing of this new dimensional energy.

Every time there’s an earthquake or volcanic activity, the transmitter within every cell begins to pulse – and it’s sending out an energy of light, light that is of our own, unique frequency, because every one of us has a unique frequency of light that is recognized by the universe. We don’t know about it, but it is unique. And that little pulse in every cell begins to pulse out like a heartbeat pulsing out our true frequency of light. As that’s happening, it affects the energetic field and the physical nature of the body. Our bodies are going through both a physical transformation and an energetic transformation. For some people, that is creating some really strange feelings inside.

Now, if you are consciously aware of this volcano or this earthquake that’s happened, you know there’s been a birthing and there’s been a shift in your own body. What you need to do is lie down on the Earth, open up to the Sun or the wind, and breathe and allow a conscious integration of this birthing process. The more conscious you are about it, the more you allow yourself to birth more quickly. But you need a conscious integration.

The Pleiadians have channeled an energy through to me that I transmitted out and recorded – an audio channeling available free on my website for people to download and listen to – that also integrates the body. You can do it that way, or you can do it with the Earth itself and with the energy of the natural forces. But it’s imperative right now that we start to consciously birth ourselves in alignment with the Earth as this is happening. If you do that, it’s really going to be a much more smoother process to navigate through these Earth changes.

Will life during this transformational time be more difficult for somebody who doesn’t take any conscious steps to birth this process?
CD: I don’t believe so. The Pleiadians say there are a lot of spiritually awakened people who are working consciously. But, there’s also a tremendous number of people out there who have beautiful hearts. They aren’t consciously spiritually awake, but their hearts are ready for this birthing. They are just as ready as anyone else. So if they can open up and just allow themselves to even integrate with nature on a regular basis, they also can just move into this naturally, because it’s a natural process.

There are no secrets or mysteries here. It’s really a natural process, and that’s what the Pleiadians are trying to tell people. This is a natural birth that we are going through, and every one of us on this Earth plane is ready for it if we’re willing to open up, and so I love that. I love that it’s so natural, that it’s just a remembering that each one of us is slowly going to move into, whether we’re consciously doing it or unconsciously doing it.

Those of us who are spiritually awake right now are going to be anchors for those who are going to be coming in another way. We’re doing our work so that we can guide other people through these times. We’re ahead of the pack because we need to be. There is a need for people who are truly awake to assist others.

Many people compare this process to the natural evolution of the caterpillar to the butterfly.
CD: I totally agree. I think it’s a very good analogy. I also know that we need to understand that there are uncomfortable stages that take place. We need to remember that we are birthing, and birth is never a comfortable process. There are going to be intense moments, but it does not mean that we have to be afraid. It just means we need to breathe and be conscious and understand that the natural forces right now are actually becoming more aligned to us as human beings.

It’s like the veil has lifted between us and the natural forces – and it’s going to continue to lift. Energies are coming toward us to support us in some of this birthing energy that we’re going to be going through. That’s actually going to support us in integrating new light aspects of ourselves as we awaken.

For people who are going through the process consciously, what are the signs that they may be moving out of the third dimension, moving into fourth- and fifth-dimensional consciousness?
CD: There are a number of things that can be happening, and one of them may be a sense that time seems to be changing. One moment things seem to be moving really fast, and at other times it feels like time has stopped, so the illusion of time is changing. It’s becomes apparent when you get up in the morning that time is going to go fast or slow. You look at the clock and half an hour has gone by and it feels like a couple of minutes. Or, you can look at the clock and it’s almost like it doesn’t seem to be moving at all. That’s part of the new dawning energy, this third dimensional breakdown. Time isn’t something we can depend on anymore.

You also may feel lightheaded or disorientated on some level. Because the third dimension is almost melting away, you can’t hang on to the ego-mind stories quite as easily. Your memory of your past may become kind of blurry, because as the third dimension leaves, our stories leave. We hang onto notions that this is who I am, but it’s really not who we are. The third dimension is starting to blur, and our stories may be blurring, as well.

There are other things. You may have a very strong connection to the natural forces. You’ll be outside and all of a sudden it feels like you’re just part of something, that it’s like you’ve moved into nature and you can feel how the natural energy is coming into you, that there’s no separation, like a wall has dissolved between you and the natural forces, perhaps just for a moment of time.

Physical changes are taking place in the body. Your body might shake at times, or you might feel really like vulnerable at times, and that is because we’re moving back into a fluid state. Our natural state is more fluid, more fourth and fifth dimensional where we’re not solid objects. We know we’re not, but we start to experience our fluidity, and feel a little more vulnerable in that, and that may happen just for a moment and then more often. You may sit in a room and suddenly everything seems to be fluid around you. That’s that fourth- and fifth-dimensional energy birthing, but it’s you moving towards it. The veils are lifting and you’re starting to become more of that fourth- and fifth-dimensional energy of yourself.

It’s important that we drink a lot of water. We may not feel like eating as much. A lot of people say to me that they feel like they are going a little crazy, that things just don’t seem like they have in the past. That’s just the shift of dimensional energy. The electrical circuits in our brains are changing and our electrical energy is changing right through the cells. That transmitter activating through our cells with this change is creating a new electrical energy through our bodies.

A lot of people are experiencing physical symptoms. They go to the doctor and nothing can be diagnosed. Many people are just feeling strange. There are a lot of different experiences in our physical body, in the way we can think, the way we see things. Just take a conscious breath and breathe and just let go and open up consciously to the birthing, for that creates a really much smoother navigation through this time.

Do you get questions about how long this is going to take place, this feeling of disorientation? Will it take place for years?
CD: Yes, I get that question a lot because some people want it to go away. A lot of people do not want this to happen. They just want to go along in life like they always have, and that’s just not going to happen. That time is over.

I encourage people to breathe into their hearts. Drink water and just open up consciously to the change. It’s about getting used to feeling differently, rather than going back to the old. There’s no going back. We’re already going through a tunnel and the doors are closing behind us. We may as well just go forward as quickly as we can, as far as I’m concerned. It’s about just accepting where we are and knowing we are on a really grand adventure.

It’s just the time to breathe and let go. The more you fight against it, the more difficult it appears. It’s like swimming upstream in a current.

My feeling is that it’s going to get more intense before it starts to get better, and I feel like the next two years are going to be very extreme. The rest of 2011 and 2012 is going to be an intensifying process. It’s coming in very gradually right now, except it’s not that subtle. I don’t see it that subtle, but I don’t know if it’s because I’m really tuned in. The people I’m working with right now worldwide are all experiencing this intensity, but they’re all working with it very consciously, too, and that helps a lot.

I think we’re looking over a period of four to five years of it coming in, peaking, and going out. And, it will get easier as we go, because once you’re in the middle of it and you start to open consciously, then you begin to be able to really flow with it and be much more relaxed in it. I think the beginning stages are more difficult than the middle and the end stages.

Aside from breathing, drinking water and connecting with the energies of nature, are there other things we can do in our lives to make this a more fun and creative process? Perhaps by getting together in groups of like-minded people?
CD: I think groups are really supportive because you can witness each other’s birthing and you can support each other. You can remind someone, “Remember, this is what you were doing one month ago and look who you are now.” Group is very good.

The Pleiadians emphasize that the spiritual forces, the angels and the light beings and the Masters, are here to support all of us right now in this transition. They work very closely with the Pleiadians and the other alien forces. All we have to do is call them in and ask for their support. They can’t come in without permission, because we have free will. They cannot enter our energetic field without our permission. But if you call them in, the energetic and practical support you can receive from the spiritual energies is amazing. That is a really key piece.

You see, as we transform, as we awaken, we are naturally aligned to the spiritual energies. We are spiritual beings. That is part of our nature. That’s actually what we’re birthing back into. So why not utilize the spiritual energies? The human ego-mind thinks you don’t deserve this, that you’re not good enough or that nobody will want to be there to help us, but the fact is that we have access to the Spiritual realms.

The veils have lifted, allowing the Spiritual realms to come in even more completely and work with us on a physical level, on an emotional level, and also on a spiritual level. They can help us with our missions, with our projects, in support of our physical bodies going through this transformation. Call in that energy and support. It’s there for every person. Not one person is left out of that.

In July you’ll be launching another three-day Pleiadian event in Minneapolis. How many have you done so far?
CD: We’ve done three in the United States and this will be our fourth one in the last 12 months. We are building one in September in Brazil and one in Germany in September 2012. The Pleiadians told me I had to move here five years ago, and they wanted this to be where the energy anchored. They said that Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of the vortex energies within America and the most important one to really assist us in these changes.

Do any transformations take place collectively, radiating out from these events?
CD: Yes, absolutely they do. People who attend learn how to build the energy. They are given sacred sounds in the workshop. Every person who makes that sound has a unique frequency of their own sound that births and opens, and so as they chant with this sound, each person brings in his or her unique frequency to the whole. Waves of energy are built through that and then those waves of energy go out onto the planet. It’s a very beautiful energy and very touching. Very sacred. And there’s a lot of love present in the process.

What else is coming up for you personally in the next year?
CD: Brazil is a very big place for me. I am doing a lot of work there. My book will be published in Brazil in August. The numbers are very large there. We are doing big transmissions there from 1,000 to 2,000 people at a time. The Pleiadian seminars are going very strongly there. Czechoslovakia and Spain have just bought the book, so it is going out into other areas of the world.

I’m just committed to the work. I’m working very hard, traveling eight or nine months during the year. I’m away for eight weeks and home for two days and then back on the road for eight weeks. I’m committed to working with the Pleiadians and supporting humanity in these changing times. I get a lot of joy out of bringing the energies forward from the Pleiadians and making this work available.

We’re doing an expo in Los Angeles in February, so I’m starting to build my profile up here in America. I do a live TV broadcast every second month out of Vegas, and I’m on WorldPuja twice a month [2:30 and 9:30 p.m. Central on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday each month at www.worldpuja.org] and that’s going very well. I’m going to be doing my own radio show in the next few months.

The Pleiadians want me in a higher profile here in America, so that’s what I’m moving towards. And I’m committed to my own unfolding, to my own birthing process. It’s a very humbling process, as far as I’m concerned.

For more information on Christine Day and the Pleiadian Enlightenment Academy, visit frequenciesofbrilliance.com and ChristineDayonline.com.

Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Krishna Das has a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener. Known to friends, family and fans as simply KD, he has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling chant artist of all time.

His new tour, “Samsara by Bus,” begins June 6 in Seattle and proceeds south to Portland, San Francisco and southern California, over to Arizona and New Mexico, up to Denver and then to St. Paul.

Krishna Das, one of the best-selling chant artists of all time, returns to the road following his hugely successful, sold-out 2010 tour with Deva Premal. Krishna Das will be appearing live at the Fitzgerald Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22. Reserved Seating: $35, plus applicable fees. Tickets are available at the Fitzgerald Theater Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Charge by phone at 1.800.745.3000 and online at Ticketmaster.com.

Krishna Das has been called the “Chant Master of American Yoga” by The New York Times and “Pavarotti of Kirtan” by Yoga Journal and is notable for making yoga and chant music more accessible to Western listeners. His music layers traditional kirtan – chanting of the divine names – over popular arrangements and songs. In 2010, Krishna Das released his latest album Heart As Wide As The World to critical acclaim. His first studio album in more than 10 years, the album is collaboration with David Nichtern, who produced and played guitar. It also features musicians Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates) on drums/percussion, world musicians Steve Gorn on bansuri flute and Benjy Wertheimer on esraj.

But before the tour begins, Krishna Das returns for spiritual upliftment to India. Imagine yoga’s “rock star,” chant master Krishna Das, sitting in silence in the mountains of northern India, trying to relax and just be. And then, suddenly he receives an email on his nearby laptop computer. The message is from The Edge magazine in the Twin Cities, and the request is a few moments of his time in anticipation of his June 22 concert at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.

And so he responds.

Krishna Das

Krishna Das, your Samsara By Bus tour begins on June 6. Why the bus tour across America now and how will this tour differ from others you have undertaken?
Krishna Das: We’ve been waiting at the bus station for 20,000 years. The bus just got here, so it’s time to go.

For those unfamiliar with Kirtan, what exactly is being chanted and how can the participant take part during a concert?
KD: In India, they call what we chant the “Names of God” or the Divine Name. It is call and response, kinda sing-a-long with Krish. I sing a line and the audience repeats it. As the evening goes on, we all  get deeper and quieter inside.

Please describe how you prepare for a performance such as you’ll have on this tour and what you personally experience during a concert?
KD: I try to get up in the morning every day! If not, it’s difficult to sing. Really there is no special preparation. This is what my life is about…trying to always be in the Loving Presence…Chanting with a group deepens that space.

What can those who attend your Samsara By Bus tour expect in terms of chants that will likely be performed? Any new material?
KD: No new  work, just the same old mantras for the last million years. Don’t have much of a plan….

When you return to India, where you are now, does it offer renewed inspiration?
KD: Having the opportunity to come and live in the temple where lived with my guru in 1972 is always an intense experience. Deepening the awareness of His presence  and the connection to the Real love is always life-changing. I also get to sleep a lot more than in U.S. and no phone!!!! Yipeee!

What has your personal musical journey from blues to rock ‘n’ roll to kirtan informed you about the role of sound in the human experience?
KD: Music is a powerful way to turn within. It can soothe or excite, but is there any lasting deeper love from just music? I think that music is like a syrup that medicine is hidden within. The syrup is sweet, but it is the medicine of the Name that heals us.

Why do you sing? And what does singing bring to you in your life?
KD: I sing to save my miserable ass! Without the practice of Chanting, I would have drowned a long time ago in the ocean of samsara (this world).

For more information, please visit www.krishnadas.com or suemclean.com/shows/krishna-das-samsara-by-bus-tour/

“There is no journey as exciting as the journey that leads to your own awakening and the blossoming of your intuitive abilities, for these lead to wisdom and personal power.” – Penny Kelly

Over a two-year period in the early 1980s, a group of little men in brown robes appeared to Penny Kelly, asking if she would be willing to “look at some pictures.” At first reluctant, she eventually agreed, and during a series of visits she was shown a number of living scenes of the future encompassing the years from 2000 to 2413. The scenes of the future were accompanied by a number of explanations and commentaries by the “Robes” themselves.

In 1991, they returned and asked her to write down what they had shown her, and the book Robes — A Book of Coming Changes was the result.

Penny Kelly

Penny Kelly is a writer, teacher, consultant, speaker, publisher, and Naturopathic physician. She is the owner of Lily Hill Farm and Learning Center in southwest Michigan where she teaches courses in Developing the Gift of Intuition, Getting Well Again Naturally, and Organic Gardening. Penny has been researching and exploring consciousness, cognition, perception and intelligence for more than 30 years, and works with Dr. William Levengood of Pinelandia Laboratory near Ann Arbor, MI.

She is deeply involved in Community Gardening efforts and the development of a regional food system in southwest Michigan, and she is working with the Kellogg Foundation in this regard. She has a small publishing company, Kelly Networks LLC, that publishes books on the subjects of spirituality and health, and she is one of the founding members of the Tipping Point Network, which is currently working to move sustainability from 2 to 10 percent of global market share.

This mother of four children has co-written and edited 23 books with others, and five books of her own: The Evolving Human, The Elves of Lily Hill Farm, Robes — A Book of Coming Changes, Getting Well Again, Naturally — From The Soil To The Stomach, and Consciousness and Energy, Vol. 1 — Multidimensionality and A Theory of Consciousness. She is now writing Consciousness and Energy, Vol. 2 — New Worlds of Energy.

Penny Kelly will present an evening lecture and weekend workshop in the Twin Cities on July 22-24. On Friday evening she will present the lecture “The New Earth — Living in Harmony,” an overview of what she learned while with the Robes. On Saturday and Sunday, she will present “Developing the Gift of Consciousness,” a guide about the reality we live in and a deeper understanding of awareness and intuition. For complete details, visit Edgelife.net.

The author and healer spoke with me about her experience with the Robes and about what she will present in July during her first visit to Minnesota.

Penny, I was introduced to your book Robes — A Book of Coming Changes and every aspect of the book resonated with me. When did your journey begin with these little men in brown robes?
Penny Kelly: The journey began in 1980 when the “Robes,” as I called them, began appearing in my kitchen or my living room, asking if I would be willing to “look at their pictures.” I was not very receptive the first couple of times they appeared, but then I had the thought, “Okay, I guess I can look at their pictures for a minute.” I didn’t realize it was going to end up being a whole series of visits and pictures that would occur on and off for almost two years.

What did you feel when you were taken into the future by the “Robes.”
PK: I think the overriding feeling at that time was “overwhelm.” The pictures and scenes they showed me introduced a whole range of thoughts, ideas, perspectives and possibilities that I had never even considered. They took me into times and places that revealed the major events and coming changes happening between 2000 and 2025, then in 2080, and in 2413. Through it all, they talked about the rise of what they called the “global network” and how important this was to our ongoing development as humans.

Back then, the internet did not really exist in society, and I often wondered what they were talking about, but now it’s obvious they were talking about the web!

When they took you into the future, what did you see? Tell us about the visions they showed you.
PK: There were about 16 or 18 visits altogether, and each visit focused on a different aspect of our life in this world. The first one dealt with the need to reconnect with the Earth and to reconsider things like building high dams and nuclear reactors in earthquake zones.

The next few visits focused on our legal and political structures, as well as our misunderstanding of leadership. They pointed out why governmental institutions weren’t working, and said that our government would eventually go bankrupt. In another visit, they went into deep and powerful explanations about sexuality, birth and educating children. We went on a tour of how people were living, their communities, homes, even their bathrooms and bedrooms. We spent one visit on food, how famine would develop in our first world countries, and looking at the frequencies food offers us.

In still others, they examined technologies, trade, the abilities we could develop as humans, and the fact that we were approaching what they called “the great fork in the road,” which was whether to align ourselves with creation or destruction.

What do we have to do to prepare ourselves to be in balance with the present shift in consciousness?
PK: There were two things the Robes emphasized. One was the need to reconnect with the Earth. They said, “You must reconnect to the Earth or you will not survive…and we very definitely want you to survive.” The other thing was the need to begin developing ourselves and our built-in potentials. They insisted we were responsible for what we created, and that it was time to begin creating deliberately and wisely.

You have an organic farm In Michigan, you’re involved with community gardening, and you’re also a great proponent of sustainability. Did the “Robes” have a major effect on your present interests and your life purpose?
PK: I did not think they had much effect on me at the time they were present in my life, and when they stopped coming around, I was relieved. It was only later that I began to see that everything they showed me was happening and my whole life had been affected by them. Unconsciously, I had worried about getting caught with nothing — no skills, no equipment, no knowledge, no relationships, no connection to the earth or the capacity to sustain a decent way of life. I think this unacknowledged worry drove me to make many of the choices that I made.

In brief words, tell us what we need to do to become better citizens of the world?
PK: Mmmm, that’s a big subject. I think we need to move away from thinking that the government should be responsible for our lives. I think we need to recover our inner authority and make decisions about how we will live instead of waiting to see what is handed to us. I think we need to stop searching for heroes and take on the challenge of being heroic in our own lives.

I think we should stop idolizing politicians or media stars and start stepping into roles that call us to become servant leaders. I would like to see each city and town take responsibility for feeding itself. I would love to see the clothing business go “local.” I think education should start with teaching children about the body/mind system and how to survive in Nature. When they can do that, then introduce reading, writing, and arithmetic! I could go on and on….

From all indications, your Friday lecture and weekend workshop will prepare us to transform not only ourselves, but also the world. Can you expand on this?
PK: On Friday, I will be talking about developing our built-in abilities as humans, about what it means to reconnect to the Earth in today’s world, and the process of reaching enlightenment. The weekend workshop focuses on where we are going as a civilization, what living in balance means — in terms of people, plants and animals, and I will present a number of experiential exercises that deepen and expand consciousness.

Thank you Penny for an enlightening and informative interview. I am looking forward to your visit to the Cities with great anticipation. I am sure many readers will feel the same way, after reading your message.
PK: I’m also looking forward to visiting Minnesota. It should be a fun and exhilarating experience.

An Edge Interview with Kristen Scanlon, Duncan Metzger and Dr. Katie Fahnel

The Healing Loft does what medical clinics have done for decades. Practitioners who offer a variety of healing skills work side-by-side and, when conditions merit it, they quickly confer with each other, and refer outside of the practice to others who can benefit their patients. The only difference is that this is not a traditional clinic.

The three owners — a network chiropractor, a BodyTalk/AnimalTalk practitioner, and a gifted intuitive soul coach — have come together to create what they view as a model for future holistic clinics in America. Between them, they have the ability to care for body, mind and soul, and between them, they have hundreds of networked resources they can call on to help those in need. They offer their unique care under the same roof, during every business day, just like a clinic should — at the lofts at 2112 Broadway St. NE, just north of downtown Minneapolis.

“We were looking to create something that I’m not sure has been done in the Twin Cities area before,” says Duncan Metzger, an intuitive medium and soul coach who offers Energetic Empathy Chakra Balancing. “We are a holistic clinic, and we keep regular hours. It’s warm, yet structured.”

Kristen Scanlon, an animal communicator and certified BodyTalk/AnimalTalk practitioner, says the group has been told that there is not another center like this anywhere in the United States. “We had someone come in from Oregon who said, ‘You are creating a new parking spot in someone’s mind, because this has not been done before.’ We really wanted to raise the integrity in integrated health care — alternative health care. We also wanted a referral program where, if one of us couldn’t help a client right there in the office, we know someone who can.”

“It’s a doctor’s clinic,” she said, “but with integrative health care instead of Western medicine.”

The third partner, network chiropractor Dr. Katie Fahnel, said the initial plan was just for the three healers to share office space, but then they realized a shared dream of creating community. “We enjoyed having the opportunity for other people to rent space from us, to have a big open area where others could host different classes, whether it was dance or just people teaching different workshops. We are open to a lot of people coming together to create a conversion of energies.”

The three partners of The Healing Loft share a desire to help others in a very practical way, using modalities that have been proven beneficial.

Dr. Katie Fahnel (© Frank Mazzocco Photography)

Dr. Fahnel, a native of Mondovi, WI, was first exposed to alternative healing modalities while taking a nursing course in BodyMind Therapies, “just for fun.” She eventually turned her attention to chiropractic care, and then refined her studies to Network Spinal Analysis Chiropractic. Now a Doctor of Chiropractic, she is committed to staying on top of the latest innovative practices within Network and attends seminars on a regular basis, enabling her to provide her clients with the most cutting-edge techniques and the highest quality care.

Duncan Metzger (© Frank Mazzocco Photography)

Duncan Metzger’s former life was in information technology in the corporate world. A graduate with an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, he awakened to the role of intuition in his life and began taking classes with noted psychic, teacher and author Echo Bodine that allowed him to develop his skills and become a profession intuitive, empath and medium. Since then, he has been a student of Bel Marshall and became certified in energetic empathy, a healing technique that works with chakra energy fields. During a session, Duncan incorporates a variety of techniques and modalities and tailors his sessions to fulfill the needs of each client, a practice that has established his excellent track record.

Kristen Scanlon (© Frank Mazzocco Photography)

Kristen Scanlon, a former music teacher, was a true skeptic when it came to animal communication. But over time, she has been revealed as an accomplished animal intuitive, a graduate of Animal University in Colorado and student of Mary Getten, Lena Swanson and Joyce Leake. After five successful years of practicing animal communication, Kristen began her study of BodyTalk and AnimalTalk, two non-invasive energy healing modalities that work by reconnecting the links within the body’s system of intracellular communication to obtain a faster, more efficient healing process. Now a certified BodyTalk and AnimalTalk practitioner after completing rigorous training with Jennifer Stelly, Karen Atkins and Loesja Jacobs, she has had great success in healing both animals and people.

The staff of The Healing Loft will launch a monthly program on Edge Talk Radio — a live podcast at 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month — on May 24. Listen by calling 1.714.364.4750 or listen online at BlogTalkRadio.com/edgemagazine.

On your website at TheHealingLoftMpls.com, you indicate that you want to dispel certain myths about integrative healing modalities. What are they?
Katie: With the structure and business model that we have, we are trying to connect more to mainstream people. We know and support the existing community here of people into metaphysical and spiritual and New Age type of practices, but what about the people who haven’t been exposed to integrative healing, or are scared of it or are really put off by the “woo-woo-ness” of it? We want to show that we are grounded, down-to-earth people and we all have very solid backgrounds in education and business. We are pretty well grounded in our bearings.

Kristen: We also want to dispel beliefs that some people have that alternative health care has to be separate from mainstream medical care. That’s why we embrace the term “integrative.” We integrate care that we offer into what the person is already doing. What we do slides in very well with surgery or seeing your psychiatrist, or whatever the case may be. It works very well with Western medicine, as well as the “New Age” stuff, the Eastern, the more metaphysical world.

And the intuitive arts, which Duncan is a part of.
Duncan: Yes, I have a very pragmatic approach with each client. I spend time trying to take the mystery out of it. I tell a client that we all have these abilities — and you do, too. I tell my client that only reason I’m sitting across from you is that I do this every day and practice. It’s not that I am any more or less gifted than anyone else.

Kristen: That is really key, because in my animal communication class, people ask, “Well, isn’t that a gift?” Well, yes and no. Everybody has it. And everybody can do it — everybody. It’s not magical. It’s just that some people, like Duncan especially because of what he does, have taken the time to practice this gift that we all share.

Duncan: I attract a lot of first-time clients who have never been exposed to it before with the atmosphere of the Healing Loft. With what we’re trying to do here, they are not intimidated.

For those who have not been to the Healing Loft, provide an overview of what the Healing Loft offers to the community.
Duncan: For practitioners, it’s a great place to work and we are careful who we allow to work here. We want people who have very much the same approach. It’s not a matter of what you do, but it’s more about what kind of person are you and what kind of integrity you bring to your craft. As for clients, it’s a very welcoming atmosphere, whether you’re a neophyte or more experienced with spiritual or metaphysical practices. You’re going to feel comfortable and we have a high level of integrity in the service we are going to provide.

Kristen: For the community, we’re a one-stop place. We service both people and animals, and we’re a pet-friendly environment. We’re also very careful about people who are allergic or who are afraid. And if I can’t help them, then perhaps Katie or Duncan can. We really have immersed ourselves in the community of practitioners and we have people that we are comfortable referring our clients to. We also rent space to people who are massage therapists, hypnotherapists, Akashic records readers, those who offer cranio-sacral therapy. We have access to anything you can imagine. If we can’t help you, someone can. We’re pretty approachable and we’re honest about being able to help, or not help.

Duncan: We continue to connect with people. We are very big with networking and finding out what you do and how we might work together. We’ve just taken a real concerted effort to reach out to other people.

Let’s talk a little bit about each one of you separately, if you don’t mind. Katie, why did you choose chiropractic as your path?
Katie: Well, in my other graduate training I was set to do lab work and be stuck in a lab all day. I did my internship and, although it had its fun points, I really did not like being closed up all day doing the same thing over and over again. So, on a fluke, I wound up taking a nursing class in Body Mind Therapy where we did a lot of massage and energy work. Something really profoundly touched me about the power of touch and putting your hands on someone, and being able to feel energy and heat moving through my hands and through someone’s body. So it was a natural marriage between my science background and this aspect of touch to go into chiropractic.

About halfway through chiropractic school, I discovered a technique called network spinal analysis. I shadowed a chiropractor in a small town in Wisconsin and just saw incredible things happen with people — really monumental changes. This guy was hardly touching people, not the cracking and popping that I was trained in. I thought, “Wow, there’s really something going on here because there’s not much input into the body, and yet the body is responding in such an incredible way.” So, I was sold.

Can you give the average person an idea of what takes place during network spinal analysis.
Katie: Sure. It’s gentle taps and touches to either end of the spine. It unwinds a lot of spinal cord tension. Initially when people come they feel more relaxed and are able to breathe deeper. Some feel like falling asleep. A lot of people describe like a melting sensation into the table. Then, the more you progress through care, the more you’re accessing your body’s own pathways to be able to connect to the greater spiritual aspect of yourself, developing a lot of connective and wellness strategies throughout the nervous system.

The end result is the same or different than traditional chiropractic?
Katie: Initially it’s probably the same, because a lot of people do report less tension and pain reduction, but you’re able to get more out of it because you can connect better to your own rhythms. You are able to get out of that place of victimhood into a very empowered state. This probably doesn’t sound very chiropractic, but it’s all about what’s innately there in your nervous system. We all have this power to tap into and find that transformative energy — a really beautiful, expansive, awakening energy — just by having a better connected body and a better connected brain.

Duncan, what led you here to what you’re doing now after a career in information technology in the corporate world.
Duncan: I had a kind of a spiritual awakening while going through a couple things. One was recovering from alcoholism and I’ve been sober for seven years. Also, my mom passed away in 2007, and I remember taking a leave of absence from work. I was having a hard time grieving. I remember a friend of mine showing me the Tarot cards and it was very interesting. I’ve always been kind of a skeptic, but I was amazed and was getting sold on it. So I went to buy a Tarot book and ended up with a book on the small still voice within, A Psychic’s Guide To Using Your Intuition.

Echo Bodine’s book.
Duncan: I was fascinated. It’s like I’ve always felt like I had intuition. I’ve known things, and I didn’t know quite what to do with that. I didn’t know who Echo was. I had no clue. But I learned that she taught classes in Minneapolis, and I couldn’t wait to take her class. I started getting accurate readings with people, and I was like, “This is a way I could really help people.” I’ve had friends tell me that, “You always seem to know the right thing to say when they are going through a tough time.” That’s part of what I do. I call it Soul Coaching.

I’m still a healthy skeptic, because I think you have to be, otherwise you’re an untethered balloon. So, I bring that pragmatic personality to working with clients. I’ve always been a spiritual person, I’ve always been a helper, giver type personality, and I was not getting that in the corporate world. I wasn’t feeling, and I felt very disconnected. I’m very much a people person. I ended up being mentored in energetic empathy, a chakra healing technique developed by Bel Marshall.

Can you give us a little more description of what energetic empathy is about?
Duncan: Energetic empathy is using your empathic abilities to tap into the different chakras, literally feeling what the person is feeling or getting through visual. I tend to be clairaudient, so the chakras literally speak to me. So the process is part reading and part healing. A lot of information is stored in our chakra centers. I work with energy, light, guides and angels to bring that healing, but most of the healing comes from the client themselves. It is a cooperative process. My emphasis is that you get help with your physical while dealing with your psychological and spiritual.

So, Kristen, what led you to where you are after originally studying music education?
Kristen: Well, my sister had a cat that got lost. He didn’t come home. Ten days had gone by and she called and said, “Oh, I talked to this animal communicator and they told me that he is fine, he is not in pain, he is safe, he is in Spirit, it didn’t hurt.”

And I’m thinking, “You could have called me and paid me the same amount of money to say the same thing.” That seemed so generic. “Yeah, he feels fine and he’s happy.” You know, whatever. I thought it was a bunch of hooey.

You thought anyone could have made that up.
Kristen: Yeah, I could make that up, too. You can pay me that $30 or whatever she was charged. So she said, “Fine.” We have this little competition going on between us, and she said, “Fine, I’ll prove it to you.” When my cat died, it was a very traumatic, and I went through it by myself. My mom called me to tell me what the communicator said. I was driving, and I was thinking, “Yeah, whatever.”

I ended up having to pull over in my car because I was crying. The communicator gave me information that nobody else would have known. My sister lives in Seattle. I live in Minneapolis. My mom’s in Bismarck, ND, so we are not even in the same cities, let alone knowing how I interacted and what exactly went down in that emergency room. The cat was very specific.

So I thought, “Hmmm. Well, it’s kind of cool that the animals can talk, but can they really?” I was still really skeptical. Then, Mary Getten of Seattle, who had written several books, came to Minneapolis and was teaching a two-day class on animal communication. My sister said, “You’ve got to take this. Mary is awesome. You’ve got to take it.” So, I took it.

The first day I was horrible. I didn’t get anything. I thought, “Whatever. Don’t you even go back the second day, because this is so not even real.” I went back and the second day the process was instantaneous for me. My connection to the animal world was so instant and so accurate. I thought, “Hmmm, there must be more to this.”

So over the years I just kept studying and practicing. Until a couple years ago, I was in the music education field. I really did love teaching kids music, but I found that I was really drawn to the animals a lot more. I started animal communication as a business versus just doing it for my own benefit.

At the same time, I was seeing a kinesiologist and chiropractor, and I always thought what he did was really cool because he uses the muscle checking and kinesiology to get answers from my body. At the same time, my mom kept saying, “Kris, you’ve got to check out this Body Talk.” I didn’t even know anything about, but learned that you can do it on people and animals. I signed up for a seminar right outside of Milwaukee and by the second day, it was like a fish to water. It was just easy, simple, I was flying through all this information. It came just naturally to me. I became certified, and I did Body Talk on anyone and everyone who would let me do it on them, and I even did it on animals. Tali, our office manager, had a cat with a hip issue. She would fall over every couple of steps. So I did a quick 30 seconds of Body Talk, and within 10 minutes, the cat was walking normally. She could lie down. Her leg didn’t stick out. She jumped up on the bed. It was only 30 seconds of tapping and I knew there was something there. And that’s how I got into it.

What happens during Body Talk session?
Kristen: A client lies down on the table and doesn’t even have to be awake. I do muscle checking and follow a chart involving the organs, glands, body parts, chakras and meridians, and environmental factors and allergies. I ask the body yes and no questions to find out where the communication in the body has broken down. I had a client who had emotion release of anxiety held in her ankle and once I tapped that out and balanced it, she does not have any walking issues anymore. We call it linking. I say, “Okay body, the liver now needs to talk to the right kidney and the right kidney now needs to talk to the neck and the neck now needs to talk to the thymus,” and I tap over the head and silently say, “Okay, brain wake up, pay attention, connect these things.” Then I tap over the heart and say, “Store this in the body and fix yourself. Remember what the brain did. Now you’re going to tell the rest of the cells to do that.” And the body literally fixes itself. So, the most famous quote in Body Talk is “When the body talks to itself, it heals itself.”

Body Talk was developed about 15 years ago. It combines all of the Eastern medicine as well as the Western medicine. John Veltheim, a chiropractor, acupuncturist in Australia, had Epstein-Barr virus. It was getting to the point where he could hardly work anymore, and he ended up in New Zealand. A colleague, knowing this, said, “There’s an aboriginal tribe here that they are willing to do this funky thing on you if you are willing to let it happen.” And he said, “Yeah, I’ll do anything at this point.” And he had what is now known as the Body Chemistry Technique. He had a fever of about 104 for about three or four days and then he woke up and it was gone. It was completely gone. He went back to the aboriginal people and asked to learn more, and they agreed to let him develop the technique and teach it to others.

What are your intentions for the center now and moving forward?
Kristen: We want to create a space for practitioners and clients to come in and create a community, and bring awareness and our high integrity to integrative healing. We also have products here on consignment. We sell different things from people within the community, including artists who make things by hand. We have jewelry, dog beds from Northeast that are eco-friendly because they are made with recycled material.

Duncan: We’re concentrating on the Twin Cities now, but that’s going to expand, especially with our ability to do some of our work over the phone. We’d also like to take some of our workshops and make them available for people on the internet. Right now, we want to work mainly with our home base right now in the Twin Cities.

Is there anything that we haven’t talked about the Healing Loft that you would like to add or let people know about?
Kristen: We’re here!

Katie: Stop in and say hello. You don’t need an appointment to come and talk to us. Just come and say hello and find out what we do. We’re open.

An interview with teacher Hiyala Indiga

Hiyala Indiga, owner of Body Mind Circle and Body Prayers Yoga Studio, feels so blessed to be able to serve her clients with yoga, massage and artwork. After years of traveling to teach at various sites, she is happy to have found her current studio in Circle Pines, MN. A class with Hiyala is always an exploration — not just of the physical body, but also the mental, emotional and spiritual body. In most every class there will be “check ins” — a time for each student to talk about their body/soul/spirit.

Hiyala has been teaching yoga since her initial training in 1996. Many know her from the classes she taught at Pathways in Uptown, the Emma B. Howe YMCA, Unity Hospital, Mercy Hospital, Shoreview Community Center, Anoka Community Ed, and the Women & Spirituality workshops in Mankato.

I spoke with Hiyala about her relationship with yoga.

Hiyala Indiga is the author of Yoga for Kids.

Hiyala, you have been doing yoga and meditation for some time. What got you started in yoga?
Hiyala Indiga: I was very disinterested in academic learning in high school and, somehow, I found out about a program where I could go study at MN Dance Theater in the afternoons. This was a wonderful experience that really got me into my body. The stretching that we did to warm up was my first introduction to yoga. Through college, I participated in various dance repertory companies. Practicing dance really helped me to keep the intellectual realm of being a student in balance.

A few years later, I felt a need for deeper connection to others, so I researched some intentional communities and ended up at a new age resort in California called Harbin Hot Springs. It was a little “Garden of Eden” where we lived very close to nature. There, I got trained in massage therapy and participated in many yoga retreats. Then I injured my back doing some wild and crazy contact improv dancing. To heal my back faster, I began a very dedicated yoga practice.

Yoga has been gaining in popularity these last few years, but I know that there is a lot of controversy around how mainstream it has become. Where do you weigh in on this?
HI: I think it is all good. There are many portals to learning. We all enter through the portal that attracts us. I encourage people to keep searching for the right fit in a yoga class, because there is really something for everyone.

I advise beginners not to jump into a large group class where everyone follows the instructor and there isn’t much instruction. From outside appearances, yoga seems relatively easy. When one tries to keep up with a group pace, however, the mindful aspect of tuning into how the poses feel in your body is diminished. The joints can become compromised.

As a beginner, it is best to start with a small class where a qualified instructor can see you in the pose and make recommendations for you. In America, our tendency is to try the more difficult level first and then, we might go down to the lower level. The logical progression would be to start easy and work up, but we abhor boredom.

With today’s busy lifestyles, we could all use someone like you to help us stay on track. What do you tell new students to help them stay on track with yoga? What sort of practice recommendations do you give them?
HI: I encourage my students to practice on a daily basis. I often teach the 5 Rites of Tibet to beginners, because there are five exercises and with five repetitions of each to begin, they take only about 15 minutes. Beginning is the hardest part. Once it becomes a habit, then the number of repetitions can be extended or other yoga practices can be added.

Sometimes one’s schedule may not allow for an hour of practice on the mat. Practice takes discipline, but the key is to be flexible. Sometimes my daily practice involves folding clothes in a mindful meditative fashion. I tend to quit halfway through these tasks, so just staying with it to the end is part of my practice.

Why is it so important to carefully select a teacher?
HI: Traditionally, yoga is a spiritual and a physical practice. There are eight “limbs” of study of which the asanas (poses) are only one. It is a treasure to find a teacher who can be a guide for you. To connect with a teacher, there must be a sense of safety so that we can allow ourselves to soften and let down our defenses. The real learning occurs when we do this. This learning is called svadyaya, or self-study. Svadyaya occurs when we are willing to become vulnerable and really look at how we create our own reality.

Once a relationship develops, the teacher can learn his or her student’s temperament and inclinations. In my classes, everyone signs up in eight-week blocks so that the students become comfortable with each other. At the beginning of most classes, we share information about where we are with our body, mind and soul development. This profound sharing necessitates self-reflection. Sharing sometimes provokes feelings that we tend to sweep under the carpet, but these opportunities really help us to go deeper into the practice.

I often tell my students that someone watching us from the outside might think that we are doing beginner yoga, but that is because they can’t see what is happening on the inside. We don’t need to do poses that require us to be super agile in order to advance in our yoga practice. In my classes, an advanced yoga practice is about showing up, and developing the ability to stay focused and be in the present moment…not just during yoga practice, but in daily life.

You even teach yoga to children. How is that? Children seem like they would be all over the place. How do you teach them these somewhat adult concepts?
HI: I have traveled in many countries and I am always amazed by how calm and centered children are in other cultures. Why is that? I think it’s because we Americans tend to give our children free reign and we encourage a lot of silliness. In our society, what is loud and agitated is what gets attention.

There is a belief that all kids are wired. I love to bring awareness to the knowing that there are children who are calm and centered and we need to start noticing them more. There are teens looking for activities that are calm and centering. Yoga is a wonderful activity for kids who are not competitive. In our culture, children are being hurried. We tend to rush kids through lots of activity and they end up like us…barely able to catch their breath.

In Yoga for Kids, my DVD and book for teaching yoga to parents and children, I try to slow things down and give children time to relish being in their bodies. I am a bit more playful when doing yoga with children. In my book, I tell a story that I wrote about a turtle who does yoga. Contained within the story are lessons about dying, breathing, the value of moving slowly with awareness and encounters with the various animals that the poses are named after. This book is designed for a parent and child to practice, but is simple enough to be done without the adult as well.

The Thai massage that you do seems to work well with your yoga training. Does Thai massage incorporate yoga postures?
HI: Yes, it is often described as having yoga done to you. Thai massage involves gently being moved into a stretch and progressive holdings of the stretch. I often incorporate strain and counterstrain techniques into the massage to help bring muscles into their original pain-free positions. It is really great for people who need to stretch but don’t make the time for it. It is also good for those who are elderly or incapacitated for whatever reason.

Daily movement usually only requires forward or backward movement of our limbs, so it is important to consciously practice full range of movement. If you don’t do this on your own, a Thai massage will really awaken you to the resulting imbalances in your body!

For more information on Hiyala’s Yoga classes and more, visit www.indigaart.com, call 763.413.0612 or email indigaArt@aol.com.

Alexandra Solnado’s path as a spiritual healer began in a moment, when her daughter stopped breathing. Alexandra thought she had died. In that fleeting second, Alexandra met with something she had never encountered before to this magnitude — powerlessness. A woman who had previously maintained maximum control over her life, Alexandra looked up to heaven and said: “I give in.” Meaning, “I cannot save my daughter. I deliver this to heaven.” With those words, Alexandra knew that her life had radically changed.

She discovered that her daughter had a “spiritual” illness, not a medical one (based on a past life trauma). She saved her daughter by applying spiritual therapies that she learned from Jesus.

Shortly after the incident, Alexandra began living the spiritual path. Then, on March 28, 2002, Jesus appeared to her for the first time. Jesus immediately began to dictate to Alexandra messages for 11 books, for spiritual therapies and 1,000 meditations. He became and continues to be a constant presence in her life and consultations.

Alexandra’s latest book, a bestseller in her native Portugal and now receiving praise in America, is The Book of Light. Like the ancient I Ching, readers come to The Book of Light with a question. They select two letters from the ancient Aramaic language used by Jesus, and the combination of the letters points the reader to a select message from Jesus, transcribed by Alexandra.

The following is an email interview conducted with the author from her home in Portugal.

Alexandra, thank you for making yourself available to our readers Let’s begin with a little information about yourself. Were you raised Catholic like many in Portugal, and what was instrumental in your spiritual growth as a young woman?
Alexandra Solnado: My parents were not religious. They thought we had to grow up without following any religion so that we could choose when we grew up. My mother is quite mystical and my father was really skeptical, so I could see things from both sides. I have always been really interested in spirituality, but I did not know where to turn to. I had no direction. I just liked it, and I was curious about it, but that was it.

There was nothing particularly instrumental in my spiritual growth as a young woman. I was a workaholic. I just thought about work. I had no spiritual life. It took my daughter becoming really ill — being declared dead in front of me — for me to start realizing that there was something that could take my daughter away in an instant. When she was already sick, seriously ill, I heard a voice say “this has to do with you, this has to do with you….” It was then that I realized that I was also part of that drama, in other words, that I also had to do something. The idea was, “If my choices brought me here, to this hospital bed, then they were not very good choices. Maybe I have to relearn how to choose.”

So I went to relearn how to choose. A woman astrologer read my karmic astral chart and I fell in love with karmic astrology. It was from here onwards, through astrology, that I began to understand. Then I started to meditate, I started to find the Higher Self and many other beings of light.

Prior to March 2002, please describe the personal relationship you had with Jesus.
AS: I had always thought of Jesus as a great revolutionary, a master of freedom. Every time I saw people fighting for freedom, I remembered Him. I believed Jesus had been the first person to fight for freedom and to be a real revolutionary. But that was it. I had almost a political admiration for Him, for the way He fought, without violence. That was all. Mysticism? Zero, absolutely zero.

What happened in March 2002 that opened the channel in you to messages from Jesus?
AS: I was showing a friend something that I had discovered, a meditation where we would find our Higher Self, our divine half, that had remained up there, in heaven. Up until now, this has been one of the pillars of my work — to introduce people to their divine half, to whom they may ask questions, may ask for advice, may improve their lives by way of these precise guidelines for their evolution.

In the middle of the meditation, my friend asked me, “Are you up here?”

I replied “No, I am down here.”

He said, “Oh, so you are, His hand is so long. It is touching your head. He is thanking you.”

I thought it was my friend’s Higher Self that was thanking me, so I asked, “Thanking me for what?”

He replied, “For bringing people to this side, to the side of the light.”

And when my friend finished the meditation, he said it was Jesus. We set another day for me to take him up there again. I thought that was all really strange, but I had long ago opened myself up to things that appeared strange. So on the eve of the set day, I was doing my meditation at night when a giant being appeared to me. It was Jesus, an extraordinarily clear image of Jesus. He took my hand, put me in His heart, a giant heart, and said, “From now on, whenever you want to talk to me, just look up.”

And from then on, every time I looked up, I saw Jesus’ face, a huge, giant face. He emanated absolute peace. A sense of tranquility I did not know. It was like this that it all started and it continues even today.

How has Jesus appeared to you? Do you hear His voice?
AS: I have seen Jesus in all forms, as a person, with regular clothing, as a being of light. I have seen Him gigantic, I have seen Him small, I have seen Him in every kind of way. But the most important thing He has taught me is how to perceive His energy.

In almost 10 years that I have been seeing Him, I have clearly learned what is His energy and what is not. I know exactly when it is Him up there and when it is not. The presence of Jesus is unmistakable. A very powerful energy of love, tenderness, calmness, lightness, transcendence…and I could stay here all day….

Of course, there is a voice, for in order to write my books I hear a voice that dictates these messages to me, and He dictates with an absolute precision. Sometimes he dictates a word which I do not understand very well and do not know the meaning of. He remains there repeating the word until I discover which one it is. After He has dictated words that I didn’t even know the meaning of, I would then go to the dictionary and found that it made complete sense in the context of that sentence. He is really very precise.

How did you feel when you began receiving the messages? What effect did they have on you personally?
AS: I felt really confused, because it was something that was not part of my life. I was never Catholic, so it did not make sense…but I soon realized that that Jesus was not the Jesus of the Catholic Church. I soon realized — and He mentions this very early on in the first book — that it is Jesus who is responsible for humanity in the coming Age of Aquarius and that one of His tasks is to make humanity progress. Because He is the highest archangel in heaven, He is the highest energy there is in heaven before God, who is All. Up until this day, one of the words Jesus most often uses is: “Trust.”

Sometimes He asks for something that is difficult and then He says: “Trust. Trust.” And He has never let me down. Never once has He asked for something which I have then done — and sometimes He asks without explaining anything, He just asks — that has not been highly significant.

The messages have changed my life completely. They have completely changed the way I see the world, see myself and see other people. They have changed everything. I believe that no stone has gone unturned, nothing has remained the same. Nowadays, I have a clear notion that I see the world and life much more through the logic of heaven than through the logic of the earth. Each time I see things less through the logic of down here. Up in heaven, there is a logic and when we start following that logic we understand that everything — absolutely everything — is perfectly orchestrated, everything in matter is part of an energetic choreography. The thing is, those who are down here cannot see it.

Please give our readers a brief idea of how the book is to be used to help them in their lives.
AS: Someone has a doubt, any type of doubt — what shall I do with my career, how do I resolve a problem to do with love, how do I deal with this issue, how do I handle that issue, I have a problem concerning my child, what shall I do, whatever the problem is… — pick up the book, think of the light, think of Jesus, elevate yourself in any way possible and focus on the problem.

The deeper you concentrate the more at one you will be with the Universe, and as a result, the greater your communication with these messages.

Then, pick out two of the symbols that are included in the book. Then go to the chart that comes with the book and look for the picture of the first symbol on the vertical column and of the second symbol on the horizontal column. You will find a number where these two symbols intersect, which is the number of your answer. Try to read the answer with your soul, not with your mind or with your ego. There are also those people who prefer not to use the symbols, but simply open up a page by chance, that is up to you.

One of the biggest feedbacks we have had is concerning the accuracy of these answers.

Alexandra Solnado, a bestselling author in Portugal, is receiving worldwide praise for her new book, The Book of Light. Like the ancient I Ching, readers come to The Book of Light with a question. They select two letters from the ancient Aramaic language used by Jesus, and the combination of the letters points the reader to a select message from Jesus, transcribed by Alexandra.

On March 28, 2002, Jesus appeared to Alexandra for the first time. Jesus immediately began to dictate to Alexandra messages for 11 books, for spiritual therapies and 1,000 meditations. He became and continues to be a constant presence in her life and consultations.

Was there an initial message directed to you personally that changed your perspective on everything? What was it?
AS: All His messages are extremely beautiful. They are all very inspiring. Throughout these 10 years that I have been writing, I have received all types and forms of messages. I received messages I was writing for the books but which I also felt were meant for me, which made a lot of sense in my life. But I have to admit that the messages from Jesus, which I like the most, are the messages in which He shows the love He feels for Humanity, where He shows that in spite of sometimes being far from the light, of people being far from the light and having a lot of inner violence and being extremely intolerant, He continues to love us with open arms, waiting for us to look towards Him.

42: Unconditional Love

Today we are going to talk about unconditional love.
It is the forbidden love. It is the love that everyone yearns for, that everyone wishes to touch.
It is the love that is neither interested in what you believe in or the way you behave, nor in your status, religion, circumstances, or surroundings.
It is an unmitigated love, a love without fear and without judgment. It has no memory or feelings of revenge.
It is absolute love.
It simply loves and that is all. It loves for no other reason than to love. It loves without reservations.
No matter whom you are, no matter what you do, or what consequences you attract, or how you live your life, I will always be here.
Always ready, always whole, loving you as you are.
For the way you chose to be in this lifetime.
My love is not conditional, there are no restrictions. I only love.
This is my way of protecting you, guiding you, understanding you, and enlightening you.
Life teaches you lessons, and I love you. Together life and I work side by side in guiding you through your passage on earth.
Open up your heart. Let my love enter. Only when you have received my unconditional love and feel protected by heaven can you emanate love. Emanate self-love, which will inevitably allow you to forgive yourself and accept yourself as you really are – emanate love towards others, which in its turn will bring more love – emanate love towards the earth and animals, which will prolong human beings’ stay on earth.
Open up your heart. Reconnect with your feelings.
Just for a while, stop thinking, running, and flying without any sense of direction or meaning.
Stop. Look into your heart and open it up.
Let me inside, slowly, one step at a time. Let me enter and remain there.
And you will see how everything becomes clearer. How everything transforms into light.
And I will have one more reason for being here. And that reason is you.
JESUS

How did the book, The Book of Light, come together? Did Jesus give you the complete vision for how the book would be arranged and used by readers?
AS: Yes, absolutely. All the details are dictated. The first time He spoke to me about this book, I was at the launching of one of my other books, also with messages from Jesus, and He said the following: “We have written many books, intended only to be read, people read the books from start to finish, but then they don’t know how to integrate any of these concepts into their lives. Imagine: a person has a specific problem and taking into account all the books that we have already written, which concept is this person going to apply to this specific problem in his or her life? Let’s write a book with questions and answers, a book where if someone has a problem, all they need do is ask the question and then read the answer. They only read that message and then they have a direct reply to their problem. It will be a way of giving people spiritual concepts that they can apply more directly in their everyday lives.”

I refused. I said, “No, no, no. It is one thing to hear messages and to write them down, that I can accept — and I was already hesitant about accepting it, it was difficult but I did it — but to have the audacity to answer these questions, I don’t think I can do that.” I fought against this concept, against this request, because I didn’t think I was capable of doing it.

And He said, “All right, then there are to be no more books.” And we left it at that. Approximately a month went by without Him dictating anything, for He only wanted to dictate this book. I realized that I had to make a choice — either I trusted Him once again or there would be no more books. So I decided to trust Him. And it has been a tremendous experience.

Yes, He explained everything, how the “chart” works, that the questions would be asked using symbols from the Aramaic alphabet, which was the language that He spoke, and that one would remove two pieces and then go to one column and then the other to join the two pieces and receive the answer. He explained everything, absolutely everything. In fact, my work is to “remove” Alexandra during this time in order to receive only what He wants me to receive.

What reaction to The Book of Light have you received from the public in Portugal? Can you share any stories you have received about how the book has helped people?
AS: This book is very magical.

The Book of Light has had — and it is still having — a tremendous impact on the Portuguese public. The book became an instant bestseller, reaching No. 1 on the national top sales list, where it stayed for several weeks. But the most important thing about this book is how it has led people to look deep within themselves and actually helped them change their lives, as you can see from one of many stories I received….

One morning, while I was consulting a book about the wisdom of life, I got a message saying I would receive a gift. As I got to work, I met a friend who had just bought The Book of Light. As soon as I took the first two symbols, I realized I had much more than a simple book in my hand. I spent the whole afternoon asking questions and receiving answers. After a few days, almost all of my colleagues at work wanted to take the symbols, too. I bought the book, as well, and I started carrying it with me all the time. Such a precious treasure can´t be guarded, it has to — and should be — shared by everyone. All my colleagues who chose to follow the Light, have radically changed their lives, including myself. The Book of Light is my daily guide. There are days when the pain is so much that I get on my knees and cry…and others that I reach up so high in Heaven that I don’t even want to get down. It is not easy, but it is REALLY worth it…. The Book of Light has taken me to so many places inside me, and outside, too. The messages have such a transforming power. Vital messages for all humankind and of such an exceptional love. I have been waiting for you for a very long time…. Cláudia

The book makes use of 17 symbols in the Aramaic language used by Jesus when he walked the Earth. How would you describe the symbols and how they could be translated into English?
AS: The symbols are letters of the alphabet. Jesus did not wish to give a meaning to each symbol; He simply wished to use the alphabet so that the Aramaic energy, the energy that existed when He was here, would be present. That is all. The Aramaic energy is the connection; none of the symbols have a special meaning, they are just part of the alphabet. On picking out two of these symbols I am making the connection with Jesus, precisely through the language that He once spoke.

Why is Jesus offering this information to us now, at this time? What messages, if any, has Jesus given you that describe his feelings toward humanity at this time or describe how he interprets what humanity is going through now?
AS: There is an esoteric saying that goes, “Everything that reaches its limit, turns to its opposite,” and humanity is clearly reaching its limit, a limit of violence, of intolerance, of a lack of respect for others. There is a lack of emotion of a higher energy, a lack of feelings and an excess of mental activity. The Earth cannot take much more; its resources will not last much longer. It is as if Humanity is walking towards the edge of the precipice.

And the task Jesus has, as a Being of Light and for actually being responsible for humanity itself, is to help us make that spiritual leap, a qualitative leap in our energy, to prevent it from extinguishing. The Era of Pisces which is now coming to an end was also the era of the intermediaries, of judgment, of guilt, of fear and resentment. The Era of Aquarius, which is now arriving, is the era of the healing of the soul, of the healing of karma and of interaction between worlds.

The idea is to no longer have intermediaries. The idea is for people themselves to start meditating and learning how to go up to heaven to get information. The information that is useful for one person may be of no use for another. Each person has to go in search of their own information, without intermediaries. There is actually an esoteric saying that says, “Each and every spiritual guide can only help me as far as his own conscience goes.” If someone that is trying to help me has a low level of awareness, he won’t be of much help. The idea is to learn how to go up there, to heaven, to get exactly what my consciousness can reach.

Here are some of Jesus messages about humanity…

250: To Be Reborn

You are being reborn.
In all senses, in all forms, in the most trivial of day-to-day activities, you are being born again to a new life.
You are gradually becoming closer to me.
You are gradually becoming higher, purer and more subtle. You are gradually reaching the dimension of the sky where fairies can fly.
This is the time of rebirth. It is the time for men to understand their mission.
To recognize that man’s true mission, the only mission possible for human beings within humanity, is to be capable of being unique, distinct, and inviolable.
It is to be able to stand out from the seven thousand million people that exist.
Be authentic.
Be organic.
Be special.
JESUS

72: My Love

Give them my love.
That is all. Give them my love.
Give them the love that you receive from me.
Do whatever you need to do so that my love reigns in your heart.
Do your best to remove density and the negative and destructive memories, and emotions that exist.
Try to avoid having rage, hate, envy, and bitterness in your emotional system.
Reach into your pain as much as you need to, deactivate your memory and then ascend. When you arrive here, make sure that you are light, fresh and crystalline, so that my love can be blessed, so that my love can embrace the world through your vibrations.
And when you are out on the streets, when you talk to people, when you are where you need to be in your daily life, the enormous amount of love that I feel for humanity will burst forth from you and invade the whole planet.
And you will know that it is me.
You will know that it is I that has invaded the streets, and people’s souls.
And everything will become clearer.
And everything will become cleaner.
And everything will take on the vibrations of heaven, because this is the only way that man has of returning home.
JESUS

240: Feel the Love

…Summon the energy of those people you have loved and continue to love in this life.
Even those who were not always good to you but whom you loved.
Even those that hurt you but whom you continued to love.
Summon the energy of all those people. And feel the love.
Feel the love you have for them.
Acknowledge that regardless of what has happened between you, they are here in your life to teach you how to love.
And to honor the love that is inside you.
They are in your life to show you that you have all that love there inside you to draw on.
So that you may love without expecting anything in return.
Rather than being something you use to barter, love is a blessing for those who feel it. For those that can feel it. Simply feel it.
Hold on to the energy of those people that are before you. And love.
That is all. Love, love, love.
And regardless of their response to your love, you will feel your energy changing vibration and ascending.
And when your chest is on the brink of bursting open because of all the love that it emanates, raise your conscience and come and show me your love.
For you can only love me if you love other men – or their souls – if you are able to love life.
Therefore, when your chest is almost bursting with the love you feel towards humanity, irrespective of the many flaws it has, you will immediately be loving me.
And loving yourself, for you are part of that immensely imperfect, yet magical race called humanity.
JESUS

How has The Book of Light affected your life personally?
AS: It affected my life a great deal, because even though I had written many books before The Book of Light, this book revealed not only that the channel is open, but just how strong the channel is and how those people who are willing to receive information from heaven will receive it. It is remarkable.

Do you intend to share more messages from Jesus in the form of books or written communication now that this book has been published?
AS: I would love to publish all the books that I have already written and continue to write. Let’s see how the public in the U.S. reacts to The Book of Light, how the public in the U.S. reacts to the messages from Jesus.

An Edge Interview with Debbie Johnson, one of the documentary’s teachers

We have all heard the statistics, about how America’s children are dramatically overweight. We’ve seen British chef Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” campaign against the use of processed foods in schools. And we continue to be flooded with diet plans, diet pills and even testimonials on how you can lose that unwanted weight.

Enter Dr. David Smiley, a clinical psychologist who arrived in Hollywood with $200 in his pocket and a desire to create a film that reveals not only why dieting does not work, but exposes the true secret about how to lose weight. After experiencing an epiphany, that our lives are created by our thoughts and beliefs, he brought together holistic and spiritual teachers and experts who could shed more light on the subject and teach him more. The result was the loss of 55 pounds and the creation of the documentary, The Inner Weigh™.

Debbie Johnson is one of many authors and experts profiled in The Inner Weigh.

“His dream was to make this film for love, just for love,” says Debbie Johnson, author of Think Yourself Thin and one of the many expert contributors to The Inner Weigh, a film about changing the way that you think about yourself. It is about tapping into the power of your subconscious mind to create the body and the life that you want.

Johnson wrote her book after losing 40 pounds without special diets or exercise regimens. She has kept the weight off for over 25 years, strictly using “thinking thin” techniques that are at the heart of The Inner Weigh methods. She will be at the Minnesota premiere of The Inner Weigh at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 19 at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Ave., Minneapolis. She will answer questions, lead a brief discussion and offer a short writing exercise after the film to help people get started on The Inner Weigh.

A former Twin Cities resident, Johnson recently relocated back to Hot Springs, SD, where she enjoys hiking, dancing, cooking, swimming and exploring. She spoke with The Edge about her participation with The Inner Weigh.

Debbie, thanks for sharing The Inner Weigh with the Twin Cities and the world. How did you become a part of this film and why did you want to participate in it?
Debbie Johnson: Dr. Dave Smiley, the creator and producer of the film, called me when I was just leaving Santa Barbara, CA, to move back to South Dakota. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was leaving California and I was being asked to fly to L.A., just south of Santa Barbara, to be a part of this amazing project!

Dr. Dave had a truly sincere, caring voice. He believed so much in this project and I could tell it was all about love. So of course I said, “Yes!”  I knew it would be the next level of consciousness for bringing compassion and hope to people who hate their bodies, but who realize diets don’t work and beating themselves up doesn’t work.

What is the message of  The Inner Weigh?
DJ: Love yourself. You are Divine Spirit. You have an inner compass that will steer you through the morass of dieting hype and whisper the truth to you. It will tell you what you need to eat, how you need to exercise and even more precious, how beautiful you really are, just as you are right now. You don’t need to think, you just need to be yourself and listen to your own precious intuition.

What did you — as one of many authors, spiritual leaders and experts who were brought together in the creation of this film — specifically want to say to viewers?
DJ: I wanted to tell people that they are truly Soul. That they don’t have a soul, like owning it, but they are Soul, divine spirit, in a body and that they can better control their lives from that viewpoint through imagination. Of course films get edited, so what came out was more about how to do that. But what’s so wonderful about the magic of this film is that we were all saying what each of us believed, sometimes in almost the same words, so someone else actually said it!

Reports have documented the tremendous increase in the overall weight of Americans, especially our children. Is there a bigger issue at play here, or is it just that we are eating too much food that is unhealthy and are not exercising enough?
DJ: That’s such a great question, Tim! I want to say, all of the above. However, it doesn’t help to try to restrict ourselves, force or push ourselves, because then we just want more of what we can’t have. Have you ever noticed that willpower only works for a very short time? That’s because it’s coming from the conscious mind and ego. However, if we tap into the subconscious via our divine gift of imagination, we can then begin the journey, our own individual journey, to success in anything. And that includes weight-release.

If parents would tell their kids, or spouses would tell each other every day, “You look a little thinner today,” or “You look fantastic! You must be doing something right,” then you’d see a huge (no pun intended) change in people. And of course, people can do this for themselves, as well. My favorite is: “I feel a little bit thinner today.” That got rid of a lot of my weight!

How does The Inner Weigh relate to The Secret?
DJ: In several ways. First of all, Bob Proctor, the main teacher in The Secret, is also in The Inner Weigh, along with some other very visual people in the self-help field, such as Mary Morrissey and Gay Hendricks. Also, The Inner Weigh is based on the law of attraction, which we know of as visualization, basically. The format is similar. Interviews are done looking at an actual person, though the audience doesn’t see Dr. Dave doing the interviews.

Because of this, the audience feels the connection. We’re not just talking to a camera, but a real, live, receptive and very interested human!

Is The Inner Weigh just rehashing old ideas or is it a new revolutionary way of looking at dieting, exercise and weight loss?
DJ: Well, Tim, it’s old and new and very revolutionary. The old part is the love, the very essence of what makes everything work better in life and the trust in intuition and our spiritual connection with God, the universe, whatever you believe. The revolution is that this film reveals, through several studies shown, that this idea works and that restrictive diets don’t. I don’t know if anyone has gone to that kind of extreme…to show that diets may actually be harmful.

Many of us are old enough to remember when people started rising up against smoking. Studies were showing many illnesses related to smoking, but most people didn’t pay much attention. This all began at the turn of the 20th century. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, the diet industry is finally getting examined more closely.

One of the studies on The Inner Weigh shows that a six-month starvation diet (what most calorie-counting diets are like for the body) made people horde food, binge and gain weight afterward. Also, some very restrictive diets can cause many health problems.

You are the author of Think Yourself Thin. How does your book relate to the ideas in The Inner Weigh?
DJ: Think Yourself Thin is completely aligned with The Inner Weigh. It’s why Dr. Dave asked me to be in it. In fact, he lost 55 pounds using my methods, as well as others, relating to the law of attraction.

The idea in Think Yourself Thin is to imagine your ideal self (can be used for weight or any issue, challenge or goal) using all of your senses and positive emotion. It’s now been proven that positive emotion felt with positive thoughts or images creates things in life faster than just thought. I’ve been teaching that and using it myself (when I remember!) for years.

What lasting impressions did you have after seeing the finished film?
DJ: I cried when I first saw it, as did many of the teachers in the film. The love and compassion just jump off the screen. It reaches people at a heart level. Even though we’re called teachers, not stars, I feel like we should be called, “the lovers on the film,” because that’s what we all wanted to share with our fellow humans who suffer as many of us have.

Many of the teachers on the film either had a weight problem (who knew Gay Hendricks was once 300 pounds?) or an eating disorder. My story was that I gained 40 pounds dieting over a ten-year period from teens on. I finally gave up on dieting, tried the methods I’d learned in my spiritual studies and reading. I lost it all thinking thin, using a technique I developed that I call “focused imagination” and I’ve kept the weight off over 25 years, even through my change of life! And as you’ll see on the film, the other teachers have maintained their weight loss, as well — it’s so amazing — without any diets!

I truly believe that this is the way people who are suffering from carrying too much weight can find a spiritual solution. Whatever they believe will be ignited through watching the struggles others have gone through. The light of God comes through many of the teachers on the film and I know it will touch people in a way they’ve never experienced before with such a down-to-earth topic. The Inner Weigh already has rave reviews on Amazon and is endorsed now by Rev. Michael Beckwith of the Agape Movement, as well as Neale Donald Walsh.

For more information about The Inner Weigh, visit TheInnerWeigh.com.

First of a two-part interview with spiritual teacher Lynn Woodland

Since 2006, with the publication and broadcast of The Secret, much attention has been paid to the universal Law of Attraction, which suggests that we can have our heart’s desires if we put our attention on them. But Lynn Woodland — award-winning author, international teacher, and human potential expert with a 35-year career in transpersonal psychology, human motivation, and mind-body psychology — says there is more to manifestation than affirmations or envisioning can ever bring forth. Much more.

In her new book, Holding a Butterfly: An Experiment in Miracle Making, which will be released in mid-January, she writes: “Popular movies like What the Bleep Do We Know?! and The Secret make ‘the Law of Attraction’ look like an easy way to have everything we want. And it really is that easy…except, of course, when it’s not, when no amount of affirmations or visualization techniques will budge life circumstances that feel hopelessly out of our control.”

In an interview I conducted with Lynn from her home in Minneapolis, she offered a glimpse into a process of miracle making that on the surface seemed downright complex — and paradoxically, as simple as letting go.

How do you define “miracle?”
Lynn Woodland: A miracle, as I define it, is an event born in unconditional love. It really is rooted in love. It has a win-win outcome. It is where things just unfold through serendipity rather than through effort, and they also have a way of just stretching our imagination open to what is possible.

A Course in Miracles defines miracles as a shift in perspective, from fear to love, and I totally buy into that. In my way of looking at miracles, they give rise to incredible events and outcomes, but they really are about that shift in consciousness. That’s what differentiates miracle making from simply practicing manifesting techniques that are about using intention and a focus in a specific way to call forth an outcome.

Manifesting techniques work some of the time for some of the people. They tend not to work consistently, and they often work with some kinks in them. A funny story: I knew a woman many years ago who started practicing an affirmation of, “My next boyfriend is rich, my next boyfriend is rich, my next boyfriend is rich!” She would just write it and say it, and it did really produce immediate results. She attracted a new relationship. The man was not wealthy, but he was named Rich. It worked like a charm.

Manifesting techniques often are just the product of the limitations of our personality and what we can imagine for ourselves, and they often draw from some of the subconscious doubts and limitations and hidden agendas that we might not be very conscious of.

Miracles are when we really let go of “I want what I want and I want it now!” and have this direct experience of love, of God energy, and then things just start to unfold in the way that is maybe what we wanted, but maybe just something really better.

Why do you call this an experiment?
LW: Because the whole book is set up to draw readers into a here-and-now immediate experiment. I base everything in the new science that explains some of the spiritual principles that have been taught in metaphysics 101 throughout the decades. These principles now are starting to be validated by science. I offer some of the science underlying the principles, and then I invite readers to imagine that we can bend time, we can bend space — and truly we can. A lot of research underlies that now. We actually can join in consciousness with every other reader, which has a very amplifying effect.

A lot of current teachings are out of date. I think they came out of the 1980s, which was an era that was very much about the “me consciousness.”

What are some of those teachings that are out of date?
LW: The idea of sitting down with your copy of The Secret and making your vision board and going into your own room and practicing your own techniques so you can get what you want. In the 1980s a lot of these techniques were introduced in a popularized way, and I think they were colored by the era, which was about, “If we’re clever enough, we can have anything.” It was very chic to have it all and to be a little cut above the herd.

Now, in these times, we are seeing a collapse of that way of looking at life, and we’re finding out that good has to come through “we consciousness.” During the day as I listen to news radio, I hear so many commentators use the phrase, “We’re all in the same boat.” There’s something very important about recognizing that in order to find prosperity now, we need to do it together. The experiment I set up in the book helps us to experience joined consciousness here and now, even with people we don’t even know.

There is a quote in your book to the effect that there is only one mind. Is that part of what you’re tapping into?
LW: Yes, because with it there’s such an amplified effect. I have been working with this amplification in my experiential group work during the past 35 years, and I have found that when people get together and join in this place of unconditional caring for one another, it takes them places that they couldn’t go alone. It is more effective than individual counseling, which I used to do way back when.

What I do in this book is a step beyond that, because I set out the premise that we can join not just in the here and now with a group of people, but we can join others across time and space. Someone who may be reading my book next year may have already sent love to you, just as we are sending love forward to others in time and space.

There’s something kind of mind-boggling in it all that makes us wonder, well, what are the limits? So, I set it up really as an experiment, because I’m not sure what the outcomes are going to be. I don’t think we’ve quite tapped into who we can be yet.

We hear about healing miracles and miracle recoveries from disasters, but would you say that we are all creating small miracles every day in our lives without being consciously aware of it?
LW: If you go to A Course in Miracles definition, that a miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love, I think anytime we forget anything but this instant and the experience of love, we are in a miracle. Maybe something just comes together easily for us that we expected to be difficult. Maybe something shows up that just seems just very serendipitous and coincidental in a wonderful way. Maybe we don’t even connect it to that instant of love.

I think the instant is the miracle — and we do experience those frequently. And when the miracle happens, it results in a ripple effect on the physical world around us, whether we recognize the connection or not.

What can our readers do to open them up to the miracle process?
LW: A lot of people are focused on prosperity: “I want it, I want it, I want it, I want my prosperity now. I don’t have it. I want it, I want it!” What I see as being the key to opening up not just our individual prosperity, but our collective prosperity, is to really look at our connections to other people.

When we go into scarcity, we tend to isolate ourselves and freeze up. We disconnect. We might feel ashamed. And yet, I feel that we have collectively manifested the experience of scarcity to learn how to be interdependent.

So my tip — to support your own prosperity and well-being and to help the whole collective experience of the world around you kind of rise out of it — is to look at how you personally may have contributed to the whole “me consciousness” thing that was our downfall. This is not as obvious as you might think, because sometimes it’s simply about being caught up in our own scarcity that we don’t reach out to our neighbor, or we’re not there to support somebody else, or we don’t reach out for help.

Give a lot of attention to questions like, “Who is there for you?” If there is not anyone, start cultivating those networks. “Who are you there for?” Who are you really there for if somebody came upon hard times? How can you give more energy and attention to your own personal support network?

Those aren’t just the things that are going to make us feel warm and fuzzy, they are literally like the fly turning around 180 degrees and finding the open door. They are going to open those kinds of doors for us.

Continued in Part 2….

Are what you do and say, and who you are, in alignment with your beliefs? For many of us, if we are honest with ourselves, the answer may be no. I believe that most people wish to live authentically, but many do not. I spoke with one of the most authentic people I know to get some ideas for how to try and capture some of that authenticity in your everyday life.

Judith Froemming – Consciousness Coach™, Master Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner and Interplay Instructor – is a lovely testament to authenticity in her life. If you have the good fortune to meet, work or play with her, you will find that she really lives her talk. Judith facilitates the process of awakening in both group and individual sessions in the Twin Cities area.

I think the cultural structures that define us sometimes limit our authenticity. What do you think, Judith?
Judith Froemming: When I question my limiting beliefs, I set myself free. While it appears that cultural structures define me, what happens if I ask if this is true? What if cultural structures don’t define and limit me? What if it is my mind that defines and limits me?

When I accept limiting beliefs, I notice that I feel overwhelmed, stressed, afraid and dis-empowered. When I believe that these same cultural structures don’t define and limit me, I feel calm, peaceful, grateful and I notice the abundance of options that I actually have. I notice that it is my mind that defines me and sometimes limits my authenticity. I see now that cultural structures are neutral. They are there to create contrast so that I can see what I want to choose. I take responsibility for my choices, now.

Life in this dimension is a buffet. It is a table loaded with every conceivable dish. I can fill my plate with everything I don’t want, then complain at the checkout how terrible this buffet is, or I can fill my plate with everything I love and be grateful for all the wonderful, tasty choices I’ve made! I notice that this is a universe of contrast. I taste the pickles and I don’t like them. Good! Now I know not to take more pickles. I take the potato salad. I like it. Good! I’ll be taking more potato salad. In a free-will universe, I notice what creates suffering or what creates joy and balance for me…if I’m awake. And I can choose.

How can people break free of these limitations without alienating the people they love?
JF: Byron Katie’s humorous, and pointed statement,”Other people’s opinions of me are none of my business,” powerfully challenges the impossible expectation of the above statement. Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t please everyone? I end up exhausted and resentful. Once I give up trying to control how someone else feels or how they feel about me, I can return to being.

There is a famous bible passage, “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself…” (NAS, Mark 12:28-31). It seems to focus on loving your neighbor. But does it? If I look more deeply, I begin to realize that I’m not capable of loving anyone any better than I’m capable of loving myself. If I try to avoid alienating someone by pleasing them at my own expense, I am not true to my spirit and I’m not loving myself or them. It may look good on the surface, but it’s not authentic.

Being true to my spirit might be interpreted as egotistical. Outside of my consciousness, I do anything to avoid feeling unworthy. I shop, control, gamble, have sex, accumulate, drink, smoke, rage, and work to excess. This is what happens when I don’t believe I’m lovable enough to ask for what I want and need…until I wake up. When I love and accept myself, I can finally Love and accept you without expectations or attachment.

Can you teach people to be authentic?
JF: If I want to be authentic, I am willing to create a practice of Love. I am willing to question my limiting beliefs, belly breathe to calm myself, and be still. I listen to what my Body, Nature and Source have to teach me…be here now. I will raise my emotional intelligence, give up dualistic thinking and end war with myself. I do what gives me energy and stop doing what drains my energy…I become a formerly serious person and love that I won’t do any of this perfectly. It’s not required.

When I slow down, I cultivate awareness, which opens me to sit quietly and learn to actually live in my body. Acculturation has taught me to avoid pain, but now I lovingly observe my pain. My body teaches me as layers of tension gradually release, my neglected body heals and energy returns. I can only be authentic if I am present.

I am unattached to the outcome of my choice, I just notice the information coming to me and make the next choice. I act rather than re-act. As I remain unattached to the outcome, I’m free to be grateful for what this choice reveals to me, what it teaches me. It’s simple. I made up that it was more complicated than that.

I am my own best teacher. If I seek guidance, the wisest teacher will tell me that the answers are within. When I commit myself to the practice of Love, my mind and body open to previously unknown dimensions of life. I do not need to improve myself, I only need to remember myself. My intention to practice loving-kindness creates a life of joy and balance. It frees me from my alienation, suffering and distractions, and I’m finally able to love others as myself. An authentic life is in the moment, being true to my own spirit, my own journey.

Do you believe that self-esteem and authenticity are related?
JF: Self-esteem is rooted in accepting my original blessing or original nobility. When I am absolutely accepting of my being-ness, I love myself just as I am. My mind is quiet, my brain signals the production of healing chemistry and my body releases pain and tension and channels wisdom. I am grateful for this magnificent buffet and the opportunity to choose. Every choice I make is mine. Self-esteem allows me to own my choices…all of them. When I own my choices, I empower myself to live authentically.

The authentic heart is the spiritually mature heart. It is not a perfectionist. It has compassion for my being rather than goals for my future. It loves what is. Its only desire is to love and be free.

For more information on Judith Froemming, visit www.infinitemindhypnosis.com.

Philosopher. Shaman. Poet. Warrior. Martial Arts expert. Speaker. Spiritual Leader. This, and much more, is Hanakia Zedek, a dreadlocked mystic who was born in the streets of Brooklyn, NY, and now lives near the tree-lined banks of Minnehaha Creek in South Minneapolis. But Hana, as he is called by friends, also is much less. Nothing, actually.

His philosophy: Everything comes out of Nothing. He explains that this philosophy “allows for the release of all that you hold onto – belief, fear, ego, hope, faith, worry, pain; all of which we have created and been trained to believe in; all of which create separation within ourselves and the Universe.”

He spoke with The Edge on a warm Indian summer day in October. In Part 1 of this interview, he shared his thoughts on nothingness, on emptying ourselves of old patterns and old thoughts and old baggage in order to get in touch with who we truly are.

In Part 2, Hanakia continues explaining that process.

What is the process that helps people excavate things inside of them, when they come to you for help?
Hanakia Zedek: They just want to figure out what the hell is going on, so what I do is show them the choices they are making and ask, “Does this seem like a logical thing to do? Does this seem like something that works in your life? How does this feel?”

And they look at me and say, “That doesn’t feel right.”

And I say, “Where does that choice come from?” We go back to the point of origin.

And I ask, “Okay, do you want to hold that? Is that something you want to hold or is that something you want to shift? Is that something you want to let go of?” I show them that they have the choice to let that go or shift it or change it or whatever they want to do with it that works for them. It may be just the way that they are looking at it, a perceptual thing.

It’s about understanding yourself. I help people to see what it is that they are doing and where it comes from, so now they can make the shifts and changes that they want. And I show them how to empty that space out so they have a fertile ground where they can plant seeds or ideas.

I don’t really think a person is necessarily broken. We’re fractured. We have parts of us that are broken, but most people are so inundated by external information that they don’t know how to make their way out of it.

Their vehicle is still moving along, but they are just perceiving chaos in front of them.
HZ: Exactly. It’s understanding of the source of that chaos. Is that an internal chaos? Is that an external chaos? It’s about how to navigate, because that’s what a vehicle has to do. Sometimes what I do is teach a person how to deal with their internal GPS. We have to allow that vehicle to navigate effectively, and it’s coming to understand what we have been inundated with, what’s on that path, what is that path, where is it going, and how to maneuver when there is seemingly an obstacle there. To me, any obstacle is an opportunity, so I teach the person how to turn that obstacle, that road block, into a way station, and show them a clearer way. That obstacle is saying something about what is going on. Perhaps I will say, “Okay, you don’t have to fight against that. Let’s find an effortless maneuver that you can utilize to keep you going on that route.”

What type of opportunities do you offer to the public?
HZ: I have different groups that I work with: a shamanic class on Thursday nights, and a master’s class on Friday nights. I also do monthly mini-retreats with people, based on information that I’ve gathered from the previous month, to help them become more effective in the things they’re doing. I deal with individuals and I deal with groups, and then I deal with all of them together on these monthly mini-retreats. Next year I will visit Europe for the first time, leading a retreat in Croatia, more work that I am doing in Germany, and then in Holland. I will be doing a lot of traveling in 2011.

Is the cushiness of the New Age a detriment in some ways? Because you can get in that space and just stay there for a long time.
HZ: Here’s how I would address that: The New Age has helped in some ways as a transition from religion, which so many people needed. We needed Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, all these different people who have come in and said, “Okay, there might be another way to look at it” and give people a soft cushion to come into, where people can still have their beliefs and still have the things they had before, but just make it so it’s not about all these rules and regulations and fire and brimstone.

If the New Age is a way station, what is the next way forward?
HZ: I feel the only path is inside. You have to go in and let go of the things that are telling you to do this, to do that. What do YOU want to do? What do you need to do? What are you inclined to do? I think from this cushion, the most beautiful art and most beautiful expression can happen if people can just let go and then follow what they need to follow, do what they need to do.

It’s a tough question, because the New Age is a huge money-making industry. The energy industry is destroying our natural resources, but that’s what we are doing with religion and spirituality. We are destroying our natural resources, because we have the resources inside. We have to eventually lead the people to themselves so that they can make the decisions for themselves, so they don’t have the crutches to rely on, to rely on religion. We rely on things outside of ourselves and we never let go, we never heal, we never have that opportunity to be free.

Those things have been necessary, but like anything else, you have to fly out of the nest – and flying out of the nest involves having some type of certainty on your ability to be airborne, your ability to move to the next level. I can’t say what that’s going to be. I’m not saying that people have to do this or do that, other than just decide what it is that they need for themselves, what it is that they want to be, want to do, want to have. It’s a tricky thing, because just like religion and culture, aspects of spirituality are just so beautiful. I can’t say where that’s going to go, what it’s going to blossom into, or if it’s going to blossom, or if people are just going to hold steady like this.

But there is something else coming, there is something else emerging. The paradigm is shifting. I don’t know where that’s going, and maybe it’s not for me to know where it’s going, but I know the clear path is definitely within. We can’t do anything with that lack of knowledge by flying by the seat of our pants anymore.

It will work itself out, whether we choose it or not, right?
HZ: Exactly. One of the wildest things is the Hubble telescope. We get a shot of a little space in the universe, and in that little space are billions and billions of galaxies, so that means there’s trillions of solar systems, so that means there’s like a gazillion planets.

We are so much less than that. We are just one tiny little speck in a solar system. We are like the smallest of the smallest of the smallest thing, and we think we know what the hell is happening in here and out there. Are we out of our minds? We are completely mad. This is just a tiny little speck and as far as we know, aside from our projections of what we believe about what’s out there, we may be the only friggin’ thing that has this type of system.

Or experience.
HZ: Experience, exactly, and we think that we know what’s going on? What the hell?

That makes me wonder why we want to destroy the experience that we have by ruining the planet.
HZ: Exactly. We are so lucky, and it’s so awesome. There is so much awe about every little thing. Our whole experience on this planet very well may be an accident, and if it is, that’s even more of a miracle because we get to experience it and somehow process this experience. We should just be very careful about everything that we do, because this system could just go poof! And that’s it. It’s only been a couple of million years. This particular planet is so young, relative to what’s going on out there. We just showed up.

In terms of being self-aware, we are still like a little infant opening its eyes.
HZ: That’s exactly where we are in our development. We are just opening our eyes. We have no idea what’s going on. Everything is speculation. That’s why they call it scientific theory. It’s just absurd for us to take all of the stories we make up and believe them. At least the scientists had the presence of mind to say that it’s theory, and to put everything else, including religion, in the category of speculation, as an archetypal projection of what we feel is going on. The only thing that we can hold sure to is the processes of the planet. This is good soil, you can plant here. This is bad soil. Things happen. Things don’t happen.

For more information on Hanakia Zedek, visit: www.hanakiazedek.org; www.hanakia.multiply.com; www.emissaryarts.com; or www.thephilosophyofnothing.blogspot.com. For more information on the new book Tao-Zen Verses, visit www.whistlingshade.com/taozen.html

Philosopher. Shaman. Poet. Warrior. Martial Arts expert. Speaker. Spiritual Leader. This, and much more, is Hanakia Zedek, a dreadlocked mystic who was born in the streets of Brooklyn, NY, and now lives near the tree-lined banks of Minnehaha Creek in South Minneapolis. But Hana, as he is called by friends, also is much less. Nothing, actually.

His philosophy: Everything comes out of Nothing. He explains that this philosophy “allows for the release of all that you hold onto – belief, fear, ego, hope, faith, worry, pain; all of which we have created and been trained to believe in; all of which create separation within ourselves and the Universe.”

“Not a thing truly exists, because it all comes from Nothing,” he writes on his website. “And The Nothing is all that really is…96 percent of the Universe is Nothing, 4 percent is that which we call everything…You do the math! In between the cells of anything is Nothing, and when you break anything down, what you find is Nothing.”

Hana is not big on believing in anything. He says, “It is not about whom or what you believe in. It is about what you do, what you choose to think, and how you choose to feel. It is this which shapes your reality.”

Pick up his new book, a small hand-sized edition called Tao-Zen Verses (Whistling Shade), and you’ll get a sense of this man.

“As a man I walk half blind
Half trained to look as a man with nothing to see
Half trained as a Warrior to see Nothing
I have found the truth
Blind as a man and blind to man
I am the blind leading the blind
Therefore I can truly see
Without eyes”

“I’ve taken my understanding and my connection from the Tao and Zen, not the religions, just Tao and Zen, and extrapolated the experience of what they’re saying,” he said in an interview with The Edge at his home. “In the Tao and the Zen, it says you can’t point to the Tao or you can’t identify Zen by trying to explain it. This is my experience in it.”

On a warm Indian summer day in October, Hana pointed out the circle of chairs surrounding a fire pit, just outside his back door, where groups meet for drumming and sharing. Stepping inside, Hana led the way to the steps going downstairs, down “The Rabbit Hole,” as it is called, a dark shamanic lair with altars and transformative video and pulsing technobeats, where I imagine many a soul has been turned inside out, fresh for reemergence into the vast brightness of the outer world.

Sitting down for tea, I begin:

If someone were to come up off the street and ask you, “Who are you?” what would you say?
Hanakia Zedek: The first thing I would probably say, to flip them out, is, “I’m nobody.” And when they say, “What does that mean?” I would say, “I don’t assign meaning to who I am, so I don’t feel like I’m my body, my Spirit, my mind, my soul, my emotions.”

Those to me are things that are tools, and those things don’t identify who I am. Even the title that I’ve given myself, Hanakia Zedek, is just a title, a character, a persona, but that’s not necessarily who I am – it’s who I use.

If I were to say, “I am nobody,” that would mean my essence isn’t anything that we identify with as human beings. From a religious or spiritual standpoint, we try to identify ourselves with spirit or soul or god or whatever these projections of who we think we are. I don’t feel that’s who we are. While saying “I am nobody” would kind of freak somebody out, it doesn’t mean I don’t feel that I have no worth. I respect whatever it is, whoever it is I am at any time, or whoever anybody else is. I just don’t feel that we are what we think we are. We are certainly not what we think we are.

So, who are we actually? A Shaman friend in Missouri once told me that these are just space suits, these bodies.
HZ: I feel the same way. I feel the body is a space ship, and what it does is occupies space and traverses space. We use it as a suit or a vehicle to move from point to point. But, to answer your question, who are we? The more that I investigate, the more that I look at it, and the more that I watch, listen and come to understand silence, emptiness, nothingness, I see that that’s what we come out of. We may be that, but I know that something emerges from that.

In the story The Greatest Power, by Demi, an emperor asks his kingdom, “What’s the greatest gift? Whoever brings me the greatest gift can be a princess, a prince.” Everybody shows up to give the emperor all these flowery things, all these big things. But then this little girl comes up and gives him a seed.

And the emperor says, “How is this the greatest gift?”

She says, “The nothing in this seed is the space in between where life exists.” Out of the nothingness inside of this seed grows whatever it is going to grow into. There is something inexplicable in there that emerges into something. It is out of nothing that we come from. So that’s what I feel that we are.

But that’s where we don’t go. People are afraid of nothing. They are afraid of darkness. They are afraid of the void. Just like when we were cave people, we were afraid of the dark. So, of course, we are going to glorify the sun when it comes out, or anything that we can project into the heavens, because we feel that’s what saves us.

So that’s why I revert back into that darkness. That’s why I hold that space for people. It’s important for us to get there to really figure things out. It’s like wholly going down a rabbit hole. We have to go into this hole of self to become whole. What’s in us that needs to come out is all the stuff that we’ve accumulated, or that’s been given to us, or that we’ve been told we are. We can go in there and excavate all of that stuff to find out what it actually is, and the more that we get out, the more that we get rid of, we find there really isn’t anything there.

When a child is born, that child doesn’t have the kind of information that we give it. As far as it knows, it just is. It may be identifying itself or not identifying itself. If we don’t say there is a God or laws or rules or all this stuff, who knows what that being would grow into, what that being would access as knowledge. I don’t feel that we are anything at all, but we give meaning and we assign meaning to a myriad of different things that we, ourselves, are projecting as real.

You said that Hanakia Zedek is a title. What does it represent?
HZ: That shifts and changes. I used to be a minister. I used to be a religious leader. I used to call myself a spiritual leader, but I know that it’s more than that. The title, for me, is someone who holds that transformatory state, the state of change, the state of potentiality. I just created this name. A friend told me that in Hebrew it means “priest of light out of darkness.” Oh, that’s interesting! That’s pretty much what it is.

Hanakia comes from three words: The German name Hans, which I really liked; Anika, which is a Gaelic name meaning beloved, another name I love; and the word Ki, the Japanese word for energy. Zedek is part of Melchizedek, who was known to be a priest king who had no beginning, no end, no mother, no father. I thought that was really interesting, so I wanted to capture that essence.

I created that name for a game, Dungeons and Dragons, when they said that I needed a name. So, as I’m creating this name I’m starting to feel different things about it, and then I’m playing the game as a magic-using human who turns into a wizard. And suddenly everything that was going on in the game started to happen in my everyday life. And then I realized, oh, I didn’t choose this name, this name chose me. I had to stop playing the game, because it got too weird, things moving around the room and stuff like that.

So I just let myself go, the self that I thought I was, and I moved into whatever was emerging. When I’m not teaching or I’m not in the presence of another human being, there isn’t anything there. Even when I’m talking now, I’m not even thinking. I’ve trained myself not to trust what I think or not to rely on what I think, so I just let that go. Whatever is appearing in the present or whatever I am dealing with, that’s what I extrapolate from.

Even as a young boy, were you even reluctant to take on the story and the identity that we all create for ourselves as individuals?
HZ: My mother had my brother and I reading really early. I was reading and speaking around age 1. She had like flashcards and such, so by the time I got to 5 I was already reading whatever was available. She had books on psychic energy, positive thinking, mind over matter, perception, some African mysticism, and some occult stuff, so I was reading that stuff, plus the bible and other doctrines.

When I was younger I moved into the belief stuff, but moved very rapidly out of it because I saw that it was limited. There was only so far I could go. But I identified with the magic and the mysticism of Christ and Buddha. I also read comic books, the whole hero’s journey, super hero type thing, where the person is pressed up against something, usually themselves, and then the true self really emerges. That was my background.

When I was 13 years old, I had a severe car accident where I almost died. They were going to amputate my left leg. My leg was severed in three places. It was actually turned around, facing me. All the bones had moved to the bottom of the leg. First I asked them to get the leg out of my face. They turned it around and then took an x-ray. They were like, “No, this has to come off. It’s already dead. Gangrene is going to set in.”

I’m sitting there thinking about all the stuff that I read, all of the stuff that I can’t understand, and I was like, “Now, right now, this is where I have to use this.” So, I just pulled it together. I could feel the energy inside me, and I’m focusing in on the leg. I remember looking at a chart when they were wheeling me through the hospital, a chart of the human bone structure, and I was like, “Okay, that’s the way the bones in your leg are supposed to look. I know they don’t look like that now, but that’s the way they’re supposed to look.”

So, I just laid there and just saw that. It wasn’t visualization or anything. I was dealing with the energy inside me and the leg itself – and then I started to see it. I saw the energy. It was like, “Okay, we are going to do this, we are going to do this.”

The doctors came back in to see where they were going to cut the leg, and they saw that all the bones had started moving back and fusing, and they are looking around. I’m not going to say anything, because they’d think I was crazy.

So they said, “Well, we don’t know what happened. Things are going to work out. It looks like there is life back in the leg.” I didn’t say anything.

They said, “Well, we are going to put some hardware in there. You’ll probably walk with a limp.” They put the hardware in there, and sure enough, the bones grew right over it, as if it wasn’t even there. So it was really at that point when I was 13 that I understood, “Okay, this is what I need to be doing and eventually this is what I need to be teaching.” I didn’t then know what it would turn into, but I had a good hold on it then.

Everything kept pointing back to this emptiness, this space where this stuff just arose out of nothing. You don’t have to pray, you don’t have to hope, you don’t have to do all of this stuff that we’re trained to do. You sit, you wait, you feel it, and it’s right there. By that time, it has already read your intent, so it’s already doing what is necessary – probably before you even know what it’s doing. It’s outside of the framework of time.

When I talk to somebody about the Law of Attraction, what I say is that when you try to attract something, you actually repel it because you don’t realize that the connection is already there. It’s like when you go to reach for a feather in the air. You go to reach for it and it moves because the air pressure pushes it. Your pressure of want, your pressure of desire, pushes things away. But if you are constantly receptive and in the space of allowance and awareness, you see the synchronicity, you see how things lined up, and you see that when you want something, that’s actually you telling you that that’s already available. The desire is saying, “Oh, this is part of who you are. All you have to do is allow it to happen.”

It’s hard to show people that they already do that. So I ask, “Okay, how many times in your life have things just appeared, for some weird, strange reason? You’ll think of somebody and the phone will ring?” What I show them is that by the time they get the inkling, they are actually striving for something they already have. All they have to do is just receive it, or allow it to emerge.

It’s complicated, because we have society saying one thing and religion saying something else and you have spirituality trying to mix everything together so everybody’s happy. But if you look at it in nature, the tree doesn’t want for anything. It just moves where it needs to. A blade of grass doesn’t pray. But you can see a blade of grass coming up through concrete. How? We have that information inside that is inherent, that shows us what we need to do, but we have been trained out of that. I just tell people to come back to that space inside them and just remember when that is happening. These unexpected experiences happen, and then we go, “This is coincidence,” or fear or doubt moves us out of it. I just move them into the certainty of it and show them how to cultivate that.

So it’s essential to become empty inside?
HZ: It’s not something we force. It an awareness that there is an emptiness that you shouldn’t be trying to fill. Just harvest that space. There is a book called, Cultivating the Empty Field written by Chinese Zen masters. That’s the great thing about Zen. How do you cultivate emptiness? How do you be nothing? It bends the mind. But that’s the objective, to bend the mind out of the way, so it’s more a realization that it’s okay to be alone, it’s okay to have nothing to do, it’s okay to have that space, because when we’re creating something, that’s where it comes out of. We have a blank page, we have an empty canvas, and then we decide. We get this feeling and then it starts bubbling and churning like anything else in the universe. It bubbles, it churns, it booms, and explodes, and then it is something that we identify.

Are you getting a sense that more people are moving into that space, or not?
HZ: I don’t know. I think this is where the variance in the paradigm shift is. You have sections that are holding back, and the movement forward is inevitable. I have clients who are religious and who are believers, and they come to me for different things. I know that they are not going to move out of that, so I show them how their belief can help and aid them.

The normal person doesn’t even want to hear the word spirituality or religion. There’s this movement to something almost like common sense. You explain something and people don’t want to hear it anymore, and then you say something that makes sense, and they’re like, “Oh yeah, that makes sense.” We know there’s a change happening. You can see factions and you can see that movement. The election of Obama, the first black president, was a major shift. Hillary was almost the first woman president. So, change is happening in cultures, in systems of belief, in family dynamics, in social structures. There is movement and there is going to be a shift out of the way things were. Change is inevitable.

Everything is in flux, moving from one state to a different state.
HZ: That’s a universal principle. We try to establish balance, but I don’t think that ever really happens. There’s always this imbalance, this pressing, and then the shift comes, and then the moment that the shift comes, it is already changing again. There’s a play on words that I do with people: “Nothing stays, and it’s the only thing that does. Everything changes, but nothing changes.” Not a thing changes, and it’s the nothing that creates that shift, but it stays the same. Nothing is the thing that remains permanent, but not a thing is permanent because these things are constantly in flux. It’s almost like this abstract field implodes or explodes or something happens. It creates waves, but it doesn’t change.

And we identify with the wave as opposed to the nothingness.
HZ: Exactly. That’s why I use that philosophy of nothing, because it’s a play on words and a play on our own absurdity. I’m going to have a philosophy of nothing and people are going to think that it is absolutely absurd, because how can you have a philosophy of something that doesn’t exist? That’s the point. All we do is create philosophies about things that don’t exist, so I’m holding to that absurdity. I’m pointing it out and then asking, what if we look at that nothing and adhere to that and come to understand what that actually means as an origin or as a functional principle of release, of understanding? We can’t really hold onto anything, and anything that we hold onto we destroy. So what if we just let go of everything? What if we allow ourselves to become detached?

What happens is we become more connected. The more detached we are, the more we are not holding onto something, the more that we can see it for what it is and really appreciate it. That’s when the love happens, not when you’re forcing it.

Yes, there are things that we do, things that we create, things that we project, and there is a whole world construct that we think we are living in – which is awesome in itself – but if you let that stuff go, it is even more awesome. Because now you are realizing that almost sublime connection when you don’t really have to do anything. Your presence, your understanding, your allowance, is part of what it is.

It’s just, we try. That’s the problem, man. We try so hard, and we don’t have to. It could be effortless, it really could be. I’m not saying that it’s not valid what people have gone through, because it is – the things that have happened to them, the horrors and the atrocities. What I’m saying is that if we come into an understanding of that essence, we don’t have to fight for all these things that we’ve created. We can just let them go and just let them be.

I think life is like art. It’s this beautiful thing, until we start believing in it. Just appreciate it. That’s what I feel about culture. That’s what I feel about religion. I don’t think that it should be guiding us and leading us. I think it should be appreciated, because it’s a matter of expression. It’s a matter of projection. It’s like a movie. It’s a beautiful thing, but as a principle of living life, no, I don’t think it has worked in the past 4,000 to 5,000 years.

When we love something so much, our culture tends to create a religion or something out of it and say, “That’s the way.”
HZ: Taoism! How do you make a religion out of the Tao? This is inconceivable. It just boggles my mind. I was talking to a friend about Taosim. Let’s forget the “ism” part, let’s just go back to what this cat was saying. Some of the greatest minds are the poets, who offer up their experiential extrapolations in that moment. That’s it, and then you let it go. We can’t hold onto that. You can’t hold onto a beautiful fish or a bird or a lake. You just appreciate it for what it is. It’s changing, it’s moving, it’s flowing. Our way of holding things is stagnation. It doesn’t work. It kills things. It destroys things.

“I am woman watch me grow / See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land
But I’m still an embryo / With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand”
- Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman”

Helen Reddy, the Grammy Award-winning artist, roared with “can do” optimism. Now, as a woman retired from show business, she is roaring with wisdom – about life, about the planet we all share, and about ways we can cooperate and bring about peace and prosperity for all. Fully committed to her divine purpose as a spiritual teacher, she is committed to helping all of her sisters and brothers understand that each of us has an inner strength and an inner guide to help us overcome any obstacle in our way.

A student of metaphysics for five decades, Helen has moved out of the entertainment spotlight to take an active role on life’s stage, as a clinical hypnotherapist in Sydney, Australia, helping clients find purpose and balance, and as a speaker who focuses on where we are now as spiritual beings as the planet undergoes a shift of unknown proportions.

She is speaking in Minneapolis on Sunday, Nov. 14, as a keynote presenter at the Minneapolis Health + Holistic Expo at the Hyatt Regency on Nicollet Mall, and in Des Moines on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the Marriott Downtown. Her current talks will include a focus on our relationship with money, because as she says, “this shift is going to be very much about finances, rather than the natural disasters.”

Helen Reddy, who inspired millions of people worldwide for more than 35 years as a vocalist and actress, delivered a message of strength and invincibility. She was the first Australian to win a Grammy Award and to have three #1 hits in the same year. In television, Helen was the first Australian to host her own one-hour weekly prime-time variety show on an American network, along with several specials that were seen in more than 40 countries. Helen was the first Western female performer invited to sing in the People’s Republic of China, and the lyrics she penned for her feminist anthem “I Am Woman” are now included in American high school textbooks. Her best-selling memoir The Woman I Am (Tarcher/Penguin) reveals the strong spiritual faith that has sustained her throughout all of the highs and lows of her life.

She spoke with The Edge from her home in Sydney about her upcoming visit to the Midwest, and much more.

I understand you had an early experience at the age of 11 that changed how you viewed life and death. Can you relate what happened and how that affected you throughout your life?
Helen Reddy: When I was 11, I was in school and we used to have assembly every morning, for the whole school. Teachers and pupils would assemble and there would be a hymn, and the head mistress would give a reading of some kind. There were chairs for the teachers, but not for us. We used to stand for the whole time.

The head mistress was held up that morning by a phone call, so we were left standing for about 20 minutes before she came. During the middle of her talking, I started seeing brown spots in front of my eyes and was feeling just weird, and then the next thing I knew I was at the back of the room, looking down and I could see that one of the girls – we were all in identical uniforms – was on the floor.

I thought, “Oh, somebody must have fainted. I wonder who it is?” And, I zoomed in for a close-up and I was looking at my own face. So, I thought at that point that I’d died, because I was definitely outside my body.

That was the realization for me that I was not a human having a spiritual experience, I was a spirit having a human experience, that my body was simply something that I had been inside, you know, like a suit of clothes, but that the real me existed forever. So, since that time, even though I did not discuss it for many, many years, I have never been afraid of death or had any doubt of eternal life.

At what point did you feel comfortable discussing it with other people?
HR: Oh, not until many years later when people did start discussing experiences that they’d had – and most people will. Most people will say, “I don’t believe in this, that, or the other, but I did have this experience….” And then they will proceed to tell you about something that is definitely what I would call a psychic experience.

Was spirituality a part of your upbringing?
HR: I was very religious as a child, and I used to go to church and Sunday School every Sunday, and I always went alone. My family never came with me. I was sent, basically. When I was 9, I was asking a lot of questions that nobody seemed able to answer. For anything they couldn’t explain, it was always, “Well, you must have faith.”

I was seeing a lot of hypocrisy. One week we’d be told that all the other religions were false, that ours was the only true one. And then the next week would be world brotherhood and our oneness with those of all faiths. It just wasn’t working for me. So, I became an atheist at the age of 9. Then, when I had the out-of-body experience at age 11, that was the really the rediscovery of something that I believed inside myself, but couldn’t prove, shall we say.

What led to your interest in hypnotherapy?
HR: Well, there was no such thing as hypnotherapy in those days. There were stage hypnotists, and because I was in show business, I was familiar with them. I always thought of them like magicians. The interesting thing is most of them didn’t believe in hypnotism themselves.

I must have been in my early teens, I guess, when I read The Search for Bridey Murphy, by Morey Bernstein, which came out in the mid-’50s. It was a breakthrough kind of book, and my first awareness of reincarnation. That really set me off, and that was the beginning of my search.

But hypnotherapy did not come into being until fairly recent times, and it is only now that we’re being validated by other branches of the mental health profession, shall we say.

I’ve interviewed Michael Newton and I’ve read a couple books by him about the Life Between Lives (LBL). Have you had any experience with those types of experiences with clients in your hypnotherapy practice?
HR: I have come across it, yes, although it’s not work that I specifically do. I’m very good friends with a couple of people who do practice LBL work. In fact one actually studied with Michael before he retired. What I am concentrating on most these days, with us being in the shift, is reuniting people with deceased loved ones who have passed over. It’s usually a parent or a grandparent that comes through, and they’re tremendously healing sessions, because these two people can now get together and sit down and talk. They are very emotional sessions and a lot of forgiveness and healing takes place. For me, anyway, that is what is most important at this juncture in our history.

In a bigger sense, is it important for people to get past the fear of death?
HR: This is a hard one for me to answer, because the fear of death is such a first chakra issue. There’s too much attachment to the body. The body is a temporary thing, but we are consciousness, and consciousness is energy. It can transform, it can come out in another form, but it can never be destroyed, so we have to be able to detach ourselves from the body. So many people think, “Well, that’s it. Once I die, I die and it’s over.” Actually, it’s just the beginning.

During these transformational times, the shift, what do you see happening regarding money and personal finances?
HR: I see the entire world monetary system collapsing. And, it is only when the rich find out that they cannot eat gold that it’s really going to hit them, I think.

Do you think the ultimate solution for our economic chaos is more of a sharing of the wealth?
HR: Well, I would redefine wealth. As the Bible says, “Love of money is the root of all evil,” and I really feel that we in America have worshipped money for far too long. We are starting to get back to the way a lot of things used to be, but there is far too much government interference in our lives – in every aspect.

For instance, in the United States it is illegal to barter. That’s what I’ve been led to believe, because the government wants a piece of the action. The same thing has happened down here in Australia. For several years now they have had the GST, a goods and services tax. What that means is if you were a friend of mine and I was going to give you a haircut, and you were going to fix something for me, there would be an exchange of services. Even though no money changed hands, the government still expects to get tax on the money that they would have gotten if we had each paid for the services.

This interference is unacceptable, as far as I’m concerned. I’m also very big on the fact that we have to start growing our own food as much as possible.

We need to become much more self-sufficient.
HR: Yes! Absolutely.

From a spiritual perspective, what advice do you have for people for these coming times during the shift?
HR: I would just like to say what’s in your heart is going to have more value than what is in your purse.

Are there any practices that you would recommend that we use in our daily lives, at this time?
HR: More sharing, rather than trading. More giving freely without the expectation of something in return. Just a greater generosity of spirit.

There was a story in Atlantic magazine a couple of years ago now. The journalist who wrote the piece had grown up in the Detroit area, and he hadn’t been there in years. He went back to visit his old neighborhood, and when he got there the entire block was gone, except for one house. Only one house was still left standing, and it belonged to the first black family to move into the neighborhood. The elderly woman was still there living with her grandson. One by one, as each of the other houses were vacated and the government had razed them, the land was considered to be worthless, so the city was selling it for a pittance. So this woman bought up all this land around her over a period of time. She now owns the entire block, and she’s farming it.

There are something like 20 market gardens already going in the Detroit area, and I know people here in Sydney are growing vegetables on nature strips. There is a movement. It’s quiet, but it’s steady. I’m thrilled to see the way aquaponics is taking off [aquaponics: cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment, with waste from freshwater fish supplying nutrients to the plants]. It’s something that I talk about a lot and I have no financial interest in it whatsoever.

Hydroponics is water intensive. Agriculture is water intensive. With aquaponics, you have the same water recirculating, so you are using only 10 percent of the amount of water that you would use in normal agriculture. With so many areas now under drought, this is a Godsend. In the space of a single-car garage, I’m growing eggplant, green peppers, celery, and much more, and I get a harvest every four weeks.

In aquaponics, you use freshwater fish. I’m using guppies that I got out of the duck pond down by the water mill, and that’s what I’m using. The color of the vegetables is incredible! I mean, to see an iceberg lettuce that’s a deep green color. The ones you get at the market you could read the newspaper through. And the flavor is wonderful, and its 100 percent organic. We cannot spray any of the plants because it would kill the fish. A lot of different sprays are used in hydroponics, so they can’t say that it is 100 percent organic.

Even in the Twin Cities here, more people have begun growing their own food, not only to save money, but because of the pesticides and other harmful additives to store-bought food.
HR: My daughter, who lives in California, has installed two huge water tanks and she has a half acre that she farms. She started planting an orchard 10 years ago. Some of us have known what’s coming and we’ve been preparing. On my property on Norfolk Island, here in Australia, I have a fresh water creek that circles it, you could say horseshoes it, so I have a source of fresh running water. It’s a small farm with an established orchard. Yes, we need to grow our own food.

It’s about reconnecting with the land.
HR: Yes. There’s a wonderful book that’s come out, that I’ve been reading. I think this guy might just be my soulmate. He’s Irish and his book is called, The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living, by Mark Boyle. As an experiment, he decided to live for a year without any money whatsoever. He’s now done it for two years. I don’t know that they’ll ever print this book in America. All his proceeds go to charity. This is my kind of a man.

So, what is coming up for your future?
HR: I’m very busy with my hypnotherapy practice and my talks, and I’m involved with a lot of things. So, my life is actually busier. I can’t believe it. I thought I was retiring. I’m just not singing anymore, that’s all. I don’t seem to be retired. I’m not out to pasture.

If you could say something to all your fellow human beings across the planet, what would be your message?
HR: Love. That’s all. Because love ultimately is all there is, and if you have love in your heart and kindness in your character, you’re going to be okay.

For more information, please visit HelenReddy.com.
Photo of Helen Reddy courtesy of Gor Megaera

Intuitive trainer and master Kathryn Harwig, noted in the Twin Cities and in many parts of the nation and world for her palmistry, her ability to teach law enforcement agents how to boost their natural intuitive skills, and for her many books on psychic ability, discovered something that few people have acknowledged in print or conversation: that after we reach the age 50, our priorities shift and a window of opportunity opens to allow a greater awareness of our innate psychic gifts.

We hear so often about Indigo children, Rainbow children and Crystal children – names given to describe the intuitive sensitivities of souls who have arrived onto the planet during the past couple of decades. But Kathryn is now heralding “the Violet generation,” Baby Boomers who are reconnecting with their wise inner selves as they mature. Her new book, The Return of Intuition: Awakening Psychic Gifts in the Second Half of Life (Llewellyn), is filled with true accounts of men and women who are realizing a new way of being at a time when psychic awareness was the least of their great expectations in life.

Kathryn Harwig took the time to speak with The Edge about her new findings and what she thinks it means for the huge Baby Boomer population.

What led you to write The Return of Intuition, Kathryn?
Kathryn Harwig: What led me to write it is that the people who were coming in to see me for readings, and the people who were coming to my classes, were sharing very similar stories, which is that as they started to age many of them had in some way or another a type of intuitive awakening. Generally, it seemed to show up around age 50. They discovered that their psychic skills became much more powerful, that their interest in spiritual and psychic things became much more powerful. I noticed that this was sort of a trend and I started looking into this. I found that nothing had been written about it, so I decided I should be the one that wrote about it.

Give us a case study of somebody you’ve worked with to demonstrate how this happened in their life.
KH: The book is just full of all different kind of case studies, but there was one in particular that struck me. It’s a sad story, but it has a wonderfully happy ending. Kim is a woman whose daughter was killed in a house fire. She was in college at the time and three of her young children were caught in the fire.

She came in to see me to talk to her daughter after her daughter had died. What resulted was a whole series of events – you couldn’t call them coincidences, miracles, really – in regard to her daughter’s death that not only comforted Kim in a way that I think nothing else could comfort her, but she knew that her daughter was alive, just in a different dimension. Kim also became an amazingly psychic person. Up until that point she had a bit of interest in metaphysical things but had not done anything related to it. But now it was as if the floodgates opened.

That could have happened, of course, earlier in life, but the circumstances of people’s lives seem to be that between the ages of 40 and 60, things come together that cause you to have that sort of awakening. It could be a death of a spouse, a death of a child, a physical illness, loss of a job, loss of a relationship, or it can just be just a sweet, gentle awakening. I think what keeps people from having this awakening earlier is that they’re just so busy.

Why do the difficult situations that happen in our lives spark this shift?
KH: Unfortunately, difficult situations get our attention and they take us out of our normal day-to-day routine. Oftentimes, even when you are grieving, you are also sitting quietly thinking about spiritual matters in some fashion or another, even if it’s only, “Why did this happen to me?” It’s a still time when you open yourself up. When you ask a question, like why, you may get answers.

It isn’t necessary to have a traumatic event to open up our spirituality and our psychic ability, but it oftentimes is a trigger. I had about 150 people respond to a questionnaire I sent out. About half of them were triggered by traumatic events, and the other half blossomed into it as they aged.

Will your book serve to inform people that intuition can be developed in the second half of their lives?
KH: It’s always there. There is a natural trigger that develops when we age. I believe that has always happened and it’s the reason that throughout history, the elders have been the shamans. They have been the wise people. Maybe it’s hormonal, I don’t know, but there’s this trigger that happens to people that causes almost a spontaneous awakening, if we let it. Of course, if we don’t let it, it is ignored like anything else.

Do you have a sense that people don’t think that that’s a time of their lives when that’s possible?
KH: I have a sense that people have been socialized out of believing that there are good things that come of aging. In our society, we focus on the negatives of aging, the loss of memory perhaps, or the loss of physical ability, or the loss of looks. We don’t focus on the natural positives that come of aging. The strongest ones, in my opinion, are an increased ability to be psychic and an increased wisdom. Historically, in the Asian cultures and the Native American culture, the elders have always been the people who did the psychic ability, who were the wise ones.

Do you think there is a connection between that natural process of gaining wisdom in life and increased intuitive ability?
KH: Yes, I think the connection is that we have the time to be able to do it and we have the inclination and we have the interest. People become more introspective as they age. They become more happy being alone. We crave solitude. We are not constantly distracted by children and jobs and money. If we are lucky, we have gotten to a place where we have time.

So, as I understand what you are saying, this experience is not just a gift, but like something that flows in our lives like a current.
KH: Ooooh, good way to put it.

And when we are distracted by the things that we do as we are in our twenties and thirties and forties, we are not aware of that current.
KH: Exactly. It’s always there. When I talk about the return of intuition, it makes it sound like it went away. It doesn’t really go away, but we don’t pay attention to it. It’s like a phone we don’t answer for 20 to 30 years.

It might be on vibrate, but we aren’t sensing it.
KH: We don’t sense it because we are so distracted. If you watch any typical 30- or 40-year-old person, there is no time in their life to even stop to see if they are getting a psychic hit, unless they are very unusual. Certainly there are exceptions to this.

We know it’s common for young children to be highly intuitive, and as they try to fit in with their friends they sometimes block that receptivity. For those people who at a young age were attuned to that, for them it is a return to that awakening as they get older.
KH: One of the questions that I asked in doing research for my book was, “When did you first become aware of your psychic ability?” and most of them said, “When I was a young child.” And then almost all of them said pretty much what you just said, which is, “Then about age 7, maybe 12, it went away” or “people started making fun of me” or “people discounted it,” all those kind of things, “and so it just went away, and now it’s come back.” For many people, awareness of psychic gifts does return to people.

A number of the people I have interviewed who are psychic readers say that this process you describe happened in their lives.
KH: If you go to a psychic fair or an expo, probably 50 percent of the people there are over age 50. It’s not because that’s the only time you can be psychic, but it’s when you have that whole configuration of things coming together, fewer distractions in your life and the time to be still and listen.

What are the benefits for people in the second half of their life who expand their awareness in this way?
KH: I really hope that my book is a call to action for older people. By claiming our intuition, enhancing it and then using it, perhaps we can teach or perhaps aid society in some fashion, or just step into our roles as elders. The advantage is really to take our rightful place in society. Many times elder people are simply stuck away in a corner in some fashion. We’re not considered to be important and we’re not listened to, even though we control money and we control a lot of things. We don’t claim our power. It’s not about someone handing you your power. It’s about you saying, “Hey, I’m going to claim my power and I’m going to step into my role as an elder.”

Is the connection to that channel of intuition more than just being able to pick up on something psychically?
KH: That’s certainly part of it, because your life will get better if you use your psychic information, no matter how old you are. But the difference in the elder generation is that it’s time for us to step up to the plate and say, “We have wisdom. We have knowledge. We have access to intuitive ability, and we want to use it to change the world.” That’s a pretty big challenge, but it’s not a bad challenge. With all the things that are happening in the next couple of years, if the elders of this society would just step forward and say, “We want to help,” that would make a huge difference.

What would it look like in our society if that happened?
KH: Baby boomers are a huge segment of the population. I don’t think we’re going to be quiet. I don’t think we’re going to just quietly go off and play shuffleboard or the typical things of past generations. I think we’re going to continue to be movers and shakers, and we’re going to look at aging from a very different viewpoint than our culture has in the past. I think it’s going to be less about money and more about experiences. We could form wisdom circles and be available to people as mentors – not just intuitive mentors, but life mentors. And, if we got together and actually pooled our power – money, knowledge, experience – we certainly could become a political force.

I quote some really wonderful studies in my book, surveys of people about how happy they are. They show that people are far happier when they are 60 years old than when they were 20 years old. There’s no question about it. An interesting brain study was done on a number of young people and older people who were shown a number of photographs. It showed that the older people remembered the happy events. The younger people remembered the traumatic events. The subjects were all seeing the same photographs, but looking at them completely differently.

What we do is perceive life differently. I’m turning 60 in May and want to do so on the mountains of Machu Picchu. I know my mother wouldn’t have done that. It’s not about adventures, it’s about being. I don’t think this group of elders are going away. We’re not going to become a silent generation.

What practices can be done by those in the second half of their life to expand intuition?
KH: I talk a lot about that in the book. Some of the practices that I think are most critical are things like spending more time alone, which is something you want to do naturally as you age. It’s important to have a place of your own, some place that you can go and be silent. It’s also important for groups of elders to form so that you can discuss what’s happening to you, so you don’t feel like you’re a freak, which a lot of people do. And, of course, it’s important to ask good questions, to step forward and really be a mentor to people – having people say, “What do you think about this?” and then give them an intuitive answer.

In terms of feeling different or an outcast because of this intuitive ability, do you sense that might be shifting with this new generation compared to the past one?
KH: If we claim it. That’s the challenge I put forth to people. People don’t give us respect. We pretty much have to claim that respect. It’s vital that so-called “regular” people, people who haven’t been involved in the spiritual world all of their lives, come forward and say, “Yes, after my husband died he came to see me” or “Yes, I got this intuitive information when I was ill and then it’s continued to come to me.” Quit being in the closet. Courage is the one trait that differentiates a successful psychic from a non-successful psychic, in my opinion. For elder people, it can be courageous just to get out of bed sometimes when you ache.

In our society we connect intuition more with women than with men. For the men who are in the second half of their lives who have spent their lives doing things, fixing things, being exclusively in that masculine energy, do you have any specific tips for them on how to connect to their intuition?
KH: I ought to go on record as saying I don’t think women are any more intuitive than men, but what I do think is that women have not had the cultural pressure to deny it.

This sounds a little sexist to say, but I don’t think men are as brave as women are about showing weakness. Women are used to being perceived as weak, and so we can look foolish. Men are very afraid of looking foolish. So if I had advice for men, I would say don’t be afraid of looking foolish. Who cares anymore? I was on a radio show for aging people down in Florida a couple weeks ago and I heard, “Oh, you know there are so many skeptics.” Well, you know what, being skeptical really doesn’t aid anybody. At least have an open mind about this.

I would say men need, probably more than women, to have an open mind and be brave. Try things you have never tried before.

In reality, what another person thinks about you doesn’t matter. It means nothing at all.
KH: No, and you know most people don’t think about you at all. That’s one of the things that has aided me in my life since I’ve gotten older is knowing that most people don’t spend any time thinking about me. They are thinking about themselves. So that sets me free to do whatever I please. As long as I don’t hurt them in some fashion, most people don’t care.

What about your life? How has this re-awakening of psychic gifts manifested in your life?
KH: I have been in some fashion a psychic ever since I was a little girl. I never completely lost that ability, but what happened for me as I aged was pretty much exactly what we have talked about. I feel much freer to speak the truth as I see it, to speak my mind. I’m not so worried about how this is going to affect my reputation, how this is going to affect how people perceive me.

That’s why I say congratulations when you turn 50, or 60. I think these decades are the freest time of a person’s life. The key is claiming that feeling. That’s how it’s affected me. I just feel very free to do things.

A few years ago I decided – and I’m still working on this decision – not to do personal readings for people anymore. It was a big chunk of my income, so to cut that out was frightening, but I felt like I needed to do it. This year, I’ve pretty much decided I’m not going to teach classes anymore. Well, that’s another huge chunk of my income. Eliminating the things that no longer fit for me gives me time for the things that do fit to come into my life. I’m now courageous enough to get rid of things before I know what is going to come in.

What overall message do you want to leave with the reader?
KH: I want to leave a message of hope, because we’re all aging – no matter how old you are. It’s a very rich, exciting and spiritual time of freedom. I really believe that the shift that we are going toward is a freedom shift. If we can just let go of how we have done things in the past so that we are able to step into that freedom without fear, it’s going to be a beautiful time. But if we’re still clinging and thinking, “I can’t give up my house. I can’t give up my job. I can’t give up my dog,” then I think our society is going to be in for some wild rides.

Editor’s note: The author of this interview, a noted publicist, passed away suddenly shortly after submitting this piece for publication. We honor the passion and love that he shared throughout his life.

The Barn Dance is James Twyman’s 13th book, and his most personal to date. Though known internationally as The Peace Troubadour and the author of many bestselling books like Emissary of Light and The Moses Code, the Twin Cities native became even more well known when the news of his former wife’s murder outside Chicago was reported around the country. Nearly five years later, Twyman is releasing a book that not only chronicles the tragedy, but dives into the mystery of life after death, and direct communication with loved ones on the other side of the veil.

The book has already been called a triumph, and in the few short weeks since its release, has inspired thousands. Neale Donald Walsch, the author of The Conversations with God series, said: “Once in every generation a book comes along that changes the way we look at life itself. This is one such book.”

Now, in this very personal interview, Twyman explains why he felt inspired to tell such an intimate story, as well as how he thinks it will help people who are also suffering from the loss of a loved one.

First of all, it must have been a very difficult story to tell. Clearly Linda meant a great deal to you and you felt compelled to honor her memory through The Barn Dance.
James Twyman: Linda did mean a tremendous amount to me. She was my first love and I never stopped trying to win her back. She was actually considering moving out to Oregon to be with our daughter and me when she was killed.

You’re right when you say that I wanted to honor her with this story, but there’s also a deeper reason. I wrote this book because I knew that everyone would be able to relate to it, regardless of whether they’ve suffered a similar type of loss or not. We’ve all had to say goodbye to loved ones, and we’ve all had to experience grief in our lives. But the idea that there really is a magical place in-between Heaven and Earth is very deep in our subconscious. We all would love to meet someone we’ve lost, someone who is on the other side of the veil, and The Barn Dance is a way for us to realize that dream.

There seems to be a large word-of-mouth campaign happening around this book. Are you finding that people are passing the book on once they’ve read it?
JT: That’s been one of the most satisfying things about the experience so far – all the positive feedback I’ve been getting. I’ve received so many letters from people saying that they couldn’t put it down once they began reading, often from people who say they rarely finish books they begin. They’re also passing it on once they’ve finished reading, which is what any author wants. That’s how a book becomes a best seller, by touching an emotional chord in people. I think of The Shack, an enormous bestseller that never really had any advertising. It was all through word of mouth. Of course I hope the same thing happens here, because I think it’s a story that will both entertain and inspire. I didn’t want to write a book about life after death. I wanted to write one about my experience, one that deeply impacted my life. And if people relate to my experience, then it will be a big success.

You mentioned The Shack, which was a huge success. Are there any correlations between that book and The Barn Dance?
JT: No, I really don’t think there are. Both books begin with the protagonist experiencing the murder of someone very important to them, but I have to say that that’s where the similarity ends. At the same time, The Shack challenged the way people view God and our relationship with the Divine. In that sense, they have a similar theme. The Barn Dance is really challenging our ideas about what happens when we cross over, and the possibility that we can have true, even face-to-face contact with the loved ones we’ve lost. In my story I find a place where Heaven and Earth seem to blend together and people from the other side find their way back to the physical world, even if it’s just to have a great party.

Has anyone told you that you might be taking advantage of her death by writing this book?
JT: It’s something that I’ve tried to be aware of, even though I’m very secure in my reasons for releasing The Barn Dance. First of all, this is a story that will inspire people, and one that they probably won’t be able to set down. That was my primary objective…to show that death is not an end, but a beginning. But the other reason is definitely more personal. I wanted to write a book that would honor the woman who changed my life and taught me about love and how to be a good father. I also hope that it will continue to bring attention to a case that is still very much unsolved. That’s one of the reasons I’m very interested in getting The Barn Dance into every bookstore in Chicago, as well as around the world.

The story really develops when you find out that someone has been arrested for her murder. Is that true?
JT: Yes, it’s very true. And yet at the same time, the police are being very careful, which we all understand. One of the things I was really impressed with was how personally the police and detectives were taking this case. It was almost as if Linda was their sister, as if the same thing could have happened to someone they love.

How much of this story is actually true? It’s one of the most magical books to be released in a long time, but there are bound to be questions about whether this is fact or fiction.
JT: That’s a hard question to answer since the story takes place at different times and on different dimensions. To me it’s completely true, and I’m never going to back down from that. What I can say for sure is that every detail about Linda and my life with her is not exaggerated, and as far as the barn goes, that’s something people are going to be asking about for a very long time.

If there’s only one lesson you hope people walk away with after reading this book, what would it be?
JT: I want people to believe in magic, and to know that life is not something that ends with the death of the body. Of course, most of us believe that already, at least mentally, but to have a tangible experience of that, even if it’s through a story like The Barn Dance, makes it very real. I really do believe that there’s a place between Heaven and Earth where the magic never ends. For me that was in a secluded barn in the middle of a magical forest. For the rest of us, it could be anywhere and everywhere. We just have to open our eyes to see it.

Internationally known book publicist Kathryn Hall, who was instrumental in promoting such seminal books as Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain and Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, writes a highly popular gardening blog, “Plant Whatever Brings You Joy!” She is now the author of the book, Plant Whatever Brings You Joy: Blessed Wisdom from the Garden (Estrella Catarina), in which she shares 52 life lessons from the garden. This is a continuation of her interview with us about her work as a publicist, author and blogger.

In your work as a publicist, do you have a sense that the media reflects what the general public really wants, or does the general public drive the media?
KH: I think the media – and I would include publishing as part of that – has been profoundly arrogant. I remember a really long time ago listening to a panel of publishing people from New York saying, “We don’t really care what the people think, we’re the ones who make the decisions.” I thought that was profoundly arrogant. I think that has changed, because we’re now all reporters because of social media, Facebook and Twitter. We’re all so much more woven together.

The media shifted to relying (reluctantly) on iReports during the Green Movement on the streets of Iran. Nothing has been the same since that event. If they wanted to tell the story, the media were suddenly compelled to rely on people on the street getting messages and images through on cellphones. And that event legitimized the reporter on the street. I participated in this firsthand by spending two full weeks, several hours a day, passing along images and messages from people in the streets of Iran to the public, via Twitter. It was a very intense time, but enormously important and very empowering for citizens seeking change in repressive conditions. I was glad to have helped.

CNN was saying, “Well, these are the only images we have.” And they were kind of apologetic and embarrassed because they were iReports, but then somehow they had to legitimize it and now they’re using it regularly. Just within the last year that has shifted dramatically. They are now competing with the individual. They can’t do those power things anymore. It’s not going to work.

How did promoting such books as Creative Visualization and Way of the Peaceful Warrior influence your life?
KH: I don’t think it was an accident that the first book that I was asked to promote was Creative Visualization. I was there at the inception of that publishing company (New World Library). Shakti was basically self-publishing her book. She did exactly what I am now doing. They hired me and said, “Be the publicist.” We were all winging it and figuring it out in this house in Mill Valley (CA), so long ago.

Shakti and Marc Allen were teaching workshops and they said, “Maybe we should write this down.” They did another book first, called Reunion, before I came around and before they actually started the publishing company. Then Shakti did Creative Visualization and they said, “Promote this book!” At least I had a degree in English. I had something to rely upon, and I was innovative, and I had background in booking because I had been a professional singer in Europe, so it worked.

Creative Visualization was important to me because I was already doing that, but once I read Shakti’s book I thought, “Oh, okay.” It solidified what I was already doing. It brought to full consciousness how I was already living my life. It connected the dots in a much more solid way.

Dan Millman was just part of the scene at the time. He was published by H.J. Kramer, and I promoted some books for them. Dan’s always been in the background in my life somehow. We’re very similar in certain ways. We’re both Pisces. He’s just part of my extended network, but also I like him very, very much. He’s a wonderful person.

When did you get the inkling that a book was in the works for you personally?
KH: I got the idea for the book when I was completing a major task in my life, which was raising my daughter as a single parent. I was so ready to just be by myself. She went off to college and I went to live in the woods next to the ocean in a very quiet place. I looked around where I had brought myself – to Little River, just south of Mendocino (125 miles north of San Francisco) – and I thought, “I need to start a garden.” This was 20 years ago. I started seeing that what was true about working with the earth was also true in my life, so I started taking notes, and then I started writing.

Clearly you are a natural storyteller, and if you don’t mind I’ll mention some topics and I’d love to hear a condensed version of a story related to that. First, describe a special relationship you have with a special plant.
KH: The first thing that comes to mind is nasturtium. I always have nasturtium around me, always. It’s a very simple, very happy flower, and it comes mostly in oranges and yellows and reds. It grows in almost any kind of soil, so it is completely adaptable. It doesn’t care, it’s not fussy, but it gives so much. It has a charming energy around it and it always makes people happy. You grow it in big bunches, so it just fills up the space and it climbs and it twines around things and has its own mind and people always respond to it favorably. They always just stop and look at it and they love it. You can even eat it. You can put the flowers in salads. Apparently you can eat the leaves. I have done neither, but I know it’s a possibility. I always have this little survival thing in the background of my mind: “Well, if it gets bad I can eat the nasturtium.”

Describe your connection to chickens. You seem to like them.
KH: I love chickens. There is the story in my book about Chanticleer, a rooster that I found when I was living on four acres of land up near Santa Rosa, CA. At the bottom of the dirt road where we lived, this rooster shows up with a partner, and the neighbors were just so completely blasé about it. I couldn’t believe it.

I was like, “It’s a rooster!”

They went, “Yeah, so?”

I started feeding him. Within days, I went down and there were just feathers everywhere so I knew his little partner had been captured in the middle of the night by an owl or a hawk. There were so many things that could have eaten it. But I was worried about the rooster. So I put a cage at the bottom of the road and put some corn inside the cage, which he really wanted, and then I tied a string to the door. Eventually he was so hungry and wanted the corn so much that he went into the cage and I pulled the string and captured him and got help to bring him home.

I just loved him. He was beautiful. He was a bantam, so he wasn’t that big, but I was scared to pick him up because I didn’t know if he would bite me. I knew that some roosters were mean. Eventually I found a 4-H guy to come to my house and he showed me how to pick him up. Upside down.

So his name was Chanticleer. And then I got a beautiful bantam hen for him, whom I named Henny Penny. They were so utterly charming. They would scratch around in the daytime and then at night I had to keep them safe someplace, right? So I put them in a dog kennel and popped the dog kennel in the back of my Explorer so that nothing could get them, which was pretty funny, but it worked. I had them until I moved to North Carolina and then I had to very tearfully give them to a neighbor.

Are chickens loyal? If you let them out during the day will they stay around your house and not run away?
KH: No, they never tried to run away. They stayed right by the house. I was always worried because there were turkey vultures and hawks everywhere, but they would hide. They are intuitive and would hide under bushes. I just loved them. They were just so dear. I love chickens so much. I think it stems from when I was a little girl and had chickens.

And for the animal-lover in you, you must tell us about Sweet Pea, the kitten.
KH: Oh, Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea came to us out of the woods. I always say, “The woods giveth and the woods taketh away.” That’s what I think. If you live in the woods, you know what I am talking about.

Sweet Pea came and was sitting in the driveway, and I told Moxie, my Border Collie, to chase her back into the woods because I didn’t want her fighting with my outdoor cats. But she didn’t. She rolled up on a step and put her feet up in the air, and I thought, “Oh, God, she’s got rabies of something. This is not good!”

And so I called my dogs in the house, and I just watched her. And then, of course, I put food out to see what would happen, and she came closer and ate. Eventually she would let me get maybe 10 feet away. I would sneak up on her, and I played this game with her for days and days, trying to build trust with her.

Then one day I found her asleep in the sun. She was a little kitten, not very big, and I said, “Kitty?” And she didn’t move. So I said it louder, and she didn’t move. I clapped my hands and I said, “Kitty!” Then I realized that she was completely deaf. That’s why she’d been throwing her head around and acting so strangely. The only way she could protect herself was to slink around.

This went on for six weeks, just very slowly getting her to trust me. One day I took these feathers and tied them to a stick and stuck them underneath the cabin. There was a guesthouse on that property where she used to hide underneath. I stuck the feathers underneath and she was grabbing at them, and I thought, “Okay, this is kind of scary, but this is good,” and then she came out and she let me pick up her little feet. She’s still with me. Sweet Pea has been an incredibly loving addition to my life.

Tell us why scarves now mean more to you than they ever did before.
KH: It was my experiment, a very unexpected result in exploring the possibilities of using a blog for a social project. I read the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time. I can’t remember how I learned about it, but I was really inspired by Greg Mortenson’s experience in Pakistan, starting schools in Pakistan for girls. If you haven’t read it, you should. I couldn’t get it out of my heart. Somehow, it just really captured my imagination and my heart and I wanted to help those girls.

I had already reviewed the book on my blog, and I wrote to my readers and said, “What if we knitted some scarves for those girls?” I thought maybe I would get a dozen scarves, but what happened is that people kept writing to me from all over the world, from the UK, from Canada and from all over the United States, asking, “How big? What should we use?” I got this amazing response, and then I’m going to the post office and every day or two I’m getting another beautiful scarf from someone from somewhere. That was extraordinary until I had about 100 scarves. Then I had the task of how was I going to get them to Pakistan.

I contacted Greg Mortenson’s office and I thought they would say, “Oh, that’s wonderful,” but they didn’t. They said, “We can only take cash.”

I thought, “Oh, God, what have I started? How will I do this?”

So, I went online and I found Nazir Sabir, the head of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. He is wonderful. I read that he had experience in helping to get supplies to earthquake victims. I wrote to him and he said, “I would love to help you with this.” We packed everything up and then I had to raise money to send the package. People sent me checks, and my next door neighbors gave me $100 and made me cry. It was so sweet, this elderly couple next door.

We mailed the scarves to Pakistan, but then they couldn’t get through because the Karakoram Highway was closed for winter. So those 100 scarves sat with Nazir Sabir for a many months, and when the snow melted they took them up to Askole village where we were sending them. I managed to connect with a woman who was a doctor from Italy who worked in a tiny clinic in Askole village. When she was able to get through the Karakoram Highway and up to Askole village, she wrote me to say, “The girls are coming into the clinic and they are telling me how much they love the scarves.” Oh, it was so dear, so dear. So, that was an incredibly moving experience and shows the power of using a blog for social change.

What is your next project?
KH: I’m not completely committed, but I have a feeling what it will be. There is a big sign in this town where I live that says, “Future Home of Skateboard Park,” but that sign has been there for five years. I’ve been talking to the kids on the street who are on skateboards, saying, “What’s the story with this skateboard park?” What the locals are telling me is they have been talking about it for decades. Because I am a person who makes things happen, I told them, “I can’t do it this year, I’m working on a book, but next year I’m going to get this skateboard park built!” So, let’s see if my inner guidance agrees with that assessment and I make it happen.

I think little boys should have a place to safely come together and not be risking their lives on the streets and being chased out of parking lots. The land is there; let’s build it.

Internationally known book publicist Kathryn Hall, who was instrumental in promoting such seminal books as Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain and Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, has led a rich life full of friendship, travel, motherhood, and a love of animals and nature. As a young woman, she felt the call of her generation and fled the Midwest for San Francisco as the Summer of Love began to bloom. She became half of a singing duo in Amsterdam, and she has lived in Mexico and the Caribbean. She taught Spanish in her daughter’s Rudolf Steiner School. She studied social and cultural anthropology in graduate school. As a young woman, she had been inspired by the Findhorn Community’s experiments in conscious gardening. Later, when her daughter left for college, this empty nester began to nurture her own seeds, establish relationships with her own plants and express her observations about gardening and life in magazines across the nation and in a highly popular blog, “Plant Whatever Brings You Joy!”

She is now the author of the book, Plant Whatever Brings You Joy: Blessed Wisdom from the Garden (Estrella Catarina), in which she draws on over two decades of gardening experience to share 52 life lessons from the garden. Her relationship with The Edge magazine has been a long one, making possible many interviews that have appeared in these pages during the past 15 years. She spoke with us about her personal writing from her home in Northern California.

You are now a well-known gardening blogger, but your book, Plant Whatever Brings You Joy, isn’t really a traditional gardening book at all, is it?
Kathryn Hall: No, it really isn’t. It’s a Trojan horse. Because I’m known as a gardener and a gardening blogger, people will buy the book thinking it’s a gardening book with life lessons from the garden. Remember “Everything I Needed to Learn I Learned in Kindergarten?” This is “Everything I Needed to Learn I Learned in the Garden,” but I’ve taken it a much bigger step further. Some people will love it and get it, and others will not get it, or be surprised.

The book is a collection of metaphors. It was originally conceived as one line on a page, because at that time it was popular to do that in the media, in the publishing world. The book was originally called “Metaphors From the Garden,” but “Metaphors From the Garden” is a little esoteric for the mainstream, and I wanted to write for mainstream. I wanted to write from my heart. The book was written before the blog got started, really.

If you were a plant, what variety would you be?
KH: Oh, I never thought about that. Many gardening bloggers have this test that asks what flower are you? I’ve never done it. The very first thing that comes to mind is rose. It is really my favorite flower, for all the obvious reasons. It’s just so gorgeous, but you asked what am I. Hmmm, I’m pretty fussy. I am going to say a rose because I am so drawn to them and I am very particular and I’m always kind of over-dressed for the culture. I can’t help it. I was a hippie in the 1960s, you know what I mean? It’s like, I love beautiful things.

As the reader moves through your book, he or she moves through your life. Tell me about the process that led you to believe that your life had something to say to the rest of us.
KH: Well, I’ll just be honest. I’ve been promoting other people for a really long time, and I’m known for being incredibly picky and selective about the messages I am willing to put out there. Sometimes I was promoting people and I’d think, “Hmmm, I could say something about that.”

It just became obvious that I had something to say, because I haven’t exactly just been promoting people. I’ve been traveling and learning and growing and studying and reading and working with different people for a really long time. I became consciously awake in 1964. That’s the God’s truth. I was a hippie in San Francisco in the 1960s. I’ve been committed to change and transformation and helping the planet since the mid-1960s. I know at a deep level I promised to do this in this lifetime, so here I am showing up, listening to Spirit and having the courage to follow through.

How would you describe the transformation you have seen in our culture during that span of time?
KH: You’re asking the right person, because I have been working with the media, changing the story, staying in touch with the conversation for three decades, so I have a very good barometer.

Now, creative visualization is no big deal. When I first took Shakti Gawain’s book Creative Visualization to the media, most people thought I was completely out of my mind, except for the Olympic trainers who knew what I was talking about. It was very interesting that someone out there understood what I was talking about and was utilizing it as a tool.

I worked a lot with the New Agers in the beginning. I worked with The Tarot Handbook for Angeles Arrien. I worked with Helen Palmer (noted teacher of intuition and psychology), with Dan Millman and Shakti, with Shakti’s mother, a book about dolphins.

And then I went to grad school – as I talk about in the book – very unexpectedly. I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You are done with this. You need to start taking change and transformation into corporations.”

And I said, “What?! What?!”

But, that’s exactly what happened, but the clients I attracted were people like: David White and taking poetry into corporations; Michael Jones, taking music and piano into corporations; Peter Block; and launching Meg Wheatley’s Leadership of the New Science, comparing Newtonian science and quantum physics. I’ve been able to track change and transformation by the receptivity of the media to the material that I’m taking to them – and, I’m happy to say, it’s a huge change.

You have lived a rich life with much travel, companionship, and variety. Please share with us the secret to your happiness.
KH: Listening to my heart, taking big risks, believing in myself, listening to my Spirit, being grounded in Spirit, and trusting that.

An explorer at heart, Vorwerk’s new book, The Bartholomew Effect: Awakening to Oneness, is a testament to a soul who continues to reach beyond physical dimension for insight on the unseen. What if we were more aware of the power of our intentions? he asks. What if we became conscious, multidimensional spiritual beings? And what if we all spontaneously experience timelessness, weightlessness and the ability to move with a single thought – as if in a dream, just as Larry experienced on a number of occasions? And what if you learn that you are intimately connected – perhaps on the soul level – with someone who walked with Jesus (the apostle Bartholomew) but were uneasy about sharing that information but could not contain the love that the experience contains?

In this concluding part of his interview with The Edge, Larry shares with us his sense of where we are now as humanity, and where we are going.

Is awakening into a greater awareness of oneness a purpose for us living our lives?
Larry Vorwerk: Yes, for a number of reasons. One thing I learned through this whole process is that going into oneness is a simple and a quick way to help put your ego to the side. When you feel oneness and see yourself as part of everything else, then the ego has to step aside, because it thrives on separation, being different from somebody else. If there is nothing outside yourself, then there is nothing for the ego to feed on. That’s just one avenue that I have found to be helpful for experiencing oneness.

The other aspect that I mention in different ways in the book is that when we come to that awareness that we are all one, that everything we do affects everyone else, and everything that everyone else does affects us, then we will come to that point where we will work for the good of the whole. If all of our energy is spent helping others and being of service to others and helping progress things for everyone, just think of the difference it would create on this Earth compared to now, when people are in competition and in conflict with each other and all this energy is being wasted.

I read the part of your book where Source, in February 2006, gave you the message, “Right now there is only one game on earth, it’s the awakening of the Whole.” And I thought about the oil spill going on right now in the Gulf of Mexico and how we don’t have a solution from any one individual, but if we came together as one we would know how to solve any crisis.
Vorwerk: Right. Part of the oil crisis that is going on there is unfortunate, because of the harm it does to wildlife and people’s jobs and on and on. But at the same time it might awaken enough people that we need to come to a better solution for energy. In the long haul it may be the catalyst that we need to make some of the changes that we need to do concerning alternate fuel.

What is your sense of where we are now as humanity, with trials and tribulations seemingly escalating every day?
Vorwerk: I think we are right in the middle of the birthing process. I actually find it very exciting, because humanity is coming awake right now. A lot is happening underneath the consciousness or the physical manifestation right now that most people don’t see, especially the media. They only announce the negative things happening in the world. But realize that there are many spiritual groups out there, many good meetings of the minds, so to speak, finding solutions for things, creating love and service. It’s just a matter of time before it all pops out into manifestation.

With Dec. 21, 2012, there is nothing special about that exact day or time, but the whole time period that everything is going on is very important. I would say within the next three years or so, we are going to see more changes on this earth than we have ever seen in past history – and it will be good. Unfortunately, you have to do away with the old before the new can come in. All the things that had been kept secret or hidden – everything from the sexual abuse by priests to the corruption of the banking industry and the stock market – have to be brought out to the open to be cleansed.

It’s all part of the birthing process.
Vorwerk: Yes, just like giving birth to an animal or a human, the birthing process can be quite painful for those involved, but the outcome is a very joyful occasion. The information I’m receiving from many sources is that we will see this new earth in a joyful, loving, peaceful way in the near future.

Tell me about your Bartholomew Effect group, what it’s purpose is and what experiences you have had with it.
Vorwerk: It started back in 2004, around the time when I become aware of the Bartholomew relationship that I have. I wanted a group where people could speak their mind in a free and respectful way, where anything goes and nothing is too far out, regardless if you are talking about communication with ETs, or you’re talking about out-of-body experiences, or near death experiences, or anything else like that. It’s where you come together with like-minded people to share your experiences and journey. It’s also where we can grow from each other and support each other.

We meet twice a month here in the Northfield area; one gathering is more about learning and sharing, and we also have a time where we also spend time for healing the earth and healing each other as a service to humanity and service to the Mother Earth. Sometimes we might have a DVD that we would watch and discuss afterward. We might discuss things from a book. It varies. I do have a meditation at the beginning of each meeting, and then at the end we circle up and I take everyone into kind of an altered meditative state of oneness.

As a spiritual Johnny Appleseed, you’re throwing out a lot of seeds in this book, but above all what do you hope your readers will gain from it?
Vorwerk: What I hope everyone will gain from it is that everybody is okay. It doesn’t matter where you are at on this journey of awakening. There is nobody better than another or worse than another, that there is hope for the future, and that we are the hope. In the book, I have a collection called the “What If” series, where I mention, what would life be like if it was this way or that way. My hope is that it will give people the seed to start their own growth and awakening so they can participate in the way that they are here to do. We all have a part to play. No one person is better than the other. We all have a part to play, and the more people who wake up and do their part then the quicker and the easier it becomes to truly create this world of oneness that is coming about.

What is your sense that souls who are acting out in fear and anger and violence really want?
Vorwerk: Everyone plays a part, and there are those who play the devil’s advocate role. They might be the catalyst to get people to come together to resolve certain issues. Even though nobody’s better than the other person, there are people who are at different levels of awakening.

Somebody told me there was a whole bunch of people sleeping on the beach. The sun starts to rise and at first, a few people wake up and the other people keep sleeping. Slowly a few more people wake up, and eventually everyone wakes up. But it doesn’t mean that those who are still sleeping are any worse or any better than the people who wake up first. It’s just that different people have different roles to play at different levels of their own spiritual journey.

You’ve heard the term Lightworkers? There are those who are here to be the ones to light the fire or start the awakening process. People who play that role usually are aware of it in some way, and do it in many different ways. You can write a book, like I did, or you can host a meeting. Even those who are in traditional religion can awaken other people in their own way. There are many different paths to wake up. You don’t have to follow any given path. It’s whatever works for that individual.

For more information on Larry Vorwerk and The Bartholomew Effect, please visit www.awakeningtooneness.com.

Jodi Menke of Kindred Spirits Animal Communication believes that animals are spiritual beings that have a lot to teach us. Sometimes they are brought into our lives just to make it better. Some have a much higher purpose and are here as teachers or healers to assist you in the growth of your soul or life purpose.

Jodi is a Registered Karuna Reiki Master, Earth Healing Energies Practitioner, has an advanced Animal Communication Certificate, a Certified ThetaHealing™ Practitioner and has a certification in StarFire Animal Communication. Jodi’s intention is to strengthen and enlighten the bond between animals and humans by offering clarity, insight and healing to both people and their pets.

I spoke with Jodi about talking to animals.

So how did you discover that you had this ability to speak with the animals?
Jodi Menke: I’ve always had a special bond with animals. When I was a child, I had an invisible pet dog. One day, I left my invisible dog at the park and wouldn’t stop crying until we went back and got it. When I was in my 20s, we had to put down our dog named Murray. That was one of the hardest days of my life. I felt like a piece of my heart went with him.

Murray is what I would call my soul animal. We connected at a level that I didn’t fully comprehend until after he was gone. If we were both human, we would have finished each other’s sentences. Once he was gone, I wanted that connection back. I learned that there was formal training on communicating with animals. Once I started the classes, it came so naturally to me that I realized then that I had been doing this my whole life.

What are some of the common issues that you have found in working with pets?
Menke: This journey has been very interesting. I have learned a lot about the relationships between humans and animals. I believe that the animals in our lives come to us for a reason and are there to help us with a certain lesson or to comfort us and be our companion when we need it most.

People usually ask for my help because there is a behavioral issue or concern with their pet, but usually there is a whole other level to the issue. For example, a couple was very worried about their cat. Their cat was very full of life and adventurous. She was so adventurous that her caregivers worried for her safety. I got that there was a message in this for one of the caregivers, specifically. One of the caregivers was particularly upset by the actions of her cat, so I asked her how long it had been since she had done what her spirit called her to do? She immediately started to cry. The cat was helping this woman to connect to that free spirit in herself and heal her past so she could start living her life in a way that would fulfill her.

Another client came to me with a horse, an Arabian mix. She wanted to ride him, but she was afraid because of his behavior. He would nip at her and act up when they were riding. She was worried he would run off with her. As I started working with her horse, I knew this horse was in her life to help her with her self-esteem, self-confidence and assertiveness. So I worked with both of them. The woman began to gain a new courage with her riding that not only helped her horse’s behavior issues improve but helped her to regain her personal power. She was able to ride confidently. She also became more assertive and her personal relationships changed for the better. She was a much happier person all around.

Sometimes people call me just to find out more about their pet. They want to make sure their pet has everything it needs. Sometimes their pet is having health issues and they want me to give them insight on what it is. Sometimes pets don’t get along and they want to know why.

I always enjoy meeting new people and their pets. One of my greatest joys is helping people and animals understand themselves and each other better, because it deepens their relationship and creates more harmony and happiness in the household.

Are there any tips that you can give us to help people deal with the loss of a pet?
Menke: The loss of a beloved pet is difficult. It’s okay to go through the grieving process with the loss of your pet. People sell themselves short when they don’t allow themselves to grieve. Your pet is a part of your family. The physical and emotional connection we share with them makes it feel as though we have lost not only our best friend, but a family member. People should give themselves permission to move through the full grieving process so they can heal and move forward. Remember that the other pets in your household may go through a grieving process of their own. Allow them space to do that.

When someone comes to work with you, what is the typical process? Do you go and see the animal?
Menke: My readings are done primarily over the phone. Once the date and the time are set, I ask them to email me a photo or a detailed description of their pet, along with the pet’s name. It isn’t necessary for me to be in the same room as the pet. Usually, I connect with the animal’s personality traits and their likes and dislikes first. This helps my client to understand that I am now connecting with their pet. Then, I ask for questions or concerns and we take it from there.

Can you talk with pets that have died?
Menke: Yes, I can talk to pets that have passed. It feels similar to communicating with animals that alive except that I don’t feel the life force in animals who have passed like I do with live animals.

Scientist, zookeeper, distance runner and gardener Larry Vorwerk balances his love of nature and science with his awakened heart, one that beats in harmony with a sense of oneness with all of creation.

An explorer at heart, Vorwerk’s new book, The Bartholomew Effect: Awakening to Oneness, is a testament to a soul who continues to reach beyond physical dimension for insight on the unseen. What if we were more aware of the power of our intentions? he asks. What if we became conscious, multidimensional spiritual beings? And what if we all spontaneously experience timelessness, weightlessness and the ability to move with a single thought – as if in a dream, just as Larry experienced on a number of occasions? And what if you learn that you are intimately connected – perhaps on the soul level – with someone who walked with Jesus (the apostle Bartholomew) but were uneasy about sharing that information but could not contain the love that the experience contains?

The Iowa native, who now lives with his wife, Nita Wolf, on ten acres of land near Northfield, MN, explores consciousness in the present moment, be it at work at the Minnesota Zoo, tending his fifty varieties of fruits and vegetables or running the byways of the rural countryside. His current incarnation is all about testing the boundaries of reality and the gifts of spiritual transformation.

In this interview with The Edge, Larry tells us that the Earth is undergoing the pains of birth, and we all can feel it deep in our souls. His message, however, is filled with hope as he promotes unconditional love, peace and oneness among us all.

You begin your book by writing, “By keeping an open mind toward everything, listening to our intuition and then acting on it, we begin to live life to the fullest.” What is your perspective on belief systems and the role they play in our lives?
Larry Vorwerk: I was raised Catholic and, as such, I guess that is a blessing and a curse at the same time. It was a very structured life. My parents were very traditional, but as I went to college, I really found it to be beneficial to have a spiritual background, as well as a scientific background. I used that to my advantage in trying to find answers to reality and life from looking at it from both perspectives.

Since I have had some multi-dimensional experiences, it gave me strength as far as having a stronger belief system and knowing that there is more out there than just what science can prove. Being the type of person who always is questioning life, I continue to explore my sense of reality. I never limited myself to what is possible. I explored different belief systems, everything from Native American philosophy to out-of-body experiences and dream states.

I found that in time they all started intersecting and supporting each other. As the puzzle pieces start to fit together, the puzzle border keeps expanding, and so there is really no end to understanding reality or life. But at the same time, as we do grow and become more aware, we do get a bigger and fuller picture of what is life and reality.

In the picture that we think we see, we think we know where the edges of life are, but it is constantly expanding on us.
Vorwerk: Yes, it’s constantly expanding. To give you an idea where science does help, look at modern physics which believes that there are 11 dimensions to reality, and yet we live in a third-dimensional world. A lot of the literature says we are moving into a fifth-dimensional experience. At the same time, I’ve had experiences that I believe were sixth dimensional, and these are the experiences of oneness. And yet, from what science says there are even higher dimensions that are incomprehensible while we are in the physical form.

As you mention in your book, you wrote about numerous experiences of being conscious in the higher dimensions, experiences that you describe as life altering. Why do some people have these and others do not?
Vorwerk: By being open to it. A person can close themselves down and be fearful about anything that is unexplained. That probably keeps a person from having those type of experiences. For myself, being curious and being open-minded, and actually putting out the intention to have higher dimensional experiences, has allowed me to have some of these. In the earlier years, a lot of these experiences came without any control or any way of knowing why they happened, but as the years have gone by I have had more control over some type of oneness experiences, which has been helpful.

What was the purpose for you having them?
Vorwerk: The purpose was to remember Home, meaning the afterlife; also to fulfill my purpose or mission in life and to be of service and to help other people on their awakening process.

You shared that your next incarnation will be as part of a group consciousness overseeing an evolving new planet and that many of your experiences outside of the realm of waking consciousness have been like training exercises for that incarnation. Can you elaborate on what you know about what that incarnation will be and what your role will be?
Vorwerk: There’s not too much I can say about it because it is beyond physical words. But another angle or way to approach that would be an outline view of a book on reality that I include toward the end of my book. I mention that everything converges as everything rises to a higher vibration, and I believe that is true in all aspects of life. The higher the vibration, the more inclusive everything is, including angels, archangels and even souls.

An individual of a species of animal comprises the soul of that species, and yet in humans each individual has a soul. As you get even into the higher dimensions and higher evolution, individual souls merge together to create a higher reality or a higher being, so to speak. From that experience that I mention in the book, post-human graduates merge together to become the consciousness of an evolving planet. Even though it was an experience like my other oneness experience, in the sense that energetically it was so expansive that it is hard to put into words, I did get an understanding of what that meant.

In the book I like to use analogies or parables to try to describe something that is hard to put into words, and another way of putting that experience of being the consciousness of a planet compared to being a human would be like the cells in your body compared with the known universe. A blood cell, for example, has no consciousness of what the whole body is doing, that I’m talking to you on the phone and you are in a different city and all of that. As we evolve and merge into a higher vibration, our reality becomes so much more expansive, so much more loving, so much more joyful, and yet at the same time incomprehensible as we are in a physical body at this time.

What role has emotional healing played in your spiritual journey?
Vorwerk: It helped me to come alive. To give you a little background, I was in an unhealthy marriage before and was not really happy in a lot of ways. My former wife had some mental health issues, and since it was emotionally painful in a lot of ways, I tried to stay out of feelings and be more intellectualized. But as I moved out of that relationship, moved into a healthy relationship, which I have now with Nita, I started to feel more and use my feelings as part of living and part of life. The more that you have feelings, the more you can experience life – the joys as well as the pain. Part of the reason to be on this earth in the physical body is to have those feelings and have those emotions that create your life experiences.

What is the Bartholomew Effect?
Vorwerk: At first when I started writing the book, I wasn’t even going to bring up the Bartholomew connection, but Spirit told me that the title of the book should be called The Bartholomew Effect. To do that, I then had to explain yourself. Once I started to write some of it, it was like, well, if you go this far you might as well go the whole way.

The interesting thing is that I asked myself, too, “Why is it called The Bartholomew Effect? Why wasn’t it called The Jesus Effect or something else?” I asked Jesus about that question. It is only called The Bartholomew Effect because it is my experiences, it’s my journey, it’s my awakening to oneness. If you were to write a book about your experiences, then it would be about your effect. So it doesn’t mean that mine is any better than somebody else’s. The point is that my experiences may be helpful to another person and might trigger some of their own growth. It might trigger some of their own awarenesses as they open up to this oneness experience.

The other aspect of why it’s called The Bartholomew Effect is because of different experiences I’ve had, which I explain in the book fully. There is a reason for me to believe that I am the apostle Bartholomew as a walk-in, but I really leave that open to the reader to come to their own conclusion. I leave it open that I could be a walk-in, I could be just overshadowed, or I’m just tapping into the collective unconscious, because it really doesn’t matter if I am or I’m not, because we are all one anyway. It’s just where my focus is at this point, and so I really didn’t want to make who I am the focus of the book.

It’s more about the message of where are we going, who are we as a whole, and what is the outcome. The main emphasis is how can we change our reality, and the biggest reality change that we can make is when we come to the awareness that we are all one, that we are all interconnected.

Once we come to that awareness, how does that change our reality?

What have you learned about Bartholomew and his role as an apostle?
Vorwerk: I have done a number of past life regressions. In fact, I did one a couple months ago since the book came out. I figured some people will start asking some questions about that. As I went through this session, I realized that a lot of the things that were said about Jesus in that time period did not fully answer who Jesus was in the message. I tried to explain it in some ways in the book, that the real message is that we are unconditional love and that Jesus was the way-shower. What was different between Jesus and most of us is he retained that awareness of Home that most of us have forgotten, for many reasons.

Since I started writing the book, I have a closer relationship with Jesus. When I finally made my commitment to write the book, Jesus came to me and said that He would always be present inside of me from that point forward, and I do feel that energy. I guess that’s the best way of putting it.

Everything is energy. I do feel that unconditional love energy that I would call Jesus, and yet there are many other avatars out there that carry that same energy of unconditional love. I bring up Jesus a lot in the book because that is the relationship I had, but if someone else had a relationship with Mohammed or Buddha or whomever, they could have that same type of experience of oneness and love. This isn’t just a Christian book. The message is the same no matter what avenue you come from.

What you have learned about Jesus that has changed your relationship with Him during this whole process?
Vorwerk: That is that He is very approachable. As I have said, I was raised Catholic, and if you know anything about the Catholic faith or a lot of the other traditional faiths, there is a lot of fear and guilt and shaming put around people because of what they do or don’t do. There is nothing like that from my experience that I had with Jesus, from the Bartholomew Effect.

I am totally acceptable, unconditionally the way I am, and I have my own faults and make my own mistakes like everyone else. And yet what that allows me to do is totally merge with Jesus because of that unconditional love, which is open to everyone. I don’t think traditional religious practice and teachings make that available for people. People see Jesus as something special, something above them, something that they could never attain themselves, and so they never have that true relationship with Him as a true brother that I see and experience at this point. So, from that point of view, my life has changed as far as my viewpoint of Jesus and His message.

The tagline of your book is “Awakening to Oneness.” Understanding oneness and knowing oneness are two different experiences. How does a person truly experience oneness?
Vorwerk: There are different levels of oneness. The one big experience of oneness that I had, where other souls merged with me, was at such a high energy level that if I were to retain that level of energy of oneness, I could not stay on this physical Earth. It is impossible for me to go to that level on a regular basis.

At the same time, I have learned in different ways how to get glimpses of bliss, of oneness, and a lot of that has to do with some of my spiritual insights that I include at the beginning of each chapter. One is to use your imagination. Just imagine yourself being at one with other things. What I have found is that you could be in love with your wife, and yet at the same time you could really feel at one with your pet dog. But try to do feel at one with all of them at one time instead of just one-on-one. I’ve had some experiences that have helped me to do that. There are now six other souls who have moved onto the other side that I can merge with at will now, and then I can do it with all six or seven of them at once. With each one it adds, it exponentially increases that feeling of oneness.

There are many ways to strive for that oneness, but unfortunately I can’t make it happen for someone else. In my book, I just share my experiences, things that have helped me. Some things were out of my control; I do some things now that I do have control of. One exercise that I do is visualize being at one with other souls. Just to let you know, everyone who reads my book is someone I have already merged with, and they have merged with everyone else that has read that book. It is my intention and visualization that as we all merge together at some level of awareness, we will start to feel it more and more. The more we experience oneness, the easier it becomes for others to also experience it. I know there are many other people out there who are doing their own thing on oneness. They may call it different names, but it still has the same effect.

Another thing I mention in the book is that by intention I open up my high self for other people to tap into to help with their awakening and awareness. Why reinvent the wheel? Why not share what we have learned from life experiences with others who are open to it or wanting to gain from it? Your intention and imagination, two of the insights that I mention, are very powerful.

CLICK HERE to continue to Part 2 of the interview.

For more information on Larry Vorwerk and The Bartholomew Effect, please visit www.awakeningtooneness.com.

James O’Dea has a unique perspective on stress and consciousness and the way forward out of the perceived chaos of the world. The immediate past president of The Institute of Noetic Sciences, O’Dea (pronounced o-DEE) champions what he calls “Creative Stress,” and as he writes in his book of the same title, it is about not resisting that which confronts us, but dancing with the energy to create opportunity and possibility as opposed to crisis and suffering.

He will speak at the annual conference of the National Qigong Association (NQA) in the Twin Cities this month [read more] on “Luminous Being: The Nature and Quality of the Luminosity which Pervades our Universe,” reminding those who attend that everything is made of universal, luminous energy, and our consciousness has the power to re-integrate each of our lives back into the flow of life. “We are in essence luminous beings who can tap into the very core of existence in remarkably creative ways,” he says. “The story of our collective evolution, as well as of personal enlightenment, is the story of an unfolding relationship to this luminous core. Even when we think we have been shattered into a million pieces, the core is there.”

O’Dea also will present a workshop at the NQA Conference on “Dancing with the Energy They Call Stress: The Physics of Personal and Collective Transformation,” helping participants learn how they regularly obstruct, interrupt and even fight off the primary energy of the universe – often with damaging consequences – and how to dance with this energy as our teacher. “(It) can challenge us to stretch and grow and take us to the higher reaches of consciousness,” he says. “Our personal and collective transformation is non-linear, and may in fact be a part of the collective field. How you learn to dance with this energy could influence the tidal currents of evolutionary change and collective learning. Change will come as a quantum shift that is truly transformative.”

Once director of the Washington, D.C., office of Amnesty International, and executive director of the Seva Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to international health & development issues in Latin America, Asia, and on American Indian reservations, O’Dea is now co-director of The Social Healing Project funded by the Kalliopeia Foundation. He is a member of the Evolutionary Leaders group founded by Deepak Chopra and Diane Williams and lectures widely on emerging worldviews, and integral approaches to social transformation. He has been a part of dialogue initiated with the Obama Administration on systems work and policy making. He and Dr. Judith Thompson co-led a series of international dialogues called Compassion and Social Healing. His book, Creative Stress: A Path For Evolving Souls Living Through Personal and Planetary Upheaval (CreateSpace) is highly praised, and his latest essay, “Creative Atonement in a Time of Peril,” will be published with other leading authors and practitioners later this year.

He spoke with The Edge about creative stress and how we can collectively dance with the luminous energy of the universal.

Your keynote at the National Qigong Association’s annual conference is on luminosity. Why did you choose that particular topic.
James O’Dea: I think luminosity is the essence of who we are and I’m concerned, at one level, that we live in an age of babble, fantasy and seduction, and that we sometimes need a little more guidance as to how to reach into our own luminous core. I’m a great believer that in each of us there is this luminosity that gets covered over.

All of us, even my grandmother, the so-called average person, has this luminous core and can tap into it. Remember that old expression, “God is a circle whose center is everywhere, whose circumference can never be found.” That’s a little of luminous. It connects with luminous wisdom, of course.

How can we, as individuals, increase our luminosity?
O’Dea: One of the things we have to do is change our relationships to this primary energy in the universe as it comes towards us and develop a capacity to be able to transform any energy that comes at us. When one pushes any of the energy that comes towards one aside – saying, “Not now, not ever” – I call that the physics of negative stress. You could say negative stress is energy on hold, delayed, not dealt with, whose meaning has not been explored and which hasn’t been refined.

What consciousness does is it meets this energy, and it has the capacity to either block it or to transmute it and to transform it and to make it more subtle. I believe that we can, in a very fundamental way, learn not just the physical dimension of energy work, but the psychophysical dimension of physical work that helps lift it, and as it does, it really is meeting and engaging.

One of the things I say is that very first step is what I call the direct encounter with the energy or the stress that is coming at you, with that consciousness that says, “What can I learn from this experience? What can this energy teach me?” Rather than saying, “I’ve got to get out of town. I’ve got to get away from this. I can’t handle this. I’m so stressed.”

As I mention in my book, there are three basic ways that we respond. The first is absorbing the energy in what I call the victim approach – storing the energy up and to occasionally look into it and say, in its trapped form, “I am victimized by what is happening to me. The universe is alien. The universe is antagonistic. The universe is against me and I’m a victim, and I’ve been betrayed, and I’ve been lied to,” and so on.

The second form is to deny. That is close to the first form, but it’s a different approach. It’s just denial. I send out a decoy and I say to the world, “Yeah, how are you doing? Oh, I’m doing great. I’m doing wonderfully,” when in fact you’re not. I call it the false positive – and there’s a lot of false positive.

The third form is to bounce the energy back as attack. As it’s coming at me, I send it back to its source at twice the velocity and make sure “that will get rid of it,” and, of course, it doesn’t. It just compounds the problem.

Of course, there is another way. The primary way is to transmute that energy from negative to creative.

So, in a real simplistic way, what you’re talking about is looking at stress as an opportunity in our lives?
O’Dea: Yes. It would be interesting to do a study as to when this word “stress” turned negative. The word stress now does not even get delivered to us as a neutral word. The poet loves stress. He says, “I must stress the language and use stress in order to bring forth the qualities in language.” The musician, the composer, deals with the stress in music. At one point, stress was more neutral. Now if you say the word “stress,” everybody goes, “Yes, I know what you’re talking out. I’m stressed, too.”

I think people even respond to the word “stress” as victims, as deniers and as attackers, the three reactions that you talk about.
O’Dea: Yes. Creative stress is an attempt at being a meaning changer, and I believe, as in the subtitle of the book, “A path for your soul’s living through personal and planetary upheaval,” that it’s not only an issue at the personal level. When we look into the great collective mirror of the things that we’re not dealing with, they’re speaking louder and louder to us, aren’t they? Something has not been really dealt with here. I love Tom Stoppard’s witty expression, “The skeleton in the closet is coming home to roost.”

At the qigong conference you also are going to be presenting a workshop on dancing with the energy we call stress. What can people expect to experience during that workshop?
O’Dea: I like to make the workshop part interactive, to really look at not only how we learn those phases of direct encounter, but how we move all the way through, to deeply shaking the hand of stress to embracing it. There are exercises and practices, and it is important to just tell each other stories of those who have demonstrated to us the transformational power of stress.

In the book, I talk about some of those people, like the woman I met in Northern Ireland last year. Frances, who was shot in the violence between Catholics and Protestants and lost 17 pints of blood, was taken to the hospital and the doctor had called her family. When she came to, they were preparing her to die, and they said, “Frances, we have taken out the most of the bullets, but one of the bullets is lodged right next to your heart. We cannot operate. That would be way too dangerous.” And then six weeks later they came to her and said, “Frances, you’re going to have to get on with your life.” And so she said, “I’m the woman who walks around with a bullet lodged next to her heart.” Now she does peacemaking work between Catholics and Protestants.

And so I say, let’s tell each other the stories of those exemplars and models who are really capacitated human beings, capacitated to forgive, capacitated to make peace, capacitated to transform the velocity of negative hatred and hostility, even when it’s lodged next to your heart. Transform that energy into creative action in the world at a time when the planet is experiencing deep trauma.

You can read the paper from any angle, but the latest news from West Africa is that millions, maybe up to 10 million people, are facing hunger or facing starvation, and that’s just one of the crises. I was with the Obama administration a few months back looking at failing states, water shortages, nuclear proliferation, climate imbalance – the multiple problems that are on our horizon.

I love the relationship of the Qigong work, which is moving and dancing with that energy of the universe, and taking it all the way in from merely being a house practice to being a practice that says of all of the energy as it comes: “We can transform as human beings, the hatred of the world.”

Tomorrow I leave for a trip to Israel and Palestine. I will be meeting with bereaved families on either side of the conflict who have said to the other side, “If you’re in as much pain as we are, let’s try to end this.” I will then be going on to Rwanda, where extraordinary examples of healing are in process. When I come to give the talk at the National Qigong Association conference, I will be freshly back from places in the world where deep healing is being attempted in the cauldron of conflict.

To what degree is forgiveness a part of the process in these locations?
O’Dea: Forgiveness is a very central part of the process. As past president of The Institute of Noetic Sciences and currently extended faculty of that institute, one of the things that we’ve studied is the science of forgiveness. We know that the body is an instrument of our consciousness and intelligence. We have cardiovascular constriction when we think about those we have not forgiven, so the body itself says, “Release it. Let it go.” Your own health depends on it. Our societal health depends upon it.

Forgiveness work is not automatic or easy. It has relationships, as Bishop Tutu reminds us. He wrote a book called, No Future Without Forgiveness. He reminds us that there is a deep relationship between forgiveness and truth. He says we have to know this: “The truth washes the wound, then you can apply the sweet balm of forgiveness.”

In your recent Prayer to the Gulf, which we sent out to our readership, you ask for help in returning to deep community. Share with those who are unfamiliar with that term why that’s important and how we can return that.
O’Dea: There are three words that are related: communing, communication, and community. They all are very interrelated. We know from contemporary science that those who are in nurturing relationships – in community, serving community – live longer and have healthier lives. Communing requires that integrity of communication, shared communication processes. When we come to community, it is a place where we can share a deep, inner ecology of sustaining our heart, mind, our inner lives in connection, in relationship, and the forms we use can also be sustainable in the systemic perspective.

It is a very amazing time to live. There is some branch of science that has colluded with pharmacopeia, militarism and other excesses. But there is a branch of new science that is deeply reinforcing the health and well-being of relationship, of conscious community development. We can, in fact, create models. I live in such a model, a place called Crestone, CO.

Crestone is in a very ecological setting, and the community is very watchful on the ecological level, even down to noise. The military was doing practice fly-overs and this community got the military to move off because they said human beings need more serenity and peace. Crestone also has land that has been given to many of the world’s spiritual traditions. There is a Carmelite monastery, an ashram, Buddhist temple, Sufi groups and yoga groups. There is spiritual nurturance, you have the ecological work, and you have a community that is caring. The nearest mall is 50 miles away. So it is possible to recreate communities that are slower, deeper and more nourished, healthier and spiritually diverse, honoring our diversity of beliefs. Nature itself always mirrors unity in diversity.

For people who are stuck in the concrete jungle, the urban setting near shopping malls, what advice do you have for them in connecting with nature?
O’Dea: I think it begins with looking for community wherever you can build it. Am I dealing with stuff myself? Am I taking responsibility? In my Prayer for the Gulf – and I’ve been hearing from people as far away as South Africa, so that message has really spread – taking personal responsibility is at the core.

In the Prayer for the Gulf, I confess that I am a part of the problem. Then, how do you take it from there, wherever you are situated, wherever you are living? We need to see how we are colluding with the problem and not just simply say that the catastrophic deluge of oil in the Gulf is just 1 of 10,000 forms of pollution. Nigeria has experienced an Exxon Valdez every year for 25 years. Are you aware of that? Oil is just one of the forms of pollution.

I like to help focus people on where we are in time. I wrote an essay and a book called, The Mystery of 2012, saying, “You were born for such a time as this. You are living in a time when, in fact, the hyper-acceleration that you are experiencing is the final death throes of a system that is so out of balance, so based on consumption and greed, so lacking in core-nurturing values, that it’s going to collapse. How it collapses, to what degree, how we reconstitute it: These are the questions that conscious and aware people must be living, not just thinking about.” The philosopher, Whitehead, said in the 20th century that “the merest abstractions are now used to control people’s thoughts.” You hear a lot of people talking about the crises in the world without convening the energy, the creative energy needed for it.

What single message would you want to leave with all of humanity at this moment, if you had the opportunity to do so?
O’Dea: Our crisis, as Barbara Marx Hubbard put it even 40 years ago, is a birth. We are being invited into the great synthesis of human process, where we can restore our relationship to the holy order of Nature and the justice within Nature and the restorative justice, that we can heal. My message is the human story is fundamentally a healing story, and that this word “healing” is the heart of the word “wholeness.” That we can find wholeness in a whole new expression of global community.

What allows you to remain optimistic that we collectively can do this?
O’Dea: I have experienced the worst. I’m someone who comes from Hell and says, “You know, it’s not the end of the story.” I was in Beirut during the bombing, during the massacre of the Palestinians. I spent 10 years as director of Amnesty International’s office in Washington, daily looking at the genocides, the confusion, the horror in the world, and always seeing the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

I’m a place-holder for the part in the story where it gets very, very dark and grim and it looks like the bitter end, and I say, “Look at the prisoners of conscience. Look at the great spiritual leaders. Look at the communities coming. Look at Rwanda.” People are talking about Rwanda now as the Switzerland of Africa. It’s a healing story beyond belief.

I’m able to say this because I live with that consciousness that engages, that doesn’t look away, that doesn’t go into the false positive or the pretend reality that all I need to do is affirm nice things and the world will be beautiful. No, we actually need to go through the witnessing of our own fall – and we’re all a part of that – to realize our resurrection as a species.

Richard Smoley is the author of The Dice Game of Shiva (New World Library) and five other books. He’s a former editor of Gnosis, editor of the Theosophical Society’s Quest Books, and the executive editor of Quest magazine.

The following is an interview with Smoley about his latest book.

The Dice Game of Shiva — that’s an intriguing title for a book. What does it mean?
Richard Smoley: It refers to a Hindu myth in which the god Shiva plays a game of dice — essentially a kind of strip Parcheesi — with his consort, Parvati. The strange thing is that Shiva always loses. He loses everything to Parvati, even his clothing, but it doesn’t make any difference to him. He goes off to the forest and lives as a hermit. Eventually Parvati comes in search of him, and they’re reunited in the end.

That’s a strange story. What’s it about?
Smoley: It’s about one of the central issues that has always perplexed philosophers — the nature of consciousness. Shiva represents consciousness — and in the book I define consciousness as the capacity to relate to self and other.

And Parvati? What does she represent?
Smoley: What consciousness experiences — the totality of the world, inner and outer.

Richard Smoley

This is getting kind of abstract. Why should I care about this kind of thing?
Smoley: Because it’s something that you’re doing every second of your life. At the core of your being there is something that experiences, something that sees. It doesn’t do anything else; it just witnesses. It has no properties, no characteristics other than this. This is what the mystical traditions call the true Self, the “I,” Christ consciousness, the Atman. This is who you really are.

But we forget this. We think we are what we see. We become what we behold. And I’m not just talking about the physical world. You also experience your thoughts and your emotions, and you mistakenly believe that you are those things. That’s what the mystics call maya, illusion.

Parvati symbolizes all of your experience, and Parvati always “wins” the game. Why? Because consciousness in its pure form has no attributes, no qualities; it just sees. Everything you see, inner and outer, belongs to Parvati, so to speak. So Shiva always loses the game, and Parvati always wins. But it doesn’t matter to Shiva. In reality he loses nothing.

But how can I not be my thoughts, my feelings, and so on? Those are what I am.
Smoley: No, they’re not! You can step back and see them; you can watch them like a film passing before your eyes. That’s the purpose of many — maybe most — meditation practices. They’re meant to show you that there’s something behind all the junk that passes through your mind, and that that something is what you really are.

Then everything in the world is just kind of a film that I’m watching?
Smoley: You and everybody else. In each of us there is this true Self, which witnesses. It exists in animals, plants, even in inanimate matter.

How is that?
Smoley: Well, I said that consciousness is the capacity to relate self and other. For anything to exist at all, it must have some amount of this capacity, however small. Even a hydrogen atom must somehow be able to “recognize” an oxygen atom if it is to bond with it to form water. This is not consciousness as we know it in ourselves, but still it’s consciousness of a kind.

Where is God in all this?
Smoley: God is, I would say, the ineffable source out of which this primordial distinction of self and other arise. In one sense, God is yourself. Isn’t that what all the mystical traditions are saying? Jesus, in the Gospel of John, alludes to this when he says, “I and the Father are one.” Most Christians misunderstand this. They think that Jesus is talking about himself. But really this “I,” this capacity to say “I am,” is, so to speak, the point where we connect with God. Haven’t we heard any number of times that one of the most sacred and profound names of God is “I am”?

Why should I pray to God?
Smoley: Well, I said that God is the source both of self and other. We can experience God as other also. Some theologians take this to the point of saying that God is “wholly other,” but I would say that that’s just half of the picture. When you feel God as other, then you pray to God. When you rest in stillness in the center of your being, you feel God as Self. We can experience it sometimes one way, sometimes another.

Are you saying that Hinduism is the true religion?
Smoley: I’m saying that at their core all religions are saying these things. In my previous book, Inner Christianity, I explored these ideas in the language of mystical Christianity. For the purposes of this book, I found it more helpful to use some terms and concepts from Eastern religions.

Why isn’t all this a matter of common knowledge?
Smoley: Religions talk about this in mythic terms, because if you talk about it discursively, the way we’re doing here, it can be hard to wrap your mind around. Besides, there are certain dangers in this knowledge.

What are these dangers?
Smoley: If all this hits your mind in the wrong way, you can come away with the idea that your personal ego, your little self, is God. This happens sometimes, not only in people who are certifiably insane, but in certain gurus who have enough charisma to collect some followers. The gurus are right in a sense — their “I” is God — but that’s true of everyone and everything, not just the guru, however advanced he may seem.

On the other hand, there are also dangers in forgetting these truths, in failing to realize that God is not only in you, but that which says “I” in you. If you don’t remember this fact, you’re cut off from the center of your own being. People in this situation — and I would say that this is true of most of us most of the time — are weak and susceptible. They, or we, are prone to the mass hypnosis of ordinary life, in which we place our trust in money, in things, in leaders good and bad. This trust will inevitably be disappointed sooner or later. As the Bible says, “Put not your trust in princes.”

What’s the way out?
Smoley: Well, the first step is awakening. Simply becoming aware of this Self in you, this “I” that witnesses. It doesn’t require great mystical powers. Deep down, we all know that there is something that says “I” in us. And that this something lies deeper than our ego with its desires and anxieties and agendas.

Some philosophers say that simply becoming aware of this fact is enough, and at times that’s true. But most of us need something more, and I would say that a good meditation practice would be a helpful way of probing deeper into these truths. And there is also prayer in the more familiar sense, in which we approach God as other.

Of course, there’s more to the situation than this. There are questions of cosmic justice, of science versus spirituality, and there’s also the most perplexing issue of all — causality — the issue of what causes what, which has perplexed philosophers more than practically any other problem they’ve had to face. In my book I go into these issues at much greater length. But recognizing the truths I’ve sketched out here is, I’m convinced, already a big step.

Nathalie Lussier, aka “the Raw Foods Witch,” helps people develop a holistic approach to healing their relationship to food. Nathalie believes raw foods can heal you on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. Her website, RawFoodsWitch.com, is full of recipes, videos and articles that will deepen your understanding of eating raw.

I caught up with Nathalie to speak with her about her philosophy on raw foods. Her approach is fun, magical and she has lots of great tips for making the transition to a raw diet.

Nathalie, how did you become “The Raw Foods Witch”?
Nathalie: I bought the domain Raw Food Switch, but then realized that people didn’t really want to “switch.” My boyfriend suggested that Raw Foods Witch would be cool. I’ve always had a thing for witches and realized that this was my website and I could call myself a witch if I wanted to. As soon as I did that, things really started to take off – probably because I was really enjoying myself and not trying to be too serious.

Your site is really fun. It is refreshing compared to the dogmatic approaches you often see around food issues.
Nathalie: Why do it if you’re not having fun? Keeping things light and entertaining is a great way to get people to try the recipes. They stick around once they discover how great it feels to eat raw. My work is all about bringing more health, optimism and freedom to the world in a fun way. Sharing my experience with raw foods encourages others to include more fresh fruits and vegetables into their diets. A lot of us are stuck in a strange power struggle with food, so I want to give everyone the freedom to make food choices from a place of balance again.

What got you started with raw foods?
Nathalie: I first came across the concept on the internet one day, and couldn’t get the idea out of my head. The idea of eating raw food brought me back to my childhood: I loved raw carrots out of the garden, but couldn’t eat the floppy cooked ones. I wasn’t really committed at that time, though. The wake-up call came when my aunt passed away of a cardiac-related condition, and I realized that I could either keep eating my junk-food diet or take a different approach. That’s when I did a 30-day raw trial and I felt amazing!

What motivates you to do this work?
Nathalie: When I first went raw, there was a lot of dogmatism and strict adherence to rules. Even though I felt better, I noticed that it didn’t work for most people. I knew that people could experience the benefits of eating more raw food without being so hard on themselves. That’s essentially how I came to create my philosophies and teachings. I want everyone to be able to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables without worrying about labels or about doing it “wrong.”

I agree. I think that if people were more relaxed with each other, it would be easier for people to change their habits. Many times, it is pressure from others that leads people to do the opposite. People often won’t change until they are forced to do so – for health reasons or a serious wake-up call.
Nathalie: Yes! Our choices are often influenced by those around us, making us either conform or rebel. If we stopped judging each other, we’d be able to experiment with new ideas and lifestyles without feeling like we’re doing something wrong. We’re here to find the path that calls to us and not to try to fit into someone else’s vision for us. Wake-up calls usually happen when people are living unconsciously or trying to avoid the hints our bodies are giving us (indigestion, headaches, etc.).

If I was starting a raw food diet, what sort of advice would you give me?
Nathalie: I recommend that you take it slow. Some people jump in 100 percent, but that’s not easy on the body or the mind. I recommend you start by making green smoothies with 60 percent fruit and 40 percent green leafy vegetables. If you start your day with a green smoothie, you’ll immediately start to feel lighter and more energetic. From there, you can start adding more salads and see how you feel.

What are the benefits of a raw food diet?
Nathalie: Raw foods improve digestion. When you’re eating foods in their natural state, they are easier to digest. Your body can use the excess energy usually spent digesting to eliminate toxins or to heal itself. Digestive enzymes are preserved when eating raw. These enzymes help your body absorb the nutrients in your food. Many people have compromised digestive systems. Eating raw is one of the easiest ways to get maximum nutrition from your food. Eating raw also improves elimination, helps you lose weight, clears your skin, clears your mind and gives you sustained energy. You don’t get the mid-afternoon slump when you eat raw, because it’s easier to digest raw foods.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in going raw?
Nathalie: People perceive this diet as extreme. Once I learned how to explain the diet in a way that didn’t make it seem too crazy, it was easier to interact with friends and family. Another challenge was detoxification. My detox was mild, but I did experience some symptoms of withdrawal.

What are the symptoms of detoxification and what do you recommend to deal with it?
Nathalie: Symptoms may include headaches, chills, cold-like symptoms, diarrhea or constipation, bloating, break outs, or low energy. This can happen after you change your diet. Detoxification is your body trying to expel old “stuff.” I recommend being gentle on yourself, get plenty of rest and drink lots of water. Don’t take cold medicine. Excess mucus is part of the process. It usually doesn’t last more than a few days.

How do you handle going to dinner with non-raw friends?
Nathalie: I used to stress about that. Now, I’m more easygoing. I suggest restaurants that have salads or cooked vegetarian and vegan meals. I’m the “raw food restaurant” tour guide. There are more and more raw restaurants opening up everywhere too, so that makes it easier.

Yes, we have one here in the Twin Cities called the Ecopolitan. It is really good. So, do you have any stories you would like to share with us about clients who you’ve worked with and how raw foods changed their lives?
Nathalie: One of my clients, Sarah, had great results after participating in my Cure Cravings Forever program. She lost about 20 pounds just by having a morning smoothie and a salad for lunch. Changing a few of her meals to raw had a domino effect. She started exercising again and her husband lost weight, too. Stories like theirs are very humbling and rewarding to me.

In addition to offering information at her website [RawFoodsWitch.com], Nathalie helps people deal with cravings for unhealthy food through her program Cure Cravings Forever. She provides raw menus of the week, as well as tons of recipes and videos in her ongoing program, “The Magick Menu.” To get a feel for her energy and see if this whole raw food thing might be right for you, get her free e-course called “Feel Light Take Flight” and sign up for her weekly newsletter at www.GetTheCue.com.

What happens when you cross a spiritual visionary with a social revolutionary? You get a mind of enlightenment and a heart of compassion named Michael Bernard Beckwith, founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles.

Dr. Beckwith is the author of the award-winning book Spiritual Liberation – Fulfilling Your Soul’s Potential, which has been translated into 10 languages to date. His PBS Special, “The Answer Is You,” is currently being broadcast in locations throughout the U.S.

A sought-after spiritual teacher and conference participant with international leaders of the world’s spiritual traditions, Dr. Beckwith will join Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Caroline Myss, Gary Zukav, Neale Donald Walsch, Gregg Braden, Arielle Ford and more than a dozen other spiritual leaders and healers June 4-7 in Chicago for Celebrate Your Life, a transformational conference attended by thousands of individuals.

In an interview with The Edge magazine, Michael offered a preview of what he will be teaching during the Celebrate Your Life conference, as well as a personal glimpse into his spiritual path and practices.

You teach that our true nature is divine. Did this realization come about through your life lessons, your inner awakening process, or teachers on your personal path?
MBB: I have a saying that has emerged from my spiritual walk: Pain pushes us until a vision pulls us.

Even though I was curious about the mystery of existence since childhood, my intentional search began as a freshman at Morehouse College when I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by the great mystic Dr. Howard Thurman. His wisdom was profound, and even though his demeanor was humble and gentle, there was no mistaking his sense of inner empowerment. I wanted to emulate his example of true self-awareness and connection to what he considered Source.

By the time I transferred to USC in the early ’70s, social unrest, the continued movement for civil rights and student rebellion were powerfully active in our society. I “tuned in, turned on, and dropped out” to serve these causes. My eventual arrest for selling marijuana placed me in a court of law, but I was released on technicality. Even though I didn’t have to serve a jail sentence, the suffering caused by such a possibility was enough to push me into catching a higher vision of my life’s purpose.

So upon leaving the courtroom and arriving home, I challenged the Universe with a commitment that if it met my challenge, I’d totally devote my life to seeking truth. [Details are provided in Beckwith's book, Spiritual Liberation - Fulfilling Your Soul's Potential.] I began going to Ojai and learning from Krishnamurti; I read Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, Osho’s books, Thich Nhat Hanh, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and studied Western teachers including Dr. Ernest Holmes, Emanuel Swedenborg, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Walter Russell, Joel Goldsmith, to name a few. Eventually I entered the Ernest Holmes College and became licensed minister in the New Thought tradition of spirituality. In 1986, I founded the Agape International Spiritual Center, a trans-denominational spiritual community. So all these combined steps in my journey revealed that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, that our true nature is the stuff of divinity.

For those of us who don’t have a spontaneous spiritual awakening that changes our perspective, what do you recommend we practice?
MBB: Good question. There are individuals who have one spontaneous realization of their oneness with the Whole and think they’ve arrived at the spiritual summit, that there’s no more work to do. But consciousness is limitless. Remaining in a constant state of say, moksha (spiritual liberation), or complete freedom from the wheel of birth and death, is the result of tremendous inner work. Consciousness is limitless, so as long as we’re in the physical form gracing this three-dimensional planet, there’s still work to be done as far as our evolutionary spiritual progress is concerned.

The greatest thing that I could recommend is cultivating a sincere desire to spiritually develop, grow and unfold. Suffering is a great awakener, but why not instead apply and learn through our inherent wisdom? It’s possible when we give up lethargy and laziness about why we’re on the planet, which is to wake up.

What is at the root of discovering authentic happiness?
MBB: Exactly what we’ve been talking about. The only form of authentic happiness comes from realization of our true nature. All other definitions are subject to the vicissitudes of life, the constant ups and downs. Happiness is beyond ego satisfaction; it is soul satisfaction that comes from self-realization. That brand new car you’re excited about will some day be an old car. Your beautiful body will still age. Your baby will grow up and leave home. Eventually we will all die. Everything breaks up into change except own true nature. “Be anchored in That which is changeless,” Krishna told his disciple Arjuna. Now material things are to be enjoyed and appreciated, but they can never equal the measure of our spiritual stature.

You talk about abundance in your book, The Answer Is You. What advice would you offer those who are experiencing financial hardship right now?
MBB: There’s no doubt that many individuals are facing drastic situations as a result of our challenging economic times, whether individually, or by the collective effect it’s having upon our world. First, I’d like to say that no matter what’s happening to us personally, there’s something we all can still do: have compassion. Find a place to be of service, because no matter what’s been lost, we have ourselves, and we can support those who are suffering more than we are.

What you read in The Answer Is You is pretty much what I share when individuals seek counseling about financial challenges. See the challenge realistically, but don’t be convinced by thoughts of lack, limitation, doubt, fear, worry or its opposite – the temptation of magical thinking. Deconstruct both by claiming the truth that you are divinely supported by the Universe. Claim your identity as a being who lives in a field of infinite possibilities, including abundance, and that all things are working together for your good. Activate your intuitive qualities by tapping into divine guidance about the next step to take in the direction of your Good.

Some people believe the whole answer is in the law of attraction, as in “ask, believe, and you will receive whatever you want and when you want it. If you don’t receive it, it’s because you don’t believe it sufficiently.” Can you please elaborate on this?
MBB: Well, not everyone will like my answer. When people are referring to the law of attraction, prosperity, abundance – words like that – they’re usually using polite terms in reference to money and material possessions. In the pop teachings about prosperity, there is a shadow side, an immature notion that persons lacking the signs of outer abundance are undeveloped in prosperity consciousness, whereas those who have symbols of abundance possess higher metaphysical knowledge that they apply to acquire the things they desire.

This is an oversimplification. Life is not so black and white. There are subtleties; there are other laws that work in concert with the law of attraction. It behooves us to bend our knee in humility before life’s mysteries, including the unforeseen, unexpected turns we find ourselves taking on life’s road. A tidy saying or concept is not a one-dose pill to mentally swallow and magically change our life into what our ego wants it to be. There are deeper things afoot on our behalf, greater riches to be had than fulfilling all of our material desires.

You make frequent references to the practice of compassion. Yours and Agape’s compassionate work in the world is inspiring, especially all the global projects in which you participate. What do you do to encourage individuals to not only have an inner spiritual practice but also to actively give compassionate service?
MBB: Like so many other spiritual teachers, I emphasize that what we do as a result of our inner practices is the real deal. Meditation, affirmative prayer, contemplation – these stir our hearts of compassion because they awaken our sense of oneness with all beings. As this realization deepens, we can’t help but want to serve because we grasp that we’re in service to the One who walks in all feet and beats in all hearts.

So, what we choose to do when we arise from our meditation cushion, our church pew, our prayer rug, our personal home altar, or when we remove our prayer shawl – that’s where the depth of our practice shows up. Selfless service is a vital part of our spiritual practice.

How does your teaching integrate the darkness, as well as the light, into our experience of life?
MBB: I don’t see it so much as an integral aspect of my teaching because life reveals this integration without our assistance! It’s not so much about life being a duality as it is a polarity of experience: light and shadow, happiness and sadness, Spirit and Nature, feminine and masculine – the seeming pairs of opposites dance together to complement, to express and celebrate the wholeness of Existence.

What will you be presenting at the Celebrate Your Life event in Chicago in June? What can participants expect to take home with them?
MBB: My topic is, “How to Be a Star in Your Own Life.” I’ll be teaching a spiritual technology I originated called the Life Visioning Process that leads the practitioner through the steps that will reveal their life purpose and how to live it. Participants will learn how to empower themselves to leap into the next expression of their evolutionary growth. They’ll learn how to get in touch with their inner set designer and respond to the cues for playing their part with gusto, creativity, passion and authenticity.

Any final thoughts or inspiration you want to leave our readers with?
MBB: Self-acceptance is the greatest discipline we will ever know. Our societal conditioning has convinced us we must excel, improve, upgrade, makeover ourselves and never simply rest in our essential ground of being. Accepting our perfectly imperfect self is an inside job that is best accomplished by direct contact with the Self through meditation and affirmative prayer, which relaxes the ego’s grip on our packaging and gives us a sense of humor with which to navigate our life.

First of a two-part interview

Stephen Co’s miraculous ascension into the world as one of its foremost energy healers began with a loss of patience. His wife had fallen and broken her hip, and doctors told her it would be at least three months before she could put any weight on it. He and his wife were frustrated with the prognosis.

He told the doctor, “That’s way too long,” and he began looking for other options. By chance, someone mentioned Pranic Healing, but the engineer by trade – and Southern Baptist by faith – was hesitant.

“I took the class and I started working on her, and within two and a half weeks, she could walk,” Stephen Co said in a telephone interview with The Edge. “I was just baffled. She could walk. And then every time we went to the doctor, they said the bone was healing faster than they had ever seen before. They didn’t know why. I was not about to tell them about the healing, because they would think I was crazy.

“After about five weeks, I remember my wife ran across the room, and that was the end of me doubting. At that time, I was very skeptical, emotionally and mentally and spiritually. I was not open to it at all, but I followed the protocol, step by step.”

That was the beginning of Stephen Co’s transformation from engineer to energy healing teacher. His healing teacher, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, the world’s foremost authority and founder of Pranic Healing®, inspired him to leave the Philippines, where had been living, and go to the United States to teach what he had learned. The rest is history. Stephen is now referred worldwide as Master Co, and he has spoken to thousands of people and has trained many in the art of Pranic Healing, including doctors, nurses and those who already practice other forms of integrative healing. He and Dr. Eric Robins wrote the book, Your Hands Can Heal You.

“What I want to get across is, if I can do this – having been emotionally, mentally and spiritually not open to it, open to just helping people – I think anybody can learn this.”

Master Co returns to the Twin Cities to teach classes on Pranic Healing on March 23 and 24, and a weekend intensive healing seminar on April 17-18.

He spoke with The Edge to explain that the so-called “miracles” of Pranic Healing are actually the result of subtle laws of energy, nature’s response to the conscious direction of our life force energy (chi or prana) in a form of healing that has evolved in the East for thousands of years. He says all human beings are born with the incredible power to consciously, purposefully direct their life force energy, and that he trains and empowers people to tap into their own latent ability.

Let’s start with the very foundation of what you do, and I think that’s the understanding that all life is energy.
Every particle of existence is made of energy, and this energy has different vibrations. In the Hindu tradition, it is called prana. The Chinese call it chi, and the Japanese call it ki. Different cultures have their own name for it, but essentially what I do is called Pranic healing. It was developed by my teacher, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, into a very simple, but systematized healing modality that I can teach anyone in a very short time – how to harness this life force to heal themselves, their loved ones, and make their life better.

How does Pranic healing work?
First you have to understand that the energetic anatomy – which consists of the chakras (the energy centers) the meridians and the aura – are mediums for this prana to go into the physical body. When people are sick, different parts of this energy anatomy are blocked, the flow is not there and the physical organs are not getting the fresh energy they need for the body to repair itself. People can get this fresh energy from the food, from the air, from the ground.

When a person comes in for healing, the first thing we do is we scan to feel the different imbalances of energy. Then we begin cleansing. We spend about 50 to 75 percent of the healing session cleansing and removing blockages of energy. Most of the time, for back pain, headaches, something like an upset stomach, that cleansing alone gives the person so much relief that they think they are already improving, but that is just part of it.

After a thorough cleansing, the healer does deep breathing and meditation to bring energy into the system and project it to the client. We call this energizing. And then we stabilize the energy so it does not leak out. What people do not realize is that when you give energy to the client, the body can only absorb so much energy in a short amount of time. A lot of energy is waiting to go in. We tell people after a session not to shower for 12 to 24 hours to give that energy time to be absorbed. We also stabilize the energy using the color blue, and then we teach the client some forms of self-healing and meditation. We want to make sure each client goes home with certain skills to help speed up the healing.

In a very simplistic way, people can get a sense of what you do by looking at the body as just a vessel for energy, and that this energy is always moving in and out of the body, but sometimes that movement of energy becomes blocked.
Absolutely. This life force is not ours. It is in the universe. As you said, you are a vessel, or you are a machine, that pumps the energy in, pumps the energy out. As long as that energy is flowing freely, the body has good health.

What mechanism pumps the energy in and out of the body?
The mechanism behind it is the chakras, energy centers that act like spinning wheels. Just imagine they are propellers that spin in both directions. When they spin clockwise, looking at them from the front of the body, they are absorbing this prana, or life force energy. When they are spinning counter-clockwise, they are releasing this life force energy.

When you go to an acupuncturist, the way they pull the needle is based on this very simple principle. If they want to put energy into your body, they pull the needle clockwise. If they want to take the energy out – if you have too much energy or a blockage – they pull it counterclockwise, because all the acupuncture points are the locations of chakras. Chakras are distributed all over your body. Traditionally, it is known that there are seven major chakras, but actually there are 11 major chakras and hundreds of smaller ones.

My teacher noticed that every ailment actually has a unique set of energy centers that malfunction. A person who has asthma, compared to somebody who has menstrual cramps, will have a different set of chakras affected, because a different set of physical organs are affected. The reason anybody can learn this is because as long as you can follow a recipe, you can heal with Pranic Healing. By following the given steps for a given ailment, you give the body the ability to release the blockages, and you give the body the ability to absorb the life force it needs. The body now has fuel to repair itself.

Is Pranic healing ideal for some health conditions and not as effective for others? How does it work on chronic conditions?
I remember when Dr. Eric Robins, co-author of the book, Your Hands Can Heal You, told me that as a medical doctor, his definition of a chronic condition is when body is not healing itself. No matter how many drugs you use or how much surgery you do, you are just doing a bandage job, because the body is not repairing itself. Chronic cases respond very well to Pranic Healing, because after you remove the blockages and you give the body enough energy, the body can now go back to its restorative mode. For example, we notice asthma and respiratory illness respond very quickly. Something else that responds very well is back pain, because it is not always physical. Often it is due to anger and resentment. These negative emotions block the flow of life force energy. If you clean these blockages, most people will feel an instant relief. In general, all ailments are due to some form of energetic imbalance that has manifested, so we do our best.

How involved is the training to learn Pranic Healing?
It depends on how far you want to take it. For most people who want to work on back pain, headache and common ailments, those who want to learn how to work on people with anger and resentment, the first level class is enough. Then, for people who want to learn more, want to really get into it, there is an advanced class where you start using colors.

This involves matching the color – or the frequency – with what the body needs to repair itself. For example, if somebody has menstrual cramps or somebody has constipation, the body is lacking what is called orange prana, or orange energy, in the lower part of the body. In the first level class, we give this client white light. White light is like going to a general practitioner. The body will simply extract the orange energy from the white to do what it needs to. The body will get the energy it needs. Advanced classes are like going to a specialist. We know what color the body needs, so we give it to the body directly, and the healing time is usually cut in half.

We also offer more advanced class for those who want to go into phobias and addictions, in the pranic psychotherapy classes. Depending on how far you want to take it, the teachings are there.

For those people who are not able to come and see you, what can you recommend that they do each day to help balance and cleanse their energy field?
We encourage everyone to come to the introductory class, and we will show them, step by step, how to do this themselves. In addition to that, on our website [Yourhandscanhealyou.com] we also have a free, self-healing meditation CD in MP3 form that you can download. We call it the “One Finger Healing Technique” – press play, do the meditation. The meditation includes breathing exercises to purify the chakras. If you do it every day, or even three times a week, it helps you to remove anger, remove negativity, activate your heart and allow your crown chakra to bring down more spiritual energy. That alone keeps you strong and keeps you energetically clean.

And for those who cannot come to the class for whatever reason, they can read the book and join our e-mail list. We send out videos for group meditations. We do self-cleansing, guiding them through it step by step. In this day and age, with the information flowing as it is, nobody really has an excuse not to have access to any of these teachings.

What is the biggest message you want to share with the public?
Everybody has the ability to heal. All you have to do is to have the heart to help yourself and help other people.

Last of a two-part interview

Stephen Co is a internationally renowned lecturer, trainer and practitioner of Pranic Healing, who has taught the art of healing and human energy studies to thousands of students in the United States. His introductory lectures are thought-provoking, often compelling individuals who are not health practitioners to embark on learning Pranic Healing techniques to improve their lives. His students include hundreds of physicians, nurses, dentists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, social workers, psychologists and alternative health-care practitioners.

A senior disciple and personal student of Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui, the founder of Pranic Healing, Master Stephen Co and his wife, Daphne, started the first Pranic Healing center outside of the Philippines, the U.S. Pranic Healing Center/American Institute of Asian Studies, LLC, in Chino, CA, to promote and teach Pranic Healing in the United States.

He and Dr. Eric Robins wrote the book, Your Hands Can Heal You.

“What I want to get across is, if I can do this – having been emotionally, mentally and spiritually not open to it, open to just helping people – I think anybody can learn this,” Master Co said in an interview with The Edge. He returns to the Twin Cities to teach classes on Pranic Healing on March 23 and 24, and a weekend intensive healing seminar on April 17-18..

He spoke with The Edge to explain that the so-called “miracles” of Pranic Healing are actually the result of subtle laws of energy, nature’s response to the conscious direction of our life force energy (chi or prana) in a form of healing that has evolved in the East for thousands of years. He says all human beings are born with the incredible power to consciously, purposefully direct their life force energy, and that he trains and empowers people to tap into their own latent ability.

So Pranic Healing works with other forms of healing, like emotional or spiritual healing or other imbalances that are not directly related to physical ailments?
Absolutely. In fact, if a person really wants to experience the effect of healing energy, what we do in our demonstration classes is encourage you to feel the stress and whatever you come into the class with. Then we do about five minutes of self-cleaning, and most people feel that a lot of that negative emotion is gone. All we do in this case are simple sweeping movements. The interesting thing about negative emotions or an emotional problem, compared to a physical problem, is that the energy is still very subtle. It is not fully manifested.

It hasn’t anchored into the body yet.
Exactly. It is as if it is still in vapor form and has not yet turned into water or ice. It is still in a very simple form. Since we use energy, breathing, meditation and visualization, we are working on all energy, whether it is still in the aura or has become blocked in the body. In the case of emotional healing, it is easier to feel it and pull it out. That’s why people are amazed and say, “I walked in really stressed and angry, but when we did this technique on ourselves I just feel like I don’t feel it anymore. I know what it is, but it doesn’t have that emotional bite.”

Something else that responds very well to Pranic Healing is what are called spiritual emergencies. Some people experience a lot of emotional pain, and even physical pain, but when they go to see a doctor or a psychologist, they can’t find anything wrong, because the problem is not physical, and it is not really emotional. It is a block in the flow of Divine energy coming down into the chakras from above the body, and it is the block in the flow of kundalini energy going up into the body from the earth. Pranic healing techniques will pinpoint where the blockages are by doing a very deep and thorough cleansing. Most people within a few minutes will say, “Oh, I suddenly feel like something is moving.” The body is a self-repairing entity. As that flow increases, the body starts to get better.

What type of recognition is Pranic Healing receiving from the medical community?
As you know, more people statistically are turning to alternative medicine. When Dr. Robins did the research for our book, we found that there are a lot of medical doctors who are what you would call “closet healers.” They practice medicine, but on the side they also teach people how to use herbs, how to use breathing exercises, hypnosis and visualization. On our website, you can see a series of specials CBS News did when we taught Pranic Healing to medical doctors in Kaiser Permanente Hospital here in Southern California.

We have found doctors who are open to it, but they cannot outwardly practice Pranic Healing side-by-side with their medicine. What they do for patients who are open to it is suggest, “Oh, by the way, instead of just jogging, why don’t you do some breathing exercise, too,” and if patients are open to it, they will do healing right in the clinic, just some sweeping movements to remove the blocks.

Pranic Healing’s introduction into Western medicine is still in its infant stage right now.

Aren’t some of these ideas already a part of our culture?
Oh, definitely. A lot of old wives’ tales or home remedies actually are based on using energy. Even in the Catholic tradition, what you call holy water is essentially water and salt and the priest’s blessing on it. In Pranic Healing classes, we have buckets of salt and water, and when people do healing that’s what we throw the dirty energy to. People will say, “Hey, I do that in my Native American tradition” or “In my Jewish tradition, we do the ceremonial cleansing that you are teaching, a salt water bath,” and so on.

What are the greatest misconceptions people have about what you do?
Number one is that healing can only be done miraculously. A lot of people think healing is only done by God. Healing is essentially using natural laws that God has made available to us. All we have to do is learn these natural laws. When you produce an unexpected healing, for the common person it’s a miracle, but for you who understand it, it is not a miracle. It is an application of natural laws.

Another misconception is that you have to be born with a special skill to help people with healing. That is absolutely not true. Anybody can learn to heal, even somebody like me who was very skeptical and not open to it, by following simple, step-by-step instructions.

Please see Master Stephen Co’s website at Yourhandscanhealyou.com for articles, news, videos online and details of his events.

In every corner of the world, there’s one question that can never be definitively answered, yet stirs up equal parts passion, curiosity, self-reflection and often wild imagination: “What is God?”

Filmmaker Peter Rodger explores this profound, age-old query in the provocative non-fiction feature Oh My God? This visual odyssey travels the globe with a revealing lens examining the idea of God through the minds and eyes of various religions and cultures, everyday people, spiritual leaders and celebrities. His goal: to give the viewer the personal, visceral experience of some kind of reasonable, meaningful definition of one of the most used – some might say overused – words in most every language.

Rodger’s quest takes him from the United States to Africa, from the Middle East to the Far East, where such fundamental issues as: “Did God create man or did man create God?” “Is there one God for all religions?” and “If God exists, why does he allow so much suffering?” are explored in candid discussions with the various Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and even atheists the filmmaker meets along the way. But maybe it’s former Beatle Ringo Starr who sums it up best here when he simply says, “God is love.”

Rodger would like viewers to come away with a feeling of having an amazing journey – seeing places they would never see normally, hearing music that inspires and words that educate, bringing understanding and tolerance of other individuals that in turn richens their own existence. Oh My God? stars Hugh Jackman, Seal, Ringo Starr, Sir Bob Geldof, Princess Michael of Kent, David Copperfield and Jack Thompson.

Peter Rodger grew up looking through a camera lens. As a teenager, the award-winning British director honed his skills by assisting his father, George Rodger, the renowned photo-journalist and co-founder of Magnum Photos. After completing his education at England’s Maidstone College of Art, his skill with the lens made him one of the most sought-after talents in the advertising industry, shooting numerous car, clothing and cosmetics companies’ print and commercial campaigns in more than 40 different countries.

Peter has exhibited his fine art work all over the world and has won numerous awards for his filmed work, including several Telly Awards. Peter has penned seven screenplays, including: “Bystander,” to be shot in 2010; “Comfort of The Storm,” entering pre-production Autumn 2009; and “Publication Day,” which is in development.

After two-and-a-half years of filming across 23 countries, Peter has just completed producing and directing the epic non-fiction, documentary film entitled Oh My God? – which explores people’s diverse opinions and perceptions of God.

Filmmaker Peter Rodger

What was your inspiration for making your epic documentary film, Oh My God?
Peter Rodger: I was frustrated with the childish schoolyard mentality that permeates this world – I call it the “My God Is Greater Than Your God” syndrome – where you have grown men flying airplanes into buildings shouting “God is Great” – where you have the leader of the free world telling the BBC in 2003 that he invaded Iraq because God told him to – where you have the constitution of a country (Iran) that dictates that its supreme leader is God’s representative on earth – where you have young men and women blowing themselves up (and innocent others) to buy a place into heaven. None of these concepts made any sense to me. Does it matter what I believe? Does it matter what you believe? And what is this entity that goes by the name of God, which seems to bring about so much friction, hurt and pain? I decided to go around the world and ask people what they think.

Why did you ask, ‘What is God?’ versus ‘Who is God?’ since most of us personalize God in some form or another?
PR: I wanted to look at God as a concept and be as objective as possible. Referring to God as “who” is already putting the concept into the image of Man and therefore the objectivity becomes lost. I wanted to get as far away from preconceived ideas as possible to see what I would find. I felt that phrasing the question as “what is…” instead of “who is…” would make the interviewee immediately look at God from the outside-in rather than the inside-out, and thereby help quench preconceptions. I wanted the film to have a wide application and ultimately get to the question, “Did God create man, or did man create God?”

Did you set out with a goal in mind? Did you find a common theme in the answers you received?
PR: My goal was to find out what “God” means to people, and to determine whether religion and religious people were causing all the world’s problems. There was such commonality in all the responses that at one point I didn’t even think I had a film. It was frustrating because all the answers seemed to be the same from all over the world. “God is everything…” “God is the creator…” “God is in the birds and the bees in the trees…” “God is the energy that binds us all together….” etc., etc. And then it occurred to me that if there are all these placid descriptions, why is there so much turmoil, upheaval and war in the name of God? I realized that the problem in the world may be what Man does with “God” – how he uses it to control other men, how he twists the preaching of its prophets to create politicized clubs that serve his narrow ends. When I realized that it was Man creating God in his own image, I knew I had a film.

What criterion were set in place for which countries you visited and interviewees you sought? Did you try to interview leaders such as the Dalai Lama or the Pope?
PR: I had to have representation from as many diverse places as possible in order to capture as wide a spectrum of faith expressions as possible. You can’t, of course, make a film about who or what people think God is without going to the Holy Land. Indigenous cultures are also important, so Australia, the United States and Tribal Africa were a must. I wanted celebrities in the film to help navigate us through, so their geographical locations and schedules became a factor. Then Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Muslims had to be represented somewhere, so that dictated India, Bali, Rome, Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, the Palestinian Territories, UK. I wanted the Mayans in there too, so Guatemala… Put all of that in a melting pot and I passed the buck over to American Express Platinum Travel and that’s how we made the schedule!

Most religious leaders turned us down – and I am very thankful that they did, because they are all “professional God people,” so all I would have gotten was politicized rhetoric and theology. The film is not about religion and its leaders. The film is about who or what people think God is. If I had the Dalai Lama in the film, I would’ve had to have the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and then Ali Khamenei and other religious people and my film would be really, really boring.

Ida Pedanda Gede Putra Telabah, His Honorable Hindu Bali Priest, Bali, Indonesia

Is that why you decided to include so many everyday people and “man on the street” insights?
PR: Yes, that is precisely the intent of the film – to find out what God means to the common man – not just professional God people, politicians and celebrities, but “normal” people.

How were you able to capture such personal insights about God and religion from so many notable celebrities?
PR: I asked them one simple question: “What is God?” They did the rest. Then, based upon their answers, I would take it to the next level until we were yapping away. All of them were colorful and gracious and I am very grateful for the time and effort they contributed to the film.

Is it true you that encountered some difficulties when you first set out to make this film and almost gave it up?
PR: My first trip in 2006 was to Morocco and I chose the same day to fly that the British terrorist plot to blow up planes with liquid explosives was foiled by Scotland Yard. I was flying out of LAX to Tangiers via Heathrow with all my camera equipment. Normally you take the important stuff as hand luggage – phone, camera, notes, lenses, computer, stock, etc., but this was the first day in aviation history that hand luggage was completely banned. We had to check everything into the hold and needless to say, I never saw my equipment, notes or toothbrush again. Because of the delay, however, I hit on a succession of events in which I was in the right place at the right time, something that would never have happened if I had started shooting two months earlier. In over 227 shooting days, I didn’t have a single weather problem. So I’ve come to believe that out of every negative there is a positive of exactly the same magnitude – maybe not exactly at the same time, but there always is one.

What moved or surprised you the most on your filmmaking journey?
PR: How very small the world is. How similar all of us are and how blind most of us are to that fact. The similarities in belief systems transcend time and geographical boundaries and this was the case long before the birth of the telephone, the airplane and the internet. I was also moved by the enormous desire for peace on the part of both the Palestinians and the Israelis. It is very clear to me that it is the politicians who are messing that situation up. It doesn’t seem to be a conflict of religion at all. It is a conflict of land, politics and EMOTION.

Did you meet anyone who made a powerful spiritual impact on you?
PR: Kanju Tanaka, the Zen master in Kyoto, was my favorite for inspiration. As soon as I walked into his temple, I had an unbelievable feeling. That temple is one of most peaceful places in Kyoto, and when he sat us down for tea I choked up. There was such a vibe! I want to go back and spend three weeks scraping his gravel. He made so much sense in so few words. The other guy I really liked was Sonkyo Takito. He’s the 105th superior priest of Shitennoji temple in Osaka. Those guys really did it for me. I was also moved by the generosity of the Indian people – the Hindus and the Sikhs especially – and also by the Maasai in Kenya, a wonderfully cultured group in their own simple way. Kind people with big skies.

Any personal spiritual insights from your journey?
PR: That the natural human instinct within each one of us from the day we are born seems to be what the prophets would call, “Godliness.” It became very clear that this beautiful humanity does exist across the world and it is very unfortunate that human beings twist it to their own way of thinking in the name of God. I acquired the sense that we are much more united on this earth than divided. You only have to look into children’s eyes to see the spark of this “thing” that is common to all of us. It is the glue that binds us all together.

Speaking of children, the children in the cancer center you interviewed were extremely touching and profound. What made you decide to interview them?
PR: Children seem to be vessels of what can be described as Godliness. I love the truth of children, the generosity of their spirits. I felt that the most accurate or inspired opinion on God could come from a child who is facing possible death. A young one who can’t be running around with friends today because he is lying in a hospital bed with a shaved head, in pain, vomiting and thinking whether he’s going to climb out of this predicament or not. What would his views on God be?

I learned so much from these children. Hanging out with them, I have to say, was one of the most harrowing and rewarding experiences of my life. The courage, the confidence, the wisdom and the grace that came out of those little people made me grow up a little more, made me learn a lot and made me thankful that my own children are healthy, that I am healthy, and that we really have no right to complain about our silly little things. When we bitch about someone else because they belong to a different “club” than we do, well, we’re just missing the point. And when I asked Christian, one of the children, what his biggest wish was, well, his answer – and I’m not going to give it away – let’s just say it blew me away.

Your worldwide premiere of the film took place at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. What was it like debuting in the Holy Land and what sort of response did you receive from the audience?
PR: The response was phenomenal. Q/A sessions that were meant to be only 20 minutes wouldn’t end. It is such a charged place, the Holy Land, as far as God is concerned, that the audience really lapped up the global objective questioning that goes on in the film. Of course, there is a whole section in the film on the Israeli-Palestinian issue (it’s very difficult to make a film about what people think God is without including such a subject) so of course that section was under a lot of scrutiny. I am happy to say that none of the Palestinians I have shown the film to have been offended and no Israelis I have shown the film to have been offended. Phew! But the reaction was certainly charged. They embraced and loved the film there. It took us eight weeks to edit that section.

Did you encounter any danger in certain areas? For example, how were you able to capture insights from Muslim extremists?
PR: Finding Muslim extremists to talk on camera was extremely hard, as you might imagine. In the end the best and most radical English-speaking gentleman came to me – quite by chance. I was shooting in a mosque – somewhere in the world that I don’t wish to divulge, and as I exited, he aggressively approached me and asked in very good English, “Are you Muslim?” I said I was not. Then he said, “Then what were you doing in the mosque?” I said I was filming, and why couldn’t I be in the mosque anyway? He said that non-Muslims were not allowed in the mosque, and that I should not be there. I said, “Really? Well you know what – I’d love to ask you some questions about this. Would it be possible to film you?” I told him what the film was about and surprisingly he agreed. I cancelled my afternoon shoot (I had a whole load of stuff lined up) and spent the rest of the day with him. He was very accommodating and spoke his mind.

Finding Muslim militant terrorists was tough indeed and took over a year. I had to go up into hidden areas of Kashmir and find them. I had help from powerful friends. Getting them to talk on camera with language barriers and the very charged nature of the questions was difficult. The point is, most of these extremists are just poor, ill-educated villagers that are promised better food, living conditions and support of their families – as well as salvation in the afterlife – if they join the Taliban or other extremist Jihadist groups.

Underneath it all, they are just scared human beings who are being brainwashed into carrying out evil acts. Their evil leaders are not going to talk on my camera – especially as I was a one-man-show, without a CNN or BBC behind me. What you did not see was behind my camera: I had about 17 armed guards with machine guns – my “escort.” So this was one of those moments.

We made it to the village and found the guys who were going to talk. I set up my camera and turned it on. Nothing. It was dead. Something was wrong with the power going from the battery to the camera. I was thinking, “Oh no, not here, not at this place, not today, not after all this work finding these guys. This is really bad.” I had a back-up power supply that I could run off a car battery, but I needed a cigarette lighter to plug it into and none of our transport had cigarette lighters. I shared this problem with all the very armed people around me, and soon we were off in the trucks with the terrorists into the local town. We dug out a man who was sleeping under a sheet of plastic. He turned out to be the local electrician, and I kid you not, within 20 minutes he had soldered a car battery with a cigarette lighter. We all piled into the trucks, plugged in the camera, and it worked!

Was I under any kind of danger on this trip? Yeah, all the time. But I never felt it. I just felt humanity.

What about the more day-to-day filmmaking problems such as transporting equipment, crowd control and such. How did you manage with a “skeleton” crew?
PR: Very easily. There were two of us, but we had both shot many times around the world. We could sneak in and out of countries and no one would know we were making a theatrically releasable movie. Modern technology helped a lot. Furthermore, this was a documentary and there didn’t have to be continuity from scene to scene like in a drama, so that gave me enormous license to put people where the light was right, use the resources I had in front of my eyes rather than creating a scene to match the previous one. Our equipment fit into four bags. I still have a bad back from it.

Young monks in school at the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, North India

What did you personally take away from the making of Oh My God?
PR: I really warmed up to the immense humanity and humor I found in people. Get the most vehemently radical militant face-to-face and even he, who has killed and maimed and blown people up in the name of God, could crack a joke. One-on-one he was not the animal he had once been in my mind and maybe still was.

I realized that we all have a responsibility to live our lives with tolerance and understanding for our fellow man. Don’t be barbaric and ignorant. Learn about different cultures and soon one realizes how very much the same we all are, that most barriers are of our own creation, that hostility is manufactured by power-seeking humans and has nothing to do with God. I learned that the world is way more united than divided, but most of us are conditioned to believe otherwise.

Most books are turned into films, however you have decided to write a book about your filmmaking experience. Can you tell us about that?
PR: It’s one helluva story. It’s quite a journey and I kept a journal throughout. The quest was very hard and very surprising and the story has many components that are relevant in these difficult, polarized times. I wrote the first chapter and sent it off to a publisher and they loved the concept. Without sounding pompous, it really will be compelling reading and there is so much more to add. There are some extremely funny moments, too, that have to be shared.

The soundtrack is stunningly original, was it important to have an original soundtrack?
PR: Absolutely. I was very fortunate to have a genius composer, Alexander van Bubenheim, who did a stunning job. He actually came as the sound man and other crew member for a significant part of the shoot. He would record weird sounds across the world – a witch’s door creaking in England, flowing water in Bali, feet in the rain in Tokyo – and then he would blend these sounds into the score. He would record drumming and singing and all sorts of things and then make tracks of them on his laptop while we were traveling. Then I would shoot footage that the music inspired. It was a great organic way to blend sound and vision.

This is your first feature documentary. How did your background in photography and commercials help you prepare for filmmaking?
PR: I was blessed by having a great teacher – my father, George Rodger – who was a Life magazine war photojournalist and went on to found Magnum Photos with Robert Capa, Henri Cartier Bresson and Chim Seymour. He taught me how to see and about composition. Then I was blessed by working in advertising for many years directing TV commercials and doing print campaigns. Oh My God? is just an extension of that privileged education and experience.

What do you hope the viewer will take away from your film?
PR: I would like the viewers to be ambassadors to the discussion the film creates. I would like viewers to be educated in the fact that we share this world with many diverse groups who are very much like we are and that the way forward is to understand our similarities and not obsess about those with different beliefs. If a viewer is religious, I would love them to take away from this film the desire to study their religion themselves, to understand their holy book and not rely on other human beings who might be manipulating the meanings of their scriptures. I would like viewers to come away exhilarated, with a feeling of having had an amazing journey and adventure with me, seeing places they would never see normally, hearing music that inspires and words that enlighten and fill them with love, understanding and tolerance toward the other individuals who share our planet. We are just primitive little organisms on a big rock in a scary vacuum driven by fear and desperately searching for something to hold onto.

Finally, I would like viewers to come away with the commitment that what they end up holding onto doesn’t push others away, that we are all in this together and that one club isn’t necessarily better than any other club. If we are to succeed in having a peaceful, fulfilling life we should listen to other cultures and learn from other people to enrich our existence on this wandering rock.

READ: Oh My God? A Perfect Film for this Time: A Review

There is a purpose and a timing to everything, like the phone call I received out of the blue from someone named Michael Foley. He told me about his experience being in the presence of a British man named Dave Oshana, who now lives in Finland. And he proceeded to tell me about how his life has changed, about how he saves up to fly to Finland for intensive workshops with this man, and about how fortunate the Twin Cities is to have this enlightened teacher come here at the end of this month.

Dave Oshana will present Enlightenment Transmission September 23 through October 6 in the Twin Cities.

So I did what you would have done. I read articles and listened to commentary from Dave Oshana’s website [www.enlightenment-now.com] and I met with Michael Foley to learn firsthand about his experiences. I then arranged for an interview. That is what I bring to you here, the words of a man who uses humor to assist us toward that which we seek.

Dave Oshana says that in the early morning hours of June 19, 2000, he was sleeping and then, at 5 a.m., his whole being changed. What occurred, he says, was spontaneous enlightenment.

What did you experience at 5 a.m. on June 19, 2000?
Enlightenment. It is still resonating through my being like a roaring tsunami wave of energy.

Before I opened my eyes I could see the room and all the particles inside my body. Each had its own source of illumination. There were no dark corners. I knew something was different but could not immediately identify it. It seemed normal and familiar, but at the same time hugely different from my previous life. I could see my life’s mission flash before my eyes.

I could not remember what it was like to have been “me” the night before.

What was different for you physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually after this experience?
My lifelong search was completely over.

I couldn’t find problems in my mind. I experienced the space outside my mind: as I walked up a local road, the dramatic stories which normally would spring up and branch out like trees failed to appear. I was surrounded by tree stumps! I wandered through a grim part of London, the Valley of Death, and I feared no evil.

I could see how others were trapped in their mental illusions. I felt bliss all of the time even in dreams or during physical pain. I was overjoyed to wait in a long line. I could feel the energy streaming through my cells. These experiences are still ongoing and have been continuous since they started.

How did you know it was enlightenment?
I didn’t know what it was! I didn’t know what to say or think. I was incredibly amused by this. Then I blurted out, “I … I … I think I am enlightened.” That was a hilarious statement, because until then I had been provocatively challenging my spiritual peers with the statement, “Enlightenment does not exist!” I had not stopped seeking; I had simply stopped believing everything that I thought I heard. I had been assuming that all spiritual teachers were talking about the same thing. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure about that.

Back to the enlightenment: I instinctively knew that my incessant lifelong search was over. Whatever it was, and it seemed to be Enlightenment, it was good enough for me! My mind was flooded with random quotes about Enlightenment, which I had previously completely misunderstood and now I saw what they meant.

Now I knew that enlightenment did exist, I not only had to apologize to my spiritual peers but I had to offer it to them. Hah! Overnight, I went from being a doubting person to one who could accept the possibility of anything (after inspection, of course).

Why did the enlightenment experience happen to you?
I don’t know, but I am glad that it did! Why does your lover love you? You don’t know but you are mighty glad that she does – even humbled, perhaps?

After talking through it, sharing it and expanding it with others, it started to make sense. But I never needed it to make sense intellectually. It makes sense on an altogether different level.

All my life I didn’t want anything as much as enlightenment. I was willing to give up my life – but it still did not come – because I was not fully participating in life. I had to be IN the world but not of it.

I never felt that this life was being lived by me until now. Now I am alive!

Was it your cumulative practices over the years that enabled you to be receptive to such a transformation?
My answer today would be “yes,” but it used to be “no.” When I first got enlightened, I considered it an irrelevant question; a person did not need to copy me. The awakened state was available here and now; I could lead anyone into it. But typically it was temporary – even if it lasted for many months. Eventually a breakthrough came in my practices when I started to drop my awareness out of mind and go on fantastic journeys within my body.

There have been gurus and seekers for ages, but it seems only few people actually become enlightened. What type of preparation or personal responsibility makes the likelihood for enlightenment more possible?
The biggest ability required is the ability to encounter the unknown and go forward into it. It helps if you know, as did Thomas Anderson in The Matrix, that going backwards is not an option.

Responsibility includes the “ability to respond appropriately.” For the spiritual person, the best response to an initially confusing situation is to do nothing (where practical). When the mind avoids entanglement, then true guidance can take over. This is what Jesus and Buddha did before their enlightenment: extensively hanging out and doing nothing in the wilderness or sitting under the bodhi tree waiting for true inspiration to strike, so the story says.

When you are willing to encounter the unknown, then you have Zen mind. You could fall in love with the beauty of a single cherry blossom or face your death unflinchingly. Master that and you will have all the other necessary qualities. A healthy body and mind helps, too.

Getting it right requires discrimination, getting it wrong could burn several lifetimes (without burning karma). The guidance or presence of an enlightened person is strongly recommended; don’t practice this at home without supervision.

Full Enlightenment is full responsibility for everything. Forget yourself and everything is now yours to take care of. Remember yourself and you will lose absolutely everything, including your own mind.

Start by facing your fears.

If a seeker really wants Truth above all else, they will arrive eventually. If they secretly want something else, they need to discover what it is and then either complete it or drop it.

Be a skeptic; don’t get attached to any beliefs. Notice what it is to be a seeker.

Go outside your comfort zone five days a week.

Is enlightenment for everyone?
Enlightenment exists already, but it is not noticed. It is The Witness of your life. It’s yours already. Your life becomes enlightened when you notice it.

The identity has to get out of the way for enlightenment to permanently establish itself. It’s painful for a person to give up their identity. It does not even make sense.

The false identity (ego) resists enlightenment like the Israelite captives resisted freedom from slavery. Moses had to first take them through the wilderness (emptiness). They liked it for the first day; then they got bored.

The ego is like a rock holding down a sunflower. When the rock is removed the sunflower faces the sun. The sunflower is human awareness, the sun is consciousness.

An ego-free state is completely open to life.

Enlightenment is the natural state. It should be sought with the help of an enlightened guide to avoid getting lost. Christopher Columbus’ miscalculations meant that he discovered the potato and not yoga.

Must we be truly ready before we can slip into that experience, and is that why we don’t hear about people becoming enlightened very often?
People slip into awakening all the time but it often closes down because they cannot accept it. I am not only talking about in my group, I mean out there on the street, in the trailer park or the Beverly Hills mansion.

Awakening is not enlightenment but God’s tickle. Enlightenment is the climax, the point of no return. For some, the tickle is too much. I have met individuals who wondered if they were mad – until a spiritual teacher helped them make sense of their awakening experiences.

You can prepare yourself by becoming more flexible, by loosening your self-limiting beliefs about reality. The new wine will only find a permanent home in new skins, thus sayeth the Lord. Enlightenment transmission is the new wine.

What does it take for someone to be truly ready to become enlightened?
Face everything and avoid nothing. Be like the patron of the Twin Cities. I heard it was a guy called Paul. What a guy. He was definitely a courageous Trans-missionary.

What is it that you teach – how to open one’s self for enlightenment?
I teach how to prepare. Opening up too fast is like dragging a lifelong cave dweller out into the brightest equatorial sun. It would be irresponsible to open someone that fast.

The most important gift that I bring is energetic connection. You will discover your body’s energy field and the prime moving force in the Universe: The Transmission.

The Oshana Teaching raises awareness, energy and sense of purpose. It clears out stuck emotions and thoughts, facilitates change without unnecessary pain, promotes joy and simple living, connects you to an intelligent healing energy and familiarizes you with new states of awareness while remaining grounded. There’s much more. A seeker could install all of it into their energetic system in one download – if they were open. That would be convenient; talk is much slower!

A person has to absolutely accept “life is change” at a deep level for the awakening to become full-blown enlightenment. I had to face all of my fears, otherwise I would have failed. This was Krishna’s message to Arjuna at the start of the Bhagavad Gita.

Gradually, a person opens up to the transmission. When people come into contact with me they relax into this no-mind, acceptance and clear seeing. If later on they want to get to that space by themselves, they can practice the Energy-Work Method, which I teach as a preparation for enlightenment. Energy-Work is a moving meditation that takes a person’s awareness on an essential journey of self-discovery through the layers and dimensions of their being.

Please define transmission and how does this lead to enlightenment?
Transmission is consciousness. It does not belong to me, but clearly happens around me. A mother does not own or control “her” breast milk; it automatically flows when the baby needs feeding.

Transmission is like a mother who gently and intelligently wakes her child from a nightmare, offering the reassuring comfort of her bosom, making everything good as it truly is.

Transmission got me enlightened. It is always there – waiting to enlighten everyone.

Transmission is the intelligent dialogue of our souls planning a prison break. The prison is the seeker’s ego. It’s like that TV series, “Prison Break.” The transmission is like Michael Scofield saving his brother. He has to get into the jail, find his brother, scout out the exits, get all team members (parts) cooperating and having faith that the prison break is worth it and can be successful despite seemingly impossible odds, and that there is a better life on the other side. This was Thomas Anderson’s (Neo) dilemma before leaving the Matrix and Moses’ task with the Israelites.

Transmission is the resonance caused by my soul and your soul interacting and arranging your eventual freedom. Transmission is an intelligent insubstantial energy; its effects are felt in the body and energy field. Transmission is a word for something that happens when people are in contact with me. Transmission is consciousness come into the world of form.

Only the touch and voice of something familiar can awaken you. Transmission is the voice of your soul.

What is the experience and how long does it last?
The transmission works in an intelligent and efficient way. It does whatever is necessary. There are many reported experiences with clear similarities. The benefits of Transmission accrue over time.

I can list some effects of transmission:

• Visual field changes – They see lights of varying colors, forms, movement and intensity. Moving objects leave a trail. The world shimmers and seems less solid. Energy is seen moving from my body to a person who I am discussing with and we seem translucent. My form changes in size and shape. My face changes to other races. I disappear. During a live internet class a person might hear me say “Welcome…” at the start of the class and then “that’s all for this week” as the class ends an hour later. They go on a journey and cannot remember anything, and their normally frisky dogs are waiting quietly for them to return.
• Peace and ease – Release from chronic troubling thoughts, emotions and physical pains and illnesses.
• Happiness and joy – Laughter, amusement
• Borders and boundaries – Ability to recognize true friends, recognize games players, tricks and manipulations (not always immediately)
• Sensitivity to energy flows in own body and others
• Spontaneous detoxification of body – and dietary changes
• No-Mind or thought-free state

If the experience of receiving your transmission is temporary, as opposed to permanent, what is the value of this temporary experience for people?
Experience changes a person. No words are necessary. It develops faith and understanding. A spiritual teacher should be able to deliver something, as much as the seeker can receive. Some experiences are side-products of growth and repair.

It has to be temporary, because a person is only comfortable with gradual change. For this reason I generally recommend that a person encounters the transmission in gradually increasing dosages.

• First stage: To hear or read about the Teaching.
• Second stage: To attend an introduction event or a live online class.
• Third stage: To attend an Intensive event
• Fourth stage: And only much later, to attend a residential retreat.
• Fifth stage: To work with me on a project in real life, i.e., outside the classroom.

Personal guidance in the form of a One-to-One may be appropriate after an intensive, and sometimes an introduction.

What can we expect to experience at your events upcoming in Minnesota?
Bliss, happiness, love, deep relaxation, compassion, understanding, inclusiveness, inspiration, motivation, top of head opening, release, seeing lights, detox, insight, revelation.

How should participants prepare for the experience?
Realize that this is a rare and special event. Know what you really want and listen to or interact with me from that place. Ask your best question, one that will help you the most. You cannot prepare yourself for the changes that transmission will bring until you have experienced it. There’s preparation guidance on my website at http://enlightenment-now.com/enlightenment-intensives/preparation.html

Get enough sleep. Drink lots of water. Eat living organic foods. Stay away from strong electromagnetism. Shut off mobile phones, or even better leave them at home. Abstain from recreational drugs and alcohol for at least seven days. Consider carefully what you really want. Become more aware. Are your thoughts true? Figure out how you will determine if this is the real thing. Consider if realistically you will get such a plum opportunity ever again. Is what I have what you want? Do you want it now?

Enlightenment is being given away – that’s what it’s there for.

Has anyone become enlightened through your transmission?
They might have, but I won’t say until I know for sure. I have unimaginably high standards. I have seen substantial changes in people but nothing that I can, with absolute certainty, say is Enlightenment. I heard some seekers claimed Enlightenment after meeting me, but I am not claiming if it is so or not.

What effect has the enlightenment experience had on your life, personally?
I don’t know my old life anymore. I don’t know what it was like to have been me anymore. It’s like an old dream.

I now live for others – 24 hours a day.

I used to be a confused, private individual who thought he was a nobody and all the time planned how he could be a helpful somebody. I am now a public individual who actually helps others by some mysterious means and does not know what a somebody is.

I still get excited when I go to a spiritual event until I remember that I am giving the meeting. Then I get excited about the meeting and forget that I am giving it.

My diet, drinking, washing, sleeping and habits all changed – plus a few more which I can’t mention in a family magazine.

I am aware of the souls of others on Earth and beyond. I feel compelled to help others even if I temporarily take on their symptoms. Miracles now happen so frequently that they are normal, everyday events.

• PREVIEW: “Enlightenment: Living The Life You Were Born to Live” – Wednesday, Sept. 23, 7-9pm, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska 55318, $10
• WEEKEND INTENSIVES: “The 5 Essential Elements of the Path to Enlightenment” – Part 1: Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 26 & 27, 10-4pm, $195 before Sept. 23, $220 afterward • Part 2: Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 3 & 4, 10-4pm, $195 before Sept. 23, $220 afterward
• PERSONAL SESSIONS: Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 29 – Oct. 6 (other times available upon request), $85 per hour

For information or registration, call 612.210.7936 or email USA@daveoshana.com. Visit www.enlightenment-now.com.

READ: Michael Foley’s personal experience with Dave Oshana – The Reluctant Guru

“You can look the whole world over and never find anyone more deserving of love than yourself.” – The Buddha

In a poignant reminder of the gift that each one of us truly is, Patricia Spadaro presents her new book Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving (Three Wings Press), a valuable discussion on the importance of honoring ourselves, and in doing so, how we respect, appreciate and give birth to our best self so we can give creatively and abundantly in ways that honors others.

The author will be appearing in the Twin Cities August 12-13 to do booksigning: at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Barnes and Noble at the HarMar Mall (2100 N. Snelling Ave., Roseville); from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, at Barnes and Noble Downtown at the Midwest Plaza (801 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis); and at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, at Barnes and Noble at the Galleria Shopping Center (3225 W. 69th, Edina).

Patricia Spadaro is an author and expert in practical spirituality. She has co-authored several books on personal growth, spirituality and world traditions. She also is a publishing coach, freelance writer and editor who lives with her husband and her two favorite felines in beautiful Bozeman, MT. Her work shows that the world’s great spiritual traditions share common themes that are extremely relevant to the issues of our daily lives. Her passion is to communicate the wisdom of the sages of East and West in ways that enlighten, inspire, and empower us to create practical transformation in our own lives and the lives of those we touch. She describes herself as a life-long learner who has a penchant for paradox and for collecting ancient and modern quotations that are wise, witty, and compel us to wake up.

She conducted this interview with The Edge about her new book.

What motivated you to write Honor Yourself?
Over the last several years, I found myself on the receiving end of some very interesting experiences (that’s putting it mildly) that I’m convinced were designed to teach me how essential it is to honor myself at deep levels. I saw what happened when I didn’t value myself or honor my own needs and how that compromised my ability to give the best of myself to others. At the same time, I saw other people struggling with strikingly similar lessons. In one way or another, we were all making choices that were limiting what we were capable of doing with our lives.

I started to see, more and more, that what I was experiencing wasn’t unusual at all. Many of us – men and women, moms and dads, executives and the self-employed – have difficulty honoring ourselves. But why? I realized that many of us harbor misguided beliefs about giving and receiving that keep us from being able to master the balancing act of giving to others and giving to ourselves.

Fundamentally, honoring yourself is about balancing giving and receiving in your life so you can give your best to others. I strongly believe that the world will only improve as each of us gives birth to our best self and gives our unique gifts. We can’t do that without fully honoring ourselves. So I decided to write a book to expose the false beliefs about giving and receiving that can sabotage our life purpose, our relationships, our finances – even our health. I’ve always been an ardent student of the world’s traditions and an advocate for practical spirituality, and so I also turned to the sages of East and West to find out what they had to say about this dilemma and how to move beyond it.

In essence, I wrote Honor Yourself to help people think in new ways about what I consider the most essential question we can ever ask ourselves: What can I do to honor myself so that I can unleash the full power of my creative spirit and give my greatest gifts to my loved ones, my community, and the world?

What are a couple of the most potent myths about giving and how do they harm us?
First, I should say that a myth, in the way I use that term in my book, is a half-truth, and that’s what makes it so dangerous and convincing. A myth contains an element of the truth, but it isn’t the whole truth. One very basic myth that many of us have come to believe is “It’s always better to give than to receive.” That is true in many circumstances, but is it true in all circumstances? Is it true if giving compromises your health and therefore your ability to give at all? Is it true if your giving stunts somebody else’s growth or your own?

Many of us believe that if we don’t drop everything when others ask us for help, we are abandoning them. The truth is that if we continually oversacrifice, we are abandoning ourselves. Even Mother Teresa, who was known for her unconditional generosity, talked about the need to be alone and to recharge. Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” If that’s true – and I believe it is – then we have to find effective ways of staying in balance so we can continue to give the gift of ourselves.

Another dangerous myth that I talk about in Honor Yourself is “I’m no one special – what I do doesn’t matter.” You may have bought into the myth that “I’m no one special” because you have accepted another untruth – the myth that you must have a high IQ or a recognized professional skill to qualify as “gifted.” Some of us subconsciously believe that our ability to give and our right to receive is defined by the letters that follow our name. Yet the labels that others give us, positive or negative, are never the essence of who we are.

I once met a woman in the waiting room of a doctor’s office who was so cheerful that I couldn’t help but tell her how wonderful she made me feel. She leaned towards me and whispered excitedly, “I believe it’s my job to uplift everyone around me. I show up at work in the morning and I try to make everyone who steps through the door of the office a little brighter.” She wasn’t being egotistical or prideful. She simply knew who she was and why she was here. She had found her own voice and knew what her life purpose was. Whenever we offer the gift of who we are within our circle of influence, no matter how small that gift seems, we make our greatest contribution to the world.

Why do many of us have a problem with receiving from others – and how do we overcome that?
Some of us are awesome givers but not very good receivers. We don’t ask for support. We don’t admit to others or to ourselves that we need any. We don’t even like to accept compliments. One reason for that is that we’ve bought into the insidious myth that “if I can’t make it on my own, something is wrong with me.” We think that asking for support means we are weak. Yet, the truth is that seeking support is a sign of strength.

We forget that even the brightest stars in any field of endeavor have always needed their coaches and cheerleaders. Where would the heroic hobbit Frodo Baggins be if his friend Samwise Gamgee hadn’t stuck by him through thick and thin? How far would Helen Keller have gotten without her faithful tutor, Anne Sullivan? How could Michael Phelps have earned his eight gold medals and an Olympic world record without teammates to help win those stunning medley relays?

One of the greatest lessons we can learn in the inner art of giving and receiving is that asking for support is healthy. It means you believe that you are worthy of receiving. Not only that, but seeking support in making the best decisions in your life is an act of love – love for yourself and for those who will be impacted by your choices.

If you tend to tackle all of life’s challenges by yourself and have a hard time asking for help, keep reminding yourself to act on these two truths: First, seeking support is the loving thing to do and the strong thing to do. And second, whether you need help with a project at work or in making a major life decision, know that people are more willing to help than you might think. If the people you approach cannot support you right now or are not willing to help, it doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy. It just means you haven’t found the right supporters yet. Open your heart and you will.

What is the paradox you speak of with regard to balancing what others need with what we need?
Paradox is at the heart of the inner art of honoring yourself. A paradox involves two elements or truths that seem contradictory, but are both true. The seeming opposites are two sides of the picture that are both needed to complete the circle of wholeness. We need both day and night, masculine and feminine, movement and stillness, right brain and left brain. In the same way, to live a fulfilling and healthy life, we need to embrace our duty to give to others and to give to ourselves. We can’t do either well unless we do both in balance.

We meet the paradox of giving and receiving all the time as we struggle with questions like: Should I spend more time with my family or building a career – and can I really do both? Do my children need more freedom or more control? Is it better to collaborate or compete, to manage or to mentor? The list goes on and on.

At its core, the paradox of giving and receiving deals with that overriding issue that challenges so many of us: How do I balance what others need with what I need? In order to give to others, do I really need to give up myself? If we want to live fully and authentically, we have to learn to live on both sides of the paradox.

Please share with us a story from your life that relates to the delicate dance of giving and receiving.
Part of the dance of giving and receiving involves letting go, honoring endings, and making room to receive. Nature does abhor a vacuum. Whenever we create one, it will be filled. I’ve learned that when we want something new to appear in our lives, we often have to give something away.

At a critical time in my life, when I had lost a job and was going through a period of intense challenge and trial, I found myself in a cycle of cutting back, letting go, and giving away. I cleaned out my closets and donated bags of clothes to the Salvation Army. I chopped away at overgrown bushes in my yard. I got down on my knees and ruthlessly pulled weeds from my garden. I even cut my hair shorter. I offered more of my time to work with a nonprofit organization. It was a difficult time for me but a healing one. It signaled the end of one season of my life and the beginning of another. Those physical actions were just the outer manifestation of what was taking place within me – clearing out the old and getting rid of clutter so I could see more clearly and make room for new growth. Slowly but surely, I created an open space, which allowed wonderful opportunities, new friendships and needed changes to appear in my life.

What does it truly mean to “honor yourself”?
To me, honoring yourself means that you are respecting, appreciating and giving birth to your best self so you can give creatively and abundantly in ways that honor others. The key to honoring yourself is not simply to enjoy a well-timed bout of pampering yourself, although that’s a nice and necessary thing to do from time to time.

To honor means to respect, esteem, recognize, dignify or ennoble. In order to respect, esteem and ennoble ourselves, much deeper remedies are needed, ones that empower us to be authentic, to be our true self.

There are many facets to the art of honoring yourself. Four of the major ones, which I deal with in my book, are: honoring your inner needs by getting back into balance physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually; honoring your heart by giving to others in ways that matter; honoring the endings that naturally come into your life by learning to release regrets; and honoring your own voice by finding and celebrating the unique gifts you were born to give.

How can we teach or model this honoring of ourselves to our children?
There are so many ways to teach our children how to honor themselves, and they all start with modeling, by our example, healthy habits of self-respect and respect for others. One habit in particular that is vitally important is allowing others to express themselves without shutting them down, invalidating their feelings, or trying to tell them how they should feel.

We all need the freedom to find our own interests and passions. If, instead, we treat our children as miniature versions of us (or of who we always wanted to be), we’re simply creating the conditions for a real identity crisis. There’s a story in my book about a young teenager who was smart, polite and always perfectly behaved. His parents and teachers knew he was destined for great things. But a year later, he made a sharp 180-degree turn. He went from getting straight As to failing all his classes, from total obedience to total rebellion. His parents were in shock. Without realizing it, their very precise expectations had left their son no room to breathe – no room to figure out what he liked and what he wanted. They had created a time bomb, and their son had to explode, and with enough force, to break out of the mold and discover himself.

Guidance is necessary and helpful in life, and we all need it, but ironclad expectations only close us down. As children and adults, we all need space, free from the clutter of other voices, to hear what our own true voice is leading us to do.

What did you learn about yourself during the writing of this book?
It’s so true that we often teach what we most need to learn! With all the topics I’ve taken up for the books I’ve worked on, I’ve found this to be the case, and this one was no different. The process of writing this book was a huge exercise in committing to honoring myself and my talents. It took an extraordinary commitment for me to set aside the time and space to work on giving birth to this book. It didn’t just happen; I had to make it happen. So, working on Honor Yourself was like shining the spotlight on all my avoidance mechanisms, fears, and self-doubts that wanted to wreak havoc with my self-esteem and keep me from honoring myself and my gifts.

In particular, I saw how easy it was for me to hide behind sacrifice, a pattern I talk about in the book. It was so much easier for me to jump to attention when anyone needed my help than it was to draw boundaries and settle down to my task every day. Figuring out why that was true has been life-changing. Awareness is always the first step to real change, so seeing my own self-defeating habit patterns, as hard as that was, was eye-opening and enlightening.

What one daily tip can you offer our readers to help them better honor themselves and stay in balance in their lives?
I think one of the simplest and most effective ways to honor yourself and stay in balance is to ask: “Where am I on my to-do list today?” Sometimes we go for days without so much as a five-minute slot devoted solely to nourishing ourselves. And then we wonder why we feel tense, upset, grouchy, or depressed. I recommend asking yourself each day: “How am I feeling right now? What do I want and need today to feel and do my best?” And then slot in time for a specific nurturing activity. It can be something as simple as taking a quick break to meditate or listen to a relaxing piece of music. It can be playing with a child or pet, renewing yourself spiritually with a favorite practice or ritual, or simply closing your eyes, doing nothing, and taking a long, deep breath.

Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving is available at Present Moment in South Minneapolis, and inquire at your favorite bookstore. For more information on Patricia Spadaro, visit www.PracticalSpirituality.info, and to contact the author, email info@PracticalSpirituality.info.

Sondra Ray, known as one of the most eclectic spiritual leaders of the day, blends ancient wisdom with practical training to transform relationships to a more divine level. Recognized as a spiritual teacher, author, rebirther, lecturer and healer, she and her husband Mark, a healer and poet, will visit the Twin Cities August 20-22 with classes that encompass much of what she presents throughout the world:

• On Thursday, Aug. 20, they will present the Ho O pono pono prayers, ancient Hawaiian wisdom that is a process to right all errors, create balance, make right any stressful relationships or situations and strengthens through spiritual cleansing, releasing, transmuting and understanding.
• On Friday, Aug. 21, they will present a spiritual healing class in which “The Ultimate Truth Process” is taught. Sondra is a devoted student of the Master Avatar Babaji, and she will teach how to clear yourself of ailments and apply spiritual healing techniques to your life.
• On Saturday, Aug. 22, they will present “The Spiritual Laws of Money,” a seminar that will help you clear beliefs, patterns and thoughts that block you from receiving. Prayers and processes will help you connect to the Divine and to your own innate abundance.
• On Sunday, Aug. 23, the focus is on “Miracle Consciousness.” Sondra and Mark will discuss the meaning of A Course in Miracles, Babaji and the Divine Mother.

Sondra Ray was launched into international acclaim in the 1970s as one of the pioneers of the Rebirthing experience. She has trained thousands of people all over the world and is considered one of the foremost experts on how the birth trauma affects one’s body, relationships, career and life. As she puts it, “this breathing process produces extraordinary results because as one takes in the light, all else is revealed and let go of – thus one’s heart is open to receive love, peace and joy.” She has a B.S. degree in Nursing from the University of Florida College of Nursing and a Masters Degree in Public Health and Family Sociology from the University of Arizona. She was trained as a Nurse Practitioner in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Early on she worked in the Peace Corps and was stationed in Peru. Sondra has a private healing practice in Marina Del Rey, CA.

While teaching abroad, she conducted an interview with The Edge about her mission in life.

Sondra, one of your stated goals is to always try to bring about a higher consciousness. Please describe your insight on the evolution of human consciousness during the past nine years, and specifically, what is taking place now.
There has been an influx of light coming in more and more over these years and this is raising the vibration and frequency of the whole planet and each person open to it. The male and female energies also are becoming more balanced, which is a great thing.

All this, however, has caused a purging of anything unlike itself. The economic crisis is a cleansing of the old paradigm. We need new paradigms in society and relationships, and I have been teaching about new paradigms in relationships and the new frequency.

It is an exciting time to be alive. On the negative side, there could be more earth changes. On the positive side, one can make thousands of years of spiritual progress each year now.

Why are you motivated to change the paradigm in relationships around the world? What shift are you inspired to create?
If the planet is ascending, we have to ascend also. Relationships have gone about as far as they can go in the old paradigm. If you want to know what the old paradigm is, just look at your parents’ relationships and the soap operas. People all over the world need help with this shift.

The new paradigm is about having a spiritual partnership where you are together for the evolution of your souls and each person in the relationship takes responsibility for their results coming from their own thoughts. This is a relationship that is holy and one of peace. There is no anger, no fighting, no conflicts. At least that is the goal.  This can be learned.

What is your take on the indigenous prophecies surrounding the year 2012 and how do the seemingly massive changes taking place now in our lives relate to that?
Most people know that 2012 is a turning point. The reason the Mayan calender ends then is that the great Mayan “seers” could not “see” anything past 2012. That is because the planet will have ascended to the new dimension and they could not see that dimension. All the changes we are seeing ARE related to that. We are shifting from the old 3rd dimension to the 5th dimension.

You are known as a pioneer of the Rebirthing Experience. Describe this process for those who are unaware of it, and how has this experience been updated and refined over the years?
Rebirthing is a spiritual purification process made possible by breathing in a certain way. It is connecting the inhale and the exhale in a relaxed intuitive rhythm. It is a safe and gentle process that releases accumulated negativity back to and including birth. Through this process, unwanted behavior patterns are revealed and released and the heart opens so that you can receive more love, peace and abundance. Rebirthing is a powerful healing tool on mental , emotional, spiritual and physical levels. The purpose, in my opinion, ultimately is to help produce enlightenment when one replaces the ego’s thought system with the Holy Spirit’s thought system.

My work with the Rebirthing Experience is becoming more and more spiritual in nature. I am integrating the power of the Divine Mother in my work now.

You are known as a healer. Is there a common cause of pain in the human experience? How does spirituality affect that underlying cause?
Spirituality heals the cause of pain. We say that all pain is the effort involved in clinging to a negative thought. It is my job to help the client locate the thoughts that are causing the pain and help them release them. We rebirthers are trained especially to find out what is hidden in the subconscious. This is the culprit.  One needs a method to see the subconscious negative thoughts that are hanging one up! Rebirthing is one way to bring the subconscious to the conscious safely. Then you can change it.

What spiritual master or guide informs your life, and can you share a personal sacred experience you have had with this master or guide?
I like this question because I love to talk about my Master Babaji. He is actually a maha avatar, which means he was not born of a woman. He materialized his body. He can also dematerialize, so he can come and go. Yogananda talked about him in the Autobiography of a Yogi. I once experienced him bi-locating.  He appeared to me in the flesh in Mt. Shasta, CA, while he was at the same time in India at his ashram called Herakhan. I take people every year with me to India to his ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Ammachi is my female teacher. She is the real Divine Mother and everyone should try to see her. Go to her website [amma.org] and look at her tour schedule. She is the hugging saint and has been known to hug thousands of people in one sitting without even getting up!

My other master is Jesus, the source of A Course In Miracles, which, in my opinion, is the most important work in 2,000 years. It is a correction of religion, and the sooner you start it the better. Why postpone enlightenment? All the answers to all questions are in there.

What are you most hopeful about with regard to our collective future we are now creating?
Peace and harmony and a world that works for everyone.

Please share your insight on a daily tip or ritual that can help each of us remain in balance during these changing times.
I do the following rituals every day with my husband – and they work. We get up at 6 a.m. and walk for an hour while doing mantras on our mala beads. We say OmNamahaShivaya while walking. This is the highest thought in the universe, according to Babaji. We also do other private mantras given to us by Babaji and Ammachi. Then we come home and bathe and then we do Ho O Pono Pono, a Hawaiian ritual that we will teach at this Minnesota event. Then we read A Course in Miracles out loud.  I highly recommend all of this.

For details on the Sondra Ray event in Minnesota Aug. 20-23, contact Lee Beaty at 612.721.7108 or email leebeaty@visi.com. For more information on Sondra Ray, visit www.sondraray.com.

“To be present is to awaken into that dimension of your self and that dimension of life which is transcendent of the thinking mind. You are silent and you are fully present with what is actually here now. If you are fully present, there is no moment other than this moment. That is what it means to be awake in the truth of life. You are so fully present that you exist in this moment, and only in this moment. You are awake in the eternal now.” – Leonard Jacobson

Leonard Jacobson will speak at Old Arizona in Minneapolis on July 31.

Leonard Jacobson, founder of The Conscious Living Foundation, has been guiding people on the path of conscious awakening for more than 20 years. He is author of Bridging Heaven & Earth, Embracing the Present, Words from Silence, and Journey Into Now. The native Australian is a modern mystic who holds the energy of Presence for all those who attend his seminars and teachings.

Leonard will appear in Minneapolis for the first time on Friday, July 31, speaking at 7:30 p.m. at Old Arizona.

Eighteen months ago, The Edge spoke with the author and speaker about his book, Journey Into Now, and he revealed much about the soul’s journey. He emphasized that every human on the planet is “awake,” that each of us has an awakened dimension within us, but the challenge is liberating ourselves from control by the mind and ego. He cautioned that no one can understand awakening with the mind, by using words to describe a specific way to enlightenment.

“To be awake,” he said, “is as simple as being fully present in the moment of now. If you’re fully present with something that’s actually here in the moment with you, your mind will fall silent, thoughts will stop, and you’ll be awake in the truth of life. You’ll be fully here, now. And that is always instant and immediate. There’s no practice, there’s no delay, there’s no gap.”

Jacobson, on a speaking tour through Europe, was interviewed by email while in Copenhagen about his forthcoming visit to Minnesota, sponsored by the creators of the first Twin Cities Awakening Conference, an event that was considered a success for organizers in late May.

We hear of living in the present moment a lot today. How is simply being present in the moment different than awakening?
Leonard Jacobson: If you are fully present in this moment, you are an awakened being, but it does not last beyond this moment. When we speak of awakening, it refers to that state of consciousness where you are fundamentally established in the present moment. A shift has occurred so that prior to awakening you experienced life from within the mind, whereas after awakening you experience life primarily from presence.

How does one become grounded in the reality of the present moment?
Leonard: To become grounded in the reality of the present moment requires two steps. First you learn the art of being present, and then you bring consciousness to all of the ways you are involuntarily pulled out of presence. What are the obstacles to Presence? This second step leads to mastery of the mind and ego. When you arise in mastery of the mind and ego, you can remain grounded in Presence even when you are using your mind and participating in the world of time.

It seems so many people want the formula or steps or system that will awaken them. Does the answer relate more to personal intent and attention, as opposed to “doing” something? For those who seek a more conscious way of being, can you recommend the first steps?
Leonard: We are all so deeply habituated to thinking that it is very difficult to find our way to silence. Thinking is a deep addiction within human existence. Because it is such an addiction, it requires a strong commitment and intention to be present if you are to free yourself from the habit of thinking.

I teach a way of freeing yourself from the mind in a way that brings you instantly into presence. It is as simple as bringing yourself present with something that is already here in the moment with you. If you can see it, hear it, feel it, taste it, touch it, or smell it, in this moment, then you can be present with it. And the moment you are truly present with something that is here in the moment with you, your thoughts will stop and your mind will fall silent. This is not a practice or something you do. It is not even meditation. It is a gentle remembering to be here rather than not here, and you are not here when you are lost in the past and future world of the mind. The gentle remembering that I am speaking of needs to be supported by a deep intention to be present, moment to moment.

What is the greatest hurdle for people who are seeking to awaken and live a more present and conscious life?
Leonard: The greatest hurdle that we must overcome is the resistance of the ego. The ego is more than happy for you to pursue enlightenment and engage in all sorts of spiritual practice. But if you suddenly find yourself at the doorway to true awakening, which is the present moment, the ego will immediately resist.

The reason for this is that when you are present, thoughts stop and your mind falls silent. But the ego exists within a framework of thought. It exists within the past and future world of the mind. When thoughts stop, it feels to the ego like it is dying or disappearing, and so it resists any movement into presence. It wants you to continue seeking. It wants you in the past or future, where it is in control and it is extremely skilled at pulling you out of the present moment.

If you are to awaken, you will have to recognize what the ego is, what is its role and purpose, how it functions, and how to overcome its resistance.

During the process of awakening, many people end up making the mind their enemy. What relationship do you have with the mind, and how does one garner that relationship?
Leonard: If you make the mind your enemy, you will never awaken. If you try to stop thoughts, thoughts will continue. If you try to defeat the ego, the ego will triumph. The only kind of relationship with your mind and ego that will lead to awakening is a relationship of love, acceptance, compassion and allowing. And this kind of relationship is only possible from Presence.

Another trend today is an emphasis on emotional intelligence. How do you suggest that people get in touch with their feelings, and how does this relate to the awakening process?
Leonard: The remarkable thing about Presence is that as you become more present, it tends to bring up all that is unhealed and unresolved within you. Most people have feelings from the past repressed within them including the feelings of anger, hurt, sadness, unmet needs and fear. To the extent that these feelings are repressed within you, you cannot be fundamentally present, for the simple reason that these feelings are constantly being triggered by people and events in your life. When the feelings are triggered, you are no longer present. You are caught in a painful past and projecting that past onto the present moment.

As a part of the awakening process, it is essential to allow these repressed feelings to surface into conscious and responsible expression. Whenever feelings are triggered, just be present and pay attention. Allow the feelings full and conscious and responsible expression. Gradually you will empty out those reservoirs of repressed emotion. You will release the past from you and you from the past, which will make you much more available to the present moment.

What is your perception of public interest now in what you have to share?
Leonard: There is a growing interest and awareness in the value of being present. Many have become aware of this through the widespread popularity of Eckhart Tolle’s teachings. To become interested in being present is an essential first step in awakening, but to complete this journey of awakening, you must encounter yourself at every level. You must learn the art of being present. But you are not completely free until you arise in mastery of your mind and ego.

Being present is always instant. You cannot practice your way into Presence. You can only be present now. But arising in mastery of the mind and ego is a process that unfolds over time.

What are the most common questions you get and how do you answer them?
Leonard: The most common questions have to do with how to be present and how to overcome the obstacles to remaining present as you live your life.

I teach a simple two-step approach to awakening. The first step leads to Presence, the second to mastery of the mind and ego. These two steps are interdependent. As you become more present, it enables you to bring consciousness to all of the ways that you are pulled out of presence. This leads to mastery. As you arise in mastery, you deepen into presence, until one day you are completely free. You are fundamentally present, and you are no longer involuntarily pulled out of the present moment. You are no longer a prisoner within your mind.

I also receive questions about the true purpose of our existence. My response is always the same. The true purpose in being here is to be here. I also speak about the origins of our existence and how we become lost and how to find our way home.

When you come to the Twin Cities at the end of July, what will you present? What would you like participants to do in preparation for the event?
Leonard: Anyone attending this event will have a direct experience of the awakened state of Presence. I will also offer clear guidance – not only on how to be present, but also on how to remain present as we live our lives, go to work and participate in our relationships. Many people have the experience of “coming home” when attending one of my events.

By way of preparation, I suggest that people begin to pay attention to the emotional patterns and reactions that have been with them since childhood and the limiting beliefs that have adversely affected their enjoyment of life. Start paying attention to how the mind works and how thoughts lead them out of the present moment.

What is your feeling about “working on yourself” through self-inquiry versus a more extreme spectrum of Advaita Vedanta. For example, a participant at the recent Twin Cities Awakening Conference mentioned that she was very much into Advaita and was just waiting for the 100th monkey syndrome to kick in so that she would wake up. Conference leaders suggested that the idea that there’s no self to awaken becomes an “excuse” for people to keep their inertia and conditioning in place, and they don’t ever seem to move towards awakening. They don’t get the sense that there is actually something they can commit themselves to or look at to wake themselves up. Your response?
Leonard: If we are to awaken collectively, we must first awaken individually, and to awaken individually is to encounter your self at every level. To dismiss everything as illusory in nature is unhelpful, even though ultimately it might prove to be true.

If you are to free yourself from illusion you must bring the illusion into full consciousness. You must reveal it, own it, acknowledge it and confess it with love, acceptance and compassion. You must accept responsibility for every aspect of the illusion that you are lost in. Only then will it dissolve and reveal your true nature and the true nature of existence.

You use the term “God” often in your book. Can you speak to your definition of “God” and how “God” is relevant to the awakening process?
Leonard: When I speak of God, I am speaking as a mystic. For me, God is the silent Presence at the very heart of all things present. God exists at the very heart of silence within each one of us. God is eternal silent presence. God is eternal Is-ness. God is the present moment revealed. God is real. God is here now, but we are not. We have separated ourselves from God and truth and love by going too far into the past and future world of the mind. We have disconnected from the present moment.

If we want to experience the living presence of God, we will have to come to where God is. We will have to become fully present. To know God with the mind is to believe in God and to believe in God is to create God in our image. It is all an illusion. If we surrender our belief in God, and become fully present, we will begin to feel the living Presence of God in all things present. That is what is meant by “Omnipresence!”

How do you truly know if you have awakened?
Leonard: You know that you have awakened when you are able to be present at will. The true test of awakening is very simple. You are present and your mind is utterly silent. There are no thoughts and you experience a subtle sense of oneness with whatever is here with you. Sometimes it is extraordinary and sometimes it is ordinary. There is an overwhelming sense of peace and well-being and a deep sense of acceptance of the moment as it is.

Leonard Jacobson will present “Embracing the Present: Living an Awakened Life” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 31, at Old Arizona Studio, 2821 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis. Donation is $15. For more information, call 651.330.5658.

A debate is raging over whether December 21, 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar, heralds a doomsday of apocalyptic proportions or the dawning of a golden age in consciousness. In the new documentary 2012: Science or Superstition (available from www.SpiritualCinemaCircle.com in Volume 7) scientists and experts present both the science behind the Mayan calendar, as well as a positive message that we will be ushered into a new age of elevated consciousness and increased awareness.

One of the experts featured in the film is Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., a medical anthropologist who has researched the healing traditions of the Andes and the Amazon for more than 20 years. Founder of The Four Winds Society [www.thefourwinds.com] and the author of more than ten books including Courageous Dreaming, The Four Insights and Shaman Healer Sage, Dr. Villoldo is dedicated to bridging ancient wisdom teachings with modern medicine and psychology. He recently shared his perspective on 2012.

What are the 2012 prophecies?
Alberto Villoldo: They are indigenous prophecies of the Americas. You find them among the Hopi, Maya, Inca and the Apache. December 21, 2012 is an astronomical alignment that is going to be the beginning of a new era of a new age. These prophecies are very optimistic. They’re not the apocalyptic prophecies of Christianity of the end of the world. They’re really the beginning of the world. According to the Maya, humanity first appears in the planet on December 21, 2012. So we’re still proto-humans. We’re still half cooked.

Tell us about the isolated group of Incas in Peru that you work with.
Alberto: They are part of the lineage of wisdom keepers that’s found throughout the Americas. They came across the Bering Strait originally from the Himalayas around 32,000 years ago. At the time of the conquest, they fled and settled in very high mountain tops where neither the church nor the state could find them. They observed and foresaw the end of the conquistador looting, raping and pillaging, and devastating the land, and polluting the rivers.

One time one of them said to me, “Alberto, we’re going to miss our white brother.”

They saw the end of a predatory time on the earth and the beginning of a millennium of peace.

How did you come to meet these isolated shamans who live at 18,000 feet?
Alberto: They were the stuff of legend, and 20 years ago an old Peruvian archaeologist I knew introduced me to them. I went to their villages and brought Western medications with me because they had been in contact with other Indians who had been in contact with diseased Westerners. They had babies with dysentery and things that their local herbs and their nature pharmacies could not heal so I brought Western medication. I developed a close relationship with their medicine people.

With these people I learned about luminous medicine where they healed at the level of the luminous matrix that surrounds the physical body and that organizes the body in the same way that a magnet organizes iron filings from a piece of glass. These people are able to look at your luminous matrix and tell you how your grandmother died, how you might live, how you would heal, and how you might die, because it is all encoded in this information matrix. They are able to also read the matrix of the earth and that’s where they read the prophecies.

These shamans differentiate between information and knowledge. To them information is knowing that water is H2O, but knowledge is being able to make it rain. The prophecy was the information as to what could happen, what might happen. They saw us growing a new consciousness, downloading the information codes for a new human into our luminous energy field!

What “signs” or evidence support the predictions of the Inca elders?
Alberto: They have definitive signs that they look for to mark the setting into motion of the great upheaval. One of them was the disappearance of the condor, which almost became extinct around 25 years ago. They talk about the drying of the high mountain lagoons and the melting of the glaciers, among other signs, all of which have begun.

Should we view 12/21/2012 as a potential doomsday?
Alberto: If you suddenly have a billion people disappearing from the planet overnight, that’s a gigantic cataclysm. If you have it happening naturally and gradually, over a 100-year period, then it’s nature resettling and readjusting itself. I see it as both.

Do you believe there will be a pole shift?
Alberto: I don’t think it’s a “matter of belief.” Off the coast of Chile there are areas in the ocean where the compass points to Antarctica and tells you that that’s north. There are eight or ten of these spots, the size of Australia, in the ocean where the poles, the direction of the compass have already shifted.

What do you see as the opportunity of 2012 for individuals?
Alberto: It is happening today. We have the possibility to break free from the nightmare of our past of violence and exploitation. To clear the slate both individually and collectively. We can quantum leap into new humans. We’re the ones that we’ve been waiting for, where we can fully become whole-brain creatures that utilize our entire brain and not just our stomachs and reproductive organs and mouths. We can have the fullness of the human experience and be fully in the mystery of the human experience. I think this is happening now.

Receive 2012: Science or Superstition plus three great short films for free when you sign up for a trial membership of Spiritual Cinema Circle (just pay a small shipping fee). This is the only DVD service dedicated to films about love, compassion and inspiration, one of the many reasons we wanted you to know about them. Simply go to: www.spiritualcinemacircle.com. For more information about Alberto Villoldo, his books and workshops, please visit www.thefourwinds.com.

It was a complete honor to join Amy Jewell on her Cirkla Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio last night! Amy is the creator and owner of Cirkla, an online community and business directory serving the alternative health, green living and spiritual communities, and each week she interview members of the community to inspire, inform and educate.

We spoke about The Edge magazine – past, present and now – focusing on the Digital Edge and its benefits to print advertisers and readers who do not have access to the printed magazine. We spoke of participation and how we both want to inspire people to become more involved with like-minded others in the community. And then I shared some of my favorite moments with people I have interviewed.

I invite you to listen to the 30-minute Cirkla interview! And be sure to listen to the vast archive of past interviews at Cirklagirl on Blog Talk Radio.

Listen: cirkla_interview_060309