vision magazine april 2011 edition

an evening of Wisdom,

meditation & grace

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

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

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an evening of Wisdom,

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Sri SriRavi

Shankar“Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s approach to inner peace

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In this timeof great change . . .

Also during Sri Sri’s visit . . .

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The Art of Living Course Upanishads Commentary

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Vision Magazine® is a ® registered trademark of Vision Global, Inc. published on a monthly basis and distributed free of charge. Subscriptions are available for $27 for 12 issues (one year). All rights reserved. Advanced written permission must be obtained from Vision Magazine for partial or complete reproduction of any part or whole of Vision Magazine, including advertising material contained in its pages. Opinions expressed in Vision Magazine do not necessarily represent those of Vision Global, Inc., its employees or representatives. Vision Magazine disclaims any responsibility for claims made by its advertisers. Artwork, fi ction, letters to the Editor, and manuscripts are welcome, however, unsolicited manuscripts without SASE will not be returned. Copyright © 2011 Vision Magazine

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26

6 viewpoint our earth your karma

7 holistic living natural healing institute

9 greek to me garden state of mind

10 ask the lifequaketm doctor advice about life transitions

12 green living green is hot sustainability at UCSD

14-15 mindstates reconnection upgrade

16-17 human rights sustainable development & social equity

18 astrology april 2011 forecast

19 culture many ways to be green

20 healing arts the future of California state parks warning: your baby contains toxic chemicals protecting the world’s reefs

24-27 features go green expo squatters: more tolerance please

28 community resources

34 vision café radical relief

36 holistic reviews feminine reformation

37 holistic business shen yun

38 holistic living big mama earth

42 calendar

45 visionary artist leah marie dorion www.leahdorion.com

45 uncommon people matt cirello & regeneration art

cover artLeah Dorion

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If you have a comment on any of these articles e-mail us [email protected] or visit us on Facebook or Twitter!


v i e w p o i n t

Uluru, the big red rock in the center of

Australia, is known for its magical healing pow-ers and spiritual ambi-ence. Recently, I un-dertook some research into the amazing ener-gies of Uluru and spent eight days conducting healing work amongst the indigenous Anangu people. Known as an in-sular race, I was blessed to learn much about their culture, living wis-dom, and deep respect for our planet. I would like to share some of my insights.

Depending on your thought or action, posi-tive or negative energy and consequences are created. Every action has a consequence. When you demonstrate respect and ap-preciation, positive energy and good karma fl ow to you. For example, respecting the earth and living in a way that reduces waste and toxic load helps everyone on the planet live a healthier and cleaner life.

The care you give to the planet has a twofold reaction. When there is respect shown to the earth and all living creatures, it creates an abundant environment with nutritious foods and clean air to keep us healthy and happy. Your intention and positive actions to support this fl ow create a positive energy or vibration around you in the form of gratitude, love, or appreciation. In essence, you are attracting more respect and appreciation to you. This is good karma.

On our research trip, we enjoyed many discussions with the Aboriginals about signs and symbolism. I am a great believer that signs are everywhere for us to read. After one of our meetings, we saw an amazing sign. Driving around Uluru, we saw the largest and most vividly colorful rainbow I had ever seen. We stopped the car to take in the view and embrace the energy of the moment. As we stood looking up to the rainbow, I was aware of many cars driving hurriedly past us. We can choose to be open to signs or to ignore them. The passing traffi c missed the most amazing view. For me, rainbows are a positive sign, a precursor to something amazing about to unfold. After the rainbow appeared, I was walking around one of the most sacred parts of Uluru called the Kuniya Walk. As I turned a bend, there was Oprah Winfrey toward me!

What are the odds of meeting Oprah, one-on-one on a dirt trail in central Australia? As my husband and I were alone on the trail and Oprah was walking in front of her 30-person fi lm crew, we got to exchange a few words before being swamped by the media.

Oprah had always been on my vision board. It was as though our deep respect for the land, the people, and helping them with healing had opened up the heavens to a miracle. It was a great learning experience for me.

As well as bumping into Oprah, we were given special permission to visit sacred sites and fi lm in areas such as the cultural center. It was there that I learned about the “Sorry Book,” a compilation of letters from Uluru visitors who write about their negative life experience after removing rocks or red soil as souvenirs. The park rangers told us that they receive thousands of rocks, soil, and sorry letters every year. I was fascinated by the stories in the “Sorry Book” and this is the extension

Our Earth,Your Karmaby Marisa Russo

of the message I am sharing with you.

Each person related the negative consequence or bad karma that ensued after taking rocks and soil from the sacred Uluru region. Most mentioned that they didn’t originally believe in superstition or karma. Their opinions changed radically after they encountered family deaths, car accidents, bad relationships, and serious illnesses en masse. Here are some samples:

“…I never believed it is true, but now after 2 years I think it is. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I took some of the red sand. Since

then, a lot of bad things have happened to us…I had my fi rst miscarriage and then my father got lung cancer and died. I then had a second miscarriage and then an ectopic pregnancy. The doctors had to remove a tube to save me. The father of my closest friend died from cancer and my aunt died. I am still not pregnant…”

“I am a Christian and I was not superstitious when I took the red dirt…since taking the dirt the same year my husband had prostate cancer, a heart attack, and then died with rapid progressive Aphasia. My brother-in-law then died with brain cancer, my daughter-in-law lost her mother, and my son-in-law lost his mother. My son is now diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I now deeply regret what I have done…”

I read letter after letter describing their negative experiences. These stories and the bad luck that follows from disrespecting a sacred place is indicative of life and our planet. Karma does come back to bite people when they don’t treat everything and everyone with respect and kindness. The most productive thing you can do is build up positive energy and create good karma. Do what you can to be kind to the earth and live greener. Recycle where you can. Use toxin-free ingredients. Buy organic. Purchase items that are not tested on animals. Choose to make positive choices in your daily life to pay respect to the earth and its inhabitants.

The same principles apply to our relationships with people. I have seen it many times in my healing clinic, where very kind and loving people encounter people who disrespect them or treat them unfairly. The perpetrators ultimately experience the reality of negative karma. When we create loving and respectful relationships, we create positive energetic connections and good karma.

We live in a holographic universe where our bodies, our energy, and the nature of the earth are all inseparably connected. It makes sense to respect and nurture ourselves and have that be a model to extend into our relationships and care for our wondrous planet. Many blessings, Marisa.

Marisa Russo is an award-winning master healer and founder of Forensic Healing, a way of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that combines science, logic, and intuition. Please visit www.marisarusso.com and www.forensichealing.com.

Russo will be touring the western part of the United States in May, providing free and Forensic Healing ESSENTIALS workshops. Visit www.marisarusso.com/healing-events for more information.

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Steve Schechter is a caring and compassionate man with a passion for learning, growing, and being of service to others. His prowess in the classroom is not

to be underestimated as he teaches hundreds of classes each year. Schecter states on their web site:

“The word doctor comes from the Latin word meaning to teach. A true doctor is also a teacher—teaching clients

how to heal themselves, prevent disease and generate optimal health. Healing includes yet goes beyond curing people’s bodies. It is about empowering people to heal their lives. Illness and injury can prompt us to look carefully at ourselves and our lives. They can also help us to better appreciate the preciousness of life and health. How have we been using our bodies? What have we been doing with our lives? What is our true mission in this world?

A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, ignites a heart, and inspires a spirit. We commit to helping each other live, grow, teach, and heal with joy, with appreciation, and with reverence for life’s magnificent and magical forces. We enjoy helping you find and do your life’s work—the work of your heart.”

“To Know Is To Care; To Care Is To Act” This quote explains why, in 1988, Schechter began donating 50 percent of his author’s royalties from his book, “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins–Documented Natural Remedies that Boost Your Immunity and Detoxify,” to national non-profit groups working for a healthier environment. Both he and this book are listed in Who Is Who In Service To The Earth.

Vision Magazine: Reflecting on the tragedy in Japan, what are some of the natural remedies for

radiation exposure?Steve Schechter: To answer that specifically, we need

more information on the specific radioisotopes that are being released. Obviously so far most of the information has been on radioactive iodine-131. I believe potassium iodine is not the solution for radioactive iodine-131—and that’s not a hoax—only because it is an inadequate solution. The best solution for iodine-131 is natural iodine, especially from sea vegetables and steamed land vegetables. In my best-selling book, “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants,” I put forth the theory of what’s called selective uptake. That means that if you provide the body with optimal amounts of a natural nutrient, in this case iodine, you eliminate or dramatically decrease the potential for absorbing radioactive iodine. Because what happens is when we are deficient in natural iodine, the body will absorb radioactive iodine in a vain attempt to fulfill our needs for iodine. This principle of selective uptake has been endorsed and accepted by the

Natural Healingwith

Steve Schechter, N.D., H.H.P.by Sydney L. Murray

continued on page 8

Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a way to get iodine into the body. So steamed vegetables are a great source of natural iodine, found in dark leafy greens. The problem is that iodine in our soil varies dramatically from region to region and even from county to county. So your best sources are sea vegetables from the kelp family, and purple dulse.

There is a vegetable in the kelp family called bladderwrack that is available in liquid form, solid form, powder, and granules, which is the most effective substance of delivering natural iodine. The beauty of natural iodine is [that] not only does it prevent your thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine, it also helps pull radioactive iodine out of your thyroid.

I want to emphasize that in all nuclear power plants, part of routine emissions and in accidental leaks, [there] is more than radioactive iodine. The experts are ignoring radioactive cesium-137 and strontium-90 in the Japanese nuclear facility. Experts have already said that it is part of the leakage and was certainly part of the leakage in Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. I was flown to Norway and then Russia after Chernobyl as a consultant. Radioactive iodine primarily impacts the thyroid, but also has a harmful impact on our gonads. It is true that radioactive iodine is a comparatively heavier radioactive isotope, so it tends to fall on the ground, unfortunately contaminating produce and eventually working its way into the milk supply and other products. People can wash it off their body. The bigger problem is, I believe, is with radioactive cesium-137 and strontium-90, which the experts are not addressing at all. Plutonium 238 and 239 is also probably being released. Bottom line: to counteract the above five radioisotopes, and to prevent future absortions, I recommend people consider regularly eating sea vegetables, green vegetables, algae from high quality areas, potasium, and iron rich foods.

There is no safe amount of radiation because all forms of radiation are cumulative. The real harm from radioactive isotopes is usually three to 15 years down the line, with the increased risk of cancers, such as leukemia.

VM: What are some of the other industrial contaminants that we are exposed to

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here in California that are affecting our health?SS: There is a huge range of air-born contaminants coming from our water, soil, and

food. According to the Center for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency, which are considered the two premier health-monitoring organizations in the world, all Americans will be exposed to 60,000-100,000 different chemical pollutants this year, only 10,000 of which are considered safe by their standards. 60,000 are considered sub-toxic or toxic. Toxins, by defi nition, stress your immune system, your digestion by affecting absorption, your liver, and other critical areas.

According to two Ralph Nader studies, the average municipal water source has 300-600 different chemical pollutants, which we are exposed to in drinking, cooking, showering, and bathing, especially if you shower with hot water. It creates vapor and you breathe it in far more effi ciently than you absorb it through your skin.

In the New England Journal of Medicine, after examining 77,000 school children, across all social economic lines, over 70 percent had unacceptable amounts of lead in their blood and tissue. Fortunately, we can pull those heavy metals out of our bodies.

VM: Our theme this month is living green. What does that phrase mean to you?

SS: When I think of green I think of nature. One of my lessons in trying to honor and appreciate nature for the last 40 some years is that green is telling us to live in harmony, balance, homeostasis, and equilibrium with nature. We are at a time where we’re reexamining our medical model by emphasizing preventative and natural therapies and redefi ning our medical model, and redefi ning what, today, is the great American dream. For people like my parents, the great American dream was to have at least two cars in the garage and two or more TVs.

What the media has been telling us for 40 years is to buy more and get more. By living green we are trying to live more sustainably, more in balance, whether we are reducing our gas, oil, or electric needs. We are all guilty of excess waste, because we have learned to be excessively comfortable. I think in every way, living green is promoting a lifestyle of balance. The color green is the color of the heart chakra and it represents

“Natural Healing” continued from page 8 balance, chlorophyll, and nature. Being green is healing ourselves and doing things to heal the world simultaneously.

Holistic healing doesn’t mean being self-absorbed. I believe that some of this conscious new age is just self-absorbed. What we really need is people healing themselves and going out and doing something to make society better. We know we are all headed on an unsustainable path. There are so many things people can do on many different levels. When you are spending some time working on healing the world, you get outside of your own self-concerns. To me, living green is a challenge to all of us to be part of the solution.

VM: What do you think are some of the most exciting developments in holistic health today?

SS: For me the most exciting aspect is that if we look at the word “holistic,” humans have made errors since the beginning of time of not living in harmony. Holistic health has brought us a lot of solutions. What holistic health is teaching us, more than a new awareness of herbs, is the necessity of living sustainably, living in balance and harmony, and trying to move in that direction. Again, where I fault holistic health is that the western approach to spirituality and the western emphasis is to take care of yourself—greed is good, get more. Where I think holistic health needs to better articulate change is in a community consciousness. I think what is exciting is that holistic health should be taking us into a holistic solution, both personal and societal solutions. It incorporates alternative re-useable energies and much more than

that, such as a change in consciousness, in our hearts and in our actions in society. That to me is the real defi nition of holistic. On that note, I deeply appreciate what you, Vision Magazine, other individuals, and other organizations are doing to foster simultaneously personal, community, and planetary healing, and optimal holistic healing.

For more information on Steve Schechter, N.D., H.H.P. or the Natural Healing Institute, please contact [email protected] or 760.943.8485, or visit www.naturalhealinginst.com. The Natural Healing Institute is a state-licensec, state-approved college offering programs for license/certifi cation in 14 different areas plus individualized health consultations. They do not sell products from this article.

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Growing up in a small town that was pitched somewhere between urban and rural, I didn’t really have a direct relationship with the soil.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. To be accurate, when I was in the fi fth grade, I established a very intimate

connection with the ground. One that culminated in our meeting rather abruptly when my friend and I cut off all the elastic from our underwear,

knotted it together, and nailed it to the top of my family’s garage. Clutching it tightly, we then jumped off, thinking the fl imsy bands would mediate our introduction to the welcoming dirt below. But the ground held its ground,

resolute against our fall. Terra was never more fi rma.I did, however, have extended family members who were renowned for their bond with Mother Earth by way of their

abilities within the plant world. They allegedly made the Green Giant look like a desiccated string bean. But the

best example of my family’s pedigree was a great-aunt who lived with us for a spell when I was in high school.

Aunt Helen was my Mom’s aunt, but her role in Mom’s life was much more direct and vital than that; she raised my Mom as her own when my Grandmother couldn’t. By the time Aunt Helen came to live with us I was at that stage in my life when talking with an old

person was like speaking a foreign language. One I barely knew past the rote monologues you mouthed when learning to

speak another tongue. Beyond her age, Aunt Helen also talked to her cat, Kukla, in a way so full and engaging I swore I could hear the cat’s responses, which only underscored how awkward our exchanges were. Aunt Helen’s desire to converse with non-humans didn’t end with Kukla, though. She also talked to plants. Any plants. She would tour our backyard, picking up odd twigs and stems. She would fi nd a dried out husk of some fallen fl ower, and within a few days of water, sunlight, and a little coaxing in her native Greek, that shell would miraculously strike a deal with the devil and regain its life. She would then transplant it in some distant corner of the yard where even the birds didn’t go, and by the following spring that discarded pod would become something for us all to behold.

Aunt Helen’s facility with all things green should have been all the proof my older sister needed to support her claim that I was secretly adopted. You see, I inherited none of Aunt Helen’s abilities.In fact, I lived at the other end of the herbal spectrum. My thumbs weren’t green—they were black. And lethal. As I grew older, I eased into my role as plant assassin, becoming a horticultural hit-man. I was the guy people entrusted their fl ora to when they no longer wanted them around. The heartiest cactus withered at my mere touch. My reputation was sealed when a friend entrusted his Chia pet to me, only to have it devolve into a brown mass of what looked like mutant bean sprouts. This was cause for great consternation because, though I loved nature, my feelings never translated into anything even remotely green or life-sustaining.

Despite my cognitive dissonance with the plant world, though, that realm provided a breeding ground for a fl ower of a different kind: it was where my relationship with Aunt Helen took seed and bloomed. We both loved the earth; we just related to it from very distinct points of view and (dis)ability. Walking in the back yard, she seemed transformed by nature, as if it sharpened the edges that her advancing years might otherwise have worn smooth, making me forget her age. It altered me, too, but in an opposite way. It took the electric barb-wire fence

A GARDEN STATE OF MIND© 2011 Greek to Me by Michael Raysses

that is male adolescence and disarmed it to the point that Aunt Helen and I could relate to each other in a way that I never could have foreseen.

I still think a lot about her. Something I didn’t realize until many years after she had returned to the ground was that for Aunt Helen a garden was a state of mind, not necessarily some articulated plot of land with a little fence around it to mark where the yard ended and the growing began. Living with her, like watching her glide through nature, I discovered that the garden was everywhere and anywhere she put her intention. It could be a plant. It could even be a person. A person like the young girl Aunt Helen took care of when there was no one else to attend to her in her own time of growth. What amazed me is that even when one of her pet projects didn’t bloom the way she wanted it to or for as long as she thought it should, she understood its intrinsic value in the bigger picture of a plot that only she could see.

So, despite my failings, I have come to understand our own gardens. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we are constantly planting, cultivating, and reaping the fruits of thoughts of all sorts. And that with a little intention, some vision, and coaxing, there really is no such thing as a dead concept. Unless, of course, you get the notion to cut off all the elastic from your underwear, tie it together, nail it to the top of a garage and jump off. That’s an idea that even Aunt Helen would agree deserves to stay buried deep in the ground.

Michael Raysses is a writer/NPR commentator/actor living in Los Angeles. E-mail him at [email protected].

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Ask the LifeQuake™ Doctor

Dr. Toni Galardi

Dear Dr. Toni: I am the parent of a 17-year-old son. I am also a single mother. My son has been away

at boarding school and I found out he was smoking hash while on a fi eld trip abroad last summer. He claims that he isn’t now and actually placed himself in a drug testing program the school administers periodically for kids who want to stay drug free.

Here is the problem: Although his testing has consistently come up clean, he seems to be depressed. How do you tell [the difference] between adolescent malaise and depression? He seems to think that maybe there was something in the drug that is still in his system. His therapist wants to put him on anti-depressant medication but I really would prefer not to do that if possible. What do you suggest?

Debra

Dear Debra:Keeping in mind the limits of an advice column, I will say this: he may need a

full toxicology screening to see if there is some kind of residue in his system that his body is reacting to. You don’t indicate where you live but I would suggest that you might fi rst try a holistic protocol for the possible depression, do some research and see if there is an ortho-molecular psychiatrist in your area.

An ortho-molecular psychiatrist has at their disposal certain subclinical tests for looking at neurotransmitters along with traditional blood tests for any toxicity or other abnormalities. A Web site to go to is: http://www.acam.org. They provide physician contact information in the fi eld of integrative medicine.

After a psychiatrist who comes from this orientation does thorough diagnostic testing, they may suggest taking certain amino acids and nutritional supplements to detoxify the liver, cleanse the organs, and then nourish and support the brain and nervous system which inform balanced neurotransmitters. One of my colleagues at the Preventive Medical Center in San Rafael, Michael Rosenbaum, M.D. (http://www.drmichaelrosenbaum.com) is this kind of psychiatrist and does phone consults for those who live outside of northern California. Begin educating yourself on this treatment approach.

If a holistic approach to mood disorders is not effec-tive, then it is best to research psychiatrists in your city that specialize in both addiction and adolescent psychiatry.

Good luck!

Dear Dr. Toni:I am a psychotherapist who

has been working in the treat-ment fi eld for 15 years. My practice has started to dwindle and I can’t bring myself to drum up new clients by going to networking functions.

It isn’t the networking I hate so much as I am beginning to think I may be in burnout. This scares me because I don’t

know what else to do for a career, and in this economy, it seems insane to give up what I’ve been doing to try something else. I’ve thought about public speaking, but getting up in front of a room full of people scares me, too.

What do you suggest? I am totally confused and starting to get depressed.James

Dear James:I completely empathize with you. It does seem like a risky time to make a career

transition. However, forcing yourself to go to networking events to promote a business you are in burnout over may be a waste of time.

Energy expands where there is a passionate focus, either good or bad. If you put negative energy on what you don’t want to be doing anymore, you will get more of the same. For three weeks, pay attention to what lifts your energy without trying to fi gure out how they all connect. At the end of three weeks, either by yourself, with a friend, and/or a coach, analyze the list. See if there are any connections that could be something that supports a new vocation. For example, what are the issues you care about? What in your life or work as a therapist have you learned that you could pass on to others through writing articles or public speaking?

I hear you that the idea of public speaking is scary, but it is for most people until they do it frequently. I still am nervous before I get up to the podium after all these years of doing so myself. I would recommend joining Toastmasters International. It is a safe environment to practice your speaking skills.

When the work we’ve been doing is no longer growing us, boredom sets in. If we don’t begin exploring new ways to express our work, the second stage (outlined in my change model) is often experienced by symptoms of depression. If you still do nothing to change your life, stage three is triggered by a crisis. So, take action and start executing some professional risks so that you can discover your new vocation of destiny and move out of a downward spiral.

Dr. Toni Galardi is a licensed psychotherapist, career coach, public speaker, organizational consultant, and the author of the book, The LifeQuake Phenomenon: How to Thrive (not just survive) in Times of Personal and Global Upheaval.

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Trends and fads can be pretty useless when they concern meaningless matters such as which celebrity

shops where and what is the hot reality show on TV right now. But when caring about the environment or taking better, conscious care of your body and soul become a ‘hip’ thing to do, all of a sudden trendiness starts to become an interesting tool to increase awareness in making the world a better place.

Yoga, for example, has defi nitely become a healthy trend over the years and it has transformed many lives for the

better. Meditation is another increasingly trendy habit that can’t hurt and does not try to sell you anything but peace of mind.

What about this “green” trend, though? When even companies like Pepsi and BP are connecting their brand to environmental sustainability and are so set on being perceived as “green,” it must be recognized as a serious marketing tool. This may be something to take great advantage of. And frankly, isn’t it about time?

Since most people in this world (sadly) seem to be mostly driven by monetary incentives, how perfect is the concept of making money off of green energy solutions or saving gas money by driving a hybrid? It’s these economic/environmental win-win situations that catalyze both instant positive change as well as realistic long-term change. Listed by Fortune Magazine as one of the “10 Green Giants,” global investment bank Goldman Sachs announced a groundbreaking environmental policy in 2005. Critics said Chief Executive Hank Paulson was pushing it with his green ethos, but the bank has become even more planet-friendly since Paulson left. Why? Because it is doing a lot of green business. Goldman Sachs’ investment of $1.5 billion in cellulosic ethanol and wind and solar power have paid off.

The bottom line is, as increased green consciousness is good for the health of the earth, it doesn’t matter if we use trends, marketing, and monetary incentives to get there, as long as we actually get there. As a species, we are evolved enough and absolutely capable of maintaining both a healthy natural environment and a fl ourishing economy simultaneously. One doesn’t have to happen at the expense of the other, which has so far often been the case ever since the industrial revolution. Of course, a rapidly growing world population doesn’t exactly facilitate this balance, but it is still possible with our wealth of technology and knowledge.

Personally, I still prefer the good old ethical “let’s get our priorities straight, listen to our hearts, and pay attention to what really matters in life,” but if it will take humanity another 100 years to get there via that route, we might as well take some less noble and more business-savvy shortcuts in the meantime. Just to tie us over.

Hetty Matthijssen is a writer and world traveler originally from The Netherlands. Living between Venice, CA and Sedona, AZ, she fi nds energy in balancing the ocean and the desert. Contact her at [email protected].

Green Is ‘Hot’by Hetty Matthijssen

shops where and what is the hot reality show on TV right now. But when caring about the environment or taking better, conscious

a healthy trend over the years and it has transformed many lives for the

trend [trend]–nouna general direction in which

something is developing or

changing.(“New Oxford American Dictionary”)



UC San Diego has much to celebrate this year. As the campus commemorates its 50th anniversary, it is also chronicling significant achievements and commitments to sustainability and green living practices.

The latest addition to the campus’ impressive sustainability record is the East Village apartments, which will immerse over 800 residents in a completely comfortable, environmentally friendly lifestyle this coming fall. The complex, formerly a parking lot, now encompasses a single high-rise and four smaller “Ecoflats,” all surrounded by low-irrigation landscaping.

Residential units promote alternative transportation with close proximity to bus stops and convenient bike parking. There are over 100 bike racks throughout the complex, including a secure indoor bike storage room. Windows and buildings are strategically designed to expose public spaces and residences with natural light and to optimize natural wind ventilation from the ocean breezes. All units are equipped with energy-efficient appliances and low-flow plumbing. Additionally, occupancy sensors shut off lights and appliances when rooms are unoccupied.

Additional services, such as a market, bistro, and mail station, are located within the complex to reduce the need to travel. Complement that with stunning views of Torrey Pines and the San Diego coast, and you’ve got creature-comfort sustainability. From design to construction, these buildings surely set a new standard for future housing developments on campus.

The building’s advanced solar water-heating system is gaining national attention among universities. Solar panels doubling as sun shades on the apartments absorb solar energy to heat the residents’ water for showers and baths, instead of relying on electricity or natural gas. The system is touted as one of the largest installations at a North American university.

“Housing • Dining • Hospitality takes the long-term view. We know that these buildings will outlive us, and we want to leave a sustainable legacy for the campus to enjoy,” says Krista Mays, HDH Sustainability Manager. “We listen to what our current student residents say about the housing that we have, and we work with our architects

Reaching Greener Heights:Building Sustainability Lifestyles at UC San Diego

by Jonathan K. Lee


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continued on page 40

to build those ideas into the next housing that we build.”

Sustainable living on campus couldn’t be any classier. All the features are seamlessly embedded into the residents’ lifestyles, promoting residents to adopt an environmentally conscious mind, especially when they move off campus.

A few other housing projects are expected to be completed by Fall 2011. Revelle College and Muir College are building new undergraduate apartment buildings that will also feature sustainable designs. Both are working to be LEED certifi ed.

“As a result of grass root campaigns and administrative sustainability champions, this campus has greened our fl eet services, food operations, course curriculums, and even LEED certifi ed several buildings such as the Sustainability Resource Center (SRC),” notes Kristin Hansen, sustainability analyst at the SRC.

In February, the SRC was awarded a LEED Gold certifi cation for incorporating extensive energy- and resource-effi cient innovations in its building design and operations. The SRC showcases reclaimed and recycled furniture and artwork in a practical environment. The center opened its doors to the campus community just a year and a half ago as the central hub of sustainability activity, largely thanks to committed efforts from the student body and administrators.

Student advisory committees and organizations have been, and continue to play, an integral part of the sustainability initiatives on campus. The Student Sustainability Collective (SSC) is the student-managed subset of the SRC, and has been the central voice of many student campaigns to institutionalize sustainability

at the university. The SSC addresses various aspects of the movement, from energy and waste to food and water policies to civil and human rights.

In collaboration with numerous university offi cials, faculty members, and student groups like

the SSC and One Earth One Justice, UC San Diego recently gained national recognition for adopting the nation’s strongest fair trade policy in pursuit of becoming a Fair Trade University. The policy, a result of over fi ve years of advocacy, requires all future food and vendor contracts at the campus to sell 100 percent fair trade coffee, tea, and sugar at all locations.

Funding and support for sustainability initiatives are strong at all levels of the campus. A number of working groups have been formed to support feasibility studies of campus initiatives. For example, the Sustainability Solutions Institute brings together multidisciplinary teams to facilitate inter-departmental research, education, and outreach. It also hosts Greenovation Forums, which provide opportunities for creative collaborations between the campus community and members of the green technology sector.

HDH offers Green Grants, made available to residents and staff to promote sustainability innovation related to housing and dining. Toby’s Spot is a product of a student’s Green Grants project; it established conveniently located carts around housing units that allow residents to return permaware dishes to the dining halls, in turn allowing Dining Services to eliminate plastic and Styrofoam take-away.

In 2009, students approved the Sustainability Referendum, increasing undergraduate student fees to provide funding for both the SSC and The Green


m i n d s t a t e s

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Doug De Vito, who discussed the remarkable story of how this new level of healing was discovered, along with

current research that substantiates it. Doug was the fi rst person selected and trained by Eric Pearl to teach this work. This healing force is called “The Reconnection.” De Vito has recently written a book called “The Upgrade: How to Improve Your Life by Healing Others,” which offers information on the next level of Reconnective Healing.

Vision Magazine: How does Reconnective Healing work?Doug De Vito: That’s a great question because here we are a year later

and we have actually engaged with four new research teams studying different aspects of this work and we still don’t fully know how it works. First of all, we know that this bandwidth of healing frequency that we call Reconnective Healing is not just one frequency. It’s actually multiple pieces of the energy spectrum, and it seems to extend far beyond what we know or what the scientists can typically call physical energy. It’s something that may go into higher dimensions, as some scientists suggest. It may go into levels of consciousness. It may even go into realms beyond that. But this bandwidth comes into our experience and is facilitated by a practitioner who feels for sensations and energy characteristics around the client’s body. Then they go into a different state and within that state they connect with the intelligence of the body and the intelligence of the universe, and that is where the healings occur. We know that there are physical things that the person on the table may be experiencing and there are things that happen

on a cellular level and on the DNA level. We know that it happens at many different physical, mental, and emotional levels that the scientists can record, but we still don’t exactly know what it is. It’s very real, powerful, and seems to be the next level of healing.

VM: When did the new energy come and what is it?DD: In 1993. Dr. Eric Pearl had some interesting experiences in 1993, which he talks about in his book,

“The Reconnection: Heal Others, Heal Yourself.” He became a catalyst for this frequency on the planet. He became a kind of lightning rod that allowed these frequencies to get grounded on the planet. Since then we have found out that these frequencies are accessible, not only to Dr. Pearl, but literally anyone can learn how to come into contact with them, after you, of course, properly interact and learn how to fi nd them. That’s what we teach and that’s what people receive in private sessions. Since then Dr. Pearl and I have taught more than 60,000 people how to do it. It’s not just doctors; it’s people who have no background in healing, like myself. I actually come from a business background. I have an MBA in marketing and fi nance and my undergraduate degree was in chemical engineering. I would be the last person anyone would pick to be a healer, but I can do it, too, and so can you.

VM: How has the Reconnective Healing experience changed your life?DD: Oh my, how hasn’t it changed my life? I typically make a joke; I say, “Well, it’s made me taller,

healthier, and funnier.” One of the new things that we understand about these frequencies is that when the practitioner is accessing them, they’re to help the other person, but as they plug into the frequencies, they also plug into higher states of healing potential. What happened to me [was] I was doing a session on a client and I had a shift in my own body. [There was a] spinal injury that I had had for years, and that had been properly diagnosed by a medical doctor and was a fusing of my spine at the L3, L4, and L5 vertebrae on the lower base

Upgrade to True Healing for Yourself and OthersA Conversation with Doug De Vitoby Sydney L. Murray

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of my spine. It had been a painful condition I had for four or five years and then all of a sudden in this session my back pops and I thought, “That could be really bad.” But what happened over the course of the next month is that I grew three-fourths of an inch as my spine regenerated.

So it’s not just necessarily healing from disease, but also regenerating your physical body and bringing you back into perfect health, and also, in my case, a taller and more proper formation of my spine. My experience is not unique. I started to ask practitioners about their own experiences and it turns out that a lot of people were having these healings when they were healing others. And that is the essence of my book, “The Upgrade.” It tells the other side of the story, which is as you heal others you really are participating in significant healings of your own, not just physical, but also mental and emotional.

Some of the research that we have been doing with the University of Arizona is that it looks like the frequencies actually help us to move into peak performance states, not only boosting our immune systems, but also our mental and our athletic functions.

VM: Tell us about your book, “The Upgrade.”DD: The book is about how you improve your life by healing others. Thousands

of practitioners were actually saying, not only do I enjoy being a practitioner and participate in these miraculous healings, but they were having real noticeable,

significant shifts in their own body. So I started a survey called the Practitioner Survey and surveyed 600 practitioners from all over the world and asked them about their experience with the work. We found out that yes, indeed there really is

a noticeable and significant improvement, on a physical and emotional level. That’s the story that I tell in “The Upgrade.” When we were growing up, the Golden Rule said, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ I think this healing is teaching us a new version of the Golden Rule and I call that, “Heal unto others as you would heal unto yourself.” There is a new level of healing yourself, via the process of healing others.

What is interesting about the Reconnection and Reconnective Healing is that it is not just a download; while you are in the process of these sessions you also feel like you are uploading. It increases your awareness, perception, and ability to just feel and know and do more in your life.

VM: What does Green Living mean to you?

DD: It’s funny because I think about Reconnective Healing as the ultimate sustainable version of healthcare. With Reconnective Healing we really have probably the most energy efficient and energy intelligent source of sustainable healthcare resources on the planet. Literally what happens is that the person feels for energetic characteristics and then they connect to this place, in which there is

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To be a consumer in the United States is simple. In fact, it is the wealth and abundance of goods that attracts many immigrants to this country. Who would not want to be able

to live in a spacious home, drive a large vehicle, and frequent mega stores such as Wal-Mart and warehouse stores such as Costco? In fact, there is something addictive and seductive about the way goods and services are sold in the United States. It is not that there is a great necessity, but rather marketing is done so well and with such skill that the buyer “has to have” the items that they are faced with. The once in-demand item of yesterday becomes an item tossed in a garage for an upcoming garage sale or given to a local charity or dropped off at a local collection drop-off site. It is as if the more, the bigger, the better is desirable such that having material goods renders one more in vogue and fashionable.

To be part of the “it” crowd one has to relentlessly give up the former (perhaps only days or weeks old) and upgrade for the now faster, newer, sleeker television, cell phone, computer, or iPod. Such is the case in virtually all of suburban communities in the United States, communities where two to four people reside in a 3,000 to 4,000 square foot home, with several large SUVs parked in the driveway, and have access to a number of stores, shopping centers, etc. Conversely, there is the other side of town, the part of town that most do not want to acknowledge, or ever visit, except for when needing a service or product that can only be sought in the ethnic or migrant community.

Sustainable Development and Social Equity

by Dr. Maryam Davodi Far

I will not argue that through better sustainability practices we will be able to rid the world of poverty. I also confess that it is difficult to ask the “haves” to share with the “have nots.” With that, I would like to look into sustainability in the context of an environmental sustainability and look into the ways to create distributive justice. What are possibly some of the obstacles? Within the sphere of social equity I will take a look at distributive justice through the eyes of a bi-cultural American. My American

acculturation has taught me that consumerism is good and the old adage is “the more, the better.” My Persian heritage and culture has taught me that, in

fact, “less is more” and material goods should not define my identity. For the purpose of this analysis I will be using the following

operational term: Consumerism: the theory that an increasing consumption of

goods is economically desirable; also: a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods (Merriam Webster Dictionary).Sustainable Development

Caldwell [1] writes: The sustainability of human society in the future depends upon the skill and willingness of humans to order

their behavior and institutions toward maintaining ecological integrity in human relationships with Earth. Lemons [2]

Additionally, there are a number of operational definitions used in the field to characterize sustainability. On its own, sustainability does

not mean much; when paired with development, it has a modified meaning given that development means action of some sort. Lemons [2] What’s more, sustainability implies the safeguarding of a steady-state condition, and perhaps of preservation. Yet others have defined sustainability from an economic perspective as the “maintenance of

capital.” Goodland [3]Behavioral Obstacles

According to Ophuls [5], we have not done much during the last 20 years besides symbolically caring by celebrating Earth Day. We have done all of the easiest and least painful things. “Now we must do the hard things; reshape basic attitudes and expectations, alter established lifestyles, and restructure the economy accordingly.” Ophuls [5]

The problem of marrying environmental sustainability with distributive justice is similar to healthcare coverage in the United States. In the United States, approximately 50 million people are without healthcare coverage. Many of the people in this group are children, single mothers, students, and/or those who work part-time, even some who have full-time jobs or work two jobs but still do not have healthcare through an employer. The reasons for such vary and will not be explored here. The point is to use it as an analogy. Unlike the United States, France and Canada have universal healthcare coverage. In spite of marital status, age, and employment status, both countries have chosen to provide healthcare for their general population. As a result of having a regular medical home and access to basic and preventive care, the populations of both nations outlive the people

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h u m a n r i g h t sof the United States. There has been a moral and ethical reason not to mention an economic decision made to provide care in spite of access to wealth. In fact, in a roundabout way, the “haves” assist in the payment of monies to provide healthcare for the “have nots.”

I would like to tie this back into social equity. So consider the model in which healthcare is considered a resource for wealth generation. With the consumption of healthcare limited to the “haves” for short-term benefit at the expense of others, the “have nots” thwarts sustainability. The “have nots” are also a resource, i.e. human capital, which gets consumed, and in the absence of healthcare coverage, renders unintended consequences. Social equity cannot take place if those with access to wealth and capital are not willing to share the profits with those who are less privileged. But this is almost contradictory to the ideals of Americans, where happiness is defined predominantly by the amount of material goods. Most are not willing to share with others. In fact, why they should? It is practically counter to the American way of life.

Perhaps it is not the fault of Americans for thinking in this manner. After all, America is a very young nation with little or no ancient cultural ideals or heritage. Unlike the countries from the ancient world, “America” lacks the wisdom to build for the future and not just for today. If building green is in vogue then it shall be done, but not because it is the right thing to do, not because it is the smart way to build. With all of its wealth, the United States should set an example for other nations of the world. It should be the role model for sustainable development that all others can pursue.

Unlike other nations, the US population is overall well fed, dressed, and housed. To use Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Americans far surpass others when it comes to having basic needs met. That’s why we have the luxury of worrying about the natural world and our global environment. To others, the immediacy of putting dinner on the table does not allow for the big picture of thinking about tomorrow. Day-to-day struggles interfere with the likelihood of seeing the future and working on creating that future now. The “future” for most inhabitants of this planet is the future of tomorrow or perhaps next week, where the questions asked are not will there be enough fuel for my children and grandchildren, but instead the questions asked are: Will I remain employed? Will I be able to purchase medicine for my sick child? Will I be able to care for my aging parents? Americans on the whole have a gift; their gift is that they have peace of mind. They are able to use running water as often or as much as they wish. They are not concerned with having access to a phone or electricity. They do not need to worry about the struggle of “do I send my child to work or to school today.” It is this gift that makes us, Americans, the envy of others. It is this gift (otherwise referred to as the American Dream) that makes the United States such a magnet for foreigners; they, too, want to be able to benefit from some of the bliss that we have in not having to constantly fight for our basic needs.

In 1964 Rachel Carson stated: The modern world worships the gods of speed and quantity, and of the quick and easy profit, and out of this idolatry monstrous

evils have arisen. Yet the evils go long and unrecognized. Even those who create them manage by some devious rationalizing to blind themselves to the harm they done

society. As for the general public, the vast majority rest secure in a childlike faith that someone is looking after things—a faith unbroken until some public-spirited person, with patient scholarship and

steadfast courage presents facts that can no longer be ignored. Leuenberger [6], Lear [7] With that, then, we should take it upon ourselves to

be the stewards of this planet. We have the “know how” and the funds to do so.Conclusion

We have the ability and luxury to focus on sustainable development, not because it is in fashion, but rather because it will

ensure a better life for future generations. But we cannot do this without a shift in our thinking. We must be willing to face the other

side of town and examine how we collectively feel about social equity. Are we willing to make any sacrifices? Are we willing to stop avoiding tough decisions?

Dr. Maryam Davodi Far completed her doctoral work at the University of La Verne with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration. She also has a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UC San Diego. She is trained as a volunteer mediator through the San Diego Mediation Center and has served as a chief executive officer for a community clinic in San Diego. Maryam has a passion for vulnerable populations and is constantly strategizing about better ways to meet the needs of targeted groups. Please visit her Web site, www.activepatients.com, as well as www.swapwithapurpose.com.

References[1] Caldwell, L.K., Between Two Worlds, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992.[2] Lemons, J., Westra, L. & Goodland, R., Ecological Sustainability and Integrity Concepts and Approaches.

Netherlands Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998.[3] Goodland, R., International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA) Newsletter 5 (2) (pages unnumbered)

1993.[4] Leuenberger, D., Sustainable Development in Public Administration: A Match with Practice? Public Works

Management and Policy, Vol.10, pp. 195-201, 2006.[5] Ophuls, W. & Boyan, S., Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited: The Unraveling of the American

Dream, New York, W. H. Freeman and Company, 1992.[6] Leuenberger, D.Z., Introduction-Signs of the Tines: Environmental Sustainability, Citizens, Leadership,

and Social Justice. Public Administration Theory Network. Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 370-374, 2007.[7] Lear, L., Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson. (Boston, Beacon Press) 1998.

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Aries: Hanged Man (Queen of Wands) 3/21 – 4/19You are in the midst of a spiritual initiation. However, like any journey towards enlightenment, you must fi rst surrender your ego. Be willing to sacrifi ce control in order to tap into the reservoir of inner riches. Sometimes it’s easier to trust in yourself than you realize. You might just need to be shaken a little to discover this. The path to success is clearer when your vision is aligned with your heart. A dilemma around the 20th could be the cause of internal confl ict. Trust your intuition instead of the voice of reason; solutions come by way of insight, not strategy. Taurus: Magician (3 of Pentacles) 4/20 – 5/21You are in a very creative spot this month, especially in terms of generating clever ideas or plans for others. Your natural charisma can be useful for recruiting others or delegating tasks to them, and your receptivity to their talents helps you assist them in practical ways. People will be drawn to you for advice and expertise, but watch that your ego doesn’t get infl ated and that you aren’t dispensing casual opinions. You may also feel called to further your education or training in some area; the last half of the month would be an excellent time for study. Gemini: Lovers (7 of Pentacles) 5/22 – 6/21You have an important decision to make, but only after you thoughtfully examine what you’ve already cultivated. What you choose is not as important as why you choose it. Though security may be an enticing path, this time, greater opportunity resides in the path less traveled. As you contemplate the options of a new endeavor, keep in mind you have only just begun and that there’s still a long, productive road ahead. By the 14th, you will get the answers you’ve been waiting for, and you’ll meet an important person.Cancer: Sun (4 of Wands) 6/22 – 7/22 Happiness and success are on the horizon this month. Something you have energetically invested in will begin to show signs of fruition. Some troublesome situations are getting better, and areas of restriction begin to open up. Be sure to use this fortunate time to your benefi t. You’re the star of the show! Let that light inside you glow and your experiences will begin to grow. A mid-month celebration brings you closer to those you love most; reach out and feel the love.Leo: Death (10 of Pentacles) 7/23 – 8/23This month promises to start off with a bang. There is a permanent change involving your family and/or your job; it could be a death, birth, wedding, promotion, or dismissal. Allow yourself to fl ow with this transition because incredible opportunities will emerge. Those who have been seriously considering a major investment should wait until the end of the month to take the plunge. It would be wise to tighten up your fi nances in preparation for the coming months. Whether it’s feast or famine, you’re going to need it.Virgo: Tower (Ace of Cups) 8/24 – 9/22The waters of your emotional state are soon to be swept into a massive hurricane of commotion. This storm could be brought on by feelings of love, hate, depression, fear, or sheer euphoria. The key is not to analyze the conditions, but to assess the areas of your life that are implicated in the storm. Try to move into the eye of this storm in order to see what is true and what is false. The weekend of the 16th will be intense, as something will unexpectedly demand your attention. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Libra: Emperor (6 of Wands) 9/23 – 10/23 Your hard work and determination will be recognized and rewarded by others. This reward may come in the form of a promotion, raise, or wonderful gift. The plan or project you’ve been working on is ready to be revealed and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how positively it is received. This is also an excellent time to show appreciation for all those hard-working people in your life. Work-related issues may throw a wrench into your weekend plans of the 9th. Don’t procrastinate or there could be a large price to pay.Scorpio: Justice (Page of Wands) 10/24 – 11/22Your curiosity may reveal information that you were better off not knowing, and to your dismay, this could drastically challenge a certain situation. You are known for your strong principles and ability to see several angles at once, but you occasionally jump to conclusions as well. Reserve judgment about the situation, or you might accidentally step on your own toes. A love affair will be hot and steamy—and possibly tempestuous and argumentative if you’re not careful! Think before you speak, or you may hurt the very person you love.Sagittarius: Empress (10 of Cups) 11/23 – 12/21 An emotional situation will fi nally move into a more stable and positive place. Feelings that have been pushed aside or denied will likely burst open, asking for a creative outlet. Your imagination is key to unlocking the doors of opportunity! Nurture yourself both physically and emotionally this month. Take a moment to enjoy the beauty of nature and the effect it has on you. Around the 12th, you’re likely to receive very positive news about someone close to you. For those embroiled in heated family matters, let go of animosity and forgive the issue.Capricorn: Strength (Queen of Cups) 12/22 – 1/20 You may feel a little uneasy this month as emotions you thought were under control begin to roar for attention. Rather than rejecting this vulnerable side of yourself, allow it free expression. There are valuable lessons in love and personal success when you acknowledge your feelings. Someone may play the catalyst for igniting these impassioned feelings. Be open to what happens, even if it’s a little uncomfortable. The weekend of the 23rd will likely trigger old emotional wounds. If you disregard them, they may end up consuming you in ways beyond your control. Aquarius: Star (3 of Swords) 1/21 – 2/18Your faith will be tested in a rather convoluted way as something or someone you least expect will betray you. On the surface, there is sorrow and frustration, but if you look deeper, you’ll fi nd a glimmer of hope. Your desire for a more meaningful life requires you to sacrifi ce areas of established security. Now, whether you’re ready or not, those sacrifi ces are being made for you. The beginning of the month ushers in the fi rst of three tests. Don’t spend too much time grieving what is lost; pick up the pieces and move forward. Pisces: Chariot (Knight of Pentacles) 2/19 – 3/20Power struggles become an issue for you now, and though it appears outwardly directed, there are inward qualities that require adjustment. A stubborn force may be to blame for standing in the way of action—that stubborn force is you! Enough stewing over who did what; fi nd the courage to confront your fears. At the end of the month you will be challenged in a way that asks you step into the role of the hero. This is no time to delay—use your resources wisely, and be kind to your body!

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c u l t u r e

Arguably, there’s nothing more fash-ionable than going

green these days. I can still remember developing my own environmental ethic at the turn of the millennium and wondering why “being green” was always chastised for being too hippy, too diffi-cult, and too expensive. Well, it can still be expensive, and

it’s still not as easy as it should be, but the accessibility for attaining “green” or consciousness is much easier today than it was 10 years ago. Eco-grooviness isn’t quite as affordable as it should be, but there’s still a myriad of ways to embrace green living in 2011.

Food: While this may be a no brainer to some, many still don’t see food as the center of sustainability that it is. Food binds all life and all creations and should be one of your top priorities for supporting a green lifestyle. It can also be one of the most expensive ways to live green, but when you buy good wholesome food, you support so many other green things beyond the sheer reality of providing yourself with good food. Of course buying wild seafood, free-range meat, and organic produce is the way to go, but remembering to support local food sources is just as important. All the added fossil fuel impacts that come along with getting food to our plates are sometimes the most extravagant personal environmental impacts we make. Do your best to support the most local farmers you can, whether at a farmers market, through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), or at food stores that support sustainable producers of food. Not only is this food better for you without all the unnecessary GMO’s, herbicides, pesticides, hormones, nitrates, and toxins that come with conventional food production, but the way in which the grains, vegetables and fruits, and animals were raised and harvested are also more in tune with natural systems, which is an overall benefit to the environment. Do you really want to make a green impact? Try eating vegetarian or vegan for the next week. Then try a month or even just make one day a week your “vegan/veggie” day. Meat production, especially industrialized sources, is one of the most impactful practices on the planet. Every time you choose to not support such things you lessen your personal footprint, and might turn on a friend into doing the same things as well. Oh yeah, start composting, too! It’s amazing the amount of organic waste that finds its way into the waste stream unnecessarily. Do some research and do your part to promote this easy and effective way to promote green living.

Clothing: Beyond the fact the fair trade clothing and products like organic cotton support the mantra of green living, think about getting more use of your clothes rather just tossing them aside and consuming new ones that are “in style.” Thrift stores and second hand clothing stores are not only a cheaper way to get new clothes, but that new shirt you just bought may have already been used for several years before it became of use to you. A great deal of human power and natural resources go into the production of all the clothes we wear, so next time

The Many Ways to Live Green

byBrennan Lagasse

you’re thinking about accentuating your current wardrobe, think about alterations you might be able to make to a favorite pair of jeans that could be your new favorite pair of summer shorts, or that your jeans could be donated to Goodwill for another pair that once belonged to someone else, but now is even more fabulous as your new go-to pair of pants.

Shelter: There are countless ways to spruce up the roof over your head and make it a more green dwelling space. While green building has taken the United States by storm, buying a “green home” can still be very difficult in terms of cost, bu-reaucracy with local planning jurisdictions, and the fact that building a new home in and of itself creates a new footprint of impact where one ceased to exist prior to your new development. I’m all for the use of insulated concrete forms to replace conventional concrete blocks or the construction of straw-bale homes to replace old, outdated conventional types, but remember that working with what you al-ready have can be the most environmentally conscious thing you can do. Use more appropriate cleaning products in your home like lemon peels to wash your dishes instead of soap, or at least use biodegradable soap if you can. Switch out inefficient electrical products for energy saving technology and throw down a few extra bucks on energy efficient light bulbs. Lobby your local energy provider to support clean renewable sources of energy like wind power, especially if you can’t afford to make the switch to something like solar. Just insulating your windows with thermal curtains in the winter can save you hundreds of dollars on heating expenses over the course of a winter and reduce your impact of energy use, so why not?

Transportation: Depending on where you live and how you commute in your day-to-day routine, this can be a tough one. However, whenever possible utilize mass-transit systems in your local community. Take the bus. Carpool. Ride your bike. Walk. If you’re looking to buy a new vehicle, try and make a decision based on something that reduces our consumption and reliance on fossil fuel. Better yet, make necessary improvements to whatever form of transportation you do own so as to keep your vehicle out of a landfill, eliminate the need to purchase another product that, regardless of its green intent, took many resources to produce, and make your “uncool” old beater car work for you for a few more years. Flying on airplanes is a necessary evil for many of us, but at the same time, your carbon footprint skyrockets with each trip you take on an airplane. You can make up for your carbon impacts with the purchase of carbon offsets, but it’s still better to reduce how much you consume and lobby for more appropriate generation and uses of energy as well as modes and choices for transportation whenever possible.

Support: Your power as a consumer is larger than you think. The more you support good companies doing good things, the more momentum is created for the paradigm shift that’s necessary to make green living everyday living. So when you’re


h e a l i n g a r t s

C e l e b r a t e E a r t h D a y !EarthFair 2011

Sunday, April 18 • 10 am–5 pm • Balboa Park, San Diego

Earth Day – 41st AnniversaryEarthFair – 21st Anniversary

Do Your Part!The world’s largest FREE environmental fair

and Earth Day Celebration

More than 350 exhibitors withEarth-friendly causes, products & serviceseHome – Living sustainably • Solar Energy

Children’s Earth Parade at 10:30 Children’s Activity AreaEnergy-effi cient Vehicles

Food & Entertainment

VOLUNTEEREarthFair is produced by 400+ volunteers…

We need YOU! To volunteer, or for more info:www.EarthDayWeb.org


The California state park system has been in place for over 100

years and is an important part of California’s heritage. It con-tains some of the state’s most important assets—environ-mental and cultural. The state parks include everything from redwood parks and beaches to missions and Native American historical sites.

State parks are also an important opportunity for learning, for adults as well as children. “There are opportunities for people not only to go recreate in these places, to go hike or to swim…but also to get a chance to encounter and understand the ecology of the state of California,” says Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation. With 50 percent of California’s ecosystems in the state parks, there is plenty for visitors to explore—coastal ecosystems, redwoods, flora and fauna, and unique findings that people would, perhaps, otherwise be unable to experience.

Unfortunately, in the past few decades, the California Department of Parks and Recreation has been suffering from under-funding, which has been impacting the well-being and future of state parks. And in the last few years, due to California’s current economic situation, this problem has worsened and has made a significant dent in California’s state parks’ budget. “Legislature is voting on a budget that

The Future of California State Parks

by Shannon Nies

would cut $11 million out of the budget [for the] next fiscal year and another 11 [million dollars] after that,” says Goldstein, “so that by July 2012, the department would have lowered its general fund obligation by $22 million.”

This massive budget cut will affect all of California’s 278 parks—a total of 1.5 million acres of land—and if nothing changes, a significant number of these parks will be closed. Included in this acreage is one-third of the California coast. Also protected by the park system is part of the public access to Lake Tahoe. If the

budget cuts impact parks such as these, the public may lose access to some of California’s most beautiful and unique places.

A lower budget isn’t the only thing, however, that currently threatens state parks. Climate change, especially global warming, is also harming the parks. Global climate change could potentially impact the ecosystems of particular species of animals and plants and even shorten their lifespans.

One plant that is already being affected by climate change is the oak tree. These trees have begun to move because of temperature changes and lack of rain. If the oak trees move out of the state park borders, they will encounter edges of cities and suburbs and therefore will have no place to survive.

Although the state parks’ Natural Resources Department has been working with scientists to determine the best way to protect species threatened by climate change, the challenge is finding the resources to continue to do so. Another challenge is to be conscious of how already available resources are to be allocated so that we can protect parks, not just in the present, but for the future. “[We] need to be focused on [the] long-term,” says Goldstein. “What do we need to preserve? What do we need to protect? How do we make sure that we can reinvigorate public access later in places that are open and available as citizens?”

The California State Parks Foundation is already—and has been—fighting to save the future of the parks. The foundation, along with Save the Redwoods League, recently drafted a report called A Vision for Excellence for California’s State Parks. The report describes the foundation’s “vision elements” as well as their plan of action for preserving the state parks.

One of the foundation’s intentions, as outlined in the report, is to provide more

Photo by Steve Albano



individuals—current parks visitors as well as non-visitors—with more information about the parks and how to contribute to their preservation. Goldstein describes several ways that they are creating more awareness and access to the public. One of these ways is through technology. “We actually have just launched a new iPhone application,” she says, “which allows people to access a ton of information about state parks through that application.” The foundation also reaches out to social networks such as churches and community groups, hoping to share the value of the parks with all Californians.

The California State Parks Foundation also continues to challenge the under-funding for state parks by being active in legislature. “We have been active in legislature this session, trying to attempt to reduce the amount of cost to the department [of Parks and Recreation],” says Goldstein. No matter the budget, the foundation tries to support each of the parks as much as possible.

How can we, as individuals, help preserve the park system? The most important thing that the public can do to help is to visit the parks. Not only would visiting these parks be fulfi lling, but we also need to go a step further and share our interest and feelings for the parks with others—we need to speak up! “It’s not enough to be a passive park user anymore,” says Goldstein. “We need to express our feelings about these state parks, why they’re important to us, what role they place in our communities…and [tell it] to our elected and appointed offi cials.”

Another way to help the state parks is through volunteer work. If you can’t volunteer consistently on a particular project, there is a one-day project on Earth Day each year that takes place at many of the parks throughout California (see

www.calparks.org/programs/earth-day/). For those who are exceptionally passionate about helping out, there is also a program called Park Champions. The goal of this program is to have “master volunteers” to lead projects and be responsible for other volunteers. Park Champions is just at its inception phase, but it is an incredible opportunity that will help the public get involved while allowing the California Department of Parks and Recreation to continue to be responsible for deciding which projects could be done.

With the help of the California State Parks Foundation as well as dedicated volunteers, the goal of nature lovers lucky enough to have experienced California’s magnifi cent natural wonders is for the state parks to remain open and accessible to Californians and visitors from all over the world.

The state parks form an important part of our history—past, present, and future—and we should celebrate and protect this unique environment and heritage we have been given.

For more information on the California State Parks Foundation and to view the Parks Excellence report, please visit www.calparks.org. To learn more about the state parks, go to www.parks.ca.gov.

Shannon Nies graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Literature/Writing. She currently lives in Simi Valley, CA and is the Copy Editor and a contributing writer for Vision Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].

Photo by Lori Gambill




Warning: Your Baby Contains Toxic Chemicals!by Beth Greer

Hundreds of toxic chemicals, including PCBs, DDT, endocrine disrupters, and dioxins—to name just a few—

are showing up in mothers’ and their newborn babies’ bodies. These chemicals, found in everyday household products, can get absorbed during a typical morning routine.

Consider this scenario: The pregnant mom awakens after a night of breathing toxic fumes from a mattress containing chemicals like fl ame retardants and melamine. She showers with synthetically scented soap, shampoo, and conditioner, and uses popular brands of body lotion, moisturizer, sunscreen, cosmetics and perfume that contain hundreds of chemicals which have been linked to cancer, hormone imbalances, and other illnesses. These chemicals may be seriously compromising her health, as well as her unborn baby’s.

Want a Non-Toxic Baby? Create a Healthy NurseryChemicals can also migrate into a baby through the nursery. New parents, with

good intentions, buy new baby furniture, install new synthetic carpeting, and paint or wallpaper the room—all the while creating a toxic environment from airborne chemicals released from these products. Plus, there are toxic chemicals in the poorly-labeled bottles of kitchen and bathroom cleansers, and in bug sprays and air fresheners used throughout the home.

In addition, common infant body care products can be problematic. A Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute study reported that babies recently treated

with baby lotion, shampoo, and powder were more likely to have phthalates in their urine than other babies. Phthalate exposure in early childhood has been associated with altered hormones as well as increased allergies, runny nose, and eczema.

Be aware that the FDA does not review personal care ingredients for their safety before they come to market. Manufacturers are free to add almost anything they want into their products, so it’s important to buy safe, preferably organic, products from trusted companies. The good news is that it’s easy to create a safe and natural baby nursery.

Top 10 Ways to Make your Baby Nursery a Safe, Healthy Haven

Choose a crib mattress made from untreated, nontoxic, natural materials like latex foam rubber, wool, and cotton. Use a wool and cotton mattress topper.

Buy a solid wood crib or cradle/Moses basket instead of one made from fi berboard or particleboard (which contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen).

Use low or no VOC (volatile organic compound) paint for the walls, or paper-based wallpaper instead of vinyl. Traditional wallpaper paste is better than self-stick, which contains high levels of VOCs.

Install wool carpet instead of synthetic. Wool is naturally fl ame retardant and hypoallergenic.

Stay away from synthetic fragrances in things like dryer sheets, air fresheners and body care products. These contain phthalates—chemicals that interfere with hormones. Use 100 percent essential oils instead.

Pick all-natural, non-toxic cleaning products or try white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. Kill odors with baking soda, lemon juice (or lemon essential oil); and water in a spray bottle. Avoid bleach, ammonia, and other harsh chemicals to clean clothes, furniture, and carpets.

Stay away from plastic bottles and food storage containers. They contain chemicals that leak into food and water. Use glass or metal instead.

Choose wooden toys with nontoxic paints and fi nishes and all-natural fi bers like cotton, hemp, and wool.

Don’t put electric clocks or cell phones next to the baby’s crib or use electric heating pads or electric blankets in the crib—these have electromagnetic fi elds (EMFs) that can negatively impact behavior and health.

Make your home shoeless Remove your shoes, especially before entering bedrooms, so you don’t track in pesticides and other toxic chemicals from the outside.

The 2010 President’s Cancer Panel study says there’s a link between environmental toxins and disease. For information on ways to change the government regulatory practice to the Precautionary Principle, go to http://www.ceh.org, The Center for Environmental Health’s (CEH) web site. To learn more about the Safe Chemical Act in Congress, check out http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/about-environmental-working-group. For more information on ways to protect children from toxic chemicals, visit http://healthychild.org. For resources on where to buy safe, natural baby products, check out http://supernaturalmom.com/resources.

All attending these three events consent to having their names, voices, images, and likenesses recorded and used for commercial purposes.

22 April 2011: Darshan: 7:30 p.m.Skirball Cultural Center2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

14 May 2011: One-Day Retreat 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Cost: $250.00 (includes vegan lunch)Norman P. Murray Senior Center24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA

3 June 2011: Darshan: 7:30 p.m.Seaside Center for Spiritual Living 1613 Lake Drive, Encinitas, CA

*All events are by donation, except the One-Day Retreat *

For more information or to register for the retreat, please contact Samantha:

phone: (888) 288-3735 e-mail: [email protected]

To register online, go to: www.LouixOC.org

Photo of Louix: Michael Helms




Protecting the World’s Reefsby Stacy Cohen

Our world is constantly changing. The things we do every day affect our world in ways we don’t even think about. Take, for example, the fi sh you eat. Many of these fi sh are being overfi shed, which can take food away from the predators in the sea and greatly impacts the ecosystem from which they

come. But overfi shing isn’t the only problem—tourists are as well. Coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef in

Australia bring in thousands of tourists a year who explore these wonderful marine habitats. But their presence may be killing the very reefs they are admiring. Touching a reef will kill it, which means less food and protection for the animals that depend on the reefs for survival. Another threat is careless or uniformed boaters dropping anchors. These reefs are not only tourist attractions and habitats, but they are also important coastal barriers.

Global warming also makes a devastating impact. The warmer waters may lead to coral bleaching, which ultimately kills the coral. While coral is resilient and can make a comeback, depending on the severity of the bleaching and the other stressors

in its environment, it can take years or even decades to start to recover. If global warming continues at the rate it currently holds, then by mid-century we can expect nearly 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs to be critically threatened.

In addition to overfi shing, irresponsible fi shing is highly damaging. Some fi shermen will squirt cyanide poison onto the coral, which stuns the fi sh that are hiding. And then, with crow bars, the fi shermen rip apart the coral to catch the fi sh. Another irresponsible fi shing method—blast fi shing—is not only dangerous to the coral, but also to any people or animals that may be in close proximity. Fishermen will drop explosives into the water; when they explode, they stun the fi sh nearby, and the fi sh fl oat to the top of the water. If an explosion drops near a reef, the effects are catastrophic.

Coral mining, especially in many of the tropical countries, also contributes to the degradation of the world’s coral reefs. Many tourists want to buy pieces of coral as souvenirs. These pieces have been broken off from the reefs of the sea, not farmed. Tourists buying dead coral is not the only threat. Some buy live coral, which is mined and then added to salt water tanks for decoration. Coral is also used as road fi ll, in bricks, and as building material.

Our world’s reefs also face natural threats. Predators such as the parrot fi sh and the crown-of-thorns starfi sh both consider coral a tasty snack. They feed upon the polyps and leave the skeleton bare. This leaves the surrounding area particularly vulnerable to algae infestations. Disease is also a threat to reefs. The black band disease, for instance, will kill off all the polyps, leaving a dead skeleton in its wake.

Coral reefs provide protection to communities close to the shoreline from storms and moderate tidal waves. (Nearly 275 million people live nearby—within 18 miles of—the reefs of the world.) These reefs are being damaged because of pollutants from factories and farms near shorelines. This reduces their effectiveness in warding off dangerous storms.

Our reefs also bring in a signifi cant amount of money for the countries nearby. For example, it is estimated that 10-15 percent of the GDP for Belize is brought in by tourists who come to enjoy the reefs. But many of the countries who benefi t from the reefs damage their reefs without realizing it. Eventually, when their reefs die, this will have a huge impact on the country and may even impoverish the nation.

Although coral reefs only make up about one percent of the ocean fl oor, they provide a habitat for over 25 percent of the world’s fi sh. Many of these fi sh are captured for consumption or for fi sh collectors and their aquariums. There are, however, safe ways to capture these fi sh with minimal or no damage to the reefs.


f e a t u r ef e a t u r e

Greening Our Lives at theby Shannon Nies

Since April of 2008, the Go Green Expo has provided people with resources to be more environmentally friendly in their day-to-day lives. This April, the Expo will be held in Los Angeles, at the Los Angeles Convention

Center. It will feature exhibitors displaying eco-friendly products and services as well as demonstrations and seminars.

Vision Magazine spoke with three extraordinary women who will be speaking at the Expo: Dr. Anne Marie Fine; Elaine Wilkes; and Mariel Hemingway. Each of these women gave their unique and inspiring perspectives on living a greener life and making positive changes in our external as well as our internal environments.

Vision Magazine: Why did you decide to speak at the Go Green Expo?

Dr. Anne Marie Fine: I wanted to speak at the Go Green Expo because when we talk about green living, we talk a lot about saving the earth, protecting the earth, or doing things that leave a smaller footprint, things that are sustainable. And I think that those are all incredibly important, but as a physician, I really think that if we want to be sustainable as a species, we have to clean up the human body and begin with the environmental contaminants inside of us.

VM: What do you plan to speak about at the Expo?

AF: What I want to talk about is the inner-connectedness between the people and the animals

and the earth [and] how our environment impacts us on a basic organism level. Because of my interest in environmental medicine, I want to talk about how environmental toxins and the resulting individual toxic burden relate to the kinds of chronic illnesses that we have and how [that] impacts our ability to create energy, vitality and wellness in our lives.

VM: What is environmental medicine?AF: Environmental medicine is a specialty of medicine dealing with the effects

of the environment and how they might relate to that person’s disease or chronic illness status. The environment would include anything that impacts our health, from the air that we breathe, to the water we drink, the food we consume, the homes we live in, the personal care products that we slather our bodies with, and the environments in which we make our living. A good example is mercury. We accumulate it in our bodies by breathing air from coal-fi red power plants, eating top predator fi sh like tuna, from amalgam tooth fi lings, and unfortunately from many

vaccines. It is also worthwhile to note that traditional medicine and the epidemiological

world looks at toxins in isolation. Environmental medicine as practiced by naturopathic physicians recognizes that in the real world nothing is in isolation and that the human body faces numerous combinations of toxins on a daily basis and they accumulate in combinations that have never been tested.

VM: How does integrative medicine deal with these toxins?AF: What integrative medicine does is look at the body as more of a system,

which means you’re looking at a body holistically. You’re looking at how the cells, tissues, and the organs communicate, how they work together, what the feedback loops are. You’re able to assess someone completely instead of just looking at one diseased organ all by itself.

There are now laboratory tests you can do to assess someone’s levels of various toxins including heavy metals. And what they’re saying, even from tests done on infants’ cord blood is that 100 percent of the toxins they tested for in one study on infant cord blood they found in 100 percent of the babies, and they’re fi nding them in pregnant women and in breast milk.

A lot of times a conventional doctor will get a patient who has a problem that is a result of the accumulation of environmental toxins. Because these types of problems are hard to discern, these patients frequently wind up seeing an integrative physician. They’re going to ask, “Is this person carrying an environmental load that’s too much for them to handle and is that the cause of their [physical] problems?” Because we’re individuals, we’re genetically unique and we have an individual ability to handle or to not handle a toxic load. So one person may be able to handle toxins very well and not have any problems, and then another person may not have a very good functional detoxifi cation capability in their body. If one has poor detoxifi cation capability, toxins will accumulate and start causing problems for that person. As more and more toxins build up in the entire population, there will come a tipping point when even those with strong abilities to detoxify will develop symptoms leading to disease.

VM: Please talk about your skin care company, Fine Natural Products, LLC.AF: As a naturopathic physician, I started looking at the whole problem of

toxins in personal care ingredients and how to address that in my patients. I used to talk to them and tell them to choose products which are clean and pure, and then they started telling me, I can’t fi nd any products like that. And what was available that I could see was not at the level that I wanted to see; it didn’t meet my exacting standards for purity or effi cacy, and so that’s how I decided to start my own line.

I feel that environmental toxins are terribly damaging. We are fi nding that women who live in more polluted environments have differences in their skin

Dr. Anne Marie Fine



f e a t u r eand that their skin ages prematurely. My [skin care] line has been formulated to address these skin stressors resulting from exposure to a broad range of environmental toxins, nutrient defi ciencies, and UV exposure from the sun.

Finally, it is important to know that we should not put anything on the skin that we would not be willing to eat [since the skin is the largest organ and able to absorb substances placed on it]. In fact, my products are edible. When I was testing the organic seed oils that I was considering using for my Youth Serum, I used them as salad dressings.

VM: What do you hope your listeners will take away from your presentation and from the Expo?

AF: What I hope they take away from the Expo and me as a whole is when we think about the concept of going green, leaving a light footprint on the earth, and living in a more sustainable way, let’s not forget to apply those same principles to ourselves and make sure that we’re going green on a personal level, as well as in terms of what we’re eating [and] drinking, and what personal care products we are putting on our skin.

Vision Magazine: Why did you decide to speak at the Go Green Expo?

Elaine Wilkes: I think people really need to understand how we need to treat nature [and] what we can do to help save the planet. I think it’s vital that people go to this [expo]. Not only are there great products where you can learn to green your home, to green even your wardrobe, there’s [also] great speakers. All of these people have culminated so much knowledge. There is so much education, knowledge, and it’s also really fun.

VM: What do you plan on sharing during your presentation?EW: I think what I want to do is do things [differently] that people don’t think about, and how we can look at nature in an

entirely different way and look at what we’re doing to our food that people don’t realize. I sense that creativity is more important than knowledge, so I try to bring in a lot of creativity into my presentations and stories so people feel inspired.

VM: What do you hope your listeners will take away from your presentation, and the expo as a whole?EW: I interviewed one ethnobotanist and he said when he was 12 his teacher said, “Nature’s alive.” Nature is a living, breathing entity. Nature has over 4 billion

years [of] experience, and so we can learn so much from that. Zen masters, if someone gives them a problem, basically go into nature and see what nature would do. For example, water will carve through rock. If you look at the focus of a tiger, [notice] how they don’t multi-task—they’re focused. There’s just so much we can learn from nature which can bring wonder. The more you understand about nature, the more you feel harmony; you’re living in harmony with yourself and the planet. I talk about the Schumann waves of the earth, how just sitting on the ground will actually ground you. There are waves that will actually attune you to nature’s rhythm versus your own rhythm [and] will calm you down.

VM: What does green living mean to you and how do you live green?EW: I have to say my book [“Nature’s Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight”] was a turning point for me, because the way I live green is because I fell in love with

nature. And I wasn’t a nature lover before. Now I have a greater understanding and a greater love. It’s like when a mother loves her child—she’ll do more for the child because she loves the child. And so [I’m] the same way; I’ll try to see how I can go the extra mile because I want to help out.

I think by just doing your part, even the littlest things [can help]. [For example, when] recycling bottles, people are good at home. But when they’re out, they’ll just throw out the bottles. So it’s just little things—just bring the bottle home with you and throw it in the recycled trash there. If everybody did these things it would make a huge difference.

I know organic is more expensive, but if tomorrow everyone bought organic, the price would go way down. What you buy offers a big message to companies that, ‘Okay, people want this, so let’s make more of this.’ So I try to buy as many eco things as possible.

Also, I write in my book about personal care products as pollutants. What I read about personal care products [is] that all the shampoos with the chemicals and all the drugs are all going into the [water ways]. When, let’s say you’re at chemotherapy, you don’t absorb all the chemotherapy, a lot will go in your urine, and the urine goes into the streams. And sometimes people clean their homes with products that are so harsh. It’s way too much. And they’ve proven that with Ed Begley’s products. UCLA did a test on all cleaning products, and they ended up using his because they said his cleaned just as well as the toxic ones.

Nature can give you so much if you really understand it. It’s really astonishing, all the wonderful things about nature. So just being in it brings so much peace and joy.

Vision Magazine: What do you plan on sharing during your presentation at the Go Green Expo?Mariel Hemingway: Bobby [my partner] and I are speaking on nature’s principles, what it means to connect with nature and how

nature’s our best guide. And the more that you connect with your food is a way to connect with nature. The more you get outside is a way to connect with nature. And the more that you connect with nature the more you connect with yourself. So it’s really about asking the question, what would nature do and how. If we open [ourselves] to the simplicity of nature and the magnanimity of nature as well, there’s a great lesson, a great teacher inside of that, and then the teacher within you sort of blossoms out of that knowing.

Elaine Wilkes, PhD

Mariel Hemingway


f e a t u r e

This winter’s been cold. I’ve been living in my tent off and on

for four months on the side of the fourplex house that I used to rent at. I don’t end up staying in there every night, however, but that little tent, like my trustworthy comrade, is always there when I need it. It’s my refuge.

This is no new concept searching out shelter. How many peoples’ lives have been extended by fi nding a warm cave, tiny shack, or abandoned building to sleep in? Since the beginning of time we’ve instinctively known how to take care of ourselves. We are naturally nomadic.

Last month, one of the tenants (a former friend of mine), expressed his desire for me to leave my little tent area. Up until four months ago I was a paying tenant; I lived upstairs. I left because my roommate moved out and needed to get his deposit back, which meant that the house would have to be vacated (for the management company to do the walk-through and the move-out assessment). Then the deposit could be returned.

My plan was to move right back in after they painted and cleaned up, so for convenience, I stashed two boxes and two tables downstairs on the side of the house, in an earthly-and-private section opposite the unenclosed backyard garden (which opens out into an alley). Shaded by trees, this indiscrete, unkempt side-corner is often used as a storage space by the tenants for random pieces of old furniture and the likes.

As the apartment was cleaned and painted, I waited excitedly. Then I found out the manager rented my apartment to someone she knew personally, instead of back to me. Upset, I cursed her out as I drove away from the rental company with the news. But really the situation was no one’s “fault.” The new tenant was moving in that day, though, and I hadn’t even looked for another place.

But in reality I wasn’t really that worried. You know that kindness you’ve shown to strangers, saints, vagabonds, and to random-people-in-need along the course of your life because you know it’s right? Well I feel really close to that aspect of reciprocity. I knew the universe had my back on this one.

I’m lucky to have a job so I wasn’t totally screwed. I just started staying in different locations. Being employed, I’m able to get a hotel room once in a while or I can sometimes stay with friends and family. But I won’t let myself have nowhere to sleep on any random night. I live in a beach city where it’s often cold and windy, and I’m female. I don’t know what you would do in that situation, but I get my ass off the street. So to be safe, on that same property, I pitched my small, two-person tent by my stuff—right there next to the chicken and his coop. It was rebellious to do so.

I found out from another woman at the rental company that my application wasn’t even looked at. I felt like, “Okay then, rental-company-that-didn’t-even-consider-my-application, thanks a lot! Well I’m going to just post-up right here, on ‘your property,’ in this discreet little section. P.S., I’ll maintain it clean—way cleaner.”

Yeah, so up went my tent. I felt justice. And in reality, it was better for me because I really needed to save some money anyway. I squatted that tiny piece of land, went to work, and continued to take life day-to-day.

Squatters are artists living in abandoned warehouses, families (or runaways)

to rent at. I don’t end up staying in there every night, however, but

More Tolerance Pleaseby Daphne Carpenter

living in neglected, boarded-up buildings, favela residents in Brazil, couples secretly breaking back into their homes that have been foreclosed on,

and are now just sitting there. Squatters are also homeless people. Homes Not Jails, an advocacy group for squatting and for the rights of homeless people, takes “direct action” and engages in “civil disobedience” by publicly occupying vacant buildings and helping homeless people move in. According to the group’s mission statement, “Property rights still reign over human rights and people still die on sidewalks in front of vacant buildings.” The human rights group promotes the use of vacant buildings because they know that “to escape from the discouraging spiral of poverty, people need a respite to get back on their feet.”

Squatting is often stigmatized because of some bad seeds. For the sake of this article I’m not going to elaborate on what destructive, unconscious squatters often do to a property (go in, trash the place, have harsh parties, piss and shit everywhere, and then leave after they’ve made such a mess that not even they can stay there). These kinds of occupants are destructive and probably aren’t thinking longer-term. The squatting movement then gets a bad rap for this.

You see all these empty buildings around here? Vacant property ends up just sitting there unused, often for quite some time. Meanwhile, some people go without places to live, or even shelter. Who has more rights, a human or an abandoned building? Why

protect the building instead? For people who believe housing is an inalienable human

right, squatting is as much about protest as it is about fi nding shelter (http://travel.howstuffworks.com/how-to-build-a-shelter.htm). And on principal, squatting challenges the capitalistic approach to renting an apartment or buying a home. Just because someone doesn’t want to have to pay rent or a mortgage forever, does that make him or her a “bum” or a social reject? Of course it doesn’t.

I’ve been a squatter for all of my adult life—starting out of necessity in Germany. In the mid-90s, while traveling through Europe after high school, my “backpacking” money ran out at one point and the people who put me up were squatter punks. I lived on what would have been the east-side of Berlin, if not for the Berlin Wall coming down a few years earlier. There were tons of squat houses in the area, and as long as the tenants weren’t too unruly, the police remained virtually uninvolved. I was young and impressionable then, and the principles I learned from the punks were:

Equality—I deserve shelter from the elements, just like you, whether I have money or not, and I’m willing to fi ght for this right.

Just because somebody doesn’t like me personally, or doesn’t like “my kind,” I have a right to live in my own safe place.

Finding shelter is more of a concern for me than a potential trespassing violation.

Stay out of other people’s business when it comes to living, especially when there’s no harm being done to you.

In the favelas in Brazil I noticed that this same courtesy is shown to neighbors as a general rule (for the most part). More than half the people I met there had squatted a piece of land and built their homes on it. They managed to somehow get all those heavy bags of cement, tools, and bricks way the hell up into the hills and then build their homes, just like back in the day when the former slaves

and are now just sitting there. Squatters are also homeless people. and are now just sitting there. Squatters are also homeless people. Homes Not Jails, an advocacy group for squatting and for the rights of homeless people, takes “direct action” and engages in “civil disobedience” by publicly occupying vacant buildings and helping homeless people move in. According to the group’s mission statement, “Property rights still reign over human rights and people still die on sidewalks in front of vacant buildings.” The human rights group promotes the use of vacant buildings because they know that “to escape from the discouraging spiral of poverty, people need a respite to get back on their feet.”

sake of this article I’m not going to elaborate on what destructive, unconscious squatters often do to a property (go in, trash the place, have harsh parties, piss and shit everywhere, and then leave after they’ve made such a mess that not even they can stay there). These kinds of occupants are destructive and probably aren’t thinking longer-term. The squatting movement then gets a bad rap for this.

ends up just sitting there unused, often for quite some time. Meanwhile, some people go without places to live, or even shelter. Who has more rights, a human or an abandoned building? Why

Squatting:The act of

occupying an abandoned or unoccu-

pied space or building that

the squat-ter does not own, rent or

otherwise have permis-sion to use.

off the street. So to be safe, on that same property, I pitched my small, two-person

protect the building instead?

right, squatting is as much about protest as it is about fi nding shelter (http://travel.howstuffworks.com/how-to-build-a-shelter.htm). And on principal, squatting challenges the capitalistic approach to renting an apartment or buying a home. Just because someone doesn’t want to have to pay rent or a mortgage forever, does that make him or her a “bum” or a social reject? Of course it doesn’t.

of necessity in Germany. In the mid-90s, while traveling through Europe after high school, my “backpacking” money ran out at one point and the people who put me up were squatter punks. I lived on what would have been the east-side of Berlin, if not for the Berlin Wall coming down a few years earlier. There were tons of squat houses in the area, and as long as the tenants weren’t too unruly, the police remained virtually uninvolved. I was young and impressionable then, and the principles I learned from the punks were:

you, whether I have money or not, and I’m willing to fi ght for this right.


f e a t u r e

escaped and made their way up into the hills; they would fi nd an agreeable piece of earth and then just start building shelter. No one was paying anyone rent, and no one owned the land—really, how could somebody “own land?”

But in modern, capitalistic societies, so much of the earth is cemented-over and is “owned.” And “property owners” often lock up, neglect, and then ignore their empty buildings. We’ve all seen those derelict structures; they were once someone’s home or business, a farmhouse, a warehouse. And now the space has been cleared out, bolted shut, and is sitting in darkness.

Meanwhile, as this vacancy persists, a homeless man, woman, or family might be sleeping outside of the building. This is unjust and goes against basic human rights. By chance, if these destitute people somehow manage to work their way inside, the police might be called by some nosey neighbor. The squatters might be forced back out into the elements by the police, who defend their actions (and the building) by referencing an abstract combination of numbers and letters (602 PC)—the California “trespassing code.”

Let’s go on a little mission right now. We’re going to squat an empty, unused property, and we’re going to do it in a manner that we (us particular squatters) fi nd to be respectful. Some of you more conservative folks might fi nd this journey shocking, offensive, or even “immoral,” as Tara-Nichole Nelson, a former Bay area broker agent, referred to it in an article for www.msnbc.com. But just come along anyway for the ride.

Location: just outside Central Amsterdam, late 1998. A few of us (us, hypothetically) have been noticing that the bureaucrat building that was vacated eight months before is still empty. There’s nothing’s being done to utilize the space, nor are there any signs of movement or construction.

The squatters standing at the gates are people of trade and skill. They can break a door down, hook up electricity and plumbing, cook for large numbers of people, paint, make music, intellectualize, and make resourceful use of empty space. They share in the opinion that there are creative ways in which someone can live with little money. Often they’re street smart, in touch with their survival instinct, and less dependent on currency.

Clandestinely, the squatters eyeball-out empty spaces with the expectation of bringing life to these shadowy realms—by creating art galleries, cultural centers, community gardens, and living spaces with things like bedrooms, bathrooms, showers etc.

And what about the bank that “owns” the space? Well too bad, they say defi antly. Right? Like the banks can do to us? Like the foreclosure that took-up little grandma’s house of 40 years? Just like that, “too bad!”

We’re taking the power back by occupying and resisting. It’s a real renegade way of looking at and doing things, and the banks don’t like it.

Before the squatters moved into this particular space in Amsterdam, the building was the Belgian Embassy. It was a monolith of a structure that stood six stories high in the middle of an urban neighborhood, with mostly immigrant families.

After the space was opened up, many people went to live there (about 150 people, including children and babies, from twenty-something different countries) and over the next two years the community blossomed. There was a donation-based dinner served nightly (everybody ate, money or not). If you needed clothes, you could get some from the clothes-trade-section on the second fl oor. If you were feeling intellectual, you could go to the library and feed the brain. For two years the Eternal Light Family (ELF) Haus thrived and was also at the epicenter of Amsterdam’s underground culture (for more on this squat, refer to my blog).

Luckily Amsterdam’s squatting movement is highly organized. There’s a blurred line between the legality and illegality of squatting, so for the most part, it’s tentatively tolerated in many areas. The police leave squatters alone under the following stipulations: you can prove the space has been inactive for more than six months (in Amsterdam, squatters do their legal homework) and you’ve managed to get in and have placed a mattress, a desk, and a lamp inside, and have changed the locks and locked yourself in.

This constitutes a take-over, or an okupa (ocupar=to occupy) and this kind of movement gained momentum and support from the local community in the 1980s, during the height of an intense period of housing shortages. Absentee land-lords came face-to-face with articulate squatters who appealed the judicial system and claimed they were well-utilizing empty spaces. Liberal (political) attitudes of the time also leaned towards a more sympathetic outlook on squatting. Artist communities (many of which are still there today) were established in place of empty stretches of farmland and vacant buildings. Subculture fl ourished where expressionless structures once stood in vain.

Where is that kind of love here, I ask? I believe a lot of us have turned into 911-dialing meddlers who, for some reason, often feel threatened by lower income and underprivileged folks who are just barely getting by. If only the community could just be more tolerant towards disadvantaged people in these circumstances, if not by giving “hand-outs,” then at least by leaving them alone to work with the available resources.

Anyway, I’m very happy where I am now in my new, secret little spot. I didn’t bother fi ghting for that little side-corner where I had my tent because, actually, it wasn’t really worth it. It was noisy and messy and they (he) kept throwing more shit down there where I slept, even after I would clean up. I was also disillusioned by him and a few other “food-not-bombs-green-living-community-building” individuals who thought they had more of a right to be there because they were “paying rent” (at their indoor places, with all the amenities that indoor places have—the ones I went without). I did love sleeping under the trees during this winter’s rainy season, though! I’m free as a bird, and as long as I’m not hurting anyone, I do as I please.

Occupy and Resist,Blue Lunar Eagle.

Daphne Carpenter is a writer and videographer who alternates between living in California and Brazil. She is also an advocate for the rights of homeless youth, and does everything in her power to change their unjust situations. She can be reached at [email protected] or at her blog, http://paintzfl wrs.blogspot.com/

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In the name of my Higher Self and theHigher Self of my Twin FlameI pray that we reuniteI call for the consuming of all portents of

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I call to dissolve the human imposedself-limitations that keep us from the fullexpression of our twin flame identity, andthe fulfillment of our original contractwith Spirit in service to mankind.

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art | c inema | performance arts | theatre | gal ler ies | poets | conversat ion | culture

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Shielded by the inconspicuous lid of a trash can hides a world of untapped resources accompanied by old pizza crusts, rotten food scraps, and other household rubbish—the components of a potential masterpiece. For every piece of plastic, paper, metal, glass, or food scrap thrown away, there is a hidden

potential for greatness. Transforming what many think of as garbage into art not only saves the planet we live in, but also holds the power to inspire others.

Matthew Kowalski knows this idea of “one person’s trash is another’s treasure” quite well. Being homeless for years, Kowalski used found objects to create and inspire himself into sanity and relief. Creating abstract art helped Kowalski fi nd himself and eventually create a sustainable life.

Before his life took an unsuspecting turn, Kowalski traveled the world as an air force brat. Leaving home at age 14, Kowalski took on a rather dramatic and unsustainable lifestyle. Not aware that assistance could be found, such as homeless shelters or food banks, Kowalski roamed the streets. “I didn’t know there was help,” he says. “People outside the box are not on anyone’s radar for help. They are just out there.” Kowalski admits to living the ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ lifestyle for some time, where he dabbled as a musician in the world of performance art.

While performance art fed his hunger, nothing quite satisfi ed his mind like fi ne arts. Being homeless, Kowalski didn’t have funds to support his artwork, but this didn’t stop him from producing inspiring pieces. Typically, he didn’t have the means to travel with his pieces. “I couldn’t carry it anywhere or take it with me, but I would just make art,” says Kowalski. “I was sort of a like a street artist, a tagging person, except I didn’t damage anyone’s property, but I still was able to do my art.”

His inspiration came from everyday objects he found in dumpsters on his dives and in trash bins around cities. Insides of cash registers, parking meters, computers, and car engines were some objects Kowalski would use to generate unique shapes which he would, in turn, use in his art. Repurposing items was more than a good deed—it was his lifestyle. Kowalski mentions that using what is already around us in abundance without buying something new is better than the alternative.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Waste prevention, or ‘source reduction,’ is the strategy behind reducing and reusing waste. By designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials in ways that reduce the amount or the toxicity of trash created, less waste is generated and fewer natural resources are used.”

Not making waste in the fi rst place, however, is the most effective way to reduce waste. “Unfortunately, the amount of waste generated in the United States has been increasing,” states the EPA. “Between 1960 and 2009 the amount of waste each person creates increased from 2.7 to 4.3 pounds per day.” And according to www.thegoodhuman.com, each year the average American family throws out approximately 3,470 pounds of reusable products, including glass, plastic, metal, paper, and food scraps.

In using so many types of these reusable materials, Kowalski is a leader in the multimedia art movement. Kowalski explains that the term “multimedia” is an understatement. “I use found objects, acrylics, oils, house paints, printing inks, watercolors, and pencils,” he says. “I also employ multiple techniques, including brushing, sponging, printing, rubbings, reliefs, airbrushing, and just plain pouring it on. I love to layer multi-

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art | c inema | performance arts | theatre | gal ler ies | poets | conversat ion | culture


dimensional objects on top of one another, knowing that underneath each object is an invisible layer. My goal is to make the one-dimensional surface come alive.”

There are many ways to obtain free used and recycled materials. Simply look in the recycling bin or trash can, or visit a local thrift store. Paint banks are also available to recycle old paints and for others to repurpose. Kowalski even barters with local paper companies to get cheap and/or free merchandise. These are all great options for the “starving artist” and can be found in any nearby city. Kowalski’s places of interests are Recology, located in San Francisco, where he can get paint, and www.ecologycenter.org, which lists several places to fi nd repurposed materials.

“Working with found objects and surplus paints and inks gives me a sense of well-being, esteem, and wholeness,” says Kowalski. “When these objects are re-appropriated, there is less waste running amok. It makes me feel as if everything we need is here, all around us; we don’t need to go out and get more. My work is itself a renewable resource.”

Like Kowalski, the Rare Hare Studio in San Diego uses some re-appropriated materials to compose artistic projects with children and their families. The Rare Hare says, “An important and special feature of the Rare Hare Studio is the integration of recycled items into the creative process whenever possible. Rare Hare F.A.I.R (Fostering Artistic Ingenuity with Recycling) courses increase environmental awareness by turning normally discarded items that impact San Diego landfi lls into functional and creative projects. In doing so, children gain an awareness of how their own ability to express themselves can be interconnected with their community and can impact the larger world around them.”

While the materials are donated and not scrapped from garbage and dumpsters, the idea of reuse and recycle stills play a major role. These children are not only given tools to be creative, but they are also learning how to be environmentally conscious, and at such a young age.

The benefi ts of repurposing materials go beyond just recycling. It also saves natural resources, reduces toxicity of waste, and reduces costs. According to the EPA, “Waste is not just created when consumers throw items away. Throughout the life cycle of a product from extraction of raw materials to transportation to processing and manufacturing facilities to manufacture and use, waste is generated. Reusing items or making them with less material decreases waste dramatically. Ultimately, fewer materials will need to be recycled, combusted for energy, or landfi lled.”

As always, reducing toxic waste is essential. The EPA recommends sharing products containing hazardous chemicals instead of throwing away remains. “The benefi ts of preventing waste go beyond reducing reliance on other forms of waste disposal. Preventing waste also can mean economic savings for communities, businesses, organizations, and individual consumers,” says the EPA, in reference to reducing costs.

Art is meant to transcend, whatever the materials consist of. Art like Kowalski’s Radical Relief pieces, and classes

that incorporate used materials in its work, like the Rare Hare Studio, will last for ages, showing future generations the obstacles that this time period overcame.

Kowalski puts it simply, saying, “You and I are the fi rst steps. We are on the

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My personal library teems with books about the goddess. Some of the volumes verge on New Age spirituality, whereas others can be best described as feminist manifestos. Quite a few are scholarly tomes, while many fall into the realm of pop culture. However, “Feminine Reformation,

A Goddess Meta Narrative,” described by Jayne DeMente, its writer, editor, and contributor, as “a Thea/ology textbook” on goddess studies, is a distinctive educational and inspirational resource unlike any I’ve ever encountered before. DeMente recommends its use to BA programs, libraries and book clubs, circle facilitators, spiritual leaders, physicians and healers, and global spiritual and political Earth activists. I agree that its potential applicability is far-reaching.

DeMente draws upon the knowledge and the contributions of multiple experts in 12 chapters that describe our ancestors and foremothers in a number of geographical, anthropological, political, and historical settings. Each chapter features an associated map and timeline, a worksheet that presents thought-provoking questions, and an extensive reading list (including Internet resources) that pertains to the contents of that chapter. The

worksheets, which contain prompts and suggestions, provide convenient study guides for college students, but can also be valuable for readers who are not attending college and want to learn on their own. The book is well-written, engrossing, and entertaining, and includes capsule biographies of goddesses and famous women, defi nitions of possibly unfamiliar terminology, and poetry.

“Feminine Reformation” also contains some topics I’ve encountered less frequently in works about the goddess. Unique among them is a discussion of the Gift Economy, in which money is donated to a cause to share, enlighten, and empower its recipients rather than merely to demonstrate the giver’s power. Another noteworthy entry is the chapter that focuses on men’s perception of the goddess. A third signifi cant account treats the issue of Gender and Partnership.

In addition to its own merits, “Feminine Reformation” piques the reader’s curiosity and offers a multitude of topics for further study, plus a reading list tailor-made for the intellectually adventurous. I recommend it highly to readers who are attracted to the subject of feminine empowerment and its origins.

For further information about “Feminine Reformation,” including Jayne DeMente’s upcoming speaking schedule and where to purchase the book, please visit the Web site, www.womensheritageproject.ning.com, or e-mail DeMente at [email protected]. She also co-hosts the online radio program, “Creatrix Media Live,” every third Sunday of the month at 11 a.m. PST at www.BlogTalkRadio.com. DeMente’s projected Southern California speaking engagements include Village Books in Pacifi c Palisades in the spring (dates to be determined shortly). She will also be a vendor at the Solstice Faire in July in Long Beach, CA and at the Gaia Festival 2011 in Australia.

Feminine Reformation: A Goddess Meta Narrative, by Jayne Marie DeMenteA review by Stefania Ebony

“Absolutely beautiful… The color, the lights, the move-ment…the performers were fantastic! It was so inspiring, I think I may have found some new ideas for the next Avatar.”— Robert Stromberg, Oscar award-winning production designer for movie “Avatar”

“I’ve reviewed over 3,000 to 4,000 shows since 1942. I give this production 5 stars. That’s the top… I’ve seen enough Broadway shows that still cannot compare to what I saw tonight. The best word to use is ‘mind blowing.’”— Richard Con-nema, theatre critic for Talkin’ Broadway

“So elegant and beautifully rehearsed—a lot of depth, and a lot of meaning.”— Vanessa Har-wood, former principal dancer with National Ballet of Canada, Honoree of Order of Canada


h o l i s t i c b u s i n e s s

There was a time when China was known as ‘Shen Zhou,’ the Land of the Divine. Its arts and culture were so exquisite and vibrant that they could only have been bestowed by the heavens. Thus, ancient Chinese people

strove to hold themselves to a higher standard to be worthy of such gifts.Today, the artists of Shen Yun Performing Arts follow in this noble tradition and

take to heart this Chinese belief that “to create true great art, there must fi rst be inner beauty and purity.” With the mission to revive the spirit of traditional

Chinese culture that has sadly been decimated by decades of communist rule in modern-day China, Shen Yun’s program takes you out of the clamor of the modern world and brings you the utmost purity and grace.

For those who fi nd all things Chinese a little foreign, never fear. Emcees introduce each piece in both Chinese and English. The show is based on Chinese culture, but the values it portrays belong to all of humanity. A seasoned show-goer in San Diego says, “You just have to see it to believe it! So amazing! So beautiful! It’s more than a performing arts show. It’s spiritual. It’s an incredible cultural experience. I will come back again and again.”

A Performance 5,000 Years in the MakingImagine stage-shaking drums, descending heavenly maidens, fl owing silk, fl y-

ing handkerchiefs, awe-inspiring fl ips and leaps, breathtaking synchronized danc-ers, hand-sewn colorful costumes, soul-stirring Chinese music, set against ani-

Shen YunExperience 5,000 Years in Two Hours

A Gift From a Divine Land

mated backdrops with a full live orchestra fusing the East and the West—all packed into a thrilling two-hour show.

Each year, Shen Yun presents an all-new program of 20 pieces, taking you on a magical journey to over 20 dynasties and 50 ethnic groups. Warriors, saints, villains, monks, Buddhas, and angels are woven into wondrous tales of heavenly realms, visionary dreams, and mythic legends.

Experience for yourself the utmost purity and grace of Shen Yun that has dazzled millions around the world. A truly memorable show for the whole family!

This year’s performance by the Shen Yun dance company will take place on May 3-5 at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, CA. Visit www.SDspectacular.com or call 1.888.973.7469 for more information.

h o l i s t i c l i v i n g


The Learning ExperienceArrives in Southern California

by Mike Miller

What is Big MaMa Earth? Big MaMa Earth (BMME) is a fun, live walk-around character, a green, eco-friendly

movement, an inspiring new outlook on life, and a worldwide Web portal for the next generation.

The Big MaMa Earth “Learning Experience” will be appearing at schools, expos, environmental fundraising events, sporting events, red and green carpet events, and in your community soon and will introduce Big MaMa Earth’s Web site and upcoming virtual world. Now children will be able to learn in schools and at home with their families about empowering, non-biased scientifi c information about environmental and social issues that we all face, along with practical, powerful solutions.

Through Big MaMa Earth’s Think Tank and Action Center on our Web site, children will now have a platform to be heard, to empower and inspire others, and to “Be the Change” in their own schools, homes, and communities.

To promote and host the BMME Experience, we have celebrity spokesperson Tamara Henry (a.k.a. “Green T”) who has interviewed hundreds of celebrities and experts in the fi eld of environmental issues and will continue to do so with the BMME walk-around character.

Big MaMa Earth was created by Mike Miller (“Grandpa Mikey”), his loving wife (“Caring Cathy”), and his talented friend Al Lowenheim (“Art Al”) for Michael’s grandkids, Jordan, Jessica, and Emma, and for all of the children of

the world. The inspiration to create the BMME’s characters and theme came from our love of this beautiful planet and all of its inhabitants. When we were children we enjoyed fresh air, clean clear lakes, and an abundance of wildlife, and we want to continue that legacy for our children’s children through the Big MaMa Earth’s Foundation.

We at Big MaMa Earth are dedicated to encouraging children and their families everywhere to take action through the dissemination of factual information that is both empowering and entertaining, which can bring about small but incremental change, and ultimately empower humankind’s reconnection to Mother Earth. If there were a way to get everyone on our planet involved—to just do a little bit, in their own neighborhood, in their own home—we could accomplish a great deal.

As a civilization, we’re only now beginning to realize that the indigenous peoples have known how to live in harmony with Mother Earth for thousands of years. Once we realize that we are all connected to everyone and everything on this

planet, then we will honor all forms of life and live in harmony on planet Earth with all of its inhabitants. Big MaMa Earth may be the catalyst to further enable people worldwide to understand that we all need to take responsibility, each in our own way—from governments to individuals—to implement real solutions. We have an unprecedented opportunity to make lasting positive change on Earth.

The BMME Experience is positioned to attend, co-host, or host over 30 events

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throughout the United States in the next 18 months. The following events are already scheduled:

Go Green Expo, April 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This is one of the largest green-themed expos in the United States, with scheduled guests such as Ed Begley Jr., Captain Paul Watson/Whale Wars, etc. BMME will host the children’s and families section and will be at booth number

125. (See www.gogreenexpo.com.)The Indie Music Fest, May 21 in Las Vegas. This is a unique annual grassroots

music festival and green environmental community event. BMME will co-host the event. (See http://www.theindiemusicfest.com/attractions/bigmamaearth.html.)

Licensing International Expo, June 14-16 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. BMME will co-host the event and lead the parade of Disney and Warner Brothers Characters. (See www.licensingexpo.com.)

Please visit www.bigmamaearth.org to view the BMME characters, our green message, theme song, and short videos. If you have any questions or would like to have additional information, please call Mike Miller at 951.244.8444 or e-mail him at [email protected].

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“Sustainability LIfestyles at UC San Diego” continued from page 13

Initiative Fund. Grants have been allocated to a number of student-initiated projects, including the Neighborhood Community Garden and smart water meters, a pilot program that allowed residents to check their building’s water usage periodically online.

The extent of green living perpetuates itself far into the curriculum. Programs like the Environmental Systems major and the Environmental Studies minor have gained prominent interest among students in recent years. Sustainability courses and seminars are available from a range of perspectives, including Environmental Economics, Wilderness and Human Values, Local and Global Perspectives on Ethical Food Consumption, and Environmental Engineering. The Scripps Institute of Oceanography has also been a center of scientifi c sustainability research, allowing collaboration among undergraduates, graduates, and researchers to further environmental studies.

The campus environment fosters a strong sense of green living and strives to make it an accessible habit for its students, staff, and faculty. Members from a multitude of disciplines and departments continue to fi ght for more aggressive sustainability policies on campus. Goals include completing the on-campus Pepper Canyon Farm and expanding alternative transportation options like the trolley extension. Additionally, the Associated Students are working towards the creation of an Associate Vice President of Sustainability to enhance student efforts. The campus’ Climate Action Plan, drafted in 2008, has goals to be zero waste by 2020 and to reach climate neutrality by 2025.

For more information on sustainability at UC San Diego, visit http://hdh.ucsd.edu/majorplanet or http://sustainability.ucsd.edu.

Jonathan “Dante” Lee is a graduate from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Systems. He holds a strong enthusiasm for the environment, and reminds people that the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) can go a long way.

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“The Many Ways to Live Green” continued from page 19

out shopping for food, clothes, laundry detergent, or buying anything in general, take a little more initiative and learn about the company you’re supporting. Green choices oftentimes do carry an extra burden of increased cost, but not always, and even so, sometimes that added cost can be internalized with one decision in a better way than another. If you drink soda, try Blue Sky as opposed to Coca-Cola. Support organic producers of beer if you have the opportunity and tell your local bar keep in stock at least one supplier of organic alcohol so customers have the choice. If you stop supporting them or take your business elsewhere, they’ll listen.

Water: It is the essence of life. All too often in the United States we waste this most precious of all resources by watering energy intensive man-made lawns, washing our cars, and leaving the faucet on when doing the dishes or brushing our teeth. Beyond just being aware of the many conservation techniques you can bring into your own life like taking a little bit shorter of a shower than you’re used to, recognizing that other people don’t have such easy access to water as many of us in the United States do is an important goal for living green. Don’t buy bottled water. The privatization of water rights is one of the many travesties against our people and the planet and no company that engages in such is looking for the betterment of anyone but their own bottom line. If you drink a lot of bottled water, save yourself some money by buying a water filter and a responsibly-made canteen. Then you can fill up your own bottle of water wherever you go.

Pets: Some will say that owning a pet is against the grain of green living. While I understand that train of thought, my two dogs instill more love in me every day than I ever thought conceivably possible—and I know I’m not the only one. If you have a pet, buy them good food that does the least harm to them and the planet. And pick up your pet’s waste and dispose of it properly. Poop bags are now found at most parks and places where dogs are allowed, and while it’s by no means a glamorous act, it helps you do the part of being an environmentally aware pet owner. This act will let that love you share and nurture with your pet develop in a much more profound way by making sure you’re not letting them ruin someone else’s day or impact water quality negatively.

Political Activism: As much as I believe we should all seek and wish to be the change we wish to see in the world, our individual actions are all up against huge systems of power and wealth that are more often than not against the grain of the green movements and paradigm shifts we are seeking to instill. Every incremental individual act adds up to create a much bigger cumulative effect. And in organizing with other like-minded people who support the ideals of living greenly and consciously in this life, we can, will, and must make a difference by altering the systems of power that are reluctant to change from the status quo and business as usual, whether it’s because they’re resistant to change or because it will shift their bottom line. The electric car should have become commonplace years ago, but if that same electricity is coming from coal-fired powered plants, how is that a step forward? If it’s still more profitable to spray vegetables with toxins that pollute waterways, the soil, and the people that harvest them in the fields, and torture cows in industrial feedlots, then when will healthy organic produce be more available to all of us? We can make a difference on our own, in our communities and in our regions by practicing what we preach as best as we can. But we must also continue to put pressure on those people and institutions of power so that at some point in our bright future, living green and sustainably and everything that’s associated with that will be just plain old everyday living.

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

“Doug De Vito” continued from page 15

no resource deployment, there is no carbon footprint, there is no anti-greening effect. It’s the ultimate green source of healthcare.

VM: What else do you see on the horizon?DD: I think there is a deepening of the understanding of the work. I am most

passionate about the peak performance aspects of what happens. I think it is absolutely an amazing thing that we can all become practitioners and help each other to heal and help transform the planet. I think what we are also accessing here is true evolution of having this peak performance in your physical body and of expanded awareness.

VM: Can you expand on 2011 being a powerful year?DD: 2011 of course is a powerful year; there is a tremendous amount of change

that is [happening] on the planet. You only have to look at the news to recognize that the earth is shifting and all kinds of political and economic systems are also in shifts. It is important to recognize that we are going through this change for important reasons, that I am sure none of us really know all of the facts, but what I think is really empowering is that during this moment of change it seems like we are being thrown a lifeline in a form of these frequencies and we can take a hold of this lifeline and use it and fashion that lifeline into a rope and a ladder and we can climb up to the next level. We don’t have to wait for December 21, 2012 to have access to this. It’s here, it’s now, it’s real, it’s broadband, and it’s something we can all grab a hold of.

Take the Level I/II: Reconnective Healing seminars with Doug De Vito to discover why hospitals and universities around the world are investing time and money in an attempt to understand these unprecedented healings, and how you, too, can master this extraordinary work! Visit www.TheReconnection.com.

battleground. We are awake, conscious, mindful, flexible, willing, open people tearing down the walls of disbelief. The cataclysm is going on right now and no matter how little we have, it’s more than enough to turn it around. Right now is the beginning of what happens next. This is a real choice we are making. Right now you can make a choice, no matter how little you have, to start the change. At first people are going to think we are crazy. A couple of years later they will finally realize what we are talking about. We are doing the work that will be known in 500 years, today.”

Kowalski’s next show will be at the Misho Gallery in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.mishogallery.com. Also be sure to check out the Rare Hare Studio at http://eco9.com/rareharestudio/.

Amanda Hinds is a graduate from Kent State University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She is currently a design intern at Vision Magazine and has created cover art for several issues as well as page designs for the magazine. Contact her at 330.858.0445 or e-mail her at [email protected].

“Radical Relief” continued from page 35

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

APRIL 6 & 13 WeDneSDAYSTHAI ON THE TABLE – Oil Deep Tissue Massage: Prone & Side Position. Popular with everyone -- Therapists & Clients! “Thai Style” stretching, pressing, ergonomic progressive deep tissue strokes. 30 + major acupoint locations. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

APRIL 7 ThURSDAYFREE OPEN HOUSE. + 3 scholarship raffles, must be present to win. 7:15 prompt – 9:00 pm. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

APRIL 8-10FRIDAY-SUnDAYAKASHIC RECORDS PRACTITIONER TRAINING / PACIFIC PALISADES: Learn to read the Akashic Records for yourself and others in one-weekend certification trainings. Access the vibrational dimension of your Soul’s journey through lifetimes for guidance, healing, creative evolution. Private readings also available. Barbara Schiffman, 818-415-3479, www.YourLifeandSoul.com, www.Meetup.com/AkashicLA

APRIL 9 SATURDAYIMMUNE BOOSTING LYMPH MASSAGE Learn major lymph channels, highly effective techniques for clearing and detoxifying lymph system. + Unique techniques presented for stimulating immunity, thymus, spleen, bone marrow, developed by Steve while co-directing largest U.S. Medical Detox Clinic. 18 Credits. Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P., NHI Director, 760.943.8485, www.naturalhealinginst.com

REIKI 1 EMPOWERMENT (class 1 of 6) Sat, April 9, 10:00am – 3:30pm. Reiki 1-Learn the history of Reiki and the benefits of it as a healing modality. Reiki I Empowerments will be given. Self-healing techniques will be taught. Visit SacredTransformations.Net or call 619.204.0504.

APRIL 9-10SATURDAY-SUnDAYWEEKEND RETREAT WITH KARL RENZ, author of “If You Wake Up, Don’t Take it Personally.” April 9-10, 10:00-5:30. Tamarack Beach Resort, Carlsbad. To reserve, call Inner Directions: 760.599.4075, or online: www.InnerDirections.org

APRIL 10 SUnDAY

APRIL 10 & 17 SUnDAYSBUSINESS & MARKETING – Generate many new successful ideas. Specific exercises, techniques. Natural Heal-ing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

APRIL 13 WeDneSDAYPRO PENINSULA INVITES YOU TO SYRCL’S WILD & SCENIC ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL Wednesday, April 13th 2011 @ The Town & Country Hotel! Join us for another inspiring selection of films that will change your world! Visit: http://www.propeninsula.org/wildscenic for more event information.

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

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

REGISTERED YOGA TEACHER (RYT)™ and YOGA INSTRUCTOR, SOMATICS, & MOVEMENT THERAPIST (YISMT)™ Training. Unique! Inspirational! Comprehensive! Personal expansion and professional teacher Certification. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485, naturalhealinginst.com

APRIL 16 & 17SATURDAY & SUnDAYYOGA INSTRUCTOR, SOMOTICS & MOVEMENT THERAPIST (YISMT)™ & Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) ™ training series for Certification and National Registration. 200 Credits. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485, www.naturalhealinginst.com

LEVEL I/II RECONNECITVE HEALING SEMINAR with Doug De Vito Discover why hospitals and universities around the world are investing time and money in an attempt to understand these unprecedented healings… and how you too, can master this extraordinary work! TheReconnection.com

APRIL 17-19SUnDAY-TUeSDAYTHE ART OF LIVING COURSE Sri Sri will teach portions of this workshop, The cornerstone of this workshop is Sudarshan Kriya a highly effective technique that uses the rhythms of breath to improve health and increase joy. ArtofLIvingLA.org Register Now! 310.820.9429

UPANISHADS COMMENTARY – A CHANCE TO SIT LIKE ASPIRANTS OF OLD AS SRI SRI goes deeply into the Ancient Upanishads. ArtofLIvingLA.org Register Now! 310.820.9429

APRIL 18 MOnDAYSHIATSU / ACUPRESSURE, including Traditional Oriental Medicine (TOM) Theory. 6:30 pm. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

APRIL 19 TUeSDAYSPORTS NUTRITION. – Individualize cardiovascular, aerobics, weight lifting programs combined with high quality and effective complimentary sports nutrition foods, supplements, protein drinks, nutritional bars, other performance enhancement natural products. Optimal delivery forms, dosages, more. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

Harmony GroveSpiritualist Association

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Church 2:00pm

Sundays Healing 10:00amChurch 11:00am

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APRIL 18 & 19MONDAY & TUESDAYLEVEL III THE RECONNECTION SEMINAR taught by The Reconnection Teaching Team The Reconnection brings in “new” axiatonal lines that reconnect us on a more powerful and evolved level than ever before. This course will teach you how to bring in and activate these new lines, allowing for the exchange – beyond energy – of light and information, the reconnection of DNA strands and the reintegration of “strings”. For more information visit: TheReconnection.com

APRIL 23 SATURDAYCREATE A DYNAMIC IMAGE COLLAGE. Learn to ”read” your own unconscious wisdom and your next step in life with collage images and receive an intuitive reading. Saturday April 23 10am-2pm 858.689.0071. [email protected]

APRIL 27 WEDNESDAYREIKI 1 EMPOWERMENT Wed, April 27, 10:00am – 3:30pm. Reiki 1-learn the history of Reiki and the benefits of it as a healing modality. Reiki I Empowerments will be given. Self-healing techniques will be taught. Visit SacredTransformations.Net or call 619.204.0504.

APRIL 30 SATURDAYYOUR NATURAL BABY FAIR a FREE event for all your fertility, pregnancy, birth, and baby care needs, will be held at The NTC Promenade at Liberty Station in San Diego, California. This is an all-day event with education and fun on April 30th from 9:00am to 5:00pm. 760.689.BABY (2229) www.naturalbabypros.com 04.11

MASSAGE TECHNICIAN - Accelerated towards Massage Therapist License. Special Discounts. Comprehensive training. Most experienced, li-censed instructors in USA! Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485. www.naturalhealinginst.com

STUMBLING INTO HAPPINESS RE-TREA Explore the wellspring of happiness within. Cultivate happiness in your own life, for all beings and our world. 9:30 - 3pm. [email protected] or www.spiritmountainretreat.org 04.11

APRIL 30-MAY 1SATURDAY-SUNDAYSTAR ESSENCE FLOWER & GEM-STONE ESSENCE PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION COURSE Santa Barbara, CA. For more information please visit: www.staressence.com. 805.965.1619/888.277.4955 or e-mail [email protected].

MAYMAY 1 SUNDAYSPIRIT SONGS WORKSHOPS invites you to explore and embrace the healing power of your own unique voice! Includes yoga, breath technique, meditation, vocalizing, toning on chakras, sounding with crystal bowl, singing, chanting and healing. All in a safe and supportive environment! With Sat Nishan Kaur at Yoga Oasis in San Diego. Sunday May 1 from 2 to 4:30 pm. For details please visit www.yogaoasis.net or call 619.542.1842.

MAY 7-13SATURDAY-FRIDAY

MAY 14 SATURDAYCOMPASSIONATE (NON - VIOLENT) COMMUNICATION WORKSHIP – Led by Anne Walton, Certified Trainer; Center for Non-Violent Communication (CNVC). CNVC is a global organization founded by Marshall S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. and author of Non-Violent Communication, A Language of Life. This experiential workshop will give you practical tools to LISTEN to others with an open heart; EXPRESS yourself even when it’s scary; TRANSFORM anger and conflict into trust and cooperation; INCREASE HARMONY at home, at work, on Planet Earth! Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 1 – 4pm at The Imagine Center, 18635 Ventura Boulevard, Tarzana, CA 91356. $45 in advance, $60 at the door. Register online at http://www.theimaginecenter.com or by phone at 818.345.1100.

MAY 16 MONDAYONE-DAY INTRODUCTION TO PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE, Monday, May 16, 2011. This special program has been designed to give prospective students a comprehensive introduction and orientation to the unique educational features of the school. Please visit the Public Programs page at www.pacifica.edu for information about pricing and registration. Or call 805.969.3626 ext. 103.

ONGOINGSUNDAYS

FIND THE CENTER OF DIVINITY WITHIN! Inspirational prayers, metaphysical teachings, music, social hour to follow. 10:30a.m.-11:30a.m. Teaching of the Inner Christ 1100 N. Second St. Suite 1114 El Cajon, CA 92021. 619.447.7007

SPICA – WAY OF LIGHT INSPIRATIONAL SERVICES 2nd Sunday of the month at 10am, 4th Sunday at 9am. Myztic Isle Bookstore, 8036 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA. 619.588.6483 for information.

ONENESS MEDITATION SERVICE – Led by Goddess Light and Ordained Metaphysician Tauheedah Shakoor-Curry. Expanding Light means expanding abilities. Step into your vaster self. Align, Renew. Give, Receive higher light. Join us for inspiration and meditation 11am-1pm at The Imagine Center, 18635 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91356. Each participant receives a higher light reading. $10 minimum donation. Register at 818.345.1100 or online at www.theimaginecenter.com. The Group does NOT meet on the fourth Sunday of the month.

MONDAYS$8 BEGINNERS YOGA CLASSES Monday @ 6:00p.m. Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m. 2333 Camino del Rio South #240 92108 www.yogawell.com 619.917.0998

MONDAYSFREE PSYCHIC READINGS every FIRST Monday 7:30p.m. by students in Vessa’s INTUITIVE INSIGHTS Clairvoyant Program, 4455 Morena Blvd. #108, 858.509.7582 www.MyIntuition.Net 06.11

MIRACULOUS MONDAYS - Comp-limentary Holistic Health classes 6-7, 7-8 or 6-10p.m. Zen-Touch & Massage sessions 8:15-9:15p.m. (by donation or Massage CEUs available $15/hr). School of Healing Arts, 1001 Garnet Ave. #200, Pacific Beach, 92109. Contact Joy to register. 619.316.6714. [email protected]. 04.11

TUESDAYSCLINICAL NUTRITION (CNC)™ Full Certification. Special Discounts. Most comprehensive training from nationally honored Nutritionists. Revised! 7:00-9:55p.m. Natural Healing Institute, 760.943.8485, www.naturalhealinginst.com.

WEDNESDAYSMIRACLE CIRCLE MEDITATION Con-nect with your inner divinity through deep meditation, inspirational prayers, and group discussion. 7p.m.-8p.m. Teaching of the Inner Christ 1100 N. Second St. Suite 1114 El Cajon, CA 92021. 619.447.7007 04.11

THURSDAYSFREE DETOXIFICATION AND WEIGHT LOSS CLASS 1st Thursday of every month. 6:30p.m. Easy and successful program. Register @ Body Basics Health Center, San Diego. 619.296.7390 06.11

FRIDAYS HAPPINESS CLASSES - Based on the life-healing teachings of VERNON HOWARD, Fridays - 8p.m.; Sundays - 10a.m. New Life Foundation, 5779 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA. 714.899.9300 Conquer stress, handle difficult people with ease, banish problems. Donation basis. 04.11

SATURDAYSPSYCHIC SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES WITH CORRINE – This practice circle meets on the first and third Saturday of each month. All levels are welcome. The focus of this circle is spiritual growth and healing. We work with various objects and meditations during each session. We also share practical exercises to enhance your intuitive abilities. Come share your Light on 4/2, 4/16, 5/7 and 5/21from 1 – 3pm at the Imagine Center, 18635 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91356. $15 minimum donation. Register at 818.345.1100 or online at www.theimaginecenter.com.


“Protecting The World’s Reefs” continued from page 23

Fortunately, there are many ways you can help the reefs. One way is to visit http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx and download a Seafood Watch guide. This helpful guide will let you know which fi sh aren’t being overfi shed or farmed. Farming fi sh may seem like a good solution to overfi shing, but many of these fi sh may carry diseases which they are protected against but wild fi sh aren’t; one escapee can cause devastating effects globally, and not just for the coral.

Another to way to help is to not litter, especially at the beach. If your plastic bag makes it into the ocean, a whale or shark may eat it thinking it is a jelly fi sh, or it may fall onto coral and cover it, suffocating the coral and causing permanent damage.

Finally, instead of taking your car, walk. The oceans absorb about one-third of the pollutants we put out. By making the decision to carpool, walk, or drive a smart car, you are making a difference. Visit your local aquarium. Many aquariums have programs designed to help protect and eventually restore the reefs of the world. A small donation can help, or even just learning what you can do yourself is an amazing way to protect our reefs.

Stacy Cohen graduated from California State University, Channel Islands with a bachelor’s degree in English. She is currently a freelance writer in her spare time.

VM: What do you hope your listeners will take away from your talk?MH: Life is about inspiration. I don’t want anybody to follow me. I’m not

some guru. For us [Bobby and me] it’s inspiration, through education [and] empowerment. What I want them to take away is a feeling that they’re already great; they already know what to do to be healthy. They just haven’t uncovered it. It’s my belief that you’re already healthy, happy, beautiful, [and have a] perfect body. All of that is already in you and you have all the answers that unlock your doors to your health and well-being, but it’s about having someone like myself or many, many others who are out in this fi eld who are really wonderful communicators, to come away going, wow, I think there’s an adventure out there that could bring out the best in me.

VM: Have you been to any of the previous Go Green Expos?MH: Yes, I’ve been to every one. Though there are a lot of celebrities there [who

say] this is my thing, I’m into green, it’s really my life, creating a space for wellness and health and well-being for people is really what I am about. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years. I’ve written three books. My latest book is a cookbook. I have a cookie called a Blisscuit, (you can get it on www.marielsblisscuits.com) and so this is really what I care about. Bobby and I are creating a site called “The WillingWay,” which is his name, Bobby Williams, and my name, put together. He has the will and I have the way, which we feel is like this yin-yang. There’s this male-female dynamic that happens when two people get together, and that’s how we want to share it with the world…creating a product portal so that you can buy products [that] help you to be your best self.

VM: What does green living mean to you?MH: I’ve been an environmentalist since I was a kid. I grew up in Idaho and I

testifi ed when I was 18 years old in Washington, D.C. in front of Congress for the Wilderness Society. So it’s always been a passion [of mine] to really have people understand the outdoors and nature. And that’s what I think the environmental movement’s about—it’s about connecting in nature. Most people go, Al Gore is all messed up about the polar ice caps, which we all should be messed up about; but the problem is when they hear overwhelming information like that, it feels as though there’s nothing I can do. So what I want to do is say, what you do is you eat better; you make a choice that you’re not going to eat food that is genetically modifi ed anymore. We have the right to eat better food, and when you eat well—when you eat organic and biodynamic and non-abused animals—you are saying to your government [and] you’re saying to the environment around you, I care about my internal environment because my internal environment is what opens me up to my external environment. When you start to feel healthier on the inside, you’re better on the outside. You begin to change the people around you and you have a different viewpoint of the environment.

VM: How do you live green and connect with your internal and external environment?

MH: Almost every morning Bobby and I get up and watch the sunrise. We walk barefoot in the earth to connect with the earth. People think that animals have a kinesthetic sense that we don’t have. We all have it, but the problem is we wear rubber shoes, we walk on rubber mats, we work out in these places that ground us out so you have no connection to the earth.

When you take fi ve, 10, 15 minutes a day, or a couple times a week, to actually walk barefoot on dirt or sand, you connect with nature more because you actually get that energy from Mother Earth. Watching sunrise and sunset is a way to connect to nature. Breathing more, going outside and just taking deep breaths. We connect in nature a lot because that’s actually where we feel at home; that’s where we feel most at peace.

VM: Please talk about your program from your book, “Healthy Living From the Inside Out.”

MH: “Healthy Living From the Inside Out” came from my ex-husband [who] contracted cancer. My mother had cancer [and] did what most people do and she

went down the path of chemotherapy and radiation. She got rid of the cancer, but her immune system was shot and she was never healthy again. She lived 15 years but it was a pretty miserable 15 years.

Then when my ex-husband got cancer, I just said to him, please let’s not jump into chemotherapy and radiation. Let’s look at your lifestyle; let’s look at food, because I think of food as medicine. We’ve become anesthetized with the food by the choices we’ve made, so we don’t think it’s doing anything. All of a sudden in your 40s, 50s, and 60s, you’re overcome with aches and pains and diseases and all this stuff that could have been prevented by the simple choices of what food am I eating.

So we changed the way he ate. He cut out sugar completely because sugar feeds cancer cells (it makes cancer cells grow and multiply). He became a meditator and he’s completely healthy. He has to watch his lifestyle choices because stress and not taking enough time to be silent or eat well have an effect on him as they do everyone. But he is proof that you can overcome disease—bad disease—through lifestyle choices.

VM: What do you see as healthy living for a person?MH: Healthy living is different for everyone. There’s no one-size-fi ts-all way

that you eat, in the way that you exercise, take silence, or the way you connect in nature. But there [are] basic tenets; we all know what foods are really not very good for you. A healthy lifestyle is really a lifestyle that makes you feel calm, that enables you to deal with your stresses in an even manner. It means that you’ve got vitality and energy, and it means that you’re happy, that you laugh, or that you force yourself to laugh until you can laugh.

Being healthy really is a full spectrum; it’s the mind, it’s the body, it’s the spirit. It’s what you’re doing on every level. You should have a lot of energy. You should be child-like if you’re healthy. That’s a true healthy person because that shows that your mind is open, free and you’re malleable.

For more information on Dr. Anne Marie Fine and the Fine Center for Natural Medicine, please visit www.fi nenaturalmedicine.com. Visit www.iamfi neskin.com to learn about her skin care line.

Learn more about Elaine Wilkes and her “‘Outside’ the Box Solutions for Inside Your Body and Mind,” by visiting her Web site, www.elainewilkes.com.

For more information on Mariel Hemingway, her books, and resources for healthy living, please go to www.marielhemingway.org.

The Go Green Expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention center, April 16-17, 2011. For more details and to purchase tickets, please visit www.gogreenexpo.com.

“Go Green Expo” continued from page 25

Leah Marie Dorion is a Métis artist raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. A teacher, painter, fi lmmaker, and published writer, Leah views her Métis heritage as providing her with a unique bridge for knowledge between all people.

An instructor at the Gabriel Dumont Institute in Prince Albert, Leah has degrees in Native Studies and Education. She has numerous creative projects to her credit including academic papers for the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, a children’s book, gallery showings of her art works, and numerous video documentaries that showcase Métis culture and history.

Leah’s paintings honor the spiritual strength of Aboriginal women and the sacredness of femininity. Leah believes that women play a key role in passing on vital knowledge for all of humanity and that women are the fi rst teachers of the next generation.For more information about Leah and her artwork, please visit www.leahdorion.com or contact her at [email protected]


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One Man’s Trash…

by Erin Tagan

If we look closely at the materials we initially presume to be worthless, we may fi nd that it is easy to transform

them into something useful, or in this case, even something beautiful. With uses for recycled material in mind, I set out to

learn more about making recycled jewelry. I sat down with Matt Cirello, owner of Cirello

Gallery in North Park and Jasmine Lee, a Cirello jewelry designer, and also talked briefl y with an

artist from Regeneration Art. These jewelry artists consider all of their resources at hand, and are able to

make “treasure out of another man’s trash.”Nine years ago, Matt became interested in sacred

geometry and began to utilize it for design, direction, and inspiration in his jewelry making. Using recycled wood and reclaimed stainless steel as his primary mediums, Matt clears and opens his mind so he can channel design. He says he is a vessel for his connection to the divine,

and it is this connection which allows him to manifest designs and better connect him to humanity through the art of making jewelry. It is the evolving nature of the geometric patterns that is directly refl ected by the growth and changes in his jewelry which embodies the way in which all individual beings grow and change.

The lack of resources and viable commodities available in recent years is what triggered Matt’s interest in using reclaimed materials. He explains that since the resources are shrinking and humanity is growing, the only way for us to survive is to use something that would normally be disregarded as a resource. In the midst of our struggle for resources, Matt began to think differently, not applying the

same rules with regards to materials, and things he wouldn’t normally think to do or use, he did. As a result, he encountered great opportunity in what was previously considered “useless.”

Each year, Matt and the other designers at Cirello come up with a new line of jewelry, based on teachings of sacred geometry. He’s noticed the best selling pieces have been in the “seed of life” line which is inspired by sacred existence. The stainless steel cuffs and earrings are the most popular. Their “lotus fl ower” line, which is new this year and based on the design of a lotus fl ower, has also been getting plenty of great feedback. The simpler pieces that Cirello offers represent the “egg of life” line, which is even before the seed of life, so the pieces

are characteristic of the basic lines and curves that are incorporated into the more complex pieces of jewelry. The pieces with the most tightly wound patterns are part of the line referred to as the “lace of life” line, and are available in small or large cuffs.

After also speaking with Jasmine Lee, a designer with Cirello Jewelry, I gained a better understanding of the actual process involved in making the jewelry. Jasmine also gets her inspiration from sacred geometry. After sitting down and putting her thoughts onto the page, the process of jewelry making allows her to put her ideas into something three-dimensional and share them with the world. For the stainless steel pieces, the artists enter their ideas into a design program. The laser works with the program to cut out the pieces of the reclaimed stainless steel into the designs they have come up with, which are then hand-polished. To create the wood pieces, which are hand-carved, and made with recycled wood, they fi rst make a design on metal. The metal design is then pushed through the wood by hand so they are able to really put their energy into making the pieces, which are then sanded and fi led into the fi nal product.

I also went to the Farmer’s Market in Ocean Beach (every Wednesday starting at 4 p.m.) to speak briefl y with a few of the artists who also endorse recycled materials in their jewelry making. The designer I spoke with who represented Regeneration Art also uses recycled metal. Finding “a cool new use” for everything from bicycle spokes to forks and knives, the artist maneuvers materials by hand into art of all different patterns. He also sells bracelets made out of recycled neck ties and earrings made from broken sunglasses. Concentrating on materials from San Diego, the less he needs to spend money, on the better. He’s not interested in buying something new; he is taking something unappreciated and fi nding a new use for it. The jewelry stands at his booth are made from knives and gears, welded together to hold up and display his creativity. His business cards are made out of recyclable boxes and pieces of paper and are very small to conserve the amount of paper he uses.

Having explored these overlooked resources, these artists have been able to innovate through recycling. The creativity and inspiration to fi nd a new use for older materials is something everyone can learn from and open their minds to. Especially in a time when resources are so valuable, it is vital that we take advantage of those we tend to ignore, so open your eyes and convert something from trash to treasure!

Cirello Gallery is at 3808 Ray St., San Diego, CA, 92104. Visit www.cirellogallery.com. For more information on Regeneration Art, go to www.regenerationart.com.

Originally from San Clemente, CA, Erin Tagan moved to San Diego fi ve years ago to attend SDSU. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and is now working as an intern for Vision Magazine. Please contact her at [email protected].

Matt Cirello

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Mention code VISION to receive 10% off.Offer expires Apr. 15. Call for details.

“Brilliant choreography... extravagantly beautiful.”

— BroadwayWorld.com

vision magazine april 2011 edition

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