If you ask a yogi or yogini what keeps him or her coming back to the mat, the answer usually boils down to, “It works.” The question now gaining prominence is not, “Does it work?” but rather, “How does it work?” Dr. Susan Smalley, Founder and Director of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), and [...]
Feature Film About Shaman, Yogi And Artist Heyoka Merrified Premieres In Ojai The burning sweet grass smoke wafting from the Earth and Sky Temple (honoring the sacred masculine and feminine spirits) begins Heyoka Merrifield’s day. He lights his peace pipe (based on the tradition brought by White Buffalo Woman) which he hand-carved from pipestone from by [...]
Books To Gift Your Favorite Yogi On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Ten Kirtans playing, Nine Swamis singing, Eight Yoginis posing, Seven Tantrics teasing, Six Gurus gabbing, Five Pundits preaching, Four scholars scolding, Three tickets to the Kumbh Mela, Two asana mats, and a statue of Ganesh in a [...]
Artivist Film Festival: December 1 - 4 Stories inspire, awaken, activate and propel us into action. At least this is the hope held by filmmakers sharing compelling stories of what is being done globally to forward human rights, animal advocacy and environmental conservation and caretaking. Throughout the four days, 45 documentaries, narratives, shorts and experimental [...]
At this point, Tina Turner could do just about any music project. She chose Beyond, which will probably not sell a million units. That says a lot. This is the same woman who, in 1969, taught Mick Jagger to be a proper front man. The fusing of Buddhist and Christian prayers is a bold undertaking. [...]
The ancient and revered epic of The Ramayana takes us through the entire gamut of human experience: love, loss, adventure, betrayal, devotion, heroism, fear and back to karma, dharma and yes, love. It’s a two thousand-year-old sacred text that has been interpreted and reinterpreted around in the world and in multiple media. In this innovative [...]
“Man…tra; Man- means ‘mind’; -tra means ‘to free’,” Vijay Krsna tells me. The young Hare Krishna devotee from the UK who was born to the sound of his father singing Om Namah Shivaya on his guitar wants to share a kirtan experience with one and all. “To call out and have someone open their heart [...]
Exploring The Divine In A Dive Bar “I just wanna melt away in all Its grace, drift away to that sacred place where there’s no more you and me, no more they and we, just unity” soulfully wails Trevor Hall on his single, “Unity.” This positive, hopeful and mystical perspective echoed in every Trevor Hall [...]
The Little Soul and the Sun Neil Donald Walsch Waking Up Media Neil Donald Walsch’s beloved and provocative book, Conversations with God, contains the parable of the Little Soul and the Sun, a tale brought to life with this animated film. The Little Soul and the Sun follows Max, a young boy who [...]
MC: You don’t like to speak publicly. You like to stay home and write and cut films. Why are you here? DL: What brought me here? I think it was last year that it suddenly dawned on me that the David Lynch Weekend was an annual event. The Third Annual David Lynch Weekend, Exploring the [...]