Visionary Artist

Jono Shakespeare Thompson:
Expressing Personal Freedom Through Art

Jono, an artist expanding in all directions like the Indian Banyan tree in which he was conceived, came into this world in 1977 on a hot afternoon in Athens, Greece. Born with a double-knotted umbilical necktie, he barely made it to his Belgian social working mother and American folk musician father. Click here for more...

Astrology

Cancer (June 22-July 22): You are approaching a great benefit, but there is some air of mystery around it as well. And it feels like the mystery is actually more fulfilling than the supposed benefit! Take the time to let the warmth of the night air soak into your skin, the perfume of the night flowers permeate your memory, the magical way clouds obscure and reveal the stars in the sky inspire your natural intuition-the sensual joys of your journey enrich you even more than the treasure that awaits. But, of course, the treasure doesn't hurt, either! Look for a strong reassurance that you have what it takes to go on. Click here for more...

Bay Area

Floating

by Pia Hagan

I have always been a water baby. Most of my fondest memories have been swimming in waterfalls, playing in the ocean, and soaking in the mineral springs of Calistoga. The healing power of the ocean has been my savior and I am fortunate enough to live on this ever-changing Pacific coast. Now I have found another watery love­floating. I had been given the gift of floating from a friend for my birthday and I walked in to Float Floatation Center-Art Gallery in Oakland not knowing anything about Sumati tanks. Once I got into the tank and closed the door, I stretched out fully with my arms above my head. Click here for more...

Vision Cafe

Living Luminaries

Review by Stephen Simon

Gotham Metro Studios' fascinating new documentary Living Luminaries (On The Serious Pursuit of Happiness) details a young man's journey as he seeks to discover true happiness from extraordinary luminaries. We are treated to Marianne Williamson's brilliant and compassionate insights, don Miguel Ruiz's mystical vision, and Eckhart Tolle's wisdom on the "power of now." Others in the film are less well-known but leave an indelible impression on our psyche and in our hearts. Click here for more...

Culture

Water of Life­ Plunging into the True Meaning of an Ancient Christian Sacrament

by Brian Hopper

Many religions honor the sea as the place from which all life emerges. Yet, the sea is a dark and mysterious place. The Hebrew Scriptures speak of the Leviathan (sea monster) that plays in its deep places (Psalm 74). We are fascinated by the sea's power and make movies about perfect storms and unsinkable ships. We are compelled to dive into the ocean's depths. We watch movies and read books as a way of entering into the depths of our own psyches and that primordial churning sea from which we all came from. Click here for more...

Feature

The Healing Power of Water: Dr. Masaru Emoto

by Amy E. Cherrix - Interview with Dr. Emoto by Nicole Pugh

Even in small quantities, over time water has the power to carve monuments that rival any of man's greatest architectural works. Its absence has sounded the death knell for entire civilizations and its abundance has altered the course of human history, geography and even life itself. Water has been the single greatest equalizer since man took his first steps on the planet. Yet its mysteries continue to inspire and confound.
Perhaps no one has done more to illuminate the true nature of water than Masaru Emoto. Click here for more...

Feature

Dying of Thirst:
Los Angeles and Its Watery Past

by Michael Cervin

"There it is. Take it," Los Angeles Water and Power Superintendent William Mulholland yelled to a crowd of 40,000 gathered on November 5th, 1913. By all accounts, it was a sweltering day at the "Cascades," an agrarian spot near Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley. Cars and buggies crowded the area, kicking up dust, while vendors sold everything they could to mark the historic moment, including small glass bottles of real Owens Valley water. When the signal was given, the floodgates opened (literally and figuratively) and water flowed into the Los Angeles basin from an outside source for the first time in history. Click here for more...

Greek to Me

The Same River Twice

©2007 by Michael Raysses

Contemplating this month's theme of water has provided me with more than a little irony. I was inundated with images and memories, making it impossible to corral my thoughts into the typical format. The topic literally overwhelmed me, washed over me, and took me wherever it wanted. If there is one thing that I have learned about water is to submit to it, letting it have its way. So here are some musings on that great purveyor of fluid truths. Last one in is a rotten egg! ­MR Click here for more...

Holistic Products

Kimonos for Dogs

What do you get for the pooch who has it all? How about a doggie kimono by Sckoon Products? The design was inspired by company designer/founder Satoko Asai's Japanese background and is a welcome addition to any canine's wardrobe. The kimonos come in red, are easy to slip on and off and can be adjusted to fit different sized dogs. My little dog loves lounging in her kimono on those damp mornings when the coastal fog keeps a chill in the air. She looks up at me as if to say, "This feels great!" Click here for more...

Living Arts

An Oasis of Calm­ The Tea House Spa

by Scott Randall

If you had one hour to do anything you wanted what would it be? More than likely, a soak in a hot tub would be at the top of your list. And if you were fortunate enough to be in Santa Cruz when the hankering to hot tub strikes, the Tea House Spa would definitely be the place to go. Click here for more...

Mind Spirit

What Is A Oneness Blessing­And How Can I Get One?

by Barbara Bottner

Twin avatars Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma, acknowledged as teachers and bringers of god-realization to more than 20 million adherents around the world, began the Oneness Movement in Southern India in 1991. Their campus is called The Oneness University. Click here for more...

Mind States

Divine Healing:
The Dolphin Experience of Matsyendranath

by Yogiraj Sat Gurunath Siddhanath

Excerpted from Wings to Freedom: Mystic Revelations from Babaji and the Himalayan Yogis with permission from the author.

It was the 27th of July 1996. I was in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii. I rose early with the dawn to meet the Sun rising majestically from the Pacific. So ineffable was the ocean air, so rich and pristine, that all this left me lost inside myself. I sat for meditation on the lava cliff of our cottage overlooking the vast violet waters with the black Kahena Beach to my far left. This was heaven on earth. Click here for more...

Natural Healing

Aquamantra - Hydrating Bodies and Uplifting Spirits with Water

by Nicole Pugh

In the summer of 2005, local business owner and media marketing director Alexandra Teklak sat down to watch a movie. Little did she know at the time that this single act would change the direction of her life, and the health and well-being of many others, from that moment forward. What was the movie? What the Bleep Do We Know?, a ground-breaking film which discusses the nature of reality as seen through the lens of quantum mechanics. Click here for more...

Reviews

What's in Your Water?

An excerpt by Colin Ingram

In the United States, water treatment has concentrated on the elimination of acute (short-term) health risks, such as bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections, or acute poisoning from a sudden, large dose of lead or mercury. In this regard it has been fairly successful; serious acute waterborne diseases have been mostly eliminated. At the same time, those responsible for water quality have, until recent years, turned a blind eye to the long-term health effects of polluted water. Click here for more...

Viewpoint

The Mystery of Water, Winds and Waves

By Glenn Hening Copyright 2007 Glenn Hening, Inc.

There's nothing digital about the ocean. Standing on wet sand with waves running around your feet, with your ears full of the echoes of wavelengths beating against the continent; this simple, primordial moment is about as far from an iPod as you can get.
Consider this. The seas are never still because neither are the moon, the sun, or the winds. They move and the ocean responds. And despite eyes trained by forty years of surfing, every time I see the ocean, I never forget that there is still mystery to be found in the combination of water, winds, and waves. Click here for more...