Summertime: The Career Of A True American Idol & A Capricorn Vocal Icon

Summertime: The Career Of A True American Idol & A Capricorn Vocal Icon
By Brad Kronen

This American Idol possessed a vocal foundation which was crafted by talent, discipline, tenacity, and Capricorn elbow grease.

There are 3 words that separate the toddlers from the grown ups in the realm of the human voice: “The National Anthem”.

You can either sing it or you can’t.

You can either make entire crowds look upwards to the flag with teary eyed awe or have everyone looking down with tears in their eyes from the vocal train wreck that never should have been put in front of a microphone in the first place.

The National Anthem is one of my favorite tools to gauge how much experience a singer has, as well as if they are a vessel of voice in their own right or a conglomeration made by a corporate record company.

This is NOT a song to be performed, especially in front of others, regardless if you sing a mean karaoke, do a great Gospel rendition of it in the shower that sounds stellar every time, or if you feel like being spontaneous and announce to your friends you want to “see where it goes”.

The National Anthem leaves the singer vibrantly alive or barely breathing. You are completely naked vocally and are left utterly alone during its entire duration. If you begin to show signs of trouble, there is no one there to save you from vocally drowning. There may be throngs of people all around while singing this piece, but there is nothing anyone can do if in the middle of it, your voice simply can’t go on.

Nor can you have your manager go over it again in the recording studio and clean up the multitudes of pitch problems or total absence of high, but just as importantly and just as often, low notes.

The National Anthem transcends musical genres, style categorization and popular fads. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you do, its only requirement is a solid voice with an even more solid foundation of vocal technique. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

2012 & THE SHIFT THE POWER OF CEREMONY With Author Jack Allis

 Greetings to the community of Mystic Journey Bookstore and people of Venice and surrounding areas. My name is Jack Allis. I am an author and spiritual teacher from mystical Mount Shasta in the mountains up north.

I would like to invite you to join me at Mystic Journey on Wednesday, May 23, from 7-9 PM, for a ceremonial presentation to celebrate and connect with the shifting energies of these times we are blessed to be living in. Strongly influenced by indigenous traditions, particularly my recent experiences with a traditional Mayan Wisdom Keeper, I am the author of Prophesy, Challenge & Blessing – Visions of 2012 & the Shift, as well as two DVD’s on this hottest of topics, the shift of the ages. In this presentation, which is entitled “2012 & the Shift – the Power of Ceremony,” I endeavor to demystify what is usually seen as such a complicated and confusing topic, and do so simply and concisely.
All the indigenous prophesies agree that this is not doomsday, but rather a monumental time of transformation, in which we are blessed with an opportunity to spiritually transform ourselves, and our world. This is not a time for talk, but for action – spiritual action. In this presentation, I endeavor to show how we can participate in this great transmutation through the use of ceremony, with audience participation. This involves connecting to spirit through prayer, music, drums, rattles and singing bowls, singing and chanting. Go ahead, sing along, as we let go of the old world, and ascend to the new, with the power of our vibration. 7-9 PM – Admission $10 –

Mystic Journey Bookstore is at 1319 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice. For more information, go to www.mysticjourneybookstore.com or www.jackallis.com.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Spring Forward Into Spring! by Dr. Ram Tamang of The Healing Gardens

Spring is the beautiful season of vibrant colors, joy and celebration. It is also the season of dynamic energy, when nature blooms and flowers are around us, birds migrate to warmer regions and many animals “spring” from hibernation.  Spring is a season of physical and emotional bursts of energy and many countries around the world celebrate the oncoming of the season with festivals.

For many of us however, the transition from winter to spring can be a bit difficult and not as graceful as nature’s transition around us.

The qualities of spring are warm, moist, gentle, and unctuous and just like warmth melts the accumulated snow and ice of winter, the increased warmth in our body starts to loosen and liquefy the accumulated phlegm in the body. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Meditation and the Mind by Jeff Cannon

For many years I ran as fast as I could. I thought I knew where I was going, but I didn’t.  Along the way opportunities were presented to me. I ran past most of them without even realizing what they offered.

It wasn’t until I was given a gift through seven brain tumors that I had the chance to think about my life, my journey, my decisions and where I was.  Just twelve months earlier I thought I had it all. I had a successful agency. My business was growing. I had a title that I was proud of. I also had a lifestyle that was killing me – had been killing me for several years without my even knowing about it.

In the months that it took me to recuperate, I had plenty of time to try and figure out what had happened. I spoke with doctors and professors. I spoke to Buddhist monks and priests. I learned about the brain and the human body. I learned about stress and cancer. I learned about the brain’s ability to change, what scientists now call plasticity. I also learned about a practice I had long since given up – meditation. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

MY PERSONAL JOURNEY TO 2012 by Peter Canova

I started my spiritual odyssey having some vivid experiences in the 1970’s after discovering I was an accurate medical intuitive. In the 70’s, I travelled the world as an international businessman somewhat in a limbo between my corporate left brain life and my growing intuitive right-brained, metaphysical life.

By 1999, I had the idea to write a story in an effort to understand all of the psychic and intuitive experiences I had undergone. It was going to be a story about how spirit first came to exist in the
material world. I was prompted to study ancient spiritual traditions both as research for the book and as a way for my Capricorn mind to understand the basis for all the intuitive information I was
receiving from another source.

Something also told me that Mary Magdalene was to be a central part of this story. Odd, because I knew nothing at all about Mary Magdalene, and it seemed no one else did either at the turn
of the new century. I searched everywhere and found scant information about Magdalene, only enough to sense a great mystery behind this figure portrayed in the Bible in a way that begs you to ask, why is she even mentioned? I sensed she was like a teaser ad for a much bigger, unrevealed story. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wisdom from Ancient China for Modern Times by Sadia Carone

“Understanding where we fit, in relation to others.”

The I CHING is also known as the “book of changes” and it is consulted as an oracle, much like tarot cards or runes. The goal of the I CHING is to inform us about our exact  circumstances, and how we can best react or adapt to them.

Its symbolism is based in nature and therefore it is accessible to everyone. Thousands of years ago, scholars in ancient China observed nature and adapted this wisdom to how we function in
society. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Self-Hypnosis: A Gateway to Personal Health, Inner Peace and Wellness

Throughout the ages, humankind has desired to understand the meaning of life, searching for a deeper sense of purpose.  Imagine yourself beneath the star-filled sky and you’ll know that you are a part of something quite profound.  We instinctively sense and strive for this connection, hoping to go beyond the mundane, often stressful activities of daily life.  As we continue searching, expanding our awareness, we know that we are much more than physical machines to be fixed with drugs or surgery. We want more than what traditional medicine has to offer.  We are ready to participate in our wellness, wanting to experience tangible ways to explore and expand our human potential. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Transforming Lives with EFT by Jennifer Gaynor

The most interesting thing about facilitating healing sessions, is that you never know what direction it is is going to go. 9 times out of 10; when someone comes to me and says “I think it’s because of this” they aren’t aware of  the real root cause of their problem. They’ll say something like “I think I am overeating because of stress at work” then we “Resource”* (see explanation below) the issue and it and it REALLY started when they were 5 and their mother yelled at them for something. Or we find it is because they were abused on one or more occasions, etc. While it may be true that their current situation is triggering their habit or feelings; that is usually not the moment that the habit or feeling was CREATED. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Promise of Intuition

POST BY : JENIFER MADSON

I started my 12 Step journey just shy of my 24th birthday, which makes it more than 26 years now that I have been in recovery from addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Even though I was so young when I came in, the horror I experienced in my ten years of active addiction were enough: enough to reduce me to a soulless, morally bankrupt, physically battered version of my former light-hearted and loving self.

And the more chemicals I layered on, the more I buried any insight or wisdom that might save me from the wreck I had become.

Even the events that sent me stumbling into my first 12-step meeting werenʼt enough to convince me that my problems were of my own making; I still believed that if the rest of the world would behave, that I wouldnʼt need to drink and drug so much. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Spirit Quest” by Joe Nicassio

Once upon a time, I was asked to speak about entrepreneurship…

The audience was jam packed with highly educated professionals, over 50 brilliant people in attendance.
Some had bachelors degrees, most had masters degrees, and a few had their doctorate degrees. Despite all this “brain power”, every member in the crowd had one thing in common: They were ALL unemployed.
There were proper introductions. I shared some valuable insights.
But there was a memorable moment when I asked two simple questions.
The first question was “How many of you would like to own your own business?” About 70% of the hands were raised up.
Then I asked a second question. “How many of you are AFRAID to start your own business?” Almost EVERY hand in the room went up!
That response, to those two questions left an enormous impact on me. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment