Spain’s plan to steal the land of the indigenous people and bully them into accepting Catholicism was in full force in Southern California. In the 18th Century the Church established 21 missions along the Camino Royale, now known as the 101. The missions were built...
Toypurina (1760-1799) had watched the white settlers at the San Gabriel Mission steal her people’s land and steadily usurp their culture since she was 12 years old. She was sister to the head of her village and a powerful shaman, spiritual leader, and medicine woman...
It was a major birthday – one of those years when you take stock of if you’re where you want to be. In most areas of life, I had to admit I was doing great: successful in my chosen career, great health, lovely friends, a...
I often tell my clients and the participants in my workshops about Osho’s technique of envisioning ourselves as headless people. It always makes me laugh:“Just drop it, be headless. Try it as a meditation. It is one of the most beautiful Tantra meditations. Walk, and...
Psychotherapist Catherine Auman talks about psychedelics and spiritual growth:The word psychedelics might make you think of hippies wearing beads laying in the park, staring at their fingers. You’re not the only one. The image of plant medicines has been highly filtered by the propaganda. Although we are in...
The pulsating aliveness of a tree … the sensuous softness of a kiss … the mind being blessedly silent and only consciousness exists: These are experiences of mindfulness, whether brought to our attention by psychedelics or meditative awareness.“When the mind disappears and thoughts disappear you...
Surely you’ve heard of 666, the number of the Mark of the Beast? The reference is from the Book of Revelations of the Christian Bible and denotes the Devil or Satan. Aleister Crowley audaciously chose this number as his moniker.Most if not all of modern...
I entered from the parking lot into the tiny kitchen where smatterings of junk food were laid out on paper plates for fellowship after the service. The door opened onto a large room with gleaming linoleum floors and about 30 people sitting on folding chairs,...
Anyone who’s sensitive cannot deny that certain places carry more spiritual energy than others. Sometimes the energy is high because of the people who’ve prayed there for decades (or centuries), performed good works there, or perfected themselves to raise their own frequencies. Perhaps a Being...
Another hometown Spiritual L.A. sect is the Christian/Theosophical hybrid Niscience (pronounced nish-ence). Founded in in Glendale in 1953 by the charismatic Ann Ree Colton (1898 - 1984) and her 24-year-younger husband, Jonathan Murro, Niscience is a blend of Eastern and Western thought.
Colton developed a system for personal and spiritual growth