hare krishnaYou could go just for the food and the people watching. The restaurant is full of attractive vegetarian foodies savoring the inexpensive, all-you-can-eat, fresh, tasty colorful food, that just-by-the-way is prasad (has been blessed).Or, you could go just for the boutique upstairs, full of magical, spiritual treasures: saris and kurtas, jewelry, statues of gods and goddesses, ayurvedic products, malas, and books. Prices are reasonable making it quite difficult leave with finding some new

In the Oscar-winning Best Picture, Annie Hall, Woody Allen famously orders, "… the alfalfa sprouts and a plate of mashed yeast." His commentary on LA cuisine was voiced at The Source, one of the country’s first health food restaurants and a 70s fixture on the Sunset Strip.The Source was a gathering place for Hollywood hipsters such as John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Julie Christie and countless others, reporting to gross up to $10K a day at its peak. The staff took part in group meditations before and after their shifts and lived communally as the Source Family in a Hollywood Hills mansion called The Mother House.

spiritual-los-angeles-holy-hellPosing in his Speedo, his chiseled dancer’s body the very epitome of a Greek Adonis, Michel was a charismatic teacher who transmitted “The Knowing” to a group of 150-200 followers in weekly sessions in West Hollywood in the mid- to late 80s. At the height of the yuppie era, a cult flourished around him, living together 24/7 and calling themselves The Buddhafield. The cult members were decidedly not

 Metta is a Sanskrit word for friendliness, good will, loving kindness. As a practice it has many forms, many translations. Here is a simple one for you to use to develop and expand your love and kindness toward others:Lie or sit comfortably with eyes closed. (This prayer can also be said anywhere or anytime as a stealth move, and no one needs to know.) Begin to breathe and repeat the following

 What we are advocating is taking a look at how the conventional view of love actually destroys love, and then making the efforts necessary to turn ourselves into lovers, that is, truly loving people. Making a decision to go against the conventional worldview of daters as consumers deciding which shiny new object to purchase. Choosing against being people whose minds instead of hearts run the show, analyzing who is or is not worthy of love based on a set of

Romantic love, as we were saying, as invented by the Troubadours, is a spiritual longing for what cannot be had here on the earth plane. The object of romantic love is not really a human being, it’s an idealized image, perhaps a fragmented memory belonging to a person we once knew. Romantic love actually prefers to be unrequited, causing a desire for someone you can’t have so bad you want to tear your heart out. You elevate the other onto a pedestal above