Diary of a Psychic Healer

Last year I signed up for a short environmental psychology class with Jeffrey Kiehl.  We looked at WHY the science is so easy to ignore. Professor Kiehl has a book called Facing Climate Change - I haven’t read it, but I learned a lot in class.  The last few centuries of progress have been shaped by the idea that nature is separate from us, inferior to us (as we’ve moved away from seeing Spirit in nature), and that it can be tamed and exploited. The Age of Reason led to humans thinking of ourselves as superior because the intellect was deemed superior.   The scientific community identified fossil fuels as a problem almost 140 years ago! But their warnings fall on deaf ears. In class, professor  Kiehl explained that  data doesn’t lead to action because the parts of the brain that are involved in decision making and resolution are emotional, not rational.  Decisions involve the Limbic System - in one case, a person’s amydgala is activated (a fearful trauma res...

One of the things that I’ve toyed with is going vegetarian to reduce my environmental footprint, but rational arguments aren't always strong enough for us to give up something we love. And my favourite foods are veggies, salads, steaks and cheeseburgers. The compassion plea might be stronger.  If we think about how animals are kept in factories, it is worth it to choose free-range beef and chicken. Let's say the animal had a humane life and we believe in the food chain (animals eat each other in the wild); there is nothing morally wrong with eating animals. Moderation is healthy too.  Then three months ago I went on a heart healing workshop where we connected with our Higher Selves and with teacher guides such as Buddha or Quan Yin. It sounds like science fiction, but we can all learn to receive their messages and guidance if we meditate with this in mind. Beyond a certain level, the messages that come through are meant to help us ...

There are so many things that we take for granted and for most of us, water is one of them. You open the faucet and out it flows. What would our lives be like if it didn't happen?  Three million of my neighbours and I are about to find out. I live in Mexico City, in a neighbourhood that mirrors what you would expect to see in the United States or Canada. The main difference are endless traffic lines, obvious cultural variations and sometimes, poorly paved streets. The city’s water pipes are undergoing maintenance and tomorrow, the districts around me, home to 3 million people, are going to have our water supply cut off completely. The water supply is expected to be back at full capacity within seven days. An entire week.  We have water tanks that will last two days, so the building sent through a list of suggestions. I am sharing them because they made me think about my daily habits.  Avoid washing clothes and if it is absolutely nece...

Last month I went on a yoga retreat in tiny resort called Ollinyotl, Mexico. The place is amazing, surrounded by mountains that give off a constant vibe. We were in the middle of nowhere, with no internet and hardly any phone reception.  I am on-again-off-again with yoga, and sadly, I sprained my neck a few days before the retreat so I missed most of the yoga sessions and spent time in nature instead. The teachers were super kind and added a restorative yoga class.  Yoga Nidra was a nice surprise too: a guided meditation that puts us in a deep sleep. I'm sure I went somewhere else entirely!  Ollinyotl means "Movement from the Heart" in the Nahuatl language. The yoga-psychology part of the retreat was amazing. We learned tools to raise our physical vibration so that it is easier to connect with our spirit. The goal was to reach Sattvic mode (more on that later), so for example, we woke up at 6:30 AM for breathing exercises, followed a strictly ...

It's been three months since I became a weekday vegetarian for environmental reasons and thought this would be a good time for an update. If you read my reviews of Graham Hill's Why I 'm a Weekday Vegetarian Ted T alk , or the documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret , you'll know that cutting back on your meat consumption may do more for the planet than taking short showers or riding a bike to work. Giving up meat on weekdays has been easier than I imagined, and I don't feel silly for making a sacrifice that is big for me, but only a drop in the bucket when you look at the world's population.  This is what I  have learned from being a weekday vegetarian so far:   We don't need as much protein as we think and this took a lot of the pressure off when I reali zed I was aimi ng for twice the requirement . There are also lots of packaged foods that are fortified with protein. While I would rather get it from a natural source, I do enjoy my new...