SPIRIT CARD

The Quest
by Marianne Grommet Bangwa

Visit the
Spirit Card Center!
OUR 174th ISSUE
Welcome to Issue 174 of OmPlace's Altwire newsletter. Please direct your submissions and suggestions to: susanp@omplace.com



FREE OmPlace Radio



Visit JukeboxAlive.com

FEATURED WEBSITES
The Gathering of the Peacemakers
 A Week of Wisdom & Conscious Music
Aug. 4-10 Banner Elk, NC
Join us in the Blue Ridge mountains for daily workshops in solar and wind energy, bio-diesel fuels, living off-the-grid, organic and bio-dynamic gardening, holistic health, wilderness survival, building your own green home, handling money wisely, creating and sustaining loving unions, finding your mission in life, etc. Evening concerts with Corey Harris, Dub Conscious, Laura Reed and Deep Pocket Band, Afromotive, Ras Alan and Chalwa. Register soon as space is very limited! For more information, visit onelovepress.com or send an email.


Soul Healing and Enlightenment Retreat with Master Zhi Gang Sha
Oct 23-25, 2008
in Atlanta, GA
Follow your soul's desire. Join Master Zhi Gang Sha, inspiring soul leader, exceptional healer, and chosen divine servant. Learn soul secrets, wisdom, knowledge and practices, clear your blockages and transform every aspect of your life. Experience soul healing and enlightenment. For more details or to register, call 888-339-6815, send an email or visit drsha.com.


Raw Cacao from Organic Living Food
All of us at Organic Living Food take pride in our quality "Arriba Nacional" raw cacao products, as well as our other raw super-foods. Everyone is raving about our cacao's exceptional flavor and natural high. Cacao is packed full of essential vitamins and minerals, and promotes the production of feel good chemicals in the body. Used by the ancient culture of the Mayans in a spicy beverage which was valued more than gold! For more info and to order, see our website.


Imagine This Presentation
  • Pan & Zoom Slide Show
  • Voiceover Description
  • Background Music
  • Captions
    We provide the tools to create a presentation like this in 5 minutes for under $5. Too good to be true? evoicespot.com


    The Chinese Online Almanac
    For centuries, the farmer's calendar was a guideline to detect auspicious hours, days and periods for important activities to ensure a positive outcome. Now people all across the globe are followers of this potent tool. The user-friendly Online Chinese Almanac embodies this calendar and more to ensure that your day's work is paved with success. View our free almanac for the day here at Dragon-Gate.com.


    Grail Springs
    Holistic Detox
    Canada Best Seller! Order your copy now from Canada's most talked about holistic spa and life transformation retreat centre Grail Springs Holistic Detox: For Body, Mind & Spirit (McArthur & Company). See grailsprings.com or amazon.com.


    Affordable
    Holistic Websites
    Are you a health practitioner, artist,
    musician, life coach,
    or a new business owner?
    Exciting websites:
    • new holistic template packages for any business
    on a budget
    • custom websites available
    for your unique requirements
    • energy conscious
    • high-vibration images
    Features available:
    • blog or articles
    • community forum
    • directory listings
    • shopping cart
    • calendar
    • register for events
    • newsletter sign-up
    • audio, faq, sitemap
    • and more!
    See the portfolio of designs.
    Receive a FREE price quote!
    609-233-9980
    Vizuelle.com


    Sacred Geometry
    Oracle Deck
    Visionary artist Francene Hart designed this boxed set, which includes a 128-page 6X9 paperback book with 64 full-color oracle cards. See this page for more info.


    • RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    Recipe of the Week: Mushroom, Apple and Pecan Salad from VegWeb.com
    Quick, light, easy, and yummy.
    See recipe

           See previous recipe links
    Alternative News
    False Katrina Story Spread to Push Offshore Oil Drilling   from RawStory.com
    Former Senator turned energy lobbyist Trent Lott (R-MS) falsely claimed, during a Tuesday (July 15, 2008) MSNBC appearance in support of drilling for oil offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that Hurricane Katrina didn't cause oil spills. "We didn't have one drop of oil [spilled] when we had the biggest hurricane in recent history, Hurricane Katrina," Lott said on Tuesday. Oil spills, in fact, numbered over 100 in the hurricane's aftermath, plaguing New Orleans and nearby areas and also contaminating the Mississippi River. The Coast Guard, MSNBC itself reported in September of 2005, estimated that 7 million gallons of oil, between 44 separate facilities around southeastern Louisiana, had been spilled as a result of the storm.
          See the full article >>>          See previous News links

    Arts and Entertainment
    Hollywood’s Hero Deficit
      from The American: A Magazine of Ideas (american.com)
    A spate of movies about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terror came out last year, all of them hostile to U.S. involvement and all of them box-office flops. At the time there was a certain amount of soul-searching in the media as to why, when most Americans told pollsters they thought the Iraq war, at least, had been a mistake, they didn’t seem to want to go and see movies that sought to show them just how great a mistake it had been. The New York Times critic A.O. Scott cited what he called “the economically convenient idea that people go to the movies to escape the problems of the world rather than to confront them,” but acknowledged the possibility that America’s opposition to the war “finds its truest expression in the wish that the whole thing would just go away, rather than in an appetite for critical films.”
          Read full article >>>           See previous A&E links
    Reading Room
    Living a Sensual Lifestyle   by Tracy Morrow / Certified Life Coach and Reiki Master Teacher
    Look around, as if for the first time. What do you see? Listen hard to the sounds of your world. What do you hear? Step away from the computer, the TV and the novel you are reading at lunch and breakfast and really taste your food. Caress your skin and wake up to the physical body that is undernourished of your attention and pleasure, yet still serves you with such dedication that you are alive and well enough to read this newsletter. Just for a moment, can you hear your heart’s message to you? One great suggestion to help in returning to a more sensual lifestyle is to set an alarm to ring once each hour and then take some time, at least one full minute, to experience your environment through your physical senses. Breathe deeply and allow yourself to become present to the world around you. Meditation, walking meditation, and yoga, are all excellent tools to help you strengthen your sense of connection to the outer world as well.
          Read full article >>>       See previous Reading Room links

    Spirituality
    Yoga and the Quest for Happiness   by Charlotte Bell / Excerpted from her book Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice
    The quest for happiness is universal. There is not a single being on this Earth who does not seek to live a happy life. Many of us seek happiness through acquisition—of material wealth, public acknowledgment, or extraordinary experiences. Many of us seek contentment through our relationships with family, friends, and life partners. The search can take the form of devotion to an exemplary deity, as in Judeo-Christian and Islamic systems. Other seekers have sought peace through the exploration and understanding of the Self, in systems such as Buddhism. No matter what the method, the impulse is the same. All beings want to be happy. We who have embarked on the path of yoga also do so in search of happiness. Whether we hope to find happiness in the form of a more sculpted and flexible body, or whether we long to dwell in the peace of samadhi, the endeavor to find contentment is the motivation. (Copyright (c) 2007 by Charlotte Bell. Reprinted with permission from Rodmell Press)
          Read full article >>>            See previous Spirituality links
    Environment News Stories
    Why Our Food Waste May Be Our Greatest Asset
      from Alternet.org
    When I spend some quality time, just me alone with my dreams of composting, I always imagine a neighbourhood bio-digester. This would fit nicely near an intersection, so the residents from the four surrounding blocks can easily walk to it. After you throw your compost in the chute, enzymes and bacteria break it down to produce methane. The methane is burnt in a micro-turbine to generate electricity, which is sold back to the grid. The nice thing about this neighbourhood node ... is that it would be a logical place to expand into other waste streams like textiles, furniture, brass and steel. It would be helpful if urban planners could start thinking about space for these collection points.
          Read full article >>>        See previous Environment links
    Holistic Health
    Chiropractic for the Stages of Life
      from Balanced Living Magazine (balancedlivingmag.com)
    Chiropractic is a natural, non-invasive healthcare choice for many individuals suffering from pain or just looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. Addressing far more than only back pain, chiropractic relies on the principle that if the body is properly aligned, it has a greater capacity to heal itself. This principle is universal and applies to all ages and stages of a person’s life.
          Read full article >>>           See previous Holistic Health links

    FEATURED EVENTS

    First Annual Asheville Sacred Music & Yoga Festival
    August 15th-17th in Asheville NC
    A weekend of Yoga, Workshops, Camping, Music, & Local Food! Asheville's favorite yoga teachers and world reknowned masters of the healing arts come together to present a dynamic mix of workshops and classes at the awe inspiring mountaintop Prama Institute. Groove to Sacred Music from around the globe and experience the joy of community at the Harmony Village and Market.

    To learn more about this incredible event visit namasteasheville.com or call 828.252.8149.


    Awaken to your Divine Truth in Egypt with Ascended Master, Sanatkumara & Paula Muran
    Are you serious about your awakening? Are you being called? In March of 2007 Ascended Master Sanatkumara opened up the energy of 'true Egypt' to reclaim the original Divine Plan blueprint for Earth and you. This gives you an accelerated path to your awakening.

    Sanatkumara is the father of Earth, an instrumental supreme energy that has kept Earth functioning for millions of years. Sanatkumara is known as the Ancient of Days and through this grace you transform. Allow this profound loving energy into your heart to release karmic patterns and awaken your true Divine Self.

    Experience the oldest pyramid to private time in the Great Pyramid, the western desert oasis, to awe inspiring Temples along the Nile. Your Soul is energized and expanded with a vibration of Love that you can not receive anywhere else.

    "Words can not equal the thanks and gratitude in my heart. You led the most incredible journey into my heart, mind and Soul and through Egypt." Kristi M., Healer, Austin, TX

    Awaken Truth, Egypt - Oct. 2008
    Explore the Sacred Self Peru - March, 2009
    For more info see PaulaMuran.com or call 1-866-231-0023.


    PAST-LIFE REGRESSION COUNSELOR TRAINING
    Nov. 17-22, 2008
    Sedona, Arizona

    Always wanted to learn how to conduct expert past-life regressions? Join us at the Sedona Creative Life Center for a life-changing and highly experiential certification course. You will be warmly welcomed, and receive thorough, loving instruction in every aspect of past-life regression by Mary Elizabeth Raines, a recognized expert in this remarkable field. Upon completion, you will be ready to conduct past-life regression sessions with confidence, competence and compassion.

    For tuition and details, go to laughingcherub.com or call (920) 867-3900.


    Trance Dance
    & Tantric Shamanism
    Villa Sumaya, Guatemala
    November 8–16, 2008
    Tikal Extension Nov. 17–19

    An exploration of the Self through Dance and the Celebration of Discovery through Shamanic Ritual Trance Dance ~ Enter the inner aspects of the Self and explore the body, mind, spirit, connection. Tantric Shamanism ~ The fabric of life is woven between ordinary and non ordinary realities, our awareness for the must part is on the external, ordinary reality, magic and discovery, the potential for deep personal healing is when we enter the non ordinary reality. Tantric Shamanism will lead you to a deep exploration of music, dance, movement, your body, safe touch, toning, chanting, ritual, Altered States of Consciousness and more….

    Experience: Soul Retrieval - Journey to find and bring back lost pieces of the soul * Mask Making - Discover an inner mask, give it life and then dance your expression * Power Animal Retrieval - Connect with the spirits of the forest and journey for your power animal * Dance Your 7 Chakras * The Tao of Music * Shamanic Drumming * San Pedro (Wachuma) Rituals

    For detailed information visit: Journey2theHeart.com and click “Spiritual Travel” ~ or email Ernesto

     FEATURED BOOK
    LIFE and MIND —
    In Search of
    the Physical Basis
    Edited by Savely Savva

    Contemporary physics cannot explain life. The postulated concept of the biofield control system and experimental and theoretical works presented in the book suggest ways to broaden current scientific paradigm. Experimental studies presented and referred to in this book suggest that the operation of the organism cannot be reduced to chemical interactions since contemporary chemistry knows only electric and thermal forces; that the biological nuclear synthesis presented by Louis Kervran in 1960-80's is not a myth; that the non-structural memory of water manifests itself at organism, cellular and enzymes levels; that human intent and / or expectation may effect cellular equilibrium, etc.

    For more information or to order, see misaha.com or Trafford Publishing.
     FEATURED BOOK
    NEW
    From Deepak Chopra
    Why is God Laughing?
    The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism

    In WHY IS GOD LAUGHING? bestselling author Deepak Chopra uses a fictional tale of a comedian and his unlikely mentor to show us a path back to hope, joy, and even enlightenment — with a lot of laughter along the way. This refreshing take on spirituality gives us ten reasons to be optimistic, even in our challenging world, and shows us why laughter from the heart is the healthiest response to life.

    Order Your Copy Here

     FEATURED EDUCATION
    Hypnotherapy.com: Become a Certified Hypnotherapist
    30th Anniversary Accelerated Course beginning August 2 is nearly full!

    The Hypnotherapy Training Institute has taught innovative, exceptionally effective therapy methods to thousands of graduates from over 40 countries, including many leaders in the field. Founders of one of the original state-licensed hypnotherapy schools, we continue to forge new directions in the development of our emerging profession. Our comprehensive courses teach hypnotherapy for career training, for expanding the skills of health and counseling professionals, and for powerful personal healing.

    Our fascinating in-depth experiential classes include transformational live demonstrations and inspiring practice sessions of a wide range of transpersonal methods in an intimate, supportive setting. We emphasize accelerated courses, which draw students each semester from throughout the US and from many countries. Taught in San Francisco area by Randal Churchill & Marleen Mulder, "The Teachers of the Teachers"TM. Randal is author of the award-winning hypnotherapy texts, Become the Dream and Regression Hypnotherapy.

    You can find lots of information including articles at hypnotherapy.com, and you can download our free 20-page 30th Anniversary Brochure. Or you can email or call 1-800-256-6448 to request our brochure in the mail or for further info.