Being spiritual and romantic is one and the same at this expo.
By Vicky Godal/Special to The Malibu Times
This Valentine’s Day weekend the first annual Conscious Life Conference and Exposition unfolds at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton. Program director Shima Moore (a former Malibu resident known as Judy Brewer) describes the conference as an unforgettable weekend of immersion in socially responsible business, consciousness, discovery, passionate living and romance. The origins of new age, alternative lifestyle and natural products “expos” trace back to the days of the Whole Earth Catalog in the ’70s. The Conscious Life Conference and Exposition continues this tradition bringing the cutting edge of new consciousness to the community at large. Expo producer Robert Quicksilver and the staff have impressive collective experience doing this type of event. Marketing director Ken Kaufman produced the San Francisco Whole life Expo for more than 20 years.
“Its such an exciting thing,” Moore said. “I was editorial director for the Whole Life Expo for several years, but here I get to create. For me this is about bringing people together.”
Moore has developed eight tracks of study during the three days of the expo covering topics ranging from quantum physics to socially responsible business and investments to metaphysical filmmaking. Sixty workshops are scheduled. More than 130 free seminars hosted by well known practitioners, authors and speakers take place hourly.
Key note workshop speakers include actress Mariel Hemingway, “Creative Visualization,” author Shakti Gawan, producer-director Stephen Simon, romance guru Dr. Ava Cadell and financial executive Peter Camejo, who is regarded as one of the leaders of the socially responsible investment movement.
The eight tracks of study cover a diverse range of information. The Spiritual Cinema Workshop and All-Day Filmmaking Seminar is hosted by Simon, a veteran producer whose credits include such well known films as Academy Award-winner “What Dreams May Come,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Somewhere in Time,” “All the Right Moves,” “The Goodbye Girl,” “The Electric Horseman,” and Emmy-nominated “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story.” Simon is co-founder and president of Moving Messages: The Institute for Spiritual Entertainment, Inc. Segments of his newest release, “Indigo,” will be shown and discussed during the presentation. Simon is currently working on the film adaptation of “Conversations with God.”
The Ancient Science, Modern Mysteries track takes participants on a journey of inquiry, disclosure and investigation, with several of the world’s foremost authorities in such controversial topics as time travel, modern space flight, lunar images, the quest for the Holy Grail and secret codes in the universe. Featured speakers include Sir Laurence Gardner, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and Presidential Attaché to the European Council of Princes. In 1997, Laurence was U.K. Author of the Year. Another speaker, George Noory, host of the nationally syndicated program “Coast to Coast AM,” captivates listeners with discussions of paranormal phenomena, conspiracies and all things curious and unexplained. He is driven, he has said, by the desire to solve the great mysteries of our time.
The Love, Relationships and Sexuality track begins with media personality Cadell and continues with practical relationship insights from speakers like former Miss USA Terri Amos.
The Metaphysical Arts conference revolves around an exploration into each individual’s life purpose and the age of each soul. This track continues with revelations and inquiry into soul mates and soul connections with others.
The Conversations with Spirit track immerses participants in conscious exploration with the spirit for three days and nights. Topics such as inter-dimensional travel, cosmic origins, angels and the spirit are highlights of this seminar.
The Planetary Transformation conference explores what is happening on the planet right now to establish significant road markers for assisting us. Socially responsible investments and the energy of money, feature prominently in this track. Speakers include Gabriel Cousens, author of “The Bible of Vegetarianism: Conscious Eating and Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine,” which combines cutting edge research with nutritional healing. In-depth discussion explains vegan live-food nutrition.
Speaker Camejo is widely regarded as one of the leaders of the “Socially Responsible Investment” movement. In 1987, he founded Progressive Asset Management (PAM), the first broker/dealer specializing in socially responsible investing. Camejo is author of “The SRI Advantage: Why Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Financially,” and was the Green Party candidate for Governor of California. He speaks on issues confronting financial markets and the economy in relation to the environment, social justice and peace.
The Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies track explores homeopathic remedies, herbs, vitamins and tinctures, advances in complimentary medicine, including traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, yoga and other forms of exercise, spiritual healing, positive thinking and prayer with leaders in the field of health and medicine. Malibu’s Dr. Jesse Henley co-conducts a women’s health symposium called the Lifestages of Women’s Health with Dr. Hyla Cass and Dr. Cynthia Watson.
The Latino Spiritual Awakening track taps into the interest of the Latino community in the metaphysical and complementary health as demonstrated by the popularity of Telemundo/NBC’s “Los Sobrenaturales” segment on the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news.
“And, because its Valentine’s weekend, we decided to accentuate this exquisite Valentine’s Day,” Moore said. “Couples are invited to a romantic, rooftop candlelight dinner in the charming surroundings of a Japanese Garden or a high energy singles mixer in the Carmel Room, followed by an old-fashioned Valentine’s Dance in the L.A. Ballroom for everyone.”
Workshops and lectures take place Feb. 13-15. For more information on the expo go to www.conscious-life.com.