a) My friend Ocean creates beautiful Ayurvedic products & is available for related consultations & workshops:  http://www.seaweedsalon.ca

b)  I met Todd Caldecott through a mutual friend and he has also taken part in the Healing Garden project.  He has recently written a book called Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life. Visit his website for all kinds of resources:  http://www.toddcaldecott.com/

c) I don’t know Madhuri but she does offer various Ayurvedic services in Vancouver and we both belong to an online women’s group:  http://madhuriayurvedayoga.com/

d)  I’ve heard about Dr. Shivakumar Varman, another local practitioner of Ayurveda.  I haven’t met him but I hear he is now based in Richmond.  Here is an article:  http://ayurvedavancouver.wikispaces.com/Dr+Varma

e)  Jeffrey Armstrong offers Ayurvedic workshops as part of his vast repertoire of Vedic knowledge:  http://JeffreyArmstrong.com

Ayurveda in India & Beyond:

a)  Sreedhari Ayurvedic Retreat, Kerala India. www.sreedhari.com
(I stayed 4 weeks at this retreat in January 2012 – please search “sreedhari” on this site to find the various articles/videos I did about the centre)

b) While I was at Sreedhari in January 2012, I had the chance to meet Yogi Cameron.  He will be sharing Ayurvedic wisdom with audiences across the globe when he launches his new Ayurvedic Reality TV show in the summer of 2012.  Visit his website for details:  www.yogicameron.com

1) I met the aptly-named Garliq one year when he participated in my Healing Garden project.  Recently, a friend took his herbal program and simply raved about it.  It’s a wonderful hands-on opportunity to learn plant wisdom and plant medicine…

About The Herbal Integration Course
This course is designed to help beginner and intermediate herb students develop an intimate and personal relationship with 8 medicine plants.  These 8 plants create a tremendously diverse tool kit and are the backbone of a home apothecary.  Students will learn to treat a variety of common ailments from injuries to colds & flus to rashes & bug bites and so much more.  This 8 month course runs from March – October.  Each month will be themed to explore a specific plant medicine and will include 1 Field Class and 1 Lab.
1 Weekend Intensive per month + the occasional homework. Deadline to apply:  March 1, 2012  (only room for 12 students)  Details at:  http://www.urbanherbschool.ca/herbal-integration-course

2) Another amazing person to mention is Delvin Solkinson, a devoted practitioner and teacher of Permaculture on the Sunshine Coast.  I’ve posted his courses on my newsletter and appreciate the important knowledge he is sharing.  He offers Permaculture Design Certification and an Advanced Permaculture Diploma Program.

Some info about the Advanced Dipolma program:
This is the first course of its kind in the world, a seasonal course where we meet up for a full day every 3 months over 8 seasons. This advanced course in learning will offer support, inspiration and content for you to complete a two year Permaculture Diploma through one of the Permaculture Institutes. Open to Greater Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and Gulf Island residents.  Visit http://www.gaiacraft.com/

Cost : $555 in advance or soonish ($655 with extended payment plan)
Register now to secure your space and join our learning ring.  maximum class size : 13
March 2011 – June 2013
Full day meetings in March, June, September and December

Rose Marcus has been recommended by some friends who know of her work in Evolutionary Astrology.  She offers readings, talks and classes.  Visit:  www.rosemarcus.com

Rob Brezsny is a world-reknown astrologer/writer who has a quirky sense of humor and a book called “Pronoia is the Antidote to Paranoia”:  Visit:  www.freewillastrology.com

My first Vedic Astrology birth chart was done by Jeffrey Armstrong in Vancouver.  Jeffrey is a devoted astrologer, scholar, poet, teacher and treasure of Vedic knowledge – offering weekend workshops and a regular Wednesday evening drop-in (satsang).  Please visit:  www.JeffreyArmstrong.com

My second Vedic Astrology birth chart was done by Ajithan, an astrologer in Kerala, India.  He does speak basic English so it may be possible to have a chart done by email or phone.  Please visit:  www.ajithan.com

Chakrapani is a Vedic astrologer recommended by Yogi Cameron.  www.chakrapani.com

I’ve been a huge fan of Louis CK since discovering him on Netflix. He is a very talented comedian who strikes my funny bone because woven into the profanity, is his courageous ability to reveal the rough edges of humanity with humor and authenticity. He speaks what others dare only think in their heads and his simplest gestures capture the human condition in both epic and mundane proportions. Louis bravely reveals the absurdities and contradictions we live with, and shares his own tribulations with laugh-out-loud audacity. I even show a clip from his special “Hilarious” in one of my Epic Evolution classes!

Louis is a wonderful example of someone who can happily tread the duality of Sacred and Profane. For that, I adore him. I can feel his compassionate soul in the unique ways he reflects upon racism, homophobia, sex and fatherhood. I enjoy his mischievous smile when he has managed to offend the audience. He is a risk-taker and is willing to follow his own stride even if others may think he is obscene…

Louis’ unique brand of boldness is also visible through his latest experiment: funding and creating his own comedy special “Live at the Beacon Theatre” for direct sale to the public. He wanted to see if people would pay him $5 for the content or just take the content for free. I’m not at all surprised by the results but I’m so glad that the world can now see how we do wish to support artists when given a direct and fair chance…

The Result: He received over $1 million in 12 days from his fans and i’m sure it has risen well beyond that since his Dec.21, 2011 update. With full transparency, he even posts this paypal screenshot:

You can still purchase a download of the Beacon Theatre show from his website and enjoy knowing that aside from Paypal fees, the rest of your money goes to the artist himself: https://buy.louisck.net/

Read his Dec.21 and Dec.13, 2011 messages about the results of his $5 experiment here: https://buy.louisck.net/news

Also: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/22/technology/louis_ck_million/index.htm

Read the article here: http://karanarora.posterous.com/insane-art-formed-by-carving-books-with-surgi

If you have a lullaby to share, I invite you to connect with me and take part in this project, please visit this page for more info…

This first translation (into Malayalam) was generously done by my friend Vasudevan!
(For more info about this project, click here)

Thus in 2008, I had the idea of learning a lullaby, nursery song or a simple ballad in each language that I would come across in this lifetime. It would be a way for me to express my love for all tribes and the unique consciousness each one offers. That year, I recorded my masseuse in Thailand singing a Thai lullaby and my language tutor in Bali singing an Indonesian nursery rhyme.

With this humble long-term project, I have 3 main intentions:

1)  To taste a bit of the diverse lingual beauty that exists in the world, enjoying the different sounds rolling off the tongue.

2) To glimpse into the heart of far-off peoples and lands through the songs of childhood or songs of love that are present in every culture.

3) To create a teaching archive of these songs so that more people can learn to sing them as gestures of Peace and Friendship.

If you wish to share a lullaby or a sweet song that you know accurately in another language, please email me the following items: 

1)  A video file (with clear audio) of the song as sung by YOU (not others)
a)  Frame the shot in medium closeup (Head + shoulders + part of chest).
b)  This is a folk project so you don’t need to worry about “being” a performer.  Just sing lovingly for a child to fall asleep…
c)  Choose a song that is less than 3 minutes (shorten it by a few stanzas if needed).
d)  Upload your video onto a video hosting site like youtube.com or vimeo.com and send me the link.

2)  The full text of the song in English or French phonetic sounds
a) Give your best description or interpretation of the sounds using English or French spellings.  e.g.  Kizhi in Malayalam is spoken like “Kirree” in English phonetics.
b) Identify the name of the actual language.

3)  If possible, also send the full text of the song in its original language.
a) Send as a PDF file if the characters cannot be displayed correctly otherwise

Fun Extras (not required):
1)  A short statement about the history or origin of this song.
2) Some links to the song on youtube (done by others) as additional reference.

Note:  My email address for this project is:  Evolution@littlewoo.org