Podcast appearances and mentions of harbin hot springs

Today, we're exploring the profound wisdom of Richard Bock - a master of breath work, aquatic body healing, and spiritual exploration. Richard brings over 40 years of personal inquiry into practices that unlock our deepest potential. From wandering through India as a young seeker to developing the Quantum Light Breath technique, he's dedicated his life to helping people reconnect with their authentic selves. In this episode, we'll journey through Richard's remarkable story - from his exploration through India and radical experiments in consciousness to his current work in Soma Rasa, exploring how breath, presence, and emotional awareness can transform our human experience. Get ready for an intimate, powerful conversation about healing, liberation, and the extraordinary capacity of the human heart.In this episode, we cover:Introduction to Quantum Light BreathIncredible Stories of Early Seeking, overland travels to India and Spiritual ExplorationExperiences with the Hare Krishna MovementThe move to Harbin Hot Springs and his training in aquatic bodywork and breath workThe principles of Quantum Light Breath and its benefitsTeachings on Emotions, Breath, and HealingThe Benefits of conscious, connected breathing and how it increases vitalityThe Difference between catharsis and healingThe Concept of Soma RasaThe Importance of presence and staying present with emotionsHow to begin breathwork as a transformation modalityHelpful links:Richard BockFree Quantum Light Breath sessions HEREThe Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of KnowledgeSiddhartaOrder The 9 Lives of Woman at The Rosebud Woman (Print) and on Amazon (Digital), NOW AVAILABLELiving Tantra Retreat: On May 14-19, 2025, join for a 6-day in-person retreat at the Art of Living Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains, NC. With Adam Bauer and Viraja PremaRead Release. by Christine on Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based in San Francisco, Enzo has a passion for the liberation of the queer male body. He's reporting from the front-line of naturism in California - sharing his experiences and adventures. In this episode, Enzo debriefs on Harbin Hot Springs, Canyon Club in Palm Springs, naked billiards in Portland, and shares new updates on his polyamorous love life. Host: Gareth Johnson Twitter: @gtvlondon

In today's episode I talk to Richard Bock about: ❤️  The spiritual enlightenment of his 15 years living on an Ashram. ❤️  His powerful experience of the Hare Krishna movement ❤️  Finding true belonging in this moment and surrendering to the divine occurrence of your feelings ❤️  Becoming more intimate with ourselves and each other ❤️  Self-realisation as a verb About Richard: Richard is a master of Aquatic Bodywork, a Bhakti Yogi at heart, and an innovator in the field of Breath-work, bringing live soundscapes, guided meditation and ecstatic breath together in the Quantum Light Breath. He is dedicated to facilitating others into states of embodied relaxation that allow for Reality to reveal herself in all her beauty and ferocity. Fascinated by the dance of polarity as in receiving/creating, feminine/masculine, he can often be found in loving acts of service.  His rare gift of deeply compassionate, exquisitely attuned, and wakeful presence pours through his hands, eyes, voice and body.  This presence can soften, open, and transform those he touches and has been cultivated and refined by over 40 years of his own journey.  Richard spent living in a Bhakti Yoga Ashram environment immersed in meditation and his enlightened aura is palpable and exciting. For 23 years, while living at Harbin Hot Springs, he taught WaterDance, The Presence of Being and Fluid Presence with a warm open style. Students found easy access to come home to themselves, embodied in an ecstatic atmosphere of authenticity. He now lives in Hawaii with his wife Kiki and is available for in person or online mentoring and sessions using his newly found synergy of a life-time of exploration. SomaRasa is what he calls this new style of assisting clients to come home to themselves into the humanity of their feeling experiences.  Client Feedback:  “I have never been witnessed in all encompassing totality before, I bow down to you in deep gratitude for holding such a space for me. It was indescribable” Quantum Light Breath is a guided conscious-connected-breath meditation with live music that brings participants out of the mind's chatter and into the immediacy of the present moment. Old patterns of behavior along with their accompanying emotions and physical sensations can melt, freeing the energy locked in them and resulting in a feeling of greater aliveness and spontaneity.  “Satori” or deeply awakened insight into True Nature is a common occurrence for many participants.  From this awakened and enlivened state, we move into a joyful experience of sounding and relating together, and this can lead to full embodiment and ease-full connection with nature and community. Richard's guiding principle for these events is captured in the Vedic aphorism acyntia bheda abheda tattva , that the Absolute Truth is inconceivably simultaneously one and different.  Connect with Richard here: https://www.facebook.com/richardbock http://www.true-contact.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEpsq1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQyZp-o8U74dT2Xvt_bY2D4hyvxHAcmJVjP5vZnpY7VXNcM3ko2QDZAI-g_aem_h64O_hMT-fjsL4gDWYfLSQ richeartbock@gmail.com Contact me: info@samallencoachingcreatively.com Join my Permission for Pleasure Group Coaching Programme for Women new cohort starting 16.09.24 https://samallencoachingcreatively.com/permission-for-pleasure Find out more about working with me as a Coach & Tantra Guide & Sexological Bodyworker on my ⁠website⁠

The second chakra is located in your abdomen, just below your belly button. In this episode, Lili and Shannon delve into the profound and transformative realm of the second chakra, also known as the sacral chakra. They share personal experiences, insightful discussions, and practical techniques for navigating triggers, understanding emotions, and embracing vulnerability.Lili and Shannon open up about their own journeys in overcoming shame, societal programming, and finding balance in the realms of sensuality, creativity, and emotional well-being. They touch upon the impact of societal norms, childhood conditioning, and individual experiences that shape our relationship with nudity and vulnerability. Shannon shares her personal story of nudity and the insights it provided her about herself. Additionally, they explore how energy and emotions manifest in the body, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness, meditation, and self-compassion in navigating challenging emotions and triggers.Key Talking Points of the Episode:[00:58] Importance of the sacral chakra in emotional manifestation.[05:05] Recognizing and managing others' emotions unconsciously.[07:06] Repressing emotions due to family conditioning and judgment.[11:23] Recognizing emotions and relating to others.[20:49] Fear of toxic, unfulfilling relationships, and absent parental influence.[25:46] Second chakra, emotions, and sensuality.[28:24] Shannon's experience at Harbin Hot Springs.[33:53] Lili's experience at Harbin.Quotes:“If your second chakra is fully open, you're going to feel the emotions and the energy of everyone.” “The more you get to know yourself, the better you're able to identify it, and then decide how you want to respond to it.”Note: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only.Resources: School for Meditation and Healing Harbin Hot Springs Support the showWhere to find us:WebsiteInstagramTikTokYouTube

For our third episode in season five, Julia joins us to talk about travel, building community, and how yoga of the mind helped her connect with the humans around her more deeply. Julia Tindall has been a community builder, teacher and traveler for the past 30 years. She taught yoga and tantra workshops at Harbin Hot Springs, Esalen and around the world up until Covid time, but now focuses on community building through travel. She takes small groups of like-minded people to exotic destinations such as Bali, Africa, Egypt and Argentina. Through amazing shared experiences, hearts open and deep connections are made. Originally English, Julia now lives in Sacramento CA and is the author of 5 books, one of which is the hilarious memoir, "Left at the Big White Pig." You can find Julia and her work at juliatindall.com

The first time I went to the clothing-optional baths at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur almost 30 years ago, I was that girl in the swimsuit sitting on her hands. Today, that girl feels confined and restricted at not being able to take her clothes off in a public hot tub or on an empty beach.Clothing has begun to feel like the puritanical construct that is in so many ways, across so many cultures. I guess it’s the animal side of me longing for my freedom…Being naked in public felt so vulnerable 30 years ago. I was so afraid of being seen, exposed. In truth, I was calling more attention to myself as the only one in a swimsuit at the time.Here in California there are many options for nude soaking or swimming. And while some of them have a reputation for being more cruise-y than others, I’ve never gone with the intention of inviting attention. In fact, with the mile-thick wall I’ve always had around myself in such situations, I may as well have had clothing on as far as others were concerned. In that way it felt possible to be naked, without feeling terribly vulnerable.Being naked can have nothing to do with the choice to wear clothing on or not. Truly being naked is about having our heart exposed; turning our soft underbelly to the light and saying “this is really me”. That is where we are our most naked.I could be wearing a burka and be far more naked than the dude in the baths at Harbin Hot Springs when what it is that I’m exposing is my essence.I’ve been getting naked in hot springs and baths since the late 1980s and I’ve never felt fully exposed until a few weeks ago when I walked my talk and shared who I am, really, with my own mother. Finally allowing her in to see who I am, who I’ve been and have hidden since I was a child, felt vastly more vulnerable than I’ve ever felt without clothing in a hot tub.Exposing the truth of my essence and risking rejection by the person who gave me life felt like that mid-air fall I’ve been terrified of in leaping off of the mythical cliff.I was prepared for the possibility that she would turn away - as prepared as one could be.And I knew that I would survive regardless. I have finally come to know that, in truth, I am a lovable and worthy being, independent of the approval of any other person - or the lack of it.But the potential for rejection by one’s own family can feel like a life or death proposition. Like jumping off of that cliff.Belonging. Acceptance. Love that is truly unconditional. These are what we seek to clothe ourselves in. Bottom line is, exposure requires courage. A lot of it.I did take that leap off of the need-for-maternal-approval cliff. And she met me, midair.For that, I am so incredibly grateful.And I knew that I was held, regardless.

one of my own favorite poems. Written while living at Harbin Hot Springs in the 90s.Thanks to Bruce and Eric for supporting my art. May you live long and prosper.

Mellissa Seaman is a Stanford educated lawyer turned intuitive business Strategist. She's the creator of Soul Gift Quiz which has helped thousands of people worldwide discover their deepest gift; to align with life fulfillment and business success. Fortune 100 executives hire her to help them become channels of genius to create products in the world in collaboration with the highest power to make sure they create things that matter. Contact Info Website: www.SoulGiftQuiz.com Social Media: Facebook / LinkedIn: @MellissaSeaman Most Influential Person My daughter Clarice Effect on Emotions Mindfulness makes my emotions possible to live with. My emotions are big. I'm an emotional type. My emotions hold a lot of charge and a lot of intelligence. Without mindfulness, my emotions feel like a crazy dragon ready to consume me. And with mindfulness I can ride that dragon and I can be the steward of that dragon and allow that dragon to take me where I need to go. Thoughts on Breathing Breathing is just the first touchstone. It's everything, you know, the breath is everything. I've done a lot of breath work, especially when I was living at Harbin Hot Springs and helping to lead breath work events there. I became so much more aware of my breath and even now, as you mentioned my breath, I can feel like my breath is a little bit high because I'm eager, you know. So it reminds me to just sort of let my belly soften and let my whole body soften and arrive even more, even in the midst of my eagerness to be with you. Suggested Resources Book: The Presence Process: A Healing Journey Into Present Moment Awareness by Michael Brown App: Insight Timer App: Relax Melodies Bullying Story What comes to mind for me is that I do work with a lot of parents of very intuitive kids and I call them dragon kids because sometimes these kids have so much energy in their bodies that they might get labeled as having some condition, whether it's ADHD or autism. I'm not a doctor so I can't say what those things are and who's what and blah, blah blah. But I do notice that there are a movement of kids now who have so much much energy in their little tiny bodies, you know, like there's so such big spirits. And when I work with the parents of those kids and occasionally with the kids directly, which is super fun too, a lot of what we do is to help those kids become more mindful. And we want them to have resources to become centered and to relax into their own invisible team. A lot of those kids are actually very aware that they have guardian angels or imaginary friends or some force that they can listen to you when they're quiet in here. Getting them back in touch with that, in my mind, is what can also help them in instances where they're being bullied for being big or for being out of control or whatever. That invisible team is right there for them and they have a different reference point than just these kids were holding themselves as the authorities on the playground, which of course they're not. They're just more kids looking for their own power, looking to hold power in a way that can feel safe to them. And so mindfulness, in addition to the intuitive gifts, acknowledging and welcoming intuitive gifts, I feel like be a huge benefit to especially the sensitive empathic supercharged dragon kids.

How I almost found myself possessed by the god of thunder, plus how to increase intuition and psychic sensitivityHi everybody, I'm Barbara Fernandez, the Rocking Raw Chef, here with my Clean Food, Dirty Stories: one to entertain, the other to inspire.I help people stamp out stress, depression and fatigue over at RockingRawChef.com, and today's title is:Playing With SpiritsIn addition to this story, at the end of this episode I'll share with you some top tips to increase intuition.OK enough hints from me, let's get on with the story.A pretty crazy storyFirst let me say that when I say playing with spirits, I'm not talking about Ouija boards. And I don't mean playing with them as in being disrespectful. This story is all about their power, how they can help and how that relates – yes, surprise, surprise – to food.Off to CaliforniaThis story begins when I decided to go out to the San Francisco Bay area to live there for a while. I was in a bit of a mess, as I'd just gotten ejected out of a relationship in a very painful way. This included a cry-for-help-disguised-as-a-suicide-attempt and a hospital stay which I talk about in last week's episode.So to say that I was a bit fragile would probably be an understatement. However I knew that I would meet some amazing people in the Bay area, and I couldn't wait to reconnect with one of my favorite people in the world. She's one of my dearest friends and has been since college, and she was like, “Come and stay! I'll help you settle in”. Well, I couldn't resist that offer. Her name is Francesca and her story is incredible. In fact Francesca overcame depression as well, and we share her story in Episode 12, From Depression To Diva.Anyway I got on a plane and went to Oakland California, where luckily my friend helped me land a job through a temp agency. I don't even remember what I did there, I think it was something in marketing and I know it involved a computer, but the rest of it is pretty much a blur. I do know that I made a big effort to dress really nicely every day. For some reason that's the one thing I remember. Superficial perhaps, but true – although I did get pleasure out of looking nice. Even though on the inside I was still a bit fragile.A clothing-optional weekend, with SanteriaFortunately for me I made friends really easily through Francesca. And shortly after I had arrived, Francesca invited me to come along to a clothing-optional weekend where we'd attend some ceremonies. One was a sweat lodge, which I've talked about in Episode 19, and the other was a ceremony in a tradition called Santeria. Plus as the weekend was going to be clothing-optional, well that alone was going to be a new experience for me. And of course I was up for it.I'll talk about the clothing-optional aspect of the weekend in another episode because that alone was really interesting. This week I want to focus on what happened between me and the spirits. First though, let me tell you a little bit about Santeria.A simplified definition of SanteriaSanteria means 'way of the saints'. It's an Afro-Carribean religion that originated in Cuba and was traditionally practiced by descendants of West African slaves. Practitioners replaced the slave owners' Catholic saints with their own spirits, called the Orisha. The Orisha are the go-betweens, if you like, the way in which we can connect with the one energy linking everything in the universe, which in Santeria is called Olorun. So kind of like using saints to interact with God, except you're using Orishas. That's way oversimplifying this, but this is just to give you an idea. I'll link to where you can find out more about Santeria in the show notes.Anyway I went with Francesca to a beautiful place in California called Harbin Hot Springs. Harbin has been a very strong spiritual center for people from all over to go and relax in its hot springs while doing yoga and all kinds of other good stuff.Drumming, dancing and spirit possessionAnd on the Friday night, I got my first introduction to Santeria in the form of a drumming and dancing ceremony. Now I knew nothing about Santeria. All I knew was that we were going to be doing some drumming. That was it. I never suspected that we would use drumming and dancing to let some of us be possessed (temporarily of course) by one of the Orishas.At this point you may be wondering, 'Why would anyone allow themselves to be possessed by a spirit?' Or you might be thinking, 'This is totally insane, I'm out of here'. But bear with me because what happened was pretty amazing.Now, people contact the Orishas to help them and others with their lives. It's also a way for them to expand their personalities, because each Orisha has a very distinct personality, as I was soon to discover for myself. So if you're normally a very timid woman for example, it can be quite something to suddenly be a big, burly spirit who loves cigars. That kind of thing. But I didn't know any of that at first.So the drumming started. I really liked the music, it was really healing to be able to just move around freely and enjoy the drums. People had left offerings for the Orishas on various altars, and each Orisha was honored by participants playing their song in a specific order. It's while the Orisha's song is playing that any of his or her devotees can be possessed by that Orisha.Enter the OrishasAnd yes, you can have several people possessed by the same Orisha at once. Energy is limitless, after all, so I don't know about you but that does make total sense to me. And I saw it, anyway, which was incredible.So suddenly one woman picked up and lit one of the cigars. She puffed away while walking around like a warrior. I learned that Oshun was the Orisha that she connected with, and Oshun loves cigars, very spicy food like hot peppers, and rum. So those were some of the things offered to him, and her whole personality changed. I mean, she was definitely not there, and someone else was. You could really tell. It was incredible, especially as I'd never seen anything like this before. OK well I had actually, once before when I assisted at a past-life regression that kind of went badly. But that's another story!Other songs and other Orishas came to the ceremony too, until there were about a quarter of the participants who were one Orisha or another. Oh and by the way, one interesting thing was that the people who were possessed by Orishas always knew instantly when someone else was about to be taken over as well. They knew even before the person did, and they'd run up to them and spin them around to help the process along.Knock, knock, knocking at my brain's doorI know this all sounds crazy, but bear with me! The music changed again, and it was at this point that all of a sudden I felt like someone was knocking on a door situated about three feet up and behind the top of my head. I kid you not. Literally knocking and asking if I'd let him in. He was very polite, at least he asked. I knew it was a 'he', though I can't tell you how I knew, because the only thing I knew about any of the Orishas were that some were male and some were female. That was it. It's important that I emphasize my total lack of knowledge by the way, because of what came later.So I'm feeling this knocking at my door and I'm thinking, 'Nooooo, I didn't really have spirit possession in mind when I came on this weekend, thank you'. But the other Orishas came rushing over to me and started laughing and spinning me around. Mind you, I hadn't even been moving before this. It happened in a split second, and none of these people knew me. But they knew something was happening.Well, I didn't let the Orisha in, but he wasn't quite finished with me yet. The others laughed and spun away dancing, and the evening went on. I learned by the way that the Orisha who had come knocking was Shango. Shango, I later learned, is the god of thunder, war and virility, and is also the Master Drummer and Master Dancer. So pretty cool.Messages from the spirit worldAnyway at this point all of the Orishas had come, and they went round helping the other people present by going up to them and giving them messages. I had three different Orishas come up to me. And the messages were incredible. One of them said to me, “You're not done in France yet. You'll go back there pretty soon.” At that time I had no idea what my plans were, let alone anyone else. No-one there even knew I'd been living in France. Another Orisha said, “Ah, you need a place to live! Don't worry, we'll help you”.Which they did, because when I got back from the weekend on the Sunday afternoon, there was a message on the answering machine offering me an apartment. Amazing! Particularly as we hadn't placed an ad – we were only asking a few friends.Now I mentioned earlier that after Shango had knocked on my door and I'd turned him away that he hadn't finished with me yet. And he hadn't. The reason I know this was because of the sweat lodge which was on the Saturday.Shango and the sweat lodgeIf you don't know what a sweat lodge is, it's basically a large, enclosed tent with a pit in the middle. Hot volcanic rocks are placed in the pit and the shaman or ceremony leader pours water over the rocks, and so it's like a very intense steam room. But very intense. I'm talking so hot that it's unbearable. The reason for that is so that you can clear out not only physical toxins, but emotional and spiritual ones as well. It was very intense and I've spoken about that detox process in Episode 19.What I didn't say though was that at one point I felt this almost irresistible urge to run over the hot coals in the pit. I was like, 'where is this coming from?' I mean I didn't have a habit of running over hot coals. In fact I'd never done that – not until years later when I went to a Tony Robbins seminar weekend and walked over a long row of hot coals. But that's another story.Anyway I was fighting off the urge to run over the coals. And eventually the urge passed and I survived the sweat lodge. But I wondered about it. I thought it might have been a memory from a past life or something. So when I got back home, I looked up some information on the Orishas and what did I discover? Shango's devotees are known for doing...guess what? Running over hot coals.My most amazing discovery...that happened today!I mentioned before that each Orisha is associated with a Catholic saint. This enabled the people to keep worshipping their deities, all while giving the appearance of adopting Catholicism. Apparently there are more than 10,000 saints, which I didn't know. That's a LOT of saints, right? And according to the Yoruba tradition there are 401 Orishas, as 401 is a sacred number. So that's a lot of deities. I'm telling you this because I learned TODAY as I was researching for this episode that out of all the Catholic saints, guess which one Shango is associated with? Saint Barbara! Isn't that just so freaky? I still can't believe it. It's like Shango is up there laughing. I can't believe that I didn't even know this until now. I'd looked into the Orishas a bit more when I got back to France, I'd read a book about them and other things, but somehow I'd never seen that till today! Amazing!How my skeptic son started his day todaySo because my mind was basically blown at breakfast, I had to tell my son about it immediately. He's home from college at the moment. I should clarify for you that he really doesn't believe in any spirit-related stuff. Which is I guess normal considering that both his parents have been involved with spiritual organizations for over 30 years, and his grandmother was a very well-known shaman in Mexico. Teenage rebellion and all that, right?So the lucky boy comes down for breakfast this morning to his mother saying, “Did I ever tell you about the time I was with people who were drumming and let themselves be possessed by spirits?” To which he laughed and shook his head, saying, “OK Mom. Let me get my hippy hat on”. And he listened patiently while I told him this story.He thinks I'm a bit crazy anyway, so now I'd say he's sure of it.I have to say though that even he was impressed with the saint thing. When I showed him the webpage where I found it, I could see he was really surprised. So who knows, maybe he'll discover his own story with spirits one day.Why I'm telling you this storyAnyway, what on earth do spirits have to do with food? Why am I telling you this story?There are two reasons actually. The first is that I think it makes a good story, whether you have had any of those kinds of experiences or not.And the second is that if you're into any kind of spiritual practice, well I want you to know that food can actually help speed up or intensify your journey. I'm not talking magic mushrooms, although we did talk about those in Episode 10 where we talk about Ayahuasca.I'm actually talking about normal, everyday foods that you probably have in your house. Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds – all of the things that you'd normally eat as part of getting more raw food into your life. These foods are powerful. They go way beyond health benefits, and I'll talk more about that in future episodes. But for now I'd like to give you some general principles so that if you do any kind of spiritual practice, or even if you'd just like to be more intuitive, you can get some practical tips for that right now.Principles to increase intuition and supercharge your spiritual practiceSo the first principle which I'm sure will come as no surprise to anyone is that it's important to eat organic as much as possible.The most important idea within eating organic is that the higher the water content of the food, the more important it is that you get it organic. Why? Because the water is what holds all those pesticides and poisons that have been sprayed on the fruit or vegetable throughout its life.Pesticides in particular are known as 'intuition blockers', so do avoid them as much as you can.By the way I don't want anyone to get paranoid here – I know people who eat all kinds of awful food and are still intuitive. I'm just giving you ways to get the very best out of yourself. So this isn't an all-or-nothing ideal that you must achieve. It's a tool, like anything else, that you can use as much as you are able or as you want to.Eat more raw, unprocessed foodsWell of course. If you know me, I'm all about that, and of course I show you how to do this in super delicious ways. Because life is too short for carrot sticks, as we all know. Right? If you need ideas for how to make delicious raw food dishes in 5 minutes, I'll link to my 5-minute recipe ebooks in the show notes.If we want to be more and more connected to the earth as well as all its creatures, which I'll talk about in another episode, eating food in its most natural state just makes sense. Nature did not provide us with microwave ovens. Right?It's the life-force in raw foods that literally feeds our psychic energy. It feeds our emotional and mental energy too. So if you've been listening to the podcast, you'll know that a lot of these suggestions are the same ones I make for starting to overcome depression. The more 'light' you eat, the more full of light you are, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.Another tip for eating lots of raw foods is to include as many colors as possible. Colors in food are there for a reason – each color is made up of different phytonutrients. And we need a variety of these for good health. That's why you'll hear people suggest that we 'eat the rainbow'. Just not a cooked rainbow, please. An experiment: do try this at home!In fact here's an experiment for you that will really make you think. Make yourself a raw soup or curry. You can use one of my recipes on the blog or in my ebooks. Then take part of that soup or curry, and heat it gently. Use what I call the pinky test to make sure that it's warm but not too hot. In other words, that you can keep your pinky in there without burning yourself. Then take the other part of that soup or curry, and heat it a lot. Cook it, in other words. So if it's a soup, let it boil quickly. Then remove it from the heat.Now I want you to look at the colors of each pot. You will see that the vibrant colors of the raw soup or curry have faded to almost nothing when you boil that same dish. The difference is amazing. You can literally see that some of the phytonutrients have been altered from their natural state. The colors aren't as bright. It's like eating sunshine versus eating pond water. Big difference, right? OK it's not quite that bad, but I wanted to give you an analogy.If you're already pretty psychic or sensitiveNow if you're already pretty sensitive, I do have a word of caution for you. Eating more raw food is like connecting fiber optic broadband to your intuition. And sometimes that might be too much. For instance, when I first moved to Paris as a vegetarian, I actually had to eat meat for a while to ground myself because I wasn't used to that many people in enclosed spaces like the subway. Unfortunately meat really lowers your overall vibration though. I'll talk more about that in another episode.Easier ways to ground yourselfNow I know of way easier ways to ground myself. Crystals work really well – but that's another story as it's quite a big topic and I want to give you solutions that you can use immediately. So if you haven't got crystals handy, you can use food. Potatoes for instance are one of the best grounding foods ever. You can't eat them raw, so just pile on some salad and a dressing with your baked potato. You should feel more grounded instantly.If you're not vegan, eggs are also very grounding. I don't recommend commercially produced eggs because the chickens are put through hell, but a lot of places now have free-range eggs. Or better yet, get them from a farm where you know how the animals are treated. Again, I'm speaking about an ideal here – just do the best you can with what you've got, I say.Cheese is also very grounding, but because it's a very heavy and clogging food, I don't normally recommend it. You can however make cashew nut cheese, which can still be raw vegan and works pretty well. I've got recipes for delicious cheeses on the blog which I'll link to in the show notes.Foods to avoid to increase intuitionIf you want to increase intuition, in addition to foods to include, there are also foods to avoid. You want to avoid anything that will lower your vibratory rate as well as interfere with any of the systems of the body. And particularly with your brain.So the shortcut principle to this is to think of brain foods. Brain foods are going to be great for your intuition and overall sensitivity. And if you haven't yet gotten your handy fridge chart that shows at a glance the best brain foods to eat and those to avoid, I'll link to that in the show notes too.But the short version of foods to avoid starts with meat, especially red meat. If you really feel you need meat, then I'd say less is more, and try to get organic, free-range meat. Or failing that, kosher. This is because you don't want to absorb not only the growth hormones, but also the vibrations of an animal that has been kept in stressful conditions and then was full of fear before it was slaughtered.If you feel you must eat meatAnimals are here to share this planet with us, and they are more magical than you could ever imagine. I'll share more about that in a future episode because it's another huge topic.For now though, let me say that if you feel you have to eat meat, better to eat meat from an animal that was allowed to live a full, relatively free life and was killed with respect, reverence and gratitude. Many tribal peoples thank the animal for giving its life. They kill it quickly to feed themselves and their families, not for sport. And they don't gorge themselves – they take what they need with very little waste.Another important aspect of this is to eat lighter meats like fish and poultry. Red meat is the densest, most difficult to digest. It takes between 24 to 72 hours to digest meat, depending on your digestive tract. Three days! Ugh!Fish and mercury levelsIf you eat fish, my top tip here is to avoid fish with high levels of mercury. Mercury is very toxic for the brain, so not only does it dampen sensitivity, but it's felt to contribute towards all kinds of auto-immune disorders such as Alzheimer's and dementia. So stick to fish like salmon, tilapia and cod. I'll link to an updated list of mercury levels in fish in the show notes for those who eat fish.Other foods to avoid to increase intuitionThe second thing to avoid is anything with additives, flavor enhancers and artificial sweeteners. In other words, anything containing chemical substances pretending that they're food.This makes sense though, right? So junk food, frozen ready meals, things like that. Oh and MSG, that's another one to avoid. Some people get headaches from MSG which is their body telling them, 'I don't like this. Get it out!'And of course the last thing I'll mention is sugar. And when I say sugar, I don't mean fruit sugar. I mean good ol' granulated, processed white stuff that looks like an illegal drug. But it's a legal drug that's every bit as addictive, and it lowers our overall vibration. It also has no health benefits whatsoever. If you're struggling to kick the sugar habit, get yourself some xylitol. It looks like sugar but it's made from plant sources and it's glycemic index is lower, which means it won't hit your bloodstream like a hit of I-don't-know-what-illegal-substance.Other alternatives to sugarYou can also use dates, coconut palm sugar, honey if you're not vegan – so there are plenty of choices and they're all easy to use. Even maple syrup is better for you. Yes it's been processed so it's not technically raw. But it's delicious and again it's way better for you than white sugar. If you do buy maple syrup, be sure to get the pure 100 percent syrup (and not the fake stuff that's mixed with corn syrup, just check the label).There are a lot of other things you can do to increase intuition and raise your overall sensitivity, and I'll go into those in future episodes. For now though, I wanted to give you some easy, practical things that you can do today.Have YOU got a story to share?Whew! Lots of information this week, I hope you enjoyed it!This brings us to the end of this week's story – and if you've got a true story to share (and you'd like to know what food could have saved the day or enhanced your particular situation), I'd love to hear from you!Got a question, or a comment?Got a question, or a comment? Pop a note below in the comments, that would be awesome. You can also subscribe to the podcast to listen 'on the go' in iTunes, Stitcher or TuneIn.I hope you have an amazing day. Thank you so much for being here with me to share in my Clean Food, Dirty Stories. Bye for now!RESOURCESTo get your handy fridge chart: http://rockingrawchef.com/10-years-younger/More about eating for intuition: http://rockingrawchef.com/increase-intuition-with-food/Nut cheese recipes: http://rockingrawchef.com/cheese-on-a-raw-food-diet/ Link to 5-Minute recipe ebooks: https://rockingrawchef.com/5-minute-recipes/More about Santeria: https://prezi.com/hodskbeqn6oa/santeria-candomble/More about specific Orishas: https://lukumipeople.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/the-orisha-who-do-you-most-identify-with/Harbin Hot Springs: https://harbin.org/Mercury levels in fish (as of July 2017): https://www.thespruce.com/check-fish-for-mercury-before-buying-1300629

John Carosella hosts Convergence, a journey into shamanism, science, and mysticism, exploring our beautiful world. Making the mystical accessible to the scientific-minded, and bringing the language of science to the Mystery, John brings provocative, new perspectives to living, learning, healing, and discovery. This month, to honor and embrace the tragic loss of Harbin Hot Springs to the Valley Fire, and to help those left in deep need, John recaps his "Spirited Conversation" with Richard Bock. Richard has for years led Quantum Light Breath Meditation at Harbin Hot Springs. John and Richard explore Richard's journey from 70's hippie to Hare Krishna to his life's work leading people into the power of their breath. Please visit Haribin.org to donate and for other ways you can help. John also shares his own experiences with meditation in his "Exploring Reality" segment. And in this week's "Firefly Willows Roundtable", John and co-hosts HiC and Mildred Lynn explore different ways of experiencing meditation. Join us for Convergence on Firefly Willows L*I*V*E! Firefly Willows L*I*V*E! Come find - and shine - your inner light.

John Carosella hosts Convergence, a journey into shamanism, science, and mysticism, exploring our beautiful world. John brings provocative, new perspectives to living, learning, healing, and discovery -- from the mystical to the commonplace.   It's The Meditation Episode! This month, John hosts a "Spirited Conversation" with Richard Bock, who leads Quantum Light Breath Meditation at Harbin Hot Springs, about his journey from 70's hippie to Hare Krishna to his life's work leading people into the power of their breath. John also shares his own experiences with meditation in his "Exploring Reality" segment. And in this week's "Firefly Willows Roundtable", John and co-hosts HiC and Mildred Lynn explore different ways of experiencing meditation. Join us for Convergence on Firefly Willows L*I*V*E! Firefly Willows L*I*V*E! Come find - and shine - your inner light.