What the heck is a Conscious Life Expo?
By Enyaj Pitchford
Having found myself in a state of transformative change, where my three children are grown, my income has vanished and my savings are negligent, I’ve discovered that going to an EXPO can present a plethora of unexpected opportunities and inspiration to create one’s own enterprise. Recently I revisited one of my favorite events. Every year, in the first weekend of February, at the swanky Hilton Hotel by the LAX, illuminated creatures of all persuasions gather with their wares and wisdom at the Conscious Life Expo. It is quite the gala of the New Age marketing; the fashions are exquisite, original and oft over the top, but always fun and awe inspiring. I defy anyone who claims these people of healing persuasion and prophesy are “phony”. They believe in what they say and do and offer. If you don’t, that’s your right. But don’t be the spoiler of this uplifting, festive menagerie of knowledge outside of your history books and tic tok presentations! For those philosophical and conspiracy seekers, or curious about crystal revelations, UFO encounters, meditation techniques, brain wave enhancement and manipulation, and seers of a cure of any physical, psychological, spiritual or emotional relief and understanding, seek no further. You have found your tribe! There is something for everyone here and it’s all with good vibrant company. I am never disappointed and always meet a new group of delightful people, who know how to enjoy themselves. There are endless aisles of wares; many of which you’ve never imagined existing but now you know you need it. Frankly, I never get to see the entire place, as I always meet some interesting people that I want to spend a lot of time with and would need an entire second weekend to finish looking around. The lobby offers an ongoing musical venue and dancing throughout the day , late into the evening. The raw talent exudes from every inch of this event. And it’s good energy!
I’ll share a few favorites. Gabi Lima IG @mandalite_soul had her brilliant, fluid, colorful and skillfully rendered mandala paintings, some centered around a mirror. They were as inspiring as she was! I enjoy sacred geometry artwork, yet these works are unique in their bright yet original color schemes and fluidity of application. They bore a fresh, natural energy that is often absent in these skillful renderings. Then I stopped by Isabella Philly, with her wide brimmed pointy hat, of the californiawitches.com and sat a “spell” with her and all the unique products. A sweet woman who wants to normalize the natural world as part of our daily, healing routine. My favorite lecturer/ story teller is Manoj, the Hindu Murtis dealer. A Murti is a statue of one of the many Hindu gods and goddesses. I’ve been told there are over 250,000 but have not confirmed this with the erudite Manoj, so don’t quote me. I always think of them all as the many aspects of the great Source of all Creation, great and small. And in our pantheon of great knowledge with limited understanding, poor humble human beings do their best to explain certain psychological, astrological and physiological phenomena of our experience of being a Spiritual being in a material, finite vehicle called the body and our quest to worship an unseen all powerful being. Quite a trip, this being a human! Especially , if one considers the aspect of reincarnation, that starts out from a mineral, atom,cell, amoeba,bacteria, plant, insect animal…something like that, until through the eons of time you are formed into a human being. And that’s where consciousness truly begins! Manoj takes one on a hero/heroine journey,through a series of inquiries, to discover the avatar or murti for you! For me, it was meditating Hanuman, the blissful servant who does without doing, whom I adore, yet secretly hope I don’t get too used to the life of a celibate, which me and my vibrant murti currently share! Lord help me!
I tried a few meditation techniques with headphones emitting sound and radio frequencies, but can’t say it really moved me. Maybe it wasn’t the place for me to do that. Others seemed transformed. Entered rooms of people in bliss from a meditation that didn’t engage me, while others seemed fully blissed out. I think I like to meditate alone, these days. I tried to see the obligatory psychic. Everyone was raving about Bashar,who actually is channeled by the nephew of the legendary songwriter Paul Anka, Darryl Anka. Unfortunately, I was online for the event and then had to use the restroom and when I returned the hall was jammed with people going around the bend. They were handing out numbers to limit those that could enter. Not wanting to replace Bashar’s super eager fans, I asked questions to those waiting in line. One woman flies all over the world, she’s from Ohio, to hear what Bashar will say. She’s convinced he always says something amazing and relevant and has been consistently doing so for the decades she’s been following him. Other’s seemed equally convinced and have been attending his appearances several times. Well, Bashar, wherever you are, you have quite a fan base! Here’s a couple of quotes I got from him online: “Surrender is not giving up something. True surrender is the total acceptance of yourself. Just be who you are, it will see you through.” “You are already what you think you need.” “Do not rely on the outer world as your measuring stick for your own spiritual growth. Rely on your response to the outer world to determine how much you have grown.” “The first step towards true enlightenment is to lighten up on yourself.” “The true Secret of the Law of Attraction is not how to learn to attract what you prefer, it’s how to learn to let go of what you don’t, so that you can let in what is trying to get to you automatically – by definition. That’s the true Secret and that’s why it’s effortless. It’s just about letting go and letting in. It’s not about having to learn to do something you’re not already doing.” I find that rather encouraging; I don’t have to do anything but alter perception. Just get rid of things and thoughts that do not serve me. Worth a try! Thanks Bashar; I like this guy!
I then went to check out the talent show. I met one of the authors and presenters of the UFO question at the talent show. Alan Steinfeld, author of “Making Contact” also does stand up and just tore up the audience with all his unique New Age humor, I haven’t heard since I read Swami Beyondananda in the 90’s. The talent show was put on by the illustrious and supremely fashionable -she outdid herself this year, as her shoes and outfit matched her cute boxes of luggage she rocked and rolled by- Dr. Sarah Larson. What an event she gathered and hosted in her sophisticated suave style! Amazing humor, spoken word and a whole ensemble of hip hop dancers, put on by Christophe Mendy of Paris. It was hard to But it was hard to choose the best that night, as the comedy and spoken word was off the hook, but Christophe left happily with $500!
My next goal was to attend a UFO conference. This is one of the highlights for a lot of people here. Now, I must admit, I did not go in there as a believer, even though I certainly have seen such a phenomenon. I expected a bunch of talk of little green men and what they told them about the end of the world or something to that nature. But Mr. UFO himself, Alan Steinfeld spoke elegantly and intelligently with two colleagues, well established in this field, beginning with their early knowledge of remote viewing. That’s a kind of meditation technique where you see the unseen. One of the men there actually wrote to NASA about seeing pyramids on Mars and NASA responded by sending him a previously unpublished picture of that very site, way back in the early 70’s. Alan’s book “Making Contact” which is a compilation of experts in the field from the US and UK defense office, to Harvard,and a long list of interesting people, including Bashar, But the lecture was focused on a Universal Consciousness that is beginning to recognize human beings as one of them. And as Nicolas Tesla puts it, “it’s all vibrational energy.” What was delightfully unexpected were not the answers given but the questions posed. The UFO and Extraterrestrial were viewed from the angle of new levels of consciousness, arising within us. What famed author and professor of quantum physics, Amit Goswami (“The Self -Aware Universe”) wrote in his book review captured my feelings: “the authors finally ask the right questions: What will human beings realize in finding themselves to be part of a larger cosmos? Are we dealing with beings of a different non-material order?. Humanity has to evolve from rational to intuitive beings for this momentous day to arrive.” He then goes on to extol “Making Contact” as “exciting, readable to everyone with an open mind”
And last but not least , I must give a shout out to Zak, the sacred stone deliverer, aka Captain Native America. Since he was a child his Native American grandparents asserted that he had the gift of bringing stones back to Nature, to a sacred site. At the expo, he dresses in his Captain America costume, but by his appearance, it’s easy to surmise this is definitely a Native American Captain! He is a dear man, who makes a living finding the source of EMT waves in your home. EMT waves, by the way, are caused when an electronic field comes in contact with a magnetic field. There’s plenty of research on the Internet on how these waves can cause headaches, brain fog and worse! He has a small electronic device that tracks them and knows ways to offset the problems they cause. Brilliant! He has a pile of stones he gives away at the expo, that he dug up in the Los Angelino mountains, and they are Indigenous to that particular area. He explained to me the significance of a stone; it is the first sign of civilization moving out of the trees. People had a stone to throw, as their first weapon, to scare the animals away and to dominate some of the landscape as their own. It’s the most primal tool of freedom of movement on the planet, and it mitigates the Spiritual loss of aggression that has been done in its name, to bring a sense of peace back to the planet, and our civilized world. A lot of people dismiss what seems naive and frivolous, but to me, it’s innocent and vital to return to the path of peace and harmony on the Earth. Zac is a Super Hero of Indigenous cultural understanding and history. He refers to his mission as his Native American Entanglement. You can reach Zac at 415-828-3335.
So I want to invite you to join this trippy experience come next February. It will certainly brighten up your winter day and open new doorways in your mind. Definitely get you thinking about worlds outside that may have never entered your thoughts before, and that’s a good thing!