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Vision Cafe
Body Mind Spirit Expo – Revolutionizing the Expo Experience
It’s time to celebrate Body Mind Spirit Expo 2009! Now in its 22nd year, BMSE has become the largest health and wellness expo in the United States. With a presence in 20 states and expanding, Body Mind Spirit creates an arena for the general public to increase its knowledge of alternative health and metaphysical topics. Coming to San Diego September 19-20 at the Scottish Rite Center, BMSE will bring a positive, healing environment to life. The best from your community has been gathered and joined with others from throughout the country to provide the essential tools for discovering overall health and wellbeing.
As always, there are lots of exciting new offerings at the Expo. Last spring, BMSE introduced their revitalized website, and now they are proudly pioneering a technological revolution of the expo business. Interactive floor plans allow you to scroll over our exhibitors and link directly to their booth detail page. Here you can view the exhibitors’ booths and lecture information, along with a link to the exhibitors’ websites. In addition, you can visit the exhibitors’ storefronts, where you can browse through services and products in our free online stores. And if you are interested in exhibiting at the show, the interactive floor plans allow you to pick out your booth and purchase it directly online! Before even arriving, you can tailor your show experience through online program guides, which allow you to customize your show schedule, thus reducing paper waste and preserving our environment. And don’t forget the online coupon; you can either download one or simply purchase your ticket online to receive the discounted price.
Once you arrive at the Scottish Rite Center, you will enjoy an outstanding offering of 75 of San Diego’s and the world’s finest exhibitors, fully covering the latest findings in natural health, personal growth, and metaphysics (BMSE’s specialty). Browse for hours, receive a healing or a soothing massage, and experience a reading from a gifted psychic. Then head over to the lecture halls. BMSE’s lecture schedule is phenomenal this season, with more than 50 presenters from across the globe. Meet and interact with a star-laden collection of international bestselling authors.
The 2009 Expos are themed “See Beyond,” and this applies on all levels. See beyond the current economic challenges and see beyond the physical realms entirely to discover magical inner worlds that offer so much guidance and support. So join the celebration and move forward this year as BMSE offers you the tools and techniques to uncover your own glorious inner being.
Weekend admission of $12 includes all lectures and demos, as well as admission to the exhibit hall. Come rejuvenate! Get a healing treatment, have your aura photo taken, and open yourself to new ideas, familiar revelations or shift your perspective altogether. Body Mind Spirit Expo offers a safe environment for growth and exploration, so mark your calendars for Sept 19-20!
Visit www.bmse.net for a $2 off coupon to Body Mind Spirit Expo. For more information, call 541.482.3722 or email mollie@bmse.net.
Avartan: A Sitar Concert
Hindustani music represents the devotional element of Nada Yoga, the science of sound, and empowers the musician to expand the experience in introspection to the audience. It has been a strong force in bringing together the various cultures of the subcontinent in a unique syncretism, in the process becoming representative of the innumerable aspects of Indian cultural history. Traditionally, this music has survived because of disciple musicians who have dedicated their lives to perfecting command of musical sound in order to gain the experience of utterly empirical realms.
Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan is one such musician, who was born into the seventh generation of the Etawah family of musicians. Initiated first into the discipline of vocal music, it was several years before he was introduced to the sitar. This background defines Ustad’s unique style of sitar playing encompassing the tonal nuance and emotional directness of the human voice. This month the San Diego chapter of the Association for India’s Development (AID), a non-profit volunteer driven organization, has invited Ustad for their annual fundraiser, Avartan, to take place September 13.
The organization was founded in 1991 by graduate students in Maryland and provides a platform for the Indian diaspora and the larger community in the United States to collectively think and analyze the rising inequalities in various sections of Indian society, positively contribute ideas and fund development projects in India. The organization is largely influenced by Gandhian principles and volunteers believe that a change in the society always starts within oneself and one’s own lifestyle choices.
The San Diego chapter of AID was formed in 1999 and has 15 active volunteers. It supports seven projects in various states in India with an annual budget of around $40,000. The chapter welcomes ideas, contributions and participation from the community to help support its efforts. Some of the issues the San Diego chapter addresses through various projects are: creating gender equality in disadvantaged communities (Utthan, Gujrat), educating farmers in natural farming methods (Chetna Vikas, Maharashtra), providing a school for children of prisoners and leprosy patients (Society for Economic and Educational Development, Tamilnadu), offering nursing courses for young women (Khajurdaha Nabankur United Club, West Bengal), and providing a school for dropouts (Shikshamitra, West Bengal)
The San Diego chapter would like to emphasize that the success of many of these projects depends on the support given by the community! This concert is a great opportunity to experience the live music of a maestro and support a worthy cause. As Mahatma Gandhi says, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Support Avartan, the annual fundraiser for the San Diego chapter of the Association for India’s Development, and experience a live performance by Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan on the sitar. The event will be held Sunday, September 13, 4 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at the Irwin Jacobs Auditorium, 5775 Morehouse Drive, San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit http://sandiego.aidindia.org/avartan or call 215.971.0238.