It isn’t every day that you hear great music with a real message.  I mean, not everyone is John Lennon or Bob Marley – right? 

That’s what I thought, but I had to think again when Erin Ross introduced me to Luminaries, a Venice based consciousness-expanding Hip Hop group whose history as teachers, social workers, activists, MCs, and instruments of service informs their music and their message.  These are not just incredible musicians, but messengers of hope, whose song titles on their debut album, “One,” read like a list of mantras: “Everything is One,” “Only Love,” “Show the World,” “Peace” and “Be the Change.”

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric-James Horton, Certified Health Counselor, Chef, and co-owner of "Conscious Nosh Chef Services." Conscious Nosh is a bay area business that helps customers create personal health and diet plans, and delivers hand crafted healthy and delicious foods to their doorsteps to help them stay on track. (They also make overwhelmingly delicious raw vegan macaroons!)  I caught up with Eric to find out about what has led him down this path, and what inspires him about his work.

To find our more about Eric, or to sign up for his "Farm To Table" Cooking Class on Sept 6th, visit: BayAreaHealthCoach.com.

What are you passionate about? I'm passionate about the work that I do; one-on-one health and wellness counseling, one-on-one cooking coaching,  teaching group cooking classes and personal chef services. I love connecting with a huge network/community of movers and shakers in the health and healing world, learning about permaculture, becoming a homesteader and a family man.

What motivates you in the work you are doing? Setting up a good home space for the future generations! I want my kids to live in a world that they feel safe and healthy in. My clients motivate me. Their strength and courage to create a life they feel powerful in motivates me to do all that I can do that too.

Hi Everyone,

At Cafe Gratitude, our goal is to be "The Space for All of It."  What we mean is that we can not always choose what or who shows up at our door, but we can choose to be an invitation to whatever shows up, and to greet it with joy and gratitude.

In 1987, Issan Dorsey, a Zen teacher and former Drag Queen, invited a homeless student dying from AIDS to live in what was then the Hartford Street Zen Center.  Issan, a charismatic and colorful leader, founded Maitri there, in the heart of the Castro, and when he passed, left a group of followers devoted to deal with whatever came to the door.  They started the hospice because death came to the door.

Maitri has been providing residential hospice care to patients suffering with AIDS since 1987. They have provided a final home to over 900 people with AIDS, and  14 of their 15 hospice beds are reserved for people who are HUD-defined as low income. They are the only facility in California to offer AIDS-specific residential care to the community.

Happy New Year to everyone,

I am so grateful for how we can use the end of one year and the beginning of another to align ourselves with our mission, our passion, our opportunities to start again.