May/June 2008 NW Newsmakers
May 2008 Northwest Newsmakers

Da Vinci's Hidden Love Code

Did Leonardo da Vinci hide clues in his drawings on how to live a healthier and happier life?

According to Dr. Leonard Horowitz, author of Love: The Real Da Vinci Code, hidden within Da Vinci's famous drawing The Vitruvian Man is a perfect circle of sound. He believes that the drawing, which is considered an icon for natural living and holistic healing, is actually a cryptograph.

"This maps and models divine-human communion for the masses," says Horowitz, a Harvard graduate and expert in public health. "The image projects your perfect self in universal balance and harmony with heaven and Earth. It bridges all religious and cultural divides."

The Vitruvian Man is really a "Wo/Man," says Dr. Horowitz. "There is a woman standing behind the man. Magnify his face and you see the poor fellow is angry being stuck in the box of earthy limitation, stress and conflict. The more creative sex, the female, has stepped 'out of the box' and into the blissful cosmic circle, which is composed of nine core creative musical tones. These include the ancient Solfeggio musical scale that Levi priests in days of old used to produce miracles."

Horowitz discovered these tones relate to three additional frequencies that complete the circle of sound.

Da Vinci's philosophical and theological teachers were Plato, Pythagoras and Vitruvius, and each was a master of musical mathematics. Using the masters' research, Horowitz believes that Da Vinci tapped into the core creative sounds of nature, which Horowitz calls the master matrix, also known as the kingdom of heaven in religious circles.

"Playing this music, and applying its mathematical scale in everything from art and architecture to anatomy and science inspired Da Vinci's creative genius, prophetic vision and advanced technologies," says Horowitz.

Teaming up with solo guitarist Scott Huckabay, who translates Da Vinci's love code into healing concert performances, Horowitz presents "The Love Code Seminar: Musical Healing Celebration" in Vancouver on May 24 from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. All-day and evening-only tickets are available at www.lovecodeseminar.com. For a free download of the book, Love: The Real Da Vinci Code, visit www.lovetherealdavincicode.com.

The Welcome Home Project

The Welcome Home Project, a five-day event for veterans of foreign wars, offers a private retreat for veterans and their families, and a public ceremony. The retreat takes place on May 22-26 at Buckhorn Springs near Ashland. The public ceremony culminates the event on Memorial Day on May 26 at the Angus Bowmer Theater in Ashland. All events are free for veterans and their families.

At the retreat, veterans and their families can experience the universal elements of their personal stories as they are transformed through the ceremonial use of art, ritual and theater, according to Bill McMillan, co-coordinator of The Welcome Home Project. Michael Meade, mythologist, storyteller, and Vietnam veteran, and Peggy Rubin, mythologist, teacher, and master of sacred theater, facilitate the process.

The public ceremony on Memorial Day features a combination of storytelling, poetry and theater presented within the general theme of initiation and return.

"War, in essence, represents a journey into the 'underworld,'" says Kim Shelton, who is co-coordinator of the The Welcome Project with her husband, McMillan. "Those who return from this journey are fundamentally changed. The public ceremony provides the community with an opportunity to recognize and 'bear witness' to these changes. Audience members are going to be asked to create a sacred space in which they sit quietly and listen to the depth and breadth of the veterans' experiences. Some of the experiences shared might be humorous or comical. Others might be dark and fearful. All will be personally meaningful to those sharing them."

Through this public witnessing, McMillan and Shelton believe that others can share the burdens veterans carry home from war.

"Dr. Ed Tick, in his book War and the Soul, makes this point eloquently," says McMillan, a marriage and family therapist, and teacher of mindfulness-based stress reduction. "The soldiers go to war in the name of the nation. The individual soldiers have not declared this war or fought it for their own personal gain. They are representing all of us - even those of us who opposed the war. During the war, they are exposed to profoundly shattering and life-altering experiences. They are carrying emotional, physical and spiritual burdens that they feel they cannot share when they return to a nation - a community - that seems uninterested in their experiences. They feel pressured to keep silent about what they've experienced. Yet it is precisely in the sharing of these experiences that their own burdens can be lifted and healed."

In traditional cultures, warriors and soldiers were reintegrated into society through a series of rituals, adds Shelton, who is an award-winning documentary producer. "There were rituals for cleansing and purification, personal storytelling, and reintegration into the community through some sort of public ceremony that honored their service and recognized their new status as protectors and preservers of the community. We've lost these rituals in modern times. The public ceremony is our attempt to reintroduce public ritual as part of the process of healing and homecoming."

Visit www.thewelcomehomeproject.org.

- A.Y. McKenna

Magical Metapalooza Lights Up Alaska

Metapalooza, an expo of epic proportions, is an angel-inspired event held each May in Wasilla, Alaska. Readers, healers, holistic vendors and locals come together to explore the divine connection in a fun-filled and spirited environment that only Alaska can offer.

If you have ever needed a reason to visit the Last Frontier, now you have one. Along with tourist opportunities, including world-class fishing, mountain climbing and hunting, comes a chance to meet a talented and Spirit-driven group of practitioners.

"Alaska really and truly does bloom in the spring time," says Julie Meer, coordinator of the expo and the founding director of the Alaska Body Mind Spirit Foundation. "Come on up and feel the energy of the crown chakra, and while you are here, drop in for Metapalooza 2008. You can go fishing on Monday."

The Palooza, as it's affectionately called, is making its fourth appearance on May 17-18 in Wasilla. Visit www.holisticseek.com and click on Alaska or call 907-336-7109.

Neighborhood Garden Project Growing in Ashland

An innovative community garden is growing in Ashland. The Neighborhood Garden Project brings neighbors together to grow gardens in local neighborhoods, transforming front lawns into cooperatively grown, ecologically-sound gardens.

Planting is done in yards throughout the neighborhood, with caretaking and harvest shared by participants. The project catalyzes sustainable living, community connectedness, local food security and environmental stewardship.

The Neighborhood Garden Project is the latest brainchild of Ashland Wellness Guide publisher, Lisa Pavati. Her dedication to community well-being is at the core of the guide's mission "to promote sustainable wellness, on the interconnected levels of personal, community and environmental well-being."

Each Neighborhood Garden group receives extensive support services, including a free neighborhood garden design consultation with a permaculturist or master gardener, discounts on garden supplies (including Fry Family Farm starts), a garden help hotline (with Phoenix Organics), and the Ashland Wellness Guide's newly created Ashland Garden Handbook.

Working with Synergy Seed Bank (ranked in the top 20 in the U.S. for heirloom seeds), the project is developing a local seed bank in Ashland. Also supplying seeds and seed saving support are Aurora Farm, North America's first biodynamic seed company, and Three Sisters Planting, which provides indigenously-aware permaculture.

Enrollment in the project is free and open to all Ashland residents, including those without access to gardening space.

See Ashland's Neighborhood Garden Project up close by taking a wellness vacation to the city that attracts seekers and healers. In addition to sponsoring the Neighborhood Garden Project, the Ashland Wellness Guide also offers wellness vacations packages and customized experiences.

For thousands of years, Native American tribes have journeyed to what is now Ashland for healing and ceremonial gatherings. Today, the progressive small town is centered in the arts of healing and inspiration. In 1807, effervescent mineral springs were discovered by settlers, and soon 40 mineral and hot springs were located. Ashland has become a central hub for holistic health practitioners and wellness services.

Visit www.ashlandwellnessguide.com.