Art provides an intimate exploration of interconnectivity, a journey into a universal language displayed in a tapestry of diversity, interwoven through vibrant threads of rhythms, sounds, tones, vibrations, movements, hues, shades, costumes, theatrics. The healing power of art is an unexplainable magnificence that starts deep within and spirals outward into an array of beauty and brilliance. Art in many forms has carried messages from one, to many – social, political, ecological issues and movements effectively protested through unique expressions that captivate purpose, intention, personal and collective consciousness. Art reveals the mysteries of the darkness we experience, while emboldening the light within to shine and spread in richness, creativity, and splendor.
At the IONS 18th International Conference this July in Santa Clara, California, we will gather together to explore what is possible for humanity and the role artistic creations play in our transformation. Join us for an interactive conversation with our Consciousness and Art panelists Aranka Israni, Marco Cochrane, Fariba Bogzaran, Bertram Meyer, and Dana Lynne Andersen. You’ll be taken on a journey through visual art by Aranka Israni and engage in participatory artwork with Love Ablan. Experience musical performances by Mandhu Anziani, Thrive Choir, and Afrolicious.
For four days, you’ll also have the opportunity to discover yourself through deep transformation across a spectrum of healing modalities. The conference will offer morning meditation and intregral transformative practices, in addition to a Gaia “Zen Den” of relaxation. Our Inner Space Experiential Village will offer an eclectic mix of experiences and offerings: multimedia and interactive storytelling art, educational resources, massage therapy, biofield tuning and sound healing, life coaching, and much more.
Consciousness and Art Panelists
Aranka Israni | Artist
I am intrigued by the capture, preservation and examination of moments between moments. My practice is deeply grounded in the alchemical process and representations of energy in conversion from one expression to another – of emotion as it seeks expansion, transmutation and release. My work is rooted in transformation, acknowledging separation that moves into union, and wholeness that is capable of stepping apart from itself and viewing its own nature.
Dana Lynne Andersen | Artist
Dana Lynne Andersen is a multimedia artist, writer, playwright and teacher who has taught and exhibited on three continents. With a Masters Degree in Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy University she uses art as a catalyst for seeding evolutionary ideas, showing in venues such as the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Institute of Noetic Sciences (where she was artist in residence). Her artwork has been featured on the covers of books and journals internationally, and her visionary thinking has been explored in newspapers, radio and television.
Fariba Bogzaran | Co-Founder of The Lucid Art Foundation
Lucid art is the convergence of the universal creative force expressed in a spontaneous work of art that elicits in the viewer a sudden awakening of an aspect of the inner worlds. The Lucid Art Foundation was established in 1998 to support artists who explore the concepts of arts and consciousness. Fariba Bogzaran, PhD 1994, is artist/scientist, and founder of the Dream Studies program at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, California, where she taught as an associate professor for 25 years. She teaches lucid dreaming at CIIS and gives lectures internationally. Using her art-based research, she co-founded Lucid Art Foundation (1998) with the surrealist painter Gordon Onslow Ford. She established an artist residency program for the foundation where artists work and live in the heart of nature. Fariba has lived adjunct to wilderness for the past thirty years and is active in earth’s preservation.
Marco Cochrane | Artist, Sculptor, Metal Worker
Marco believes that the time we have to solve the problems that threaten our existence on this planet is running out, and that the key to finding real lasting solutions is bringing feminine energy into balance with male energy: a global shift, already underway.
Bertram Meyer | Co-founder of ONEDOME
Bertram Meyer is a serial entrepreneur who is the Co-founder and CEO of ONEDOME. Bertram is passionate about impactful and mission-driven businesses and in showing that they can be very profitable at the same time. ONEDOME is an immersive entertainment platform and destination, including the first permanent, interactive, multi-user mixed-reality experience (using AR). In collaboration with global creatives, innovators, artists and technologists, they curate interactive arts and immersive experiences that inspire a shift in the audience from the “Me” to the “We.”
Musical Performances
Anziani | Sound Healer
Through the complete recovery of being a wheelchair bound quadriplegic Madhu has learned vibrational vocal healing techniques from various traditions, including Tibetan Buddhism, Wisdom Healing Qi Gong, Peruvian Cross-Cultural Shamanism, and Taoism. A sound healer extraordinaire, he has also studied Jazz and World Music and went on to be certified in Sound, Voice, and Music Healing at CIIS. In his sessions he offers energy healing on an amethyst Crystal Biomat, using tuning forks tuned to sacred number ratios, as well as offering techniques and guidance for opening the healing power of the voice.
Thrive Choir
The Thrive Choir was born to sing the music for the revolution. They are a diverse group of vocalists, artists, activists, educators, healers, and community organizers based in Oakland, California, directed by Bay Area musicians Austin Willacy and Kyle Lemle. Their heartfelt and soul-stirring original music is a fusion of gospel, soul and folk. As part of Thrive East Bay — a purpose-driven community focused on personal and social transformation — the Choir’s music illuminates the joy, pain, and beauty of what it means to be human in this time of systemic transformation. They lift up the house every first Sunday at Thrive East Bay in downtown Oakland; they have performed with Rising Appalachia, recorded with MaMuse, and shared the stage with social justice luminaries Ericka Huggins, Joanna Macy, and Fania Davis. They perform at marches, conferences and festivals across California, most recently at Bioneers, Blessed Unrest, IONS, the North America Permaculture Convergence, and the Women’s March. They are also launching a larger Thrive Street Choir, mobilizing hundreds of people to sing in hope and resistance at protests and beyond.
Afrolicious | Live Electronic Band
Afrolicious is coming off a spectacular 2018 that saw several game-changing releases including their single, “Love Shall Remain” and the EP “World of Possibilities,” as well countless electrifying shows at major venues and festivals around the United States. Fans around the country and around the world are discovering the party that took over San Francisco and the Bay Area for more than five years. The Afrolicious live experience is a joyous and raucous celebration of life. The Afrolicious sound combines inspiring lyrics, funky bass lines, and a powerful horn section while retaining the soul and feel of classic funk, disco, Latin, and Afrobeat melodies. Audiences looking to dance, be inspired, or celebrate life have found Afrolicious as their perfect conduit. Afrolicious is also affiliated with a worldwide group of DJs, producers, bands, and labels who produce contemporary soulful dance music inspired by sounds of the African diaspora, including Antibalas, Chico Mann, Nickodemus, DJ Smash, Wonderwheel Recordings, Subsuelo, and Cumba Mela.
Art Installation
Love Ablan | Artist, Visual Storyteller, Biohacker, Adventure Guide
Love Ablan believes the world is a magical place and everyone’s a hero on an epic journey. She is here to bring light, magic, and voice to these journeys, and help these stories come to life. Love resides on the sparkly shores of Los Angeles, and the misty docks of Martha’s Vineyard. Love is everywhere. As a Visual Storyteller, Biohacker and Adventure Guide, she travels the world learning self-mastery and meditation techniques from teachers of both ancient and modern traditions. Love combines art, meditation, and neuroscience to create visceral experiences that help everyday people master their minds, break self-limiting beliefs and patterns, and live a more meaningful, joyful, and authentic life.
