These days self-help gurus are available on any street corner in L.A. The healing industry is blossoming. But as with any trend, many of the newcomers on the scene simply imitate and modify their predecessor's style rather than create something entirely unique. So, many healers adopt certain characteristics: dreadlocks, cotton clothes, raw food, yoga mats, etc. But me, I grew up listening to the Ramones and G.B.H. I slammed in the pit when the Circle Jerks played at Perkins Palace in 1983. I dyed my hair blue. I tried out for roller derby. I'm just not the type to go for linen and wood beads in the lotus position. It's too much of a stretch. The great news is, I finally figured out I don't have to look like anything or eat a certain way to have personal enlightenment. I can do it without paying a guru hundreds of dollars per session. Because here's what it is: It's all energy. If your energy is clear and clean, meaning no judgment, no fear, no criticism and if you can live in the moment - not the past or the future - you are experiencing enlightenment. At least I think that's what Eckhart Tolle and Marianne Williamson are trying to say. When you are aware of what you are doing, you can begin to see how one event leads to another. I blog about this stuff all the time but one of the recent examples I can think of is when I went to see my favorite band, Naked Raygun for free. They are from Chicago but just happened to be playing less than 2 miles from my house at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, CA, USA. The drummer, Eric Spicer called me on my cell phone to set it up. That felt like a synchronistic positive, flowing chain of events that lead to favorable outcome for all involved (read the complete story on my mog). So, who says you have to burn incense, light candles and chant to feel connected? Not me. I'm sitting here listening to Joy Division, just like I used to when I was 16 and guess what? I feel like I'm 16. I don't mean I feel intensely insecure, moody and impulsive, I mean I feel raw. I feel alert and aware and connected. The bass guitar from She's Lost Control resonates with my cells. I can remember what it felt like when I listened to this song every day of my teen life. How many times did I lip synch the words, "She's Lost Control again"? 1,000? 5,000? more? When I listen to the tunes of my youth, I see how every experience I encounter is building me and how I react to them is building me as well. I started forgetting that by the time I was 21. I closed in on myself. I was stuck in hell. The hell of hating my body, hating myself and feeling disconnected from everything. I think roller derby might of knocked some sense into me, it got me back to feeling my body and having to learn to react to my surroundings. I skated with the LA Derby Dolls for about 1 year as a fresh meat. Even though I never got on a team, the experience changed the way I live my life. So, if you're just not quite down with colonics, whole food and hemp shoes, try digging out your old records or buying some of your old favorites on iTunes. Maybe join roller derby? Whatever you choose, remember to sit back, soak it all in and live a little. (If you need music suggestions, I regularly post playlists and I post a song of the week from Michael Zampelli. Check out some of the tunes on this site and see if they put a pep in your step.) In this article you'll see a picture of my Joy Division LP I just took the other day. See how worn out it is? I played it every single day. And you know what? All those years I never knew what Ian Curtis looked like. So I looked it up on YouTube and it was so cool to, in a sense, relive that time of my life. It wasn't all peaches and cream back then but it was an incredibly free spirited and creative time and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. P.S. Holosynch CD's use sound waves to heal the brain and create awareness. They have a free demo CD available on their website. You listen with headphones and it will help with anxiety and depression as well as addictive behavior. Check it out.