Akashianna is a medicine woman, visionary, spiritual guide, minister, beloved teacher and consummate lover of life.  She embodies true love for all beings.

Whether in prayer, counseling, guiding and ceremony, Akshianna shines spiritual truths through her embodiment of mindfulness and inspired actions for her heart, knowing that all is within us and all is one.

Her reverence for Mother Earth is demonstrated through her BEAUTY WAY CREATIONS FOUNDATION – assisting the transformation of lawns to gardens a sacred union of bringing beauty to our mother earth.

Akashianna’s greatest joy is her role as facilitator and holding space for individuals and groups to reunite and remember their inner perfection and wholeness in connection  and concert with the universe.  Her work is through sacred journey work, sacred travel and mirroring the sacred in each being she touches.

K the Intuitive Specialist, Co-founder of Connect with Spirit™ and K the Messenger is a world renowned clairvoyant, life coach, author, speaker and spiritual teacher from Brisbane, Australia. Her remarkable relationship with Spirit and her enthusiasm to inspire and assist others, is what makes K so loved and admired by all. Her innate ability to bring through incredible details and accurate information from Spirit has captivated clients and students from all over the world.

Her lovable nature and capacity to understand and connect with her clients, creates strong and often life long bonds. Many tell her that they feel like part of her extended family and it’s hardly surprising considering K’s sincere desire to help people discover a more purposeful and rewarding life.

K’s readings, workshops and products are in high demand, regularly sending K across the globe to assist those seeking direction and enlightenment. Working closely with Spirit, K teaches others to awaken and strengthen their own psychic abilities effortlessly. By simplifying the processes and teaching easy to follow techniques, K has a tremendous success rate with all of her students, many of whom go on to be successful and inspiring readers themselves.

K is a respected and recognised medium and channeller, delivering information from deceased loved ones and other non physical beings. She is the founder of Connect with Spirit and K the Messenger. In her readings, meditations, workshops and live events, K channels a variety of spiritual beings who work with her for the upmost good of those present. K often refers to Spirit as her ‘best friends’, because she has had a very close relationship with Spirit from the age of five. She doesn’t call on them just for guidance in readings and workshops, K has embodied her connection with Spirit as part of her everyday life. This is why K, Spiritual Teacher is ‘The intuitive Specialist’.

GUEST: SPENCER WEST

After losing both legs from the pelvis down at the age of five, Spencer tackled challenge after challenge, learning to navigate in a world set against those with disabilities. As a global speaker, he has captivated hundreds of thousands with his keynote address, Redefining Possible. Spencer West is the author of the best-selling book Standing Tall: My Journey, and star of the 2012 documentary film Redefine Possible: The Story of Spencer West. He has shared the stage with luminaries such as former U.S. vice-president

Al Gore, Dr. Jane Goodall, Rick Hansen, Mia Farrow, Martin Sheen, Martin Luther King III, former president Mikhail Gorbachev, and musicians such as Macklemore, Jason Mraz, The Kenyan Boys Choir, Jennifer Hudson and Nelly Furtado. Spencer has been featured countless times in the media, including on 60 Minutes, ABC News, BBC, CNN, CTV and TMZ.

Spencer has accomplished many amazing things throughout his journey to redefine his own possible. In 2012, he was the featured keynote speaker at the YPO/WPO Global Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on his hands and in his wheelchair to bring the world’s attention
to the devastating drought in Kenya. In 2013, Spencer completed an epic 300 km (187 mile) trek by wheelchair and on his hands from Edmonton to Calgary, Canada to raise awareness and money for Free The Children’s clean water projects.

Just because the world tells us something is impossible doesn’t mean we have to believe them.

Spencer is also the 2011 recipient of the Fervent Global Love of Lives Medal from Taiwan’s Cultural and Education Foundation, and served as the Man in Motion Medal Bearer for the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay of Difference Makers. Spencer regularly visits the Maasai Mara region of Kenya to continue his outreach in Free The Children communities. He also serves as an international leadership facilitator, teaching others how to transform lives where the need is greatest.

It was a vintage swing night in Hollywood, and the freewheeling, speakeasy spirit of the roaring ‘20s was making the dancers crowd the floor. On the stand, torch songstress Val Peterson was at the mic, singing a tune that would have made the Great Gatsby proud. That’s when he walked in. Paul Frederick: composer, arranger, musician. In his hand, a weathered, black case. In the case, a clarinet.

“Who plays clarinet, anymore?” Peterson thought as she watched Frederick assemble his axe to sit in with the band. “Who sings like that, anymore?” Frederick thought to himself as he put a reed on his horn and listened to Peterson finish a chorus. They nodded at each other, and he started to play. With just a few notes coaxed from the licorice stick, Peterson had her answer.

In such moments bands are born. Call it lucky. Call it Big Lucky…

As fans of classic songwriters and performers – Porter, Berlin, Fitzgerald, Shaw – Peterson and Frederick bonded instantly that night in Hollywood, and Big Lucky was born. From there, they set out to evangelize the greatest music of the past, but with a hipster chic style that’s all their own.

Whether performing as a trio or tearing the roof off with a full, 18-piece orchestra, Big Lucky has been wowing audiences and critics from their native Los Angeles all the way to Paris and Budapest with their unique, retro-lounge swing and glamorous sound.

In 20xx they caught the well-tuned ear of NAME, a vintage and rare Gatsby-era jazz connoisseur who commissioned the band to create their album, “The Venture Capital Follies of 1929.” To summon the speakeasy flavor of the roaring ‘20s, Frederick drew upon his skills as a composer/arranger to create original arrangements for a full dance band while Peterson studied 100s of period recordings to capture just the right sass and flavor.

Critics praised the album’s attention to detail, its superlative sound quality, and the excellent musicianship. The album led to Big Lucky’s first appearance at the famed Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles and guest spots on HBO’s hit shows, “Entourage” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Recently, the band inked a deal to create original songs with their patented, vintage ‘20s lounge flavor for international music library XYZ. They’re also hard at work recording their follow-up album. “Around the World with Big Lucky.” Blending the band’s love of 1950’s and ‘60’s movie themes, Peterson’s unique ability to sing in five languages, and the virtuoso accordion stylings of Nick Ariondo, the new album promises music fans a whirlwind tour of continental, folk, and gypsy sounds served up ala “martini chic.”

With the finest touring and studio musician in Los Angeles behind them, Peterson and Frederick’s Big Lucky brings the best in jazz, standards, swing, pop, and lounge to discriminating music fans the world over.

Dr. Lori Latrice Martin is Associate Professor of Sociology and African and African American Studies at Louisiana State University. Dr. Martin's newest book is 'Big Box Schools: Race, Education, and the Danger of the Wal-Martization of Public Schools in America (Race and Education in the Twenty-First Century'.

The American public school system is at a crossroad. One pathway is decorated with signs and institutions that will lead public education towards a destination of collective obligation, accountability, and responsibility that is student-centered, community-based, and driven by educators and parents working in the best interest of students, families, communities, and the broader society. The other pathway is littered with pamphlets, flyers, and electronic billboards falsely advertising the merits of school “choice.” The direction American public schools appear to have taken over the past few decades is increasingly dotted with charter schools operated by for-profit multinational corporations, and themed public schools. Increasingly, efforts to reform public education in America resemble the business model made popular by the founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton.

'Big Box Schools: Race, Education, and the Danger of the Wal-Martization of Public Schools in America' examines the dangers of the Wal-Martization of American public schools and highlights efforts to challenge policies and practices which place greater emphasis on profits than on pupils.

Reviews of her book:

"Dr. Lori Martin's brilliantly researched book, Big Box Schools: Race, Education, and the Danger of the Wal-Martization of Public Schools in America, is going to blow the cover off the 'close ranks' rationale for defending Obama Administration education policy among scholars in Black Studies, as well as all education scholars who have the courage to listen. It eloquently describes the severe price for replacing schools which were community institutions with 'pop-up schools' (Dr. Martin's brilliant term) run by fly-by-night staffs beholden to corporate interests rather than the students and families they claim to serve." (Mark Naison, Fordham University)

"Dr. Martin makes the troubled history of education policy in this country accessible to a variety of disciplines. She talks candidly about racism in education and the United States’ long-standing tradition of marginalizing students, teachers, and families of color. The case studies are a wakeup call to push back against those who profit from so-called ‘education reform.’ She is asking us to stand up and fight against those who purchase a seat in policy and practice decisions when they have no expertise to offer. After reading this book, I am prepared to stand up and fight." (Joshua S. Smith, Loyola University Maryland)



 

Dr. Mark Naison is professor of African American studies and history at Fordham University. He is author of many books and articles including 'Communists in Harlem During the Depression', 'White Boy: A Memoir' and his newest book 'Badass Teachers Unite! Reflections on Education History and Youth Activism'. The founder of the Bronx African American History project, Naison has emerged in the last five years as a passionate defender of America's public school teachers and students, founding groups like Dump Duncan, the Teachers Talk Back Project, and most recently, the Badass Teachers Association.. He was a former political activist who was a member of CORE and SDS in the 1960s. He is a graduate of Columbia University and holds a Ph. D. in American History.

He has written over a hundred articles and published three books on urban history, African-American History, and the history of sports. Naison has also appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Chappelle's Show, and The Discovery Channel's Greatest American Competition. He has also been an outspoken critic of Teach for America.

Naison is co-founder of the Badass Teachers Association, a group dedicated to fighting the Common Core Curriculum and corporate influences on American education. His newest book is 'Badass Teachers Unite! Reflections on Education History and Youth Activism'. In this incisive collection of essays, educator and activist Mark Naison draws on years of research on Bronx history and his own experience on the front lines of the education wars to unapologetically defend teachers and students from education “reform” policies that undermine their power and creativity.

Naison shows how dominant education policy systematically hurts the very children it claims to support and instead forces them to “race to the top.” He exposes the Duncans, Rhees, and Gateses for schemes that intensify racial and economic inequality. And he refocuses the conversation on teaching and organizing strategies that should be implemented in communities everywhere.

Review

SONIA BARRETT

Sonia Barrett is known for her cutting edge insights with much of it supported by quantum physics. Theoretical Physicist Dr. Amit Goswami refers to her as a true mystic. Her work bridges the gap between science and spirituality in a simplified format. She addresses the programming, beliefs and concepts by which we have lived our lives both individually and collectively.

Sonia Barrett is the author of The Holographic Canvas: The Fusing of Mind and Matter and her second book, A Journey of Possibilities. She is also the publisher of the book Health: An Inside Job an Outside Business (a supplement to the film- each chapter is written by those in the film) and her latest book and 7 Day Program, Simple ways to step outside of your comfort zone; Letting go of an outdated life.

She has been  a popular radio guest appearing on such shows as Coast 2 Coast AM with host George Noory, Red Ice Radio, Conscious Media Network/Gaia TV and a host of others..

Sonia Barrett has been a Key note speaker at such conferences as the Alchemy Conference, Conscious Life Expo, the ISSSEEM conference, Conspiracy Con, The Bay Area UFO Conference and more. She has appeared on panels with such visionaries as Bruce Lipton, Ph.D, Dr. Jacob Liberman, Amit Goswami Ph.D, Rev. Michael Beckwith and others.

She has appeared in a number of documentaries, Openings; a search for Harry, Ghetto Physics the movie Co-produced by E Raymond Brown and Will Arntz (Producer of What the Bleep do we know) iTHINK, and soon to be released Punk Science the Movie, produced by Dr. Manjir Samantha-Laughton.

“Recognizing our spiritual and perceptual boundaries and comfort zones is a major factor in our quest for answers. In general we are unaware of what we don’t know and the distance widens even further when we are affixed behind a barrier of limiting beliefs. Reality is a great science that has no boundaries only those that we create for our comfort. There is no right or wrong way to grow but it can be of tremendous assistance in recognizing the limitations which hold us bound. ” Sonia Barrett