Today was full of extremes.

It was Priyanka’s last morning with us in LA. I suggested we go to a favourite breakfast place of mine – the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson. They do great salads and juices, plus I knew that Priyanka wanted to do some shopping on Robertson, and so it made sense.

But when we got there I saw that the cafe was shut – for good. It had closed down. (It’s been a while since I’ve been there. In my past few trips to LA I’ve always stayed down Venice.)

Anyway, I’d got a park right outside The Ivy, we were all starving, and so we decided to eat there.

For those of you who aren’t up on the fashionable eateries of Hollywood, The Ivy is an institution. Big stars go there often, movies have been shot there, and it’s an integral part of the show biz scene in Hollywood.

It was Saturday morning and we were dressed casually, and as soon as we walked in we were ignored, even though it was early and the place was virtually empty. We were finally asked by a snooty waiter if we had a reservation. I said no. (There were only three other people in the restaurant at the time – every other table was empty.)

The waiter made a big deal of finding us a table, and made us feel that we were SO LUCKY to be eating there at all.

We were ushered to the table and the waiter continued his obnoxious attitude. I said to Pieter in a stage whisper: This guy’s really working hard for his tip.

Music was blaring from speakers nearby. And I mean blaring. I asked the snooty waiter if he could turn it down and he said it was not possible. I said it was very loud and he laughed and said: This is not loud. You should hear it when it’s really loud. 

We ordered breakfast. The prices made my eyes water. Still, this was a special treat for Priyanka before she hopped on a plane back to London.

When it came time to pay the bill, and the others had wandered off, I called the waiter over. And this is what I said to him:

Mate, when we walked in, you assumed we were tourists. And you treated us abysmally. I just want to let you know that the bloke sitting opposite me is one of the top documentary cameramen in the world, and comes to LA often. The lass sitting beside me is one of the top jewellery designers in the world, and is treated like royalty in restaurants far grander than this joint. The woman sitting opposite me is a producer and has been in the film industry for decades, and me – I’m a producer and director and I’ve eaten here often. So what I’m saying to you is this: We’re not tourists. And even if we were you shouldn’t have treated us badly. You really shouldn’t make assumptions about people and judge them. 

And I left it at that, and gave him the required 20% tip.
And I’ll never go back there again.

We then drove Priyanka to LAX and said our goodbyes. We’ll be seeing her again in India in September. And then we headed north because we have an important interview with Dr. Judith Orloff tomorrow at Big Sur.

I drove and Pieter fell asleep, his head jerking from side to side, drool running down his chin. I tried to take a photo to post to Facebook but driving on a freeway and trying to focus was potentially life threatening. It would have been a great shot though…

As we approached Morro Bay a huge bank of fog moved in – it looked like something that Industrial Light and Magic had conjured up.

And when we got to the bay the sun was setting. We could hear seals barking. The air was cool and fresh. It was great to be away from Hollywood, and The Ivy.

Today we move on from Los Angeles.

We begin a long road trip north – overnighting at Morro Bay on the Pacific Coast Highway that leads to San Francisco.

Tomorrow we stop at Big Sur to interview Dr. Judith Orloff, formerly head of the Psychiatry Department at UCLA, and now a working medical intuitive and author of many acclaimed books on intuition.

Priyanka leaves us today. She returns to London to help with the film from her home base. We will miss her. She’s been a gorgeous energy on this shoot, and she’s impressed everyone who has met her.

Priyanka lives and works and breathes and dreams intuitively. It was her intuition that made her decide to join us in Konya, Central Turkey, while we were filming with the Sufis and Whirling Dervishes.

She’s only 26, but has already established a successful jewellery business worldwide. She designs several collections a year, and sells to high end department stores and boutique shops. I’ve not met anyone who travels more than she does. In any given month she’s probably visited three or four countries.

And today she’s off again. But we’ll be meeting up with her again in India on the Mother Ganga tour in September.

Last night on the way back from Laguna Beach, where we filmed with James Van Praagh, we were hosted for dinner by our wonderful Camino buddies Michael and Kathryn Schlesinger.

It was great to see them again.

They generously prepared a feast of Mexican food – all vegetarian – and we chatted into the night. They are doing truly wonderful charity work in Bali. They are good people, and Jennifer and I are proud to count them as friends.

So from today on, we’re on the move – up the coast to San Francisco, then into Oregon, then we fly across to Canada, then Chicago. Filming interviews all the way.

If I’ve been a bit slack responding to your comments on the blog and on Facebook, I apologise – it’s just that I’ve been really busy – REALLY busy – not only with this current filming trip, but also organising the Indian tour in September, and forward planning for Bhutan.

By the way, James Van Praagh signed his book for me yesterday. He signed it:

Remember who you are ~

I’ve been thinking about that ever since…

James Van Praagh can see dead people.

Big time.
All the time.

He’s a gifted medium.

He prefers not to be called a psychic because he says we’re all psychics. He says we’re all born with psychic abilities, but these get crushed out of us by our parents, our teachers, by our friends, and by life itself.

James Van Praagh is a best selling author, a tv producer, and the creator of the tv series THE GHOST WHISPERER. 

He’s pulled away from tv though, even though he could make a lot of money from it, but he believes that tv always tries to sensationalise what he does. He’s not interested in that, no matter what big fat cheque is waved under his nose.

James is from Queens originally, and he has that no-nonsense down-to-earth approach to his work, and to life generally. He doesn’t believe he’s special – he says anyone could, if they were prepared to put in the commitment and work, do what he does – communicate with those on the other side.

James sees himself not as a a medium though necessarily, but as a spiritualist – a person on an intense spiritual journey.

Today he gave me a stellar interview.

We talked for about 75 minutes, and because he’s such a gifted orator and he’s used to the medium of film, he gave me answers that were eminently useable for the film.

He firmly believes that if a person wishes to advance their intuitive abilities, it means going on a soul journey. Because intuition, he says, is the voice of the soul.

He also, by the way, firmly believes in the concept of PGS – that intuition is a guidance system like a GPS in a car – and that the film will have a big impact.

Later, after the interview, he gave us all a signed copy of his latest book – ADVENTURES OF THE SOUL – and a box of soul cards. He was generous with these gifts, with his time, and with helping me try to line up the next round of interviewees.

As we left today he helped guide our large vehicle down the driveway.

He mimicked being a flight controller on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Very funny. He looked like the man you would least suspect of being one of the world’s great mediums.

I’m currently researching my next interview, with celebrated psychic James Van Praagh.

When I do my research, I’m intuitively guided.

Often there’s a mass of material, and I can’t hope to read everything. Some of these people I’m interviewing have written over a dozen books, or more. And so I have to make a choice as to how I best use my time – and I allow my intuition to guide me.

That happened with choosing what to read regarding James Van Praagh.

I’m interviewing him tomorrow. He’s a psychic that specialises in communicating with the “dead,” and I use the ” ” because the one thing I’ve learnt through the making of this film is that we don’t really die.

We just leave this particular plane.

James Van Praagh has written many books about communicating with those that have crossed over – and as fascinating as it is, it really has very little to do with the film I’m making.

I’m making a film on intuition.

So I looked through his Amazon page, and I looked at all his books, and I chose one that my intuition guided me towards. It was called HEAVEN & EARTH: MAKING THE PSYCHIC CONNECTION. 

I opened up the first page, and the whole book is about intuition.

And it’s fabulous. He puts it all in very simple clear-cut terms. And interestingly, he is in complete accord with Dr. Norm Shealy about how you can become more intuitive.

Both say that you have to clean up your act.

You have to get rid of ego, anger, resentment, anguish, jealousy, hatred – in other words all those emotional impediments to a clear connection to spirit.

James Van Praagh also talks about paying attention – paying attention to the little things in life that happen around you. He says:

“The more you become aware of your surroundings, the more you train your mind in seeing, hearing, feeling, touching, and tasting, the more you pay attention to your thoughts and actions, and so the more you will build awareness.” 

Awareness is the first stage towards becoming intuitive.

He goes on to say:

“Clear understanding and communication can only be attained when you release the negative mental and emotional baggage stored in your physical and psychic space.” 

I’ve spoken to James Van Praagh on the phone. He is forthright, direct, funny, and down to earth. He promises to be a terrific interviewee –

Here is his book:

I’m publishing in full a story from the NY Times about a research study into the neurological benefits of walking in the bush, as we say in Australia – or in the woods as those elsewhere would put it. 

The story was sent to me by Dr. Norm Shealy, an esteemed Neurosurgeon and former Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery at several prestigious colleges in the U.S. Norm is also a spiritualist of the highest order, and has worked closely with Caroline Myss for more than thirty years. 

Both Norm and Caroline wil feature prominently in the film I’m making on intuition.

Here’s the story… 

A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature. 

Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago. 

City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers, studies show. 

These developments seem to be linked to some extent, according to a growing body of research. Various studies have found that urban dwellers with little access to green spaces have a higher incidence of psychological problems than people living near parks and that city dwellers who visit natural environments have lower levels of stress hormones immediately afterward than people who have not recently been outside.

But just how a visit to a park or other green space might alter mood has been unclear. Does experiencing nature actually change our brains in some way that affects our emotional health? 

That possibility intrigued Gregory Bratman, a graduate student at the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, who has been studying the psychological effects of urban living. In an earlier study published last month, he and his colleagues found that volunteers who walked briefly through a lush, green portion of the Stanford campus were more attentive and happier afterward than volunteers who strolled for the same amount of time near heavy traffic. 

But that study did not examine the neurological mechanisms that might underlie the effects of being outside in nature. 

So for the new study, which was published last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mr. Bratman and his collaborators decided to closely scrutinize what effect a walk might have on a person’s tendency to brood. 

Brooding, which is known among cognitive scientists as morbid rumination, is a mental state familiar to most of us, in which we can’t seem to stop chewing over the ways in which things are wrong with ourselves and our lives. This broken-record fretting is not healthy or helpful. It can be a precursor to depression and is disproportionately common among city dwellers compared with people living outside urban areas, studies show. 

Perhaps most interesting for the purposes of Mr. Bratman and his colleagues, however, such rumination also is strongly associated with increased activity in a portion of the brain known as the subgenual prefrontal cortex. 

If the researchers could track activity in that part of the brain before and after people visited nature, Mr. Bratman realized, they would have a better idea about whether and to what extent nature changes people’s minds. 

Mr. Bratman and his colleagues first gathered 38 healthy, adult city dwellers and asked them to complete a questionnaire to determine their normal level of morbid rumination.

The researchers also checked for brain activity in each volunteer’s subgenual prefrontal cortex, using scans that track blood flow through the brain. Greater blood flow to parts of the brain usually signals more activity in those areas. 

Then the scientists randomly assigned half of the volunteers to walk for 90 minutes through a leafy, quiet, parklike portion of the Stanford campus or next to a loud, hectic, multi-lane highway in Palo Alto. The volunteers were not allowed to have companions or listen to music. They were allowed to walk at their own pace. 

Immediately after completing their walks, the volunteers returned to the lab and repeated both the questionnaire and the brain scan. 

As might have been expected, walking along the highway had not soothed people’s minds. Blood flow to their subgenual prefrontal cortex was still high and their broodiness scores were unchanged. 

But the volunteers who had strolled along the quiet, tree-lined paths showed slight but meaningful improvements in their mental health, according to their scores on the questionnaire. They were not dwelling on the negative aspects of their lives as much as they had been before the walk. 

They also had less blood flow to the subgenual prefrontal cortex. That portion of their brains were quieter. 

These results “strongly suggest that getting out into natural environments” could be an easy and almost immediate way to improve moods for city dwellers, Mr. Bratman said. 

But of course many questions remain, he said, including how much time in nature is sufficient or ideal for our mental health, as well as what aspects of the natural world are most soothing. Is it the greenery, quiet, sunniness, loamy smells, all of those, or something else that lifts our moods? Do we need to be walking or otherwise physically active outside to gain the fullest psychological benefits? Should we be alone or could companionship amplify mood enhancements? 

“There’s a tremendous amount of study that still needs to be done,” Mr. Bratman said. 

But in the meantime, he pointed out, there is little downside to strolling through the nearest park, and some chance that you might beneficially muffle, at least for awhile, your subgenual prefrontal cortex.

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The interview with Dr. Norm Shealy was fabulous.

It will be a highlight of the film.

Here is a man who was a Harvard educated neurosurgeon, held the Chair of Neurosurgery  at some of America’s most prestigious medical colleges, regarded as one of the top research scientists in his field of pain and stress management – and he’s become a self avowed mystic.

I spoke at length to Caroline Myss this morning on the phone and she described Norm Shealy as a wizard. They have worked closely together for the past thirty two years.

And Norm struck me as being like a wizard – charismatic, impish, radiating an energy that would light a dark room, and supremely intelligent.

His interview lasted 90 minutes.
We covered a lot of ground.

From the biochemical activity of the pineal gland and its function in intuition, to how the Third Eye works, to angels and demons, to the quantum nature of intuition – all his responses given with a charm and erudition which was eminently watchable.

After we left his grounds (he has a teaching institution on farmland outside of Springfield), we then headed to the airport to fly to Los Angeles. The flight would take us via Dallas.

We should have known that things would come unstuck when, on checking in, Jennifer couldn’t find her carry-on case with her and my computer in it.

We tore around the airport trying to find it – then realised that it had been left in the rental car. Luckily Hertz hadn’t garaged the car, so we were able to retrieve it.

But that presaged a series of events which led to one of the most disruptive days of travel any of us have had in recent memory.

But we got to LA. Eventually,

Jennifer and I didn’t get to our hotel room until 3:45am this morning Springfield time.
Pieter and Priyanka had to stay overnight in a hotel in Dallas and came in later.

The highlight of today though was my talk with Caroline Myss. What a truly delightful lady. She will make a very important contribution to the film.

Back to Norm: He does 90 minutes of exercise each day, he doesn’t eat wheat or pasta, no sugar, no salt – he doesn’t use a smartphone – he calls them “dumb” phones because they sap your attention – he showers of an afternoon, not of a morning, and doesn’t watch tv.

It was a privilege to have spent time with him.

On Friday we interview James Van Praagh – a mystic who has become a major television star. Author of many books, including some co-written by Doreen Virtue, he promises to bring some fascinating insights to the film.

Tomorrow I have meetings with some potential distributors here in the US – plus we’re meeting the folks at Infinitum Nihil – Johnny Depp’s company. They’ve been big supporters of PGS for some time now.

The film has taken on its own heartbeat.

Dr. Norm Shealy

Yesterday we left the Most Beneficial Galatic Cosmic Rays of Dallas.

I had picked up a beast of a truck from the airport, when I’d picked up Pieter CE (Cameraman Extraordinaire), and yesterday we drove away from Dallas in this big BBQ-eater’s, Republican voting, Paid Up NRA member, Budweiser guzzling, Fox News watcher’s, morbidly obese, truck.

It’s a Chevvy Tahoe. You wind it up and point it in the right direction and it gets you there, at 10mls per gallon.

I like the word “Chevvy.”

It reminds me of the classic American road movies, like Two Lane Black Top, and Vanishing Point, and Sugarland Express.

We drove some 450mls yesterday north into Oklahoma for a bit, then into Missouri.

Piet and I in the front talked about the film’s visual style, and lenses and focal lengths and really really interesting stuff… Jennifer and Priyanka in the back talked about Higher Self connectedness and Past Life Regression therapy and Aliens under the bed and really really Weird & Whacky stuff.

We got into Springfield early evening. We’re literally on Route 66, We got our kicks later at a beautiful Italian restaurant.

It’s early morning here now – I can’t sleep – because in a few hours we meet Dr. Norm Shealy – formerly one of the world’s top research scientists studying the brain, now a self avowed mystic.

It should be a fascinating interview!

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With the Mother Ganga spiritual tour of India, we now have to finalise train and flight passengers details. 

So this is the very very best last chance to join us if you’ve been thinking about it. 

Details are on the Gone Tours website – 

http://www.gonetours.com

It promises to be a life-changing tour. 

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Last full day in Dallas, and cameraman extraordinaire Pieter de Vries flew in from Sydney. If there’s a better documentary cameraman in the country, I don’t know him or her.

Then again, I don’t get out much.

Pieter and I go back to 1981-82, when we both worked for the ABC documentary show A BIG COUNTRY. I was an upstart producer/director, and Pieter was a cameraman with an impressive reputation, even then.

I’m thrilled to bits that he’s now joined us to shoot this next important stage of the intuition film.

Our day started with a very ordinary breakfast in a touristy downtown bar/restaurant – the kind of place where they automatically bill you a 20% tip because they think you’ll low ball the waitress.

Bad form.

Priyanka has now been with us a few days and she brings a lovely energy to this shoot. Calm, very very smart and very inquisitive.

Already she has been very effective in sourcing investment for us, and she’s accompanying us to learn more about the process of making this film – but also to meet some of the extraordinary people we’ll be interviewing.

Priyanka is personally very aligned to what we’re doing with PGS.

This evening we were all invited to Joni and Daniel’s house for dinner. We walked into their gorgeous house to a fine dining spread that was just incredible. Daniel used to own, and be head chef, of a celebrated French restaurant in Dallas, and his cooking is amazing.

Preston and Austin, and Preston’s girlfriend Kelly, were also there to join us for dinner – and we were treated like family – with love and generosity. The bond with Joni and Daniel gets stronger each time we meet – and this evening it was strangely strengthened by a chance background music track.

We were sitting down finishing dinner and I heard a few bars of an unmistakable song that had been such an important part of my youth – an obscure track by Stevie Winwood and Traffic called The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. 

I loved that song when I was young – and it turns out it was Joni’s favourite song when she was growing up. There aren’t many people know that song, much less regard it as one of their favourites, and Joni, Daniel and I laughed at the weird synchronicity of it all.

I don’t fully understand the Dallas connection, and the Most Beneficial Galactic Cosmic Rays, other than whenever we’re here, good things happen.

For instance, I think it’s no coincidence that Australia whupped England in the cricket today – winning the 2nd Ashes test by 405 runs, and totally humiliating the Poms.

I completely put that down to me being in the Cosmic Rays here in Dallas. It’s just a shame I can’t hang around here until Edgbaston.

(I hope you realise I’m having a lend of you here…!)

Anyway, tomorrow we drive out of Dallas and head north to Missouri, to begin our filming. Our first interview is with Dr. Norm Shealy, the neurosurgeon who brought the concept of Intuitive Medicine to the west – and who is regarded as the Father of Holistic Medicine.

He’s an incredible man.
More on him in a future post.

I’m excited at the way the film is now taking shape and picking up steam.

We have some important interviews lined up in the next couple of weeks, which will bring very real substance to the film.

Today I met Mr. Trammell Crow again. 

He is a delightful gracious man. 

For those of you new to this blog, Mr. Trammell Crow is one of Dallas’s richest citizens. Which makes him a billionaire. He’s also a staunch environmentalist – he’s a huge supporter of Global Earth Day – and his collection of Asian Art at his downtown  Art Museum is renown throughout the world. 

Since our last meeting in November, he’s lost none of his eccentricity. And his interest in my film has only deepened. 

We spent two and a half hours talking tonight, at his beautiful home. 

At the meeting was Jennifer, and Priyanka. Trammell was very interested in Priyanka’s jewellery business, and very kindly gave her contacts at the highest levels into Dallas’s prestigious department stores and major jewellery stores. 

He asked me many piercing questions about the film. I was able to answer them just fine. In fact, more than fine. 

I’m now going to introduce him to some influential Holy men in India, and he is going to introduce me to some influential money men in Dallas. 

Towards the end of the evening, he took us to his son’s garage where he keeps stacks of gifts, and gave each of us a gift.

Is Mr. Crow going to be personally involved? Who knows – but he might come to Bhutan with us. 

Wouldn’t that be cool! 

Irrespective, I like the man enormously and have huge respect for what he’s doing to try and save the planet. I don’t care if he invests or doesn’t invest. I value any time just spent talking to him…

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