Short Biography
Lauren Bell
Born in Laguna Beach, CA, Lauren Bell grew up in a historic psychedelic artist village, influenced by many great minds and artists in the community. In 2006 she left to study philosophy, consciousness, and humanity's relationship with nature. In 2010, she graduated from UC Santa Cruz with an Individually designed major, Eco-philosophy, combining philosophy, environmental studies, anthropology, deep ecology, ecopsychology and integral theory.
While living in Santa Cruz, Lauren spent time working on an organic farm and farmer's market. At UCSC she designed and executed a university level course through the Education for Sustainable Living Program. The class, Empowering Environmental Philosophy, examined deep ecology, ecopsychology, agroecology, anthropology, group work and altered and evolved states of consciousness through meditation in nature. Her thesis, entitled Environmental Awakening: Fundamentals of a world "gone mad," paths to restoration and healing, uses integral theory as the structure. The restorative section of the thesis observes case studies on agriculture, environmental restoration, native peoples of North America, wilderness experiences, empowerment and consciousness.
She spent a quarter leading 1st - 8th graders on environmental interpretation tours through the coastal, inter-tidal, beach, and tide pool ecosystem of Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz.
In 2008 Lauren was trained and certified in the Mechanics of Vision. This workshop included first level Manifest Skills, including basic translation and interpretation of elemental visions, presentation of visions, and entry into the active consciousness mark. Lauren received her Permaculture Design Certificate through Living Mandala in 2010, then she enrolled in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness with an emphasis in Integral Ecology, at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and earned her MA degree in 2012.
In 2015 Lauren was accepted to speak at Breaking Convention, a multidisciplinary conference on psychedelic consciousness at the university of Kent in England. Her presentation, titled Lessons in Psychic Therapy Through the Use of Psychedelics: On the Peyote Road, which can be viewed on the podcast page.
After starting a family Lauren moved to an organic and biodynamic permaculture farm and homestead to carry out her dreams. Lauren is deeply passionate about finding ways to reconnect our lives and our world, and an integral approach to consciousness, community, and the environment are key in this journey.
Paul Bell
Paul spent the early years of his life living with his family on a remote, self-sustained farm community in Ontario, Canada. It was there that the foundations for his love of nature, sense of community, and understanding the necessity of self- ownership were laid. Throughout his life, Paul has been a seeker of knowledge and Truth, yet feels as if the real journey is just beginning! Serving and helping others has always been at the heart of who Paul is, which was realized in a
successful 30-year career in the hospitality industry. After working his way through the restaurant kitchen to a 10-year stint as a General Manager, Paul spent the last 10 years in Director and Training
roles in both at Regional and National level. In that time, Paul developed and implemented systems, created, and trained recipes, crafted training programs and materials, opened dozens of new restaurants and mentored and led thousands of hourly Crew and Managers for several high-volume restaurant concepts.
In the Summer of 2015, Paul began to regularly practice yoga, and immediately felt a deep connection to the practice. It was no coincidence that Paul had “found” this practice during a crucial time in his life as he was experiencing a seismic shift in his spiritual awakening. Paul feels a deep calling to help make the world a better place, and recognized that combining that calling with his passion for yoga was a natural pairing. In September of 2019, Paul completed his RYT- 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certification and is now a registered yoga teacher.
Both avid lovers of live music and festivals, it was only a matter of time before Paul would cross paths with his future partner. In early 2017, Paul’s wife Lauren danced into his life, and they are now the
parents of 2 young boys. Upon becoming parents, Paul and Lauren had to revisit some Truths that they had both discovered, but then abandoned earlier in life. They realized that as family, there was no way that they could continue to participate in the enslavement and consumption of any living creature and still teach their children that it is wrong to harm others (animals included). In February of 2021, Paul went to pick up his oldest son at preschool and the teacher told him something that changed everything. She had asked the children what their Daddy’s did for work, and when she got to Paul’s son he said, “my Daddy works at a restaurant where they kill animals and feed them to people- even though HE KNOWS IT IS WRONG”. Immediately realizing his Actions were in direct opposition with Right and Truth, Paul gave his notice to his employer.
Today, Paul uses his time and energy feeding, caring for, and spending time with his family and their animals. Working, developing, and enjoying the land that they are blessed to call home in California has become a passion for the whole family. They are excited to share this with others as we all grow together in service of Truth, Love, and Freedom.
