The first part is on Akasha, the vibratory field of information and energy which connects all things.

The second part is on The Spiral and the divine symmetry and mysterious patterns that have fascinated history’s greatest thinkers like Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein.

The third part is on The Serpent and the Lotus and the interconnection of consciousness and matter.

The last part Beyond Thinking is about ending compulsive thinking and awakening the latent potential of the human mind.

In this year’s presentation she goes the extra mile including a fascinating section on the Re-Imagination of Nearly Everything (starts at slide 29) which illustrates how technology has disrupted the media and how we communicate.

The main takeaway is the dramatic shift to mobile and how media companies like Google, Facebook and other still haven’t found a meaningful way to monetize the mobile experience.

Living in Vancouver for the past 5 years, I’ve had the opportunity to explore this city’s amazing creative community. Vancouver doesn’t have a wild and crazy bar scene, and people can sometimes seem a bit shy and cliquey at first, but if you take the time to find the right events you’ll discover the incredibly friendly and diverse scene of entrepreneurs, artists and creative people that call the west coast home.

I work in the digital media industry and I’ve had a few jobs that required getting out and drumming up new business relationships. I’ve found that attending events, networking mixers and conferences is the best way to not only establish new business relationships but also make new friends.

If you’re looking to meet other interesting entrepreneurs, freelancers and creative professionals, here are some of the best Vancouver events that I’ve discovered.

Regular Events:

Creative Mornings – Held monthly in the basement at the W2 Media Arts Centre in Gastown. Local artists, advertising executives and digital media creatives talk about their passion and what makes them creative. Set yourself a reminder for the ticket releases on EventBrite because they are usually scooped up in a few minutes.

Pecha Kucha Vancouver – Pecha Kucha (prounouncd peh ‘chak cha) is a global event that started in Tokyo and is now held in over 300 cities around the world. Local entrepreneurs, educators, artists and innovators give simple presentations. The format is fast and highly engaging with each presenter limited to exactly 20 slides with only 20 seconds spent on each slide. That makes 6 minutes and 4o seconds of pure glory. Tickets sell out fast.

The Social Feed – Weekly dinner parties for young, creative professionals. They usually have 20-40 people sitting at a long table so everyone can meet each other. Come alone and make new friends. The photo at the top is from a Social Feed at the Irish Heather.

Fuse – Four times a year, the Vancouver Art Gallery transforms itself into a surrealist mix of art, music and live performance. Fuse is a great place to meet new people in a casual environment surrounded by incredible art. Next event is Friday, February 24th, 2012.

Limemind – Meet interesting people in Vancouver’s creative community in a relaxed environment over coffee. Happens early, around 8 a.m.

The Buzz Event – A regular event for young and upcoming entrepreneurs, creators, thinkers, philanthropists and daredevils put on by the good people at Vancity Buzz.

Organizations Holding Events:

DigiBC – The Digital Media and Wireless Industry Association of BC holds regular workshops and networking mixers.

BCAMA – The BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association is the largest networking group for Marketers in Vancouver. They regular hold breakfast series, networking mixers, workshops, conferences and the Marketer of the Year event.

IABC – The British Columbia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators has over 600 members in Vancouver. They regularly hold career building events, networking mixers and a bi-weekly Toastmasters meeting at The Network Hub in Gastown (which I highly recommend).

Co-Working Spaces

The Network Hub – The largest and most established of the co-working spaces serving local entrepreneurs and startups. Minna Van, who runs the Network Hub is very helpful and she knows just about everyone in the local scene.

The Hive - This Gastown co-working space regularly holds meetups for startup folks, entrepreneurs and changemakers.

The Office – An up-and-coming co-working space for freelancers also in Gastown.

Meetups:

Lean Startup Vancouver – A monthly meetup series for people interested in building startups and agile businesses using the Lean Startup methodology popularized by Eric Ries.

Net Tuesday Vancouver – Social media and web innovators come together with social change makers to network, swap stories and ideas, and build new relationships.

Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup – This regular event held by co-working space The Network Hub is always packed with bright young entrepreneurs. Probably the best entrepreneur meetup in the city.

Vancouver Young Professionals – Young urban professionals passionate about networking, growing business and meeting new people in Vancouver.

Startup Drinks – Hosted monthly at Relish by the Bootup Entrepreneurial Society. Lots of interesting people from the Vancouver web startup scene.

Annual Events & Conferences:

TEDxVancouver – The biggest annual TEDx event held in the Lower Mainland.

GROW – The largest technology and venture capital event of the summer. Top venture capitalists from the Bay Area descend on Vancouver to find new technology start-ups to invest in. Held each year in August.

GLOBE – An international conference dedicated to the business of the environment and sustainability. March 14th-16th, 2012 at the Vancouver Conference Centre.

SocialComNet 2012 – The International Workshop on Social Computing, Network, and Services is being held from June 26th-28th, 2012. Learn all about the semantic web, artificial intelligence, data mining and the evolution of social computing.

CreativeMix – An annual professional development conference for both emerging and established creative professionals, entrepreneurs and artists of all kinds, bringing everyone together in an atmosphere of creativity and collaboration.

Northern Voice – An annual personal blogging and social media conference held June 15th and 16th at the W2 Media Arts Centre in Gastown.

InterLink Conference – A conference for web design professionals of all types. Exploring the intersection of web design, code, and content during 2 days of curated talks and workshops at UBC Robson Square.

So, as you can see there is a lot going on in this city! If you find this post useful please share it with your friends. You may also want to read another post I did called Vancouver: Creative City and Innovation Guide.

This week Google launched Google Real-Time Insight Finder, which combines the features of its other search data tools into one centralized interface. If you need to do online research into popular and rising trends, this is an incredible tool.

And it’s all free. If you want to learn more about how Real-Time Insight Finder can be a vital tool for planning your digital marketing initiatives, watch this video from Google.

The natural wonders listed below are a collection of my favourite places in the Canadian Rockies (in no particular order). I was inspired to write this post by reading the 36 Natural Wonders of New Zealand.

1. Morraine Lake

Credit: Calxibe
Photo Stream: Morraine Lake

The surreal blue waters of Morraine Lake and the backdrop of snow-capped peaks in the Valley of Ten Peaks is a sight to see. The ten mountain peaks in the background run along the Continental Divide, which marks the border of British Columbia and Alberta.

Morraine Lake used to be on the back of the Canadian Twenty Dollar Bill. The colour of the water is due to the refraction of light off the glacial rock flour that is continually deposited in the lake. Since the lake is at such a high elevation, approximately 1,885 m (6,183 feet), the road is only open from June to September. The rest of the year you have to ski in, which takes about two hours (no snowmobiles are allowed in Canada’s National Parks).

2. Mount Robson

Credit: Alberta Clipper
Photo Stream: Mount Robson

The highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 3,954 m (12,972 ft) is Mount Robson. What’s remarkable about this mountain is how high it rises above the valley – the vertical rise is almost 3 km from the base to the summit.

The glaciers around Mount Robson also provide the headwaters of the Fraser River, which flows 1,375 miles (2,213 km) to the city of Vancouver where it reaches the Pacific Ocean. There is a good hike around the back on the Berg Lake Trail.

3. The Columbia Icefields

Credit: Canada Tours
Photo Stream: Columbia Icefields

The Columbia Icefields is an icefield along the Continental Divide. It covers 325 km² in area, is 100 to 365 metres (328 to 1,197 ft) in depth and receives up to seven metres (275 in) of snowfall per year. Its melt waters flow into three oceans, the Arctic Ocean to the north, Hudson Bay to the east (Atlantic Ocean) and south and west to the Pacific Ocean.

There is excellent hiking in the area and you can take a 80-minute tour on the massive Brewster Ice Explorers that are specially designed for glacial travel. The best time to experience the icefields is on the Full Moon Trek, which guided by the National Park Rangers.

4. Spirit Island on Maligne Lake

Credit: Surreal McCoy
Photo Stream: Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake is one of the most beautiful sites in Jasper National Park. The 44 km (27 mile) lake is renowned for the colour of its water and the three beautiful glaciers surrounding the lake. Spirit Island at the south end of the lake is one of the most photographed locations in the world.

5. Lake Louise Ski Area

Credit: Tepper Incentives
Photo Stream: Ski Lake Louise

Some of the best views in Banff National Park can be found at the Lake Louise ski area. In the winter, you can see the mountains along the Continental Divide across the valley and the smoke billowing from the chimney of the miniature-looking Chateau Lake Louise. In the summer, there is hiking, grizzly bears and amazing wildflowers. Lake Louise is consistently rated the most beautiful ski resort in the North America.

6. Mount Assiniboine

Credit: T.C. Chen
Photo Stream: Mount Assiniboine

Mount Assiniboine, also referred to as Canada’s Matterhorn due to its pyramidal shape, is the highest peak in the Southern Rockies at 3,618 m (11,870 feet). It is a long six-hour trek to walk the 27 kilometres to Lake Magog at the base of the mountain. There are no roads in the area. However, there is a beautiful lodge (if you have reservations) and camping nearby. You can see a good view of Mount Assiniboine from the top of Goat’s Eye or Continental Divide at Sunshine Village ski resort.

7. Takakkaw Falls

Credit: Wikipedia
Photo Stream: Takakkaw Falls

Takakkaw Falls is the largest waterfall in the Canadian Rockies at 384 m (1260 feet). This makes it the second-highest waterfall in Canada after Della Falls on Vancouver Island. Takakkaw is a loose translation from Cree, meaning something like “it is magnificent.” It is fed by the Daly Glacier which is part of the Waputik Icefield. This means the waterfall is at its best during the warm summer months.

8. Cascade Mountain and the Banff townsite

Credit: Idle Rich
Photo Steam: Banff

Banff is certainly a little piece of paradise. Sitting at an elevation of 1,463 m (4,800 ft), it is the community with the second highest elevation in Canada, after Lake Louise. The town is located along the Bow River at the convergence of 5 major valleys and wildlife migration corridors. The town’s main street Banff Ave. is aligned so that the view of Cascade Mountain is right down the middle of the street. Cascade Mountain is 2,998 m (9,836 feet) high and it takes about 10 hours to hike to the summit and back.

The town of Banff is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada, attracting close to 5 million visitors a year. Some popular activities in the area include white water rafting, hiking, mountain biking, relaxing in the hot springs and skiing at the local resorts Sunshine Village, Norquay and Lake Louise. You can also do day-trips from Banff to other ski areas like Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Castle Mountain and Panorama Resort. The town is also renowned for having a wild nightlife. I guess that what happens when you can get a pint for a $1 and a high-ball for $1.75 on the locals nights.

9. Mount Rundle

Credit: Christian Ward
Photo Stream: Mount Rundle

Along with Cascade Mountain to the north, Mount Rundle is one of the two most distinctive mountains around the town of Banff. It is a fun and grueling 9-hour hike to the summit at 2,948 m (9,672 ft). The top part of the mountain (above the tree-line) is called the Dragon’s Back and it is a sketchy scramble to the edge to peer over the side of the mountain where it drops 1000s of feet to Banff Springs Golf Course below.

Coming down Sulphur Mountain road from the Hot Springs and RimRock Hotel, there is a smaller peak near the Bow River that appears to pointing to the heavens (or maybe it’s just my imagination). Also, there is a beautiful waterfall coming off the mountain in the spring on the Banff Spring Golf Course side.

10. Lake Louise

Credit: JoLoLog
Photo Stream: Lake Louise

Lake Louise is a popular tourist town at the southern end of the Icefields Parkway. The town is very laid back and the Chateau Lake Louise is a beautiful resort to walk around. The must-do hike in the area is to the Beehives and the mellow atmosphere of the English Tea House in the mountain wilderness. This picture is taken from the Lake Louise ski resort across the valley.

11. Castle Mountain

Credit: Legendary Tours
Photo Steam: Castle Mountain

Castle Mountain marks the half-way point between Banff and Lake Louise. Although it looks like a difficult hike from the front, it’s an easy scrambled up the back side of the mountain to the summit.

The river bend below Castle Mountain is a great starting point for rafting down the Bow River. It is a relatively smooth 3 hour raft in the summer from Castle Mountain back to the town of Banff.

12. The Northern Lights

Credit: Satoru Kikuch
Photo Stream: The Northern Lights

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, is a natural light display in the sky caused by the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth’s magnetic field. The best time to see them in Banff is in August and September, usually at 3 a.m. or just before sunrise.

13. Cave and Basin National Historic Site

Credit: John Bennell
Photo Stream: Banff Hot Springs

This is an interesting place because it is where Canada’s national park system began. The Cave and Basin natural hot spring was “discovered” in 1883 (previous expeditions had recorded references to site as early as 1859) by two workers building the Canadian Pacific Railway who saw its commercial potential. The fact that it was a sacred site to the local First Nations didn’t seem to bother the worker’s conscience so they built a fence around the site and started constructing a cabin for tourists.

Conflicting claims on the site prompted the Canadian government to intervene and in 1885, Prime Mister John A. MacDonald declared a reserve of 26 square kilometres around the Cave and Basin, creating the Banff Hot Springs Reserve. This was the beginning of Canada’s national park system. There are nine natural hot springs along Sulphur Mountain in Banff and a number of hot springs in the park including Banff Upper Hot Springs, Radium Hot Spring and Miette Hot Springs.

People used to swim in the Cave and Basin, until an exotic snail known as the Banff Springs snail was discovered and the government closed the swimming pools to protect this endangered species. The Upper Hot Springs on Sulphur Mountain by the RimRock Resort Hotel is the place to go.

14. The Wildlife

Credit: G Foucault
Photo Stream: Banff Wildlife

Banff and the Canadian Rockies are one of the best places in the world to see wild animals in their natural environment. In and around the town of Banff you will regularly see Elk, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats. Hiking in the mountains you’ll come across grizzly bears, black bears, mountain caribou, moose, wolves, hoary marmots, wolverines, bald eagles, beavers, owls and cougars.

15. Peyto Lake

Credit: Ken Kaminesky (blog)

Photo Stream: Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake is one of many jaw-droppingly beautiful lakes on the Icefields Parkway.

There you have, the 15 natural wonders of the Canadian Rockies. Honourable mentions go to:

• Lake O’Hara
• Icefields Parkway
• Kicking Horse River
• Waterton Lakes
• Bow Lake

As usual, in no particular order. All of these hiking trails are within 1-2 hours driving distance of the city of Vancouver and can be completed in a day.

1. Dog Mountain

A surreal view of Vancouver’s natural harbour as the sun sets.

Photo Credit: Kyle Pearce

The Dog Mountain bluffs have the best-hike-to-view ratio in the Lower Mainland. I try to do this hike every few weeks since it is a quick 25 minutes drive from downtown and it only takes about 1 or 2 hours. Plus, it is an easy hike in the snow. The trailhead is by the Bear’s Paw at the far end of the Mount Seymour parking lot.

2. Stawamus Chief

The mysterious crouching Stawamus Chief seen from the Squamish Marina.

Photo Credit: Kyle Pearce

The Stawamus Chief, or “The Chief”, is the second largest granite monolith in the world. There are three domed summits you can hike to, all accessed by a trail that starts near Shannon Falls. The lowest dome takes about 3 hours and the highest dome takes 5 hours (all times are return trips). If you’re a little crazier, you can climb one of the many routes on the front face, which is a world-famous rock climbing destination.

3. St. Mark’s Summit

A spectacular view over the entrance of Howe Sound. You can see Bowen Island on top left and the mountains of Vancouver Island fade into the clouds in the distance.

Photo Credit: Realaworld

St Mark’s summit is an intermediate hike that starts by the Cypress Mountain day lodge. It winds 11 km along the Howe Sound Crest Trail. It takes about 5 hours to the summit and back.

If you want to hike the entire Howe Crest Sound Trail it takes 2 days to hike the full 32 km. There are many other mountains along the trail that have much better views like the Binkert Lions, Unnecessary Mountain and Mount Harvey, but St. Mark’s Summit is the easiest hike.

4. Mount Cheam

The view of the Fraser River from one of the peaks of Mount Cheam.

Photo Credit: Ryan and Sabina

Mount Cheam is the highest peak in the Fraser Valley but also one of the easiest thanks to a logging road that gets you within a one-hour hike of the summit. The road is snowed-in for most of the year so the best time to go is between July and October. The road can be accessed from Chilliwack Lake road and you will need a 4×4 vehicle.

5. Mount Shuksan

The late summer view of Mount Shuksan reflected in the calm waters of Mirror Lake.

Photo Credit: Kyle Pearce

This is the huge peak you see skiing at Mount Baker. Between the months of the June and October, this is a difficult but rewarding hike offering views of Vancouver in the distance, Mount Baker and the Cascade wilderness to the south.

In the summer and fall you can drive up to Artist’s Point in Mount Baker Recreational Area and there is lots of hikes that can be done in a few hours. The scenery in this area is outstanding.

6. Garibalidi Lake

The view of the aqua blue waters of Garibaldi Lake from Panorama Ridge.

Photo Credit: Grant Mattice

Garibaldi Lake is an incredible hike. While it can be done in a day, it is better to spend a few days at the beautiful campground along the southern shore. It takes about 3 hours to hike to the campground and from there you can hike to Panorama Ridge, the Battleship Islands, Black Tusk, Cheakamus Lake and the amazing wildflowers in the Black Tusk meadows (best seen between the middle of July and middle of August).

7. Diaz Vistas

The view of Indian Arm and the city of Vancouver in the distance.

Photo Credit: David J Laporte

The Diaz Vistas trail is a nice 4-6 hour hike along the ridgelines above Indian Arm and Bunsen Lake in Belcarra Regional Park. On the way back down, it is worth stopping at Bunsen Lake or Sasamat Lake for a swim.

8. Crown Mountain

When I saw this photo it just blew me away. Local boy and two-time Stanley Cup champion Andrew Ladd fulfilling his dream to watch the sun rise on Crown Mountain with the Stanley Cup.

Photo Credit: Mark L. Johnson

Crown Mountain is one of the most distinctive peaks visible from Downtown Vancouver. The trail starts just beyond the Grizzly Bear refuge on Grouse Mountain and it takes about 5 hours to the peak and back. It’s a lot better than taking the crowded Grouse Grind.

The pyramid-like peak in the top left of the picture is Cathedral Mountain, the highest peak in the North Shore Mountains.

9. Mount Seymour

The epic backcountry terrain on Mount Seymour.

Photo Credit: Grant Mattice

Mount Seymour is a 5-hour hike from the Mount Seymour Ski Resort parking lot. It’s the most fun to do it in the winter when you can ski, slide or snowboard back down. There are usually lots of interesting and friendly people in the Seymour Backcountry hiking, building jumps and even camping on the ridge lines overlooking the city of Vancouver.

10. The Binkert Lions

The view of the Binkert Lions on the Cypress approach.

Photo Credit: Panoramio

These distinctive twin peaks in the North Shore Mountains are a strenuous 8-hour hike from the village of Lions Bay. You can also hike to the Lions from the Howe Sound Crest Trail.

There you have it, 10 of the best hikes around Vancouver. If you have your own personal favourite hike in the Vancouver area, please add it in the comments.

Vancouver definitely has interesting and moody weather. These Vancouver photos illustrate all the different kinds of interesting weather we get here on the BC Coast: snow, fog, rain, sun and everything in-between.

The morning fog hanging over the Stanley Park and Coal Harbour after a week of dense fog in the city.

The perfect shade of blue sky on a clear, crisp summer day.

Different shades of clouds as the mysterious haze gradually colours over the blue sky.

A bright morning reveals a fresh dusting of snow on the North Shore Mountains.

After a fresh dump snow at sea level, the city of Vancouver grinds to a halt.

An inversion of clouds hangs below the North Shore Mountains and above the city of North Vancouver.

After a big storm, clouds blanket the North Shore Mountains and begin to burn off in the sun.

More misty mountaintops after a winter storm.

One of the few summer sunrises I managed to catch (I’m not a morning person). I love the outline of mountain’s ridgelines against the morning sky.

The November gloom sets in as the rainy season begins. The city remains socked in by gray clouds for most of the next 4 months. When the clouds occasionally break and the rains stop, the mountaintops are often dusted in fresh snow and Vancouverites pour out in the streets to get some Vitamin D.

In the winter dense fog can completely cover the city, dramatically reducing visibility.

One of my favourite things about Vancouver is how the clouds break up at in the late morning or afternoon after a storm. Then they bunch up on the North Shore Mountains, often creating explosive looking cloud pillars thousands of feet high.

This post was recently transferred over from my tumblog Slimdizzy. I hope you enjoyed these photos of Vancouver.