"Bridging" Reviewed in "Magical Blend" Magazine

In the June 2004 issue of the world-renowned "Magical Blend" Magazine, Susan Dobra, reviewed "Bridging" as follows:

Conceived as an alternative to mind-numbing, dark, and disempowering TV talk shows like Jerry Springer, Bridging Heaven and Earth is a television show dedicated to heart-opening, spiritually uplifting ideas of oneness. Now entering its 14th season as a cable TV show, Bridging Heaven and Earth is broadcast in over 100 cities across the United States and will soon be in Canada and Europe, as well. Host Allan Silberhartz interviews an impressive list of spiritually oriented and "new age" guests from around the world, including many names you've seen in the pages of Magical Blend. There's always a musical guest, and the productions are surprisingly beautiful, thanks to its crew of professional volunteers. The conversation is transformational, and spans every spiritual tradition. To find out if and where it airs in your area (or how to request it) check out their website, where you can also access audio files of previous shows. Bridging Heaven and Earth is television that makes a difference.

Article about "Bridging" in Santa Barbara News Press

(by Rhonda Parks Manville, News Press Staff Writer,

March 7, 1999)

Local Metaphysical Talk Show Resonates With Viewers

As an antidote to the harsh, hate-filled diatribes on TV talk shows, a group of Santa Barbarans dreamed of creating a talk show focused on the higher principles of love, truth and oneness -- a sort of New Age version of "Regis and Kathie Lee" for the spiritual set.

That was four years ago, and now the show "Bridging Heaven & Earth," with its eclectic roster of New Age guests, is being shown on public access stations throughout California as well as in New York, Denver, Little Rock, Reno and Philadelphia.  The 77th segment of the one-hour program was taped Friday, with host Allan Silberhartz interviewing the futurist author Barbara Marx Hubbard, a promoter of the "evolutionary potential of humanity" and founder of the World Future Society.   The live show airs on Cox Communications' Channel 17 at 9:30 p.m. every other Friday.

The purpose of the program is "to speak to the uplifting of the spirit and to the oneness in all life, without any specific spiritual or religious orientation," Silberhartz said, and that message seems to be resonating with viewers.

Produced with the help of 15 volunteers, the show gives its New Age guests a forum for their sometimes offbeat spiritual remedies, healing methods and musical work.  The set for the show features a background of climbing flowers shaped like a heart, and a statue of Buddha sits on a table in the foreground.   It is taped at 414 E. Carrillo St. before a live audience.

"There really is no other outlet for their work--so few people can get on 'Oprah', " Silberhartz said of his guests, who have included mystics, spiritual teachers, healers, authors, channelers, musicians, artists and all manner of metaphysical practitioners.

There have been guests who commune with animals and others who receive their guidance from angels and so-called ascended masters.   Some have been disciples of author Carlos Casteneda and others have come on the show to speak about their understanding of God, who is routinely referred to as the manifestation of light, love and "oneness."

"It's not the path that matters so much," said Silberhartz, who initially hosted the show with his former girlfriend, Wistancia, hence the "Regis and Kathie Lee" comparison.  "What does matter," he said, "is that everyone who comes on the show shares the understanding that there is a spiritual connection between all people."

Religious scholar Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, said New Age believers make up about 1 to 2 percent of the American population, constituting a potential audience of about 6 million viewers.  Since people in the New Age movement tend to be wary of institutionalized organizations and beliefs, he said it is not surprising that a show like "Bridging Heaven and Earth" is produced at a public access television station, unlike a well-organized, well-financed ministry like Oral Roberts', for example.   Still, public access stations have the potential to reach very large audiences.

"I think this show is really important because people can sit in their living rooms and reach out to people with a higher consciousness," said Mira El Lindsay of Santa Barbara, who works as a channeler of spiritual energy and as a masseuse.  She used the term "light workers" to describe people who work in the "higher consciousness" realm, and said the show gives them a "place to see and be seen and to express themselves."  She has appeared on the show and her husband, Joleth Lindsay, volunteers on the set.  The couple is active in the New Age community and sponsors spiritual events around town.

Tales of spiritual transformation and healing are common on the show, and Silberhartz' story is no exception.  He was raised Jewish in New York, but religion didn't really resonate with him, he said.  He got a degree in accounting and became a lawyer, working in a Washington, D.C. firm from 1975 to 1980.   In the early '70's he learned to meditate while living on a commune in Maryland, and his spiritual awakening occurred at that time.

"I had an experience in which I felt what is defined as love, or oneness, or God," he said.  "It is a complete fulfillment, and I have since experienced it regularly,"  His epiphany inspired the theme of the show.

Silberhartz and his crew produce the show without pay.  A resident of Santa Barbara since 1980, he makes his living as a finance and investment consultant and teaches meditation.

Guest suggestions are made by the crew, based on who they'd like to have a conversation with.  In many cases, guests are promoting self-help books about healing spiritual, emotional or physical injuries and illnesses.   In the beginning, many of the guests were residents of the South Coast, but now that word of the show has spread, New Age practitioners come from all over the country.

Cox Communications does not have a way to tally the viewership of its public access shows, but Cox spokesman David Edelman said "Bridging Heaven and Earth" excels in production quality, which is often a mark of a show's success.  Silberhartz, he noted, has actively promoted the show.

"The time is right for a talk show with a spiritual theme," Silberhartz said, "especially considering the troubling events of our time and the coming of a new millenium."

"People are sick of Jerry Springer, and after a while no one cared about what was going on between Monica and Bill," he said.   "We all know there is more.  We know it.  It is time for a quantum change."

To critics and skeptics who make fun of the New Age movement and its followers, Silberhartz offers this:  "We're hurling through space on a ball.  I mean, really, how reasonable is that?  Why not enjoy it?   All of life is a mystery.  It's beyond belief.  But the more you understand that we are all the same, the more you can become more Christ-like, more Buddha-like, more Krishna-like, or whatever.  You become more understanding and loving.  And that's what we're after."

Article about "Bridging" in Santa Barbara Independent

(by Korina R. Jochim, Independent Staff Writer, May 27, 1999)

Close-Up--Television for a New Age

If you've ever engaged in late-night channel surfing, you may have stumbled upon "Bridging Heaven and Earth" on Santa Barbara's Public access station, Channel 17.  The show's host, Allan Silberhartz, could be Howard Stern's good twin, with his long hair and round, dark shades.  But after watching for just a few minutes, it's evident that this show is entirely different from most talk programs:  "Heaven and Earth" concentrates on the spirit, on the interconnectedness between all living things.

"It's 95 percent pure joy and playfulness," said Silberhartz of the experience, "and how many people say that about their jobs?"  How many indeed, and Silberhartz, a former lawyer, should know.  A Santa Barbaran since 1980, Silberhartz grew up in Brooklyn, New York, raised in the Jewish faith.  His law career has allowed him the time and the money to invest in the show; no one who works on "Heaven and Earth" gets paid for his or her time.  "It's a collaboration without ego," said Silberhartz; "it's done out of love for each other and of creativity."

Silberhartz's role as producer and host is not a leadership position, he insisted.  There are more than 20 others who are equally devoted to the program, including sometime director Jeff Azevedo, Michael Nicholson, Greg Allyn, Shelly Flanders, and Pat Hiron, among others.  The program is moving into its seventh season on May 28, airing every other Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Silberhartz's own spiritual awakening was, as he calls it, a "progression."  Finding most religions stultifying and divisive, he began meditating in college and reading the works of Carlos Casteneda and Ram Dass.  When asked why he thinks people are so convinced, when it comes to religion, that theirs is the only "right" way, Silberhartz explained it thus:   "People get caught up in the path, which is not the important thing."   That seems reasonable, but the most often heard criticism of New Age [theology] is that is seems to be accessible only to white, upper-middle-class people, secure in their jobs and their income.

Silberhartz has a theory about this, too:  "This group has had more time to focus on such concerns [spirituality], not having to worry about feeding themselves.  But the barriers are breaking down; it is becoming more relevant to people who find that they need spirituality in their lives."  Silberhartz finds that there are two essential components to having the experience of "Oneness," which he describes as an exalted state of being in touch with humanity and other life forms.  "You need to have a quiet experience, such as meditation, and contact with holy people who have a high level of consciousness," he said.  It is Silberhartz's hope that by "sending out a vibration of love and unity," viewers will begin to feel a spiritual connection to each other.

The idea for the show's format came when Silberhartz and friends were sitting around watching Jerry Springer and bemoaning the fact that so much negativity was being eaten up by the American audience.  "So we decided to do something more positive," he said. "TV is such a powerful medium, we figured we could just as easily make people feel love for each other as hate and fear."

"Heaven and Earth's" philosophy is simple: "dedicated to the Oneness."  It is categorically New Age in orientation, but the program's guests are amazingly diverse--artists, healers, spiritual teachers, writers, dancers, and musicians give the show a feeling of a collective experience.  Silberhartz is dedicated to the show's spontaneity and lets the conversations with his guests simply unfold.  The crew brainstorms on whom to bring to the program, but now, with its being shown in several other states, including Colorado and New York, guests are starting to approach Silberhartz themselves.  One crew member at the station estimates from the calls they receive during each broadcast that approximately 250,000 are out there watching, which makes Silberhartz unabashedly excited:  "I would be happy with one-tenth of that number, so long as they felt united in love and Oneness.  It's wonderful that we are connecting with so many people."

Interview with Allan in Santa Barbara News-Press

(by Bob Barber, January 3, 1998)

What is "Bridging Heaven & Earth"?

It’s a public television show that is scheduled to begin its fifth season on KCTV, channel 17 on the South Coast, at 9.30 p.m. on January 15.

Who hosts the program?

The creator, producer and host is Allan Silberhartz, a former Washington, D.C. attorney. He is a New Age believer, meditation practitioner and teacher of meditation. Silberhartz also is a long-time financial consultant and investment adviser.

What is the background of the TV program?

It began June 25, 1995, with Silberhartz and a co-host. He took over as sole host at the beginning of the fourth season. To date, there have been 52 live one-hour shows, with about 90 guests, including teachers, psychics, healers, authors, painters, musicians, singers, dancers and channelers. Included have been Andy Lakey, a well-known angel artist; Judith Orloff, psychic and psychiatrist, and Joel Andrews, a noted New-Age harp player.  Adrienne Wentworth will be featured on the first show of the new season and plans to speak about "Divine Intervention." About the guests, Silberhartz said: "It is not really important how the guests manifest their gifts, but that they manifest them with grace, dignity, humbleness and love."

"Bridging Heaven & Earth" is seen from coast to coast, including 11 cities in California. Negotiations are under way for "Bridging" to be seen in other U.S. markets and in England.  Silberhartz says that the only purpose of the program, which he calls a spiritual talk show/magazine, "is to speak to the uplifting of Spirit and to the Oneness in all life, without any specific spiritual or religious orientation."  This year, the program will be aired live every other Thursday from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m., and will repeat each Wednesday at 5 p.m. A Web page (www.heaventoearth.com) is being prepared and should be available soon, he says.

What is the background of the host?

Raised in a Jewish family, Allan had his Bar Mitzvah at age 13, but says he "never really resonated with any particular religion." He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in accounting and from the National Law Center at George Washington University.  After graduating from law school, he lived on an organic farm and commune in Maryland, where he helped build a house and raise his own food. While there, he learned a meditation technique from an Indian spiritual teacher. He still uses the technique daily.  Allan practiced law in the Washington. D.C., area and still is a member of the Maryland Bar Association. He served as president and CEO of Aslan Associates, a financial services company in Maryland, before moving to California.   While in Maryland, he "had an experience in which I felt what is defined as love, or oneness, or God. It was a complete fulfillment, and I have since experienced it regularly." He says that he has no specific religious association but that his spiritual experience transcends traditional religious affiliations.   Except for a year in Ojai, he has lived in Santa Barbara since 1980. He does consultations in finance and investment. He has taught meditation to groups and individuals since 1985. Unmarried, he enjoys meditating, plays golf, travels, and reads, mostly nonfiction.

BACK TO TOP

What is your outreach work?

"I send flyers on each of our programs to many cities, trying to get the message of love, oneness and togetherness to as many people as possible."

What should we learn from our faith and deeds?

"Ultimately, our faith and deeds give us an experience of love and connectedness. The more good we do, the more experience we have with God, or love."

What would you like the community to know about your television program?

"Everyone is invited to watch it with the hope that people will experience the love that connects them to all others."

What is your personal goal in life?

"To experience more love, more compassion, more faith and more surrender."

What is your message to the community?

"We are all made of love, God is love, and we are God."

(Article, "One Day in Peace, January 1, 2000", appeared in various publications around the world originating in the Santa Barbara News-Press, December 31, 1995)