Dean DrawbaughI recently had the privileged of interviewing author Dean Drawbaugh.  Dean has a great new easy to read book entitled “The Art of Making Things Happen In Your Life“.   The essence of this book is to provide the reader with self-assessment and reflections on ways to manifest their desired outcomes and goals.   At the end of each chapter Dean provides thought provoking questions and short assessment as a tool to assist the reader in determining where they are now,  and what they can do to change the current situation for a more positive outcome .

I love the story that Dean tells in the book and in our interview about the two wolves that live inside of us.   One evening a warrior in a remote village began to prepare his son to face life as an adult with the inevitable afflictions and adversities he would face.  The warrior told his son that all challenges ultimately are fought first between the two wolves inside him.  One is the wolf of fear which takes control of emotions and masquerades as lies, regret, feelings of inferiority, self-pity, envy and anger.  The other wolf is faith, consisting of trust, hope, joy, peace, humility, power and love.  The son thought about the scenario for a few minutes–of the two wolves battling against each other in his mind.  He asked, “Which one wins, Dad?” The wise father simply said, “The one you feed.”
How true this story is, and what a great way to illustrate a point.  We are what we think about, and if we can change our thinking we can change what we become.  Dean’s book “The Art of Making Things Happen In Your Life” is truly about observing what is happening now, and with some shifts in our thinking and our actions creating a better life.

I highly recommend this great little book, packed with practical advice on how to make things happen in your life.  If you would like to learn more about Dean Drawbaugh you can click here to be directed to his website.

I hope you enjoy this interview with author Dean Drawbaugh.

 

John SelbyJohn Selby is quite a prolific author and a fascinating man.  John has just returned to the mainland having been in Hawaii for the last 10 years spending time in silence and seclusion.  John is the author of many books, but this new book entitled “Expand This Moment” is very special to him.

When John was a graduate student, the well-known meditation expert Alan Watts challenged him to study the world’s meditation traditions from the inside, to identify their common underlying psychological processes, to formulate an approach to meditation based on these commonalities, and to then teach this universal process.  Forty years later, the birth of “Expand This Moment“.

As a result of a personal breakdown that lead to an amazing breakthrough John was gifted with the technique for meditation that we will share with you in this podcast.  This technique consist of 12 focus phrases which are designed to bring greater levels of awareness in the moment.  It does not take lots of time, and it is quite effective–as a matter of fact John leads us through the process during my interview.

During John’s breakdown and awakening, these focus phrases rose spontaneously into his mind.  They are broken down into Phases. Phase I-Zen Awakening.  1. I choose to enjoy this moment 2. I feel the air flowing in and out of my nose. 3. I also feel the moments in my chest and belly as I breathe. 4. I am aware of my whole body at once, here in this present moment.  Phase II- Emotional Healing. 5. I am ready to experience the feelings in my heart. 6. I let go of all my stress and worries, and feel peaceful inside. 7. I accept everyone I know, just as they are. 8. I honor and love myself just as I am.  Phase III-Insight Mode. 9. I am open to receive. 10. I feel connected with you Source. 11. I’am here to serve, to love, to prosper, and to enjoy myself. 12. I am ready to act with courage and integrity.

If you are looking for a simple and effective practice which does not takes lots of time, then I highly recommend John’ s 12 Focus Phrases.  I experienced the meditation while doing this podcast and they really did center me, bring awareness to my surrounds and bring me present.  What more could you want from a mindfulness meditation.
If you would like more information about author John Selby, please click here to be directed to his website.  It really is loaded with video, audio and reference material that you will find useful in your meditation practice.

Gail VoisinIt was a pleasure speaking with author Gail Voisin about her new book entitled ” All Together Now – Vision, Leadership and Wellness“.  I can’t remember exactly how Gail and I met, but we have been speaking about the birth of her new book over the last year, and I am proud to bring you this wonderful podcast with Gail.

As Gail states “Achieving outstanding personal and organizational success in our busy, competitive, chaotic world requires a unique, leading-edge set of skills for the twenty-first century executive and leaders.  It is critical to have the knowledge and ability to align the three key areas of vision, leadership and wellness to measure and sustain high performance levels.  In my interview with Gail, we speak about her ” All Together Now Advantage Model“.  It is designed to guide the busy executive in defining both their personal and organizational vision, leadership and wellness goals.   It is truly an integrated approach to creating a balanced lifestyle.  For most corporate executives, every day is a constant challenge to balance the many facets of life – career, family, friends and personal goals.

Gail states that balancing our lives does not have to be a daily struggle.  When you understand the importance of integrating your personal and organization vision, leadership and wellness, you will have the foundation to achieve extraordinary success in your personal and work life.   Personal vision is the anchor, and I could not agree more with Gail.  When you have developed your personal vision and can articulate it easily, it becomes that anchor that keeps you on track for what matter most.  Personal vision is a special and unique combination of desire and talent that is exclusive only to you.

You know the old saying that your health is your wealth.  Well this is so true, and Gail devotes a section of the book to wellness and the benefits from staying healthy– psychologically, physically, and emotionally. This plays a big role in our overall health.

Gail defines wellness as maintaining a healthy mind and body that can consistently sustain the energy reserves you need to meet exceptional circumstances beyond your control, both in business and family life.  Wellness and the focus on it is certainly in the headlines of our newspapers, and it is such an important aspect in being able to perform on and off the job with excess energy and enthusiasm.  Gail provides wonderful advice and direction for the busy executive who might feel they have neglected this very important part of their life.
All Together Now” is a wonderful read for anyone who is seeking balance and harmony in their life.  I highly recommend reading this book if you are on the fast track and want to take a few minutes to step back and reevaluate what is important.

Enjoy this great interview with author Gail Voisin, and if you want more information about Gail please click here to be directed to her website.

 

Dan Millman I first interviewed Dan Millman over three years ago when I started Inside Personal Growth.  As a matter of fact when my son Sean and I were in the Bay area we had the opportunity to meet Dan, and it was quite a treat.

His new book entitled ” The Four Purposes of Life” sets out to help the reader find meaning and direction in our ever changing world.   Dan states in the introduction ” With the pace of life accelerating, in a world of change, it’s not easy to maintain our balance and sense of direction.  Yet we strive to do so, because a sense of direction, toward a meaningful goal, may be a better part of happiness.

The Four Purposes Of Life  as Dan state are–learning life’s lessons, finding your career and calling, discovering your life path, and attending to this arising moment.  We are reminded that “lessons repeat themselves until we learn them.  If we don’t learn the easier lessons, they get harder. We learn and grow through challenges, and every adversity has hidden gifts.  Now if you believe this bit of advice that Dan is doling out is just a little to simple, I highly recommend that you read and take note of “life’s lessons” they are truly one of the areas where you can propel you life forward in a positive way if you are “learning daily from the lessons”

Dan make a distinction in the book between our career and our calling.  I like this, because our career is not our calling.  His distinction reminds us that our calling refers to a personal interest, attraction, inclination, drive or passion that is usually of higher order.  It isn’t  just something you want to do, but rather something you need to do, something that captures your imagination, touches you deeply and absorbs you, whether or not you can explain why.

So if you are seeking more clarity about your purpose and passion in life, then Dan Millman’s new book ” The Four Purposes of Life” is for you.  He has done an excellent job of guiding the reader understanding of the four purposes of life.  Also I highly recommend that you visit his website and enter you birthdate into the  “Life Purpose Caculator“.  Please look at the results, they were quite revealing for me and probably will be for you as well.
Enjoy my interview with a wonderful author and teacher, Dan Millman.

Jan PhillipsI love how author Jan Phillips writes, she is articulate and always has something inspirational to say.  Her new book entitled “No Ordinary Time-The Rise of Spiritual Intelligence and Evolutionary Creativity“.  Is about awakening and honoring the creator within all of us. It is a calling to stop, listen and take the necessary time to reconnect with a higher spiritual power that exist and is in service to us all.

These are “No Ordinary Times”  as Jan states. We are are witnessing and participating in an evolutionary leap unlike anything in our history.  There is evidence in the human family of an upward shift in consciousness, and maturing spirituality, a connectedness that grows more intimate and global by the day.  And that uplift is countered by the dissolution of myths that no longer serve us and demise of institutions that have under-pinned our culture since the beginning of history.

This book is a call to mindfulness, a reminder that evolutionary action begins with stillness, that visionary ideas arise from spiritual practice.  It is a book for people conscious in their power and ready to co-create new sacraments and ceremonies to celebrate the Divine dwelling within us.

The books form is based on the medieval “Book of Hours” and is designed to get the reader to read, reflect and make a deep spiritual connection to the higher power.  There are stories, poems and contemplative questions to ponder as one journeys through the text.  This truly is a book that will wake you up, and start you thinking about your patterns and thinking that have gotten where you are, as well as help you rise above your current beliefs and test new ground for conscious evolution.
I hope you enjoy my interview with author and thought leader Jan Phillips.  Her new book “No Ordinary Times” is a wonderful read and hopefully a book that will help you to see your life in a whole new light.  If you would like to learn more about author Jan Phillips please click here to be directed to her website.

John Di BattistaI had the pleasure of meeting John DiBattista at a weekend retreat that my good friend Larry Wilson was conducting.  I immediately was taken by John’s presence and his wonderful demeanor and gravitated toward wanting to get to know him better.   I received a call from him some months later as a result of our mutual friend recommending that John be interviewed for Inside Personal Growth.

John’s new book entitled ” Tell Them That I Love Them” is truly about an amazing personal spiritual experience that changed his life forever.  John believes that each of us has come into this world with a purpose, and that we were given the tools to fulfill that purpose.  We are created in God’s image as John states and gifted by our creator to represent him in some manner, small or great.

While on our life’s journey our true life’s purpose unfolds–the rebirthing process allows us to rediscover our individual purpose.  Our lives gets reoriented through the process of belief, faith, repentance, baptism and the receipt of the Holy Spirit as John states in his statement of philosophy in the book.

If you are interested in learning how the personal experience of John giving his life to Christ absolutely changed him forever,  and the message that Jesus told him to share with the world then I recommend that you listen to this amazing interview with author John DiBattista.  His encounter and epiphany as a result of an encounter with Jesus during an out of body experience is quite compelling and very heartfelt.  It does not matter what religion you embrace or how spiritual you are t
his story is for anyone who has a belief in a higher power.

Enjoy this wonderful interview with an inspiring and God centered author, who truly just wants to share a wonderful message “Tell Them That I Love Them”.

 

Doug De VitoIn my interview with author Doug De Vito we discuss his new book entitled ” The Upgrade: How to Improve Your Life By Healing Others”  Doug started working with author and founder of “The Reconnection” Eric Pearl, and was probably the least likely candidate  to become involved in the work of “The Reconnection“.   Previous to getting engaged in this work Doug was an engineer with an MBA, but synchronistically brought both Doug and Eric together, and Doug has spend a good percentage of his time working with outside researchers to prove the work of “The Reconnections”.

So just what is reconnective healing work?  It is a new form of energy, light and information that is here on the planet for the first time. When the practitioner accesses that “energy” it helps a person move into a state where tremendous healing can occur. It is as if the frequencies help to connect the other person into a state where their “dis-ease” states and symptoms tend to fall away.  This new frequency has been measured, documented and validated by various respected research and scientific teams around the planet, and they are stating that it is quite different that anything we have had on the planet before now.  Reconnective Healing sessions are typically done “hands off” , with the practitioner normally working around someone eles’s body.  The practitioner then feels and observes various energetic sensations in and around that person’s field, and this somehow connects the person to a healing state within himself or herself.

If you would personally like to experience Reconnective Healing, Doug De Vito will be conducting a class to teach this process.  It will be held in San Diego at the Crowne Plaza San Diego April 15-17, 2011.
To sign up for this class please click here to be directed to the Reconnective Healing website to register.   I hope you enjoy this interview with author Doug De Vito.