Drew Heriot, director of The Secret movie, is suing Rhonda Byrne, creator of The Secret, and her company for $340 million dollars. Heriot claims that Rhonda cheated him out of millions of profits that he is legally entitled to. The lawsuit includes a breach of contract claim, fraudulent inducement, unjust enrichment and unfair competition under California and Business Provisions Code. It should be noted that these are just allegations against Rhonda Byrne and not necessarily true. You can read excerpts from the lawsuit which includes actual emails between Rhonda and Drew at:

www.backgroundnow.com/background-check/what-is-dan-hollings-complaint-with-rhonda-byrne-and-the-secret-llc/.

Additionally, there is fascinating article written by Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks about the importance of using integrity with the law of attraction and the irony of how a leading proponent of the law of attraction managed to attract a multi-million dollar lawsuit and disgruntled team members. You can read that article at www.huffingtonpost.com/kathlyn-and-gay-hendricks/what-can-we-learn-from-th_b_198995.html

This is not the first disagreement Rhonda Byrne has had with ex team members of The Secret. Jerry and Esther Hicks and also Gay Hendricks provided footage for The Secret that did not end up in the final cut for reasons that are still a little unclear.

     A sequel to Dan Brown’s conspiracy novel The Da Vinci Code will be published on September 15 2009.  The title is The Lost Symbol and it will follow hero Robert Langdon through a 12-hour timeframe.  Brown said writing it was a “strange and wonderful journey.”  Details of the plot have not been released yet.  However, the editor, Jason Kaufman described the setting of The Lost Symbol as “a masterful and unexpected new landscape.”  Brown revealed a little more detail when he said, “Weaving five years of research into the story’s 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge.  Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine.” 

        The Da Vinci Code was Brown’s fourth novel.  All of his previous works became best sellers after the Da Vinci Code received so much attention and notoriety.  Angels and Demons, a previous Robert Langdon novel, is being adapted into a film that is set for release in May this year.

       In One-Moment Meditation: Stillness for People on the Go, Martin Boroson distils the practice of meditation into an exercise that does not require hours of training or severe spiritual discipline, and fits within our fast-pased lifestyles. His radical approach starts with an exercise that takes just one minute a day. With practice, this takes less and less time … until you can do it in just a moment.

      Boroson, who has an MBA from Yale, combines his Zen training and psychotherapy background in One-Moment Meditation to present a self-paced, realistic and effective program - perfect for active people leading hectic lives.

       “This simple and direct approach to meditation was born when I realized that what matters most in meditation is not the quantity of time but the quality of our attention. With the right outlook and tools, we can meditate in a very short amount of time. We can tap into deep peace whenever we have a free moment,” states Boroson.

      The book presents a step-by-step program of exercises that will enable you to notice the moment, be in the moment, and tap into the enormous potential of each moment. So wherever you are - waiting in traffic, changing a diaper, standing in a long line at the bank - you can grab a moment of meditation. No matter how hectic life seems, you can stop, refresh yourself, and become present - transforming a life that feels crowded and rushed to one that feels spacious and full of opportunity. You realize that every moment offers a chance - no matter how harried or anxious you feel - to experience deep peace.

      Boroson’s playful and practical techniques remind us that peace is available and accessible right now, in this very moment. And if not now, when?  

      For more information, you can visit http://www.martinboroson.info/ or watch the video clip of Martin Boroson below.

     In the interview below, Arielle Ford discusses her new book The Soulmate Secret: How to Manifest the Love of Your Life with the Law of Attraction.  She offers practical steps you can take today to begin to attract your soulmate, explains why some people struggle to find their true love and talks about how her 80-year-old mother in law used the techniques in the book to manifest a soulmate 5 years after her husband of 55 years passed away.  

      If you would like to download the audio of the interview and listen to it on your Ipod or MP3 player please visit our podcast feed by clicking here or subscribe to Spiritual Media Blog’s podcast on Itunes by clicking here. 

      For more information about Arielle Ford and The Soulmate Secret please visit http://www.soulmatesecret.com/.

      It is a rare gift to be able to combine spirituality with humor.  That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I came across the video below with Robert Holden (author of Be Happy: Release the Power of Happiness in YOU) as he describes in detail how an Indian Guru laughed at him in front of a large audience after he tried to answer the question: Who am I?  This is one of those fundamental questions and having a sense of humor about it can lead to greater clarity and a little more fun in life.

      Robert Holden was on Oprah Jan. 1st 2009 and his 8-week happiness program was featured on a BBC-TV documentary called How to Be Happy that has been shown in 16 countries to 30 million television viewers.  His work came to my attention after I received an email from Wayne Dyer’s newsletter list today regarding the release of Robert Holden’s book, Be Happy: Release the Power of Happiness in YOU. 

    In the video clip below, Jack Canfield talks about how growing up in a lower-middle class family shaped his beliefs.  He knows a lot about overcoming adversity and developing perseverance.  His famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series was rejected by 144 publishers.  They said that no one would want to buy a book with stories about other people succeeding or overcoming adversity and also that his idea was not dark enough… Those publishers who rejected him probably wish they had given him a chance now.

      Karen M. Black is the author of Moondance and perhaps the only karmic astrologer with an MBA.  Addictive, intelligent and unabashedly erotic, Moondance explores life, love, the nature of reality and plunges the reader full-force into the wake of an astonishing climax.

       I had the pleasure of reading Moondance and interviewing Karen.  Our interview below covers a wide range of topics from what it’s like having an MBA and being a karmic astrologer, working in the corporate world as an aspiring writer and why she chose to make Moondance so sexy.  Her answers are eye-opening and insightful.  For more information on Moondance and Karen M Black please visit www.KarenMBlack.com.

     In Fractal Time: The Secret of 2012 and a New World Age, Gregg Braden merges modern discoveries of nature’s patterns (fractals) with the ancient view of a cyclic universe.  The book asks us if we can create a new epoch of peace, cooperation and healing.

     In the video clip below, Gregg Braden goes into greater detail about the message of his book.

      The video below contains an exclusive interview with Jerry Wennstrom, author of The Inspired Heart, along with images of his artwork.

       The Inspired Heart: An Artist’s Journey of Transformation tells the true story of Jerry Wennstrom, a rising star in the New York art world, who destroyed all of his paintings and spent the next 10 years wandering, seeking and listening.  With no possessions, money or set plan, Jerry simply trusted that the Grace of God would guide him to wherever he was supposed to go and provide for him whatever he needed in order to survive.  His book, The Inspired Heart, shares anecdotes about the people he met along the way and what he learned from those experiences.

      Jerry did not shy away from people living on the fringes of society such as potential muggers, alcoholics and mob bosses.  Instead of reacting with fear and judgment, Jerry looked for the humanity in these troubled individuals and offered genuine compassion and thoughtful insight, even when it looked like they might try to harm him.

       His willingness to make himself vulnerable to such uncertain, unknown and precarious circumstances helped him find a level of faith that is inspiring.  His life is a true example of how when we allow ourselves to trust in the greater intelligence present in the Grace of everyday life, we become open to a way of living where fears, doubts and judgments are replaced with an ultimate freedom, peace and deeper awareness for the inherent goodness in our self, others and God.

        You can listen to the 30 minute interview below which is set to images of Jerry Wennstrom’s art.  (It may take a few seconds for the video to buffer and start playing).  For more information about Jerry, please visit www.handsofalchemy.com.

      Dr. Judith Orloff, author of Emotional Freedom and assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry at UCLA, recently hit the streets of Los Angeles to ask people what emotional freedom means to them.  According to Dr. Orloff, emotional freedom means

      “increasing your ability to love by cultivating positive emotions and being able to compassionately witness and transform negative ones”

      She views emotions as a path to intuitive healing and spiritual awakening.  In the video below, she asks random people on the streets of Hollywood what emotional freedom means to them.