Nautilus’ motto is “Changing the World One Book at a Time,” and fellow Gold winners include William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer’s marvelous The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind about an African boy who makes a windmill out of scraps and “brings electricity and a future” to his village, Pierre Pradervand’s beautiful The Gentle Art of Blessing, and Elizabeth Grossman’s powerful ode to green chemistry, Chasing Molecules. Previous Nautilus Gold Medal winners include the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Deepak Chopra, so Jessica is in excellent “and humbling!” company.
Spiritual Media Blog interviewed Jessica about her memoir, Roll Around Heaven, and how anyone can have an authentic spiritual experience. You can listen to that interview by clicking the button below or purchase the book by clicking here.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jane Bernhardt, author of We Are Here: Love Never Dies about her book, communicating with loved ones after they die and how her message can help people heal.
On the morning of November 5, 2006 Jane’s father Harry Lee Smith passed away. It was never his intention to abandon Angelika, his bed-bound wife of forty years. So, shortly after his death, he began an amazing series of communications through his daughter Jane, to comfort and inspire Angelika as she transitioned out of her body. What Harry and his spiritual helpers have expressed are extraordinary illuminations of the beauties of the after-life as well as precious lessons in living and letting go.
In our conversation, Jane shares with me how we can communicate with loved ones who have passed away, how she responds to people who don’t believe we can communicate with loved ones after they have died and how her message can be healing and empowering.
She made a few remarks that really helped me see a bigger picture such as,
“When I can work for the things that are eternally important, then there’s no end to the fruitfulness of my life.”
“Whenever I felt lost or discouraged, I’ve gone deep inside to ask: ‘Are you still here?’ I speak with the lover of my soul. This conversation has taken me to amazing places.”
You can listen to our entire 30 minute conversation by pressing the play button below.
For more information on Jane Bernhardt and how to purchase We Are Here: Love Never Dies, please Click Here
Andrew Harvey and Karuna Erickson are the authors of Heart Yoga: The Sacred Marriage of Yoga and Mysticism. In Heart Yoga, Andrew and Karuna use practical teachings and richly layered poems to remind us that through yoga it is possible for anyone to become “embodied channels of illumined love, grace, peace . . . and instruments of divine creativity and service in the world.”
I recently had a chance to interview them about their book, the benefits and differences of heart yoga and how yoga can connect you to the Sacred. You can listen to our 30-minute conversation by clicking the play button and read highlights from our conversation below. For more information, please visit Andrew’s web site at www.AndrewHarvey.net and Karuna’s web site at www.yogakaruna.com. Heart Yoga is available on Amazon.com by Clicking Here
Andrew, you are an internationally acclaimed visionary and bestselling author and/or editor of over 30 books. What inspired you to write about yoga?
Well my last book , which in a way is a consummation of my life work is called “The Hope; A Guide to Sacred Activism.” In that book I lay out a vision for what I believe is a force that can save the planet, save the human race and save us from the addictions that are now destroying us. That force I call Sacred Activism, which is the fusion of the two noblest fires in the human soul: The fire of the mystic’s passion for God and the fire for the activist’s passion for justice.
When these two fires fuse, they birth a third fire which is the nuclear fire of love in action and which connects directly to the evolutionary fire that streams from the Godhead to evolve all of the Universes ever more profoundly into the glory of the Divine.
When I wrote this book, I came to understand that four kinds of practices were profoundly needed now for us to become strong enough to deal with the enormous crisis that is manifesting everywhere:
Cool practices that calm us and align us with Divine Being.
Hot practices that align us with the Motherhood of God.
Prayer practices that enable us to keep up a stream of remembrance of the beloved through everything and align us with the will of God through everything.
And very importantly, body practices, Sacred body practices that enable us to embody the Divine energies that are streaming in at this crucial and menacing moment to help birth what I believe is the real secret meaning of our crisis and embody Divine humanity.
About eight years ago, I had the great good fortune to meet Karuna Erickson and she was a pupil of mine in a class that I was giving on Rumi. And very sweetly and tenderly, she came up to me after one of my classes and said,
“Andrew, the passion that is devouring you and that you are emanating will deeply damage you if you don’t get more bodied.”
And because she said it so sweetly, I heard her and I embarked on a whole deep immersion in yoga under her instruction and through that immersion, I came to understand with Karuna’s help that at this moment yoga could be the most important crucible for the divinization of the body that we have available to us.
Yoga has very ancient sacred roots. Yoga has always known at these Sacred roots that the Divine is present as Light Consciousness in every cell of the body…
Yoga can become a conscious way of uniting with the Divine within and without and even more importantly of calling down the Divine Light into the body so that the body can become more and more consciously the living temple of the Divine energies.
One of the most extraordinary things about heart yoga has been is its extremely vibrant reception from both the leading spiritual teachers Marianne Williamson, Caroline Myss and Deepak Chopra and also by the leading Yoga teachers such as Seane Corn, Rodney Yee and Shiva Rea.
How does Heart Yoga differ from other types of yoga, and what is its biggest benefit?
God is the sacred marriage of immanence and transcendence. This is the way in which God is most holy and most vibrantly worshiped in all the great mystical traditions. And the site of the marriage is the sacred heart center. This isn’t the physical center of the heart. It’s a little bit to the right of the chest and it’s called by many names…
And, when this heart center is open, it allows for the irrigation of the body by the Divine Light….And so the heart center functions in the spiritual body, psychosomatic body, mystical body in the same way that the physical heart center operates in the physical body. For example, just how the physical body pumps blood around the body to keep the body vibrant. So, does the heart center, when open, pumps the Divine Light around all of the different parts of the physical and spiritual body and allows them to come into a vibrant field of naked unity, which allows us to become more and more consciously Divine.
So, we called it Heart Yoga in this very profound mystical sense and we’ve put at the core of our book a vision of the heart center how to open it and how to stay in it while practicing the asanas and I think Karuna you’d like to say something about why you feel so important about heart yoga…
Karuna:
I think that Andrew is a living example of heart yoga because you can hear in his words how the inspiration flows, in a very grounded way flows through the body. The light is manifesting in every cell of our bodies actually when we practice with conscious intention, as we do with heart yoga. Our intention is to bring practice into a deeper and deeper level of actually invoking the light and feeling it radiating through every cell in the body. This creates the type of inspiration in which Andrew has been speaking of….
I’d like to emphasize that this experience is available to everyone. It’s not just some rare, strange experience that’s only available to a few enlightened beings. But, everyone has an experience of connecting with what is Sacred. For example, when they look at a baby or look at beautiful flower. This direct experience of connecting with the Sacred is something that through conscious practice that we can all, and we all have experienced. You don’t have to be an accomplished Yogi. You can just open your heart to the possibility of this experience. And, here it is for everyone.
Andrew:
In our book, we really do make that very clear. One of our great dreams for this book is that it would be a book for absolutely everyone, not only for yoga practitioners, but also for those who haven’t yet found yoga. And the ways that we offer for opening the heart through the ancient, mystical systems are very simple.
Join Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson on a journey of transformation. For the first time ever, these three New York Times bestselling authors have joined together to shine light on this most provocative issue – the shadow.
In THE SHADOW EFFECT, Deepak Chopra illustrates our dualistic nature and gives a prescription for wholeness. Debbie Ford examines the birth of the shadow and the role the shadow has in sabotaging our success, relationships, diets, and dreams. And Marianne Williamson touches our hearts and minds with an exploration of the shadow and the soul.
This book is designed to support you in breaking free from repetitive patterns and self- defeating behaviors while illuminating your deeper heart and finding authentic compassion for yourself, others and the world. The courage to reclaim all of yourself is already within you.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Robert. In our conversation, he shares some personal experiences that prompted him to take a radically different approach to business and money and offers some useful advice for how we can develop a similar mindset and bust loose from the business and money game.
If you would like to listen to my interview with Robert, please click the play button below. For more information on Robert and his book, please visit http://www.bustingloose.com.
Rick Bognar is the author of “Wrestling with Consciousness,” a book contrasting and comparing the inside world of pro wrestling that he spent 10 years in to a spiritual awakening that he has been experiencing for the last 10 years. I had the pleasure of interviewing Rick about his experience as a professional wrestler, insights on how we can live a more meaningful and compassionate life style, and what prompted him to seek out a deeper spiritual path. You can listen to our entire 15 minute conversation by pressing the play button and also read some highlights from our interview below.
For more information on Rick and his book “Wrestling with Consciousness,”please visit his web site at http://www.razorricktitan.com
Matt: What is your book about?
Rick: An uplifting autobiographical story of a pro-wrestler forced to leave behind the only life I knew and adapt to “normal” life after the “Game”. This was achieved through the practice of Buddhism and other spiritual practice. Follow me on a liberating journey of compassion, finding self-love and love for others after walking a deep dark path. Much of my story is based on the emotional suffering as an athlete and entertainer and how I achieved a graceful transition after the fame and fortune had disappeared.
Matt: What is the message of your book?
Rick: How we, as humans, can move away from the dark side of life and spot the light at the end of the tunnel while still in despair. I suggest tools to use, which have assisted me with my mental strength and resolve as I attempted to climb my own “Inner Mountain™.” These tools will help my readers let go of old habits and thought patterns then rewire those thoughts through focusing on aspirations of who and how they want to be, setting very personal goals and working happily towards them.
Matt: What was it like being a professional wrestler who was also interested in spirituality?
Rick: At the time of wrestling, I blocked it. I felt that life could and should be different but my current life situation and environment at that time would not allow for it. I had to “play the role” in order to be a success. I let my family down and in turn myself by pushing to be a tough, uncaring stereotype. It was considered a sign of weakness to be caring and compassionate in the industry. I learned to be passive aggressive and not show my feelings, never opening up and never trusting anyone. I engulfed myself in solitude.
I had sensed there was a higher path and felt a gut pull toward reaching for deeper meaning but the competitive, superficial environment I was immersed in sidetracked me. I always had a natural gravitation towards compassion and peace in life but at this point, it was just a feeling I had not put into practice yet.
Matt: Did you find it difficult to move from a life of ego, aggression and being ‘things’ and task oriented to one of egolessness, compassion and deeper-meaning oriented as a professional wrestler? How were you able to do that?
Rick: Yes, it was a slow process. Coming from a way of life where my value as a human being was judged by how physically powerful, aggressive and dominating I was, how many fans I drew or how much I made for others. I became an Automatron. I also became a nervous wreck. I knew I was only as good as my last match and this was my value as a human being. “What have you done for me lately?” made me strive to be bigger, better and more innovative than other competitors in the spotlight. I became very, very proud of being a top guy. A lot of Ego went along with that. I would look at myself at one point at 29 years of age and say “Is this really all there is to life? There’s got to be more.” Suddenly, my mind opened up to the possibility of the opposite. If all of this Ego stroking was making me miserable, then wouldn’t the opposite make me happy? It was something I knew but didn’t know why. I did not yet know how to practice it due to the mental gripping of “I am so important” and “People treat me like a King.” This was my daily thought routine which would steer me away from dropping Ego.
Compassion came when I realized how such a huge sense of self-inflated importance hurt others as well as myself. Currently, I know a millionaire who is deluded of the same affliction. Without money, without muscles, without being on TV would you or others think you were so important? No. No one would listen to you unless you cared about others.
During my last year of wrestling, I learned to get past myself and show interest in others. I read philosophy by Plato and The Book of Buddha afterwards and made it a practice to be interested in and show empathy toward others. This is hard to do when I was in the spotlight. It was always all about me. Not others. Age and maturity have helped progress the journey! I have also learned that getting angry is just a self-centred weapon of control. Most times it only hurts the person serving up the poison. We harbour anger within. It poisons only us. Others do not feel it. If we lash out, we time-release a toxin that eats us alive. We wallow in it for a long time. Guilt, self blame and regret follows. Damage control and endless apologies are the external side.
Matt: How do you balance letting go of aggression, ego and being ‘things and task oriented’ with still following your passions and trying to achieve your goals, especially as a professional wrestler?
Rick: It is very hard to get a sense of letting go, while being pressured by the promoters and the fans to always out do myself. Both of these people fully expect a new improved caliber of workmanship each time I would perform. Being involved in Professional wrestling is an extremely tense and intense lifestyle. I did not have much time to relax because I was always “On” and when I did, I could not relax. I came to the conclusion “I need to get out of this business to be who I want to be.” I have seen my Yogachariya friend get pushed for quotas before and noticed how peacefully, step by step he handled these situations. I have learned how to step back but still take action in a detached manner which seems to work.
Passion is good, but anything to excess becomes unhealthy. One could become a workaholic or a sex addict for example. If passionately in love or passionately angry both are just one step across a very thin line. They are the opposite but yet so close.
Matt: How were you able to let go of your aggression and ego and still maintain the focus needed to be a professional wrestler?
Rick: It was very hard to stop wrestling and get out of that toxic environment. For every step forward, it became two steps backward.
Matt: What sparked you to try to find a more spiritual path or deeper meaning in life?
Rick: I had a deep yearning to escape the emotional suffering of loneliness, my fragile Ego and my strong ignorance. Buddhism had the right answers to my questions at the time. I felt I was on the right path and continued on it.
Matt: What advice do you have for other people who are aggressive, but would like to live a more compassionate life style?
Rick: First, practice awareness. Be aware of your inappropriate or hurtful anger. Be honest with yourself. This can be hard. Old patterns are hard to change. Pay attention to your gut. If it feels bad, it usually is bad.
Find the antidote. Try to turn negativity into something positive whether it be about a person or situation. For example, take a traffic jam. Instead of being angry and upset think of it as possibly saving you $160 on a speeding ticket!
Search, study, learn and practice. If you want to learn math, study math. If you want to learn compassion, study Jesus, Buddha, Mother Theresa, and the Dalai Lama.
Matt: How can we maintain our spiritual practice while in environments that don’t lend to keeping our emotional fitness?
Rick: My teacher had taught me years ago that spiritual practice isn’t going into a cave in the mountains, becoming a Hermit and meditating for the rest of our life until we reach enlightenment.
Spiritual Practice is using the tools we’ve learned in challenging life situations with our children, family and jobs to maintain a sense of compassion and love no matter what the exterior circumstances are. That is what it is all about. Bringing our meditation and lessons with us and maintaining our integrity wherever we go.
I was challenged recently to start training an old wrestling student again as a favour. I found myself then getting caught up in old patterns. Ego and aggression stepped in a bit and I had to step into being the ‘Observer’ and practice discrimination with myself. “Is this who I want to be, or how I want to represent myself now?” I asked myself. The answer was a resounding “No!” and I went in next time as the ‘Witness’ to myself and came out in the same state of mind after the training that I had went in with!I even used that state *during* teaching! It made for a much deeper experience in class.
For example, she writes: “I finally understood why I’d been through all of those challenges and difficulties. It was so I could relate to others on a deeper level and be of help to them.”
Kim’s book provides thoughtful advice on how to become more aware of our internal dialogue and remove thoughts that might be distracting us from our guidance and experiencing more peace.
For more information on Kim and how you can purchase New from the Inside Out, please Click Here
Margaret Clare Elizabeth has produced an eloquent and heartfelt rendition of the Book of James on CD. Her voice and delivery helps the listener to hear and feel the message of perseverance that is evident in the Book of James.
For example, when she says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance,” you can feel the strength that is embodied in those words.
Margaret Clare Elizabeth is an articulate New Yorker, a beautifully poised and gracious actor, host, anchor, in depth and versatile journalist and prolific writer.
For more information, you can connect with Margaret on Facebook by clicking here.
In The Power of Soul: The Way to Heal, Rejuvenate, Transform, and Enlighten All Life, Dr. Zhi Gang Sha illuminates the innate power of the soul to heal, transform and rejuvenate us in all aspects of our life.
In The Power of Soul, Dr. Sha presents a seven-step process to empower humanity to heal, transform and enlighten. Topics covered include: What is the Soul? Understanding Karma, Sacred Practices for Developing the Potential Power of the Soul, Breakthrough Healing Techniques for the 21st Century, Soul Transformation of Finances and Business, Soul Marketing and more.
Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha is a world-renowned healer, beloved spiritual teacher and founder of the Institute of Soul Healing and Enlightenment. He has an M.D. from China, is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and a Grandmaster of many ancient disciplines including tai chi, qi gong, feng shui and I Ching.
For more information on Dr. Sha and The Power of Soul, please visit www.drsha.com
The Spiritual Significance of Music is a collection of exclusive interviews with many of the world’s most visionary musicians and writers. Edited by Justin St. Vincent, it is a unique anthology that explores the dynamic relationship between music and spirituality.
For example, in an interview with Ron Thal from Guns N’ Roses, Ron writes, “A good amount of songs I’ve written came about by taking whatever was weighing heavy on my chest and letting it in, facing it, and returning it to the world as something positive, a way to help make sense of it all.”
The Spiritual Significance of Music takes you into the hearts and minds of well known musicians and lets you know how the music they make relates to their own personal spirituality. For more information on the book, you can visit www.musicandspirituality.com.
about her book, communicating with loved ones after they die and how her message can help people heal.
. In Heart Yoga, Andrew and Karuna use practical teachings and richly layered poems to remind us that through yoga it is possible for anyone to become “embodied channels of illumined love, grace, peace . . . and instruments of divine creativity and service in the world.” 
and 
. For those who want to approach their business, job or career with hope, joy and excitement, Scheinfeld offers a unique model to help you achieve those goals. The heart of his message is to avoid separating who we really are (however you want to define that – whether that is Spirit or Higher Self or Expanded Self) from our business and career decisions. When we begin to see our business or career from the perspective of our Expanded Self, then he believes everything takes care of its self. His books offer a practical method to accomplish this noble goal.
