Jessica Maxwell never intended to have a spiritual or mystical experience. However, after seeing her just-deceased father’s face in a personalized cloud formation, she began a path back to God and a spirituality that was open to learning from all religions and belief systems. This led her to a series of events that most would describe as synchronistic or even miraculous.

Initially a religious skeptic and a journalist specializing in nature and traveling to foreign locations, Jessica wanted to document her adventures and spiritual experiences so she could understand how and why they were happening to her. Eventually, she wrote about her journey in a personal memoir, Roll Around Heaven: An All-True Accidental Spiritual Adventure.

I had the chance to talk to Jessica about her life journey and why she wrote Roll Around Heaven. Using humor and heartfelt personal anecdotes, Jessica shared with me how we could have more authentic spiritual experiences throughout our daily life even if we are a bit skeptical or reluctant.

You can listen to our conversation below by clicking on the play button. For more information about Jessica Maxwell and Roll Around Heaven: An All-True Accidental Spiritual Adventure, please visit http://www.jessicamaxwell.com.

Past Life is a new TV show about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening today is the result of who you were before. It was inspired by M.J. Rose’s book, “The Reincarnationist” and will premiere on Fox tomorrow, Tuesday (Feb. 9), at 9/8c after American Idol.

I had a chance to interview M.J. Rose about the Past Life TV series and the challenges of turning her book, “The Reincarnationist,” into a TV show. You can read highlights of our interview below or listen to our complete conversation by clicking on the play button.

Matt Welsh: So tell us a little bit about Past Life. What’s the TV show about?

M.J. Rose: Well, the novel, The Reincarnationist, has at its heart an institute called the Phoenix Foundation where a group of reincarnationists work mostly with children helping them work with their present day crises that are based on past life problems…Warner Brothers found the book and read it. They were very interested in the idea of the foundation that studied past lives and saw that as a potential jumping off point for a TV show. So, they optioned the book and they wrote a script….They took that foundation and changed it a little so it would work for TV and added some different characters for it and that’s what the show is about. So every week…the people at the foundation work on a different case with a different person who has present day issues that really have past life roots.

Matt Welsh: What were some of the challenges of turning your book into a TV show?

M.J. Rose: The executive producer and I worked for a little while on a list of all different past life stories. In all the research I did, what were some of the great stories I heard. You know, somebody who felt like they were being suffocated in their present life and did a past life regression and found out they had been buried in a tomb in Ancient Egypt. Just like a really long list of that to show the people at Warner Brothers just how rich a field it was. Basically you could find any problem in the present and come up with a past life reason for it existing. But (Warner Brothers) was interested in focusing on crimes and crisis problems. So, we did that list and (Warner Brothers) was excited by the potential.

Then (Warner Brothers) found this brilliant writer, David Hudgins, who had been a writer for Friday Night Lights and for Everwood. They gave David the book and they said we are interested in developing this. Would this be something you would be interested in?… And, David told me the story. It was very synchronistic or karmic because he really didn’t know much about reincarnation at the time, but his wife had just seen the show on Oprah and had just become really fascinated by it. So, when he showed her the book, she was like all “…I’m really into reincarnation and that’s so interesting.” So, he read the book and saw the potential and he became the writer and the executive producer. So, he and Lou Pitt went to work on creating the show.

In general, the challenge is that you can’t turn a book into a TV show. You can turn a book into a movie more likely, but a TV show has its own requirements. It’s going to be week after week…What was exciting was that David really took the issues at the heart of the book and was really inspired by it, but turned it into something that is very much his own and his own vision.

And, I love it. It’s really a great show. The pilot episode is something that television usually isn’t. It’s fast paced and a tear jerker and very emotional. There aren’t a lot of shows on TV that are very emotional that are dramas and that have action in them. So, I think that even if viewers are not interested in reincarnation, they are going to be really excited by the format and the quality of the writing and the acting and the story.

Matt Welsh: When does the show premiere and where can we go for more information on the show?

M.J. Rose: It will premiere on Fox, Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 9/8c after America Idol. After the premiere, subsequent airings of Past Life will be broadcast on Thursdays beginning February 11, 2010 during the 9/8c timeslot. For more information you can visit www.MJRose.com or my blog on reincarnation at www.reincarnationist.org

Nik Halik spent the first 10 years of his life medically confined to his bedroom with nothing but the Encyclopedia to read. Since then, he has gone on to live an amazing life full of adventure, extreme travel and fabulous wealth – from having lunch on the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, climbing the world’s highest mountains, rocketing around the earth as a Civilian Astronaut and financially retiring in his late 20’s.

I had a chance to chat with Nik. In our conversation, Nik shared with me some interesting details about the places he’s been to and told me about an exciting new travel adventure on his agenda. He also gave me some words of wisdom when he said,

“Matt…In life there are two most important days. The first most important is the day you were born. The second most important day is the day you discover why you were born.”

Nik is trying to help other people discover why they were born and live life to the fullest by creating www.TheThrillionaires.com, the first online community focused only on helping you achieve your dreams.

If you want to hear more about Nik’s adventures, then you can listen to our 11 minute conversation by clicking the play button below.

Sara Lopez might have the coolest job in the world. As the New Media Spokesperson for 8th Continent’s Soy Milk, Sara gets to travel around the country to exciting events and interesting places and then write about her experiences on 8th Continent’s Blog, Facebook page and Twitter site.

Her career wasn’t always this fun though.  After college, she started working in a traditional consulting company that was not a good fit for her outgoing personality, noticeable tattoos and faux hawk haircut. Consequently, she was let go and unemployed for a while. However, Sara remained optimistic and committed to finding a job that would allow her to use her talents and be her self.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Sara about her career path. In our conversation, Sara told me how she stayed so positive and focused throughout the tough times in her career.  She also shared with me an eye-opening story that helped me to see the big picture.

If you are trying to figure out a way to turn your passion into your career or find a job that allows you to express your most authentic self, then I would recommend listening to our conversation by clicking on the link below.

If you would like to see Sara’s work or connect with her, then you can visit her Facebook Fan page at www.facebook.com/8clopez, Twitter Site at http://twitter.com/8thLopez or Blog at www.8cpassport.com.

Unbeaten is an inspirational documentary that chronicles the exploits of 31 paraplegics for six days, as they make their way in wheelchairs and hand cycles in what is known as the toughest road race in the world, “Sadler’s Alaska Challenge.” Narrated by Dan Aykroyd, this amazing film takes us into the 55 mile-per-day grind of three wheelchair racers, Chris Kohler, Geoffrey Erickson and Edwin Figueroa as they race through the 267 mile course across the mountain passes of Denali National Park between Fairbanks and Anchorage. It premieres tonight at the Sundance Film Festival.

Yesterday, I was able to chat with one of the producers, Tamara Henry. She shared with me some of the challenging aspects of making the film, what she learned throughout the process and told me a cool story about how the people in the film were invited to the premiere of Avatar. She summed up the spirit of Unbeaten when she said,

“It’s the movie about the heart of a champion.”

You can listen to our 10 minute conversation by clicking the play button below. For more information about Unbeaten, please visit the movie’s website at www.UnbeatenTheMovie.com

Jeff Brown is the author of Soulshaping, the inspiring memoir of an archetypal “male warrior” – a trial lawyer- who struggled to find his heart and a more authentic, soulful path. Rivetingly personal and profoundly universal, this book is for anyone who has heard a whisper of something truer calling out to them amid the distractions of modern life.

In our interview, Jeff shares how he was able to follow his calling to write in spite of facing intense economic, spiritual and personal obstacles. He also gives advice on how you can follow your calling even if you have practical concerns such as not being able to make enough money. Throughout our conversation, Jeff reveals some of the lessons he learned along the way and goes into great detail about the inner work he did throughout his journey.

For more information on Soulshaping and Jeff Brown, you can visit http://www.soulshaping.com/ or press the play button below to listen to our interview.

Peter Rodger is the writer, director and producer of Oh My God, the epic documentary that asks “What is God?”

Peter traveled the globe examining the idea of God through the minds and eyes of various religions and cultures, everyday people, spiritual leaders and celebrities. Rodger’s quest takes him from the United States to Africa, from the Middle East to the Far East and to people ranging from celebrities to children in a cancer center. The celebrities he interviews include Hugh Jackman, Seal, Beatle Ringo Starr, Sir Bob Geldof, Princess Michael of Kent, David Copperfield and Jack Thompson.

I had the honor of interviewing Peter yesterday. In our discussion, Peter talks about the journey he went through making Oh My God, including some difficulties he encountered when he first set out to make the film that almost caused him to give up. Additionally, Peter shares some encounters that put his life in danger while he was making the film, including an interview with extremist Muslims in Kashmir. Peter revealed that what the film doesn’t show is that he had the protection of commandos armed with submachine guns behind him during his interview with militants.

Rodger would like viewers to come away with a feeling of having an amazing journey – seeing places they would never see normally, hearing music that inspires and words that educate, bringing understanding and tolerance of other individuals that in turn richens their own existence.

Oh My God will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles this weekend and to other markets across the country on November 27. For more information about Oh My God, please visit the film’s website at http://www.omgmovie.com/ or click the play button below to hear our interview.

Paul and Patty Richards, authors of Wild Attraction: The Energetic Facts of Life, A Ruthlessly Practical Guide to Extraordinary Relationship offer a revolutionary approach to the age-old questions of love, sex and attracting a mate.

I recently had the privilege of interviewing them. In our candid conversation, Paul and Patty go into detail about what they mean when they use the word ‘energy’ and give advice for how we can use energy to find and keep life-long love. They also share some personal examples from their own life about how they have created a healthy and strong relationship. You can listen to our interview by clicking the play button below.

For more information about Paul and Patty Richards and their book, Wild Attraction, you can visit their website www.sentecenter.com. Paul and Patty will also be conducting a free Wild Attraction Tele-Seminar November 12 at 5:00 PM PST. You can sign up for that at www.wildattraction.net