1. What does Kabbalah mean to you?

There are many interpretations of Kabbalah that have developed over time. At The
Kabbalah Centre, we teach Kabbalahas a universal wisdom that predates the Bible or
religion, and can be studied by anyone regardless of his or her faith or path. We
present the wisdom from a lineage of great kabbalists, and the course of study
explains the physical and spiritual laws of the universe, describing the origin of
Creation, the role of humanity, and the journey of the soul.

2. What is the mission of the Kabbalah Centre?

The Kabbalah Centre seeks to provide a platform to help students improve their
lives. To accomplish this, Kabbalah Centre teachers provide spiritual tools and
kabbalistic principles that students can use in order to make better decisions to
benefit themselves and the world. We believe that the path of Kabbalah consists of
not only of studying of wisdom but also of actually applying that wisdom to everyday
situations for the purpose of positive transformation. This is what makes us practical. Kabbalah is not an intellectual pursuit, but rather learning for betterment.

3. How can people better detect past life lessons and use them to better themselves in the future?

The work we are meant to do this “go around” can be found in our challenges and in those things we avoid or run away from. For me, for example, the most difficult lesson to learn was how to be alone. When my husband, teacher, friend,and partner in this spiritual work had a stroke, I was left by myself in many ways to continue everything we had started together. Though this was an extremely difficult situation at the time, it was through this challenge that I uncovered a great gift: a deeper understanding of my work and life. 10, 20, or even 30 years ago, I would have thought that my purpose was something completely different than how I see it today. The point is we just never know what the Creator has in store for us: no matter what happens, no matter how hard life seems, our challenges only (exist) to bring us to become our best selves.

4. What is the role of soul mates in our lives? How can we be sure we’re with the right person?

In Kabbalah, we learn and teach that one of the most difficult things for the Creator is to bring two souls together. There are several reasons for this (which we elaborate on in many of our sources).  To start, let me explain that before the Creation of this world, human souls were one. Thereafter, the souls split, each one into two parts, that come into physical bodies seeking to reunite the other half.

Most of the time, this process of reunification is not an easy one, because there is a spiritual law in the universe that in order to have lasting fulfillment and light, we need to earn it. Soul mate relationships are earned through profound spiritual work that results in an elevated consciousness. For this reason we call it a “soul mate” not “body mate.” In order to merit this connection, we need to do our spiritual work of becoming more sharing, less reactive, tolerant, loving beings.

It is written that only one soul out of a thousand can earn its true soul mate. So what does that mean for the other 999? Well, essentially, the Creator sends us the perfect mate for where we are in our life right now–the person who will help us to grow and reach our next level on the journey of becoming our best self. If there is growth, struggle, and healthy challenges that support both partners to become better, more caring, and more conscious people, then it is a good relationship. However, if there is no growth, or if two people are together but continually bring each other down, then perhaps it might be useful for them to redefine the boundaries of their connection.

5. In TO BE CONTINUED, you explain that it may be possible to connect with our loved ones who have passed away, but urge others not to because it may interfere with what the souls are doing in their current incarnations. Could you discuss this further?

As we know, souls reincarnate. Therefore, sometimes, if we are trying to connect to loved ones who have passed-be it a mother, child or friend– we may be interfering with that soul’s current incarnation. In other words, we could try to contact a grandmother and not know that the grandmother has actually reincarnated as our daughter or niece. For this reason, it is usually best to pray for the elevation of the souls of our loved ones and send to them Light and love, but not necessarily to try to create contact with them through some sort of medium (though it is possible to do so).

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KAREN BERG is the spiritual director of Kabbalah Centre International and a globally respected teacher of Kabbalah who has touched millions of lives around the world. Her goal is to provide people with spiritual tools based on Kabbalistic principles that can be applied to improve their lives, regardless of their religious beliefs, and by doing so, make the world better.

She is the founder of Spirituality for Kids, a free on-line program that provides spiritual lessons for children – helping them develop a sense of purpose so they can make better choices; and Kids Creating Peace, the initiative that teaches spiritual skills to children who are caught in war-torn areas of the Middle East. She is author of God Wears Lipstick: Kabbalah for Women, and Simple Light, a
collection of insights on Kabbalah. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Rav Berg.

1.  What is your comedy show about?

My show is about inner freedom. How not to lose yourself in any life situation. But here’s a thing… How can you “lose yourself” if you do not actually know your real self? Quite a long time ago I started this exploration, and what luck, my search was miraculously boosted when I found out that I had a huge tumor in my belly and needed a serious operation. This situation taught me a lot about myself, my deepest fears, patterns of behavior as well as people around me. Especially my parents… I looked back to my past: to the most painful memories that I had been unconsciously carrying around all my life. It opened my eyes to games of my mind and our “normal” automatic way of life. And finally, after endless wandering, I came HOME. And it felt so good!

2.  Why did you create your comedy show and how can we watch it?

When I was going through that “surgical nightmare,” I was trying to be present, observing everything that was occurring around me. Realization of games of the mind gave me enormous power, courage and inspiration to open myself and share my experience that actually turned out to be not that personal at all!

I’m sure that everyone faces challenging situations and can connect to my story. Everybody shares the same patterns of thinking and emotions. We just have slightly different “personal” stories. But ultimately, we all want to be free.

Currently, the show is in post-production. It will be available in several months. I am soon going to announce the release date on the official website http://www.sogoodtobehome.tv and social accounts. I have decided to use the pay-what-you-want model as I want everybody to have a chance to see the show. Financial profit is certainly not the main priority of this project. Making the audience laugh and sharing what I have learned is. In addition, those who will subscribe to the show’s newsletter at http://www.sogoodtobehome.tv/subscribe/ will participate in a free online presreening with subsequent live discussion.

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3. What do you mean by the games of the mind and our “normal-automatic” way of life?

Oh, our mind is a real joker, and if we believe everything it tells us, we are in big trouble. It is like 24/7 3D film production in our heads. We usually do not recognize it and get totally absorbed into this dream world. Consequently, we act mechanically and not according to the situation. This has been a “normal” state of consciousness for a long time which makes it harder to see its abnormality.

4. What were your deepest fears and most painful memories?

Well, I faced the fear of death, to begin with. You see, in that vulnerable and sensitive state many subconscious anxieties emerged to the surface. Those were multiple complexes developed in my childhood, many of which had been reinforced by my parents. I suddenly encountered them all again and recognized their influence on my further life. For example, I had extremely low self-esteem connected with how I looked that later led to a shopping phobia. Or my feeling of loneliness, not only because my family rarely let someone become my friend, but also because they didn’t really understand me.

5.  How did this experience help you understand your real self and real home?

I learned to see things directly as they are without my usual distorted and limited perception. And it turned out that my home was closer than I THOUGHT! J Everybody has this home inside. We just need to remember the walkway to it.

6.  Any closing remarks?

Life is too short for tragedies. It’s time to have some fun! Join me for a cup of tea!

For Director/Producer Adam Schomer, The Highest Pass wasn’t just about making a cool, adventure film. On the contrary, Adam was looking for something more, something deeper. And as the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for.” Despite the fact that Adam had never ridden a motorcycle, he agreed to go on a motorcycle trip through the highest motorable elevation in the Himalayas.

THE HIGHEST PASS tells the story of how Adam Schomer and seven motorcyle riders drove across some of the most dangerous roads of the Himalayas in Northern India with his yogi and guru, Anand Mehrotra for a journey of a lifetime.

These riders and Adam, who learned to ride two weeks before the trip, are guided by the inspiring teachings of Anand who bears the burden of a Vedic prophecy that predicts he will die in his late twenties in an accident. He is that age now, yet leads with a fearlessness and wisdom that reminds us that “Only the one who dies, truly lives.”

But wisdom in words and wisdom in practice can be very different indeed, especially when riding along the sheer icy edges of Himalayan cliffs. The bikers ride on that edge, navigating dirt, gravel, snow, ice and the onslaught of loaded trucks, known as “road killers”, as they journey for 21 days towards the highest motorable road on earth. It is a pass open only three months a year and at a height 18,000ft, is on par with Everest base camp. Low oxygen, altitude sickness, river flooded roads, and a constrictive fear all live along this one lane road.

Yet they choose this path to seek Ladakh, the land known as the Little Tibet. Why this path? Because it’s a road that leads to incredibly isolated mountain lakes, ancient monasteries, inside the knowing eyes of a mystic oracle, and ultimately deeper into themselves…

It’s amazing that their guide himself is battling a prophecy and yet is determined to ride one of the hardest roads in the world. It is both haunting and inspiring. It brings up our worst fears and our deepest courage. Adam must ask if the possibility of a spiritual breakthrough worth the risk of serious injury or death? Will it help us all understand what it means to live our lives?

This adventure cracks the foundations we think we stand on. And in this case, the foundation is a one lane road winding through the Himalayas. The Highest Pass

I recently had the chance to interview Adam about what it was like for him and the film crew to make THE HIGHEST PASS and what they learned from it…

Adam told me why he went on this journey, how the film helped him overcome his fears, and even spoke about how the film inspired him to get over a fear he had about asking out a girl in a coffee shop!

He also offered some practical advice that anyone can use to help them deal with their everyday fears…

You can listen to our interview by right clicking on the text below. Simply right click and save the MP3 to your desktop and you can listen to it in iTunes or on your MP3 player…

RIGHT CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD MP3 of Interview with Adam Schomer

Adam also created an online course that will help people apply the teachings of the film to their daily life. He generously told me that the first 10 people who share this post on their blog or Facebook page will receive a free copy of the course, “Himalayan Wisdom for a Life Beyond Fear”. Simply share the post and link to the post on your blog or Facebook page, email me at
Editor@SpiritualMediaBlog.com and I will email you this course, produced by Adam Schomer written by Anand Mehrotra.

For more information about the film you can visit its website at http://www.thehighestpass.com/

Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand is the author of “The One Success Habit: You Can’t Do Without. I recently had a chance to interview him about his book and getting rid of our “To-Do” list. Below is a transcript of our conversation…

1. What is your book about?

The One Success Habit You Can’t Live Without is a way to finally discover the simple key to side-stepping the frustrating daily efforts that only bring discouragement and defeat. It is not like a typical time-management book, it is filled with personal stories that bring clarity and perspective. I try to define a destination, help readers set goals the right way, light a “motivational fire” in their hearts, understand how to make habits their “servants,” and remove a serious stumbling block. Only after covering these key, foundational insights can we really look at the vital “one habit”-taking the everyday “to-do” list to a level far beyond anything most have ever conceived. I hope to show how to painlessly make the process a natural, trustworthy part of life-and more importantly, how to allow it to transform the daily agenda.

2. You talk about replacing your ToDo List with something better that will make a difference…How do we do that? And, why would we do that? Don’t we need to get done the things on our “ToDo” list or else they wouldn’t be on our “ToDo” list?

Good questions! It is really a new way to think about how to get things done. It is about habits. The book includes a four-part appendix, filled with hands-on, practical helps for making the most of your schedule and long-term goals, such as creating a “May-Do Catalog” and “Master List System” and establishing special “Edison” days to deliver major breakthroughs in organizational and project focus.

3. How do we balance getting our “ToDo” list done with still taking time for ourself and time to enjoy the day?

Well, actually “To-Do” lists help create the problem of not being ‘balanced’ (and being overwhelmed). Underneath all of this is a different kind of question, “Why are we doing so many things we don’t enjoy? Why aren’t we learning to enjoy them, or
enjoying seeing them completed?

4. What advice would you give to someone who feels overwhelmed with their ToDo List.

Get rid of it. To-Do Lists are a way to feel overwhelmed…they never end and we fill hopelessly committed to do them all! Replace it with a Will-Do List as we explain in the book. Specifically, we need 3 Lists:

1. A Master May-Do List
2. A Weekly May-Do List
3. A Daily Will-Do List

5. What makes you want to help people in this way?

Hmm…I’ve never quite figured out why I exactly want to help people, but I assume it is something God put in my heart. In particular, with getting things done…I just know the great struggle of having a mind that is constantly dis-tractable… in this way I “feel your pain.” So, finding relief is worth sharing!

6. Who do you follow or read to be inspired?

Spiritually, I am very fond of the writings of The Apostle Paul, C.H. Spurgeon, and Miles Stanford. Practically, would say Robert Fritz, Schopenhauer Jay Abraham, and Sam Carpenter.

7. What motivates you towards success each day?

I’m motivated by seeing life as a game of puzzles where I’m always saying to myself, “I bet I can figure this one out.”

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For more information about Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand and his book, please visit http://www.onesuccesshabit.com

Richard Cheu is a former neurophysiologist, Emergency Medical Technician, stress-management consultant and author. An ordained deacon and hospital chaplain in New York City, he provides pastoral counseling at Bellevue Hospital, the Visiting Nurse Service inpatient hospice, and the Mary Manning Walsh Home. Below is a Q&A with him…

What are the key problems for those living with a chronic illness?

Fear of change is the greatest hurdle to living a full life for virtually everyone and this is particularly true for patients with physical and mental chronic diseases. This book shows the patient how to master fear and change through methods of coping and transformation.  Social isolation is perhaps the greatest mental health problem for the chronically ill. Over time, family, friends and acquaintances no longer include the patient in their social activities. They act as if the patient no longer exists. Patients can overcome social isolation and have a social involvement of their own choosing and making.

What inspired you to write the book?

Two things. The first was the death of our first grandchild, which led to my becoming an ordained Catholic deacon. The second is my role, now going into its tenth year, as caregiver of my wife.  Our first grandchild died at age four months from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) shortly after his parents had arrived in California. The mother’s family minister came from Indiana and together we conducted the funeral. However, he left immediately after the funeral leaving me to conduct the infant’s internment the following day. I was thrust into these duties without any prior training because there was no one else.

Later, my pastor offered to be my sponsor for the Diocese of Trenton’s four-year deacon training program. Participation in the program is only by invitation from a sponsoring priest. He said what I did for my grandson was what deacons do. I was ordained in 2003. As a hospital chaplain, my medical training and experiences gives me added insight on the best way to respond to each patient’s unique needs.

How has your role as your wife’s caretaker influenced the writing of your book?

My wife is afflicted with a rare and progressive brain disease that has gradually destroyed her ability to perform the routine activities of life. A decade ago, I was the first to notice and document her symptoms. I quickly learned that the American healthcare system treats chronically ill patients as second-class citizens. Each day, I learn a new lesson about caregiving and I have included many of these lessons in my book for the benefit of other chronically ill patients and their caregivers.

How are your duties as a Hospital Chaplain at Bellevue Hospital in New York City reflected in Living Well with Chronic Illness?

At Bellevue, I meet and counsel patients from all aspects of life, from the homeless to the affluent, the undocumented entry level worker, television celebrities, corporate executives, dignitaries, and everyone else. Through my work at Bellevue, I have gained an understanding of the many ways that chronic illness impacts the chronically ill and what kinds of interventions can be most beneficial.

What are some of the statistics that we are dealing with in this Perfect Healthcare storm?

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 133 million Americans were chronically ill in 2004. By 2012 that number had grown to 140 million or 46 percent of the population. By 2030, it is projected that more than half of all Americans will have one or more chronic conditions.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, the four leading causes of death are chronic illnesses: heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lung disease. However, the American healthcare system of today continues to be organized for the treatment of acute diseases and not for chronic illnesses.

America will have 130,000 too few doctors when the Affordable Care Act becomes effective in 2014 and millions of people enter the healthcare system for the first time. The nation needs 15,320 more primary care physicians to provide adequate healthcare to all Americans.  In the near future, there will not be enough healthcare paraprofessionals (nursing aides and home health aides) to care for the chronically ill. These are the people who provide daily hands-on care to patients. Their work is physically and emotionally demanding and financially unrewarding. As the national economy improves and more job opportunities become available, fewer people will be willing to do this type of work.

You talk about the Perfect Healthcare Storm in your book. How will this impact the United States health care system?

The most important factors causing a Perfect Healthcare Storm are: a healthcare system focused on the wrong medical problems – acute diseases and not chronic diseases, the large number of baby boomers joining the ranks of the seniors (ten thousand a day), millions of new patients entering the healthcare system under Obamacare, and too few doctors to care for the increased number of patients.

The healthcare situation is like an army fighting two enemy forces, one large (chronic diseases) and one small (acute diseases). Because our healthcare system uses too many troops (i.e., resources) to fight acute diseases and not enough to confront chronic diseases, our national health will decline.

What is the impact of “Obama Care” on the treatment of Chronic Illness?

In the simplest terms, there are too few healthcare resources (doctors, therapists, paraprofessionals, facilities, federal and state funding) to adequately care for the growing number of chronically ill people. The individual patient already is experiencing difficulty finding doctors who are willing treat them and the situation will become increasingly difficult in the near future.  These patients can offset the declining situation by taking responsibility for their own healthcare which will improve their mental, physical and spiritual health.

Is it reasonable to expect patients to take responsibility for their own health?

The answer is “yes”, if the patient truly wants to improve. Based on various research studies including my own, patients most likely to improve have a positive self-image. Those who have a negative view of themselves but want to improve their health must first improve their self-image by getting rid of what I call “excessive mental baggage”.

How can we survive the perfect health care storm?

The key is a positive attitude that says, “I can survive”. A positive attitude reduces stress and creates a calm mind — then the brain begins to think, focuses on the problems at-hand and finds a way to solve them. Readers can successfully develop a positive attitude using the tools of the new science of positive psychology, which is the study of what makes life most worth living.

What do you feel can be done about the perfect healthcare storm?

My first concern is for the most vulnerable patients in America – those who have a physical or mental chronic illness. They don’t have the time to wait for the healthcare system to improve. All patients can become healthier – mentally, physically and spiritually – by adapting a positive self-image and taking responsibility for their own health.

Where and when is the book available?

The book will be published on April 2, 2013 in paperback and digital (eBook) format. More information is available at www.ChronicLivingWell.com The book will also be available through major digital outlets such as Amazon.com and at bookstores including hospital gift shops and religious bookstores.

Below is a Q&A with Mike Liguori, Author The Sandbox Stories of Human Spirit and War.

1. How long did you serve in the Marines and where did you travel?

I served four years active duty. I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for a year followed by two years at Camp Pendleton, CA.

2. Tell me about Iraq. What was the training like for it? And what was it like when you landed there?

Iraq was one of the most challenging events I have ever experienced. The training was rigorous, more mental, preparing our unit for long hours driving all over Al Anbar province. I thought initially war was something like the movie “Black Hawk Down.” I thought it would be landing in the middle of nowhere and we’d have to have other units protecting us while we were leaving the plane. When we landed in country, I was scared since it was unknown what it was like. But when I find out we were landing on an air base on a runway and we were going to walk with our gear to a small bus, it was kind of a letdown since I figured all that training was going to apply from day one. The training did apply (to the convoys) but you always learn more when you actually get “thrown into the fire.”

3. What was the one thing you took away from your deployments?

One of the things that really strikes me now that I look back on all my experiences is that I learned what family meant, what it meant to experience all the tragedies of war and know that through it all, there was a unit of men and women who were in the same boat as you were.

4. In 2006, you were honorably discharged from the Marines. What was the transition like coming out of the service back into the civilian world?

After my two tours in Iraq, I decided it was time for me to reenter the civilian world again. While I was in the service, I thought being back out in the “real world” was going to be a walk in the park. But when it was my last day in the service, doubt set in. Despite being literally battle tested, I felt I was leaving one war zone being Iraq and reentering another one.

5. You mention being recalled back to service during the President Bush troop surge and that was when you knew something wasn’t right mentally. Did you know what Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) was and think that you had it?

Everything I was ever told in the military about PTSD was made out to be a weakness. My command told me that we shouldn’t be using it as an excuse to get out of another deployment even if we had it. So I just ended up thinking I wasn’t going to have that “chink in the armor.” However, when my father read to me over the phone that I had been recalled back, it was a nightmare that had come true. I was scared, fearful, and full of adrenaline, anxiety, and a cocktail of human emotion. I stayed in my house for a couple weeks, worrying and fearing for my life. It almost felt like Iraq would never escape me no matter where I was.

6. Why did you write this book?

I started writing this book during my sophomore year in college. I just quit playing football and it became a new project for me. I always wanted to write a book so I just started typing away. I wrote every single memory I had, stories I had heard, events I had experienced, and every single thing I could possibly remember. Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. One hour turned into four hours turned into eight hours a day. I had finished the foundation of the book within six months.

7. This book was the first time you told anyone of your experiences in war and coming home. What made writing those experiences easier than talking to someone?

Writing allows you to pen thoughts down that may not be so easy to express verbally. I was able to chronicle experiences, describe certain details about those stories. To me, writing came so easy. I didn’t have an immediate response or feedback like you do when you are in therapy. I could write without any judgment and I was able to share those experiences when I was ready rather than when you talk to someone, there is an expectation to tell them everything in person. I wasn’t ready to show them every detail that the book entails. I think writing this book became therapeutic and empowered me to keep on pushing through everything I was going through at the time.

8. At the end of the book, you recount your suicide attempt and talk about an intervention that happened right as you were about to go through with it. What was the intervention?

During my attempt, I had planned to cut myself with a knife. When I decided that I was going to go through with it, I walked over to the knife drawer in my kitchen and opened it. Right when I was about to reach for one, my house was extremely quiet. I felt a light coat around me and what felt like a pair of hands. There was no one home but me. A voice in my ear calmly whispered to me to “put the knife down, son. It is not your time to go.” In that moment, all my thoughts of war and harming myself went away. I shut the drawer as hard as I could and cried. I never had cried like that in my life. I firmly believe that at my darkest hour, God had intervened and saved me from myself.

9. You say you feel more alive than ever before. Would you attribute that to your attempt or more so the journey you are on?

I would say it’s a combination of both, not one being more than the other. The overall journey I had been on since I first served in Iraq led to the best of times, the worst of times and the moments now where I look back at those experiences as the ultimate lessons in learning about life and myself.

10. If you could tell everyone one thing about mental health, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to talk and share what’s troubling you. There are resources and people out there who want to help.

11. You mention that a newfound spirituality has helped you to heal. Can you elaborate?

I grew up a practicing Christian but when I encountered my first combat experience, something changed inside of me. In the book, I say, “What I experienced was more concrete than believing in God whom I have never seen or felt” because at that time, I felt that maybe it was the training and the Marines that had kept me alive that night, not a supernatural force. Now looking back, with the attempt and the journey I had been on, my newfound spirituality came from experiencing God at my darkest hour. From that experience, I found peace in serving other veterans and helping those who need it. It created my belief that we all have a purpose to help one another and to enjoy life the way it was intended.

12. How do you think your story can help others?

I think my story shows others that no matter how bad things can get or whatever your situation, you’ve got to keep on pushing through. Things always get worse before they get better and I think my story from war to coming home will help veterans and their families understand that help is out there and you can be successful out of the service. You’ve just got to believe you can do it no matter what.

13. What was your biggest fear in combat?

My biggest fear in combat was that my life was destined to end, dead, in a combat zone, that I wouldn’t have a chance to say good bye to my family and loved ones. Even though being a marine means going to war and death is a possible consequence that you had to accept, I feared that I would end up being a name on a memorial or a tombstone in a cemetery.

14. What was one of your best memories from Iraq?

One of my best memories was waking up every morning to walk to breakfast at the chow hall before we left on our convoys. The mornings were pretty quiet and at that time, you could collect your thoughts, think about your life and wish you were home with your family. I enjoyed breathing the crisp air during the early mornings. It was my time to enjoy some quiet time alone.

15. If there was only one thing people could take away from the book what would it be?

Life is all about the journey. There will be times that you wish you never went through it but everything happens to teach you a lesson. There will be times where the best moments possible will be captured in pure bliss and those result from lessons you have learned. No matter what, we are all on our own unique journeys so enjoy the time you have in this life regardless of the moments.

David Bedrick JD, Dipl. PW is the author of Talking Back to Dr. Phil: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology. Below is a Q&A I did with him about his book…

1. Why did you write “Talking Back to Dr. Phil: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology?”

Everyone practices psychology- whenever we self reflect or try to understand another person or group. However, our psychology is incredibly limited often offering unsustainable solutions that neglect the depth and meaning of people’s deeper experiences. But there is incredible power, beauty, intelligence, and spirit in people’s subjectivity that should be the province of psychology. I wrote the book call into question our current paradigm and to change that paradigm to one that respects and believes in people.

2. Why do you think we need alternatives to mainstream psychology and what are those alternatives?

There are two main reasons. First, as I indicated above, there is profound meaning in people’s experiences. We need a psychology that believes in and works toward that depth and offers the skills and techniques to reveal that depth of meaning.

Second, we need alternatives that account for the social factors that impact individual’s difficulties and suffering. Psychology has too often taken the symptoms experienced by individuals and looked for causes that exist entirely in the individual. However, it is clear that individual women and men experience certain symptoms because of gender biases; black and whites experience symptoms because of racial biases; gays and straights experience symptoms because of heterosexual biases. For example, a woman who feels ashamed of her body is impacted by a culture that objectifies and criticizes women’s bodies and shames them for not fitting a narrow mold. If we reduce that problem to self-esteem, say, we neglect to address the social prejudices that lurk in the background. At worst, we hold individuals accountable for factors that are social.

3. How would you use alternatives to mainstream psychology to treat someone who has been hospitalized with a chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia, severe depression or bipolar disorder?

While I have been trained to work with people who are in extreme states (a term used to describe people in the states you refer to- a term that is less likely to label and shame the individual), I am not an expert in the practice of working with extreme states. I mostly focus on people who have come out of these states and want to address the longer term process or recovery from these difficulties.

That said, I have worked with folks who had been hospitalized for severe depression and psychotic breaks. While each person is different, the most important thing is to help the person access the difficult experience they had in their extreme state in order to help them unfold that experience further. This is done over time in order to mine the gifts and gold in these experiences and then help the person integrate those experiences- make them useful to the person in their lives. Some of these states may have profound trauma in the background that needs to be processed; other states have potential gifts in them – gifts that are “extra-ordinary” and therefore difficult to access in “normal” life. In that case I help the person integrate those gifts into their “normal” lives.

I have worked with some people in the midst of an extreme state. In these cases my approach, the approach of Process-oriented Psychology, is to join the person in the state they are in, make a relationship with a person, and see if the experience can be unfolded to the point that the person shifts or that some meaning for the state begins to be revealed.

4. How did you get interested in working as a counselor considering you are a licensed attorney?

Actually, psychology was my first love. I studied organizational psychology at the University of Minnesota, drama therapy, hospice treatment, abuse work, and mindfulness approaches to psychological trauma in my early career. Later, in 1992, I began studying Process-oriented psychology with Dr. Arnold Mindell. I moved to Oregon to study with the Process Work Institute and began dreaming (at night) of going to law school. Deciding to take these dreams more literal than most, I applied to law school, was accepted on scholarship, and began studying law and psychology in 1995. The overlap in these two disciplines arose because of my interest in democracy and justice. My psychological paradigm has always centered on the difficulties caused by marginalization – the oppression, suppression, or denial of groups of people or certain experiences of individuals. I found the law to be one model and approach, especially constitutional law, to perfecting our democracy and addressing injustice.

5. How has your work as an attorney helped you as a counselor?

I have always loved bridging different disciplines, for example: poetry and social justice or mathematics, physics and psychology. Bridging disciplines forces me to think outside the box and allows me to find common substrates that are perhaps deeper and more immutable.

In addition, the legal system is built on addressing polarizations- problems where there are two distinct sides in conflict that is not easily resolved. Psychological difficulties often begin with the basic dilemma- a person has two different “parts,” as it were, that are not in agreement. One side is often so dominant that it marginalizes the other leaving it to cause unconscious difficulties and show up in nighttime dreams. The law provides one paradigm- a paradigm of defending both sides and giving a kind of “free-speech” to both- that is sometimes useful in helping people psychologically.

Further, much of my “practice” of psychology has taken place in the classroom – educating people by introducing them to alternative paradigms. Studying and practicing law has made me a more potent and fierce educator.

6. Are you still a practicing attorney? If so, how do you balance your time as a practicing attorney with being a counselor, and still taking time for self-care and relaxation?

No, I am not currently practicing law. While I was doing both, my creative life/writing life suffered. I moved from Oregon to Santa Fe, New Mexico three years ago, stopped practicing law, and completed by first book. I also blog for Psychology Today and am working on new essays for my next book.

7. Any closing remarks?

Psychology can do so much more for people than it does. It can stop labeling and exploring the reason people are disturbed, often labeling them sick in the process, and stay truer to its roots – psyche and soul. Psychology can help individuals bring out their greatest gifts and purpose as well as help groups and nations resolve our most intractable conflicts. It can offer new perspectives on political polarization. It can help us all feel more human and give us a chance to develop a deeper capacity to form relationships and to love.

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David Bedrick JD, Dipl. PW, spent eight years on the faculty of the University of Phoenix and taught courses for the US Navy, 3M, the American Society of Training and Development, the Process Work Institute, and psychological associations. An expert in mediation and conflict resolution, Bedrick blogs for Psychology Today and has received numerous awards for teaching, employee development and legal services to the community. He is the author of TALKING BACK TO DR. PHIL: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology (Belly Song Press; February 2013; $17.95).

By Annie Kagan

A few weeks after my brother Billy died, he woke me at dawn to let me know he was blissfully floating through the galaxies. That first visit led me on a profound journey through the mysteries of the world beyond this one.
Several months into our adventure, Billy described the holographic experience of reviewing his life:

“After our last visit, I was drifting through the Universe, taking in the sights, when a cosmic wind began to circle me like a slow tornado. This wind contained some kind of magnetic force because white crystals gathered around its edges like snowflakes on a car windshield. When the whirling stopped, the crystals had formed a ring around me. This ring seemed to be about thirty yards from me. I say “seemed” because there’s no way to measure real distance. It could actually be light years away.

Then, it was like someone pressed the start button on a cosmic projector and the ring became a circular movie around me. It’s very different from any film I’d seen in a theater, though. First of all, I’m suspended in the middle of the Universe, and second, the entire movie is playing all at once and the images are holographic.
There are an uncountable number of multi-dimensional, true-to-life, images circling me: a baby screaming in his crib; a dark curly haired six-year-old leaping from rooftop to rooftop while his mother yells at him from the sidewalk; a teenager in black jeans with a cord wrapped around his arm; a guy in a suit kissing a gorgeous blond in a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. It doesn’t take long to recognize that I am the star.

When we’re alive, there’s something inside us, a sort of cosmic computer chip, that records everything we go through. Right now, I’m watching my whole life from my birth to my death. I’m looking here, looking there, fast-forwarding, rewinding, zooming in and out. I see the paths I took, and the ones I didn’t. I see where my genius was, and where I might have done better. I don’t feel moralistic or judgmental about any of it, though. It all just seems interesting.

What’s really great is that this hologram has a very special feature. You know how you sometimes think to yourself, “What if?” For example, when I was alive I often wondered, ”What if I had married my first love?” or “What if I had done well in school?”

Well, guess what? My hologram is expandable. I can live out the life those “what ifs” would have brought me to. I can follow all the different paths I didn’t take when I was alive and see how they would have turned out. What’s surprising, though, is that it doesn’t seem like one way is more valuable than any other. I don’t have a preference. It’s all fascinating, and I have no regrets.

I know that must seem strange. I did a lot of things that most people would call mistakes, big mistakes. But the way I look at it, I had a great life. It was all great, even the hard parts. Of course, I didn’t see my life that way when I was alive. My new viewpoint takes the difficulty, the struggling feeling, out of it all. That’s because even though I’m very much aware that it’s me up on the cosmic screen, I’m watching it from a distance, so all the ups and downs, all the dramas, seem like they’re happening to someone else.

It’s funny. They say there’s Judgment Day after you die, but actually the opposite is true. There’s No-Judgment Day. Viewing my life has become surprisingly enjoyable because I have an absolute acceptance of myself and everything I’ve done. It would have been nice if I’d been able to have this attitude when I was alive, but I guess I wasn’t that advanced. You’d have to be like the Buddha to be that advanced. Everything looks so much better now than it did then. It’s like I‘m on some kind of drug. It’s not like any drug I’ve ever taken, though. It’s very pure and much more wonderful and there are no side effects. Oh, and it’s not illegal (laughs).

I think this so-called drug is really the Divine Presence and its immediate relatives, those Higher Beings. Why do I say this? Because at this point there’s no question in my mind that there are Beings in the atmosphere around me: wise, kind, super-evolved Beings whose loving custody I’m now in. And remember, when you think about love you’re using your human mind. There’s no comparison to the actual over-the-top nature of this love.
I guess when you receive real love, when someone loves you unconditionally, I guess you begin to feel that way towards yourself. Unconditional.”

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This article is excerpted from The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad Boy Brother Proved to Me There’s Life After Death by Annie Kagan © 2013 Hampton Roads Publishing, distributed by Red Wheel/Weiser. Available at Amazon and B&N.com.

Dr. Annie Kagan is a former New York City based chiropractor and singer/songwriter. In the late 90’s she left her hectic city life, and moved to a small house by the bay. While trying to figure out what to do with the next chapter of her life, her brother Billy died unexpectedly and began speaking to her about the afterlife. This profound experience took her on a journey that changed the way she thought about life, death, and the universe and resulted in her debut book “The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad Boy Brother Proved to Me There’s Life After Death,” being released by Hampton Roads in March 2013. http://www.afterlifeofbillyfingers.com/

Enlightened is a TV show about “A self-destructive woman who has a spiritual awakening who becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating havoc at home and work.” – IMDB…

It stars Laura Dern, Luke Wilson and Diane Ladd.  I recently had a chance to interview Diane about Enlightenment and its second season premiere, which is tomorrow, Sunday, January 13 on HBO at 9:30 p.m. Diane Ladd, an actress, director, writer, author and producer is a 3x Emmy and 3x Oscar nominee and the winner of twenty seven international awards, including the British Academy Award, the Independent Spirit Award and the Eleanor Duse Award.

You can listen to our interview by pressing the play button below.  Or, you can download an MP3 of the interview by right-clicking the text below that says “Right-click here to download Diane Ladd Interview”…

RIGHT-CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIANE LADD INTERVIEW

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I recently hosted a Teleconference with Viki King on how to market inspirational and conscious books, movies and Web sites. Viki is a consultant and the best-selling author of How to Write a Movie in 21 Days – The Inner Movie Method. On our Teleconference, Viki discussed:

- How to Build It So They Will Come
- Beyond Social Networking
- The Magic of Cosmic Marketing

She also answered specific questions ranging from:

1. How to make it in the entertainment industry if you know NO ONE
2. How to get your project made and distributed if you have NO money
3. Viral marketing strategies

You can listen to the MP3 of the audio recording of this call by clicking the play button below, or use the MP3 Download link to download to your computer:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Viki King MP3 Download

P.S…I’ve ‘uncopyrighted’ this MP3…So, you can make copies of it and pass it on to friends who might benefit from this information too! =)