Friday, November 14, 2014

Alan L. Pritz, Interview #210

Name: Alan L Pritz 

Where you live: MinneapolisMN

What you do as a vocation or avocation? 
I’m an Interfaith Minister with a private practice specializing in personal and organizational meditation training and spiritual counseling-coaching.


Your two favorite songs: 

Why you are interested in spirituality?
 I was drawn to matters of Spirit from early childhood. Ultimately, I have a driving desire to understand the true nature and purpose of things and found such verities fully realized in the peaks of spiritual attainment.

Your favorite quote: 
Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now." --Swami Sri Yukteswar

Your favorite web sites: http://www.yogananda-srf.org/ and  www.Awake-In-Life.com,  

Your hero? Yogananda, Jesus, Lincoln

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? Selfless Love

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" 
With places that vibrationally evoke Paramahansa Yogananda. I also enjoy pilgrimage to holy sites of all faith traditions in order to absorb those divine vibrations.



Sunday, November 2, 2014

Patricia Cori, Interview #209

Your Name: 
Patricia Cori  


Where you live: 
I left the San Francisco Bay Area 30 years ago and immigrated to the Eternal City, Rome Italy, where I settled - but I spend a lot of the year traveling the world.

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
I wear many hats, I'm happy to say! I am an author with 13 best-selling books to my credit, a screenwriter, a public speaker and an environmentalist. My life work is dedicated to inspiring people to contemplate the greater multiverse, life beyond the material, and to taking our rightful place as guardians of this immense, beautiful planet.

Your two favorite books:  
How difficult to choose favorites from the wealth of books that have touched my life! The first that come to mind are Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis and The Poetry of Robert Frost - but oh, the list is immense.

Your two favorite songs: Fragile by Sting; Claire de Lune - Debussy

Why you are interested in spirituality? 
As we exasperate the conditions created by the pursuit of materialism and wealth, we realize that seeking a greater connection to Source and that infinite love is the only thing that truly gives meaning to our earthly lives.

Favorite quote: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Your favorite quote: ― Martin Luther King Jr.I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World


Your favorite web sites:  seashepherd.orgFacebook.com

Your hero? 
Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd Society. He is one of the most courageous and focused human beings on the planet and he is a true whale warrior.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?  
Seeing god in every being - even those who are bending towards the darkness.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" 
So many:1) Egypt  2) Glastonbury, England 3) The Azores islands (Atlantis) 4) Palenque, Mexico

Web Sites for Patricia:  theemissary.net    sirianrevelations.net


Mark Susnow, Interview #208

Your Name: 
Mark Susnow

Where you live: 
San Anselmo, California

What you do as a vocation or avocation? 
You might say I’m a lover of life. Its complexities, its mystery and its adventure.  And you could say I’m a life coach, thought-leader, author, musician, and avid tennis player.

Your two favorite books: 
Throughout the years I’ve had many favorites. After I wrote Dancing on the River: Navigating Life’s Changes, four years ago, there has been one book that has touched me deeply and that is The Beggar King: The Secret of Happiness by Joel Ben Izzy; I was so moved that I googled the author to thank him for writing the book and sharing his story.

Your two favorite songs: 
That’s a challenge to keep it to two. Since I’m a musician I have been exposed to many songs and music from cultures all over the world. I have always liked the Fool on the Hill by the Beatles. We are the World touches me and I play that on the piano and sing it. Most recently, on our weekly radio show, Journey On, we were honored to have as our guest, an amazing Brazilian artist, Kaliyani. Her inspiration Nammu’s Invocation, touched my soul.

Why you are interested in spirituality? 
I have always been interested since I’ve been a little kid. My father died when I was six. From that point on I always wondered about the nature of God and why certain things happen in life. In the last chapter of Dancing on the River I write about Embracing the Great Mystery.

Your favorite quote: 
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."--Lao Tzu  


Here’s one I wrote. "When you discover and honor your true nature and core beliefs, your life will be more consistent with the self you want to awaken."

Your favorite web sites
Although I don’t visit it that often, when I do, I always feel better. The http://www.Goodnewsnetwork.org is one of my favorites. And of course I’m excited about my site, http://www.inspirepossibility.com

Your hero? Both Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela are up there.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?  
Among other things we’re here to share our joy with others. With that comes learning to be less judgmental and more accepting.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" 
I’ve been a meditator for over 40 years so I usually, not all the time, feel that deep place inside. And yoga allows me to find that deeper peace. Being in nature soothes my soul and I experience that deeper place inside when I play music.


Judith Diana Winston, Interview #207

Name:  Judith Diana Winston

Where you live:
Santa Monica, CA

What you do as a vocation or avocation?  
I am a visionary writer and artist.  I use the term “visionary” because it is always my intention to use words and images that have the possibility of speaking to the “highest” in all of us and work toward of creating healing in ourselves and in our world.

Your two favorite books:    
So many! “The Alchemist” - by Paolo Coelho.  It’s a small book, a fable really,  about a simple young man who follows his heart, tuning into, “The Soul Of The World” and is magically lead, by unusual means and meetings, to attaining his dreams, which he doesn’t even know he has at the beginning of the book.  

A coffee table book called “The World of Michael Parkes.”  He is an American painter living in Spain who creates magical, mystical images - that seem to have the stuff of Myth in them and always transport me to a world where “The Magical” is commonplace. Both of these have inspired and moved me and my work in deep ways

Your two favorite songs:   
“Beautiful Boy” on the last John Lennon album before he was killed - about his son Sean, who was about 4 at the time.  Also, I love Leonard Cohen’s song, “Suzanne.”  It has all of these amazing evocative images.  It is almost more like a movie than a piece of music!

Why you are interested in spirituality?  
I want to comprehend this thing we call, Life, at it’s deepest possible level!  And, I want to cultivate Peace inside of myself!

Your favorite quote:  
“The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them.”  Arthur C. Clarke

Your favorite web sites:  
David William Gibbons - www.davidgibbons.org - (also called DGNetworks)  He is a British broadcaster who does remarkable in-depth interviews.  I had the great pleasure of doing an uninterrupted 2-hour “dialogue” with him when my newest book came out in the fall of 2012 and then in 2013 to be a participant on 3 panel discussions.  He has an uncanny ability of going right to the very depth of things and is incredibly prolific and humble.  He has interviewed almost everyone you’ve ever wondered about - and others you wonder why you’ve never heard about before.  On our first interview he asked questions that I’d never even thought about in relationship to my book - which thought would have been impossible since it took me almost 25 years!

Another of his sites is www.UniversalOne.TV
Also www.AbrahamHicks.com - I get quotes from them every day in my email - a definite compensation for all of the junk mail! :)

And, my own www.TheKeeperOfTheDiaryBook.com - which was deeply influenced by my 10 years of visiting, photographing and learning about some of the planet’s most enigmatic and mystical ancient stone sites - many of which can be seen on the site! 

Your hero?
I guess it’s a “hero with a thousand faces,” The Animal Kingdom - I learn from them every day - from the wisdom of their deep connection and immersion in “The All That Is!”  In particular, I learn from my own 2 Maine Coon felines, Kaia and Shima! Especially Shima - a very old soul, indeed!

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
Trust in the Process of Life.  They say we teach best what we need to learn most.  Trust and Choice are the 2 main themes of The Keeper Of The Diary!

A place in the world where you feel spiritually “connected?"
All of the Sacred Sites I visited - in pristine “wild” nature - and practicing Yoga - which I’ve done for over 30 years!



Thursday, June 26, 2014

Edward Vilga, Interview #206

Name:     Edward Vilga

Where you live:  New York City

What you do as a vocation or avocation?   I am a writer––one who often writes about spirituality and yoga––but who always tries to share the power (and challenges!) of Transformation in my work.

Your two favorite books:  
This is an impossible question for a writer, but the books I seem to open most often are Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Paintings (Abrams) because it's on my coffee table and I find it unbelievably beautiful and inspiring and Yoga by Linda Sparrowe another photo based book which I open all the time to gain inspiration when I teach.

Your two favorite songs:
Again –– another impossible question, especially since I started piano lessons in 1st grade and have sung all my life.

My mother's asked me to compose some Christmas songs, so since those are what I'm currently working on, I find myself humming those melodies the most lately.

Why you are interested in spirituality?  I want to understand the Mystery.

Your favorite quote: 
I love quotes and post one or two favorites every day on my facebook fanpage.

If I had to pick one, I might choose:  veritas omnia vincit.  (Truth conquers all)

Your favorite web sites:
Well, I spend a lot of time on my own site www.EdwardVilga.com

(And like everyone, way too much time on Facebook!)

I'm also quite devoted these days to the teachings of Abraham-Hicks, so I always check out their daily quote and workshops:

Finally, since Downward Dog has been optioned by Hollywood for the movies, I'm also constantly on the Pro version of IMDb –– https://pro-labs.imdb.com/  –– looking up actors who might just bring my characters to life.

Your hero?  Another "dog"––specifically, my chocolate lab, Belle.  

She's the happiest and most self-actualized being I've ever met, and like all truly great teachers, she instructs entirely by example.

I even wrote a small book about the life lesson she’s taught me: 

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?  Letting Go!  (more often, more efficiently, more completely, and much, much more quickly!)

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
For me, definitely in a yoga class where I felt completely connected in my body, mind, and spirit ... but honestly, most often it's simply whenever I connect with my beautiful chocolate lab, Belle, who models for me unconditional love 24/7.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

John C. Robinson, Interview #205

 Name: John Robinson, Ph.D., D.Min. (www.johnrobinson.org)

Where you live: Fox Island, Wa

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Transformational writing. I love to write about the experience of oneness and non-duality, which I am beginning to realize is the great epiphany of aging. We are not what we think, we are the consciousness in which thought arises - what a joyous discovery! I try to describe this transformation in The Three Secrets of Aging and Bedtime Stories for Elders.

Your two favorite books: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Ed. David Godman). I sat in Ramana's cave in Arunachala, India and knew what he had realized. I used to read Hindu mystics behind textbooks in my graduate training in clinical psychology - they kept me sane. The second book would be The Gift: Poems by Hafiz (Trs. Daniel Ladinsky). These poems, and others by the great Sufi masters like Rumi and Kabir, have the capacity to shift your consciousness in a moment. These mystics knew the power of transformational writing.

Your two favorite songs: April Love (Pat Boone). This was my coming-of-age ballad as a young teenager when I first sensed the magic of love. Most recently, I have come to appreciate Take The Chance (Peter, Paul and Mary). I cry every time I hear or play this song, which speaks so eloquently of the heart's awakening to love, a love that often needs grief to blossom. I am deeply touched by the profundity of the path love asks us to follow.

Why you are interested in spirituality? I know that "I" am a fiction - the one who knows that is not. For me, spirituality is this shift. When I release the whole complex of identity, time and story and dissolve into that which is, I can barely contain the joy and gratitude I feel. It is so simple. It is the great potential of aging.

Your favorite quote:  "Self is everywhere, shining forth from all beings, voter than the vast, subtler than the most subtle...He who finds it is free; he has found himself; he has solved the great riddle; his heart forever is at peace. Whole, he enters the Whole. His personal self returns to its radiant, intimate, deathless source." The Upanishads

Your favorite web sites: No favorites

Your hero? Lao Tzu - an old man, leaving the world, stops to share the wisdom of a lifetime, and gave so much; Meister Eckhart - an old priest persecuted for his mysticism, who saw beyond the lens of conventional belief into the divinity of the world; and Ramana Marharshi, a teenager who stared death in the face and transcended the illusion of the individual self. Each one a mystic describing the ineffable mystery of awakened being.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? How to express the immense love I feel for the world whenever I merge consciousness and being.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" In the moment, in the Presence, in the stillness, timelessness and unity of conscious being.
Editor's Note: You can see John's writing at his web site www.johnrobinson.org
and his latest book What Aging Men Want: The Odyssey as a Parable of Male Aging





Tuesday, April 1, 2014

J. Mark Powell, Interview #204

Name: J. Mark Powell
Where you live:  Columbia, South Carolina
What you do as a vocation or avocation?  I serve as communications director for the Attorney General of South Carolina
Your two favorite books:  The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara and Burr by Gore Vidal.  Both introduced me to the magic of historical fiction at an early age.  I've read many great books since, but you never forget your first love.
Your two favorite songs:  Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing is my favorite hymn; I love the honesty on the line “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”  And call me crazy, but Glenn Miller’s Pennsylvania 6-5000 makes me want to dance every time I hear it.
Why you are interested in spirituality?  We are spiritual beings who live in earthly bodies. The spirit is the very essence of who we are; the external is just a container for holding it.  So the more you discovery about spirituality, the more you can truly know about yourself and others, and that produces genuine understanding.  
Your favorite quote:  A French general sent this message to headquarters in 1914: “My left flank cannot hold; my center is giving way, my right is retreating. Situation perfect: I am attacking.” If you wait until conditions are ideal, you’ll likely spend the rest of your life waiting in vain. I love the general’s optimism, too; he saw possibility while everything around him spelled failure.
Your favorite web sites: Facebook.com; where else can you keep up with old friends while making new ones at the same time?   I enjoy too many others to pick a second favorite; sorry!
Your hero?   Robert E. Lee.  Regardless your opinion of him as a Southern general, he was an amazing person, off the battlefield as well as on.  He was a devout Christian who practiced humility; he had a very strong tempter that he diligently worked his entire life to contain; and there is no evidence that he ever swore or was drunk even once.  Yet he did not moralize or judge others.  After the war, he was a model of reconciliation and forgiveness.  He could have made a post-war fortune by capitalizing on his celebrity through commercial endorsements… but he instead chose to become president of a small, modest college so he could shape young leaders for the next generation.  All in all, a remarkably inspiring man.
A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?  The practice of true forgiveness.  I have discovered that forgiving another person isn’t a one-time act.  Hurt and bitterness often return later, and you have to continue working at it until you have fully attained forgiveness.

Editor's Note: You can see J. Mark Powell's work at jmarkpowell.com including his novel Tell it Like Tupper




Thursday, March 20, 2014

Phil Moore, Interview #203

Name: Phil Moore

Where you live: Central Coast, NSW Australia

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Writer, Filmmaker and Teacher

Your two favorite books: Dune, Crime & Punishment

Your two favorite songs: Perfect Day (Lou Reed), White Balloons (Sick Puppies)

Why you are interested in spirituality? Science can provide many answers, but not all of them.

Your favorite quote: Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid - Goethe.

Your favorite web sites: Goodreads.com, Redditt.com, TWIT.tv

Your hero? The Prophet Tobias

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? A greater compassion for the foibles of others.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" - With my children - wherever that is.

Find more about Phil's writing work at http://www.philmoore.com.au/return-of-the-prophet/

Or follow him on Twitter @philmoore_au  and @ProphetTobias

And you can see Phil's book here: http://www.facebook.com/Shentama