Allison Pearlman, Interview #188

Name: Allison Pearlman

Where you live: Los Angeles, CA

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Actress and Preschool Teacher

Your two favorite books: 

That's such a hard decision because I'm an avid reader.  I'd say The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by: Mark Haddon as I've always had a particular interest in children with autism.  My second would be The Giver By: Lois Lowry.  It's a children's book but it fostered my love for dystopia novels and sparked my interest to continue to read dystopia novels through middle school, high school, college, and now.

Your two favorite songs: 

Anything by Phil Collins or Genesis (when he was the lead singer). I got to see him perform when I was 20 and cried when he came on stage. :) My two favorite songs by him would be "In the air tonight" and "That's All."

Why you are interested in spirituality? 

Because I've always felt there was something bigger than me and the life I'm living.  I would hate to think that there was no point to being on this earth. So far, there has been a point to everything I've done and learned and deductive reasoning leads me to believe that there must be a point to life even if I don't know what it is yet.

Your favorite quote: "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance" -Oscar Wilde 

Your hero?  Walt Disney.  He has always been one of my biggest inspirations.  He never had a problem with change, especially if it was going to make things better.  He also loved to create and recreate to make things better.  I wish that more people were like him.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?  I would say it's more that I'm in the process of learning.  I'm learning that Jesus isn't bad.  He was used as a weapon towards me and my immediate family from a very young age and that was engrained as a very negative experience.  I'm lucky I have such an amazing fiance who was willing to work with me on this because we are both spiritually different (I'm Jewish, she's Christian) and on different paths.  But even if we were both Jewish, we would still be on different spiritual paths.  I'm learning that too!

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"  When I'm helping others.  Whether it be protesting for equal rights, inspiring through my videos, helping at a soup kitchen, or giving someone directions when they're lost, I feel connected when I am put positive energy into the universe.  I like coming home thinking to myself "G-d would be proud of me today."




Editor's Note: You can learn more about Allison and her work here too:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4706205/
http://www.facebook.com/AllisonPearlman

Danielle Lauren, Interview #187

          Name: 
          Danielle Lauren

Where you live: Sydney Australia

What you do as a vocation or avocation?

I’m a filmmaker and social activist

Your two favorite books:

Steve Jobs autobiography by Walter Isaacson and Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Your two favorite songs:
I know this is so tacky to admit but one of my favourites is Whitney Houston's “Greatest Love of All” and as an Australian the song “Land Down Under” by Men At Work makes me smile...

Why you are interested in spirituality?
I don’t know if being interested in spirituality is a choice but more of a calling,  a magnetism –it draws you in – something resonates with you on a higher plane that you can’t ignore. I find spirituality helps me to connect with the humanity of being human.


Your favorite quote: “Be brave or at least pretend to be, no one can tell the difference

Your favorite web sites: www.ted.com

Your hero?
Nelson Mandela. Growing up  in South Africa, he used to live around the corner from me and walked past my house on regular occasions. He is the epitome of humility and peace – a true hero a true inspiration.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? 
Patience for myself and others.


A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
Everywhere – but I have a close relationship with Israel and India. 

Editor's Note: Danielle is Creative Director of a very cool project. See Danielle's cool work at:  http://www.11elevenproject.com/ and find out if there's a showing in a place near YOU! Wa

MaryAnn McKibben Dana, Interview #186

Name: MaryAnn McKibben Dana

Where you live:
Springfield, VA -- Washington DC metro area

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
writer, pastor,
mother of 3.
I'm the author of Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family's Experiment with Holy Time, published by Chalice Press.

Your two favorite books:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Your two favorite songs: "The Yes of Yes" by Carrie Newcomer, "Magnificent" by U2

Why you are interested in spirituality? 

I am actually not interested in spirituality in the sense that the word is often used. Spiritual is sometimes juxtaposed with physical, as if what's in our minds and hearts can be separated from these bodies that we live in. Spirituality can also be superficial escapism rather than a groundedness in the world and its deep needs. 

I think we need a new word. Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions!

As Howard Thurman put it:

I am simply interested in becoming more fully and vibrantly human.

Your favorite quote:
I snuck an extra quote into the answer above! But here is my real favorite:

 “If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” -E.B. White

Your favorite web sites: 

Colossal (http://thisiscolossal.com), an amazing collection of visual art, videos, photography, etc. I never cease to be inspired by it.

The Dish (http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/) -- Culture, politics, books, ideas. 

99U (http://99u.com/) -- Excellent ideas about creativity. 

And my own Blue Room, simply because of the graciousness of my readers and the opportunity to write whatever's on my heart (http://theblueroomblog.org)

Your hero? I've thought for a long time about this question and cannot come up with a hero. I have creative mentors and people who inspire me, but no heroes!

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
I wrote a book about Sabbath because I'm exploring how to treat time as a friend rather than as something to control or subdue, something I never have enough of. I feel like I made progress on this goal but also have a long way to go.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" Iona, Scotland. Mo-Ranch Retreat Center in the Texas Hill Country. The desert.  

Editor's Note: 

You can order MaryAnn's book here. Follow her blog theblueroomblog.org * Catch her on facebook.com/mamdwriter  and/or on  twitter: revmamd

Geoff Bell-Devaney, Interview #185

Name: Geoff Bell-Devaney

Where you live:  Berkshires, MA

What you do as a vocation or avocation? 

Special ed teacher and artist

Your two favorite books: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Your two favorite songs: In My Life Today by Lenny Kravitz; War (No more trouble) by Bob Marley

Why you are interested in spirituality?

I had an inner awakening at age 30 and realized the power of my inner world.

Your favorite quote: "The truth will set you free."

Your favorite web site: www.gbd-art.com. (I love expressing my creativity through painting.)

Your hero? Anyone who is seeking the truth.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? Being fully present to my inner and outer world.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"  The ocean.

You can find Geoff on Twitter @how2bmindful

Hitesh Abhani, Interview #184

Name:  Hitesh Abhani

Where you live: Mumbai -India

What is your vocation or avocation? 

Pharmaceutical business, Research and development

Your two favorite books:

Embark on the Inner Journey and Life Worth Living both books written by my spiritual master. His divine discourses and this  book is life changing experience, it's so simple any person can understand and Embark on the Inner Journey is in 10 languages: Spanish, Cantonese, French, English, German, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Hindi.

Your two favorite songs: "Tumhare darshan ki bela" by Deva Premal and "hari om namo narayan" by Deva Premal.

Why you are interested in spirituality?

The reason is, it's about me, my pure self and after having an enlightened spiritual master in life, spiritual life is like a celebration. Life is full of celebration, introspection, and meditation. In short, "Life is beautiful and worth living."

Your favorite quote: from the process of self-realization by Paramkripaludev Shrimad Rajchandraji

"Without knowing the real nature of self, I suffered infinite misery. I bow to the adored holy true Guru (Guru:spiritual teacher/spiritual master) who disclosed that self to me
He, who knows wherever and whatever (out of renunciation,non-attachment and knowledge of self) is proper and practices accordingly, is the aspirant of self-realisation.
 By the contact of true Guru,deluded self-notion is restrained. It mostly, becomes two-fold by adapting other means.
 One, who follows the guidance of the true Guru, giving up deluded self-notion and obstinacy in supporting his wrong view, is said to have right belief, knowing it to be its direct cause.
 The great enemies such as pride, etc.(i.e.,the passion of anger, pride,deceit and greed) cannot be destroyed by deluded self-guidance. But by accepting the protection of the true Guru, they pass away by slight effort.
The self is pure, enlightened, consciousness in core, self-illuminating, the above of bliss. How much more to be said. If you contemplate over this, you will realize such self."

Your favorite web sites: www.shrimadrajchandramission.org

Your hero?: Param Pujyashri Rakeshbhai Jhaveri is my spiritual master. He is an inspirational hero for me. To walk on this path, even he is "busy, " he is witness of all activity, his awareness, his eyes speak. No need for words in his existence. Meditation happens, no need to put efforts, his silence. I have no words, it's just experience ...... 

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? 

It's a process of learning and practicing under the guidance of a spiritual master, and it's a beautiful process. I have started to love my self and I have started to know my self.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" 

He taught me the art of feeling spirituality everywhere, in all situations, all places.

Laurie Brock, Interview #182

Name: Laurie Brock

Where you live:

Lexington, Kentucky

What you do as a vocation or avocation?

 Episcopal priest

Your two favorite books:

I have read far too many books to have two favorite - something like trying to choose your two favorite children.  My favorite books of the last few I've read are Poetry as Survival by Gregory Orr and the Outlander series by Diana Galbandon. Both nourish my soul in very different ways.  One invites me to reflect.   One lets me enjoy the story.   

Your two favorite songs:

General Seminary (King of Glory, King of Peace) from the Episcopal Hymnal makes me cry every time. That's where I attended seminary, and every word has faces and memories wed to it.  And anything by Beth Nielsen Chapman. I listened to her music over and over while I was finishing my manuscript.  She captures the extraordinary joy and grief of life perfectly in her lyrics and music.

Why you are interested in spirituality?

Life is not concrete reality, and we are not simply a mixture of flesh and blood.  Spirituality gives us a glimpse of that mystery of spirit and soul and connects us to all that has been and all that will be.  Spirituality offers us a vocabulary of the unspeakable.

Your favorite quote:

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in. 

From Anthem by Leonard Cohen

Your favorite web sites:

 I love Facebook.  I have friends all across the country and the world, and seeing the mundane and special events of their lives keeps me engaged with them.  And I'm a big fan of Dogshaming.com.  The posts make me laugh.  Every.  Time.

Your hero?

 Sojourner Truth.  Her story is remarkable.  Her faith was unshakable.  She faced discrimination on so many levels, and yet she preached the Gospel relentlessly.  Her "Ain't I a Woman" speech cannot be read and understood enough.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?

 It's one I hope to learn, but realize I will be learning it for the rest of my life - that our brokenness, our wounds, and our scars are the beautiful places where God shines through.  Life is about becoming more comfortable and more familiar with the beauty of our scars.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" 

In the horse barn.  I ride, and I feel most centered, most connected to God, when I am mucking out stalls, brushing horses, and riding on these amazing creatures.  Riding is not just about me.  I am in relationship with this animal who has her own personality and quirks, and who, on occasion, drops me on my rear end.  Elegant and messy, all at once.  That is being spiritually connected for me. 

Editor's Note: Laurie blogs with Mary Koppel here

Robert V. Taylor, Interview #181

Name: Robert V. Taylor

Where you live:
In the spectacular Pacific Northwest where I’m blessed to live in Seattle and on a farm in the high desert of rural Eastern WA. The contrast of the desert and the lushness of Seattle are soul food!

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
I’m the author of A New Way to Be Human: 7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive. It’s an invitation to a life of compassion and love in which we discover our oneness as we allow the breath of life to flow through us, unstopped and unstoppable. I’m deeply honored by the endorsements it has received from Deepak Chopra, Bernie Siegel, Nora Gallagher, Desmond Tutu, Helene Gayle and a cross section of spiritual, philanthropic, corporate and transformational leaders.

I blog for Huffington Post and am a commentator on the inter-section of social justice, mindful living, well-
being and spirituality.

I’m also a speaker and love the diversity of audiences I speak to from professional associations, colleges,
community organizations, and religious or spiritual groups.

When I’m not on the road I adore cooking and gathering friends, family and strangers around our table!
In each of these areas of my work and life I’m enlivened by my interactions with people and feel privileged
to be part of the journey of so many remarkable people!

Your two favorite books:
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin and The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Your two favorite songs:
Born This Way by Lady Gaga and What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

Why you are interested in spirituality?
I believe we are all hard wired for compassion, love and goodness – it is the essence of what spiritualty
invites us into. I adore the transformative path that emerges when we are tender with ourselves and
others. Spirituality is like a labyrinth inviting us deeper and deeper into our belovedness as we claim the
unique and ancient truths revealed in the arc of our story and life. Our own story offers a meeting ground
with the Holy and others in which we become awake to the spiritual truth of the oneness we share with
the human family, Creation and the Universe. On the spiritual path you realize that your own well-being
and happiness is bundled together with the happiness and well-being of others. I never cease to be
amazed by new awareness of the delight that the journey reveals as we practice mercy, kindness, justice
and love.

Your favorite quote:
"Everything in the Universe has a rhythm; everything dances" – Maya Angelou

Your favorite web sites:
Huffington Post with its variety of platforms and the On faith blog at the Washington Post

Your hero?
Anyone whose intention is to live a life of generous and unconditional love. And of course the Dalai Lama,
Desmond Tutu and Mary Oliver.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
That the most vexing and offensive people are on a journey also.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
Anywhere near mountains or water. My dog Lucy is always inviting me into the playfulness of life and my
spouse reminds me of the joy of life.

Editor's Note: See more of Robert's work and writing at www.robertvtaylor.com