MeiMei Fox, Interview #190

Name: MeiMei Fox

Where you live: Los Angeles, CA

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Author and Life Coach

Your two favorite books:
When Things Fall Apart, by Pema Chodron. No words comforted me more during the difficult years following my divorce and my father's conviction for a crime than hers. The book taught me to sit with uncertainty, realizing that any ideas we entertain about being in control are merely an illusion. I learned to meditate and breathe through my most challenging moments, to feel deeper compassion for all living beings, and to trust that I would be fine no matter what as long as I had my own truth, strength, and love to fall back on. I also find great solace and beauty in poetry. My favorite poets for the past ten years or so have been Mary Oliver, Rumi and Hafiz. If you have never encountered these mystics, lovers of natures, and revelers in the power of God and beauty of spirit, pick up any of their books. I will slide one off the shelf, thumb through, and read whatever poem I open up to when I feel a need for guidance or just comfort.

Your two favorite songs:
I could listen to Bruddah Iz's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which he mashed up with "What a Wonderful World," thousands of times and never tire of it. I grew up in Hawaii, so I find the sound of ukulele music deeply comforting. It's haunting. I also love U2. I listened to the album "Joshua Tree" every night on my Sony Walkman as I fell asleep in high school, and have been to two concerts. "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" may be my favorite song of theirs--though now that I've found what I'm looking for (true love, family, love love and more love for all humankind!), I might have to choose a new one! That song tells of the spiritual journey with such simplicity and honesty.

Why you are interested in spirituality? 
I become interested in spirituality for two reasons. One, I started working, while in my mid-20s, as a freelance editor, ghostwriter and co-author of non-fiction books. Two of my early projects were Buddhism books: Robert Thurman PhD's "Infinite Life," and "The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler MD. The message of Buddhism resonated deeply with me:
Find your own truth by looking inside yourself. Choose the middle path of neither too much indulgence nor too much denial. The path to world peace starts in your own heart, by finding compassion there for yourself and others. Then, around the same time, both my own marriage and my family of origin began to fall apart. I went into crisis mode. The Buddhists lessons quickly went from being theoretical to profoundly practical. Nothing could calm my anxiety or make me feel connected to the beauty of the planet better than meditation, which I practice in the Buddhist Vipassana tradition. I also turned to poetry (see above-my favorite books), yoga, and friendship, love and laughter. Once you go down the path of spirituality, you can never turn back! And thank heavens for that. My life is infinitely richer as a result of my suffering, seeking, and answers I found on my spiritual quest, and now I help guide others on their journeys.

Your favorite quote:
"If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud." - Emile Zola

Your favorite web sites: 
Huffington Post, the Happiness Project, Values.com

Your hero?
My mother. She is extraordinary. Full of vitality and creativity. A totally devoted mother to me and my brother and also a feminist who forged an amazing career path during the 70s and 80s, and continues into her late 60s -all for non-profits, all in service of making the world a better place.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?

Ajahn Sumedo said, "There are only three things to learn in life: Let go. Let go. Let go."

I am still learning to let go, but I don't suppose I will ever learn how to. Perhaps it's not in my nature. I'm too attached to those I love.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" 
In a yoga class and by the ocean.

Editor's Note:
You can read more about MeiMei at her site:
www.meimeifox.com  and at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meimei-fox/

Susan Kushner Resnick, Interview #189

Name: Susan Kushner Resnick

Where you live: Massachusetts

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
 I teach creative writing at Brown University

Your two favorite books:

 Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene,

           The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Your two favorite songs:

 Back on the Chain Gang by The Pretenders

           Gandhi/Buddha by Cheryl Wheeler
 
   Why you are interested in spirituality?
   Because I believe in God much more than I

   believe in organized religion

Your favorite quote:

 "Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok,  it's not the end." - unknown

Your favorite web sites: 

 Huffington Post

 Letters of Note

Your hero?   Aron Lieb, the subject of my book

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? I don't think we can know what we need to learn until we learn it. 

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"  On the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in Rhode Island

Editor's Note: Susan's book is You Saved Me, Too: What a Holocaust Survivor Taught Me 

about Living, Dying, Fighting, Loving, and Swearing in Yiddish

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.