Heroes of Healing

Heroes of Healing -- (A Group Writing Project)

What makes someone a Hero of Healing? I feel a Hero is someone that is brave enough to put saving/helping others ahead of whatever might come in the way. The people on this list have gone against the “norm” and had to put “what the masses might think” aside to get their message across. They have all faced criticism and nay-sayers but it did not stop them from pursuing their important work because they KNEW they were helping many in the process. I am grateful for their perseverance, continued strength and determination because they have empowered, saved and helped millions of people to discover how to live their best lives.

Why put this list together? This list is really at the backbone of my beliefs. EVERYONE has the capacity to heal themselves. Whether it be from physical and/or emotional trauma/dis-ease. I feel a KEY to self-healing is finding teachers that resonate with you. People face resistance as they pursue paths of healing because it means breaking what perhaps are YEARS of “bad habits”, “being on Automatic pilot” and lots of time NOT listening to your self-talk or being conscious. Having teachers you can continually learn and grow from helps keep you on the right path even when you feel “stuck” or are facing resistance. The people on this list ARE Heroes of Healing because NOT ONLY are they helping others but they are encouraging others to become the Hero in their own lives.

Description of Project:

This Project will have 2 phases. Over the next week it is an open call for people to add to the Hero list. Specific Rules are at the end of the post, but briefly; you can participate by either writing your own post on a Hero or by commenting on what you have learned from someone on the list. I will keep adding WHO has been written about as well as a link to the author in the next section. (This way you will know who has already been written about). The deadline for submissions is NOW CHANGED TO Friday, October 3, 2008 due to many requests -- although I would prefer having the NAME of WHOM is being written about before that if possible). At that point, I will put all of the posts together into one list. I and some of the other initial contributors will post the complete list in one HUGE post of Healing Heroes as well as the comments added for each one after it is complete and reviewed. PLEASE see the end of the post for specific rules if you want to participate. It will ensure everyone's inclusion and my sanity. ;-)

Heroes of Healing -- written by:

Brandon Bays by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Dr. Michael Beckwith by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor by Jenny Mannion at Heal Pain Naturally

Dr. Joan Borysenko by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Gregg Braden by Sharon -- (posting soon)

Paul Chek by Stephen Cox of Balanced Existence

Dr. Deepak Chopra by Dawn Abraham of Qualified Life Coach

Gary Craig by Akemi Gaines of Yes To Me

Dr. John DeMartini by Angela Recchia at Ange’s Biz– (posting soon)

Mike Dooley by Camille Olivia Strate of The Raja Project

Bob Doyle by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Dr. Wayne Dyer by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Gangaji by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Thich Nhat Hahn by Isabella Mori at Change Therapy

Louise Hay by Kelly Rigby of She Power

Jerry & Esther Hicks and Abraham by Camille Olivia Strate of The Raja Project

Napoleon Hill by Cath Lawson of Cath Lawson (Tips for Success in Business and Life) -- (posting soon)

Ernest Holmes by Lyman Reed of Creating a Better Life

Roy Hunter by Ellie Blunt of The Transparent Hypnotist

Susan Jeffers by Kate of Experiments in Living

Byron Katie by Caroline Middlebrook of Life Should Feel Good

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross by Ari Koinuma of Our Best Version

Michael Losier by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Nelson Mandela by Mark Hayward of My Tropical Escape -- (posting soon)

Barbara Marx Hubbard by Slade Roberson of Shift Your Spirits -- (posting soon)

Dan Millman by Matthew Wadleigh and Lisa Erickson at Mommy Mystic

Dr. Christiane Northrup by Marilyn Kay at Mommy Mystic

Mary O’Malley by Dr. Nicole -(posting soon)

Dr. Mehmet Oz by Karen Lynch of Live the Power!

Dr. Eric Pearl by Jenny Mannion

Rachel Naomi Remen by Mokihana Calizar at Heal Pain Naturally

Susan SARK by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Eckhart Tolle by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Vaishali by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Doreen Virtue by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway (posting soon)

Neale Donald Walsch by Evelyn Lim of Attraction Mind Map -- (posting soon)

Ron Wilkens by Jennifer Abbott of Principles for Peace

Marianne Williamson by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Oprah Winfrey by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Brad Yates by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

HEROES

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor became fascinated with the brain because her brother was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. She trained at Harvard and became a prominent neuroanatomist (brain researcher). It was her knowledge of the brain that enabled her to recognize when she was suffering a severe stroke and fully "process" it as it was happening. Her stroke affected the left side of her brain which deals with cognition, language, processing and "ego". What took over was the right side of her brain whose function is the emotional and "spiritual" side of our brain. Her stroke left her without speech and physical mobility and it took her 8 years to fully recover. Her story is one of inspiration, courage and pure amazement as you listen to her experience. She credits KNOWING the importance of telling others about her experience with giving her the will to recover.

Since her recovery she has written a best selling book, been on the Oprah Soul Series and has spoken at the TED Conference as well as many other public appearances. She travels speaking about her experience and expressing her important message of living from LOVE and consciousness. The video below is of her speech at the TED conference. It is 20 minutes long but I assure you -- you have never seen anything like it.

Video

Resources

Website: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Books: "My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey"

What Jenny Mannion has Learned from Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

There is so much more out there than meets the eye. The right side of the brain is as (if not more) important than the left but most of us predominantly use the left side. There are ways to "silence" your mind and get to that "space" of love and quiet that your body and mind so desperately need for happiness and growth.

Dr. Wayne Dyer

Dr. Wayne Dyer is affectionately called the “father of motivation” by his fans. Despite spending his childhood in orphanages and foster homes, Dr. Dyer has overcome many obstacles to make his dreams come true. Today he spends much of his time showing others how to do the same. With many books, audios and televised events as well as speaking internationally -- he has encouraged and helped millions of people find their inner strengths. Dr. Dyer’s books range from his powerful talks on “Intention” to one of his most recent where he gave up most of his belongings for a year and LIVED the Tao Te Ching. He has 7 children and STILL maintains a constant sense of presence and calmness.

Not only does Wayne Dyer give these important messages to adults but he also has children's books that are wonderful for giving children skills they need early on to be unstoppable and persevere. Dr. Wayne Dyer was recently on Oprah's Soul Series and it is a wonderful interview to watch. Dr. Dyer also has MANY videos he has done for public access television.

Video:

Longer video ( 2 1/2 hours) on the Power of Intention

Resources:

Wayne Dyer Website

Books: "Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life:Living the Wisdom of the Tao" and "The Power of Intention"
Kid's Books: "Incredible You: 10 Ways to let Your Greatness Shine Through" and "Unstoppable Me!: 10 Ways to Soar Through Life"

What Jenny Mannion learned from Wayne Dyer

My favorite quote that helped me to heal was “When You Change the Way You Look at Things the Things You Look at Change”. I was indeed on automatic pilot for YEARS and not even processing my self-talk. Dr. Dyer's message rang true and it was that simple shift that allowed my healing to continue. Whenever I felt myself "stuck" in a previous thought pattern I was able to ask myself "How ELSE can I look at this?". I still use those words to this very day ALMOST EVERY DAY!

Dr. Eric Pearl

Dr. Eric Pearl was a chiropractor with a thriving practice when his life began to change. A series of events led to his patients “feeling” other people in the room as they laid there with their eyes closed letting their adjustment set in. He began to heal people without even touching them including healing people with CHRONIC LONG Term health problems including disfigurement. It also led to patients channeling the same 6 messages to him… the first of which was “We are here to tell you to continue what you are doing”. His work is called “The Reconnection ” and his story is truly amazing. For those skeptics, he is also backed by Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Wayne Dyer and is known worldwide. His "Reconnection Work" has been tested thoroughly by prominent people such as Dr. Gary Schwartz of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health at the University of Arizona. After a few years Dr. Pearl figured out how to pass on this gift of healing to others and continues to create "Reconnective Healing Practitioners" worldwide. The book is mind-blowing and his story very easy to read as he takes you through his journey of trying to figure out WHY and HOW these events were happening.

The basis of The Reconnection is reconnecting the meridian lines (sometimes called the acupuncture lines) on your body to the same pattern as the Universe. There are thousands of practitioners and even people that have practiced energy healing for years that say this healing is like no other. Reiki practitioners after going through The Reconnection have often given up Reiki because this has even greater potential for healing. This has also been called a healing that has come at this time due to the vast SHIFT the world is currently undergoing.

Video

For full video please visit this link.

Resources

Website: "The Reconnection" has news articles, practitioners, seminar dates and much more.

The book “The Reconnection ” is a page turner and is an experience like no other.

What Jenny Mannion Learned from Dr. Pearl

There is much more to life than meets the eye. Healing exists on many levels and just because you have not heard of it before does not mean it is not more powerful than anything you have ever experienced. You do not need to be “special” or a prophet to heal others. Healing is expanding to include many different methods and modalities. I have undergone 2 "Reconnection" healing sessions and they are unlike anything I have ever experienced. Without anyone touching me I felt heat, touch and many other sensations in my body too impossible to explain. I am pursuing the "Reconnection" further and will keep my readers informed of my journey.

Susan Sark

Susan Sark is unlike any other writer I have encountered. She writes in colored markers and draws doodles on the pages. Her free writing makes the reader feel free as well. SARK (as she is often called) is a survivor of sibling incest and used her writing to heal from that experience. She tells her readers that it is okay to write on walls or stay in their pajamas as they write and she lifts your spirit with her writing style. SARK suggests writing down your 10 favorite females, favorite books, inspirational people and encourages friendships. SARK is good for the soul and almost feels like a guilty pleasure she is so much fun to read – but she has an important message as well. Writing CAN be fun. Write down your impossible dreams, draw on the pages, write with no lines… live life with joy and it will be joyous.

Video

Unfortunately I could not find a video of Sark. If you know of one please let me know as I would love one for my final post.
I highly recommend visiting her website or calling her "inspirational phone line" which has been inspiring people for ten years at 415-546-3742.
Here is a link to a mp3 file to hear her speak.

Resources:

Website: Planet SARK – very representative of her books and so much fun.

Her page on self growth.com promises videos in the future and lists many inspirational quotes and articles.

Books: "Succulent Wild Woman" "Sark's Journal and Playbook: A Place to Dream While Awake" (has some writing ideas in it and some blank pages to play).

"Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting the World with Your Words and Stories, and Creating the Time and Energy to Actually Do it" -- Her newest book

What Jenny Mannion has learned from Sark

When I was upset about being so sick -- writing became yet another place for me to talk of how sick I was. Sark showed me I had a lot more positive things to write about and she introduced me to writing gratitude lists.

Sark also showed me that everyone has a story – their own unique life and if you don’t get it down who will?

"We are each born creative—then we forget our purpose, or mission. We believe our doubts and fears, and slowly stop “being creative,” as though it were a separate thing." -- Susan Sark

Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle's "A-Ha" Moment came when he was contemplating taking his life. The sentence spoken in his head was "I can't live with myself anymore". He realized when he analyzed that sentence there were two distinct people in the "I" and "myself". He then KNEW it would be up to himself to change the person he was from the inside out so he could and would be happy to live with himself. In that moment Eckhart became conscious and his path after became more and more clear. Oprah has called him a "prophet" during the Oprah/Eckhart Webinar on his book "A New Earth" and Eckhart exudes enlightenment more than any other person I have come across. He frequently quotes Jesus and the Bible and has some beautiful interpretations of passages that make you see them in a new light.

Eckhart's essence is one of peace as he explains consciousness in accessible terms so everyone can understand. He has caused many people to "awaken" and to think about their life totally differently. His work and talks on the pain body and the roles we play in the relationships in our lives is something I feel most of us can greatly relate to and learn from.

VIDEO:

Resources

Website: Eckhart Tolle

Books: "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" "The Power of Now"

Webinar of A New Earth with Oprah Winfrey

What Jenny Mannion has Learned from Eckhart Tolle

I have learned just how many of my thoughts were ego-driven and how to quiet my mind so that I can be IN THE NOW.

Eckhart has shown me that the pain body (a part of your subconscious that stores negative emotions not processed) can take over if you are not mindful of what is happening. Mr. Tolle has shown me the power of being in the NOW and letting go of some of the limits language can put on us. I can now go for a walk and admire nature without having to label everything and can just "be in the moment of enjoying them.

Mr. Tolle has also shown me that we are NOT the roles we assume. Yes, I have the role of mom and wife and daughter but that is not my true essence. I enjoy being a mom, wife and daughter but it benefits myself and everyone around me if I truly know and love who I am and am not just a "collection of roles".

Vaishali

Vaishali is the author of “You Are What you Love” and is an amazing radio show host. She radiates love and has been called the “spiritual hostess with the mostest”. Vaishali has overcome many hardships physical and emotional to come out on top. She has obtained a degree in Religious Philosophy, studied many different religions and spirituality firsthand and has encompassed them all into her teachings. Vaishali makes spirituality more accessible and easy to understand. She will explain spiritual concepts incorporating The Simpsons or Cheech and Chong so that it is modern and we can all understand clearly what she is speaking about.

Vaishali exudes love and kindness and when you hear of all she has come through to be where she is today you will feel it is possible to get through anything. Vaishali and I have personally emailed and she is a beautiful person through and through.

VIDEO

You Tube site: http://www.youtube.com/purplehazepress

RESOURCES:

Website: Purple V

Vaishali's My Space Site

Books: “You Are What you Love”, her latest is “Wisdom Rising: A Self-Help Guide to personal transformation, spirituality and mind/body/spirit holistic living”

Vaishali's Contact Talk Radio Show

Radio show:

What Jenny Mannion has Learned from Vaishali

“Your love and Your Awareness Are One” If you are putting all your attention on something (even if it is negative) for example anger or worry then you are loving anger and worry. Instead be mindful of where your attention is and love what you want to continue to bring into your life.

Oprah Winfrey

When the talk show craze hit its peak in the US you could not turn to a channel without finding some guest out of their seat leaping toward another like on Jerry Springer or screaming in anger on shows like Montel Williams. Oprah Winfrey took the high road and wanted to use the show to teach people life lessons and inspire people to live to their fullest potential. Oprah started from humble beginnings but did not let that stop her from pursuing and living her dreams.

From her Oscar nomination for the Color Purple, to her over 20 years on the Oprah Winfrey show, to her 2 magazines, her boarding school for girls in Africa, her shows on XM radio, her ground-breaking webinar with Eckhart Tolle and her soon to be OWN television network – Oprah has been inspiring millions and continues breaking her own records of success. Oprah is now concentrating more on spirituality and consciousness. She is wise, caring, driven, loving and juggles so many projects that sometimes I feel she must be living in some alternate Universe that has 50 hour days!

Video:

Resources:

The Oprah Winfrey Site has a lot of information on it from Oprah & Eckhart’s Webinar on A New Earth to Oprah’s Soul Series interviews with such greats as Dr. Wayne Dyer and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

What Jenny Mannion Learned From Oprah:

It does not matter where you are from or what your situation is – you can inspire others and be all that you dream to be.

Life is about continued knowledge and growth.

You can heal from whatever may have happened in your past and move forward with grace and power from lessons learned.

Rules:

For your own post:

Please keep the same format Hero, Video, Resources, Comments. It will make for better flow and MUCH easier incorporation. Please link back to this original post and email me at jennymannion@yahoo.com to give me a head's up that you have posted. Feel free to use your own affiliate links in the resource section but don't list more than 2 books and/or resources. A few resources for each is all that is needed for people to begin learning more. If you do not have a blog or a place to post -- please email me and I will gladly include you in the compiled list.

How will Duplicates be handled?

In the event more than one person writes about the same HERO I will evaluate the Summary section of the Hero and possibly use a little from each post -- I will give credit to each person that wrote about that Hero as well as a link to their post. The Resources can possibly be added to but again, I only want a few books/resources under each Hero. Only one video per Hero so I will embed only the first video posted but it is possible LINKS to other videos can be added. Comments will all be included which leads to my next way to contribute.

To make a comment on a Hero on the list

Please keep the format:

What "xyz" learned about "abc". Your name can be a hyperlink to your site or if you wrote a post to the permalink on your post on Heroes of Healing.

For example: What "Jenny Mannion" learned about Deepak Chopra would be the title and then I would list what I learned from him. When I do the final list EACH Hero will have everyone's comments on them listed. It will help for people to see what different messages were learned from each Hero as everyone takes something unique away from each teacher.

What if there is not a Hero on the list AFTER the project is done that I want to add?

Because I feel this is a very important post I will CONSIDER adding to the overall list after the deadline if I feel it is someone who is missing from the list that many people would benefit from. I ask you still keep the same format and that you give me a head's up to ask me beforehand....

Conclusion

I am excited beyond belief about this project and am very excited to see the final result. I really hope you take the time to think about who was the Hero in your life that made you think about life differently. The more teachers we add to this list the better chance people will find someone that resonates with them. Many can benefit from being introduced to these Heroes and learning from them.

Thank you to the initial contributors Akemi, Camille, Dawn, Lisa and Dr. Nicole for sharing this kick-off with me. Your patience was GREATLY appreciated and your questions made my vision even more clear. I hope readers and fellow bloggers jump in to add more inspirational people to this list!

As always, any other comments are always welcome as well!

UPDATE: 9/13/08

I am very excited about the response this is getting and many are asking for more time to post. I am more interested in getting a comprehensive list together than meeting a deadline. Please don't let the date Sept. 19 stop you from participating because I will most likely be extending the date.. not sure until when as I have a lot of other projects right after that... but PLEASE if you want to participate send me a Hero's name and I will reserve that for you on the list above.

Many have mentioned "my Hero was written about" - PLEASE let that be an occasion to write in (as Lisa Erickson has in comments) with what you have learned from that person. In the final compiled list I will have what different people learned from each Hero since many of us take different lessons away from the same person. This will allow people when seeking a teacher to have an even better idea of what that Hero is all about.

There are still so many people that are not on this list that I would love people to write about. Here are a few ideas mentioned by others as well as people I would like to see included: Gary Null, Gary Zukav, Andrew Weil, Carl Jung, Caroline Myss, Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz.....

Thanks for all the support and it is my hope that this resource can help many discover new people to inspire and empower them to be the best they can be.

July Headache Blog Carnival - How Spirituality Helps Us Cope with Migraine Disease

Just a quick note to let you know my post, "5 Writing Exercises that Help Heal Pain" is in "The Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival". This Carnival has been created to provide both headache and migraine disease patients and people who blog about headache disorders with unique opportunities to share ideas on topics of particular interest and importance to us. Visit the link to this month's carnival for a collection of informative entries on how spirituality helps us cope with migraines and headaches. There are many inspirational entries to enjoy. I suffered from migraines when I was ill and KNOW just how debilitating they can be. For anyone that does suffer from these or headaches or knows someone that does -- I believe there is a lot of useful information at this Carnival. Thank you!

Recognizing the Power of Our Words

Words can cause so much pain and distress to ourselves and others. For a change, I will not be talking about "Self Talk" which is one of my favorite topics. Today I would love if you would watch this inspiring video of an exercise high school students went through run by the Challenge Day Team. The purpose was to teach them the power of their own words to each other. To show them how they had all suffered through some kind of verbal abuse and to also show them how similar they all really were. Children (and some adults) need to be taught that everyone has good qualities and that NO ONE deserves to be ridiculed for ANY reason. What a beautiful exercise this is and I would hope all schools would adopt something similar. While I may say "children" a lot in this post I certainly have met my share of adults that could benefit from this as well. I want to talk about the importance of our words to others and the affects they have, my experiences with bullying and prevention to lessen the effect of bullying.


My Experiences & The Effects of Bullying and Harsh Talk

Yes, I was teased as a child. No, not as much as many others but I think it is pretty miraculous if you make it through childhood without some teasing. My maiden name was Campbell and I can't recall the number of soup references I endured.... I was fortunate to have parents that taught me by example and never talked down to me or called me names. I was also blessed with learning early on (from my parents) NOT to judge people by how they look (they had friends of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, sexual orientations etc. that were all wonderful people). I was shunned by some "popular" kids in elementary school because I actually did talk to everyone (Yes, ESPECIALLY those everyone made fun of repeatedly). I have always believed there is good in everyone and that everyone deserves respect. Whether it is someone you look up to or someone you think is not on your level somehow - you might be surprised with how much we all have in common. One of my favorite speakers; Wayne Dyer, says he looks at every new person he meets with the message in his mind "What am I meant to learn from this person?" We can indeed learn from every single person we encounter and I think that is a priceless lesson to pass on.

I have heard recently about internet bullying and have a friend whose daughter actually has switched to a tutor and dropped out of school because of that escalating into physical violence. Bullying and teasing has not gotten any better over the years and it is important children learn about bullying so they can be an example to others. Bullying brings down self confidence and brings up self doubt. EVERYONE has positive traits that should be nurtured, rewarded and shared with others. Now with new means to bully through social networking sites, IMing and texting among others this message is more important than ever.

Bullying is not limited in any means to childhood and knowing the importance of treating people kindly is one that stays with you once learned. I took the time during researching this post to think back to times I was teased and bullied and also the times I was not nice to people. I definitely had my moments where I might have "had a bad day" and took it out on an already over-worked and over frustrated customer service person -- whose job it was to help me. I admit that while I am proud I went to The Bronx High School of Science, being around very smart kids all the time gave me a bit of intolerance to those who I deemed "not as smart." In situations with customer service people (and others) I am sure I have appeared arrogant and made people feel I was "talking down" to them. No one deserves that. Everyone deserves to be treated as you want to be treated and that is the golden rule repeated frequently in my house. I am sure I could have learned a lot from them. People that sit and listen to complaints all day have to be made of something special to let it roll off of their back and show up for work the next day.

For a while I worked in IT for a long standing and respected investment company in NYC. The pressure there was horrific. Employees would work on Power Point Presentations to bring in millions of dollars for hours on end and would not save their files. When a computer crashed they would scream, curse and threaten me if I could not recover the file. It played on my self esteem big time. I would hide in the computer room with my nose buried in building computers & fixing hardware and pray the phone wouldn't ring with someone yelling over the next lost file. Of course it always did because I was so obsessed about it. As the wise Carl Jung said "What you Resist Persists" and that it definitely did. I was unfortunately not in the right frame of mind to handle it appropriately or to realize "it was not me" they were angry at. Maybe if I had been open to learning from the customer service people I was so quick to think myself superior to I would have learned some valuable lessons and been able to cope better with my work situation.

Being teased and bullied can have horrible effects on people including embarrassment, altering life activities to avoid humiliation (even if it is an activity you enjoy) and even depression, violence or suicide. The lesson that they teach in this video is so important because it makes the children and teachers realize that everyone endures bullying in some form and it is WRONG in any form.

Prevention From Within and Healing From Bullying

What about "sticks and stones"?

Yeah yeah yeah -- we have all heard it and I know my parents repeated it to me as I have told my kids: "sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me". Truth is, unless the person is 100% self confident and is taught how to deal with insults being thrown at them -- they WILL let the words affect them even if not on the surface they will subconsciously. So prevention is a few steps:

1) Lead by Example
2) Teach children about self confidence and how to deal with disappointment and teasing
3) Teach children about no bullying or teasing and respect of ALL others.

If you are not around children often or want to help in another way you can also get involved with the Challenge Day Team who run events (ex. the above video) in communities to spread this important message.

I have mentioned my 2 favorite children's books about Positive Thinking by Wayne Dyer, "Incredible You" and "Unstoppable Me". My children can recite these books by heart and KNOW these lessons which include dealing with difficult situations, ignoring bullies and gaining self confidence. I have watched my son transform from reading these books and by me sharing the lessons I have learned in the last 18 months.

I just finished a book, "Dandelion" which is appropriate for children and adults that I think many would enjoy. It is about figuring out one's path in life and what listening to other's harsh words can do. Dandelion was written by Sheelagh Mawe, who is the mother of Mike Dooley from the movie "The Secret" and also has the wonderfully daily messages and publishing company TUT. Dandelion is a horse, and unlike her mom she does not want to be owned, is thought of as "ugly" and struggles to find her way. It has been given rave reviews and is a beautiful little book with a strong message. Here's one of my favorite quotes;
"Make your own contribution! For that is your obligation and that is how you help others, by example. There's no happiness or satisfaction to be found in helping another before you've learned to help yourself."

We are born knowing "no limits" and feeling we can do anything. As we begin to experience disappointment; don't make teams, don't "have" what others have, are called names, etc.... we need to KNOW how to deal with these issues. If we do not know how to process these issues we store them inside and they do damage (as Tolle in "A New Earth" explains they form the "pain body"). When people are hurting they may lash out at themselves with negative self talk or lash out at others with bullying and teasing. Neither is a good response and either can be prevented.

When children do not learn these lessons they turn into adults that continue to bully. There were some teachers in the above video who also learned a valuable lesson that day. By going to the site Challenge Day you can get involved to try to get an event to your local school or participate in many other ways. However you decide to spread this message it begins within yourself. Try and go through your past and remember the bullying events whether you were on the receiving or the giving end and remember how it felt. Forgive yourself and others for the past and live from now. Be the example you want to see and share this message -- it is an important one.

Inspirational Movies That Can Change Your Life

If you read my blog regularly, you know that after seeing the movie, "The Secret" I became inspired to learn all I could about the Law of Attraction and the Mind /Body Connection. It was because of the push that movie gave me for knowledge that I did heal myself of several chronic illnesses and chronic pain and that I am now healthier than I ever remember being. Books, movies, people all have the ability to change your life instantaneously if you are open and they resonate with you. Yes, I have heard the criticisms of "The Secret" and never did I say it was a perfect movie or that I believed and resonated with everything in it. But it did change my life. It makes me so happy to realize that even more inspirational movies are coming out. A few weeks ago I wrote about an ongoing project to finish and release the movie, "The Shift" that looks amazing. Now I will talk about one movie that is out now on DVD "You Can Heal Your Life" and one coming out very soon in theaters "The Opus Movie".

I started hearing about Louise Hay almost as soon as I began reading about healing, the mind/body connection and the law of attraction. I read bits and pieces of her writing, heard rave reviews on her book, "You Can Heal Your Life", watched some videos featuring her, saw her on Oprah and it was obvious she was inspirational and that she has changed MANY people's lives. I was excited when I heard about her movie, "You Can Heal Your Life". I looked into getting it shown in my town and is still something I think would be GREAT to pursue. Our town has definitely lost a bunch of stores, jobs and restaurants recently and I hear often of people "not having enough". Through my invention being manufactured in my town I am hoping to bring jobs to my community but I know it needs even more than that. I think showing the movie to many would inspire people and it is something I will look into some more and I recommend others doing as well for their own communities.

"You Can Heal Your Life" has a few other inspirational speakers such as Gay Hendricks and has many stories of people who have healed themselves of illness. Louise Hay has an extraordinary life story. After she had been teaching about healing from within because she had undergone a traumatic childhood filled with sexual abuse that she had healed herself of, she was diagnosed with cancer. She healed herself within 6 months. It is amazing to me that when I started to study the mind/body connection how many people had contacted me who had done just what I did -- healed themselves by using their minds when doctors offered no "cure". "You Can Heal Your Life" talks about affirmations but also really lays out how important feelings are behind the affirmations. It goes into how important it is to be "awake". Esther Hicks talks about how the feeling behind your words are what puts you in vibration with what you want to manifest. This movie is very powerful on so many levels.

"You Can Heal Your Life" takes many moments to show people throughout their days and what "negative self talk" might be going on. You NEED to be awake to hear these messages. You need to WANT to change the way you look at things. Many people do not love themselves -- this movie and Louise Hay enforce JUST how important it is to love yourself. There are so many positive messages in this movie and they give a lot of good affirmations to start with no matter what you want to manifest in your life. I can see this movie changing many lives and am very grateful for Louise Hay, Gay Hendricks, Esther Hicks and all the others that contributed.

Following is a preview from "You Can Heal Your Life" which is available now on DVD.

"The Opus Movie" has the following statement behind its origination on its site: "One dictionary defines an Opus as the most grandiose and memorable composition of a composers life and legacy. It is this definition that we wish to acknowledge. It is this definition that is the objective of the film The Opus. Every person born on the planet arrives with the potential to create an incredible Opus. But only some people do. Why is that? In this spectacular follow up to the Law of Attraction you will find amazing insights from Top Achievers and Teachers on how to turn your intentions into accomplishments. In The Opus you will be shown the formula and patterns Top Achievers use to create greater abundance in Wealth, Health, Relationships and self achievement."

What is the Opus then? "To Become the best, biggest, most incredible, abundant, and spectacular YOU possible." The Opus -- From Vision. To Plan. To Performance.

This movie has a lot of the same speakers from The Secret and MANY more. I first heard of it through Douglas Vermeeren who I came in contact through selfgrowth.com. Douglas is the creator and producer of The Opus. He has interviewed more than 400 of the world's top achievers and because of what he has learned, he is known around the world as "the achievement expert". This movie looks like it will almost pick up what The Secret left out which was talking about inspired action. Yes, the Law of Attraction is about Asking, Believing and Receiving but you must be conscious and listening to your intuition in order to take inspired action to make your intention a manifestation. I am very excited to see "The Opus" and I think you will be as well after watching this following trailer:

I have written before about how important it is to keep the influences in your life positive. The people, places, news, movies, books -- everything you surround yourself with -- you internalize and they affect you. These movies will help and inspire many and it is a joy to see the increase in these positive and inspirational films. To manifest you must be conscious and though I have recommended it before, "A New Earth" by Eckhardt Tolle and the Oprah/Tolle free webinar being given are great ways to achieve consciousness and really start listening to those inner voices.

I am now available as a Mind/Body Connection Mentor and can be reached at jennymannion@yahoo.com or via Skype: jennifer.mannion for more information. As always, I welcome comments, questions and suggestions.

Book review: "What's YOUR Expiry Date?" by Patrick Mathieu

In January I entered a contest on Peter's "I Will Change Your Life" blog. The contest asked you to leave a comment on a guest post written by Patrick Mathieu on the methods you use in the morning to "Kick start your day". I was thrilled to win the book "What's your expiry date?: Embrace your mortality -- Live with vitality" by Patrick Mathieu. Patrick has an exceptionally inspirational story that involves his heart defects since birth, him being told he would not live past 30 and how he embraced this knowledge and decided to live in the present instead of worrying about the past or future. Patrick's message of "Enjoy Now" is one that we can all learn from and apply to our lives. Patrick's book is VERY easy to read and takes you through his phases (much like the the Kubler-Ross study) of dealing with impending death and his mortality. Unlike the Kubler-Ross study though Patrick takes it a step further and does not just ACCEPT his mortality but celebrates it and challenges you to do the same. Patrick was able to look at his diagnosis as not a death sentence but instead a wake-up call. I looked at my healing with similar eyes but the difference is I thought I was in for a lot of suffering but was never told that I would die.

Patrick's book woke me up to the fact that while life was MUCH better, I was looking to the future to how much better I would continue to make it instead of just living for "now" and appreciating every single moment. "What's Your Expiry Date?" came at such a perfect time for me. I have been asking a few of my online favorites (Albert of "The Urban Monk" and Tim Ferris of "The 4-Hour Workweek" how to balance time when you LOVE what you do. Patrick's book answered this question for me. Yes, I LOVE doing what I do and I am very grateful to be sharing my story with many and touching lives. I am so excited to become a life coach and even touch more lives. But if today was my last day on Earth would I want it to be JUST about the progress my blog/writing will make and how many people I will influence? I would definitely want it to be PART of the day but not all. I have 2 wonderful children that are growing up too fast already that I want to spend QUALITY time with each day. I want to show my husband how important he is to me and how much I love him every day. I want to reach out to friends and family and make sure no one doubts that they are in my thoughts and that I am grateful for them. I want to make sure I do something for myself every single day whether it be a walk, dance, cross country skiing or simply meditating. THAT is what makes up my perfect day and that is what I now know I will strive to balance every day.

After reading "What's Your Expiry Date" I will look at my life differently. I have grown a lot in the last year and I am SO grateful for that. I am "present" and conscious more often but do find myself thinking about the future a lot. I am not saying to not think about the future and set goals -- setting goals is essential in knowing what you want and making accomplishments. But when you fit into what Patrick calls the "Once Trap" (ex. Once I get this raise, we will go on vacation...etc) it is easy to forget that what is important is here and now. My favorite quote from his book is, "Now is the only time we ever have". It is so important to choose what we are doing "now". What do you choose? Do you choose to be happy and do what you love? Do you choose to sit around worrying about things that might or might not happen?

Patrick maintains a wonderful blog at Power of Mortality where you can learn more about his book and his life. He also has a coaching practice and helps his clients live a life that is FEARLESS, FOCUSED and FREE FROM REGRETS. He offers a free 30-minute initial session. Patrick has a lot to share and I highly recommend picking up "What's Your Expiry Date" and learning more about his important message to "Enjoy Now".

A Kool Product from a Kool and Inspirational Woman: Andrea Leake

Self-growth.com has brought so much goodness into my life in the short month I have been a member. I wrote about finding my mentor, Karin Hiebert and today I am writing about another inspirational woman. Andrea Leake has also healed herself (of partial blindness), is an inventor of the amazing Kool Bandanna that helps many health conditions for people AND pets, is a social worker working with patients that have Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease and she is a commissioned wildlife artist. It has been an absolute pleasure talking with Andrea and as you will see her life is very inspirational.

Andrea was a single mom in Toronto working as a Social Worker when she started to go blind in one eye. Within a few days she could only see black out of her left eye. She followed a close friend's advice and started listening to Louise Hay's audio book "You Can Heal Your Life" and was able to heal herself and regain full sight. She not only regained full sight but suddenly had an urge to start drawing wild birds. With no prior lessons she began to draw amazing pictures of herons, eagles and more. Andrea's art is sold worldwide. She has a company "Inner Vision" where she sells her artwork and you can purchase them as greeting cards as well.

If you read my blog regularly or have read my ebook, you know that I am inventor. I was so excited to find out Andrea is one as well. Her Kool Bandannas are made of non-toxic plastic absorbent crystals which absorb 400 times their weight in water and are reusable. Kool Bandannas reduce your body temperature by 3-4 degrees and stay cool for 4 DAYS before you need to re-soak them. They are effective for sports injuries, headaches, avoiding heat stroke and eliminating hot flashes. Andrea also makes them for pets so that when they are out in the heat you can keep them cool. They even have the ability to be used as a heat pack if you soak them and put them in the microwave. These are wonderful products, only $10 and you can visit Andrea's site to see testimonials.

Andrea's healing story is also featured in Darlene Montgomery's "Conscious Women: Conscious Lives Part 2" book. I am so very grateful for selfgrowth.com for introducing me to my new friend, Andrea. We share so many similarities and she is an inspiration to me so many ways; the ways she helps others, the story of her own healing, her wonderful drawings, her invention that helps others and her generous, funny and warm spirit. Please take the time to learn more about Andrea and stock up on her "Kool products" before the warm weather is back before we know it!