Podcast 51: Rabbi Brian Mayer-”How to Find Out What (The) God of Your Understanding Wants From You

Published at June 30, 2008 in Spiritual Growth, Resources, Podcasts and Great Books. 0 Comments

Rabbi Brian Mayer’s approach to spirituality is definitely unique. He has founded a website entitled, “Religion-Outside the Box“, where a community of spiritual seekers are gathering on the Internet to read and listen to Rabbi Brian’s philosophy.

Rabbi Brian says that ROTB empowers adults to find and be with (the) God (of their understanding.) ROTB espouses a common ground between the religious right and those who think of themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”

In my podcast with Brian we speak about his book entitled, “How to Find Out What (The) God (Of Your Understanding) Wants From You. Brian makes the statement that we live in four different worlds. The physical, the emotional, the intellectual and the spiritual. He states that the first three are easy to identify, but the fourth is where we get stuck and for good reason. Brian states that the spiritual-religious world…like truth, beauty and love…are hard to categorize.  Spirituality is where we define what and who God is to us, and frequently this is difficult for us to define and get our head around.

In my interview with Rabbi Brian we have an opportunity to explore Religion Outside the Box as well as why his Internet congregation is growing so rapidly. I know you will find this interview to be spiritually enlightening and Brian’s approach will open your mind to new possibilities about your spiritual-religious practice. I thoroughly enjoyed our interview, and recommend Brian’s book.

Rabbi Brian MayerIf you would like to learn more about his Internet spiritual talks, book and seminars please visit his website by clicking here.

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Podcast:50 Jeffrey Hansler-”Sell Little Red Hen! Sell”

Published at June 30, 2008 in Business Growth, Consulting Organizations, Podcasts and Great Books. 0 Comments

I first met Jeff through a very good friend who is a dynamite public speaker by the name of Lorna Riley. Jeff was a participant on our Compassionate Communications pilot program, and was excited about the opportunity.

During our dialogue with one another I was intrigued by his work as a speaker and published author, so I decided to do this podcast. Jeff owns a company called, “The Oxford Company” , which is a sales consulting organization located in Huntington Beach, Ca.

In this podcast we focus on Jeff’s book entitled, “Sell Little Red Hen! Sell.” Jeff masterfully adapts the children’s story of, “The Little Red Hen”, to teach the principles of successful selling. Topics in the book include:  multi-layered listening, understanding personality types, selling to values and influence and persuasion. It is a must-read for salespeople everywhere!

Jeff is a master at helping companies develop sales systems He does this by analyzing existing processes and improving on the efficiency and effectiveness of their sales delivery system.

Jeffrey HanslerI highly recommend to anyone in sales to listen to the podcast and read Jeff’s book. You can learn more about his consulting services and book by clicking here. Enjoy the podcast!!!!

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Podcast 49: Kamin Bell-”Journey to Abundance”

Published at June 16, 2008 in Podcasts, Personal Growth Courses and Great Books. 0 Comments

It is with tremendous pleasure that I get to introduce you to a very good friend and wonderfully beautiful soul. I had the pleasure of going to the University of Santa Monica where we each graduated with our masters’ degree in Spiritual Psychology. I not only got to attend classes with Kamin, but were were paired up in what was termed a project team. During the second year of our master’s program we supported one another in the successful attainment and completion of our major projects.

Guess what! Kamin’s project was writing this book entitled, ” Journey to Abundance: A Workbook and Resource Guide for Creating the Prosperous Life You Desire.” I had the pleasure to get to read and help Kamin as she developed the manuscript for this book. In my interview with Kamin you will learn more about what it takes to live a life of abundance. Kamin’s personal story is very authentic and quite revealing and will help the reader understand what is really necessary to attain inner success and fulfillment. What she reveals is that abundance shows up in so many ways other than just monetary abundance. She helps the reader realize that our abundance is all around us, that all we have to do is awaken and claim what we already have within ourselves.

Kamin reminds us that our negative self-talk affects our thinking and what we manifest into our lives as a result of our self talk. She is masterful at the use of very probing questions at the completion of each chapter as a means to engage our minds into thinking about new ways of manifesting abundance in our lives. I highly recommend this podcast and book, for I know Kamin’s message is heartfelt and will help you attain real prosperity in your life.

Kamin BellIf you would like to know more about Kamin’s workshops, seminars and book, please visit her website by clicking here. So set back relax and enjoy my dynamic interview with Kamin Bell.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 48: Becca Smith-”The Art of Surrender”

Published at June 12, 2008 in Cancer Related Books, Podcasts and Great Books. 0 Comments

I have known Becca Smith for many years now. My first introduction to her was through your journal company called Oberon Designs. I had purchased one of her beautifully crafted leather journals, and was so impressed with the quality that I contacted her just to acknowledge her for the wonderfully designed journals and also to purchase additional journals as gifts.

During our dialogue recently I found out that she is also an author of a book entitled The Art of Surrender, about her personal journey with breast cancer. Becca is also an artist and used art as an expressive outlet while she journeyed through her challenges with breast cancer. I love this quote from her book “As an artist I responded to my cancer diagnosis in the only way I knew how, to be as creative as my diminished energy would allow. As a daughter, sibling, friend and colleague, I did my best to relinquish the independence and self-absorption of my previous life and open as wide as possible to the help and love of others. My ultimate goal was not to be victimized. I did all I could to embrace, not the disease, but my life story that had suddenly, when I needed it most, taken a mythic twist. I welcomed a poetic and mystical quest fueled by the power of symbolism, metaphor and analogy. I wanted to embark on my own hero’s journey and make the most of what life might offer while it lasted.”

It does not really matter if you are a survivor of cancer, or have never been touched by the disease at all. Becca’s personal journey and the lessons learned about life in general are interesting. In my interview with her we explore the fears and blessings that having a potentially life threatening illness can impart upon one as they traverse the treacherous battle with the disease. What you will find is that surrender to the disease both through her art and emotiona is what helped heal Becca.

Becca SmithI encourage you to listen to this wonderfully revealing podcast, and if you would like to learn more about Becca’s book, visit her website by clicking here.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 47: Marci Shimoff-”Happy for No Reason”

Published at June 12, 2008 in Podcasts, Personal Growth Courses and Great Books. 0 Comments

At the beginning of this year I met Marci Shimoff at a conference in Los Angeles. I had the pleasure of being able to listen to a presentation she made on happiness. I was so impressed with her research and findings that I asked her if she would be interested in doing this podcast with me.

There is something you might want to know about Marci, and that is she is also the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul, and is a featured teacher in “The Secret”. She is a highly sought after speaker, and has done her research to find what creates happiness in our lives.
Marci conducted interviews with what she terms her “Happy 100″. What she found out is that happiness is not an abstract emotion–it’s a physiological state that can be measured and experienced more often in our everyday lives. She found that we all have a “happiness set point” that is approximately 50% genetic and 50% learned. Marci states that no matter what happens to us we tend to return to our set level of happiness. The good news is that we can reprogram our happiness set-point to a higher level of peace and well-being. Marci explains in her book “Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out” that instead of trying to change our outer world in order to be happier, all we really need to do is change our happiness set-point. And it’s easier than we think.

In her interviews with the “Happy 100″, Shimoff found that happy people live their lives differently than unhappy people; they have different habits. The three guiding principles or universal laws, that she calls, The Guiding Three” are: First, what expands you makes you happier,(The Law of Expansion). Second, the universe is out to support you, (The Law of Universal Support) And third, what you appreciate, appreciates, (The Law of Attraction).

Marci ShimoffIn my interview with Marci we cover the 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out. I know you will love listening to this vivacious, outgoing and wonderful soul, Marci Shimoff dialogue with me about what creates happiness. I highly recommend her book entitled “Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out” and for more information about her seminars and workshops please visit her website by clicking here.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 46:The Compassionate Communications Journey

Published at June 9, 2008 in Great Web Sites, Compassionate Communications, Resources, Communications and Announcements. 0 Comments

I truly apologize for not attending to my blog over the last several months. I love writing and doing the interviews with the authors, but my focus has been distracted by a very important project. Along with my son Sean and the team at Compassionate Communications we have been creating a website designed to build communities of support for individuals with life threatening illness. We have developed a website that allows individuals interested in communicating with patients with life threatening illness a place to read their profiles, and select a healing card that they hand write to the patient.

Our website combines the technology of the Internet with old fashion card writing. You can visit our website by clicking here and read the profiles of patients fighting life threatening illness, select a card and Hallmark will send you our patient outreach kit which will include five (5) Hallmark cards for each of the (5) patients you choose, along with pre-addressed and postage paid envelopes. It will also includes (5) postcard addressed back to you so if you choose to place them in the envelopes with your cards to the patients, they can communicate back to you…almost like a pen pal.

I previously placed an entry into my blog at the beginning of the Compassionate Communications journey telling a little behind the inspiration and reason for creating the website. I am pleased to announce that as of May 15th we launched the website, and I am so proud of the work that everyone on the team contributed to make this launch successful. We have seven (7) charities represented to date, and will be adding two(2) more charities this month. We have over 35 patients in the system, and the numbers continue to grow as more patients learn about our program.

I would like to encourage all of my faithful listeners of the Inside Personal Growth Blog and Podcast to visit the Compassionate Communications website by clicking here. Your participation in the program will change the lives of people who are in need of receiving your words of encouragement and inspiration. Just think with the click of a button you can be on your way to making a difference in the life of someone who is less fortunate than you. You also will be contributing 25% of the proceeds of your $25 order to the charity that the patients are affiliated with .

Greg-VoisenIf you know of anyone facing a life threatening illness and you believe they could use a spiritual treatment, one that combines the power of conventional western medicine along with power of intentional acts of healing through the well wishes of hundreds of card writers, then I encourage you to have them or one of their family members get in touch with us. We will help make the enrollment process easy and simple and will get them receiving the outpouring of well wishes they so deserve so we can help them on their path toward better health and happiness.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 45: Katherine Woodward Thomas-”Calling In “The One”

Published at June 9, 2008 in Relationship Counseling, Podcasts, Personal Growth Courses and Great Books. 0 Comments

It was a pleasure doing this podcast with Katherine Woodward Thomas. I found her book, and topic about attracting the love of your life to be very interesting. Katherine draws upon her personal experience to help others attract the perfect relationship into their lives. Her insights and lessons learned on her own personal journey are insightful. As Katherine so eloquently explains in this podcast about her own personal story, we need to start looking at what we are projecting to the opposite sex. What energetic are we carrying around, and what consequences are our subconscious thoughts playing in keeping us from the perfect relationship.

At the age of 41 Katherine started working on setting intentions to attracting the right person into her life. She stated that by the time she reached her 42nd birthday that she would be in the perfect relationship. Guess what!! Setting her intentions, meditating and praying each day helped her to shift her energetic and attract the perfect mate.

Katherine explains in our podcast that the energetic that one projects has either a positive or negative effect on who we attract into our lives. If you don’t believe or trust that you will find the right person, then guess what? You will never attract the right person into your life. It sounds simple, but the process of shifting your mindset and practicing setting your intentions takes practice. Katherine states that the energetic we hold in our body, is so important to attracting the perfect mate.

Katherine Woodward ThomasSo if you are single and looking for the perfect relationship, and have not been able to find the perfect mate I would encourage you to listen to this podcast and read Katherine’s book entitled Calling in “The One”: 7 Weeks to Attract the Love of Your Life. You can also learn more about Katherine and her work by visiting her website by clicking here, to learn more about her workshops and seminars.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 44: Cathy and Gary Hawk-”Creating the Rest of Your Life”

Published at March 16, 2008 in Career Counseling, Consulting Organizations, Podcasts, Personal Growth Courses and Great Books. 0 Comments

I first met Gary Hawk many years ago in San Diego when he was involved in the development of a program called the, “Inner Circle.” Gary is a wonderfully gifted facilitator helping CEO’s and top executives transform their organizations into more effective and efficient operations. Gary had lots of prior experience having held top executive positions of leadership in major national corporations.

A few years back Gary’s life took an interesting shift when he met his new wife Cathy. Cathy is the founder of, “Clarity International“, an organization who’s focus is the development of personal and professional vision. Cathy is a pioneer in the field of energy coaching, and has the first trademarked interview system based on chakras. She refers to the process as “Lights on Learning Method”. When the two of them teamed up with their unique talents, they brought to the world a unique partnership focusing on helping people transform their lives for success.

Our podcast focuses on their new book entitled, “Creating the Rest of Your Life, An Atlas for Manifesting Success & Excellence in Life & Work“, which is a combination book and guide to helping individuals manifest success and excellence in their life and work. They use a very interesting graphic in the book called a “journey map”. This journey map helps guide you on a path to living you life with your “lights on” as Gary and Cathy refer to it. There are 27 different points of reflection and insight along the way, all focused on helping you gain clarity about yourself and where you want to go.

I love a quote they have used in the book in the first chapter from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross “People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within”. Gary and Cathy will truly help you see the light within.

Please enjoy this wonderful interview with Gary and Cathy as we explore their new book, and how setting out on a path of clarity, focus, purpose and intention will help you become your authentic self.

Cathy HawkIf you would like more information about Gary and Cathy’s workshops, books, CD please visit their web site by clicking here Clarity International. Gary HawkEnjoy this interview…PS, I apologize for the audio quality for my internal mic as it was not set correctly, but Gary and Cathy’s audio quality is great.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 43: Joan Borysenko and Gordon Dveirin on “Your Soul’s Compass”

Published at March 16, 2008 in Great CDs, Resources, Meditation, Wellness/Fitness, Wonderfully Inspiring DVDs, Retreats, Personal Growth Courses, Podcasts and Great Books. 0 Comments

I first became acquainted with Joan’s work as a result of reading Dr. Herbert Benson’s book the, “Relaxation Response”. I ultimately found out from Joan that she and Dr. Benson co-founded the Mind Body Institute which is part of the Harvard Medical School. Joan is the author of more that 12 best selling books and lectures and facilitates workshops worldwide.

On a recent trip to Boulder, CO, I had the pleasure of meeting Joan along with a couple of her colleagues. We had the opportunity to briefly discuss her new book entitled, “Your Soul’s Compass: What Is Spiritual Guidance?“, co authored with her husband Gordon Dveirin. I must admit that this is one of the best podcasts I have completed, for I was intrigued by the research they both had completed with the Sages to have written this book. They consulted over 27 Sages from diverse wisdom tradition to explore the nature of spirituality guidance. What they found out is that several themes emerged from their research. First, that there’s no map no definitive “10 steps” for the journey of becoming fully human–what Joan and Gordon call Homo sapiens caritas ( a person of wisdom and compassion). But what they did find out is that there are guiding principles that can help us recognize whether or not we’re on the right track. The capacities for stillness, curiosity, comfort and uncertainty cultivate receptivity, rather than reinforcing secular or religious fundamentalism that promote rigid, in-the-box thinking.

I welcome you to join with me in listening to this wonderfully enlightening podcast with Dr. Joan Borysenko and Gordon Dveirin on, “Your Soul’s Compass”. During this podcast I explore with Joan and Gordon insightful questions about what the Sages taught them and how we can apply this wisdom and understanding to our everyday life. So if you are seeking greater understanding about your path of mastery, then this podcast is a must listen.

Dr. Joan BorysenkoI also encourage you to to visit Joan’s web site by clicking here. There you can learn about her books, CD’s, workshops appearances and subscribe to her newsletter. So sit back relax and enjoy our interview on “Your Soul’s Journey”

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 42: Bringing Your Soul to Work with Alan Briskin

Published at February 18, 2008 in Leadership Courses, Resources, Consulting Organizations, Social Change Agents, Podcasts and Great Books. 0 Comments

I personally had the pleasure of meeting Alan Briskin at a “Thought Leaders Gathering” in San Fransisco. A good friend of mine Craig Neal, has been bringing together some of the great leaders to explore new innovative ways of designing organizations and assisting in organizational transformation. It was at the “Thought Leaders Gathering” that I was introduced to Alan, and was very impressed with is knowledge and personal spiritual quest.

Over the years Alan and I have stayed in touch, and I called him a few months back to see if he would like to do a podcast about his book entitled, “Bringing Your Soul to Work: An Everyday Practice.” He agreed and the attached podcast is an exploration into how amidst the frenetic pace and constant urgencies at work, one is often left feeling barren inside.

There is often the question of “how” that follows any call for a new vision, especially one that includes an orientation that joins the inner life of the individual with the outer need to be effective in the world. Along with co-author, Cheryl Peppers, Alan Briskin set out to provide provocative practices, useful questions, and strengthening exercises to those seeking answers to the “how” question. This book can be very useful to individuals looking to act on what matters and to become more mindful of constructive and destructive patterns — in ourselves as well as in groups and organizations.

Alan BriskinI encourage you to relax and listen to in my estimation, one of the predominant thought leaders in the area of spirituality in the workplace. If you would like to know more about Alan and his workshops and books, please visit his web site by clicking here.


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