I realize that this is where I’m supposed to share my life story in a nutshell—or at least offer the highlights, my biggest epiphanies, and my qualifications for writing about wisdom. Instead, I’ll put it simply: I hurt.

I hurt a lot, for a long time, and I caused it.

When I was younger, I carried around numerous victim stories to justify my negativity and misery. After years of suffering, I realized I truly was the cause—no one and nothing else made my life hard.

I was the one thinking undermining thoughts. I was the one drowning in overpowering emotions. I was the one dwelling on the past. I was the one who moved around all the time, hoping to escape myself. Eventually I realized that I was the only one who could change how I experienced the world.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy—that I’d have to let go of certain things and make certain choices over and over again. And so I do, in as many as moments as I can, knowing I will never be perfect—but finally accepting that’s okay.

I started tinybuddha.com as a community blog in the fall of 2009, after tweeting quotes through @tinybuddhafor more than a year. It’s a place where people of all ages share how they apply wisdom to everyday life—a space where people write authentically and sometimes vulnerably about the challenges we all face.

Though people often ask me about the numbers—the Twitter followers, the page views, and the unique visits—that’s not why I run Tiny Buddha. I do it because engaging in this way connects us on a meaningful level and allows us to make a positive difference in each other’s lives.

I run Tiny Buddha because I’m done hurting alone. The world’s a far brighter place when we choose instead to heal and thrive together.

If you are not familiar with author and blogger Lori Deschene, you should be.  Her new book entitled “Tiny Buddha, Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions” is a must read for anyone wanting to explore some of the deepest questions you might ever be asked.   Lori not only intertwined her own personal story, but she used Twitter to get answer from her followers about what she calls Life’s Hard Questions.

Nearly one thousand people responded when Lori began asking life’s hard questions on Twitter, planning to create a collaborative book.   As Lori states the insights from the people who responded formed the backbone of “Tiny Buddha“.   This book is not a guide of absolute answers.  It’s crowdsourced wisdom, often supported by scientific, psychological and sociological research, that may help you experience meaning, happiness and peace right now, regardless of your circumstances.

In my interview with Lori we explore not only her very interesting personal story, but the insights and wisdom of the thousands of followers at her website and blog. If you are asking yourself, what are these “hard questions” here are just a few to peak your interest: 1) Why Is There Suffering In the World? 2) What’s the Meaning of Life? 3) Can People Change and How? 4) Does Everything Happen for a Reason? 5) What Does It Take to Be Happy?

“Tiny Buddha” is a book designed to get you to think as well as take action on your thoughts.  Lori has created a section at the end of each chapter where she provides options for the reader to put what they learn into practice.  It is one thing to read and reflect on  these “hard questions’ it is another thing to start to move in a direction to change old patterns and beliefs that do not serve us anymore.  I personally think that the layout of the book evokes deep thought, contemplation and the freedom to explore what will work best for you.

Lori approaches this truly from the “Buddhist” perspective which is very refreshing.  No judgement–she is just a guide helping you find your own way while you ponder some of “life’s hardest questions”  If you want to learn more about Lori’s blog, or sign up for her amazing daily inspirational messages please click here to read more.  You can also watch a great YouTube video about Lori’s thought on how to build real community on the Internet.

I hope you enjoy a wonderful interview with a fascinating author on a mission to unite and help people with every day pain and suffering.   You can also follow Lori on Twitter by clicking here

Currently Mr. Gladstone personally represents individual authors such as spiritual teachers Eckhart Tolle and Neale Donald Walsch, radio talk show host Thom Hartmann, international peace advocate Dr. Ervin Laszlo, philanthropist Shari Arison, novelist Victor Villasenor, environmental activist Hunter Lovins, Chicken Soup for the Soul book series creator Mark Victor Hansen and many other outstanding authors and professionals dedicated to creating books which inspire and improve the world. Mr. Gladstone is also the author of THE TWELVE, a novel of ancient wisdom as well producer of the film Tapping the Source and co-author of the book Tapping The Source.

I not only had the pleasure of recently interviewing Dr. Jonathan Ellerby about this exceptional enhanced book for Apple iPad, but Wiseologie Media Group that I am a partner in had the honor of helping create and publish “God Works, Why God Is Nothing You’d Expect and Everything You Need.”

In my interview with Jonathan we speak about this unique book and what Jonathan refers to as the God Stigma.  Just what is the God Stigma–simply stated it is our willingness to admit that we believe in a higher power, and we trust in that higher power but when it comes to expressing our feelings with others about our beliefs in “God” there is a real stigma in society.

This new book not only addresses this conundrum that we are all faced with, but it explores our inner beliefs, values and how we might shift these patterns and beliefs in a way to support our spirituality.

Jonathan expresses that one of the underlying factors associated with the “God Stigma” is our fear of expression and that it is important that we disgard that fear to take on a God-consciousness or God-understanding.  God is not an idea to be debated, but a feeling, and experience to be cultivated.  To debate about the nature of God for too long implies a lack of true awareness, because God, like love, is something so real to those who have felt it, and yet impossible to explain or analyze to those who have not yet fully been struck.

So, if we are responsible about it, then the key to a helpful conversation in which God is referenced, is to first know that God is best felt, not explained, and then, out of respect, to ask, “What is God to you?’

If you are truly interested in exploring “God” from a spiritual context and don’t want to get ensconced in the idea of  separation, that frequently takes place when we open up to others about our beliefs in “God” then I recommend that you download a copy of  ”God Works” for your Apple iPad.

In this new enhanced book author Jonathan Ellerby explores the true nature of “God”.  The real heart of all energy, matter and awareness, and to talk to God as a divine friend who is in charge of all things and also happens to be infinitely wise and powerful.

For more information about “God Works” please click here to be directed to the Apple Store to purchase your copy.  Our you can watch a couple of video’s with Jonathan Ellerby that are also part of the book by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview, and that you will experience a very immersive and engaging enhanced book especially created for  the  Apple IPad.   Jonathan speaks from his heart about how “God Works” and you can watch a video introduction by clicking here.

He first book Mother Nurture: A Mother’s Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships shows how to support the long-term health, well-being, and intimate partnership of mothers. Many related articles and other resources can be found at www.NurtureMom.com. He co-founded the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, www.WiseBrain.org.

Dr. Hanson’s latest book is Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom with Rick Mendius, M.D. (New Harbinger, Nov 2009).

Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and other great teachers were born with brains built essentially like anyone else’s. Then they used their minds to change their brains in ways that changed history.

Well-referenced and grounded in science, the book is full of practical tools and skills readers can use in daily life to tap the unused potential of the brain—and rewire it over time for greater peace and well-being.

With a Foreword by Daniel Siegel, M.D. and a Preface by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain joins the forces of modern science with ancient teachings to show readers how to have greater emotional balance in turbulent times, as well as healthier relationships, more effective actions, and a deeper religious or spiritual practice. The book shows readers many effective ways to light up the brain circuits that relieve worry and stress, and promote positive relationships and inner peace.

If you can change your brain, you can change your life.

Rick is a weekly contributor to psychology-today.com. He leads meditation groups and teaches at Spirit Rock, Sati Center, and other organizations. He and his wife have two children and live in Marin County, CA.

Author Rick Hanson is one of my favorite authors, and he has created a great new little book entitled “Just One Thing, Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time”.  Rick is right on when he speaks about practicing. In my estimation it is the operative word,  one must start the practice, because practice is the only thing that will continue our ability to improve and reach heightened states of consciousness.

In my interview with Rick we discuss the daily practices that Rick has articulated in his book.  These practices are mainly inside your mind and are designed to support and increase your sense of security and worth, resilience, effectiveness, well-being, insight, and inner peace.  Some of the practices include taking in the good, protecting your brain, feeling safer, relaxing anxiety about imperfection, not knowing, enjoying your hands, taking refuge, and filling the hole in your heart.

Rick states that it’s a two-way street: as your brain changes, your mind changes; and as your mind changes, your brain changes.  This means–remarkably–that what you pay attention to, what you think and feel and want and how you work with your reactions to things all sculpt your brain in multiple ways.  The details are complex, bu the key point is simple: how you use your mind changes your brain–for better or worse.  There’s a traditional saying that the mind takes the shape it rests upon; the modern update is that the brain takes the shape the mind rests upon.

For instance, you regularly rest your mind upon worries, self-criticism, and anger, then your brain will gradually tak the shape–will develop neural structures and dynamics–of anxiety, low sense of worth, and prickly reactivity to others.  On the other hand, if you regularly rest your mind upon, for example, noticing your’re all right right now, seeing the good in yourself, and letting go–three of the practices in this book–then your brain will gradually take the shape of calm strength, self-confidence and inner peace.

It is the beginning of a New Year, and we can all use great ideas to help us establish better patterns and habits that help and serve us.  I hope that you will read Rick’s new book “Just One Thing” because he provides the reader with 52 new practices to help you become more mindful, centered and develop peace and bliss in your life.  What a wonderful thing!!!

If you would like more information on Rick Hanson, please click here to be directed to his website or click here to go to his Facebook page.  He also has some great videos at Youtube.

Patricia is also one of the pioneers of the contemporary women’s spirituality movement and the author of classic texts in that field. She is vice president of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology and a lecturer for the Women’s Thealogical Institute. She also advises students in women’s spirituality and mythology through The Union Institute and University. Her research in mythology focuses especially on the myths of Ireland; she holds Irish citizenship and returns to her ancestral homeland annually.

Patricia was raised in Alaska and lived there for many years. She earned her BA and MA in English from the University of Minnesota, her MFA in creative writing from the University of Alaska, and her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies (science and literature) from the Union Institute in Cincinnati. In addition to her many published books, Patricia has published essays and articles in national and regional publications including The New York Timesand the Christian Science Monitor . Her work has been featured in Best American Spiritual Writing and many other anthologies. She has been honored with a Pushcart Prize, the Paul Gruchow Nature Writing award, and the Friends of Literature award for poetry.

With her husband, Dr. Michael McDermott, Patricia is also an organic farmer and winemaker with an acre each of garden, orchard and vineyard in southwestern Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. They are restoring seven acres of native prairie there and also enjoy harvesting native grapes, berries and herbs from the steep hillsides.

If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to mediation then you might want to check out “Meditation the Complete Guide” by author Patricia Monaghan.  In my recent interview with Patricia we discuss the techniques that she and her co-author Eleanor Viereck have provided for the readers both from East and West to calm the mind, heal the body and enrich the spirit.

Meditation the Complete Guide covers indigenous traditions, yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other modern forms and mixed practices.  This guide book truly is for the person who wants to explore the options and learn more about the practices.  As the authors articulate in the book, meditation means many things to many people.  To some, it means simple relaxation.  To others, it means a deep blissful surrender to the diving.  It can be the rigorous following of a prescribed path or the exploring of a method unique to the individual meditator.

Knowing that no one meditation technique is right for everyone, and that one’s goal for meditation can change over time the authors wrote this guidebook to help readers understand their options. Meditation can be approached in three major ways: medical, martial, and spiritual and this guidebook deals with each of them in turn.

The medial approach to meditation includes all healing, therapy, wellness, and health maintenance goals. The martial approach to meditation is geared to the enhancement of performance.  This includes by is not limited to sports. Sports psychologists us imagery and relaxation techniques in training programs for all kinds of athletes.

The third approach to meditation is spiritual.  Spirituality is aliveness, according to Joseph Campbell, the foremost interpreter of myth of our time.  Spirituality may include religion but is not limited to the world’s religious traditions.  The goal of mediation, like that of may spiritual traditions, is to create a balance among the mind, the heart, and the body–or between the body and the soul.

Whatever your reasons for meditation, “Meditation the Complete Guide” with author Patricia Monaghan is an excellent reference book.  If you want to learn more about the practices of meditation please click here to be directed to Patricia’s website.  Enjoy this great interview with author Patricia Monaghan.

Behind the empire Time Magazine called the “publishing phenomenon of the decade” is America’s leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, managers, sales professionals, corporate employees, and educators. Over the last 30 years, his compelling message, empowering energy and personable coaching style has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals achieve their dreams.

Affectionately known as “America’s #1 Success Coach,”Jack has studied and reported on what makes successful people different. He knows what motivates them, what drives them, and what inspires them. He brings this critical insight to countless audiences internationally—sharing his success strategies in the media, with companies, universities and professional associations.

Jack is a Harvard graduate with a Master’s Degree in psychological education and one of the earliest champions of peak-performance, developing specific methodologies and results-oriented activities to help people take on greater challenges and produce breakthrough results.

His proven formula for success reached global acclaim with his most recent National Bestseller, The Success Principles™: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. This new standard in self-improvement contains 64 powerful principles for success utilized by top achievers from all walks of life and all areas of commerce. The Success Principles —and the entire empire of “Principles” books, products, coaching programs and branded retail merchandise —is Jack’s most recent offering to the more than 100 million readers he currently reaches worldwide.

His other best-selling books — The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, Dare to Win, You’ve Got to Read This Book!, and The Key to Living the Law of Attraction , — have generated millions of bookstore and Internet sales, and have launched complementary products such as audio programs, video programs, corporate training programs and syndicated columns to enthusiastic individuals and corporate buyers. His audio program,Maximum Confidence, has sold more than 350,000 copies through Nightingale-Conant alone.

He is the Founder and Chairman of The Canfield Training Group in Santa Barbara, California, which trains entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and motivated individuals how to accelerate the achievement of their personal and professional goals. Jack is also the founder of The Foundation for Self-Esteem in Westlake Village, California, which provides self-esteem resources and trainings to social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals. Jack wrote and produced the Goals Program, a video training program for California welfare recipients. To date, the program has been responsible for helping 450,000 people get off welfare.

The ‘gangs” intention is to have fun, but to also make a significant contribution to the well-being of humanity.  The mystery and adventure inherent in this book reveals that there is now an opportunity for choosing the actual course of our evolution.  Along the way we are ment to experience the joy that comes from recognizing who we really are.

As the authors state ” the world is facing multiple crises.  We are calling upon you our readers, to become Agents for Conscious Evolution.  What that means in terms of expression will be different for each and every one of you.  What you need to know is that each of you is essential to ensure that life on this planet evolves in a positive direction.  We invite you to focus on what is going well in your immediate world and to overcome the fear and inertia that grips all of us from time to time.

If you want to learn more about how to become part of the “Golden Motorcycle Gang” movement and to explore the concept of Conscious Evolution I encourage you to click here to be directed to the Golden Motorcycle Gang website.  I have also listed several other websites that will enlighten you about becoming part of this movement.–Barbara Marx Hubbard—Shift Movement—Birth 2012.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Jack Canfield the author of the “Golden Motorcycle Gang“.  You can click here to be directed to an overview video at YouTube.