by Matthew Wadleigh andLisa Erickson at Mommy Mystic
Dan Millman is the author of Way Of The Peaceful Warrior, which was written to inspire, uplift, and remind readers of life’s bigger picture and higher purpose. Dan has dedicated his life to bringing greater clarity and perspective to people of all walks of life by teaching how to live a more meaningful and purposeful life in the real world. Way of the Peaceful Warrior is a fictionalized autobiography that speaks to the peaceful warrior in all of us. The tale reminds the reader of the essential perfection of your life unfolding, and to trust this process. These topics resonate in a quote from Dan: “The time is now, the place is here. Stay in the present. You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you plan or hope for.” Dan Millman is a former world-champion gymnast, martial arts expert, and college professor. He has written an additional 12 non-fiction books, all expansions of the topics presented in his first tale.
“There are no ordinary moments.” The Way of the Peaceful Warrior was one of the first spiritual books I read, while in college, and it had a profound effect on me. I began to question the assumed reality I had been living in, and look for deeper meaning and patterns. In a very real sense, this book helped initiate my life-long spiritual search - something it has done for countless others over the years.
Dr. Michael Beckwith is the founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center and an internationally recognized leader in spiritual transformation and the creation of trans-denominational spiritual communities. Dr. Beckwith holds a doctorate in Religious Science and has received numerous awards for his humanitarian work. He created a process called ‘life-visioning’, that helps spiritual practitioners free their awareness from limiting social conditioning and open their awareness to the love, peace and abundance of God. He supports meditation, prayer and service to community as the foundations for personal and spiritual growth. Dr. Beckwith contributed to both the DVD and book versions of the bestselling The Secret, and has appeared on Oprah and Larry King to discuss it and his other work. The Agape Center is one of the largest multi-cultural religious institutions in the world, with over 9,000 members.
“To the degree that you can break free of consensus thinking (normal thinking), to that degree, the fullness of God rushes in and becomes the activity of your awareness and your affirmation of that truth becomes your reality.” As this quote shows, Dr. Beckwith’s teachings go far beyond the law of attraction as it is presented in The Secret. He urges us to full spiritual liberation, by breaking through the traps of our conditioned thinking and experiencing. He urges us to live our lives as expressions of divine love, in every thought, word, and deed - not through judgment and force, but by shifting the loci of our awareness to another level.
Joan Borysenko is an international speaker and author who possesses a unique combination of medical knowledge and spiritual power. She has a doctorate in medical science from Harvard Medical School, and completed three post-doctoral fellowships - in cancer cell biology, behavioral medicine, and psychoneuroimmunology. She also co-founded a Mind/Body clinic with Dr. Herbert Benson, which was (and remains) instrumental in researching and publicizing the health benefits of meditation. In addition to her impressive medical knowledge, Joan has also walked the walk in the spiritual sense too, studying the history and theology of all the world’s religions, and engaging in a powerful personal spiritual search that she shares in writing and lectures. She has written several books focused on the health and spiritual needs of women, integrating the physical and non-physical aspects of health and personal growth.
- Women’s life cycles, when properly understood, provide a natural flow to our spiritual growth. The biological cycles that define a women’s life - menstruation, child-bearing, menopause, and more - each have psychological and spiritual components as well. By understanding where we are in each cycle, we can maximize our health and development.
Marianne Williamson is the author of A Return to Love, as well as many other bestselling books, and currently has her own segment on the Oprah and Friends radio show. Raised Jewish, she turned to the Christian A Course In Miracles for spiritual guidance after several years of rebellious and, at times, self-destructive, behavior as a young adult. In A Return To Love, she masterfully interprets the teachings of A Course in Miracles in a way relevant to anyone of any religion. She beautifully communicates the lessons of love as they unfold in our daily lives, and the ways our ego seeks to block love out of fear and disillusionment. In recent years, she has become involved in many social and political causes and is the co-founder of The Peace Alliance, an organization dedicated to establishing a U.S. Department of Peace.
What Lisa Erickson Has Learned From Marianne Williamson
- “It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” Taken from A Return to Love, this quote perfectly captures the truth that our ego thrives on fear, and often seeks to block us from our own happiness and freedom, even when we think happiness and freedom are what we want. Finding both requires working through our ego’s fears, and doubting their validity, so that we can let go into a greater part of ourselves.
Gangaji is an American spiritual teacher and author dedicated to helping us find and dwell in the simple presence at the heart of our being. After years of spiritual adventures with many different teachers and paths, she finally encountered one that helped her to ’stop’ (as she puts it), and recognize the love at the very root of her own awareness. Her message starts with a simple question, ‘who am I?’, that when asked from the right place within ourselves can show us a truth that transcends any one religion or spiritual path. She holds meetings called ’satsangs’ designed to help others find their way to this truth, through both group meditations and individual interactions with her. Watching the transformations that often take place on stage during her one-on-one encounters is truly awe-inspiring, and a powerful testament to her natural state of grace.
- The spiritual search is not a search: Religion and spiritual practices often lead us outside ourselves, continuing the delusion that happiness is found through ‘belief’ in a doctrine, or by practicing certain techniques. But the truth that all these approaches are meant to guide us to is already present within us. We realize this truth, we don’t acquire it.
