The Gift of Adversity: The Unexpected Benefits of Life’s Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections by Norman E. Rosenthal

The noted research psychiatrist explores how life’s disappointments and difficulties provide us with the lessons we need to become better, bigger, and more resilient human beings.

Adversity is an irreducible fact of life. Although we can and should learn from all experiences, both positive and negative, bestselling author Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, believes that adversity is by far the best teacher most of us will ever encounter.

Whether the adversity one experiences is the result of poor decision-making, a desire to test one’s mettle, or plain bad luck, Rosenthal believes life’s most important lessons—from the value of family to the importance of occasionally cutting corners—can be best learned from it.

Running counter to society’s current prevailing message that “excellence” must always be aspired to, and failure or mistakes of any sort are to be avoided at all costs, Rosenthal shows that engaging with our own failures and defeats is one of the only ways we are able to live authentic and meaningful lives, and that each different type of adversity carries its own challenges and has the potential to yield its own form of wisdom.

Using stories from his own life—including his childhood in apartheid-era South Africa, his years after suffering a violent attack from a stranger, and his career as a psychiatrist—as well as case studies and discussions with well-known figures like Viktor Frankl and David Lynch, Rosenthal shows that true innovation, emotional resilience, wisdom, and dignity can only come from confronting and understanding the adversity we have experienced. Even when life is hardest, there are meanings to be found, riches to be harvested, and gifts that can last a lifetime.

Rosenthal illustrates his message through a series of compact, memorable chapters, each one drawn from episodes in the lives of his patients, colleagues, or himself, and concluded with a take-away maxim on the lesson learned.

was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attended the University of the Witwatersrand, where he obtained his medical degree with high honors. He moved to the United States and was resident and chief resident at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the New York Psychiatric Institute. He conducted research at the National Institute of Mental Health for over 20 years. It was there that he led the team that described Seasonal Affective Disorder and pioneered the use of light therapy to treat it.

Dr. Rosenthal has maintained a private practice in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area for over thirty years, where he treats a wide variety of psychiatric problems using many forms
of therapy. Dr. Rosenthal was awarded the prestigious Anna Monika Foundation Research prize for his contribution to research in treating depression. He has been listed as one of the Best Doctors in America and as one of this country’s top psychiatrists.

He is the author or co-author of over 200 professional articles and five popular books, including Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation, Winter Blues, The Emotional Revolution, St. John’s Wort and How to Beat Jet Lag.

Dr. Rosenthal currently serves as medical director and CEO of Capital Clinical Research Associates in Rockville, Maryland, where he directs clinical trials in both pharmaceuticals and complementary and alternative medicine.

Dr. Rosenthal and his work have been widely covered in the popular media and he has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, National Public Radio and many other forums.

Norman Rosenthal: Seven Pearls of Wisdom

Pearl of Wisdom No. 1 : Know Thyself.

2 : Be Yourself

3 : Be Open To All Possibilities

4 : Don’t Hold Grudges

5 : Do Well by Doing Good

6 : Cultivate Good Habits

7 : Pursue Your Dreams

Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself by Lissa Rankin

We’ve been led to believe that when we get sick, it’s our genetics. Or it’s just bad luck—and doctors alone hold the keys to optimal health. For years, Lissa Rankin, M.D., believed the same. But when her own health started to suffer, and she turned to Western medical treatments, she found that they not only failed to help; they made her worse. So she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Through her research, Dr. Rankin discovered that the health care she had been taught to practice was missing something crucial: a recognition of the body’s innate ability to self-repair and an appreciation for how we can control these self-healing mechanisms with the power of the mind. In an attempt to better understand this phenomenon, she explored peer-reviewed medical literature and found evidence that the medical establishment had been proving that the body can heal itself for over 50 years.

Using extraordinary cases of spontaneous healing, Dr. Rankin shows how thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can alter the body’s physiology. She lays out the scientific data proving that loneliness, pessimism, depression, fear, and anxiety damage the body, while intimate relationships, gratitude, meditation, sex, and authentic self-expression flip on the body’s self-healing processes.

In the final section of the book, you’ll be introduced to a radical new wellness model based on Dr. Rankin’s scientific findings. Her unique six-step program will help you uncover where things might be out of whack in your life—spiritually, creatively, environmentally, nutritionally, and in your professional and personal relationships—so that you can create a customized treatment plan aimed at bolstering these health-promoting pieces of your life. You’ll learn how to listen to your body’s “whispers” before they turn to life-threatening “screams” that can be prevented with proper self-care, and you’ll learn how to trust your inner guidance when making decisions about your health and your life.

By the time you finish Mind Over Medicine, you’ll have made your own Diagnosis, written your own Prescription, and created a clear action plan designed to help you make your body ripe for miracles.

Lissa Rankin, M.D., is a mind-body medicine physician, author, speaker, artist, and blogger at LissaRankin.com. Passionate about what makes people healthy and what predisposes them to illness, she studies how doctors might better care for patients and how patients might better care for themselves. She is on a mission to heal health care, help patients play a more active role in healing themselves, and encourage the health-care industry to embrace and facilitate, rather than resist, such miracles. She trains physicians and other healing professionals, and she empowers others at I Can Do It events, TEDx conferences, health conferences, hospitals, and on her popular blog. When not spreading the word, she paints, practices yoga, and hikes in Marin County, CA with her husband and daughter.
Website: lissarankin.com

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Is there scientific proof we can heal ourselves? Lissa Rankin, MD at TEDxAmericanRiviera 2012

About Lissa Rankin, MD:
New age gurus suggest that we can heal ourselves by simply changing our minds, but is this concept grounded in cold, hard science? Lissa Rankin, MD explores the scientific literature, reviewing case studies of spontaneous remission, as well as placebo and nocebo effect data, to prove that our thoughts powerfully affect our physiology when we believe we can get well.



TEDxFiDiWomen – Lissa Rankin – The Shocking Truth About Your Health

Lissa Rankin, MD is an OB/GYN physician, author, keynote speaker, consultant to health care visionaries, professional artist, and founder of the women’s health and wellness community OwningPink.com. Discouraged by the broken, patriarchal health care system, she left her medical practice in 2007 only to realize that you can quit your job, but you can’t quit your calling. This epiphany launched her on a journey of discovery that led her to become a leader in the field of mind/body medicine, which she blogs about at OwningPink.com and is writing about in her third book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself (Hay House, 2013).

She teaches both patients and health care professionals how to make the body ripe for miracles by healing the mind and being healthy in all aspects of life, not just by promoting healthy behaviors like good nutrition, exercise, and adequate sleep, but by encouraging health and authenticity in relationships, work, creative expression, spirituality, sexuality, finances, and living environment. She is leading a revolution to feminize how health care is received and delivered by encouraging collaboration, fostering self-healing, reconnecting health care and spirituality, empowering patients to tap into the mind’s power to heal the body, and encouraging women not to settle for being merely well, but to strive for living vital, joyful, authentic lives full of “mojo.”

When not spreading the word, she chills out, paints, does yoga, and hikes in Marin County, CA with her husband and daughter.

Lissa Rankin: Mind Over Medicine

founder, Jonathan Fields, interviews Lissa Rankin, author of Mind Over Medicine.

The Thought That Changed My Life Forever: One Inspiration Can Unleash Your True Potential by Christian Guenette, Gillian L Roberts

Have you ever had a thought so monumental, it literally changed your life?
We know 52 people who have. In the pages of ‘The Thought That Changed My Life Forever ‘, get ready to meet these ordinary people whose lives became extraordinary when they jumped the tracks and took a powerful new direction because of one incredible thought. Where did it come from, what did they do? As you savor every page, you will discover these moments of inspiration, revelation and action so powerful that the “road less-travelled” magically revealed itself where it otherwise might have remained invisible.

We invite you into the illuminating lives of these gifted helpers and healers from all over the world who work in many different traditions and modalities for serving the well-being of others. They all courageously and beautifully share a moment where a thought shone so brightly on a future possibility that it not only changed their minds, but served as the key to changing their lives and the lives of the people they serve.

If we each have 60,000 thoughts a day, which one will change your life today—perhaps even forever? Where will the Thought Movement take you?

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CONTINUUM ~ OVERVIEW

 

 

Released 7th December 2012

At the end of 2011, we filmed a short documentary called OVERVIEW about astronauts’ experiences in space, due for release in the last quarter of 2012. The film is both a stand-alone short film and a prelude to CONTINUUM, introducing many of the key ideas expanded upon in the feature documentary.
SYNOPSIS

Astronauts who have seen the Earth from space have often described the ‘overview effect’ as an experience that has transformed their perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon it, and enabled them to perceive it as our shared home, without boundaries between nations or species.

OVERVIEW is a short film that will explore this perspective through interviews with astronauts who have experienced the overview effect. The film also features insights from commentators and thinkers on the wider implications and importance of this understanding for humanity as a whole, and especially its relevance to how we meet the tremendous challenges facing our planet at this time.
FEATURING

• EDGAR MITCHELL – Apollo 14 astronaut and founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences
• RON GARAN – ISS astronaut and founder of humanitarian organisation Fragile Oasis
• NICOLE STOTT – Shuttle and ISS astronaut and member of Fragile Oasis
• JEFF HOFFMAN – Shuttle astronaut and senior lecturer at MIT
• SHANE KIMBROUGH – Shuttle/ISS astronaut and Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army
• FRANK WHITE – space theorist and author of the book ‘The Overview Effect’
• DAVID LOY- philosopher and author
• DAVID BEAVER – philosopher and co-founder of The Overview Institute

Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment by Katrina Kenison

“No longer indispensable, no longer assured of our old carefully crafted identities, no longer beautiful in the way we were at twenty or thirty or forty, we are hungry and searching nonetheless.”

From the author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day, this intimate memoir of loss, self-discovery, and growth will resonate deeply with any woman who has ever mourned the passage of time, questioned her own purpose, or wondered, “Do I have what it takes to create something new in my life?”

With the candor and warmth that have endeared her to readers, Kenison reflects on the inevitable changes wrought by time: the death of a dear friend, children leaving home, recognition of her own physical vulnerability, and surprising shifts in her marriage. She finds solace in the notion that midlife is also a time of unprecedented opportunity for growth as old roles and responsibilities fall away, and unanticipated possibilities appear on the horizon.

More a spiritual journey than a physical one, Kenison’s beautifully crafted exploration begins and ends with a home, a life, a marriage. But this metamorphosis proves as demanding as any trek or pilgrimage to distant lands-it will guide and inspire every woman who finds herself asking “What now?”

Katrina Kenison is the author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day and Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry. She has appeared on Oprah, as well as other shows. Her writing has appeared in O, Real Simple, Family Circle, Redbook, Better Homes and Gardens, Health,and other publications. From 1990 until 2006, Kenison was the series editor of The Best American Short Stories, published annually by Houghton Mifflin. She co-edited, with John Updike, The Best American Short Stories of the Century (Houghton Mifflin, 2000). She wrote, with Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga (Random House, 2002).

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An Excerpt from “Magical Journey” by Katrina Kenison

MAGICAL JOURNEY, a memoir by Katrina Kenison about her search for purpose, meaning, and joy in the midst of loss and change, has been called “warm and wise, soul-searching” (Kirkus Reviews). More an account of a spiritual journey than a physical one, MAGICAL JOURNEY explores the belief that even as old identities are outgrown, new ones begin to beckon, inspiring readers to summon their courage to heed the call.

This short film features an excerpt from the book, in which the author receives a powerful and life-affirming letter, sent to her by her own true self. Available wherever books are sold, and to order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound. Visit Katrina at http://katrinakenison.com

A Year on Your Path To Growth: Daily Inspirations to Reconnect With Your Soul ~ Keri Nola

IMAGINE A DAY WHERE YOU:

• Remember your infinite worth, no matter what

• Reconnect with your Divine Authentic Self and be inspired to move forward

• Become confident in your ability to deal with your sufferings and experience peace

It can happen and the possibility starts here.

Do you want to move forward, but feel lost and stuck?

Do you wonder what your own purpose truly is on this earth?

I understand. I’ve been there.

I know what it’s like to feel anxious and depressed wondering what the purpose of such pain is, and then to search for happiness in a world that has such suffering. After a dear friend of mine died tragically, I deepened my search for the meaning of my own life while grieving the loss of hers. Since then, I have been on a journey to peace that has taken me to great perspectives, a journey that has changed my life, and a journey that has the potential to change yours as well. Together, let’s release your questions and fears and reconnect you with your divine birthrights of love, joy, and abundance for authenticity and happiness.

In A Year on Your Path to Growth: Daily Inspirations to Reconnect with Your Soul, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Keri Nola, provides the daily compassion and comfort you yearn for and deserve, while inspiring you to reconnect with your authentic self. Her real life experience paired with her exceptional education and professional background has guided her along a meaningful path to understanding – one she desires to share with you. Ultimately, this year long journey of paradigm shifting inspiration will bring you the one thing you desire most – peace.

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A Year on Your Path To Growth: Video Book Trailer

A Year on Your Path To Growth: Daily Inspirations to Reconnect with Your Soul published this year (2012) by highly regarded Psychotherapist and Author, Keri Nola.

You Can Create An Exceptional Life ~ Louise Hay (Author), Cheryl Richardson (Author)

For countless people, the words of Louise Hay have served as a beacon, leading them out of the darkness of despair and into the light of a better life. Cheryl Richardson is one of the many individuals whom Louise has greatly influenced . . . before going on to become a best-selling author herself.

So what happens when these two combine their collective wisdom into one book?
The result is what you’re now holding in your hands. As Louise and Cheryl engage in a series of empowering and intimate conversations, you’ll feel as if you’re simultaneously having lunch with your best friends and also attending a master class put on by two leaders of the self-empowerment movement.

As they travel throughout North America and Europe together, Louise and Cheryl discuss a wide range of topics, including the importance of loving ourselves and our bodies; aging consciously; bringing true prosperity and abundance to the world; manifesting positive relationships-both with family and friends and in the workplace; and facing death in a dignified and peaceful way.

These two amazing women are living proof that the spiritual principles they discuss in these pages really work. As you read, you’ll discover that you, too, have the ability to create an exceptional life!

Louise L. Hay, Louise Hay, the author of the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life, is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher with more than 50 million books sold worldwide. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and many other TV and radio programs both in the U.S. and abroad.

Websites: http://www.LouiseHay.com® and http://www.HealYourLife.com®

Cheryl Richardson is the New York Times best-selling author of numerous books. She leads large web communities at http://www.cherylrichardson.com and http://www.facebook.com/cherylrichardson, which are dedicated to helping people around the world improve their quality of life.

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You Can Create an Exceptional Life – Louise L. Hay and Cheryl Richardson

These two amazing women are living proof that the spiritual principles they discuss in these pages really work. As you read, you’ll discover that you, too, have the ability to create an exceptional life!

MESSIAH’S HANDBOOK : Reminders for the Advanced Soul ~ Richard Bach

The famous little handbook from Illusions is back in print! Over 60,000 copies sold, and translated into 10 languages!

“Where did you learn all this stuff, Don? You know so much,or maybe I just think you do. No. You do know a lot. Is is all practice? Don’t you get any formal training to be a Master?”
“They give you a book to read.”

And here is the book. Donald Shimoda, the mysterious hero of Richard Bach’s bestselling book, Illusions, which is soon to be a major motion picture. Shimoda seemed to carry the keys to universe with him as he barnstormed the Midwest in a Travel Air biplane. Is he a teacher or a messiah? Part of Shimoda’s secret was a small book, bound in what looked like suede, called Messiah’s Handbook, which he carried with him and frequently quoted. “Open it,” he said, “and whatever you need to know is here.” As Bach was taught by Shimoda, hold a question in your mind . . . close your eyes . . . open the handbook at random . . . pick left page or right . . . open your eyes and read the answer to your question. Here is never-before-seen wisdom, taken from many of Richard Bach’s extraordinary books. The wisdom in this book is profound. As in: “Here’s a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.”

Richard Bach’s inspirational classic Jonathan Livingston Seagull is one of the few books that dominated the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List for two consecutive years. With humor, wisdom and insight that could only come from one of the world’s most beloved authors and an accomplished pilot, his most recent book, Travels with Puff, recounts Bach’s journey from Florida to Washington state in his small seaplane, Puff. With over 50,000,000 copies of his books sold, Richard Bach remains one of the world’s most beloved authors. A former USAF fighter pilot, Air Force captain and latter-day barnstorming pilot, Bach continues to be an avid aviator-author, exploring and chronicling the joys and freedom of flying, reporting his findings to his devoted fans. His website is http://www.richardbach.com.

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Being Richard Bach

Being Richard Bach’. Full length trailer for the upcoming documentary film about the famous American writer.

Illusions By Richard Bach Book Trailer

A MONK IN THE WORLD: Cultivating a Spiritual Life ~ Brother Wayne Teasdale

The Mystic Heart chronicled Brother Wayne Teasdale’s journey into a multifaceted spirituality blending his traditional Catholic training and the Eastern way of sannyasa (Indian monkhood). A Monk in the World tells what the journey has meant for him — living as a monk outside the monastery, integrating teachings from the world’s religions with his own Catholic training, combining his vigorous spiritual practice with the necessities of making a living, and pursuing a course of social justice in a major American city. In telling his story, Teasdale shows how others can find their own internal monastery and bring spiritual practice into their busy lives.

Wayne Robert Teasdale (1945 – 20 October 2004) was a Catholic monk, author and teacher from Connecticut, best known as an energetic proponent of mutual understanding between the world’s religions, for an interfaith dialogue which he termed Interspirituality. He was also an active campaigner on issues of social justice.

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Br Wayne Teasdale A Monk In The World

The Only Thing That Matters by Neale Donald Walsch

The interesting thought that ’98% of the world’s people are spending 98% of their time on things that don’t matter’ opens the latest book from seven-time New York Times bestselling author Neale Donald Walsch, who says with gentleness that this is the reason so many lives are filled with sadness and turmoil, and that the world itself seems continually on the brink of calamity.

This circumstance, Walsch says, is nobody’s fault. We simply haven’t been told or taught what does matter – or, if that question has been answered for us, the answers we’ve been given have not been accurate.

Yet now, the author declares, the human race is receiving an invitation from Life Itself, in the form of a palpable energy shift in 2012 and beyond, to address the question directly – and people everywhere can feel it. Some sense this shift much in the way they can sense, in the sleepy hours of the morning, that it is time to wake up. Others experience frustration at how things are going right now, but they also feel a muted excitement stirring deep within, a restless readiness to respond to a soft but persistent inner voice that has lately been saying: it doesn’t have to be this way.

Walsch says that this inner voice is correct. One’s life does not have to be a series of worrisome and challenging crises involving finances or relationship or health or family, and neither does the world at large have to be a container of constant calamity surrounding its governance and ecology and culture. In his latest book, The Only Thing That Matters, he offers a formula, elegant in its simplicity, that will immediately uplift the life of anyone who embraces it – and that could change the World Entire.

In addition to authoring the renowned “With God” series, Neale Donald Walsch has published 12 other works, as well as a number of video and audio programs. Available throughout the world, each of the Conversations With God books has made the New York Times Bestseller list, Conversations with God-Book 1 occupying that list for over two and half years.

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The Only Thing That Matters by Neale Donald Walsch

Something very unusual is occurring on this planet right now. You have no doubt noticed it. It may be producing a more than normal amount of challenge and disjointedness in your life, and perhaps even some major upheavals. You are probably noticing it in the lives of others as well.

For a while you may have thought that this was all just your mind playing tricks on you; that things were not really happening any differently, and that you’re just a little tired, a little overcommitted, a little oversensitive.

But now, as each day presents itself with obstacles mounting and challenges increasing and more and more personal issues coming up to be faced and healed, it is apparent that all of this is not an illusion, not an exaggeration. So you may be asking, “Why is all this happening? What am I doing wrong?”

And here’s the answer . . .

You’re doing nothing wrong.

AND . . . there is something very unusual going on right now in your life, and all over the planet.

Book 2 in the Conversations with Humanity Series

Listen here to an audio interview.

In his latest book release, The Only Thing that Matters,Neale Donald Walsch shares a startling message: “98% of the world’s people are spending 98% of their time on things that don’t matter.”

Personal happiness seems mysteriously and frustratingly elusive. Even when people achieve it, they can’t hold onto it. And according to Walsch, that’s the surest sign something’s amiss. In this interview about his new book, Walsch shares concrete tools and offers questions that he invites, and actually dares, people to ask themselves throughout their day. Questions like, “What does what I am doing right now have to do with the agenda of my soul?”

He says such questions can redirect one’s life energies in such a way that life itself is changed forever for the better—and the World also begins to change. Don’t miss it.