SpirituallyFit.com - More about the authors

More about the authors

SANDY BOUCHER: Award-winning author of six books, chronicles women's participation in American Buddhism. She has been teaching both writing and spirituality for twenty years, and has published and spoken widely on both subjects. Her meditation practice, Vipassana, has ripened over two decades.

Sandy lives, writes and teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area; she is available to come to your community to teach, and does consultation and editing through the mail.

Information about ordering Sandy's books, attending her retreats or requesting consultations can be found at her web site http://sandyboucher.com/

"We're Family in Here" is a well-written, graphic and true-to-life story about two female cancer patients sharing a hospital room. "Meeting Kwan Yin" introduces us to the goddess of compassion. And, "Are You Holding You Back?" speaks to the courageous act of writing and offers advice for overcoming the fears surrounding writing.

Sandy writes in an engaging manner luring the reader deeper into her stories. Thank you Sandy to gracing our webzine with your wisdom!

MARA FREEMAN: British author, lecturer and storyteller, has been immersed in Celtic sacred traditions for more than thirty years. She currently teaches at the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland, California. Her life is dedicated to reweaving the ancestral traditions of the Celts for today’s world. Visit her website at www.celticspirit.org for articles on Celtic folklore and mythology, stories, CDs, and more.

ELIZABETH BRENSINGER: Elizabeth shares her personal and honest account of her vision quest in Earth Dreams: Finding Light in the Shadow.

"Utah's magnificent canyon country is facing a myriad of threats. Please visit the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance's website at www.suwa.org to learn how you can help protect America's redrock wilderness. To ensure that Earth Dreams treads lightly on the Earth, the book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to SUWA."

JOSEPH BRYAN HENSLEY: Thank you Joseph for taking us to the Great Smoky Mountain Range!

I was born in 1976 in a small mountain valley town in North Georgia. I was brought up in a poor, but loving family. I am the son of a Baptist preacher, my mother worked in a carpet mill. I started working at the age of 15, I left school to support myself and rebelled against my family by playing music in a rock band. I started getting involved with drugs and alcohol, still keeping a loose belief of what my father installed in me about religion.

Until April 20, 1999, when my life had a dramatic change. My father was driving home when he was struck from behind by a drunk driver. He received many broken bones, brain damage, punctured lungs and he stayed in I. C. U for 4 months. But he kept a thriving belief in his god. His accident caused more questions for me than I thought was possible. It turned my loose belief into a vast void of question. Why did god let this happen? If god really exists, where was he on that night? After 2 years of contemplating these thoughts, I started to lose my mind. I looked to my friends and they had no answer except a bottle of whiskey.

I moved to Miami, Florida as an escape, not telling anyone goodbye. After a few months, I met new friends and kept myself busy, but there was still no hiding from my questions. I went to see the Buddhist monks perform their music and chants and they made me feel at peace. I started reading books by the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh which led to Thomas Merton, and the Dali Lama. Through their teachings, I didn’t find peace, but I found a path to peace. Shortly after, I found a Zen center that has retreats that I attend. Attempting to discipline myself through zazen meditations and dokosan with my teacher, I found that hiking and walking keeps me more away from anxiety ridden thoughts and into my body. I can focus on my questions without so much fear. My journey, I am sure, will last a lifetime.

MARSHA JORDAN: Marsha grew up in a suburb of Chicago. Now a grandma disabled by Lupus, she lives in the northwoods of Wisconsin with her husband of 26 years and their toy poodle, King Louie, who rules the household with an iron paw. Once an active volunteer in many scouting, school, community and church activities, Jordan was an energetic home schooling mom who also worked as a secretary until her life took a sharp turn. Her busy schedule came to a screeching halt when hit the roadblock of an auto-immune disease. Shifting gears and making a lifestyle U-turn, she continued full speed ahead in a new direction.

Through her Hugs and Hope Club, Jordan shares a message of hope and love with families of sick children. She enjoys creating web pages, collecting and decorating with antiques, rubber stamping, and having fun with her three year old grandson, Cobi, who is the light of her life. Jordan’s articles have appeared in over 30 publications.

ASOKA SELVARAJAH: Thank you for your article Dr. Asoka!

"In order to be something other than a faceless entity in cyberspace, permit me to say a little about myself.

I was born in London, England on 25th November 1960 of Sri Lankan parents. In late 1980, I attended Birmingham University for six years and was awarded a BSc. in Physics, followed by a PhD in Nuclear Physics. My PhD work took me to CERN in Switzerland to work on the huge sub-atomic particle accelerators - anti-matter, gamma rays, all that stuff. Around this time, I became very interested in the I Ching, the Tarot and other such esoteric matters. Modern Quantum Physics IS incredibly esoteric and metaphysical in its conclusions. Parallels between the latest findings in Physics and those of Ancient Wisdom became increasingly obvious to me, as they are to anyone who studies both.

It was a great feeling to pick up those letters after my name; to be able to call myself "Doctor". But don't call me up if you've got a broken leg or a touch of pneumonia though. I'm not that kind of Doctor!

My next adventure was in the speedy, unpredictable world of Investment Banking. Although my fortunes seemed to fluctuate more rapidly than the most volatile stock market, I hung in there for over ten years and became a well regarded financial market forecaster/strategist.

I used a lot of esoteric work in predicting the movements of financial markets to a high level of accuracy. Financial markets actually conform to an incredible extent to the laws of Sacred/Ancient Geometry and also with Astrology. Yes, it's true.....

A couple of years ago, my stars precipitated a fantastic opportunity disguised as a major challenge. I took leave of the financial industry, left England, and came to settle in the heart of Italy. Now I live in a lovely little medieval hill-town called Panicale - a fortress town really - with views to the horizon in all directions. It's at least two thousand years old! So peaceful and tranquil!

Mystic Visions was conceived at this time. This website and its associated activities gives me the opportunity of following my major interests in life - spiritual growth and personal development - and sharing it with as wide an audience as possible. I am blessed to be able to do it and offer what I can. Although I am no guru, I think I have something of value to offer you. I hope you will come to feel that way too. In any case, may your visits to Mystic Visions bring you many blessings in your life. Then my purpose will be accomplished.

I acknowledge the same divine spirit in you that is in me. Namaste!"

PATRICK LOAFMAN: Thank you again for your wonderful poems Patrick!

"The Mountain" is a poem written from a New Year's day at Mount Rainier with Kim before we were married. I'm always allured by the power of clouds, how they can steal away mountains from our view, or how they can part, giving temporary glimpses of the landscape through gaps in their cover.

"Twelve Miles up the Bogachiel" is a poem written along the Bogachiel River in Olympic National Park. The western toads share my love for the wide gravel bars of the west side of the Olympics. I think I could live the rest of my life on a gravel bar.

Patrick published two chapbooks: Desert Journal is published by Lone Willow Press and Songs of the Winter Wren was self-published.

MOHMOOD VALIMOHAMED: is the author of "Book of Wisdom" and "Gems For Your Soul". Mohmood's main objective is to show different paths for spiritual and personal growth. His free newsletter is published monthly and is available online at www.centerfordivinity.com. He loves to answer questions and can be emailed at info@centerfordivinity.com.

ELEANORA SCARPETTA: We're happy to bring you more healthy tips and yummy recipes from the energetic Italian culinary mistress Eleanora Scarpetta! In this issue Eleanora encourages us to "get in gear for some serious eating habits "In Prepping for Summer" and shares a wonderful recipe for Marinating Baby Lamb Chops Ala Mint.

Visit Eleanora's her web site, http://www.eleanoraskitchen.com. Thank you again Eleanora for submitting your story and sharing your recipes!

PEGGY DE BROUX: Welcome to our webzine Peggy!

Four days after the terrorist attacks I attended a workshop at Padilla Bay Estuarine Sanctuary, sponsored by the Washington State Dept. of Ecology. The poet Greg Darms led the workshop, and these poems came out of our day mosty out-of-doors at Padilla Bay. His indications for the poem, "Flags at Half Mast. . ." was to go outside and concentrate on one item. The other poems came throughout the day, as we walked in estuarine mud, looking at eelgrasses, tiny sea creatures and seeing an occasional eagle. It was a nurturing place, especially in that time frame.

PATTIANN ROGERS: Pattiann gives us some sultry poetry in hope in Partners and The Way I'm Taught By Heart. Thank you Pattiann for being part of our webzine the last three years!

DEEPAK CHOPRA: "The Law of Least Effort" from the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success simply reminds us to learn from nature's intelligence to accept life with ease and peace. Thank you Deepak for your continued support of our webzine.

photo credit: Irene Young