Joan Diver on Her Healing Odyssey Story, When Spirit Calls

In this interview, Joan Diver talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about her book, When Spirit Calls: A Healing Odyssey.



“If we all could understand that we are connected by a common consciousness, this is what could solve the problems of the world.” ~Joan Diver

When Spirit Calls is the culmination of over two decades’ worth of work, as she started it back in the early 1990s, initially as a project for writing out six or eight spiritual experiences. Her journey began with a bad back which began back in the 1970s and some unsuccessful operations, which made her look for alternative methods of healing. She began having some unusual experiences after one particular surgery, and after asking a psychic what was going on, she was told that she was in the process of balancing her various energies. A visit to a New Mexico healer placed her right on the path she is presently on, and along the way she made a commitment, visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza, to “go forth and do it,” which she would later discover was to write her book. It was after that when she received, and accepted, various invitations to travel to places where she experienced unusual events as well as a positive shift in her foundation work, which she was still then into.

Some of the unusual experiences Joan experienced was getting greatly moved when, in China, she visited a destroyed temple as well as when she watched a group of prisoners who were being paraded through town to their execution. She also had some spiritual experiences when visiting Israel, with the most profound being one where she felt led to walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where she felt guided there and back, as she still doesn’t know the path to and from there.

Joan notes that going on a journey like she did would both heal oneself as well as bring up fears that need to be faced and resolved, and some of the issues she needed to resolve were her own self-doubts. The most serious concern she had during her journey was her back, as it tricked out several times during her journey. She looks at these events as gifts, as she finds herself in a better place once she had resolved these. Moving forward is her primary concern, and she knows she’s on the right path when she feels “a ball of anxiety.”

For Joan, the highs are when she reaches a place where she feels a deep connection to the peace and love within herself as well as within others, as well as when she can transform other people’s lives and emotions. For her, a high feels like a great inner peace, and awareness of the connection between and among all, as well as being able to see the signs in one’s life which guide one onwards - something which can be fairly scary, but following which delivers a “great gift.”

Joan’s husband, Colin, was trained logically, so initially he felt threatened and skeptical about the journey she took, as he was afraid Joan would leave him. His mind changed as he watched Joan transform and felt that he was getting left behind, and so began traveling his own journey, with the major turning point being meeting someone he had encountered in a past life. At present, he describes himself as a “stowaway” on Joan’s journey, and the two are as close as they can ever be.

Where When Spirit Calls is concerned, Joan notes that it is a “page turner” and can be read as much as a memoir as well as a way by which a reader can see a reflection of his or her own life, as the experiences speak to a universal form. To those who are questing for something other than what they have, Joan recommends that they take the time to be still, in whatever way works for them, in a way that enables one to step out of their life for a short period of time. She also recommends that people seek help from others who can help them gain a new perspective on their own lives. It is her hope that When Spirit Calls inspires people to see their own fears and hurts, then seek healing so they can find peace for themselves, as well as to love and to forgive and to be open to the possibilities of there being a guiding spirit and that we are all connected to a common consciousness.

Purchase from Amazon: When Spirit Calls: A Healing Odyssey by Joan Diver

Mariam Baker on the Sacred Voices and Stories of Women

In this interview, Mariam Baker talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about her book, Sacred Voices: Stories from the Caravan of Women, written with and illustrated by Cynthia Dollard.



“Passion for love, harmony, beauty and peace.” ~Mariam Baker

Mariam has always yearned for peace, and over the years she has seen that people are more similar than different; and this was the inspiration for Sacred Voices. The book covers unheard oral tradition stories and poems spoken by women, such as, perhaps, a story or a lullaby a mother would tell her child, as well as recipes for dishes which women cooked. Mariam herself realized, early in her life, that the voices of female mystics and saints weren’t as accessible as those of their male counterparts, and this book attempts to bring these feminine voices out. Sacred Voices also speaks to Mariam’s efforts to bring about peace throughout the world and in humanity.

Sufism, according to Mariam, might be referred to as a mystical branch of Islam at present, but the tradition that Mariam follows extends far back before the Prophet Mohammed, and the tradition celebrates and honors the sacred throughout the world and the universe. Sufism thus attracts followers from other religions, as the tradition is universal in nature, particularly since it emphasizes one human tribe, one human unity which is moving to a realm of greater wisdom. Mariam notes that the Tree of Abraham is the underlying commonality amongst the traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and she hopes that humanity is at a point of transition, where the voices of women, and the opportunities they have, are increasing. This unlocking of women’s status, Mariam notes, helps open up a larger creative foundational wisdom, where both right and left brains are used to solve problems. She also remarks that women cannot ignore their bodies, as they are the carriers of future humans, and that this can help bring about an awareness of all of us humans being interconnected with each other.

Mariam points out that Islam is presently a generally unknown quantity in the world, and because that is so, it is easy for others to blame it and its followers for a lot of things. She also remarks that similar biases also exist against women and “others.”

The book’s layout reflects Mariam’s and Cynthia’s desire to reflect the beauty of the stories within, and in addition to the stories poems and recipes are included to show the richness of women’s lives. Mariam gathered the material for the book throughout her travels, and she remarks that some of the women didn’t like to be identified, given the rifts within and without Islam itself. Her favorite interview was one she conducted with a woman whom she had known since the latter was a little girl, and the story of her journey moved her. The interviews which most touched her were the ones which she heard from two women who were refugees who moved from one place to another until they reached the United States.

Purchase from Amazon: Sacred Voices: Stories from the Caravan of Women by Mariam Baker and Cynthia Dollard