Dr. Stephen G. Post on God and Love on Route 80: The Hidden Mystery of Human Connectedness

In this interview, Stephen G. Post talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about his book, God and Love on Route 80: The Hidden Mystery of Human Connectedness.



“If you cultivate a spiritual path, truly, no matter what difficulties arise, you will be blessed and you will be smiling.” ~Stephen G. Post

Stephen grew up on New York’s Long Island who went to an Episcopal school for high school, and had always been a good student and has always been spiritual. (The Episcopalian Church is the American version of the Anglican Church, which is, in turn, a British version of the Roman Catholic Church.) He was on the usual track for a middle-class child - school, college, then a corporate job - when, as a fifteen-year-old who was interested in spirituality, he had a vivid dream where he saw a thick, silvery-gray mist covering a road going somewhere, after which he saw, to his left, see the face of a youth with stringy blond hair, leaning out over a ledge. Stephen then saw the face of a blue angel who spoke to him in a feminine voice, saying: “If you save him, you, too, shall live.” The exact, same dream kept recurring over the next one and a half years, around a half dozen times, and he even became the “centerpiece” of a meeting on adolescent spirituality during this time. For Stephen, the dream occurred to him as being that of an Infinite Mind trying to break into his consciousness to suggest that there was something more to life than what was present materially.

Stephen applied to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and after graduating high school he got interested tutoring some people who were living in the Bronx. His parents figured that the place was too dangerous for him to go to, so Stephen’s father got him a job in a factory cutting cardboard, and after two weeks of driving to the workplace in his father’s second-hand car, Stephen decided to drive out west after meeting with some friends, to follow his dreams. His drive west got cut short while he was in Pennsylvania, while on Route 80, after which he left a note to the Pennsylvania state police with his father’s address and then began hitchhiking west. He later called up his mother, collect, from Lincoln, Nebraska to let her know he was okay, and his mother then told him that she would call off the Pinkerton detective agency. Stephen then continued on to San Francisco to live with his cousin, George, who had, by then, spent two tours of duty in Vietnam.

Stephen spent that summer playing classical guitar and spending time at a nearby Buddhist temple. It was also towards the end of summer that he drew a bad draft number, which meant that he would be drafted into the Army unless there were some extenuating circumstances involved, such as becoming or being a college student. Stephen thus called up Reed College and asked to be accepted, which he was; and this was why he left San Francisco one September morning, with a holy Buddhist scroll in his bag which had been given, and explained about, by the temple monks. His journey took him across the Golden Gate Bridge, and despite the foggy morning, where he couldn’t see more than three feet in front of him, he felt safe enough crossing it. When he got to the middle of the bridge, he heard a sound on his left; and when he looked that way, he saw the face of a youth with stringy blond hair, a youth who looked very much like that of the youth he had been seeing in his vivid dream. Stephen then spoke to the youth, remarking that he shouldn’t jump, and the youth reacted by screaming out over the water. Stephen managed to talk the youth down, explaining his dream and how he got there. He then showed the young man the scroll he had and went over it briefly before sending the young man, Harry, to his cousin George’s home, along with the scroll and a note of introduction so he would be allowed to stay over. The two then parted ways, and Stephen then hitched rides to Reed College.

For Stephen, the dream and the encounter that it led to suggested to him that there was a connection, a oneness at a level of mind, spirit and soul between humans and the Infinite Mind, and that the entire experience was a lesson for him about the nature of love and reality.

Stephen remarks that people who aren’t part of any formal religion can refer to themselves as being spiritual, in that they have an inner sense of the Divine Presence as well as a sense of the spiritual dignity of other people. He also notes that there are people who are both religious and spiritual, as religion isn’t just about formality.

The book, Stephen notes, isn’t a memoir, but a collection of stories that highlight his experiences with synchronicity and connection with the Infinite Mind, and shared a story on synchronicity of his being in Oregon and being taken on a wild, wet-weather motorcycle ride on someone’s new Harley Davidson. Stephen was rather frazzled at the end of the two-hour ride as he walked into his dormitory’s common room, which had a pay phone installed in it. Stephen might have given his mother the number of that particular phone, but he never answered it himself, until this evening. Although it was 11pm Pacific Time, which meant it was 2am Eastern Time, Stephen, as soon as he picked up the phone, found himself speaking with his mother, who said that she had had a premonition of fear and anxiety and thought that Stephen was dead.

Stephen’s experiences have led him to believe that the mind is more than just brain and tissue, and that the connection with a loving, Infinite Mind allows humans, such as himself, to be guided into growing and flourishing, remarking that his life has been “a journey on Route 80.” He also claims to be a noticer, one who notices the small winks and hints of the connections between oneself and the Infinite.

God and Love on Route 80 was his first non-academic book, so he needed to learn how to write non-academically to get the book out. It sprang somewhat from the founding of the nonprofit Institute for Research on Unlimited Love. Stephen began writing out vignettes on the topic of love and what he was about, to help explain what the Institute was all about, and while he had stopped writing his vignettes for some time, he decided to write a book to pull everything together - hence the book. He also notes that the general opinion of scientists not being spiritual isn’t always true, as scientists - particularly physicists - do believe in synchronicity and a higher power.

Stephen’s favorite quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Purchase from Amazon: God and Love on Route 80: The Hidden Mystery of Human Connectedness by Stephen G. Post

Jessica Joines on Daring to Believe & 12 Lessons for Living Your Soul Purpose

In this interview, Jessica Joines talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about her book, Dare to Believe: 12 Lessons for Living Your Soul Purpose.



“The Universe does not put a dream in your heart where there is not some path of abundance towards.” ~Jessica Joines

Purchase from Amazon: Dare to Believe: 12 Lessons for Living Your Soul Purpose by Jessica Joines

Jessica’s parents were the first in their families to graduate from college, and from childhood Jessica was taught to work hard. That said, she wasn’t told to not pursue her dreams. When she entered the job market, she adopted a “survival consciousness” mindset, which meant that following her passion felt frivolous throughout her stay in the corporate world for around 15 years. She suffered panic attacks from early on, and while she persisted in corporate life she told herself that she couldn’t believe that what she was doing was what she would be doing - and she called the tasks that she was doing “repetitive” - for the next few decades. She noted that she took a lot of career assessment test and pursued all traditional avenues but she didn’t find the answers she was looking for. This led to her feeling that the kind of life she was to lead becoming less acceptable over time, and she began asking if this was what was meant for her, remarking that “Life can’t be about being paid to suffer.” Things came to a head when she was so “broken” with the way her life was going that she took a year off to travel; and it was then that she promised herself that she would “figure this thing out,” which essentially meant figuring out what her purpose was and to explore it.

Jessica felt compelled to share what she had learned in the course of her journey of self-exploration, and she chose to publish so she could get her message out as expediently as possible. She read up on a lot of spiritual teachers but, at the start, didn’t know how to apply their teachings to her everyday life and so began creating her own practices which she found applicable to her own life. She remarks that the story about sticking to a job one hates so one can earn money comes from a place of fear, with people believing and living that story, and that following one’s dream leads to abundance for oneself. “Do you think the Universe puts a true passion and desire and dream for your life within your heart that you really are excited about and want to do, which only leads to a path to poverty?” she asks.

One of the main lessons Jessica wants to impart to others is to believe that one has a life purpose, and points out that, in her previous life, she believed that she was exempt from such, as only special people had a life purpose. Jessica remarks that, while this realization is the most difficult to accept, once one has come to that realization, everything else falls into place.

Jessica defines fear as “false evidence appearing real,” and notes that it took her some time to understand this and that she still struggles with this concept. She notes that, when one meditates, there are two voices that speak out, with the louder one being the voice of fear and one’s ego and the second, quieter one being the voice of one’s higher self, and that, 99% of the time, the voice of fear is incorrect. Rather than outright believe the voice of fear, Jessica presently works to pause and think about the issue within herself which is ready to be healed, as it is this issue which fear gives voice to. The example she remarked on is that, if one follows one’s dreams, one will live in poverty, which indicates a need for one to recognize one’s own beliefs about what the universe is and isn’t, as well as the issue that one is unworthy to receive abundance. Other issues could also be related to trusting others or that one isn’t talented enough, and Jessica remarks that getting to the source of the fear can be as confusing as one allows it to be, as the ego might not want that issue solved. That said, Jessica says that, if one is quiet enough and honest enough with oneself for five minutes, one will know the issue behind the fearful thought.

For Jessica, love is the recognition of oneness, as it is an energy, adding that, every day, she has a choice of aligning either with the energy of love or the energy of fear. She notes that she is aware that she is aligned with the energy of love when she walks down the streets and feels love for, and a connection with, the strangers she sees. She also believes that all of us are here to heal the “disease of separation.” On the topic of love, Jessica remarks that love songs are all about one thinking about oneself and not about oneness or about the other person.

For Jessica, spirit is an energy which is the essence she would feel from anything, including herself. Spirit is something within oneself, Jessica believes, and the more one quiets oneself and anchors oneself in love, the more one experiences one’s own spirit. Succumbing to fear, on the other hand, shuts down one’s heart and causes a lessening of the experience of one’s spirit. She remarks that, when one realizes that one is it, that there is nothing needed to bring into oneself because all that is needed is for one to allow out that which is within oneself, one’s perception shifts from fear to love. Jessica reflected that she had done such things as vision boards in the past, but that these came from a viewpoint of lack, e.g., “I don’t have this, so I have to manifest it and bring it in.”

Where abundance is concerned, Jessica notes that her shift came with the belief that she is already abundant and all that needs to be done is to let it out. Perceiving abundance in everything is also part of that shift.

One of the most important lessons Jessica wants to share is that one’s heart, alone, knows what one’s purpose is, as one’s purpose isn’t something to be figured out. Rather, one’s purpose is revealed by anchoring to one’s heart, then trusting and believing that what one finds there is the truth. “You’re not gonna think your way to your sole purpose,” Jessica notes. “It’s about getting quiet and getting in touch with what you love, what you dream about, and whatever that is that is in your heart and trusting whatever’s there.” Jessica also notes that, when one starts out with this work, a lot of negative messages (“That’s outrageous!”) will come up, and that it is important to consider these as clues. She notes that it’s about being really observant and honest and true with oneself about what one really, really wants, by which one discovers one’s purpose.

Jessica also brings up the lesson of “believing what you want with conviction” and that “the truth that is in your heart is often more real than the one that you see,” she points out, and that people need to keep that in mind as they progress in this work.

Purchase from Amazon: Dare to Believe: 12 Lessons for Living Your Soul Purpose by Jessica Joines

Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim on Sharing His Paranormal Personal History

In this interview, Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about his book, Timeless: A Paranormal Personal History.


“Experiencing is believing, and believing is experiencing.” ~Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim

Bruce comes from a family which came from an environment where the paranormal was accepted as a matter of course. His mother was psychic, and he, himself, has been experiencing paranormal events since the age of four, when he was healed from a serious illness after seeing a being which his mother later called his guardian angel. He has generally kept these events to himself and amongst his friends, as he was concerned about how others would perceive his stories, particularly as he was in the academe. He was, however, prompted to write Timeless after he received a vision after a friend had died of cancer and thus did so. Much to his surprise, the reactions to his book have been very positive, and a of people, when they learn that he is the writer of such a book, are willing to share their own paranormal experiences with him.

Paranormal experiences, Bruce notes, have been experienced around the world, and he notes that the fear of death and dying is not really a concern, as we continue on beyond our body’s death, which does make us all, essentially, timeless. He admits that mainstream science is resistant to paranormal research, and that funding is difficult to get for paranormal researchers, which limits the activities they can do. Bruce recommends looking up Dr. Dean Radin, who is the senior scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), an institute co-founded by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, which conducts paranormal research. While the evidence seems to indicate that paranormal activity is real - such as the discovery that a different part of the brains of mediums becomes active when they get in touch with spirits - Bruce points out that the actual manifestations in the real world are more subtle than as is presented in movies, albeit no less profound. That said, Bruce admits that it is difficult for someone to believe in such phenomena until they’ve actually experienced it.

Bruce admits that he has had several good-aligned paranormal experiences, which is aligned with his own personal religious beliefs and which leads him to the conclusion and realization that different people have different levels of psychic strength; and so long as these are used for good purposes, that’s fine. That said, Bruce has also had some demonic experiences, with the scariest one being when he created a raw clay demon’s head at the age of twenty with the intention to scare someone who seemed to be in the demonic. He advises those exploring the paranormal to go by what they feel; for example, if they feel uncomfortable or fearful, there is likely to be a negative paranormal energy present. Bruce notes that demonic presences only have the power that one gives to them, and that they can be turned off “like an old radio” by such means as saying a prayer.

There are two main categories of ghosts, or physical apparitions, according to Bruce. One kind is a residual ghost or haunting, which he describes as being akin to a “tape loop,” and he gave the example of Mrs. Colby, the founder of the college in one of whose buildings he was spending the night in as being of this. The other kind is an interactive, intelligent ghost or haunting, and this can take the form of communicating with the spirits of those who have passed on. Bruce then mentions that the communication with these takes several forms, such as visual imagery or handwriting, and also mentioned that he has had some experiences with more malevolent beings, such as the one he had encountered with some ghost hunters the night prior to the interview.

The biggest thing Bruce has taken away from these is that people who have passed on strongly desire to speak with their loved ones on the physical plane, be it such general messages as “I love you” to “Check the oak box by the window.” He would also like people to know that we are both physical and spiritual beings and that, based on his own readings, the scientific quantum world is the realm of the paranormal. Bruce also mentioned a quote attributed to the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, where the truth, when it first comes out, is ridiculed, after which it is then challenged before being regarded as self-evident, and that this is presently the case where the paranormal and mainstream thought are concerned.

Purchase from Amazon: Timeless: A Paranormal Personal History by Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim

Anna Gatmon on Gifting for the Soul (Recommended for the Holidays)

In this special AuthorStory interview for the holiday season, Anna Gatmon talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com about her Wholly Trinity Tips for Holiday Fulfillment & Balance. The PDF is available through the links here, as a free download.


PLAY the VIDEO: Learn about the 3 aspects of the Wholly Trinity Holiday Tips

“Be creative.” ~Anna Gatmon, on gifting for the holidays

Anna Gatmon has spent the most recent part of her life finding a balance between the spiritual and the material, and presents ways by which the average person can achieve this balance. She calls one of these ways, the “Wholly Trinity” which is comprised of personal tips for holiday fulfillment and balance which are based on her own life experiences. Anna remarks that, because people live in the material world, they focus on the “to do” list of things to buy and activities to do, such as cooking meals, rather than getting in touch with the spiritual aspects of such celebrations.

Where the celebrations and holidays are concerned, Anna Gatmon’s Wholly Trinity Tips for Holiday Fulfillment and Balance can allow people to give themselves and those around them a “spa for the soul” treatment. The “Wholly Trinity” consists of three aspects, each of which has a material component, a spiritual component, and a person to bring these two components together, with all three components needed to create the whole. Anna notes that the material is an expression of intention, which springs from the spiritual aspect.

 

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PDF 

Gifting for the Soul: Make your gifts a spa for the soul 

WHOLLY TRINITY Tips for Human Holiday Fulfillment & Balance by Anna Gatmon, Ph.D.

Bob Imai and How The Laws of Success of Ryuho Okawa Bring Happiness

Bob Imai talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com about Master Ryuho Okawa’s book, The Laws of Success: A Spiritual Guide to Turning Your Hopes Into Reality.



“If your success is not good for your soul, then achieving success doesn’t mean anything.” ~Bob Imai

Master Okawa is the spiritual leader who founded Happy Science in 1986, which is a movement which started in Japan, whose purpose is to enable people to find fulfilment and success through the principles of love, wisdom, self-reflection and progress. The movement now has some ten million members scattered throughout 160 countries, and Bob himself is a minister in Atlanta, Georgia. He came across Happy Science in 1990 while still an engineer researching on self-driving cars and experiencing some discontent in his life. He became a monk as a result of investigating into the teachings of Happy Science and has been connected with the movement since then.

The Laws of Success contains principles that both people and organizations need to achieve success. Bob notes that, in order to find true success, one has to know the meaning, purpose and mission of one’s life, as it is believed that we are spiritual beings who live several lives on this physical plane over and over again, in order to improve and nourish our souls, as this is the context in which the book exists. In this context, it is believed that we choose the kind of lives we will lead in the physical realm before we enter it, and that our mind enables us to access all the wisdom and knowledge we need to attain our success. That said, Bob notes that one does not necessarily have to believe in life after death in order to get something from The Laws of Success, as the book  also comes from the context of harnessing the power of the mind, which has been behind successes, historically.

The pillars of success that support success are originality (we have our own, individual measures for success), shared joy (success is accompanied by joy) and a sense of unique contribution (true success contributes to society), and Bob shared Thomas Edison as an example who showed examples of all of these pillars in his life. Bob notes that success isn’t an outcome or a result, but that it is a process designed to improve ourselves. Self-realization is the basis of success, with visualizing one’s goal being the first thing to do. A positive attitude is also necessary to achieving one’s goal, after which one should then act on it. Bob notes that the path isn’t easy, so making habits to support success, as well as breaking down the tasks into small, easily achievable parts.

The Laws of Success might be thirty years old, and Bob points out that the principles within enabled Happy Science to grow from the small numbers in its movement that long ago to its present size. He remarks that The Laws of Success is similar to such books related to the Law of Attraction, such as The Secret, but that there is nothing in the latter that talks about the basis of such concepts, which is a belief in the spiritual realm.

Bob also advises that people meditate - by which he means people should just take a little time each day to sit in total silence - to access the wisdom that comes from one’s mind.

Purchase from Amazon: The Laws of Success: A Spiritual Guide to Turning Your Hopes Into Reality by Master Ryuho Okawa