The Best $20 You’ll Ever Spend

Every issue of The Sun magazine has a section called “Readers Write,” in which readers contribute personal stories related to the month’s theme. The theme for the May 2018 issue is “Broke.”

I loved this story because it shows how a small gesture can mean the world to someone who is struggling — and how it inspires those who read it to heighten their awareness about opportunities to help someone who’s struggling who they might have otherwise not noticed.

I’ve been on the receiving end of such kindness, and I can tell you that my gratitude for what I was given extended far beyond the material gift itself. And I can also affirm how tremendously rewarding it is to help others in this way.

That’s why I recommend that you always

My Interview with Philip Goldberg on His Book, “The Life of Yogananda”

 

 

Philip Goldberg

Welcome Phil, thank you for joining us today.
Hey, it’s good to be with you, Phil. Double Phil.

Allow me to introduce you. Philip Goldberg is the author of American Veda, which explores how the spirituality of India seeped into the cultural bloodstream of America. He co-hosts a spiritually themed podcast, leads American Veda Tours through India, and blogs regularly for popular media sites. His latest book, and the subject of our conversation today, is The Life of Yogananda, which is a biography of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi.

(Click here to order your copy of The Life of Yogananda.)

Phil, why did you choose to write a biography of Yogananda, whose iconic autobiography has been read by millions of people?
I’m sure you will appreciate that that is the most commonly asked question I’ve had in the last few years as I worked on the book, and the answer is there’s an awful lot about Yogananda’s life that is not in his iconic memoir. Especially his life after he left India and came to America, where he would spend just about the rest of his life.

I did a page count of Autobiography of a Yogi, and it turns out that less than 10 percent of the book is about his years in America, and there are portions of those years that he summarizes in a sentence or two that in fact lasted four or five years. So there’s an awful lot that people don’t know about Yogananda if all they’ve ever read is Autobiography of a Yogi, and I wanted to fill the gaps.

What do you see as Yogananda’s place in the overall spiritual history of the western world?
It’s immense, actually. You know, when I first read Autobiography of a Yogi, at the risk of giving away my age, it was 1970, and it had a big impact on me and a big impact on my whole cohort of young spiritual seekers that were just then discovering Indian philosophy and the practices that come from the yogic repertoire, like meditation. The Beatles had just gone to India, and not long before that, the whole interest exploded.

Autobiography of a Yogi was probably the most borrowed and most often ripped-off book among that cohort of youngsters doing all that spiritual exploring. Falling in love with India, falling in love with practices like meditation, and with gurus like Yogananda. He was of course long gone by then, but the autobiography was a big deal, and launched millions of

“Lie, Deny, Attack” Is a Bully’s Strategy

Six years ago, a friend of mine was angry because the young woman who lived behind him was playing loud music and partying at one or two in the morning. In the middle of the night, he got dressed, walked over to her place and taped a note to the door telling her to be quiet.

The next day, this woman stormed over to my friend’s house and laid into him as soon as he answered the door. In the middle of her tirade, she accused him of coming over to her place not to place a note on her door but to watch her taking a shower — something that made no sense and that she obviously made up on the spot. My friend was completely flummoxed.

Watching this, I was both appalled and fascinated. It slowly dawned on me exactly what her strategy was . . .

Lie, deny, attack. Use blame and shame as weapons.
Talk very loud, talk over everyone else, and don’t stop talking.

At the time, I didn’t realize how common this strategy was. But now I see it

Astrological Predictions for 2018 for Each Zodiac Sign

Laurie Baum

These astrological predictions for each zodiac sign for 2018 were written by my good friend Laurie Baum, MSW, a psychological astrologer and psychotherapist in practice in Encinitas, California. As you can see from her article, Laurie integrates the wisdom of natural patterns in the heavens with spirituality and psychological insights.

Click here for Laurie’s comprehensive astrological forecast for 2018.

You, too, can benefit from Laurie’s wisdom. She writes a free astrological newsletter about how planetary alignments affect our lives on earth. Click here to e-mail Laurie to subscribe at no cost, or visit Laurie’s website and click on “Free Email Newsletter.”

Laurie is a former newspaper and news magazine reporter who is profiled in the books Psychic New York and The 100 Top Psychics in America. She is the author of five books:

A to Z Acrophonology: Discover the Power of the Letters in Your Name

Everything You Need to Know About Your Astrology Sign

Whispers from the Cosmos

Sacred Mysteries of Egypt

Astrological Secrets for the New Millennium

Laurie also offers counseling appointments by phone. She will answer your questions about major life decisions and talk with you about the reasons you have incarnated, the lessons you are here to learn, where you are on the wheel of karma, and the psychological developmental cycles you have been through and are going through. She will look at current influences on your health, finances, relationships, career, and any relocation plans that may be necessary. She also will look ahead with you at the next seven years of your life. A reading with Laurie can help you take the next step in your life. Sessions, which are available via landline phone or Skype (audio or video), are digitally recorded.

To make an appointment with Laurie, click here to e-mail Laurie or call her at (760) 753-7676. Click here to visit Laurie’s website for more information.

YOUR PERSONAL ASTROLOGICAL PREDICTIONS

Illustrations by Kagaya, a Japanese digital fine artist.
Click here to visit Kagaya’s website.

ARIES (March 21 – April 19)
The innovative planet Uranus spends the first five months of 2018 in Aries, igniting your desire to innovate, renovate, and re-evaluate. Early 2018, combined with the last few months of 2018, will give you a chance to make changes you have been contemplating since Uranus entered Aries in 2011. This is when your individuation process began in earnest. The passage of revolutionary Uranus into Taurus on May 15, 2018 will stabilize the flow of cosmic energy to you and will turn your focus away from self re-definition to more mundane matters, such as your finances and physical comforts. Since 2011, your larger goals have been concentrated on self-discovery and self-expression. Now is the time to ground your big ideas and put your vision into action with practical steps! Uranus will briefly return to Aries from November 6, 2018 to March 6, 2019, giving you a last burst of energy to implement your unorthodox ideas. Material resources will become available for the ideas that will bring you the greatest growth and evolution. Your planetary ruler, Mars, will support your forward progress as it travels through Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn during the first half of 2018. On June 26, 2018, the fiery planet turns retrograde in Aquarius for several months (from June 26 to August 27, 2018), causing you to apply the brakes and rectify the past. The summer will be a good time to

Laurie Baum’s Astrological Forecast for 2018

Laurie Baum

This comprehensive astrological forecast for 2018 was written by my good friend Laurie Baum, MSW, a psychological astrologer and psychotherapist in practice in Encinitas, California. As you can see from her article below, Laurie integrates the wisdom of natural patterns in the heavens with spirituality and psychological insights.

Click here to read Laurie’s 2018 predictions for each individual zodiac sign.

Personally, I never had much of an appreciation for astrology and just didn’t care enough about the subject to investigate it further. Then two things happened.

First, I happened to read a chapter in a life-changing book that burned off the fog of ignorance and answered every question I had about astrology. It was written with clarity, precision, wit and wisdom, and I felt the subject come brilliantly alive for me as I read it. Click here to read that excerpt on astrology.

Second, I had an hour-long astrological reading with Laurie Baum. We discussed

My Video Interview with Dr. Larry Dossey on the Nature of Consciousness

Larry Dossey, MD is a leader in bringing scientific understanding to spirituality, and rigorous proof to complementary/integrative medicine. He lectures at leading medical schools and hospitals around the country. His 13 books have been translated and published all over the world. Click here to visit Larry Dossey’s website.

Welcome, Larry. Thank you for joining us.
Phil, thanks for the invitation. It’s a pleasure.

Allow me to introduce you. Larry Dossey, MD is the author of 13 books and the executive editor of EXPLORE: The Journal of Science & Healing, a peer-reviewed bimonthly publication. He has become an internationally influential advocate of the mind’s role in health and the role of spirituality in healthcare. And we’re here to talk about your book, One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters. What is your book about?
It’s about an idea, which sounds radical. The idea that our consciousness is not just individual the way we ordinarily experience it, but there’s a domain in a dimension where all of our minds come together to form what people in the past have called the “Universal Mind,” what I’m calling the “One Mind,” and you can trace this idea, Phil, back 3,000 years to Hindu literature. It pops up in Plato, and you can trace this idea that our minds are connected. Even in modern science, people like David Bohm, the great physicist, and Erwin Schrödinger, who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1933, and many other outstanding scientists have adopted this idea that at some dimension, our minds connect in an indissoluble way. Of course, this is not what we experience on a daily basis.

We think our minds are private and personal and cut off from everybody else, but there’s a substantial body of evidence that suggests that that’s just not fundamental. And in the book, I explore all of the reasons to go in this direction of the unified mind, and these have to do with people’s experiences, and also experiments, which show that you

My Interview with Andrew Harvey on Betrayal

Listen to my twelve-minute interview with Andrew Harvey here:

Andrew Harvey

Andrew, why do you consider betrayal to be one of the most difficult forms of adversity to overcome?
Betrayal is quite simply the most devastating experience that anyone can live through, especially if it’s betrayal as I went through it — betrayal from a teacher whom I loved with all my soul and heart and who had been an immense source of strength and revelation for me.

Betrayal dissolves every kind of concept that you have of reality and plunges you into a groundless abyss. This, of course, is an appalling experience, but it’s also… if you can stay in love with love in the dark, this experience can lead to a massive revelation of the presence of the Divine in and through everything, which permanently transforms you.

I wouldn’t wish the experience of betrayal that I’ve had on anyone, but looking back I realize it was absolutely essential for my evolution. The betrayal I had at the hand of my teacher, which I wrote about in Sun at Midnight, was a betrayal that ended one life. I died when I realized that I’d been hopelessly sold down the river in a very dangerous way. But that death wasn’t into chaos. It was into a much larger, more spacious realization. Also, I believe that betrayal isn’t just the most difficult experience that a human being can go through. It’s also an

My Interview with Author Mirabai Starr

Mirabai Starr

It was a privilege to interview author, teacher and speaker Mirabai Starr about her poignant and beautifully written book, Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation, which chronicles her most significant life experiences, and in particular the tragic loss of her teenage daughter, Jenny.

This beautifully written book spoke directly to my heart. Mirabai’s transparency and willingness to be emotionally naked and vulnerable are astonishing. Her openness to share her journey of grief and loss is undoubtedly a gift to those who are struggling with unimaginable losses.

I was so very impressed with the quality of the writing as well. Dozens of times throughout the book, with just a few perfectly expressed and arranged words, Mirabai conveys an emotional power and depth that is nothing short of stunning.

Her message is clear and powerful: even when the world is not large enough to contain your grief, and even though you will never again be who you once were, know that healing is possible, and that joy patiently waits on the other side of sorrow.

Click here to visit Mirabai’s website.

Click on the audio player below to listen to my 24-minute interview with Mirabai:

TRANSCRIPTION OF MY 24-MINUTE AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH MIRABAI STARR

Hi, Mirabai, thanks so much for joining us today.
Hi, Phil. Thanks for having me. I’m delighted to be with you.

My pleasure. Allow me to introduce you. Mirabai Starr writes creative nonfiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialogue. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her newest book, Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation, received the Spirituality and Practice Best Books of 2015 Award. Mirabai, tell us about this book, Caravan of No Despair.
Well, the book started . . . The seed idea came from the coalescing or the cataclysm, actually, of two events in my life. One was the release of my first book, which was a translation of Dark Night of the Soul by the 16th-century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross, and on the very day that that book was released, that I received my first advanced copy, my fourteen-year-old daughter, Jenny, was killed in a car accident. In fact, the two events coincided so closely that it still blows my mind almost fifteen years later. The UPS . . . we lived rurally in Taos, New Mexico, so UPS had just . . . no, it was FedEx . . . had just delivered the first advance copy of my first book and it was sitting on the table unopened. Jenny had been missing since the night before when she took off with my car. Half an hour after the book was delivered, the police came to the door to inform me that they had found her and that she was gone, that she was dead.

It took me a long time, Phil, to integrate those two things. I mean it became clear to me pretty early on that what I had understood about the Dark Night of the Soul when I was translating that mystical masterpiece by John of the Cross was inadequate for

Spring Equinox 2017 Update From Astrologer Laurie Baum

Laurie Baum

If you enjoy astrology, you will like this Spring Equinox update written by my good friend Laurie Baum, MSW, a psychological astrologer and psychotherapist in practice in Encinitas, California.

Laurie writes a free astrological newsletter about how planetary alignments affect our lives on earth. Click here to e-mail Laurie to subscribe at no cost, or visit Laurie’s website and click on “Free Email Newsletter.”

Laurie is a former newspaper

Millennials Rising — Mike Derheim

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Mike Derheim, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

MIKE DERHEIM

Mike Derheim

Mike Derheim, born in 1978, is cofounder of The Nerdery, a Minneapolis-based custom software design and development company. The Nerdery made Inc. magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest-growing companies for seven years running.

After switching majors three times, I dropped out of North Dakota State College of Science in 1998 to work in tech support at a small, growing company called Minnesota Internet. The owner was a super entrepreneurial, kind of take-over-the-world guy named Tim Davis. I worked for the Internet Service Provider half of the company. The other half did custom software development for legacy systems on old green-screen terminals.

I hit it off with Tim right away and he became my de facto mentor. I rose up the ranks very quickly because I worked so hard and learned so much. Within a year, I was doing system administration and networking. I worked ridiculous hours and

Millennials Rising — Yaritza Thompson

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Yaritza Thompson, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

YARITZA THOMPSON

Yaritza Thompson

Yaritza Thompson, born in 1982, founded Cookies & Cream Couture, an online boutique and community for biracial families. Her flagship product is the T-shirts she co-designed to celebrate the beauty of being biracial. She and her husband are grade-school teachers in Florida.

When my daughter, J’adore, was born she was indescribably beautiful. I’m Puerto Rican and my husband, Ronnell, is black, and it didn’t take long for her to notice she was different. She wanted to look like Mommy, but I’m light-skinned with wavy hair and she’s darker and blessed with a head full of curls.

Almost as soon as she could talk, J’adore started asking me about her skin color and begging me to have straight hair. She was twenty-two months old when our son, Zion, was born. He came out very fair-skinned so that led to more questions: “Why is Zion a boy and he looks like you and I’m a girl and I look like Daddy?” I’d tell her, “You are not just a beautiful girl physically, God created you uniquely beautiful inside too. You are also biracial; you are an Afro-Latina. You come from two rich cultures.”

I wanted to make sure that J’adore took pride in her heritage because I knew she would be exposed to

Millennials Rising — Ximena Quan Kiu

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Ximena Quan Kiu, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

XIMENA QUAN KIU

Ximena Quan Kiu

Ximena Beltran Quan Kiu, born in 1987, is a founding partner of C1 Revolution, a Chicago-based creative agency specializing in brand amplification through the integration of influencer outreach, social/traditional media relations and event marketing.

At twenty-seven, I had a tough decision to make. I could either take a well-paying job doing something I loved to do, or I could take a big chance and launch a business of my own. I decided to do the safe thing: accept a job at Walgreen’s and start climbing the corporate ladder. Then I remembered the seven avocados.

I had recently seen a photo of seven avocados lined up in a row. Under the first avocado were the words “Not yet.” Under the next four, the same thing: “Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.” Under the sixth one was one word: “Now.” Under the seventh was “Too late.” I thought, Yep, it’s go time.

One year earlier, I wouldn’t have dared to

Millennials Rising — Shaun Redford

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Shaun Redford, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

SHAUN REDFORD

Shaun Redford

Shaun Redford, born in 1980, is an attorney and shareholder at Olson, Lucas & Redford, a Minneapolis real estate and business boutique law firm. He is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School, teaching a legal writing course to first-year law students.

I met my wife, Darbie, in college in September and we were married by May. Two years later, in mid-June, we learned we were expecting twins at the end of October. We were a little shocked but had no time to process it. Right after seeing the sonogram, Darbie headed off to work and I drove to campus to take the LSAT.

We couldn’t wait to welcome our new babies. Turns out we didn’t have to. A month later, Darbie went into labor at twenty-four weeks. The doctor told me on the phone, “Get to the hospital right now!” I did the classic “hop in the car, pedal to the metal, run through red lights” routine. Darbie delivered the twins via emergency C-section on July 17, 2004.

Brittan and Corbin each weighed about a pound and a half at birth. Brittan was stabilized first, then was transported via helicopter from the hospital in Orem, Utah, across town to the Neonatal ICU in Provo. Corbin followed shortly thereafter via ambulance. Two weeks later, they both needed surgical procedures that required even more expertise so they were transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, about fifty miles north of Provo.

You get a crash course in neonatal medicine when you have premature babies. Corbin got the worst of it. Within a few days of his birth, doctors noticed a

Millennials Rising — Dirk Bak

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Dirk Bak, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

DIRK BAK

Dirk Bak

Dirk Bak, born in 1978, is part owner and president of Minneapolis-based SDQ Ltd., a family-owned holding company for businesses ranging from janitorial services to corporate facility management to real estate investment properties.

My seventeen months from hell started on a beautiful May day in 2008. As former chair of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in Minnesota, I was at a high-powered lunch with the editor-in-chief of The Economist, the former chairman of Cargill, a few other business bigwigs and my dad, who had once been a top executive at Medtronic.

I was twenty-nine and feeling pretty good about myself. When Romney was in town, which was often, I accompanied him on meet-and-greets with local executives. I was president of the building maintenance company my mom had founded and a freshly minted law school graduate. My wife, Evonne, and I had a five-year-old son, Jaxon, and a two-year-old daughter, Liv, and she was pregnant again. If it sounds like I had a lot going on, yeah, I was running. Hard. I’d get four hours of sleep a night and hop back on the treadmill.

Lunch had barely started when my phone rang. I kicked it to voicemail. It rang a second time, then a third. I was a bit agitated. I excused myself from the table, checked the phone, and saw Evonne’s number. Now I was really agitated; I had asked her not to call during important meetings. I called back and said, “What is going on?” She said, “I’m in labor and we

Millennials Rising — Melissa Bass

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Melissa Bass, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

MELISSA BASS

Melissa (Missy) Bass

Melissa (Missy) Bass (nee Hofmann), born in 1980, is a freelance global event planner for both corporate and social events worldwide.

I’m an adventure seeker. I’ve gone bungee jumping in New Zealand, skydiving in Switzerland, parasailing in Mexico, and sailing in Croatia and Thailand. There’s not a lot I’d say no to. Oh, and when I first met my husband, I was dressed as a hamster.

On the outside, I look like your average Midwestern female: five foot four, blonde bob, athletic build. But on the inside, I have a life-threatening disease called

Millennials Rising — Jon Block

You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.

You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.

If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.

I’d like to introduce you to Jon Block, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.

Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.

JON BLOCK

Jon Block

Jon Block, born in 1980, is the founder of Speaker Venture, a national training and networking organization for speakers designed to transform individuals and businesses. Their live events help entrepreneurs master public speaking, land more speaking gigs, and launch and spread their global movements.

When I was seven years old, I knew I was going to be a Hollywood screenwriter. Even then, it was clear to me that my life’s work would be driven by passion and purpose. It was also clear to me that most adults don’t live that way, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why.

Thanks to my parents’ emotional and financial support, I got into what is now called the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the best film school in the world. My favorite class came during my senior year. It was taught by a literary manager who had just landed a couple of deals in the seven-figure range for USC grads who were only a few years older than me. At the end of the semester he