Epiphany, Epiphany Project, EpiphanyChannel.com, wha?

It was pointed out to me that some people might just stumble upon the EpiphanyChannel Blog and have no idea what it is.  Oh.  I don’t know why but I assumed that everyone would only come to this blog via the website – shows you how well-versed I am in the world of blog – SO, in case you have stumbled upon this blog having no idea what EpiphanyChannel.com is or who I am…here is the trailer about the Epiphany Project and book for your viewing pleasure.  All of these interviews have been conducted ‘guerilla style’ with just me, my camera and these amazing people who have shared their greatest epiphanies in life with me and you can go see, hear and read about them on the website (and the quality of the video is much better there, too)…I have done other interviews for the book that weren’t filmed, and there are more filmed ones coming – some are still being edited, and some are lined up to film as I write this – so keep coming back and stay tuned! (and please go check out the website and share your stories and suggestions if you are so inclined!  I’d especially love to know whose greatest epiphanies in life you’d like to know about…)

Thanks and have a good one!

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Epiphany Book Recommendations

Lately, people have been asking me for recommendations of books for summer reading…I recently have completely two amazing autobiographical accounts that, yes, happen to deal with epiphanies…

Oddly enough, both of these authors are from Austin (Austin has been my home off and on for years). One lives there now and the other was raised there but now lives in New York. Both books have films based on them as well – coming out very soon in fact!

The first book is The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson. This is an incredible story of parental love and the quest these parents go on to heal their autistic son. I laughed out loud, gasped, cried, and could not put it down. The documentary they shot while on their journey, primarily on horseback in Outer Mongolia, meeting with shamans who could possibly heal their son, is going to be released in September. It was a huge hit on the festival film circuit, including the big ones – Sundance and South By Southwest. Rupert is now adapting the book for a narrative film as well. For me, this book is an example of the human capacity for exceptional, boundless love and the endless possibilities and opportunities that can occur because of it. I have met Rupert in Austin and he is quite dashing, fun and definitely extraordinary. His wife, Kristin is amazing, too, and hopefully I will be interviewing them for the book. They have set up a foundation and school for children with autism with proceeds from these projects and individual donations.

The second book I just finished, which actually made me brave enough to give in and write a blog is Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. I have had the book since the summer of 2006 when I picked up a hardback signed copy in BookPeople, my favorite indie bookstore in Austin, the day after Ms. Powell had a booksigning…I’m so bummed I missed her now. Obviously, I was an idiot and never even read it, but because there is such a hoopla about the new Nora Ephron film with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (and also Chris Messina, who plays Julie’s husband and might not be as famous but is an incredible actor and great guy), I looked for it on my shelf the other day and decided I needed to sit down with it. Again – couldn’t put it down. Girl has epiphany that her life is stagnant and dead end-ish and she needs to create a project that stimulates her before she turns 30. She swipes her mother’s copy of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and decides to cook all 524 recipes in it over the course of a year and blogs about it, having no idea what she’s doing in either the kitchen or the blog. Cut to…she is now a big-time author, writes full-time, still blogs, and has a BIG-time movie out based on her book. And we all live happily ever after…gotta love stories like this, especially when they’re true! Funny, smart, real, actually makes you want to cook (which is beyond odd for me) and wear pearls (ditto) and brings back childhood memories of watching Julia Child on TV which was made no sense and was completely over my head at the time (and probably still is) but mesmerized nonetheless, and I can’t wait for the film which opens August 7.


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Epiphanies About Gifts & Talents

Goodness, it’s already Wed.?! Where does the time go?! I think time truly might be speeding up, it’s not just our imaginations – but that is a subject for another day…so anyway, my awesome team of Monty Bass, my video editor, and Sarah Farrell, my web designer, have been putting the finishing touches on the website over the last few days so we can finally officially launch. Oddly enough on Sat. night (yes, I know, I have such an exciting social life lately), Monty and I had just finished editing Ariane De Bonvoisin’s Epiphany interview when out of the blue she called to invite me to attend the 11:30am Agape church service the next day to hear Michael Beckwith speak – she had VIP tickets. I was like, ‘you need tickets to attend church??’ but I said I’d meet her there at 11am.

Um, okay. Wow. I saw why you needed tickets. Well, they weren’t really tickets but someone had assured her seats. I thought surely this was ridiculous and what could possibly warrant such a big deal for church? There was this huge line outside like we were going to a concert or something. Well…now I get it. I ended up getting seated on the front row and experienced one of the most fun, most involved, most joyous and engrossing church celebrations I’ve ever witnessed. Michael Beckwith is amazing which is why he is world-renowned and on the national and international scene. (He’s in the film, The Secret, and has appeared on Oprah and Larry King, amongst other shows.) He is so funny, cute, alive, devoted and real. He’s like a Chris Rock of ministers. That’s who he sort of reminded me of – the way he talked and laughed and made jokes and paced back and forth on stage and just the energy he put into all of it. Agape endorsed Ariane’s book, The First 30 Days, so we met Michael afterwards and he could not have been more real, gracious and super-cool.

I found it interesting that his sermon that day had to do with our gifts and that if we just stick with cultivating our gifts, they will guide us. He says our gifts are not really for us but to serve others and society and if we quit saying, ‘yes, but…(insert whatever excuse you want here)’ and just do what we feel called to do and work diligently on those gifts and talents, even if we’re scared or worried, those gifts and talents will end up guiding us to places we never even knew we could go.

I found it interesting because I don’t know if this is total coincidence because it happened with my last blog entry, but his message reminded me of what Elizabeth Avellan, the film producer of Desperado and Spy Kids, had to say in her Epiphany interview:

‘Develop your talents, and they will guide you.’

They both said not to worry about what will happen but to develop, cultivate, and honor your gifts and talents and they will lead and guide you to the next thing along life’s path. That does seem to be a tenet that most of the successful people I have interviewed for Epiphany have embraced…so I’m just sayin’…food for thought…

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Welcome to The Epiphany Channel Blog!

Welcome to the EpiphanyChannel Blog!

Since everyone and their dog, literally, has a blog these days, (I especially like the dachshund blogs, of course – see Lord of the Wiens), I was informed that once I launched my EpiphanyChannel.com site, I needed to have one, so here we are…

I’ll be writing and musing about the Epiphany Project and about epiphanies themselves and epiphanies about epiphanies…but you never know, I’ve never done a blog before, so I’m sure I’ll be musing about other what-nots and going-ons…we’ll see what happens…

For my very first blog entry, I will go with what I would love my watchers and readers to do – suggest and talk about people whose greatest epiphanies they would like to know about.  I received an email about Nobel Prize Nominee Irene Sendler recently and have pasted it below.  I would love to know what this amazing woman’s greatest epiphany in life was…look at that face!

Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Irena Sendler: Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Irena Sendler – who recently died at 98 years of age, was a 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

During WWII, Irena was given permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a plumbing/sewer specialist.  She had an ulterior motive – she knew what the Nazi plan was for Jews…

Irena smuggled out infants in the bottom of a tool box she carried in the back of her truck.  She used a burlap sack for bigger children.  She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.  The soldiers wanted nothing to do with her dog.  The barking covered noises of the infants and children.

Irena managed to smuggle out and save 2500 infants and children before she was caught!  The Nazi’s broke both her legs and arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record in a jar buried under a tree in her back yard of all the children she smuggled out.  After the war, she tried to locate all parents that may have survived to reunite families, but most had been gassed.  The children she could not reunite were placed with foster families or adopted.

Irena was nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.  She was not selected.  Al Gore won for An Inconvenient Truth.

I looked Irena up after getting this email and found her website where you can find loads of information on her and her story (including the fact that Hallmark did a movie on her that aired on CBS in April starring True Blood’s very own Anna Pacquin as Irena) and this blurb was on the home page:

“He who changes one person, changes the world entire.”

which reminded me of what G.W. Bailey says in his interview for Epiphany…

‘When one life changes, many lives change.’

There was another quote that G.W. shared with me that I love by J.M. Barrie (the guy who wrote Peter Pan).  They use it in all the Sunshine Kids’ literature, but since it isn’t by G.W., I didn’t mention it in his interview for the book or website, so I’ll share it here:

‘Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.’

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