JAMES REDFIELD: MY STORY – I grew up a searcher.  From an early age, I can remember desiring a more complete answer to life’s more puzzling questions.

Sure everyone knows we have to grow up, find a way to make a living, take care of our kids, and seek a better world. But there were larger questions and no one was talking about them: Why are we here in this life in the first place? And why is life, at times, so hard?

Is there a secret to being lucky, confident, and successful in the pursuit of our dreams that humanity had not worked out yet?

As I realized later, my home environment was Synchronistic to my search for an answer to these questions. We didn’t have much money, but we had something better- enough land to have a sort of homestead, with gardens and food stock, lots of trees, pastures, and overlook mountains.

I can tell you with certainly, growing up in the South during the Civil Rights era awakened my advocacy for positive social action. My father, being from California put me on the correct side of that issue. Dad was an art teacher who struggled with some PTSD after World War II, and he valued the arts, especially writing. Not that I knew anything about Synchronicity back then or had any dreams of writing. Those ideas came to me when I was older.

As an older adolescent, I just kept asking questions about how to pursue life.  I was beginning to find some answers given by religion and academic philosophy, but they seemed too intellectually abstract and incomplete. I knew, the truth I was searching for, might not be simple, but it had to be clear…and concrete enough to put into action personally.

Early on, some part of me believed this knowledge existed, yet rebelliousness hampered my adolescent life. Confusion sent me through phases of challenging the rules, and took me very close to dire consequences. I often pacified myself with various distractions and a defended Aloofness (characteristic of the 5 in Enneagram terminology). I often went through alternating periods of frustrated self-isolation and deep research.

I’m sure I drove everyone crazy during this time. And no doubt my family was pleased when I departed for college. There, I was finally in my element. I was able to pursue my education in comparative religion, modern physics, and the academic movement of the day: the “Human Potential Movement.”

This idea taught us that humans are not reaching their true potential and fulfillment, and gave a name to my inner sense: there was more to life than we have fully discovered. It was an exciting time for me. I studied all the traditional expressions of human potential: Eastern and Western Mysticism, Humanistic Psychology, and Meditation, just to name a few.

As I continued my education searching for the truth, I found each area of research much too theoretical and abstract.  Though lacking my clear direction, I went on to graduate the university with an advanced degree and years of profound experiences. My college education, though enlightening, left me wanting a straight explanation and this further engaged my need to develop a study designed from authentic experience. It was this break-through that led me to realize a higher calling. I began a career as a therapist, hoping for continued growth through experimental studies.

After years of professional work, I realized that our human potential was being viewed too academically. I found the truth and wisdom so many of us were looking for to be in fact: Spiritual. However, it seemed religion had not yet defined this experience in practice. They were much too familiar with the alignment of individual doctrines.

As a result, I began to observe and then document the experiences of ordinary people who sought to live a Spiritual life in the early 1990’s. I thought this study would hand over profound evidence in view of how humans were evolving in consciousness. I also incorporated my experiences, observing a higher Divine presence in my relationships and career. As this study continued, I noticed we are coming to a higher Spiritual consciousness by way of steps or Insights. In turn, I found we were beginning to sense a heightened practical Intuition and precognition in forms of Synchronicity, purpose, or destiny.

Dr. Todd Ovokaitys (or Dr. Todd, as he is called) was formally educated at Northwestern University, where he was 1st in his class of 1800 with a 4.0 GPA. From Northwestern, he was accepted into a combined, accelerated undergraduate/medical school program at the highly esteemed Johns Hopkins University. Following this training he completed an Internship, Residency, and Chief Medical Residency in the Georgetown University Hospital System. This was followed by a two year Fellowship in Pulmonary and Intensive Care Medicine, also at Georgetown University Hospital. At Georgetown, Dr. Todd participated in formal studies of T cell immune function after harvesting lymphocytes from the lung via fiber optic bronchoscopy. In addition, this training involved intensive care of many persons afflicted with HIV infection, as the lung is a common target following the immunologic breakdown of this condition. Aware of the extreme limitations of treating HIV through ordinary conventional means, Dr. Todd began a search for less intrusive solutions. The concept of using the subtle differences of genetic organization between the viral and human genomes was the launch point for exploring new avenues of molecular resonance technologies. In concept, the slight differences of resonance signatures between the viral and human genomes could be used to selectively target and eliminate infected parts of cells leaving uninfected normal cells unharmed. After studying the background work on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on living systems, Dr. Todd commissioned a colleague with the expertise to design and build a fundamentally new laser electromagnetic resonance technology. This new laser optical technology has been patented worldwide as U.S. #6,064,500 (worldwide patent WO97/22022) and U.S. #6,811,564,B1 (worldwide patent WO02/02187). Dr. Todd's invention is now being used in the potentiation of nutrients and offers alternative medicine and well-being a very bright future.

Becky is a gifted educator and a has been a driving force at Redstone Media Group for over 12 years as the Western Regional Director of operations located in Los Angeles. Animals, natural healing, alternative health care and educating people are her passion which is why she is so successful in helping our advertising partners tell their story. Becky also has the rare gift of being able to understand the needs of her clients as well as the challenges that many of our readers experience with their animals. She is a true advocate of integrative health care for both animals and humans … “When I found Animal Wellness Magazine, it was everything I had been working toward and promoted all that I believed in”. Becky enjoys the California lifestyle living on Long Beach with her beloved dogs Timothy and Cute at her side. Oh ya...she likes monkeys too!

After a life spent experiencing trials by fire while simultaneously navigating choppy waters, she is passionate about helping others navigate their own paths and become the very best version of themselves they can be.  Having been told early in adulthood that as an employee she would make an excellent entrepreneur, Kellie, has started, grown and/or run several small businesses.  Currently, she is a real estate broker and life coach in southeastern Arizona and, as usual, lives with a rather large menagerie of animals and way more gardens and other projects than any truly sane person would attempt to handle.

Bri Seeley is a a multi-talented and passionate entrepreneur that accomplishes her mission of inspiring women to BE women through coaching, writing, speaking, hosting events, and more. Women connect with her writing and coaching because of her direct, raw, and vulnerable approach to life.

Bri shares her perspective and experiences with the purpose of inspiring women to live life on their terms. Her conviction to infuse life with truth, passion, and focus inspires the women she works with to feel confident in their decisions and embrace their power to create and embody their remarkable futures now.

Craig Chasky grew up in Long Island, New York, where he loved to cook with his mother and grandmother. When he was six years old, he burned his hand on the electric stove. He jokes he likes the heat in the kitchen and his hand is okay. When Craig became a teenager, he moved to North Carolina where he washed pots and pans at Queens Women’s College for 750. He filled in for an absent chef and was voted in to take over at just 15 years old.

Craig moved back to New York to work with the renowned Glorious Foods Catering. He catered events at The MoMA with Cary Grant as host. As well as Rudolph Nureyev’s 50 th birthday at The MET. He catered The Bicentennial of The Statute of Liberty 1986 with Chef Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans. For 3 years Chef Craig worked at the famous Hermitage Restaurant in New York and catered for patrons such as Jackie Onassis, Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, Donald Trump, Brooke Shields and Tommy Matola/Sony Music.

After attending Peter Krumps Cooking School and Culinary Institute of America – Chef Craig studied with Chef Bernard Clayton, Jr., Jacque Pepin as well as James Beard.

In 1988 Chef Craig opened up the Underhill Inn in Hillsdale, New York and within four months received four-4 Star reviews.

Local catering in Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida: Digital Village, Schroder-Manatee, Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, Manatee Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club of Manatee – Carnival Event Michael Saunders Real Estate, Sotheby’s International Real Estate , Keller Williams, Real Magazine, Wine Styles Lakewood Ranch, Crunch, LaFitness, Shapes, Fit2Run-HealthFit, Florida Blue, Banks: Regions, Synovous, HomeBanc, 5/3rd ; Center for Sight, YMCA, Mandala Spa, Muse Salon, Fyzical-SRQ, Hand and Stone, Martin Freeman, As Good As it Gets.

Craig’s success took him to THE FOOD NETWORK, New York Times, New York Magazine Yankee Magazine, Sarasota and Manatee Herald – ABC and NBC TV-NPR Radio.

Today Chef Craig Chasky is empowering others to achieve their dreams by encouraging and guiding, so in turn they can be successful in their field.

Phil Watkins received his B.S. in psychology from the University of Oregon and his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. He has taught in the Psychology Department at Eastern Washington University since 1990. After investigating memory biases in depression, Phil shifted his focus to gratitude and how it impacts well-being. He developed one of the most utilized measures of gratitude (the GRAT), and has been called a “pioneer in gratitude research.” He has remained active in the science of gratitude, and his research now focuses on how gratitude enhances happiness. He has published a number of scientific papers on gratitude, and has also published two books. His first book, Gratitude and the Good Life, is a treatise on the current science of gratitude. More recently he published Positive Psychology 101, which is written for a more general audience on the science of happiness and positive psychology (Springer Publishers, New York).