For Life on Purpose Episode #73, my guest is the pioneering therapist Dr. Judith Orloff, a New York Times best-selling author and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA who has helped patients find emotional freedom for more than 20 years. Dr. Orloff synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality to achieve physical and emotional healing.

In this enlightening conversation, we discussed her brand new book, The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People (Sounds True), in which she offers an invaluable resource to help EMPATHIC people survive in an often insensitive world, plus her life and career as "the positive energy guru."

“Empaths feel things first, then think, which is the opposite of how most people function in our over- intellectualized society,” says Dr. Orloff. "The key to self-care is to recognize when you’re experiencing the first signs of sensory overload or when you start absorbing negativity or stress from others. The sooner you can act to reduce stimulation and to center yourself, the more balanced and protected you will be."

About: Transforming the face of psychiatry, Judith Orloff MD asserts that we are keepers of an innate intuitive intelligence so perceptive that it can tell us how to heal -- and prevent -- illness. Yet intuition and spirituality are the very aspects of our wisdom usually disenfranchised from traditional health care.

Dr. Orloff is accomplishing for psychiatry what physicians like Dean Ornish and Mehmet Oz have done for mainstream medicine -- she is proving that the links between physical, emotional, and spiritual health can't be ignored. Dr. Orloff is a New York Times bestselling author and is on the UCLA psychiatric clinical faculty. She specializes in treating empaths and sensitive people in her Los Angeles based private practice.

She has spoken at medical schools, hospitals, the American Psychiatric Association, Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Women Summit, and alternative and traditional health forums -- venues where she presents practical intuitive tools to doctors, patients, and everyday people. In response to her work, The Los Angeles Times calls Dr. Orloff "a prominent energy-based healer."

Dr. Orloff's latest book “The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People” (Sounds True, 2017) is an invaluable resource to help sensitive people of all kinds develop healthy coping mechanisms in our high-stimulus world without experiencing compassion fatigue or burnout. Then empaths can fully embody their gifts of intuition, creativity, and compassion.

In Dr. Orloff’s first book, "Second Sight" she chronicles her struggles acknowledging and then finally embracing her gift of intuition. Her second book, "Dr. Orloff's: Guide to Intuitive Healing" shows how breakthroughs in healing our body, emotions, and sexuality can be accomplished by listening to intuition.  

"Positive Energy," which has been translated into 25 languages, takes a probing look at the American epidemic of exhaustion and how we can reverse it using specific strategies to build energy and combat draining people. Her New York Times Bestseller, "Emotional Freedom" describes how to transform negative emotions into positive ones with specific techniques.

Finally, "The Power of Surrender" describes the power of letting go in everyday life, health, and wellness--an enlivening and sane alternative to pushing, forcing, and over controlling people and situations.

Dr. Orloff's work has been featured in O Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Self, Cosmo, The Washington Times, Teen Vogue, Scientific American, and the New York Post. She has appeared on The Today Show, The Dr. Oz Show, CBS Early Show, CNN, PBS, BBC5, and NPR. Dr. Orloff is also an  Elephant Journal, Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, blogger.

To learn more about Dr. Orloff's work, visit: http://www.drjudithorloff.com/.

For Life on Purpose Episode #72, another "Soul Series" interview, my guest is author and minister Maria Felipe, who joined me for a fantastic conversation that can change lives. We discussed her unique story going from a successful (but ultimately unfulfilling) career as an actress, model, and Latina boxing announcer to spiritual teacher and motivational speaker.

And we talked about her brand new book, Live Your Happy: Get Out of Your Own Way and Find the Love Within (New World Library), in which she shares more than twenty years of experience studying and living the principles from A Course in Miracles (ACIM). Live Your Happy is not a philosophic explanation of the Course; it is a practical guide for living it.

The book includes real-world examples from the author’s life and from her students’ experiences. In nine crystal-clear chapters, she shows readers how to get the “cuckoo voice of the ego” out of the way, connect with their “inner teacher,” and access personal power and strength.

“This book is a simple but not necessarily easy guide to learning to live your happy. I will share practical spiritual tools to get you there, along with stories of my own journey and of people I’ve counseled. I empower my clients not by telling them what to do but by helping them understand that they have the answer within,” she writes. “I ask that you trust me and be gentle with yourself. Step by step, I will train you to listen to your right mind. In turn, you will become free to live in happiness consistently. You will even be happy when you have so-called ‘problems.’ How’s that for a miracle?”

About: a Cuban-American born in Miami, Maria Felipe stands at 5’9" tall with a towering personality to match. Her charisma has captivated thousands of viewers across the United States and beyond, as her pursuit of an acting career resulted in dozens of appearances in national commercials, hosting successful TV shows (including World Wrestling Federation shows with live audiences of 20,000), and traveling the world as a model.

After success in her field she felt called inward, and studied to become a Reverend with Pathways of Light, an accredited religious school inspired by A Course in Miracles.

Maria is a dynamic speaker in both Spanish and English. She leads services monthly at Unity Church in Burbank, where she created the church's first regular Spanish service, as well as performing services in English. Her talks now draw both Spanish and English speakers from all over Southern California. She also leads workshops.

Maria has created her own channel on You Tube by hosting MariaCoconut TV, a show designed to share and expand the message of love by interviewing other spiritual leaders. In 2013, Maria been a regular guest on Unity Radio, Awakening Together Radio and Center Of Light Radio.

She’s also recently appeared as a motivational speaker on TV shows and news programs for Univison, Telemundo and CNN. She has also spoken alongside prominent teachers David Hoffmeister and Gary Renard in Los Angeles, Mexico, and Greece.

People magazine once referred to Maria Felipe as ’’Una Campeona Sin Rival,’’ which means a champion without rival. This is an apt label for this young, vivacious and talented actress, host, and minister. And the gifts she can share with countless others continue to multiply as she allows the expression of her talents to be guided by the inner light of God.

To learn more about Maria's work, visit: https://www.mariafelipe.org/.