| The Breakthrough Experience - An Interview with Dr John Demartini |
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| Ceri Balston | |
| Thursday, 31 January 2008 | |
  Dr John Demartini is a world leading inspirational speaker and author at the forefront of the burgeoning personal and professional development industry. His scope of knowledge and experience is a culmination of 34 years of research and studies of more than 28,000 texts into over 200 different disciplines ranging from psychology, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, neurology and physiology.Today Dr Demartini speaks 300 days a year in over fifty countries across the globe and is the author of over forty books. Some of his bestselling titles include -'The Breakthrough Experience - a revolutionary new approach to Personal transformation', 'Count Your Blessings' and 'How to make one Hell of a Profit and still get to Heaven'. In recent times Dr Demartini has captured the attention of celebrities, international sport personalities, noted politicians and UN representatives as the result of a self help methodology he developed and coined as The Demartini Method™. Derived from a study of Quantum Physics, The Demartini Method™ is now being studied in a number of Universities and presented to psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, health professionals and prison workers all over the world. Ceri Balston from Harmonious Living chatted to John Demartini. Questions
John Demartini: I get asked that question a lot. I do what I love doing, I'm inspired by my mission and have lived my dream since I was 17. If your goals don't match your values then it's like living with a brake on and you need more sleep. I also delegate what's low on my value system so I just dedicate my time to research, travel, teaching and speaking. Also I eat well. Multi grain toast, yogurt, fruit for breakfast. Soup, salad and sushi for lunch. I studied and lectured on nutrition for many years so developed my eating habits then. I also don't drink, I don't smoke or do caffeine, and I take no sugar. Ceri: Do you exercise? John Demartini: I did yoga for many years but now my schedule's really tight I do Callanetics when I can [John starts stretching in the interview]. Now I find myself sacrificing my exercise for emails, I had 65 new ones today. [It's only 8.30 in the morning and I’m starting to feel bad about ever complaining about how many emails I get each day] Last year I delivered over 400 speeches and over 1,000 TV, radio and print interviews, this year by tomorrow [24th January] I would have completed 24 speeches already… so I'm very busy. Ceri: Do you ever take a holiday? John Demartini: I don't think about holidays, they're for people who haven't found what they love doing. Ceri: At the age of 7 you were told you had a learning difficulty and wouldn't be able to read or write, you dropped out of school at 14 and ended up living on the streets. What was the turning point in your life, what turned it around? John Demartini: I almost died of strychnine poisoning from a plant I was eating for breakfast everyday, and it took me 12 years to get rid of the symptoms, so I focussed on my health. Whilst I was recovering a lady found me in a tent and took me to a health food store. There I met a man who said “You need to take a yoga class”, outside the shop I saw a flyer for a Paul Bragg talk at the Yoga School in Oahu. He guest lectured and it was the most inspiring thing I’d ever heard. It was then that I decided to dedicate my life to learning and teaching. Ceri: You're well known for having read something like 20,000 books, do you have a favourite one that has influenced you the most? John Demartini: I was introduced to the Syntopicon: An Index of Great Ideas, Volume 1 & 2 (I encourage everyone to read it), it’s by Britannica and comes from the great works of the Western World. The ideas are the most important ideas for humanity condensed. I also carry around with me everywhere I go my Book of Objectives, which I started when I was 17, it’s now over 600 pages full of the goals I’ve set for my life. Ceri: Do you cross them off as you complete them? John Demartini: I just put an asterisk next to them as I complete them, but I’m adding new goals everyday. Ceri: You seem to be fascinated by so many topics from quantum physics, theology, psychology, is there anything that doesn't interest you, that you find boring perhaps? John Demartini: [pause] Cake decorating… [laughs]. I don’t cook. My late wife cooked two times in twelve years, [jokes] I said “Never again!” I don’t like to spend time eating, I eat to live. I’m not a master of technology, I’m more interested in the science behind it. I don’t drive, so cars hold no fascination for me, I’d rather use my time working. Ceri: Do you ever find time for the latest Dan Brown novel? John Demartini: No, I’ve studied/written about 272 different disciplines, and I only read stuff that adds value to what I do, a service, product or idea that serves other people. Ceri: You've developed the Demartini Method™ which is now taught to psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, health professionals and prison workers all over the world. Can you tell us what it is? John Demartini: The method is something I’ve developed from 30 years of research and studies in numerous disciplines including physics, philosophy, theology, metaphysics, psychology, astronomy, mathematics, neurology and physiology. There are a series of pre-determined questions that are directed towards; bringing balance to the mind, and opening up the heart to a state of gratitude and unconditional love, it helps you to discover the order in what you think is chaos. Its part of the Breakthrough Experience™ and when people finish the exercise there are tears of gratitude and it’s true that there are “no mistakes”. It’s amazing, because it works! Psychologists are learning this method and I remember one telling me after his Breakthrough Experience™ that he had to quit his practise to start doing this. I’ve just brought it into two prisons this week during my trip to Ireland where I met people serving life sentences, people serving sentences for drug trafficking and embezzlement. Ceri: Many people are searching for fulfilment in their careers and would like to pursue something more rewarding. How do you suggest they go about finding the right career path for them? John Demartini: In the Breakthrough Experience™ (which I held 39 times last year). I’m absolutely certain that inside them they know what it is. There are seven major fears, fear of; intellectual shortcomings, physical inadequacies, failure, scarcity, society’s judgements, rejection, and authority. These fears cloud the sunny truth of what you’re supposed to be doing. Breakthrough looks at your fears and breaks them down, it shows them how to dissolve the fear. Ceri: You obviously have a huge passion for teaching and sharing your knowledge, is there any one lesson you'd like people to remember above all others? John Demartini: We live in a really magnificent universe and you’re worthy of love. We deserve gratitude and love. Ceri: What Demartini experiences can South Africa look forward to this year? John Demartini: My new book, “The Riches Within: Your Seven Secret Treasures” is coming out in March. It looks at our buried riches of; spiritual, mental, career, financial, social and physical and teaches how to awaken those areas, those treasures. Three new DVDs are coming out this year including “The Opus” and I’m also in the film “Oh My God”. I’ll also be holding a Success in Leadership Conference at Regenesis College with Deepak Chopra. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Richard Branson will also be there speaking. There’ll also be more Breakthrough Experiences and talks, a tele-seminar for real estate developers, and I’m developing a children’s TV show (with Disney). |
This is the powerful story of the author's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and how a healer's unusual prescription of mindful altruism - to 'give away 29 gifts in 29 days' - ignited her energy, her happiness, and invited more abundance into her life.
