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1. YOU REFER TO YOURSELF AS A CHANGE CATALYST. COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THAT TERM?

People want to change things in their life - their job, their relationship (itself or partner), their weight - whatever! And yet, THEY don’t want to change. They focus on the other rather than themselves, which will never bring about the change they desire. They fail to realize that change comes from within - it comes with acceptance of both the desire and the necessity for it. As a change catalyst, I can be an example of what change looks like. I can acknowledge the fear that accompanies change, and I can inspire them to embrace change.

2. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THE LAND OF I CAN?

The Land of I Can is a distilled version of everything I have personally experienced. The words themselves magically flowed onto the page after I attended the 1999 Awakened World Conference in Palm Springs when I consciously acknowledged that my life’s lessons were to be shared with the world.

3. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR BOOK?

My intent is to reach as many people as I can with a simple and easily digested message that will inspire others to let go of limiting beliefs and live their lives more fully.

My desire is to send a message of optimism, a message of the vibrancy of the human soul and that the love we give others is the only thing of value on earth.

The Land of I Can is my gift to all and a way for me to share what is in my heart.

4. WHEN DID YOU REACH THE LAND OF I CAN?

Every time I challenge myself, every time I move past adversity into positive change, I reach The Land of I Can. It is a place of constant being, not a place to arrive and stay stagnant.

Just like the metaphorical flower that grows from a seed, matures, dies, and re-seeds to sprout and blossom again, so do we.

5. WAS IT A DIFFICULT JOURNEY?

The journey is only as difficult as we, as individuals, make it. I have moved through great change effortlessly, and then found myself stuck at small hurdles. This is when I remind myself that this hurdle represents what I have yet to learn. The difficulty is our perception of this hurdle - to consciously bless it, receive it with love, and in doing so move through it with a state of grace.

To find the courage that resides in us, and the consciousness that comes through strength, that is the purpose of any adversity, and the intention of God’s will be done.

6. YOUR BOOK STRESSES, EXCLUSIVELY, SELF-RELIANCE. WHAT PART, IF ANY, DO OTHERS (FRIENDS, SUPPORT GROUPS, A HIGHER POWER) PLAY IN ARRIVING IN THE LAND OF I CAN?

Self-reliance, yes, AND with the higher power that resides within us all. Friends and others can be there to nurture and encourage, but the journey in life is our classroom in life - and no one can do our lessons for us.

7. DO YOU BELIEVE IN A HIGHER POWER?

Yes! I believe in God, Allah, Buddha - it doesn’t matter what name we give it or what religion guides us, it is all one. And I believe that higher power, Spirit, is in each and every one of us.

I believe that in our fast-paced modern society we are spiritually hungry and feel a loss of simplicity and a loss of trust. The search for answers outside ourselves in another person, in material possessions, in anything that is out there, is self defeating. The message of The Land of I Can is to believe, to trust, to love - and to include ourselves in that equation. When we have unity with all - nature, others, and water the seeds of the spirit inside ourselves, we move away from alienation and isolation.

8. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE OR DEFINE THAT HIGHER POWER?

I believe that this Higher Power is our very essence. Our Physical bodies are our form, just like the food we eat or the material possessions we own, or even the relationships in our life - they represent ‘the other’. But it is not who we are. It is like the shell of a peanut, which is the container, not the fruit itself. These are the exterior forms and can never satisfy. What we are really searching for is the kernel, the peanut, the essence which will bring us fullness and satisfaction.

As long as we are looking ‘out there’ we won’t find that essence. It is ‘in here’ already, inside ourselves.

9. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST SATISFYING RESPONSE FROM OR ABOUT THE BOOK?

I am moved by the changes in individual lives and how this simple message inspires them.

There are many stories of how this shows up. One is of an artist who was fearful of showing his work to others, and yet very desirous of working in that field. He started reading The Land of I Can every morning, and then journaling about which land he felt he was in that day. He said he didn’t understand the message intellectually, but something was moving him emotionally. A week later, as he read the words, "To be fearless is to have less fear, and to move," he was motivated to pack up his portfolio and take it to a convention where there would be the people to view his work and who could make hiring decisions. To his surprise, he found not one, but three parties interested in his work and a sense of acceptance he had not experienced before. Now that’s exciting!

10. THERE ARE A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF SELF-HELP AND INSPIRATIONAL BOOKS ON THE SHELVES. WHAT SETS YOURS ABOVE THE OTHERS?

The Land of I Can seems to trigger people in an emotional way, and a soft, accepting, caring way, that removes the resistance to change. What appears at first glance to be a simple and beautiful book to touch and treasure is soon discovered to hold a powerful message that can be read quickly and repeatedly. It becomes, in essence, a mantra.

11. HOW CAN WE HELP OTHERS FIND THE LAND OF I CAN?

We lead by example. Therefore, the work begins first with us. In loving ourselves enough to move towards purpose, to manifest, we are then in the consciousness of giving.

12. HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE WHEN SOMEONE IS STUCK IN ONE OF THE "BAD LANDS" YOU DESCRIBE?

I think of the "Bad Lands" as lands of challenge. And they all exist for every one of us at different times in our lives. With the right attitude, they become the adventure in life.

When we see a lack of passion for existence or self-defeating behavior, we can be sure that someone is in a land of challenge. The goal is to avoid becoming stuck in a place of repetitive life lessons that do not bring us the joy and satisfaction we are meant to live.

13. IF YOU HAD TO SUM UP YOUR LIFE OR SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY IN 25 WORDS OR LESS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

Follow your heart, your intuition, and do what you feel is right for you. Above all, live! Life is God’s gift to us. Let us appreciate it – all of it.





CONTACT: Susan L. Gilbert
1-800-687-3406
e-mail: sgilbert@unityproducts.com