Transformation: essays on Love, Healing, and Water

A variety of leaders are emerging to hold a place of hope for our planet and its inhabitants.  Within the pages of this book are stories, commentaries, and perspectives on transforming some of our ideas, expectations, and actions.  Transformation is a collection of essays that eloquently express the personal, transpersonal, and communal change that can be achieved through a shift in consciousness, a desire for peace, and a reconnection with nature and its diverse expressions. These fifteen authors invite you to join them in exploring what we can be and do for our spirit, our community, and our world.

Koji Nakamura wrote Transformation through Taiko Drumming

KOJI NAKAMURA
Koji Nakamura is considered one of today’s foremost taiko artists.He was featured on Eugene Friesen’s CD, “Sono Miho”
and most recently on Paul Winter’s CD, “Crestone.” His work onthe later resulted in a Grammy Award in 2007.
Koji Nakamura can be heard on most of the Shumei Ensemble’s recordings.
His career began in 1982 as a member of Japan’s legendary Ondeko-za. In 1985 he became the first leader of the Shumei TaikoEnsemble. Starting with just three drums, three drummers, and two compositions, under his leadership the group evolved to oneof taiko’s preeminent groups.
Among his major artistic influences are Tagayasu Den of Ondekoza, who taught the importance of character and dedication, and the Shumei Ensemble’s artistic director, the flutist Meisho Tosha,
who revealed the sophistication and unlimited expression possiblewithin taiko. 
Primary among his influences was Shumei’s first taiko artist, Toshiro Ishida, who instilled in Mr. Nakamura the
belief that at heart taiko is a spiritual pursuit. He also believes that if taiko holds a purpose beyond pure enjoyment, it is to create harmony amongst people.  Koji moved to theUnited States in 2005 to help promote the art of taiko in NorthAmerica.
He now oversees a number of students, artists, and groups throughout the country.
Koji Nakamura
E-mail: koji3010@yahoo.co.jp
Phone: 626-584-8841 (office)
Website: www.makototaiko.org

Meir Schneider wrote Transform You Body and Eyes

MEIR SCHNEIDER

Born Blind
Meir Schneider was born with cataracts and other serious vision problems.After five unsuccessful surgeries on the lenses of his eyes, which left them shattered and filled with scar tissue, doctors pronounced his condition hopeless and he was certified permanently legally blind. He performed his reading and schoolwork in Braille.
Meir Schneider, as a child with his grandmother, was legally blind and did his schoolwork in Braille.
At age 17, Meir learned the Bates Method of eye exercises. He practiced them with a diligence that probably no one had ever applied to them before, up to 13 hours a day, undeterred by the skepticism of family and friends. To this he added his own regimen of self-massage and movement.


Learning to See
Within six months, he could recognize visual objects for the first time; within 18 months, he could read print without glasses. His vision continued to improve, and today is 20/80. He holds a current unrestricted California driver’s license


Sharing his Vision with Others
Meir instructing a Natural Vision Improvement Workshop at the Center for Self-Healing in San Francisco


Meir teaching Natural Vision Improvemnt at the Center for Self-Healing
During his recovery process, while still a teenager, Meir began to help others with a wide range of degenerative conditions, such as polio, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis.


He found that the same principles which enabled him to gain functional eyesight could be applied to the entire body.
His discoveries led to the creation of the Meir Schneider Method of Self-Healing through Bodyworkand Movement, helping tens of thousands of people with serious physical and visual conditions worldwide.


An internationally respected therapist and educator, Meir is the founder and director of the School for Self-Healing in San Francisco, the author of The Natural Vision Improvement Kit, Movement for Self-Healing, Yoga for Your Eyes, Meir Schneider’s Miracle Eyesight Method, Self-Healing: My Life and Vision and the principal author of The Handbook of Self-Healing. He was awarded a PhD in the Healing Arts for his work with muscular dystrophy.


Meir Schneider, Ph.D., L.M.T. is an internationally acclaimed educator, author, pioneer therapist, and founder of San
Francisco’s nonprofit School for Self-Healing.Schneider was born blind with congenital cataracts, glaucoma, nystagmus, and underdeveloped cataracts. He was given a permanent blindness certificate and read by Braille until the age of 17. As a teenager Schneider overcame his congenital blindness, naturally. He reads and writes without glasses and currently holds an unrestricted California driver’s license. From the principles he discovered while working to gain functional vision, he developed a uniq therapeutic healthcare system that combines vision exercises with
gentle movement, massage, self-massge, breathing, and visualization. The Meir Schneider Self-Healing Meathod is
beneficial for people of all ages and effective on a wide range of physical and visual problems. His publications include Movement for Self-Healing, The Natural Vision Improvement Kit,Yoga for
Your Eyes, Meir’s Miracle Eyesight Method, and The Handbook of Self-Healing.


The School for Self-Healing
2218 48th Ave.
San Francisco, Ca 94116
Ph: (415) 665-9574 Fx: (415) 665-1318


http://www.self-healing.org

Al Diaz wrote The Power That Circulates Within Us All

AL DIAZ
Al Diaz, renowned International authentic speaker, top selling
Author, cutting-edge internet radio show host & Guide who has
inspired thousands to simply shatter that which no longer stands
to serve for our best and highest good. To be in this world and free
the heart’s desires to truly know and understand, choosing our
intended highest levels of personal greatness in a simple, gentle,
loving and creative way. Al enhances your current level of self
understanding without adding any dogma, religion, practice, sect,
philosophy, science, cult, or any other restriction into your Life. Al
speaks from the heart with his guidance and insights, and an
expert for you to remember your own answers.
Al Diaz, author of “BEing The Titus Concept” and “The Titus
Concept Money for My Best and Highest Good”
www.ilumine-ao.com

Addrianna Larkin wrote A World of Possibilities

ADRIANNA LARKIN
Adrianna Larkin is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, and host
of an online radio program entitled Passion’s Purpose that airs
Tuesdays at 7 pm on Blogtalkradio.com.
Having embraced her heart’s desire to become a full time musician
at the tender age of 50, and having the intent of crafting music
that offers a deeper meaning, she is passionate about helping
others link with their soul’s purpose.
“I think we try to make sharing our light with the world far more
complex than it needs to be”, she offers. “Really it’s about listening
to your own small voice, and being with what really inspires you.
Too many times we think that we cannot sustain ourselves with
what we love doing. The truth is we cannot sustain ourselves
without it.”
My truth holds that each of us came here with a purpose. Each of
us has unique gifts and talents. When we try to become what
others expect us to be, that is when we are farthest away from our
own divinity. I don’t think we need to try to be holy men and
women to make a difference; we just need to do what satisfies our
soul. When we do this, our light shines in the most remarkable of
ways.
Adrianna has crafted themes for radio and television. She has
copyrights for over 40 songs to date. She has performed on
national and international stages. She lives with her husband
Mike, dog Josie, and cat Sadie in Troy, Illinois.
E-mail: Nan@adriannalarkin.com
Website: www.adriannalarkin.com

Dean Shrock wrote Love: Our Forgotten Identity

DEAN SHROCK
Dean Shrock, Ph.D. served as Director of Mind-Body Medicine for
a physician management group of 40 cancer centers. Here
he discovered that the one thing we're all looking for is peace of
mind. His books, Doctor's Orders: Go Fishing and Why Love
Heals, reveal how to find it. The secret is finding your joy. It's the
key to accessing the life force quantum energy that flows
through everything.
This all-pervasive energy is best described as love. This is why his
research concluded that you need to feel loved and cared for. This
allows for the flow of this life-giving energy. He then realized that
healthcare must address the whole person: body, mind, and spirit.
Now after more than 30 years of study and practice, Dr. Shrock
has dedicated his life to writing and teaching how to find your own
true joy, greater health, and a deeper sense of inner love.
DR. DEAN SHROCK, PH.D.
www.DeanShrock.com
www.HeartfeltIntent.com

Raul Rosiles wrote Love and Enlightenment

RAUL ROSILES
Raul is a personality “A character in the story of life"
He is the founder of Soul Based Living, a publisher, author,
inspirational speaker, artist, and dancer, and Enlightenment Catalyst.
Raul had a moment of self-realization at age four. Everything became dazzlingly brighter
and a voice said” Always remember this moment" (ARTM).
In February 2007 Raul reached the awareness that” the Mind is
“Talking" meaning the mind creates thoughts and the personality
forms words to express that. He realized he was observing from a
perspective greater than thoughts or words. He has explored
metaphysics and offered intuitive consultations since 1992.
He practiced meditation for six years, three hours each day. He
facilitates meditation, leads seminars, and offers business and
personal consultations and coaching. Raul’s expressions include
love, enlightenment, philosophy, and alchemy.
He has created Soul Portrait paintings at the Luxor in
and at the Ritz Carlton on Maui. Raul’s work has also taken him to
Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York,, Las Vegas, Kauai and plans on a visit to
London soon.
714-306-5392
awaken2one@gmail.com
www.soulbasedliving.blogspot.com
 www.soulbasedliving.info

Connie Dunn wrote Love in the Next Dimension

CONNIE DUNN
Connie Dunn has been on the quest for personal health and
wellness since her youth. Connie has been a dancer for 28 years,
vegetarian, personal trainer and fitness instructor for 9 years, and
a yoga instructor for six years. Connie is certified under The
National Academy of Sports Medicine, an examiner for the
Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, Yin Yoga with Paul
Grilley, and YogaFit with Beth Shaw. In addition to her
certifications, Connie has also trained with Denise Kaufman, Shiva
Rea, Micheline Berry, and Brad Keimach of Exhale in Venice, CA,
and with Christy Marsden of Yogablend in Burbank, CA. Connie is
currently in training with Deborah Nicholas (Shamanic Healing)
and Integrative Yoga Therapy under Joseph LePage and is looking
forward to a bright future in the field of wellness.
In addition to her wellness profile, Connie Dunn is an aspiring
writer making her writing debut, and is hoping to produce some
full-length books on being well in all areas of life. She is a teacher
who holds a masters and teaching credential in Special Education,
and has plans to push continuing research in the field of learning
disabilities.
When Connie is not exhaustively working for the world to become
a better place, she can be found at home or in Disneyland with her
10 year old son Kai.

William Waterway Marks wrote Water:the source of philosophy

WILLIAM WATERWAYS MARKS

William Waterway Marks was raised on an organic farm and is an

award-winning author, poet, and Native American flautist.While

in college, he investigated fish kills and industrial pollution,

resulting in Federal Grand Jury indictments of industries on the

basis of his research. After college, he worked as Senior

Environmental Analyst for the city of Newark. He resigned from

Newark to live outside for two years as part of a horseback trek

across America entitled Ride for Nature.

William founded Martha’s Vineyard’s first State-Certified water

testing laboratory and the Vineyard Environmental Research

Institute. His water research has been featured on CNN, MSNBC,

MVTV, CBS, NBC, ABC, NPR, UPI, New Zealand National radio,

AP, New York Times, the Water Encyclopedia,

alternateCare2.com, MaximsNews, and other media.

He is the founder of Martha’s Vineyard Magazine and Nantucket Magazine

as well as the author of The History of Wind Power on Martha’s Vineyard

The Holy Order of Water, and Healing Earth’s Waters and

Ourselves. He is also the publisher of the United Nations’ affiliated

book Water Voices from Around the World.

has taken him to over 15 countries.
Email: williamwaterway@aol.com Website: http://www.watervoices.com

Kismet Salem wrote Healing Vortex of Violence

KISMET SALEM
Kismet Salem is a Somatic Trauma Resolution Therapist, Cranial
Sacral Practitioner, L.M.T., Reiki Master, and Associated Polarity
Practitioner. She is also a Prepare for Surgery Counselor. In her
signature sessions designed to meet each client's unique needs,
she combines a range of modalities.
Her holistic bodywork integrates energy work with structural body
therapy and somatic emotional release. Also trained as Clairvoyant
she utilizes conscious technology to reach into the unlimited field
of all is possible.
Kismet also confounded the non-profit organization "Indigo
Rhythms” a non-profit organization working with animals and
people in their natural habitat, to facilitate a healing vortex within
the rescue world including rescuers, the rescued and perpetrators
for the individual and everybody involved based on universal
energy laws that entail a holistic approach.
310-383-7670
Email: Info@KismetSalem.com
www.KismetSalem.com
Phone sessions are also available

TRANSFORMATION Essays on Love, Healing, and Water

A variety of teachers and leaders are emerging to hold a place of hope for our planet and its inhabitants.  Within the pages of this book are stories, commentaries, and perspectives on transforming some of our ideas, expectations, and actions.  Transformation is a collection of essays that eloquently express the personal, transpersonal, and communal change that can be achieved through a shift in consciousness, a desire for peace, and a reconnection with nature and its diverse expressions. These fourteen authors invite you to join them in exploring what we can be and do for our spirit, our community, and our world.

--

Ellie DeSilva wrote The Animal Healing Matrix

Ellie DeSilva is the CEO, President, and Co-founder of
Indigo Rhythms, a non-profit organization working with animals
and people in their natural habitat to facilitate the best possible
outcome for the individual and everyone involved, based in
universal energy laws that entail a holistic approach. She is an
Animal Intuitive Healer, CBP, CAP, CFP, CHt, CCMBA Instructor,
Breakthrough Facilitator and a Reiki Master, with a background in
homeopathic and holistic intuitive medicine.She has traveled the
world, working with organizations such as the Sheldrick Wildlife
Trust in Kenya, the Millennium Elephant Foundation in Sri Lanka,
and Karma Rescue here in the United States.
Ellie continues to do work with, but is not limited to, the animal
rescue world, which entails the rescuers, the rescued and the
perpetrator, as well as veterinary centers, which entail the
veterinarians, the technicians, the animals and their owners. She
teaches the rescuers self care, animal care, and environmenta
care, while educating them about the trauma that is at the root of
violence, and how the public plays a big part in bringing forth and
forming a well-rounded and incorporative world between animals,
their habitat, and humans. Through this, she has created an
awareness of the interconnectedness of all things, establishing a
strong presence in the work that is being done worldwide for
animal rescue.
For more information about Ellie DeSilva, please visit her website
at www.indigorhythms.com or feel free to email her at
ellie@indigorhythms.com.
News and updates are also available on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=259216270354&ref

West Marrin wrote The Magic of Water

WEST MARRIN
D.L. ‘West’ Marrin, Ph.D. is an applied scientist, naturalist, and
educator who founded Water Sciences & Insights in as a forum for
presenting people with unique perceptions of water and for
assisting educational and environmental groups with water
related projects. He has authored two books (Universal Water:
The Ancient Wisdom and Scientific Theory of Water
and Altered Perceptions: Addressing the Real Water Crises)
and a wide range of scientific papers
(biogeochemistry, hydrology, and the water energy nexus).
He is a former Adjunct Professor at San Diego
State University and has taught through two other universities. In
addition, he founded firms that specialized in presenting scientific
concepts to lay audiences and in detecting water pollutants and
greenhouse gases. He holds academic degrees in the biological,
environmental, and water resource sciences from the University of
California and the University of Arizona.
In addition to his more conventional work with freshwaters and
seawater, West has studied the perceptions and understandings of
ancient and indigenous cultures with respect to water’s roles as a
creational mediator and information facilitator on scales ranging
from the atomic to the cosmic. This research as lead him to topics
as diverse as molecular biology, life force energy, sacred geometry,
systems theory, acoustics, etheric symbolism, and climate change.
He currently divides his time between the north shore of Kauai,
Hawaii and the coast of San Diego, California.
Information about West’s lecturing, writing, researching, and
consulting is available on his web site:
www.watersciences.org

Deborah Mathews wrote Grief: from Spirit with Love

DEBORAH MATHEWS
Deborah Mathews is an adoptee, a mother of two, graphic artist,
married to a Native American Cahuilla Indian for 23 years, and
has lived on an Indian Reservation for thirty-three.Her passions
include machine embroidery, embroidery digitizing, quilting, and
author of spiritual poetry. She has worked in a Graphic Design
Studio, worked solo as Administrative Assistant for a Public Works
facility, worked within a grant as an Environmental Specialist,
budget planning for a proposed organic garden and farmer’s
market and Administrative Assistant for a Fire Department. She
currently resides within today’s workforce reduction continuum.
Her life was similar to others in this world until the unexpected
loss of her fifteen-year-old son and husband within eighteen
months. Deborah signed up for Graphic Design College just after
her son was killed and held a 4.0 until her husband passed just a
few months before graduation. Her spirituality became
enlightened when her English professor gave an assignment of
poetry to the class. With her profound aspiration to soul search for
answers to life’s questions, she began writing poetry as an
emotional release, sorting through all the questions that needed
answers within the grief process, thus, healing her spirit and mind.
Spirituality is her passion, sharing and lending support to others
who have had loss. She strives to be a light-worker in a world that
thirsts for answers to life and beyond.
Website: http://atouchofheart-poetry.webs.com
E-mail: atouchofheart@gmail.com

Robin Masiewicz wrote "There's a Flower Behind Everything"

ROBIN LEE MASIEWICZ
Robin is an Awarding winning floral designer for over 25 years
and nature intuitive. Her gifts for growing and nurturing, her
“green thumb” has enabled her to evolve in her abilities to hear
and teach to others the whispers of nature. Robin brings a unique,
fun, and entertaining perspective of our “nature mindfulness”,
through her understandings of Feng Shui, Plant Spirit Medicine,
Ikebana, Jin Shin Jyutsu healing arts, Native American studies,
and the Eastern practices of Meditation, Yoga, and Mindfulness.
Her artistic talents bring a unique perspective of form, language,
symbols, colors, and design to the flower messages she receives.
She has a deep spiritual background in the healing gifts of flowers
and a vitality to her teachings that inspires us to return to our
NatureSelf. Robin is the owner of Flowers for You in Riverside,
CA, a motivational speaker on the gifts of flowers and writer.
She is currently completing,
“FlowerWisdom; the Spirituality of Flowers”
“What does your favorite flower say about you?”
Flowers For You
10455 Hole Avenue
Riverside, CA 92505
951-689-2711
FlowerWisdom@gmail.com

Ann Audrey wrote Combining Urban Runoff Water and Common Sense

ANN AUDREY

Ann Audrey has worked in a number of fields in her professional
career—all of them addressing the environment. She has master’s
degrees in both Agricultural Biochemistry & Nutrition and Water
Resources Administration, and has taken advanced training in
permaculture design. She has worked in government, the
nonprofit sector, education, the corporate sector and private
consulting; hence, so she knows the range of ways that things get
done. She is now working as a private con
design and habitat restoration.
Her former positions include Environmental Projects Coordinator
at the City of Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable
Development, where she focused on riparian habitat preservation
and restoration, as well as assisted the City develop its cutting
edge regulations for requiring commercial sites to meet 50 percent
of landscape water demand using harvested rainwater. Prior to
working at the City, Ann managed riparian restoration projects for
Tucson Audubon Society, where sustainable design principles and
techniques, such as water harvesting, were integral to the success
of major restoration efforts. Her other positions included a
planner at the Arizona Department of Water Resources, a
technical staff member at a hydrogeology consulting firm, and a
teacher and designer of permaculture curriculum for all grade
levels (i.e., elementary students to adults).
Ann can be reached via email at:
Ann.Audrey.1@gmail.com