An ode to my heroes: spiritual, personal and inspirational

Anais Nin

If it weren’t for this French woman who wrote in her diaries in the 20s, 30s and 40s, I may never have been so devoted to keeping diaries myself. My dairies helped me to develop my writing, deal with my feelings, track my relationships and give me comfort. She also wrote erotic fiction, another former pastime of mine. A nicely written dirty story can be a wonderful thing.

S. N. Goenka

Without this man I would never have discovered Vipassana, one of the ways I have chosen to mediate. He was born to Hindu parents but advocates this Buddhist practice to Christians and Atheists and alike. He gives his teachings for free and I will be eternally grateful that I was given Vipassana in this lifetime as it helps me connect with my true self.

 My old boss, Therese

Just like a younger version of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, my old boss Therese commanded attention wherever she went. She was kind and good at her job but she often gave me tasks that were well above my level of experience and totally trusted me with them, giving me confidence. I looked up to her enormously.

Judge Judith Sheindlin

Judge Judy to you and me, often this woman is joked about. She is actually incredibly smart and watching her taught me a lot about how to pick a liar, and how to get to the bottom of an issue. You can watch her and see how her mind is three steps ahead of those she presides over. Need more evidence to love her?

Reasons to love Judge Judy

“In July 2010 when Sheindlin’s contract was renewed, her salary increased to $45 million per year. It was later reported in October 2013 that Sheindlin is the highest paid TV star, earning $47 million per year for Judge Judy, which translates into just over $900,000 per workday (she works 52 days per year).” (Source: Wikipedia)

Bill Bryson

Seriously, this guy is an awesome writer and a brilliant researcher. I used to feel sheepish when mentioning that he was one of my favourite authors, but his way of creatively telling a story while getting across (sometimes dull) facts is second-to-none. My fave book of his is The Mother Tongue and if you love words and language, you should read it.

Rudolph Steiner

A newer discovery of mine, his comments on the state of Earth stuck me to the core. Of course you know him too; he invented Steiner schools, but did you know that he wrote prolifically on what happens when we die? He also wrote some very cool stuff about the earth itself and his meditations on the planet. Read his theories here.

Madame Blavatsky

So, now we come to Madame. I am not able to comment too much on her as I am still working through my research. She was a member of the group that established a research and publishing institute called the Theosophical Society. As a child, she would go into trances and spoke of her Hindu guides. She also claims to have had guides on higher planes.