Touched by the Extraordinary: An Intuitive Psychologist Shares Insights, Lessons, and True Stories of Spirit and Love to Transform and Heal the Soul

Albert Einstein once said of miracles: "There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle."  Intuitive psychologist and author Susan Apollon agrees, and has spent almost twenty years backing up this hypothesis by studying the nature of miracles and the conditions under which they occur.  Her conclusion? That everyone can receive these natural gifts because we are all spiritually connected to God, Source, Allah, or whatever a person chooses to call this wellspring of goodness.

Apollon's book, Touched by the Extraordinary: An Intuitive Psychologist Shares Insights, Lessons, and True Stories of Spirit and Love to Transform and Heal the Soul (Matters of the Soul, 2005, ISBN: 0-9754036-4-8, $19.95), compiles and analyzes years of metaphysical research and highlights story upon story of real-life occurrences that can be defined only as the stuff of miracles.

Apollon describes her clients' experiences, which range from angelic sightings to unexplained terminal disease healings, as "blessings that made them feel safe, holy, divine, not alone, protected, and taken care of--and frequently, just made them smile."  She says that studies in Quantum Physics suggest that anyone with the right mindset can live a life rich in miracles from the small to the momentous. You simply have to foster your ability to invite them in.

Here are a few suggestions and insights that will prepare you to receive your own miracles:

· Give yourself permission to be open to extraordinary experiences.   "As a psychologist who has sat with patients who have shared countless wondrous stories of small and large miraculous events in their lives, I have come to recognize that the ability to experience miracles is often dependent on whether or not you choose to allow for the possibility of miracles in your life," writes Apollon.  Accept that you will allow the universe to do its good and it will respond accordingly. 

· Rediscover your spirituality.   Take time to connect with your own soul and with the Source by returning to--or visiting for the first time--prayer, ritual, and faith.  Learn to meditate while breathing deeply or do yoga.  Most of all, try to reach a point at which you feel your connection to the universe and everything in it. 

· Commit to making significant changes in negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.   This is especially important for a person suffering an illness because "anxiety and desperation have a strong tendency to block your ability to heal."  Apollon says that to change this stone-set pattern we must always be aware of what we are feeling and then consciously change our thoughts, replacing negative or disturbing images with positive and empowering ones.

· Keep a synchronicity journal.   Synchronicity is the flow of "meaningful coincidences" that indicate that life, all life, is connected in a complex web of psychic moments, signs and symbols, and shivers of spiritual connectedness.  The sheer volume of these subtle miracles that happen in so many different lives adds up to powerful evidence of  "something greater." "The numbers," Apollon says, "will be far greater than you may have imagined." 

· Write your intentions down. In detail, record on paper with joyful enthusiasm exactly what you desire from the universe--daily.  Expect good things to be placed in your path and they will come--be it a spiritual visit from a passed loved one, a new chance in a waning relationship, or a miraculous recovery.

Above all, keeping your heart brimming full of love and compassion is the most important factor needed in the creation of miracles.  If we all are somehow connected together, this simple intention is the healing balm needed to rescue Earth and all souls upon it.  What better way to begin fresh in the New Year than with a new faith-based attitude that risks little sorrow and at most promises unprecedented hope and joy?

Apollon asserts, "I think we're all hungry for that, even diehard skeptics.  Especially diehard skeptics.  My overarching message is that life itself is extraordinary--miraculous!  And all it takes to realize that is to open your eyes and see the amazing things that surround us all, every day."

About the Author:
For close to twenty years, Susan Apollon has worked as a psychotherapist, psychologist, and healer, treating children and adults who are traumatized, diagnosed with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses, dealing with death and dying, and those who are grieving.  She brings to her patients a gentle blend of warmth, compassion, and wisdom gained from surviving her own illnesses and losses; her expertise and training as a wife, mom, teacher, psychologist, researcher, and student of energy, mind, and consciousness; and finally, her own intuitive development. 
    
Coming from a family of physicians (father, brothers, aunts and uncles, and daughter, Rebecca), Susan's intent is to heal (emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually), but at the level of the soul--and always with love and compassion.  Focusing on the many blessings each of us has, she guides her patients to the recognition that we are here to live life in joy and peace (to be happy) and that the resources for this are within each of us.  "Intention is everything," she often tells her patients.  "With love, clear intent, and choice, transformation, healing, and very often, spiritual awakening, become our reality.  And when this occurs, everything feels wonderful."
    
Among Susan's most treasured blessings are her husband, best friend, and partner, Warren, a practicing orthodontist in Langhorne, PA, whom she has known and loved for more than forty years, and her two grown children whom she respects, honors, and adores--David, a marketing consultant, and Rebecca, a third-year resident in emergency medicine.  She has been in private practice in Yardley, PA, since 1991. 

About the book:
Touched by the Extraordinary: An Intuitive Psychologist Shares Insights, Lessons, and True Stories of Spirit and Love to Transform and Heal the Soul (Matters of the Soul, 2005, ISBN: 0-9754036-4-8, $19.95) is available at bookstores nationwide and from major online booksellers.

For more information, please visit touchedbytheextraordinary.com