Hi media people!
I’d love to help you with a story or take part in an interview or promotional giveaway. To make your job as easy as possible I’ve assembled some information that might be useful. If you’d like something outside of what’s here, please contact me directly lisa at lisaesile.com.
(In case you’re wondering, Esile is pronounced “A–zee-lay.”)
Lisa Esile—Short Bio (150 words)
New Zealand born Lisa Esile is an offbeat spirituality blogg
er and illustrator whose hilarious and surprisingly wise advice is adored by thousands of people wanting life-changing insights that go beyond a “think positive,” “be more mindful” pep talk. In 2012 she wrote “7 Secrets Your Mind Doesn’t Want You to Know” to show people how to use their mind’s awesome power for what its good at and how to put it in its place when it runs amok (downloaded over 10,000 times).
Lisa struggled for years with chronic fatigue syndrome, depression and anxiety and in 2008, under the guidance of a wise spiritual psychologist friend, Lisa spent the better part of a year being silent in a mining village in a rain forest in New Zealand. Reach Your Big Calm: 52 Powerful Messages to Quiet Your Mind is a set of inspirational cards Lisa made to help her through. Their simple hand painted messages get to the heart of any distress-causing belief to make you instantly feel more calm and peaceful.
Lisa lives in Los Angeles with her Boston born musician husband.
Lisa Esile—Long Bio
Born in Wellington NZ Lisa is the daughter of an accountant father and nurse mother. In her mid-twenties, shortly after graduating with an MSC in Human Nutrition, Lisa was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and as a result of this debilitating illness was barely able to leave the house for almost five years.
After managing to recuperate somewhat, Lisa moved to Granity, a small, coastal, mining village at the edge of a rainforest on New Zealand’s stunning West Coast.
Six years later Lisa found herself feeling unwell again and decided to do something about it once and for all. A friend, Don, had once told her that doing nothing and being silent were the quickest ways to change old habits and to heal – so that’s exactly what she decided to do. She dropped off her cell phone and laptop to a friend, put the television in the garage, went into her bedroom, closed the curtains and sat in silence for the whole day.
Incredibly, what started as one day turned into three, then into a month, then eventually into what Lisa calls ‘her year of silence.’ And aside from weekly conversations with Don and dealing with life’s necessities, Lisa just sat. No cellphone, no TV, no Radio, no internet.
During this time, something remarkable happened that few people ever experience, Lisa discovered that she was able to tap into an enormous reservoir of inner peace, strength and healing. Due to her scientific background, she was able to observe with some objectivity the sheer madness that happens to your mind when you remove all its usual distractions. As Lisa says, when you’re silent it’s just you and your mind, but the true, wondrous breakthrough is that you come out the other side knowing the difference between the two.
After this year of silence, Lisa sold her business (online bookstore), her house and almost everything she owned and drove around New Zealand in a van with her two dogs.
In 2012 she wrote 7 Secrets Your Mind Doesn’t Want You to Know to show people how to use their mind’s awesome power for what its good at and how to put it in its place when it runs amok (downloaded over 10,000 times).
Reach Your Big Calm: 52 Powerful Messages to Quiet Your Mind are a set of inspirational cards Lisa made to help her through her year of silence. Their simple hand painted messages get to the heart of any distress-causing belief to make you instantly feel more calm and peaceful. (Forthcoming, May 2015)
Lisa lives in Los Angeles with her Boston born musician husband.
Images
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Photos by Suzanne Nelson