Raphael Cushnir

Setting Your Heart On Fire
How To Deal With Emotional Burn Out

Raphael Cushnir is a leading voice in the world of emotional connection and present moment awareness. He has shared his unique approach to personal and professional development with millions of readers in O, The Oprah Magazine; Beliefnet; Spirituality and Health; Psychology Today; and The Huffington Post. He is the author of six books, lectures worldwide, and is a faculty member of the Esalen Institute, the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. In addition, he coaches individuals and teams at Fortune 100 companies, governments, religious organizations, and leading non-profits.

After working his way through college as a teacher and a storyteller, Cushnir redirected his energies as an activist for the environment and human rights. He devised innovative media campaigns that included such celebrities as Madonna, Pearl Jam, Demi Moore, and Michael J. Fox.

His passion for film making led to a decade-long stint in Hollywood. He wrote, directed, and produced a Showtime movie, Sexual Healing, starring Helen Hunt, Anthony Edwards, and Jason Alexander. The film was nominated for two Cable Ace awards and won Grand Prize at the Houston Film Festival.

In 1996, both his career and his marriage fell apart. “It was a classic dark night of the soul,” he remembers. “Many people experience something similar in their own lives. The particulars are always different but the essential experience is the same – a deep, depressing, gut-wrenching pain. In my case, everything I thought I knew about life went completely out the window.”

Then, luckily, one of Cushnir’s mentors convinced him to embrace the pain instead of turn away from it. He suggested that, in fact, this was a perfect opportunity to “wake up.” Cushnir took his mentor’s advice and ran with it. Over a decade later he’s waking up still, one moment at a time. Helping others do the same has become his new life mission.

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