Central Okanagan Hospice's volunteers were invited to a special presentation Friday afternoon.
New York Times bestselling author Anita Moorjani was a guest speaker to the volunteers, where she spoke about the importance of loving yourself and taking time to make sure you are the best you, both for yourself and everyone else. In 2006, after a four year battle with lymphoma, Moorjani fell into a coma. Although doctors were telling her family these were her final hours, that wasn't the case. Moorjani experienced what she describes as an out of body, near death experience.
Moorjani believed her work and experience of life was not done, and three days later she emerged from her coma. Within four days of waking up her lymphoma had shrunk by 70%, and within five weeks she was cancer free.
Moorjani spoke to the volunteers about how love is the answer to healing all illness and disease, and the importance of positive thinking, mindset and belief and in the impact that can have on healing.
"Initially I felt some tears coming forward from experiences with past friends, family members, and colleagues that have moved on to the other side, but there's a sense of calming and understudying that comes from listening to Anita and her story," said Karen Marquardt, corporate events manager for Nature's Fare Markets, who sponsored Moorjani's full, three hour presentation on Sunday at the Kelowna Community Theatre. "There is a deep peace in the other world, if you so believe in what it's called. But our time here is precious, and it's about love. If you love yourself, you will have a full life."
Marquardt noted Moorjani's presentation was certainly impactful, as it left everyone in the audience with a sense of changes they could make to allow for more love in their lives.
"I think we're always looking for ways to be more caring, more giving, more loving of ourselves, friends, family, coworkers and the planet itself," Marquardt said. "So thinking about the way to care for the Earth and everyone around us for future generations."
Moorjani's, Dying to be Me, was published in March of 2012.