‘Spiritual Recipe’

This article is a condensed and edited version of an interview I did with Robin Whitt, an author and good friend of mine who has a new book called “Spiritual Recipe: A Simple Guide for Your Spiritual Awakening.” It is a great way to start 2021, and it just might change your life. It certainly has had a positive impact on mine.

You can find the whole interview on my YouTube Channel HERE

TH: What inspired you to write this book?

RW: I’d never written a book before, except when I was 10 years old! I’ve had a lot of changes in the last 6–7 years, so I started taking notes about it. I wanted something to hand to people who asked, a guide that said, “Here, this is what I do to be happy.” More importantly I wanted to have something to give to my kids and grand kids so they could see what I did. Finally, this year I really got serious and just … did it.

TH: I’ve read self-improvement books from many perspectives — sales, business, mindset, all that stuff — and have for a long time. So I’m not saying this because we’re friends: You killed it with this book. And it’s so easy to read. It’s the “10,000-foot view.”

RW: Thank you! It needed to be an easy read. I’ve read a gazillion of those books too, and the author is sometimes just trying to show you how smart they are, using big words, whereas this book is just me.

TH: This book is so positive, but it gets into some heavy territory. I didn’t know the background from your childhood. Could you please share that again?

RW: Well, you didn’t know because only about five people knew. Even my husband didn’t know about this until 10 years ago …

When I was 15, I was raped. Nobody knew — I was scared to death my dad would kill the guy and go to prison. And I was a child, so I didn’t know I hadn’t done something wrong, which obviously I didn’t. I thought if I locked it in a little box it would go away. But it came out in other ways — depression, bulimia, even a suicide attempt. And when that didn’t work, I even felt like a failure for that.

TH: That’s a lot to hold in, especially as a young kid.

RW: Yes, and I had to tell that part because that’s the only way the rest of the book makes sense. People thought I had a fairy tale life. But that’s not true, even though I had great parents. But that’s the case with so many people: You don’t know. You see their Facebook and it looks wonderful, but we’ve all got bad things behind the facade. And if I can make it out of there, then I know others can, too.

TH: And you write about having a voice talk to you.

RW: After that suicide attempt, I was alone one day, on my bed, just keeping it to myself and crying. I had a voice come into my ear and say, “If you want to be happy … you just have to make that choice. You have to choose happiness.” It was literally a voice, and I knew it was my higher self. I’m talking about the part of each of us that exists in that place that’s all love. But a piece of our higher self also lives here with us on Earth. And it can guide us, if we listen.

TH: I loved Chapter 6, “Ingredients to Avoid.”

RW: We all get sucked into it: the news, the media cycle, and it’s never good. I don’t watch the news and have backed off social media. If something really bad happens, somebody will tell me! It does no good to constantly surround ourselves with it. It takes work at first, like everything else in the book, but this is where you’ll see changes fast in terms of day-to-day happiness.

TH: You chose to self-publish.

RW: I talked with a friend in the industry. Traditional publishing was going to take at least a year, maybe two. Self-publishing was the way to go, once I figured out how to avoid the “vanity publishers.” I was able to find an editor and cover designer and got on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, all of it. You can YouTube everything!

TH: I have to ask about the 11/11 release and the fact that the book costs $11.11!

RW: It goes back to being a kid. When the clock at school read 11:11, we would tell each other to make a wish. Same with 4:44, 5:55, etc. To me, these little moments of the day are a message that we’re on the right track. For some reason, if I get off my routine, I stop noticing them.

TH: What kind of early feedback are you getting?

RW: Before editing, I gave the book to family and a close friend. A week later, I was thinking, “Oh man, I haven’t heard back, it must be bad.” It turns out they were really enjoying it and taking their time with it! That was my first feedback.

TH: So what’s the next step?

RW: Well, I’m also a certified meditation instructor, so I want to see that grow. It’s such a wonderful thing — it’s not religious, but it is beautiful. It can help in so many aspects, and we can do it online, in person, and I can teach classes. People are so intimidated, but once you understand it, it’s so simple and basic.

TH: Where can people buy your book?

RW: It’s available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but you can also go to SpiritualRecipe.com and get copies there — even autographed ones!

I’m so grateful for Robin Whitt’s time, and I’m so proud to know her. If you want to watch the full interview, head to my YouTube page and find the video I posted on Dec. 3, 2020.