S2E2: Terri Lynn Murphy - Thinking Responsibly

In this episode host Hilary Stunda talks with international best selling author, speaker, and happiness coach Terri Lynn Murphy. Terri has written two books: Journey to My Soul Following Divine Navigation, 10 Minutes to a Happier You Start Your Day In a Positive Way and Co-Authored: The Wellness Universe Self-Care Guide 25 Tools for Happiness.

The conversation starts with Hilary asking Terri how she stays positive amidst challenging times. Terri makes a point in saying that no matter what’s happening in your life, make it a point to go deep into silence, meditation to find inner peace. As she says, “happiness: it’s an inside job.”

Terri stresses the importance of being aware of your thinking so you can manifest your best life, and how it’s been scientifically proven that positive thinking creates a positive life. Terri shares that during an emotional crisis, she saw an energy emanating from her. She decided at that moment to devote her time on earth to getting as close as she could to this entity and began writing her first book.

Terri mentions how creating word tracks and statements and repeating them creates new patterns of thought which lead to manifesting a new reality. She stresses the importance of creating this new mindset and then focusing on how you want your life to be. She shares favorite quote, “Your thoughts are energy, so think responsibly.” Terri says she has trained many people in the work place to do this and has seen positive results over and over again. She says the brain is like a hiking trail, it takes energy to create new paths.

Hilary then asks Terri about her latest book, 10 Minutes To A Happier You. Terri tells that she had been nicknamed “Fortune Cookie” by a coworker due to her positive attitude, and she began a practice of sharing positive messages on Facebook every day. After hearing from people that claimed to not have time to meditate or center themselves, Terri decided that everybody has 10 minutes in their day, and chose that to be the message of her book.

Hilary then asks about the Wellness Universe site. Terri shares that she met the woman who founded the site as they both had their own inspiration pages. Terri says that Wellness Universe is a place to go if you are struggling or if you are in need. There will always be someone on the wellness universe that can help you, from energy workers to therapists.

The conversation circles back to how Terri got herself through a crisis in her life. Terri said she was distraught, but then the song “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees played and she took it as a sign. In spite of being angry she knew this was her path and she asked God for help. She talks about how writing everything down in a journal helps. Terri says that her advice is to put all the negative in the journal and replace it with positive thoughts.

She stresses how its scientifically proven that living in a happy state changes our brain functions. She says feeling like a victim doesn’t serve anything. It’s best to focus on where you want to see yourself in a better light, and to try to focus on feeling as good as you can.Then she and Hilary talk about how a happy perspective brings about synchronicity, and a state of flow where good things happen.

In the next and final segment of this podcast, Dawn Prall speaks with Mike Wood from Vispero. Mike has been involved with Vispero for 15 years, and comes to it with a specialty in education. Dawn and Mike talk about the Assistive Technology devices that Vispero makes for people with low vision. They discuss what low vision means to the company and to the industry.

Mike then tells Dawn about the origin of Vispero. The name is a combination of two Latin words, one being Visio, meaning vision, the other being Spero, meaning hope, which is the mission of the company. Vispero provides hope, determination and independence through their different products, whether it be hardware or software. They have been an industry leader since 1975.

Mike talks about how to self-diagnose low vision. One of the signs of low vision is finding it difficult to do basic things like cooking or repairing things. Or, if you notice you need more light. He then talks about two Assistive Technology devices Vispero makes. One is a handheld video magnifier, which is one of the best-selling in the industry, called The Ruby. The Ruby, he says, is a great choice if you’re reading off a menu. However, if you’re at home and reading a newspaper, you might want a desktop magnifier like the Optelec Clear View. Mike talks about the various tools that people might benefit from with MacD such as a handheld video magnifier, a handheld optical magnifier, desktop video magnifier, or something that provides OCR capability, which is optimal character recognition, which is basically scanning and reading. This feature takes text, and then has it read back.

Mike also mentions the key things to focus on when you have low vision are going to be magnification and how these handheld video magnifiers offer all those benefits.

Dawn makes the point that that 'we don’t see with our eyes, we see with our brain.’ Dawn asks Mike about the differences between all the tools offered and Mike says the best place to learn more is on the Vispero website (vispero.com) where people can see exactly what they can get for their needs. The Assistive Technology tools are an investment in independence. Investing in devices that will help people perform tasks better.

Dawn closes the segment by saying how Vispero is an industry leader in low vision Assistive Technology devices. Vispero is developing innovative solutions that will help people with low vision reach their full potential.

What We Discuss in this Episode

02:17

“…Happiness is a choice. It's an inside job. And no matter what's going on in the world around us, we can find peace if we go deep enough into the silence. Meditation has been a great, great tool for me over my lifetime.”

03:13

“…My best advice would be to become aware of what you're thinking, because most of the time, most of us are just reacting to what's going on in the world, not realizing that we can generate our own feelings. …But you need to start becoming aware of what you're thinking and if your thoughts are supporting the life you want. It's been scientifically proven that when your mind is in positive state, you get better results.”

06:06

“…I’m going to devote my time on earth to getting as close to this entity as I can. And through years of meditation, I came through that cathartic release, which led to this experience. And I'm telling you, this experience changed me forever. Because we live in this human body. So many people are just unaware of the spiritual world. It's really hard and difficult to be happy. If you're not feeding all three parts of your being, right mind, body and soul.”

07:17

“…Your thoughts are energy. So think responsibly. We don't realize that the thoughts that we repeat over and over again, create our reality. So create a word track for your life…"

08:26

“…And another thing I've learned over time is, instead of saying I'm angry, or I'm happy, I feel happy. Use the word feeling because it's, it's more freeing. When you say I am angry, you're like, hung on to it and anchored to it. But when you say I feel angry, oh, well, I have the power to change my feelings.”

09:15

“…Focus on what you want your future life to be. It takes work. It's not easy. It's not easy.”

10:15

“Well, I've trained a lot of people. I try to help them create word tracks when we're in training……You read them over and over again until you finally create the energy and start believing. Once you have the confidence and the belief, it just starts to happen. I see it all the time with people.”

11:16

“…Our brain is just like a trail on a hiking trail. You use the same path over and over again, if you start a new path, it's tough. You have to cut through it and cut through it. But once it's created, your brain will go that way.”

13:01

“…There’s somebody on the wellness universe that can help you. There are energy workers. There are all kinds of therapists, life coaches. Things just become much easier. When you don't battle it in your mind. You know, the best benefit I think I've received from meditating is just singularity of thought. There's not all the static in there anymore. And it just creates a flow.”

14:21

“…I went through like a year and a half period of what I just call waiting for death. Because the decision I made during divorce, which caused me to live separated from my children, was a guided decision. I knew it was just totally guided and I was angry at God.”

17:36

“…Well, the truth is, again, science is proven. When you live in a happy state, a peaceful state, any type of positivity, your brain functions better. And we're magnets. The better you feel, the better things you're going to attract.”

18:40

“…We can fill ourselves with fear and feel like a victim. But that's not going to serve you. Put the thought of where you want to see yourself in a better light. Just feel as good as you can. I know it's not easy…but you will benefit from it. You truly will.”

22:01

“…Vispero, which is spelled V I S P E R O is actually the combination of two Latin words, one being Visio. The other being Spero. Visio means the vision. And Spero means hope…Our mission is to provide hope, determination and independence through all of our different products, whether it be hardware or software that support those that are low vision.”

23:38

“…A few of the different things that I find are signs are you're finding it difficult to do basic things around the house, like cooking, sewing, or fixing and repairing things. Now another key factor is if you start to notice that you might need more light.”

24:08

“…One of the best selling in the industry, the Ruby is going to be really beneficial to maybe read the menu. But if you're at home, and you're maybe reading the newspaper, you might want a desktop magnifier like the Optelec Clear View. See, that's going to be more of a stationary device that you bring the materials to, as opposed to bring the device to the materials.”

25:19

“…Some of the tools that people might benefit from when they have MacD are a handheld video magnifier, a handheld optical magnifier, desktop video magnifier, or something that provides OCR capability, which is optimal character recognition, which is basically scanning and reading. So you can take text, and then have it read back to you. All of these different products fall under different brands within Vispero company.”

26:46

“…So The Ruby would fall in a handheld video magnifier category. These are electronic… Oftentimes, you need magnification support… Oftentimes you need more lighting. So it might be as simple as having a desk lamp, or changing the light bulbs to a different brightness and contrast. And these handheld video magnifiers offer all of those benefits.”

29:23

“…We are investing in devices that that will help them. We always say this, it’s not to regain your sight, but to perform tasks better. Then you do see better because you're using the device.”

Recommended Resources

• https://amdcentral.org/
• https://www.evokekyne.com/
• https://www.brightfocus.org/
• http://www.mdsupport.org/
• https://preventblindness.org/
• https://www.macular.org/
• http://www.supportsight.org/
• http://www.mymacdlife.org/
• https://vispero.com/mds

* Note: All listed transcript timings and wording are approximations.

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