Here we are again, continuing with Part II of my interview with Tina Su of Think Simple Now. If you enjoyed last week’s first part, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the second part.
Here we go:
10. We all have a dark side, what’s yours?
When I am not conscious, my mind becomes clouded and I can become very impatient, irritable and angry. I don’t like how anger makes me feel, yet when I lose clarity of life and its purposes, I can easily fall into this trap. I’m not proud of it.
Stephen’s Response: I can very much relate to the “unconscious” way of living - buying things without regards to the reasons why (i.e. a bag of potato chips when I know it isn’t good for for my weight loss program, not going to the gym, etc.). But when I live consciously, I become an observer and take responsibility, which feels great and I’m getting better at it every day. Sometimes I slip and fall back in to the old way of behaving. One step forward, two steps back……
11. At Adversity University, I often talk about the value of changing our perceptions in order to deal with adversity. How have you dealt with adversity in your life? Give us specific examples of adversity and what you did to overcome them.
Each adversity that came into my life, I took as a blessing, because these are opportunities for me to grow into a stronger person and to really appreciate life. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that no matter how bad things may seem, there’s a lesson and a purpose for a cause greater than myself. The key is in finding the lesson and using what you learned to benefit you and the people around you into living more fulfilled lives.
Stephen’s Response: That’s a great way to look at adversity! I definitely believe everything happens for a reason too. There’s definitely a lesson behind everything that happens and if all of us could look at it that way, we’d have a different collective consciousness, wouldn’t you agree?
12. What would you say was the defining moment that forever changed the course of your life? For example, was it someone who made an impact on you or was it a spiritual revelation?
Several moments have dramatically have contributed towards my personal growth.
- Ended destructive relationships and my ‘addictive’ patterns of attracting them.
- Read “The Power of Now” and started meditating regularly.
- Attended a meditation intensive from Swamiji Nithyananda
Stephen’s Response: While I meditate, I’m still learning my way through this method of becoming “one with the universe” and calming my inner self. Sometimes I fall asleep, LOL.
13. What 3 books, blogs and/or mentors have influenced you and why?
I’ve had positive influences by many authors and teachers. Coming up with this list was not so trivial:
- “Ways of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman. Introduced me to the concept of conscious living.
- “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. Introduced me to the path of clarity and happiness.
- “Guaranteed Solutions” by Swamiji Nithyananda. He guided me along the path to understanding ultimate clarity and techniques to experience bliss, first hand.
Stephen’s Response: I LOVED “Way of the Peaceful Warrior.” Did you see the movie? That was awesome!
14. Name the top 5 articles from Think Simple Now that you believe readers at Adversity University would benefit from.
- Train Your Eyes to See Color, Again
- The Secret to Self Loving
- 6 Steps to Deflate Self-Defeating Fears
- How to Free Yourself from Guilt
- Life on Purpose: 15 Questions to Discover Your Personal Mission
Stephen’s Response: I think my favorite, if I had to pick one, was “The Secret to Self Loving.” Once we can honestly say we love ourselves, we increase the capacity to love others. If we don’t have love for ourselves, how can we give it to others? It’s not one of those “fake it until you make it” kind of things.
15. What do you hope God will have to say to you when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
You did good Kiddo. 
Stephen’s Response: That’s a good one! Guaranteed to bring a big smile!
16. Being deaf, I am always curious to know which sounds other people love and hate to hear. Tell us a sound you absolutely adore and a sound you detest.
- Adore: Adam’s voice.
- Detest: sound of my dog barking when the phone rings.
Stephen’s Response: So your dog barks when the phone rings? That’s hilarious! You ought to tape that and put it on YouTube. I bet it’d go viral.
17. We all have our likes and dislikes. What would you say turns you on and what turns you off? Give the first answer that comes to your mind without censoring or editing it.
- Turn ons: genuinely kind people who can move me to tears.
- Turn offs: long and verbose emails from strangers asking me to do something for them that requires my free time. Rule of thumb: Keep it short!
Stephen’s Response: Those who are authentic have the power to move mountains. And the funny thing is they don’t necessarily have to do anything special. Just being in the same room with them can cause hearts to open, minds to be inspired and bodies to move forward.
Good idea to keep your requests short but at least be upfront about what you want - don’t hide your true intentions.
18. What is your favorite word? Least favorite?
- Likes: “Empowered”
- Dislikes: “Depressed”
Stephen’s Response: What if a person is clinically depressed? That one always stumps me.
19. What’s next for Tina Su?
Empowered Singles - Dating site for singles striving to live a conscious and positive life.
Interested? Feedback? Don’t be shy to drop me an email: tina@thinksimplenow.com
Stephen’s Response: Best wishes for the success of this site!
20. And finally but not least, where can we find out more about you?
- My Blog: Think Simple Now - Clarity, Simplicity & Happiness
- Things I liked: My Stumble Log
- Twitter: See what I’m doing
- Travel Blog: Adam & Tina
- My Personal Blog: Simply Tina
- Facebook: Pictures etc
Stephen’s Response: I didn’t know you were on Twitter! I’ll have to “follow you” now! Mine is www.twitter.com/sjhopson I’ll also add you as a friend at FB - I’m there too (under Stephen Hopson).
(Turning to the audience: Let’s give Tina a hand here for coming out to Adversity University to spend some quality time with us today! Thank you Tina for being here. I look forward to connecting with you on those social media sites and staying in touch with you!)
Until next time, enjoy!
If you liked this post and you want to be notified of the next one, subscribe via Email or Full Text RSS Feed. I would love to have you as part of the community!
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
Welcome! I'm the founder and professor of Adversity University specializing in personal development for spiritual beings having a human experience. To see a speaking demo tape and other information, please click 
7:07 am on June 4th, 2008 1
Tina, great interview here. I enjoyed getting to know you more. I especially like the Guilt post, as I’m working on a blog post on that this week. How timely to read yours!
Karen Putz / DeafMoms last blog post..What If Steak ‘n Shake Gave Customers the Red Carpet?
7:55 am on June 4th, 2008 2
Hello,
Nice interview!
Btw, about the clinically depressed issue, I feel that it’s “all in the mind”. It could stem from many things happening throughout their lives. I think you’d have to find the ‘root cause’ of it, though it may not be easy nor find the time to delve into it.
Nitas last blog post..The Hearing Miracle
1:06 pm on June 4th, 2008 3
Hi,
“You did good Kiddo’ would be a great greeting at the Pearly Gates!
Genuinely kind people really do make a world of difference.
Stephen, I like your pointing out that self love is not a matter of ‘fake it until you make it’.
Joan
2:21 pm on June 4th, 2008 4
Joan:
I also loved “You did good Kiddo”! After all, we are his children, aren’t we?
Thanks Joan for your input - I feel strongly that self love cannot be faked. It just can’t. Either you love yourself or not. Period.
2:23 pm on June 4th, 2008 5
Nita:
You’re right - there’s always a “root cause” of clinical depression. It’s interesting because I was reading a book last night called “Life 101″ (recommended by a friend) and the author was at one time diagnosed with clinical depression. He actually supported the use of Prozac to help the brain perform a function that it couldn’t otherwise do. I’ve heard others who have the complete opposite view of the use of Prozac.
I am no authority in this subject matter so I don’t know what else to say except that I most certainly believe, as you do, that there’s a root cause in clinical depression.
But the question is: WHAT? That’s the key.
2:26 pm on June 4th, 2008 6
Karen:
It’s amazing how much guilt we lather upon ourselves, isn’t it? It’s all because of the past. That’s why I continue to work on cleaning out those “tape recorders” from the past that no longer serve me.
I read “Life 101″ where the author made an interesting point and that was: You and I were children back then. Today we are adults and we make our own choices. We can actively clean up the guilt we were taught to slather on ourselves or we can continue to wallow in it.
My choice is to get rid of it as it no longer serves me. But every now and then I catch myself. “Should I go to this party?” “I don’t want to! But I feel obligated.”
That kind of self talk - sound familiar?
10:43 pm on October 30th, 2008 7
[...] Hopson Interview with Tina Su Part 1, Part 2 (via Adversity [...]