Christina Collins: Janet Attwood, thank you so much for meeting with us today. 
Your schedule is so immense, that we are truly grateful to finally get an interview with you to talk about your amazing life and your support of not only Jyotish but of all things Vedic and spiritual in nature.
Please, tell us, what started you out on your quest for knowledge of consciousness?
Janet Attwood: It was either spirituality or death from drugs.
Christina: Whoa, that was your choice?!
Janet: Yes. Over 40 years ago I was living in San Jose and auditing courses from San Jose State. Courses like Afro American Literature – Afro American Music – Pottery – etc… I had told my father I was attending college so he would send me money so I could take drugs and party. I was totally crazy in those days.
One day I was upstairs from my apartment talking to my boyfriend Walt and I said, “Hey Walt – you know what I think?” and Walt immediately blurted out, “you don’t think – you don’t even have a brain!”
I was so flipped by what Walt had said that I ran crying to my apartment, picked up my phone and called my brother John who lived 8 hours away in Los Angeles. Sobbing into the receiver I told my brother through my sobbing and wailing what Walt had said. My brother listened patiently and then said in his most loving voice, “Janet…it’s all going to be okay. I just learned something that I know you will love. I’ll get back to you in a few days and tell you about it. In the meantime, just know I love you.’
Four days later there’s a knock at my door. I opened the door and standing there was my brother John. He had put all of his belongings into his Volvo and had driven 8 hours to come and rescue his little sister from her drug filled world.
“Let’s find a place together to live Janet.”
And with those words, we packed up my belongings and together we drove to Santa Barbara, our new home. On the way to Santa Barbara, John told me he had started Transcendental Meditation. “You’d love it Janet!”
He was right about that one. That was 1969. Once John and I arrived in Santa Barbara I learned TM not long after. Since then, TM has been one of the most important gifts in my life.
Christina: Oh Janet, what a wonderful story. I learned TM myself in late 1968, and know how instrumental that simple technique is, in helping young people leave the recreational drug scene, especially in the 60’s in America. And, how sweet that you have such a wonderful brother John!
Tell us, have you had a specific spiritual teacher who most assisted you along the way?
Janet: YES…Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — The founder of the Transcendental Meditation (T.M.) movement.
When I was 20 years old and living in Hawaii, a friend of mine told me that Maharishi was giving a teacher training course in Majorca, Spain and that I should apply to work on staff on the work/study program.
This possibility really excited me. So, in my enthusiasm to go to Majorca, I told a little white lie. On my application under “skills” I said I was a professional cook. I thought my chances of being accepted would be better if I showed I had a skill. After all, I knew how to make great smoothies!
Christina: Oh, that is hilarious!!!
Janet: I was right about the skill part! Not long after I sent my application to Spain, I received a reply that I was hired and to come as soon as I could. When I arrived to Majorca, to my horror, I had been hired to be the head chef for over 500 people. And, the hotel I was to be chef in was none other than the hotel Maharishi was staying in!
Christina: Oh, No! What did you do?
Janet: As fate will have it, I’m a quick study and faked it until I actually quit burning everything and became one hell of a good cook. I ended up being on Maharishi’s International staff for a number of years as the co-director of Kitchens and Housing and was fortunate enough to travel around Europe with Maharishi. Needless to say, I had many special moments where not only his teaching, but the way he lived inspired me.
Christina: What an adventure! From meditation to world renowned, best-selling author of The Passion Test! Do you have a specific mentor who initially inspired and helped you to build towards your present achievements reaching such worldwide acclaim and success?
Janet: Other than Maharishi, my other main mentor for my own personal “inner” development was Byron Katie – founder of “The Work” Katie (as she is known) met me in Fairfield, Iowa where she was giving a program and upon 5 minutes of meeting her, asked me to be her marketing director — which I did until I didn’t!
My mentors for business were Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen who I partnered with to co/create a program called, “The Enlightened Millionaire.”
My job with Mark and Bob was to enroll course participants, and under Mark and Bob’s guidance I received a crash course in marketing!
Christina: What a lovely combined title – Enlightened Millionaire – truly merging spirit with matter… (One of my own passions!)
How about your early beginnings? Did you have a different career path prior to your work as a spiritual transformational leader and Passion Test / Yoga of the Mind facilitator?
Janet: Before my karma brought me to my dharma of being a transformational leader and author, I was a corporate girl. I was a recruiter; I sold ads and put together Environmental features in USA Today, I was the marketing Director for a company in Fairfield, Iowa that put on book fairs that eventually sold to Reader’s Digest in their 7th year for $360 million dollars. Luckily, all of the skills I learned from these jobs have served me immensely in my present work. No mistakes!
Christina: You’ve got that right! How have you found Jyotish to be helpful both to yourself, and to others that you influence and inspire?
Janet: It’s kind of a running joke with my friends that I don’t make a move without my Jyotishi. And, it’s partly correct. Before our book became a New York Times bestseller, we looked at Jyotish to give us the perfect date to start writing the book, the perfect date and time to launch the book into the world, the perfect time to Launch other products related to the book.
If I’m thinking of collaborating with anyone or hiring anyone, I always look at our Jyotish compatibility first.
Maharishi had always said, “The purpose of Jyotish is to avert the danger that has not yet occurred.” I feel in my case this is certainly true. I’m a true lover of Vedic Astrology. It has served me greatly in both my personal and professional life.
Oh yes, for those single men over 50 out there. I’m a Pisces rising!
Christina: Good one! Just as you say in The Passion Test – absolute clarity in what you want – and then it arrives!
Janet, what inspired you to write The Passion Test book? (We understand that it is a New York Times best seller, published in many languages, and that you were recently featured on the cover of “O” magazine in November 2011)
Janet: I was inspired to write The Passion Test after I first gave it to 500 people at a conference in La Jolla, California. To my amazement, after I was done presenting, I received a lonnnnnggg standing ovation. All of a sudden I have this “Aha” in the form of the thought bubble that said, “Hey, maybe I have something here!”
The rest is history. We are now the #1 program being used all over the world to help people align with the things that have the greatest value for their lives, i.e. their passions. We have over 1000 Certified Passion Test Facilitators in over 30 countries. (Editor’s note, to find out more go to: http://thepassiontest.com and click the Become A Faciltator link on the right )
Christina: Janet, I will tell you that I always refer a client, of course especially when they are trying to figure out their dharma, to your website and to The Passion Test book itself. I also want to publicly relay to you how fortunate I feel that you help me to do my own dharma, which is helping others, by listing me in the book as a trusted source in the field of Jyotish!
Now let’s talk about more about fulfillment. Tell us about the most fulfilling aspect of this dynamic life path that you have chosen, (or should I say path that has chosen you!)?
Janet: This may sound selfish, but the most fulfilling aspect of my path, aside from seeing people’s light go on once they discover what they are most passionate about is actually being “The Teacher Who is Living Their Teaching.”
In other words — intentionally paying attention to “walking my own talk!” Transparency and authenticity feel great, and what I’ve found is that the more I allow myself to be vulnerable and open, the deeper I connect with myself. Since everything is self-referral, we’re really only sharing with ourselves anyways! I figure it’s a bonus when I give a talk when someone else feels like they got something out of it! (I meet no one but me!)
Christina: Well, that does not sound selfish at all! Actually you are selfless if anything. Profound thought for us all! Please tell us more about Yoga of the Mind and the courses you teach.
Janet: I speak at the International Yoga Festival in India every year, and I wanted to create a program that all of the Yoga enthusiasts who come to Rishikesh could wrap their arms around. Hence, I changed the name of my program from “The Passion Test” to “Yoga of the Mind” and lo and behold, more people started coming to my program, even though, it was the same program I had been presenting year after year called, “The Passion Test”.
Christina: So, what is “The Passion Test aka Yoga of the Mind?” Could you please go into this a little further?
Janet: It is one exercise after another that gets you so crystal clear that when you close your eyes you can see the world you choose to
create. One of my favorite sayings in The Passion Test is, “When you are clear, what you choose to have show up in your life will, and only to the extent that you are clear.”
Christina: Do you have any Passion Test Trainings or Yoga of the Mind courses coming up? We would like to list them for our readers.
Christina: How wonderful to know that you are working with children and young people too – how fantastic to figure out with clarity your passions and how to manifest them, while you are still young!
We know you spend a large amount of time interviewing spiritual Masters in India and around the world. Any India courses soon, that we can let our readers know about?
Janet: Wow…Funny you should ask! I’ve just decided to do a tour of Rishikesh and Hyderabad with 3 of my favorite girlfriends. Marci Shimoff, Dr. Sue Morter and Debra Poneman and I are inviting only 30 people to join us to visit some of the most spiritual places in India, meet and spend quality time with many of the world’s top Spiritual Masters, and participate in this big Spiritual Conference in Hyderabad, India called, “1st World Parliament on Spirituality” in which I will be presenting — along with His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Umashankar Sun Yogi, (The yogi who never eats!) Leonard Orr, Jose Miguel Ruiz, Zhi Gang Sha, and others…
Wonderful, do keep us posted of your experiences there! We would love to publish an article telling us of your adventures with the wise!
Editor’s Note: If any of our readers out there are interested in hearing more about their spiritual tour of India, just email Janet
at the email: janet@thepassiotest.com and put Spiritual India Tour in the subject line.
Christina: Would you be interested in telling us a little about your personal life, about your family, and home life?
Janet: I live in Fairfield, Iowa. I’ve lived here for over 25 years. Fairfield is the home of Maharishi University of Management — An accredited Ph.D. university where all of the students who come here practice Transcendental Meditation. In this community we have two big Golden Domes where over 2,000 Transcendental Meditation Practitioners practice the T.M. and T.M. Siddhi Programs (advanced T.M. Programs) together. Fairfield also houses over 1,500 Vedic Pandits from India who chant the Rudra Vashek Daily.
Oprah Winfrey recently started T.M. and was in Fairfield filming a special on this forward thinking community.
Christina: What a wonderful atmosphere to live in for so many years! How about your family?
Janet: I love dogs and kids. If you are hanging out with me and a dog or a child comes close, you’ll totally lose my attention because I love them so much!
The thing I’m most proud of in my life is that I’m best friends and business partners with my ex-husband, Chris Attwood. Chris is now remarried and his wife Doris and I are also super close. I’m the Godmother to Chris and Doris’s two girls, Sofie Nandini who is 4½ and Teanna who is 1. I love this family as my own and they have totally adopted me as well!
Christina: How remarkable – it takes true inner peace to create the family you all have chosen to be!
Thank you so much for such wonderful insight into the heart of greatness! Do you have any final comment that you would like to leave for our readers?
Janet: I always say Thanks to T.M. and The Work of Byron Katie for the tools that helped Chris and Doris and I undue any “limiting beliefs” we were holding towards one another. We are all so close that this summer I stayed with all of them in Encinitas, California for five fabulously fun and love filled months! How cool is that?!
Yes, we can’t wait! “Thanks for the interview!!” Enjoy! — Janet
Christina: Thank you Janet!
By Christina Collins
Interview Date: 4/29/12
