Finley, Guy 1949-

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Finley, Guy 1949-

PERSONAL:

Born February 22, 1949, in Beverly Hills, CA; son of Larry (late-night talk show and video industry pioneer) and Venise (a real estate entrepreneur) Finley; married Patricia Wangler, 1994. Education: Attended University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Life of Learning Foundation, P.O. Box 10, Merlin, OR 97532.

CAREER:

Composer, lyricist, and recording artist, 1969-79; writer and public speaker on self-development and spiritual psychology, 1979—. Life of Learning Foundation, Merlin, OR, founder and principal; host of a weekly syndicated radio program; guest on more than 400 media programs.

WRITINGS:

Herbal Pet Care, Sweetwater Books (Los Angeles, CA), 1974.

The Secret of Letting Go, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1990, revised edition, 2007.

The Secret Way of Wonder: Insights from the Silence, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1992.

Freedom from the Ties that Bind: The Secret of Self Liberation, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1994.

Designing Your Own Destiny: The Power to Shape Your Future, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1995, expanded edition published as Design Your Destiny, 1999.

(With Ellen Dickstein) The Intimate Enemy: Winning the War within Yourself, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1997.

The Lost Secrets of Prayer: Practices for Self-Awakening, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1998.

Seeker's Guide to Self-Freedom: Truths for Living, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 2002.

Apprentice of the Heart: Lessons in Life Only Love Can Teach, White Cloud Press (Ashland, OR), 2004.

Let Go and Live in the Now: Awaken the Peace, Power, and Happiness in Your Heart, Red Wheel/Weiser (York Beach, ME), 2004.

365 Days to Let Go: Daily Insights to Change Your Life, White Cloud Press (Ashland, OR), 2007.

Author of sound recordings, including Only the Fearless Are Free; Waking up Together: Building Compassionate Relationships Founded in Higher Love; Seven Characteristics of Higher Consciousness; Secret Teachings of the Sacred Testaments, two volumes; Living in the Light; Teachings of the Timeless Kindness; The Road to Good Fortune; Secrets of Cleansing Your Heart, Mind, and Soul; The Heart and Soul of Freedom; The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like …; The Turning Point; Liberation of Consciousness; Education of the Soul; Living Now; The Illusion of Limitation; Seven Steps to Oneness; The Meditative Life; Secrets of Being Unstoppable; and The Genesis of Love. Composer for recording artists, films, and television programs; also recorded his composition on his own albums.

Finley's writings have been published in sixteen languages.

SIDELIGHTS:

According to Guy Finley's coauthor, Ellen Dickstein: "Guy's career reached this point through a circuitous path. Born into a successful show business family, his childhood friends were the sons and daughters of major celebrities. As a young man he enjoyed success in a number of areas, including composing award-winning music for many popular recording artists, motion pictures, and episodic television. From 1970 through 1979 he wrote and recorded his own albums for the Motown and RCA record labels.

"Throughout his youth, Guy suspected there was more to life than the type of worldly success that led to the emptiness and frustration he saw among his own friends and colleagues. In 1979, after travels to India and parts of the Far East in search of truth and Higher Wisdom, he voluntarily retired from a flourishing career in order to simplify his life and continue his inner studies."

Finley told CA: "My own path began at a very young age. Nothing made sense to me as a small child. The idea of happiness and contentment eluded me until I realized these were based in an invisible world. It was my good fortune in the late seventies to meet a wonderful, true, good human being—an enlightened individual by the name of Vernon Howard. I worked with him for many years. He said, ‘Life is not a race to win, but a school for our Higher education.’ I believe that life is not what it appears to be, but rather offers for those who are willing to use it properly a way to discover a life that is rooted in a completely different order of reality— whose basis is timeless as opposed to our present perception of things as rooted totally in the temporary—with all the torment that identification with the temporary brings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Life of Learning Foundation,http://www.guyfinley.org (August 7, 2007).