On April 7, 2011, Hedy Schleifer was a guest on Plum TV with Jennifer Santiago.  Read Jennifer’s blog post below about their meeting.  Hedy describes the sacred space, explains how conflict is an opportunity, and what happens in the Adventure in Intimacy workshop.

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The blog post below is written by Jennifer Santiago, Host/Producer at PlumTV after her meeting Hedy.

A Beautiful Soul

Every now and then in life, you meet someone who touches you. It doesn’t have to be someone who sticks around too long- perhaps just a chance encounter? Maybe someone who during a particular moment of need, stops in the street and asks “are you ok?”

I remember I was covering the September 11th atttacks for CBS4 News in Miami. I was interviewing a woman who was clutching a photo of her daughter. She had not heard from her after the towers crumbled. It was  5 days later and she went to the Armory to provide a DNA sample, then spoke to the media- anyone who would listen really- to try to get some information about her daughter. It was the most emotional interview of my life. When we finished, I just broke down. I started crying and we hugged and I wished her all the luck in the world, though deep down I knew her daughter would never be found. As did she.

When she left, a man, a stranger who had been watching, stopped and handed me a tissue. He just said these words to me, then walked away: “This is hard for you guys too.” I never forgot that man. I never forgot that moment of kindness and that gift from a stranger.

Which brings me to Hedy. Hedy is a daughter of war. Her mother escaped what would most likely have been a slow, tortured road to death in  a concentration camp during the Nazi invasion of Europe. She was pregnant with Hedy at the time and threw herself over the Swiss border. The Holocaust inspired Hedy to heal– to heal relationships, to build an understanding between people so that this would never happen again. She believes in the premise that if we can build an understanding first between loved ones, then we can build an understanding between everyone. We can build a bridge that allows us to live in the shoes of another and leave our sense of self behind to inhabit the world of another. If we can do that- then differences in race, religion, country, ideology would be differences without distinction. Hedy starts by explaining to couples that conflict is an opportunity to learn and heal. I saw her Ted Talk and was so moved. She speaks with such a pure, clear voice about the power of love to heal. And I wanted to meet her. So- we invited her to speak on Plum TV and this is the interview that resulted from our time together. I was so struck by her kindness and clarity. She has this beautiful, clean aura about her. Her intentions are so pure and the light she radiates from living a life with such purity is palpable. Those few minutes with her moved me so much. Like the stranger near Ground Zero, I will never forget her words. So- please take the time to hear what she has to say about life, love, conflict and hope. And my hope is that everyone who hears her will spread her message about the power of love, the power of conflict and the need to embrace both to heal this troubled world.