A natural born healer, raised in a holistic household in New Jersey, I learned that good food, herbs, and vitamins, coupled with good mood and elevated vibrations are all we need to maintain a healthy body, mind, and spirit. But my inquisitive mind wanted to know how and why these things worked, how it all fits together, and what it looks like under a microscope.

My burning desire to find these answers has taken me to some very interesting places, not the least of which being the Other Side.

My first Near Death Experience

When I was a year and a half old, I had a bad fall and was knocked unconscious. I clearly remember seeing my mother, very pregnant at the time, crying while I was in the x-ray machine. Years later, when I told her about it, she said I couldn’t have seen her because she was in the waiting room. They wouldn’t let her near the x-ray machine due to her pregnancy, so I must have been out-of-body when I saw her.

I have a memory from around that time of a line of spirits walking into my bedroom, walking the circumference of the room, and stepping up onto the foot of my crib, moving through the bars and disappearing into the wall beyond my head. One of these entities stood out to me; an Indian, in a full ceremonial feathered headdress, bone chest plate, and fur around his ankles. He came right up to me, looked me in the eyes, and though I don’t think he said anything, he helped me to understand that this was my spiritual “posse”, they were always with me, and I was safe.

When I went to school, I would be on the playground I would talk about dead people and auras, because I thought everyone saw them, but the kids would laugh at me, so I learned to keep those things locked up tight in a little box inside of me. Coming from a Presbyterian background, I found it easy to connect personally to Jesus so I poured my spiritual energy into Christianity for a long time (More on that in a bit).

Then I had my second NDE.

A near death experience plays a very big role in a person’s spiritual development because when we die, we return to non-resistance. We return to pure love. Then when we wake up back in our bodies, a part of that non-resistance (aka alignment) stays with us.

In 1985, at 17 years old, I was in the back seat of a 1974 Pontiac Firebird, no seatbelt, when we get cut off in traffic and slammed into a telephone pole. When we hit the pole, I flew over the passenger in the front seat, hit my head on the dashboard, then landed at my best friends feet, essentially scalping myself. In the recovery room, as I returned to consciousness, the doctor asked me three questions: he asked if I knew where I was, why I was here, and for how long. I said I was in the hospital because there was a car accident and I told him I had been in the hospital for about 3 weeks. I got the first two questions right, but I had only been in the hospital for a few hours.

I began to cry because I felt like I had been away, in paradise, for at least three weeks, with the answers to every question at my fingertips, surrounded by pure love. Now that I was back in my body, I was stunned, and I could not stop the tears from streaming down my face. Tears of relief or loss? Maybe a little of both, but the sensations and memories of that peace will never leave me.

This experience had me asking all the big questions; Where was I? How could I have seen and felt all that I did in a few short hours? How does religion fit in? How does healing? If I wasn’t in my body, how could I have memories and what part of me is doing the remembering? It was time to unlock the part of me that I had hidden in early childhood. It was time to open that box.

I, like everyone else on this planet, have lived through some horrific ordeals.

I was a victim of statutory rape at 16, when I foolishly agreed to go on a date with a 24 year old man, which resulted in pregnancy then an abortion.

I married a man, had two amazing sons, and I thought I had it all until my husband came home late one night and told me that he was in love with my little sister, and when he left me, the church turned its back on me because of my divorce. Ouch!

I lived through the total devastation of my home when hurricanes flooded the main floor with four feet of water… three freaking times!

But here’s the thing; I didn’t let any of that stuff break me. My relationship with Jesus didn’t change, and my intuition, my Inner Self, just continued to flood my body with pure, Universal love. Then one afternoon I was sitting in my office writing, (because that’s how I process things), and I was overcome with the sensation that I was being called to minister to others who have been hurt by the church; by the dogma and the guilt that comes from disappointing the “rule makers”. I sat in meditation with Jesus, and He introduced me to Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Indian chiefs, and other indigenous spiritual masters who I did not recognize, and the message was clear: there are more paths than can be counted, and they are all valid. You can’t get it wrong, and you’ll never get it done. I became ordained right then and there. That was May 24, 2004.

I took a job at my local health food store, where I quickly became a manager and was able to use my newly acquired Master Herbalist/Nutritionist knowledge with the store’s patrons. I loved it! I was happy and thriving and soon, I was in a new relationship.

I took my time, and through my studies while earning my Doctors in Shamanistic Theology and my Masters in Spiritual Leadership, that I was able to apply the things that I was learning to my personal situation and heal.

My new husband and I moved to Belize in the spring of 2013 and it was there that I had one of my greatest adventures. One morning I heard a voice in the street yelling, “Good Morning!” and when I went outside, I saw a little old Maya man. He told me that he had a dream about the “shaman lady” who lived in Bullet Tree, and he asked if I was her. When I said yes, he told me that he was led to me so he could pass on his wisdom. He said that his family had no interest in learning all of his plant and spirit wisdom, so lucky me got to spend the next 5 years learning all his secrets. Pinch me!

My third NDE

While living in the Central American jungle, I had an infection and a very high fever – over 104 degrees for 10 days – and I drifted in and out of consciousness the whole time. On the tenth day, my recently deceased father was sitting on the edge of my bed, holding my hand, and stroking my arm. On my right side was my grandfather. They let me know that I was going to be fine, and they helped me to regulate my temperature so I could return to my calling; healing lives.

Now I’m back in the US, on the west coast this time, healing, teaching, speaking and living the dream.

Since 2011 I have had more than 1,700 students go through my “Holistic Health Practitioner, Becoming Shaman” and “Practical Herbalism” programs, either in person or through the online, go-at-your-own-pace, courses.

I organize annual Holistic Fusion expos to benefit the children and seniors through Moose Charities, and I hold a free Circle of Miracles healing circle twice a year, on the solstice and equinox.

I still spend all day, every day, thinking about, praying about, or meditating on, the purpose and meaning of life. It is a burning desire that consumes all of my thoughts, from when I wake up in the morning, until I fall asleep at night.

Here is what I know so far: we came here to be happy. So while other experts are busy studying psychosis and disfunctions of the mind and body, I study happiness and longevity. Because when we know how to maintain a high level of satisfaction with everything and everyone around us, we heal.

This is my passion and my calling and I would love to speak at your event.

Rev. Dr. Bonnie Russell, Happiness Specialist

Board Certified HHP, Metaphysician, Speaker & #1 International Best Selling Author

Women of the World Network leader – Bringing powerful women together from around the globe to be the change we wish to see in the world.

SGLA member – Working together with Shlomo Shoham, Bruce Lipton & Gregg Braden, among other global leaders, to raise the vibration of the planet.

Chaplain for Moose Lodge 1491 & Cal Nevada Moose District 6 – Supporting members in their time of need.

“You’re not sick, you’re just disconnected. When we tune into the frequency of joy, we cannot be sick. This is Universal law. Verifiable, scientific truth known as epigenetics. Appreciation and gratitude are the language of Source Energy. Turn your inner dial from negative to positive and heal.

This Universal Law, just like gravity. It’s immutable. And if you look at the patterns in your life, you will see how the Law of Attraction has always brought exactly what you were at the time. We don’t attract what we want, we attract what we are!”