Mariel Hemingway to speak on healthy living at Seaside Center

By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Thursday, July 12, 2007 7:34 PM PDT ∞

Go into any bookstore and you'll find separate sections for books about homes, food, exercise and the spiritual rewards of silent reflection.

For actress and writer Mariel Hemingway, however, life is not so neatly subdivided.

"Life is the integration of many things," she said in a phone interview about an upcoming talk in Encinitas and her new book, "Healthy Living From the Inside Out," released in January.

"What I love about my book is it's four books in one," she said. "What I'm doing is saying, 'My life is not just one thing. Would it be better if we realize that these four things are integrated?' If we can see them working in concert with one another, you're in a better place."

Hemingway, granddaughter of novelist Ernest Hemingway, is best known for her film career, which earned her an Oscar nomination as a teenager for her breakout performance in Woody Allen's "Manhattan."

Although acting is her profession, Hemingway said holistic health is her passion, a passion that brings her to Encinitas for a talk at 7 p.m. July 20 at Seaside Center for Spiritual Living, 1613 Lake Drive.

"I love Encinitas," said Hemingway, who said she enjoys visiting the Self-Realization Fellowship. "It's just such a beautiful area."

Hemingway said she runs retreats and speaks about holistic health about three times a month. She said she thought Seaside was a perfect fit for her talk.

"It's about integrating your food and home and silence as a path in life," she said. "It's sort of like your pathway into your own peace, and I thought it was just the perfect place for me to talk about my passion for healthy living, but on a deeper level that embodies not just food and exercise, but spirit."

Her talk, "How to Experience and Stay Present in Your Life," is based on principles of her book. Hemingway said answering audience questions is a large part of her sessions.

"I'll talk about spirit, experiencing yourself and making healthy choices in all aspects of your life," she said.

Growing up with a mother who had cancer and a father who had heart disease, Hemingway said her interest in health began when she was 16.

"It was an obsession at first," she said. "Now it's a passion and a longing to share, whereas before it was a survival technique for myself."

Hemingway's early obsession with health led her to a regimen of heavy exercise and dieting.

"I pushed myself," she said. "I overexercised. I underate. I didn't eat fat because that seemed to be the thing at the time."

Finally, Hemingway said that instead of following the latest trend, she came to realize that her mother's ways may have been the best.

"The way my mother ate when I was a kid was probably a healthy regimen," she said. "A little bit of everything. I started to realize that there was a better path. It was a healthy choice for me."

Hemingway said she began to see the importance of balance, not just in diet, but in everything.

"Now I realize that all the different journeys I've had in my life have led me to realize that everybody has their own path," she said.

Hemingway said one of her core messages is the importance of self-awareness. Rather than denying bad feelings when they surface, Hemingway said, acknowledge and accept them.

"It's not that you have to act on your emotions, but be aware of them and do not deny them," she said. "If you consciously see who you are, they (bad emotions) come up to you, and you see them, and you experience them. If you keep doing that, allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel, it dissipates the ones that don't work for you anymore. The ones that don't serve you tend to fall off as long as you give them attention. But any part of the self that's in denial will keep coming up."

Hemingway said greater awareness also can help people realize their divine guidance.

"People believe things happen by luck, but we were guided to those things," she said. "It's not just about visualizing, but awareness of who you are at any moment."

Tickets for Hemingway's talk are $25. A free copy of her book will be given with the first 500 tickets purchased. Tickets are available at the center on Sundays, Wednesday evenings after 7 p.m. or by appointment at SoulScape Gifts & Books, 765 S. Coast Highway 101, Encinitas or Charmed Hair Salon at 337 Cedros Ave., Solana Beach.

Contact Seaside Center for Spiritual Living at (760) 753-5786, Ext. 848, or log on to www.SeasideCenter.org.

-- Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.