Meet Mara James of Extraordinary Lives Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mara James.

Mara, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to California from New York on Jan 2007 where we started up my husband’s OBGYN practice and I was his office manager for 7 years until I experienced a manic episode and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was introduced to holistic healing and after 1 1/2 years of hard work, I was able to be weaned off of all of my mediation and my life has been transformed. In addition to my healing, my 19-year-old son was diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD at the age of 6 years old and after participating in holistic healing, he has been weaned off of all of his ADHD medicine and he is down to a low dose of his anxiety medicine. He is a Freshman in college and thanks to holistic healing, he is doing miraculously well!

After my experience, I realize that there are gifts associated with mental health challenges along with some negative side effects and my plan is to let the world know that there ARE ways to help heal mental health challenges in addition to just medication! I started the Extraordinary Lives Foundation (ELF) whose mission is to support Pediatric Mental Health & Wellness because we believe that the earlier challenges are discovered, the easier it is to heal them before they spiral out of control. One of our goals is to promote May as National Mental Health Awareness month which has been proclaimed by past Presidents of the United States but it is not recognized nor celebrated the same way that October is for Breast Cancer Awareness event though it affects many more individuals. My vision is to host events at all MLB stadiums and in 2017 we hosted an event at Angel Stadium and Petco Park where the Padres played the LA Dodgers. In 2018 we will be hosting an event at Angel Stadium (in which we are collaborating with CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange which is opening the first Pediatric Inpatient mental healthcare facility for children) as well as Yankee Stadium and at an Atlanta Brave’s game.

In August 2017, ELF published our first children’s book that I wrote called “The Power of Piggie Bear” which is a therapeutic tool for children to help empower them and teach them mindful breathing in a fun and loving way. Piggie Bear also teaches children not to judge others, to love themselves and to know that they are amazing just the way they are! Our goal is to raise money to donate a book to all elementary schools around the Nation, beginning in Orange County, expanding throughout California then nationally. We will also be creating a stuffed animal to go along with the book which will bring love and light to children everywhere. We are currently applying for grants to distribute the book to several children’s homes and foundations as well as local children’s hospitals.

I am currently writing a book about my journey so that I can share with others to help inspire them to help heal their mental health challenges instead of just accepting them and taking medication and dealing with some of the negative side effects. I know that several parents do not want to medicate their children and that they are more open to holistic healing and I believe that this is God’s plan to help transform the world.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My journey definitely was a bumpy road and of course, there were struggles along the way! I feel that I have done a lot of physical and mental healing and now I am ready to help others heal and transform their lives beyond their wildest dreams!!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Extraordinary Lives Foundation story. Tell us more about the business.
We focus on healing mental health challenges holistically for parents and their children. We have impacted many lives so far and we look forward to helping many more to heal.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck, I believe in Divine timing and that there is no such thing as ironic or coincidence. I feel very blessed to have made it through to the other side of pain and suffering and I hope that I can encourage others to do the same.

Contact Info:

• Address: 32932 Pacific Coast Hwy
  Suite 14-479
  Dana Point, CA 92629
• Website: www.el.foundation
• Phone: 9493159735
• Email: mara22elf@gmail.com
• Instagram: el.foundation
• Facebook: Extraordinary Lives Foundation

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