Born of a Catholic mother and Moslem father, Patti is never sure what religion to follow, or any at all for that matter. In her youth and early twenties, she explores numerous religions, but none speak to her soul. She can't accept the idea that one group has the whole truth and everyone else is wrong, or confused, or infidels, or a cult, or going to burn in hell for all time. To limit her thinking for religious purposes is like living in a cubicle and not being allowed to look over the wall and see what is going on outside. She wants to think for herself, to study, to analyze and to practice without inhibitions. Why would God only accept the practices and prayers of one particular group and not others? An omniscient God can't be that petty, can he-or she? She finally concludes that she just doesn't know and flounders in a spiritual void for a time. But when she is diagnosed with a serious illness and haunted by inner demons of her past, she cracks and falls apart. Deep, buried emotions erupt to the surface, shaking her to her core. Propelled to seek answers and find inner peace, she cries out to the heavens for help. Consequently, she tumbles into a spiritual adventure that explodes her concepts of reality and opens her to a brave new world where souls talk, trees emit energy fields, rocks have life, and God is everywhere.
Patricia Panahi was born in Lowell, Massachussetts to an Anglo-American mother and Iranian immigrant father. She lived her early childhood in New England, New Jersey, and Ohio. When she was nine years old, her parents divorced and she went to live with her father in Iran where she stayed for the next 16 years.
In her 20's, she moved to San Diego, California and completed her graduate work at San Diego State University. She taught English to international students for the San Diego Community College District and opened a bookstore and coffeehouse called The Light Spot. She also coordinated classes and workshops for personal growth and transformation for the Inner Visions Center.
Patricia's spiritual and personal growth training included basics of Religious Science, rebirthing, Three in One Concepts, Earth-based religions, and Tibetan Shamanism among others.
In 1990, Patricia moved to the Big Island of Hawaii. She taught English to international students and later directed ESL programs for the University of Hawaii at Hilo. In 2006, Patricia left UH Hilo to pursue her passion in writing and nutrition. She is currently working on her doctorate dissertation in Holistic Nutrition.
Patricia published her first book, The Well Woman Cookbook: Delicious Vegetarian Recipes for Optimum Health in 1998. Her short stories have appeared in Kanilehua and The Hilo Sunrise. In 2008, she published a memoir of her spiritual journey titled God Outside the Box: A Story of Breaking free. She is currently working on a novel, Veil of Walls, about a young American girl who is forced to grow up with relatives in 1960's Iran.
Patricia lives with her husband and ferocious feline, Pixie, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
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