We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sandy Rodgers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sandy below.

Sandy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

It all began one day in August, the summer of 1992, when Sandy was taking her three sons – Malcolm, Darryl and Chantz – on a trip to Atlanta, GA. Actually only one of the three, Malcolm, did she labor with for three days to give birth and bring a new life into this world The other two had been adopted into Sandy’s family, like so many others were. Malcolm was 16, Darryl was 17 and Chantz a mere 2 years old. Sandy’s only birth son, a young 16 year old, black man-child was being escorted to attend Morehouse College some 3000 miles from where his family and roots were. This was indeed an awesome and exhilarating excursion for all four. This was the first airplane flight for both Darryl and Chantz. Atlanta had clean air, trees everywhere, picturesque scenery and displayed the glory of God’s meticulous handiwork. Sandy knew immediately, that although she was indebted to her homeland in Los Angeles, she must relocate to Atlanta.
During Sandy’s week long stay in Atlanta, she thought about her hectic schedule back home, working endless hours to make her business successful; a mortgage owed on a house that would now seem empty without her beloved son there; all the friends she had made and loved during her lifetime. Her newfound Church home, FAME – First African Methodist Episcopal, a place that she cherished. Pastor Cecil Murray was the epitome of religious leaders.
But most important to Sandy, was the thought of leaving her family. A rather typical family in most regards, yet a very close knit and supportive unit of folks. Her family always garnered strength whenever a crisis arose within the family or with one of the family members.
On her return home, Sandy learned of devastating events that had taken place during her absence that almost ruined her business. Almost lost in deep depression, isolation was Sandy’s defense as she attempted to figure her next business move. The business was one in which she took enormous pride and had invested all of her retirement money and savings for its mere survival. Nu Vision Modeling and Entertainment Inc. offered programs to children who would not have been exposed to otherwise.
The house was surely empty. Malcolm was missed tremendously but the anticipated rewards from his education at Morehouse College made it all worthwhile. Sandy had looked for a roommate but her search was unsuccessful. After careful consideration, she decided to move out of the house and rent it to a large family. Sandy had lived in this house for twelve years. It took days to pack and sort through everything and it was a successful move, Thanks to her Angels. Furniture was given away. Clothes were donated to charities. The Angels found their keep sake treasures while packing. And still a huge warehouse space was filled with the remaining items.
Sandy carefully calculated the amount of money it would take to accomplish this move. She was very confident of things working out financially. She had five months to pay off her existing financial obligations and save for the expected expenses of the new apartment – rent, food and utilities. Plus she had loaned money to several people who would now repay their debt to her. Sandy kept meticulous records of moving expenses. She researched, checked and compared prices for moving vans and companies. By this time Sandy was sharing her widowed father’s house with him.
Truly no one truly believed Sandy would leave neither her family nor friends. She had always been there for them. Always. Always ready to listen, to lend a helping hand, to baby-sit, to be a companion to the elder members of the family, enjoying dinner at Senior Citizen prices! Always there to joke and make their day a little brighter with her smile, which she always wore. Always ready, even if she did not get to go. A phrase her brother-in-law used to describe Sandy’s attitude.
Finally the DAY everyone dreaded became a reality. The moving truck had been packed and was on its way to Atlanta with Sandy’s household furnishings and personal goods. The grandest, most elaborate, and loving celebration of one’s life was about to take place. Sandy arrived early; she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her sister, Janice, the one whose soul was so close to hers.
All the ANGELS from Sandy’s life came. They came from all across the United States to bid a grand farewell to their beloved friend and family member. Friends that represented earliest childhood through the current time, including new and old friends. Hundreds of people flocked to the celebration. Two former-father-in-laws and their sons came. Teachers from Elementary, Junior and Senior High School attended. Co-workers from all the former jobs she had held. Students and youth from the many organizations she presided over were all present. As old as 90 years and as young as a few months all came. Black, White, Hispanic, Belizean, African, Native Americans. Teachers, counselors, nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, former boy/man friends, friends of friends were all there. Business associates and business partners came. Many who had shared their lives with Sandy, felt the empty space her leaving would create, now starting to form.
Testimonies, two cakes, special surprise gifts, tears, dancing, a pure celebration of life! Cameras, lights, ACTION. Flashes from cameras blinded many. During her childhood Sandy always clung to her many Uncles with great care and respect. Only one Uncle was now still alive, Uncle Buddy. Sandy’s Aunts were there with plenty of love, words of wisdom and remembrances of their husbands. Mom simply said, “Just remember you can always come back home.” The love was there, ever so present and alive. Mom squeezed Sandy so tightly every time they passed each other that night. There was no doubt to anyone that Mom would miss her ‘Baby Girl’ too.
A money tree was there for anyone who wanted to make a cash gift to Sandy. At the start of the day Sandy didn’t have the money to pay her rent when she arrived in Atlanta nor did she have traveling money for her long awaited journey. No gas money for the car, no money for food on the road, and no money for accommodations between Los Angeles and Atlanta. She would not and did not tell a single person, not even her family. Yet she still prepared to leave for Atlanta. All she knew was she was to make that move and she would stop at nothing less than that.
Late into the night Sandy slipped away from the party, leaving her cherished family and friends to continue, so she could get the sleep she needed to start the cross country drive the next morning. Sandy was awake before the sun rose, as usual. She looked and all around her sister’s house were sleeping bodies.
Thank GOD, for His Saving Grace and Loving-kindness. As she sat feeling this tremendous love overcome her soul, she began to count the money that had been given the night before. Some people gave it in cards; some was placed in plain envelopes or was placed on the money tree, while others decided to give it directly to Sandy. Some of the people who gave, Sandy did not know, they were simply friends of friends or friends of family.
Sandy cried uncontrollably as she counted all that had been given to her. For now she had her rent money, grocery money, money to travel with and some extra spending cash besides. How she was to even make the trip without the physical evidence of cash never stopped her. She never gave strength to what appeared as lack of money substance. She stayed focused on her promise to her son that she would be there by June 1st. She glowed as she realized how much she was living her life in complete FAITH. How Blessed she was to have Angels in the human form of family and friends who cared and loved her so much!!
Years later, Sandy still cries tears of joy whenever she recounts the blessings of her life. Surely she has been LED BY GOD. The decision and subsequent relocation to Atlanta was definitely – A JOURNEY IN FAITH.
Some times God uses Her humanity, people serving as Angels, as our guides. My Angels are God’s human messengers. God can and does lead you by way of Angels on your life path.
The moral to this short story is When God Leads and you trust the process you will receive everything you require in divine order. Angels will appear to assist you in accomplishing that which God has placed in your heart. So go ahead with full abandonment of what you feel or see.

Know without a doubt you are being led … and enjoy the journey!

Sandy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since early in life I chose to do the unusual, unexpected when selecting classes at school or in choosing a career. I did not like being placed within a box by someone else who had pre-determined what I should do with my life. By faith I found this voice that was always present just not as vocal as it became later in my life. This is where I received my strength to help those without a voice to be heard. I help others to speak up, to tell their story without apology.

With encouragement from family and friends I began writing in 1999. My very first book I chose to write a book on male relationships, mostly of black men from grandfathers to fathers (birth and step), 2 former husbands and lovers, co-workers, male relatives and so on. What made this written work so unique was there is not one negative word used to describe any of the more than 100 stories that are featured!! There are over 500 names of men I know mentioned. I am extremely proud that this book still receives rave rewards of the readers. The title is ALL MY MEN.

My latest book is titled – The A’s Have It – Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction. And with each book written in between those titles my writings have been geared towards healing. We carry so much pain and unresolved traumas in our bodies which can sometime fester into dis-ease and worse. Unresolved emotional issues can create cancer in our body. Because we choose to bury our inner most feelings very deep inside we forget what our true troubles are about or where they began. So I write about various relationships and opportunities we can encounter in life.

Life, Love and Wellness was birthed in 2015 after 40 years of pregnancy. My mother first introduced me to the wonders of healing naturally through herbs and other God given means. I have always been curious about what makes the body operate so efficiently. More recently I have been dubbed the Wellness Gangsta due to my no-nonsense style of healing. It can be described as ‘by any means necessary’.

I was diagnosed with peptic ulcers back in the early 70’s, prescribed a ‘brand new’ wonder drug on the market called Tagamet. My doctor gave me explicit instructions on how to use and made it perfectly clear that I was to take this pill daily for the remainder of my life. I did as told until it began oozing out of every pore of my body, including diarrhea and vomiting. I was rushed to the hospital via ambulance from my place of employment. After many tests and days in the hospital, it was determined that my body was poisoned with those darn Tagamet pills. My body could not tolerate the amount of heavy metals contained in them! First case.

In 1999 I was advised to have a colonoscopy performed due to the fact my mother had suffered with colon cancer and my father had diverticulitis. Upon review it was determined I now had Crohns and that it could be fatal. Those pills made me sick like the ones back in 1970 ish. Again the doctor insisted I had to take the pills everyday! I went into deep meditation and arose with a renewed belief that there was a better way to healing, a word which the doctors will not use in discussing their treatment plans with you.

At that point I began a very diligent research into natural remedies using non-chemicals to recover or overturn certain dis-eases of the human body. I am still learning and share willingly with those who wish to do the same as I did. I am now Crohns free and have been for years. The specialist that I was forced to visit told me that I would be dead in 2 years if I did not follow the regimen they had for me which included taking the pills the original doctor prescribed for me. Well 21 years and counting later I am still alive and sharing what I learn with others.

While researching I found tons of information on modalities that I had never heard of, many of which are still practiced in other parts of the world just not here in the USA. I needed to know how to get this simple message to people on taking control of their bodies and doing self-care towards healing. Thus the birth of LIFE, LOVE and WELLNESS.

I began hosting weekly radio shows inviting those wellness experts and practitioners into the studio to share with the listeners the how to’s of getting better and maintaining that state of health. As I learned more I could share more. I used my body in some of the experiments that were conducted. If I couldn’t or wouldn’t do then I felt I could not endorse. To me this is integrity. I have completed extended fasts of 30, 31 and 45 days; have studied and used the urine therapy method of healing; received training and certification in Reiki healing, raw food education and WFPB along with other modalities.

I am most proud of the 10 day Worldwide Wellness Webinar conducted in 2018 with 53 speakers; ages 13 to 88! The majority of these speakers were People of Color due to our not being represented in other well known wellness events! I felt as if this was given to me to accomplish. We had over 10 countries who advised us that were involved with the webinar and expressed their gratitude for being able to listen and gain the valuable knowledge shared by the speakers.

I am also proud of continuing with finding opportunities to partner with others in offering the public healing options. I have partnered with several agencies to host events and share the information. We continue with the weekly radio podcasts and the speakers are eager to share their expertise, this allows the public to see the multitudes who do this healing work.

What I would like to leave with your readers is 1)they can listen to the rebroadcast of the 2018 event 2)they can share by listening or being an active part of the weekly radio show 3) book a counseling session with me or 4)book me to speak with their group and 5)purchase my written works on Amazon. I have 25 different titles.

The big shift in the wellness industry will be people searching for new ways to healthy lifestyles. The harmful chemicals of the processed items being sold will reach a peak and people will understand the harm they are causing to their own body temples.

According to The George Washington University’s School of Business – “The United States has what is arguably the most complex healthcare system in the world”…. ‘As our society evolves, our healthcare requirements naturally evolve.’ and lastly ‘Cultural shifts, cost of care, and policy adjustments have contributed to a more patient-empowered shift in care over the last century.’

When the public becomes more informed and aware as per the above quotes, there is bound to be a change in thinking. It will become too cumbersome and complex for the majority to understand let alone follow the instructions. Hence an easier interpretation will be mandated for the mass majority.

Continued learning opportunities will be unveiled and made accessible to people. Already there exists an increase in people changing their eating habits and moving their bodies more, more attention focused on becoming healthy. These are the stats – ‘5% of the US population follows a vegetarian diet. With this, the number of US consumers following a plant-based diet amounts to 9.7 million, increasing from just 290,000 15 years ago.’

And from The Washington Post – People younger than 50 are slightly more likely to be vegetarian or vegan than older people. And people who make less than $30,000 a year are likelier to follow either one of the diets — a factor that may be related to age, as well as financial decision-making, as meat adds expense to an already-tight grocery budget.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My reputation has been solidly built as a direct result of my being honest, of high integrity, committed to the people I serve and having a genuine love of learning new modalities.

Back in the early 1980″s a close family friend was diagnosed with AIDS. Eventually he chose to stop telling his loved ones of his condition because those he told would abandon him once they learned his truth. A mutual friend asked me had I seen him and my response was no. I chose to contact him so that I could visit. I had no clue as to his illness. Upon a long conversation with him I promised I would never turn my back or heart against someone with HIV/AIDS. That promise began a 20+ year service to people who tested positive for the virus.
In Atlanta I had the opportunity of not only working directly with those individuals I also worked with theology students from the local seminary providing them with practical application of how to minister to those with debilitating diseases. I served as a counselor, surrogate mother and friend to thousands in the south, primarily those in the Metropolitan area of Atlanta, specifically the LGBTQ population.

Next I learned as much as I could on various healing modalities and applied what I learned to my clients. I joined groups that provided the services I was learning. I joined in community health fairs and volunteered with the youth as they learned new methods of being healthy. The elderly were most often reluctant due to their not knowing about many of the services that we provided. Education and a pure love for others as I would explain and educate them earned me acceptance from the community and the leaders.

I am a certified REIKI Master Teacher Practitioner, Sound Energy Practitioner, BARS Access Consciousness.

I continued my studies to include the importance and impact of nutrition on wellness. I earned certifications for PBWF, plant based whole foods and Food Science Educator. I have taught at Living Foods Institute, a leading wellness and healing center in Atlanta. I continue to learn as much as possible and people continue to seek me out for consultations. I have partnered with other s to host events for specific groups which have been extremely well received.

My next step was in becoming a Master Gardener, learning the basics of growing your own food. This tied in perfectly with the nutrition studies I had completed. I have taught elementary aged children as well as adults in the art of growing that which is without chemicals and/or additives.

To continue my learning I am constantly on the lookout for innovative ways that are being used around the globe with benefits to the health of humans. To this end I am considered an Urine Therapy Expert. I was introduced to this form of healing in approximately 2015. Unsure of the exact date. Being a truth student I studied in earnest by following different routines to cure different ailments. For my body it has been extremely helpful in reversing signs of psoriasis and eczema and other skin disruptions, I have documented my extended periods of fasting 30 to 45 and longer. I post my daily musings and allow people to be a part of what I am experiencing. People from around the globe reach out to me for my assistance, even though I do not promote myself as a Urine Therapy Expert.

I do this work to help people. It is always their choice and I make sure they completely understand this. I am not a medical doctor and have no rights/license to prescribing any treatment. I simply share that which I have used and how it manifested on me or those who used the same.

My love of people clearly shows through my work and that is why people search me out for assistance.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Learn as much as you can in your chosen field, and perhaps similar fields.

Be and Stay Honest!

Always maintain your integrity in all your interactions with others.

Show compassion for your clients and others.

Be kind to others.

Word of mouth is the best form of advertising that you can have.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SRAuthenticAscension.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revsandyrodgers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandy.rodgers.37/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-sandy-rodgers
• Twitter: @MsRodgers
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@SandyRodgers
• Other: http://amazon.com/author/sandy_rodgers https://linktr.ee/sandyrodgers https://www.facebook.com/groups/391505361265481 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1717274581846605

Image Credits
Simply Zee Imagery Casey Weir