Arielle Ford is the bestselling author of ‘The Soulmate Secret’ and the ‘Hot Chocolate For the Mystical Soul’ series. She is the founder and former president of The Ford Group, a public relations and marketing firm which assisted in launching the careers of Deepak Chopra, the creators of the Chicken Soup For The Soul series (Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen) and the author of Conversations With God (Donald Walsch). She is best known internationally for her work on assisting single people of all ages to find their soulmates via her writings and resources available on her website (www.arielleford.com).

In this inspiring interview, Paradise Pulse Editor-in-chief Chris Selochan speaks with Arielle as she shares some amazing insights into her personal life, including how she was able to find her own soulmate at the age of 43.

What was your most fulfilling moment as President of the Ford Group?

The day I closed it down.  After 17 years of running a highly successful publicity firm, I decided to close the business at the top of my career.  By then I had worked with every major self help and spirituality author and I felt that I had completed my mission to get their work out into the world.

What inspired you to write the ‘Hot Chocolate For the Mystical Soul’ series?

I did the book publicity for the Chicken Soup for the Soul books for the first three years they were launched, and the co-authors, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen asked me to write a Chicken Soup book with them.  For myriad reasons, we all decided that the unusual content I came up with about Angels, Miracles and Healings was much “too woo woo” for the usual Chicken Soup readers and we all decided I should have my own brand with a different publisher.  They fully supported me and the series!

The front cover of Arielle Ford's 'The Soulmate Secret'

For persons unfamiliar with your work, can you tell us in a nutshell what your book ‘The Soulmate Secret’ is all about?’ 

THE SOULMATE SECRET is my formula to manifest love so that you can spend the rest of your life with the love of your life. This is the exact recipe of Law of Attraction prayers, projects and processes I used 18 years ago to manifest my husband….it’s easy, its fun and it not only worked for me and dozens of my friends… it’s also worked for thousands of readers around the world. This process works for men and women of all ages….it even worked for my 80 year old mother-in-law.

Can ‘The Soulmate Secret’ also provide hope to someone who has been hurt badly in a previous relationship and has given up on finding ‘the one”?

YES!  Many of readers tell me the success stories in the book and in my online course (found at www.soulmatepassion.com) provide inspiration and motivation. I have true stories from men and women, of all ages, sizes, incomes levels etc. who have used ‘The Soulmate Secret’ to manifest love.

What sort of response has your work received outside of the United States?

The book is in 21 languages in 40 countries.  I have taught workshops around the world including London, Dublin, Rome, Milan, Kuwait, Munich, Salzburg, and many other countries.

You have your own personal success story where you met your own soulmate Brian at the age of 43 and have been happily married for over 17 years. Tell us a bit about how you met Brian and about your wedding.

On June 22, 1997 I went to see Amma (www.amma.org), the hugging saint from India.  I had heard about her years earlier from Deepak Chopra who had said to me, “Amma is the real thing. If you ever have a chance to get a hug from her, do it.”  I signed up to attend a weekend retreat, knowing that during this retreat I would receive at least two hugs.  I had spent the previous year forgiving myself and others for relationships that didn’t work out, I had made my list and released it to the Universe, I had unhooked myself energetically from past lovers, and I truly believed in my heart that my soulmate was out there.  Now I was hoping for a little cosmic power-boost to help bring us together.

On the first evening of the retreat I patiently waited in line for my hug.  I was excited and a little nervous…I had a plan but I didn’t know if it would work.  I had been told that when you receive a hug from Amma, she may whisper or chant into your ear but you don’t converse with her because she doesn’t speak English.  Finally it was my turn and while she was hugging me, I whispered in her ear “Dear Amma, please heal my heart of anything that is stopping me from finding my soulmate.”  She laughed as I said this and squeezed me tighter.  I “knew” that she had understood my prayer.

That night I had a very vivid dream.  In the dream there were seven women, dressed in purple, singing to me.  The lyrics of the song were “Arielle is the woman that comes after Beth.”  When I woke up in the morning I was convinced it had been a sign – my soulmate was out there but he was currently with someone named Beth.

The next evening I had an opportunity for a second hug from Amma.  This time I whispered in her ear to please send me my soulmate and I rattled off part of my wish list.  Again she laughed and squeezed me tight.

Three weeks later I went on an unexpected business trip to Portland, Oregon.  One of the authors I had been working with, Nick, was about to be interviewed for an important TV show.  The taping had been moved from the studio in LA to Nick’s home in Portland and the publisher asked me to fly up and supervise the shoot.  The call came late in the afternoon on a Thursday and I needed to be in Portland the following morning.  I called Nick’s office and spoke to one of his business associates, Brian, who agreed to pick me up at the airport the following day.  He kindly explained to me that because the Portland airport was under construction he couldn’t meet me at the gate but he did tell me where I could find him just outside the terminal.

On the flight up to Portland I was unusually nervous.  At first I thought it was because I was in the middle of a detox diet – I had been subsisting on various juice and soup concoctions for about a week.  However, I would find out soon enough where my “nerves” were coming from.  When I landed at the gate I followed Brian’s directions out of the terminal and quickly found him.  The moment I saw him I had the thought, “I wonder who Beth is?”  This was quickly followed by the thought, “He’s not your type and you are a little crazy today.”

When we arrived at Nick’s house, the TV crew was setting up for the interview.  Once they were ready to begin taping, I sat in the back of the room on a little bench next to Brian.  I should have been concentrating on the conversation between Nick and the host of the show but I kept getting distracted by an overwhelming urge to massage Brian’s shoulders.  The urge was so intense that I literally had to sit on my hands so that I wouldn’t be tempted!  As I was sitting on that bench next to Brian, who I had met only an hour earlier, I very clearly heard a voice say to me, “He’s the One.  This is how it happens.  This is who you are going to spend your life with.”

By now I was convinced that I was losing my mind.  I had never heard voices before, nor had I ever been compelled to rub a stranger’s shoulders.  What was going on?  When the interview was complete, the lights went on and we stood up.  Brian turned to me and asked, “When I picked you up at the airport, did I look familiar to you?”  Slightly taken aback, I answered, “Yes, why do you ask?” and he said, “Because I’ve been dreaming about you.”

I was so blown away by what he said that I just turned and began walking to the door to get some fresh air.  As I was walking away I heard Nick say to Brian, “Let’s take Arielle to dinner tonight before she has to catch her plane and why don’t you invite Elizabeth to join us?”  As I reached the lakeside patio to sit down I thought to myself, “Great.  So there is a Beth. Not only a Beth, but an Elizabeth. It must be his wife.”  Then the voice came back and said simply, “Don’t worry.  They are just like brother and sister.”

I didn’t know what any of this meant.  I was excited, hungry and a more than a bit confused.  Later that day Brian and I went to dinner with Nick, his wife, a few other people – and Elizabeth, who arrived with a friend.  It was a hot summer evening and the restaurant service couldn’t have been slower. We had ordered our dinner but it was taking forever to arrive.  Before our meal was even served it was time for me to go because I had to catch my flight home.  Nick arranged for my trout dinner to be put into a to-go box and Brian raced down the freeway to get me to the airport on time.

As we were driving I was feeding both of us my trout dinner and hearing myself say things that I couldn’t believe were coming out of my mouth.  Things like, “You know, I don’t want to have any children.”  To which Brian responded, “That’s why Elizabeth and I have broken up. She wants to get married and have children and I don’t want to.”  We arrived at the airport. After a quick hug goodbye I ran to catch my plane.  As I waited in the terminal, I put in a call to my Vedic astrologer, Marc Boney.  I briefly told him about Brian and gave him his birth info (which I had managed to extract from Brian before I caught my plane).  By the time I got home Marc had left a voice message for me that said: “I looked up both of your charts.  This is the clearest indication of a fated relationship I have ever seen. I predict that you will marry him.”

One week later both Nick and Brian came to San Diego for Nick’s book tour.  Brian and I sat in the back of the room (while Nick gave his lecture) writing notes to each other like 7th graders!  Things moved very quickly from there. Brian and I became engaged three weeks later.  Within two months he moved to La Jolla to live with me. Exactly one year to the date that I asked Amma to help me find my soulmate (which was the culmination of many years of deliberate creation), she married us in a Hindu ceremony in front of thousands of people. That was followed up by a beautiful legal wedding in Santa Barbara – Kenny Loggins became ordained as a minister and married us (and sang for us!).

I know with certainty that the preparation I did prior to meeting Brian is the reason we are together today.  I needed to experience “bad” love before I was ready for “big” love.  I needed to marry myself first and grow into the loving, spiritual, happy, successful being that I am, because only then would I be an energetic match for my soulmate.  The same held true for Brian.  There was work he had to do, clarity he had to attain, and relationships that he needed to resolve before he was ready to share his life with me. 

Were you ever on the verge of giving up on finding your soulmate?

There were days when I had my doubts but all that changed after I watched the Oprah Show one day. I happened to be watching the show just after Barbra Streisand and James Brolin had just fallen in love.  I remember thinking, Here is this super-wealthy, ultra famous diva who is “reputedly difficult” and practically inaccessible.  How many men could be a match for her?  Then I realized, If the Universe could find somebody for her, then I’ll be a piece of cake!  That moment was truly a state of grace.  It reminded me of something my grandmother had always told me:  “There’s a lid for every pot.”  Somehow, seeing that even Barbra Streisand’s pot came with a good fitting lid strengthened my belief. 

I know that you have a very busy schedule but what do you do in whatever little spare time that you have?

am not that busy anymore.  I spend about 4 or 5 hours a day working on various creative and writing projects and then Brian and I take a walk along the water each day.  I am learning how to cook, reading a lot and simply enjoying my life.

How do you manage to maintain a happy marriage with your schedule?

Brian and I have an agreement to make our relationship the priority so we schedule things that we both enjoy doing and we both have enough free time for our own pursuits and interests.

Tell us a bit about your ‘soulmate’ workshops as well as some of the other resources that you offer.

I teach half-day, full day and weekend Soulmate Secret workshops. The workshops show you how to take control of your romantic destiny by using the Law of Attraction. This ancient formula reveals that our Universe is set up to deliver the people and things that are consistent with our personal belief system. If you don’t believe you will ever find the ONE, then guess what? You probably won’t. If, however, you learn to believe that the ONE is not only out there but is also looking for you, then true love can be yours. Finding true love is possible for anyone at any age if you’re willing to prepare yourself, on all levels, to become a magnet for love.

Topics include:

- Clarify your needs, intentions and desires to bring in a loving partner.

- How to meet your love “before first sight!”

- Open your heart through the power of feelingizations – the secret sauce to manifesting successfully.

-Transformational rituals and other energetic shifting processes that will empower you to create and attract the partner of your dreams.

Have you ever been to Trinidad and Tobago or any Caribbean country?

I have been to many Caribbean islands: Bahamas, BVI, St. Maarten, St. Barts, Barbados, Jamaica, and look forward to someday visiting Trinidad and Tobago.

Have you ever considered hosting a workshop in the Caribbean?

I don’t produce my own workshops.  I am invited and paid by promoters to bring the workshops to their venues.  I do help to promote the workshops via my newsletters, email list and social media.

I know that you are working on an exciting new book which is scheduled to be released in December. Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect?

It’s one thing to fall in love and get married. It is quite another thing to have a marriage you love. This is the true purpose of my new book Turn Your Mate into Your Soulmate which comes out December 29th 2015 from Harper One/Elixir.

Turn Your Mate into Your Soulmate explores and reveals:

• What love really is and is not

• Why we yearn to be connected to another person

• Our soul and our sacred contracts around love

• Why giving up perfectionism is the key to happiness

• The purpose and benefits of marriage

• Components of a healthy relationship

• Moving beyond ourselves to infuse our relationship with God/Spirit/devotion

• Breathing new life into old love by kick-starting the fun

• Why changing partners may not be the answer and why re-envisioning the partner you have can be that path to happiness.

Finally, what message do you have for single people in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, many of whom don’t believe in soulmates?

I know for certain that finding true love is possible for any one at any age if you are willing to put in a little time, energy, intention and attention into your love life!