Diana Wentworth

LETTING GO IS THE WILDEST THING YOU CAN DO

DIANA WENTWORTH MANIFESTS HER JOY WITH A SERIES OF SEARCHING ‘QUANTUM QUESTIONS’. YOU CAN TOO.

DIANA Wentworth, an 83-year-old changemaker and New York Times bestselling author of 11 books, embodies the essence of wildness through her definition of letting go.

Within her literary legacy is the romantic memoir, Send Me Someone: A True Story of Love Here and Hereafter. She made history as the first co-author alongside Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen in the renowned book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul, with over 500 million copies sold. Alongside her late husband Paul von Welanetz, Diana graced television screens with their long-running series on cooking and entertaining. Together, they founded the Inside Edge Foundation for Education, a Southern California-based weekly breakfast speaker forum that helped launch the careers of celebrated authors and transformational speakers over the past thirty-eight years, including luminaries like Jack Canfield, Dr. Barbara DeAngelis, and Louise Hay.

Throughout her remarkable life journey, Wentworth harnessed the power of asking intense questions, which she aptly terms “Quantum Questions”, in order to manifest her deepest desires. Laden with anticipation and expectation, these questions consistently yield transformative answers. Recalling a pivotal moment amidst uncertainty about her path forward, Wentworth once shouted into the void, “What am I supposed to be doing?” The answer arrived like a thunderbolt: write a cookbook. That book eventually won the “Cookbook of the Year” award and set the stage for a 15-year career in the culinary world. This epiphany was the inception of her lifelong practice of posing profound questions to unlock hidden truths and possibilities.

Wentworth emphasizes the importance of framing questions in a way that invites deep insights and aligns with desired outcomes. She shares, “Quantum Questions are the key to manifesting, magically, your highest intentions. I wake up every morning and perform ‘Morning Magic’ by smiling. This sends endorphins into my system, after which I then mindfully compose a Quantum Question to ask aloud.

“Questions like, ‘Where will I find the most joy today?’, ‘What beauty will amaze me?’, ‘How can I most lovingly and effortlessly light up the world today?’, ‘What magic and miracles will manifest?’ These questions resonate with the feelings of the desired outcomes, raise the energy, and invite magic to happen. Instantly, feel-good hormones surge through my system, and inspiration and new ideas flow in.”

By crafting Quantum Questions infused with curiosity and wonder, individuals find themselves tapping into their inner wisdom and magnetizing providence to support their endeavors. Illustrating the concept is her story of hosting ‘Come as You Will Be in Five Years’ parties, inviting guests to envision their future selves and show up playing full out. These gatherings catalyzed remarkable transformations, including bestselling author Dr. Susan Jeffers, author of Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway, who manifested her literary success within an envisioned timeframe.

Central to Wentworth’s philosophy is the recognition that beauty and growth are often revealed in life’s darkest moments. She acknowledges despair is a passing emotion, not an immutable destiny. Drawing from the wisdom of figures like Rumi and Buddhist nun Pema Chodron, she advocates embracing difficult emotions fully, without judgement. By allowing oneself to experience pain deeply, without resistance, individuals can navigate through it and emerge stronger, with newfound wisdom and resilience. Inspired by a quote from Joseph Campbell, she reminds us “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

Diana Wentworth’s journey embodies the transformative essence of surrender, joy, and deliberate inquiry. She has recently given away 90 percent of her “stuff”, sold her longtime home, and embarked on what she calls a “Road Trip to Surrender”. Her phrase “Joy is my compass” stands as a testament to the profound shifts that materialize when individuals release attachments, welcome uncertainty, and embrace life’s intrinsic magic.

As Wentworth continues to be drawn to dance through the intricate steps of existence, she extends an open invitation for others to join her in relinquishing control, unlocking the beauty of letting go, and delving into the limitless joy that lies beyond the confines of comfort zones.

Through her fearless passion for adventure and aliveness, we discover the inspiration to release our grip on familiarity, embrace the uncertainty ahead, and place our trust in the boundless possibilities that await.

IG: @diana.w.wentworth