About Norris Chumley
Norris J. Chumley, M.A., has lost 160 pounds and
kept it off for more than 15 years. He is the author of
The Joy of Weight Loss: A Spiritual Guide to Easy Fitness(Lantern Books), and appears with Susan Sarandon in the documentary DVD,
The Spiritual Guide to Weight Loss(Wellspring Video). He has worked with Beliefnet since the site's early days, when he initially created our spiritual weight loss area. Norris teaches and leads workshops in the area of spirituality and health at various clinics and churches including The Riverside Church in New York City. His most recent project,
30 Days to Spiritual Wellbeing(Wellspring Video) is a user-friendly, interactive DVD of yoga, prayer, chants, meditation, breathing, exercising, singing and dancing.
As a producer, director, and writer for over 25 years, Norris has created hundreds of commercials, made-for-television movies, documentaries and specials, including
Mark Twain's: The Diaries of Adam and Eve(for PBS "American Playhouse"),
Getting the Love You Want(PBS, with Oprah Winfrey, Harville Hendrix and Helen L. Hunt), and
The Gospel According to Jesus(HBO/Cinemax). Chumley's documentary
Little Mike, was recipient of the SONY/American Film Institute's Grand Prize in Video in 1981. His dance performance special,
Grand Central Dances, was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, and received the EMMY award for Outstanding Cultural Programming in 1986. His work has been featured on PBS, NBC, ABC, A&E, USA, and many other cable channels.
Norris is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he received a masters degree in 2002 in theology and the arts. Though he offers his message to people of all faiths, Norris is a Christian and loves God with all his heart, mind, and soul. He is married to artist and author Catherine Stine. They have two children and live in New York City.
