Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 1 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Michelle Casto whose book The Destiny Discovery: Find Your Soul’s Path to Success launches on Amazon on Tuesday January 17, 2012.
A renowned Life & Business Coach, Michelle L. Casto is an advocate for “everyday enlightenment”, and author of the book The Destiny Discovery: Find Your Soul’s Path to Success. Throughout her 20-year career, she has published over 30 life empowerment and career development books, including Get Your Career on the Fast Track. A former university lecturer and career counsellor, Michelle has worked with thousands of international clientele to find their ideal career path. A natural-born empath and healer, Michelle has become well known for her potent magic that transforms people into knowing and honouring who they are at a very deep level. Michelle’s mission is to awaken people to their soul purpose through her unique Destiny Success Process. Michelle’s mission is to awaken people to their life purpose through her unique Destiny Success Process.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Michelle on my Garden of The Soul radio show on Blog Talk Radio, when I got to interview her about the idea of destiny and the teachings in her new book, The Destiny Discovery.
I particularly liked the part of the interview where Michelle shared her model of the “Four V’s” or the “Four Stages of Consciousness”: Victim, Victor, Vehicle and Vessel. It reminds me of a cross between Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and M. Scott Peck’s four stages of community (I’m a big fan of both). However, Michelle presents it all within a much more “daily life” approach, so readers can relate to it and work with it at a practical level.
If you click the flash player below, you can listen to the whole show. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed hosting it:
Over the course of 3 days, we’ll be exploring the journey of AWAKENING to the path of destiny, FINDING the path of true destiny, and SUCCEEDING on the path of destiny.
Here’s our wonderful guest line-up:
Michelle L. Casto - Life & Business Coach; author of The Destiny Discovery
Lynn Serafinn - Coach; marketer; author of The 7 Graces of Marketing and The Garden of the Soul
Christine Kloser - award-winning author; mentor to transformational authors and conscious entrepreneurs
Paul Zelizer – business success coach for spiritual people
Brenda McIntyre - healer, business coach, spiritual mentor and award-winning singer
Dee Wallace - acclaimed Hollywood actress, acting coach, internationally known healer, author of Bright Light
Dr. Roy Martina - world-renowned holistic medical doctor, author of #1 bestseller Emotional Balance: the path to inner peace and harmony, and 40 other books
Nan Akasha – CHT Mind over Money Coach, #1 bestselling author of Already Rich! Secrets to Master Your Money Mind.
Eva Gregory – master coach, conscious channel, speaker and author
Jackie Lapin - speaker, coach, transformational business consultant and mentor in Practical Conscious Creation
Gail Goodwin – Founder of InspireMeToday.com, providing free inspiration from world-renowned luminaries every day to members in more than 120 countries
Steve D’Annunzio- productivity trainer, life success coach, author, President of the Soul Purpose Institute, member of the Transformational Leadership Council
This special 3-Day telesummit is Michelle’s FR*EE gift to you,
to celebrate the launch of her book, which is coming
Tuesday January 17th, 2011.
When you buy Michelle’s book on Tuesday January 17, 2012, you can ALSO receive the MP3 download of all 3 days of this inspiring telesummit, plus a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe including one from me:
Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
AND… be sure to follow Michelle tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is with Callie Carling, who will be interviewing Michelle on choice stepping stone, identifying soul purpose and overcoming low self-esteem. To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://www.positivitybubbles.com/2012/01/destiny-discovery/
Some of you might have been following me for the past 4+ years so since I started blogging. Perhaps you were first with me when I started my blogtalkradio show named after my first book The Garden of the Soul. That show started 3 years ago now (hard to believe it). After the success of that book, many authors started asking me for help, which is when I switched pathways to work as a marketing coach for authors. Then, I launched a blogsite called Spirit Authors 2 years ago. At that time, it was my intentions to create a site that could help mind-body-spirit/self-help authors– both aspiring and extablished–to learn how to establish themselves online, so they could learn how to spread the word about all the great work they do. It was my experience that a great many artist, holistic and spiritually-minded people didn’t like to do marketing; and as a result, they stuggled to survive financially. I found it sad to see so many people give up on their dreams, so I wanted to make sure Spirit Authors provided them with lots of (free) resources that could help them.
At the exact same time I was launching Spirit Authors, I began writing a new book, which originally was intended to be a book for all those sensitive souls who didn’t like marketing, but needed to do it. I thought if I could help create a new paradigm for these kinds of people, it might be useful. But after I started diving deeply into the subject of marketing, I discovered so many revealing (and sometimes shocking) things about its history, intention and practice, and so many serious issues arising from consumer culture, that I knew this book was going to be something altogether different from what I had originally intended.
The 7 Graces of Marketing is a bold, holistic and often spiritual examination not merely of the world of advertising, but also of our entire world view. It reveals how our relationships with Self, others, our businesses, our economy and the Earth impact our health, our economy and the delicate ecological balance of our natural world. As much for the conscious consumer as the business owner, this book shows why traditional ways of selling are ultimately doomed to fail, and how both business owners and consumers can begin to heal the world by embracing a new paradigm I call ‘The 7 Graces of Marketing.’
When you buy the book TODAY you can receive the complete set of 7 MP3s (over 10 hours of audio) from last week’s 7 Graces of Marketing Telesummit, with 24 internationally renowned speakers, such as Joe Vitale, Eric Pearl and 22 others, speaking about the ‘7 Deadly Sins’ of marketing and the ‘7 Graces’ of marketing. You’ll also receive dozens of other gifts offered by my friends and colleagues, to express our appreciation for your support. To buy the book, and claim your MP3s from the 7 Graces Telesummit, and receive a fabulous selection of gifts from my friends and colleauges, here’s all you need to do:
On that page, you will see links to buy the book on Amazon US, Canada or UK (yes, you may purchase the book from another Amazon site; we just didn’t have room for all the links)
Click a link to buy the book on the Amazon of your choice. You may buy the book in either paperback or Kindle version
After you have purchased the book, Amazon will give you a purchase code. The purchase code is a 17-digit number, and it looks like this: 123-1234567-1234567. Copy this number to your computer clipboard.
Return to the “launch page” and enter your name, email AND your Amazon purchase code in the form.
When you hit the button that says “Yes, Please!” you will be taken immediately to the “bonus” page. This page has all the links to take you to the bonus gifts.
Just click the links of the gifts you would like to download.
That’s all there is to it! I am extremely passionate about this subject (as you will have heard if you listened to last week’s telesummit), and I am dedicated to getting the dialogue started in the business sector so we can change the way we do marketing, and make a brighter, healthier, happier world for our children and children’s children. I do hope you’ll check out The 7 Graces of Marketing.
Please PAY NO ATTENTION if Amazon says, “Only 3 left in stock” or “Ships in 1-4 weeks”. We have test ordered the book, and it takes about a 7-10 days to ship, and it is IMPOSSIBLE to “be out of stock” because this is a “print on demand” book, which means the book will be printed and shipped to you whenever you place an order.
AND, I’d love to hear what you have to say about the book after you have read it, so be sure to subscribe to The 7 Graces of Marketing blog . I’m also starting a 7 Graces of Marketing Community for everyone who has bought the book, and who would like to meet others of like mind who want to bring ethics and values back into our business and marketing. So please do stay in touch.
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 3 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Carolyn A. Brent whose bookWhy Wait? The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Preparing Emotionally, Financially and Legally for a Parent’s Death launches on Amazon on Tuesday November 15, 2011. Yesterday, Carolyn visited Gunther’s Grades Blog at http://bit.ly/rz8iAJ where they discussed how to determine the best caregiver for your elderly parents.
Author Carolyn A. Brent, M.B.A. is a former clinical educational manager in the pharmaceutical industry. She is an avid activist and advocate working with the U.S. Congress for the purpose of creating change to protect seniors and veterans from financial and medical abuse. She has appeared on many local and national TV and radio shows, and is a sought-after keynote speaker.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Carolyn on my BlogTalkRadio show, when I got to ask her some questions on her work. It was a very rich interview that I know will help many, many families and care givers through difficult times. It’s one of the most practical and useful interviews I think you’ll ever hear on the topic. I hope you enjoy it and get a lot of great information from it:
I hope you enjoyed this interview with Carolyn A. Brent and that you’ll check out her book Why Wait? The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Preparing Emotionally, Financially and Legally for a Parent’s Death at http://www.babyboomersguide.org/book-launch/pre-launch.html
Here Are Two Reasons Why:
FREE 3-DAY PASS
When you visit the page at the link above and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Carolyn’s 3-day “Why Wait? Telesummit”, with a panel leading experts preparing emotionally, financially and legally for the death of a parent. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast
This telesummit is a completely free
“no purchase necessary” gift from Carolyn
When you buy Carolyn’s book on Tuesday November 15, 2011, you can ALSO receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe including one from me: TWO free audios on personal transformation.
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 11 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Kimberly Coots whose bookDIVINE WORTH – Break the Bonds of Unworthiness and Create the Life You Desire! launches on Amazon on Tuesday May 24, 2011.
Author Kimberly Ann Coots is a transformational life coach, business development coach and speaker. Her passion is to help shift humanity’s consciousness from fear, lack and separation, to love, connection and abundance. Through her coaching, courses, speaking and books, Kimberly is a guide to transforming unworthiness conditioning, stepping into your power and living a life you love. She is certified in many holistic and spiritual modalities. She has been ordained as a Spiritual Peace Minister by James Twyman, is a certified Reconnection Healer by Dr. Eric Pearl and is a Facilitator for the Seminary of Spiritual Peacemaking. As a successful business development specialist, Kimberly also helps entrepreneurs make a profit and a difference.
Yesterday, Kimberly visited Paula Tarrant at http://inspiredwomenwork.com/embracing-your-divine-worth/ where she answered about #1 cause of unworthiness amongst women, undoing the patterns of unworthiness and subtle ways unworthiness shows up.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent BlogTalkRadio interview I had with Kimberly, where she talked about her book Divine Worth and her personal journey overcoming depression and family history of addiction. I hope you enjoy it.
I hope you enjoyed this interview with Kimberly Coots and that you’ll check out her book DIVINE WORTH – Break the Bonds of Unworthiness and Create the Life You Desire! at http://divineworth.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.html
Here’s why:
FREE 3-DAY PASS
When you visit the page at the link above and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Kimberly’s 3-day “Discover Our Divine Worth Telesummit” with 9 leading authors, Coaches and Speakers on How You are ALREADY Worth Enough to Create The Life You Desire. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast.
This telesummit is a completely free
“no purchase necessary” gift from Kimberly
FREE GIFTS
When you buy Kimberly’s book on Tuesday May 24, 2011, you can ALSO receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe including one from me … 4 Audio Meditations from the Garden of the Soul Workshop
Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
AND… be sure to follow Kimberly tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Jaki Bent, who will be interviewing Kimberly on most common ways unworthiness shows up, is ego connected, addictions and self-worth replacing unworthiness To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://jakisblog.com/jakis-blog/
Life coaching, business coaching, executive coaching, transformation coaching, career coaching, creativity coaching, health coaching…the list is endless.
Over the past 20 years, the rise of coaching as a profession has been nothing short of a phenomenon. It’s virtually impossible to estimate the number of coaches now on the planet, but my guess it is now in the hundreds of thousands if not more. Business coaching has been cited as one of the fastest growing professions in the world today. But the shocking news is that, according to a survey done a few years ago, a massive 70% of coaches earn less than $25,000 a year, and 50% earn less than $10,000 annually.1
The vast majority of coaches enter into the profession with the dream of making a difference in the world and aren’t really thinking about money… or at least not until we find ourselves struggling to stay afloat, especially in the first year in business. Then, all the wonderful dreams we had about changing the world seem to fade as we go into survival mode, which isn’t at all helpful to our effectiveness as coaches. Those of us who manage to make it through the economic challenges of the first two years in practice then find ourselves with an even more complex challenge: “There are coaches, coaches everywhere. How do I stand out from the crowd? What makes ME special?”
To me, the answer to that is in two parts.
First, we stand out from the crowd when we are really and truly clear about the impact we want to create in the world, and (even more importantly) whowe wish to impact. Some call this defining a niche. I call it “branding” or identifying your “tribe.” This is an organic process, and sometimes it takes a few years in practice to really land it. It’s a major part of the work I do with my own clients.
The second part is the depth anduniqueness of your skills. If you have gone through coach training and know how to ask good questions, that’s one thing; but how do you really make an impact on your clients? And how do you stand out as someone who goes deeper, and more powerfully, than the average “Joe Coach”? In other words, how do we help our clients to open up their own wisdom in profound ways they never thought possible before?
I have the great good fortune to have worked with an exceptional coach named Patrick J Ryan. If you follow my newsletters, you will recognise Patrick’s name as the author of the #1 bestselling spirituality book Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Claiming Your Brilliance, which I launched for him one year ago this month. Patrick is a remarkable man, with a remarkable history and an even more remarkable insight. His brand of coaching sparkles amidst the rest because his style of coaching IS different. The cornerstone of his technique is what he calls “The Three Intelligences”: “Mind intelligence”, “Heart Intelligence” and “Body Intelligence.” When he coaches, he shows his clients how to recognise, read and utilise these three intelligences so they can accomplish what they want in the world while having the best possible experience. In other words, he really helps them learn how to find their Joy.
Patrick’s coaching methods are both simple and profound. In the past I’ve had the great pleasure of learning his techniques for my own use, but I am delighted say that he has now also developed a training program, called the AWE Coach Training program (ACT). This exceptional 10 week course is designed for coaches, holistic therapists, teachers, counsellors and any kind of service professionals who wish to learn how to support their clients in REALLY getting to the core of who they are and what makes them feel alive.
To give you a taster of what it’s all about, Patrick and I will be hosting 3 FR*EE webinars over the next few weeks, where you will learn the basics of the system, so you can start trying it out in your own life AND with your clients, so you can see for yourself what a powerful impact it can make, and how it can make you stand out in the crowd:
FREE 3-Part Webinar Series
Accessing Mind, Heart and Body Intelligence
Part 1: How to Help Your Clients Use Mind Intelligence
with Executive Coach, #1 bestselling author and
Founder of Awakened Wisdom Experiences
Patrick J Ryan
Thursday April 28, 2011
12pm – 1pm Pacific
Register FREE at
http://tinyurl.com/RyanWebinar1
If you cannot make the live event, register anyway to download the audio.
AND… if you’re really ready to take it further and become a masterful coach, those who register for the call will find out how they can save $500 when they register for Patrick’s dynamic ACT course starting in June. This offer will not be made available anywhere on Patrick’s site, and is only open to those registered for the webinar.
I hope to see you there on Thursday. Patrick is one of my most esteemed mentors, and I know you will learn some wonderful things on the call. Again, the link to register is http://tinyurl.com/RyanWebinar1
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 5 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Tina M Games whose bookJournaling by the Moonlight: A Mother’s Path to Self-Discovery (and its accompanying deck of 54 journaling prompt cards) is celebrating its 1st birthday on Amazon on Tuesday May 3, 2011.
Author Tina M Games is certified creativity and life purpose coach. She calls herself the “Moonlight Muse” for women who want to tap into the “full moon within” and claim their authentic self, both personally and professionally. Through her signature coaching programs, based on the phases of the moon, Tina gently guides women from darkness to light as they create an authentic vision filled with purpose, passion and creative expression.
Today, I’d like to share a recent radio interview I had with Tina on BlogTalkRadio. It’s a particularly lovely interview because we spoke about the natural transitions that occur throughout our lives, especially as women. Tina spoke candidly and poignantly about her challenges with post partum depression, and I shared also the impact my mother’s post partum depression had made upon me when growing up. We also spoke about natural transitions such as becoming a grandmother, going through menopause, moving to a new home and many other facets of life.
If you’ve ever battled with emotional ups and downs when going through a transition in your life (we were talking mainly about women, be really the conversation is just as relevant to men) and wondered whether or not there was something “wrong” with you, have a listen to this interview. Tina’s unique outlook on the natural progression of life, and her use of the metaphor of the cycles of the moon to help us understand these progressions, is refreshing and uplifting (if the flash player does not appear on your screen, click HERE to listen to the broadcast on BlogTalkRadio)
When you visit the page at the link above and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Tina’s 3-day “I’m a Mom… But Who Am I Really? Telesummit” with 11 creative writing moms and grandmothersspeaking on how to use intuition, journaling and creativity to explore life purpose. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast.
This telesummit is a completely free “no purchase necessary”
gift from Tina, to celebrate the 1st birthday of her book.
FREE GIFTS
When you buy Tina’s book or the card deck during its birthday celebration on Tuesday May 3, 2011, you can ALSO receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe including one from me …..
FREE 50-minute audio book: The Very Good King
This is a recording of a LIVE performance I gave of this story from my bestselling book The Garden of the Soul in Bedford, England in 2008. It’s a metaphoric fairy tale about what happens when we allow our true selves to blossom, and can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
AND… be sure to follow Tina tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Dr Caron Goode who will be talking about mom’s intuition, journaling enhancing intuition, techniques, self-discovery and the impatient mom advice. To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://academyforcoachingparents.com/acpi/tina-games/
I am delighted to have been the campaign manager for this book launch. The energy has been wonderful. Our networking partners have all be so helpful and we had 3000 register for our wonderful “Emotional Balance Telesummit” last week, which I had the pleasure of hosting.
As I am writing this (at 12.30pm UK time March 15, 2011), the official launch started only 4 hours ago, and already it has hit #1 in the UK in Mental and Spiritual Healing, and #5 in New Age.
Here are the latest screenshots I took:
I fully expect to see it go higher as the day progresses, and trust we will see similar rankings in the US and Canada.
Roy Martina is a holistic medical doctor with over 30 years experience helping people tap into their true selves and “cure the incurable” by understanding the connection between emotional balance and dis-ease. He is the author of over 40 books in Dutch and other languages. He has spent the last 25 years studying acupuncture and numerous holistic techniques in order to offer people a profound level of healing, and he has been tireless in his pursuit of methods that work swiftly and effectively to aid the healing process. This work has put him at the leading edge of the holistic and self-help world.
A long-time bestseller in Dutch and other languages, this new English translation of the book has just been released through Hay House Publishers, and arrived on Amazon US, UK and Canada TODAY (March15th).
You can buy the book and receive a complete library of free gifts at
Emotional Balance is the result of years of empirical research Dr Martina conducted to discover why some people heal from illness and chronic conditions while others do not, in spite of having received the best holistic medical treatments he could offer them. As he embarked on a journey to unravel the secrets of the subconscious mind and how we sabotage ourselves, he says he discovered that our unresolved emotions and conflicts in the first seven years of our lives create deeply-rooted behavioral patterns and negative beliefs that cause us to sabotage ourselves, and that these can lead to long-term patterns of rocky relationships, financial hardship and, of course, ill health.
The end product of those years of experience and research is a method Roy developed called “Emotional Balance.” Roy explains, “Emotional Balance is a technique that allows us to return to what I call the ‘Still Point’. The Still Point is that place within us where we are in our power and are no longer governed by our egos or our past.”
Roy’s work is crystallized in his book Emotional Balance: the path to inner peace and harmony.It represents a culmination of his years of research, holistic practice and teaching, and is a substantial, comprehensive manual that teaches us how to deal with our self sabotaging mechanisms and return to our still point rapidly and easily when life knocks us off balance.
You can receive over 40 free personal development gifts when you buy the book during the launch this week, including one from me: 4 audio meditations from my “Garden of the Soul” workshop.
Also, as a special gift to everyone who buys the book during the launch celebration, Dr Martina will be delivering a fr*ee 2-Day course on how to use the book (to be delivered in April over the Internet), which will include time for people to ask questions directly from Roy himself. Roy says he is doing this because he doesn’t want his book to be just another self-help book that ends up sitting on your bookshelf. He wishes everyone who buys Emotional Balance to understand how to use the tools in the book, and feel supported as they start to apply these techniques in their lives.
You can buy the book and get these gifts including
the free classes from Dr Roy Martina
TODAY Tuesday March 15th at
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 7 of the Virtual Blog Tour of Hay House author Dr Roy Martina, whose book Emotional Balan6ce: the path to inner peace and harmonycomes to Amazon on Tuesday March 15, 2011.
Roy Martina is a holistic medical doctor with over 30 years experience helping people tap into their true selves and “cure the incurable” by understanding the connection between emotional balance and dis-ease. He is the author of over 40 books in Dutch and other languages. He has spent the last 25 years studying acupuncture and numerous holistic techniques in order to offer people a profound level of healing, and he has been tireless in his pursuit of methods that work swiftly and effectively to aid the healing process. This work has put him at the leading edge of the holistic and self-help world.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Roy when I got to ask him on questions relating to personal and social transformation. I hope you enjoy it.
——-
Lynn Serafinn: In your experience, what are some of the common misunderstandings people have about the term “personal transformation”? What is the actual meaning?
Roy Martina: From my medical holistic standpoint, personal transformation can be disease forming. If someone believes that they need to be in their power and be able to do what they want, this can lead to suppression of emotions and thus be the cause of suppression of the immune system. My research shows that the only way to transform is to return to your authentic self because that is the state of being where there is no conflict between whom you are and the false image you create of yourself.
Many schools of personal transformation help people create a false persona they need to become and give them the tools to program their brains to be in that state. Often these pathways are immune depressing and cause many types of diseases. I have treated many leaders of motivation movements and self-development and understood that when we do not find the way to our authentic self we step into false power beliefs that make us sick. Personal transformation is the path of unlearning the beliefs that take us away from our unconditional loving authentic self.
Lynn Serafinn: What are the top 3 most important keys to help us transform? How can we access them?
Roy Martina: The most important 3 keys:
1. Become aware when you are not connected with your Authentic Self. You will notice because you are not at peace, you don’t feel happy and you take things personal and that creates stress)
2. The next step is to have the power or tool to let go of where you are and to find a way to return to inner peace and harmony. So the idea is that you step out of the turmoil, reconnect and from that still point look at the whole situation again but now through the eyes of the Authentic Self and discover the power of the subconscious mind and the false self-image. 3. The third step is to train your nervous system through exercises like Emotional Balance to become at ease to maintain the still point and to make choices from this power. And let go anything from the past experiences and education that block you to keep that power of authenticity.
Lynn Serafinn: There is so much talk today about conscious evolution, especially with all the 2012 “hype” in the media. What’s your personal stance on conscious evolution? What is it? Is it really happening? Where do you think humanity is headed?
Roy Martina: I am seeing the increase of the effects of conscious evolution in the media (TV programs, magazines, movies, social media, books, etc) but what is lacking is the subconscious evolution. In spiritual groups I see that most people are aware how they want to be, but when they get stressed, they fall back in subconscious patterns of jealousy, fear, anger and worries. Many struggle financially and do not really know how to make the law of attraction work for them even though consciously they understand. So we are heading in the right direction but have to shift from conscious to subconscious evolution. 2012 is a great moment in history because we make it so by the hype, so now it has become inevitable a tipping point for the better or the worse. Only history will tell.
Lynn Serafinn: If you could use your healing process to shift one thing in humanity, what would that be? How can we as a society begin this process together?
Roy Martina: The big shift that needs to happen is that most the so called ‘holistic therapists’ need to stop calling themselves ‘holistic’ (because they are not) and start to study true holistic healing. The biggest shift is when we learn to forgive and to let go the past and focus on opening our hearts. The power of healing begins not with loving oneself because that is impossible. To say ‘I love myself’ is an enigmatic paradox: who is the I and who is the self? If the “I” is pure love how can it NOT love itself? If the self is the human form why does it need to be loved if it is held together by love (itself)? We need to become the authentic expression of ourselves and that is the expression of love.
If we can make that shift in healing, we will learn that all that we resist in life is the cause of disease. Stop the resistance to express your Authentic Self and you become the source of healing of the human self (your body, mind and soul) and others.
When you visit the page at the link above and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Roy’s 4-day “Emotional Balance Telesummit” with a line up of 10 TOP international experts on the topic of emotional healing and inner balance. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast. This is a completely free “no purchase necessary” gift from Roy, to celebrate the release of the new Hay House publication of his book.
FREE GIFTS
Then, if you decide to you buy the book during its official launch celebration on Tuesday March 15, 2011, you can ALSO receive a complete library of over 40 beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, healers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe including one from me: 4 Audio Meditations from the Garden of the Soul Workshop
Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
AND… be sure to follow Roy tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Cindy Eve who will be interviewing Roy on questions relating to affirmations, gratitude journal and self-sabotage. To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://wp.me/pGa6q-y8
“I am a rock. I am an island…
And a rock feels no pain; And an island never cries”
~ Paul Simon, 1965
“…No man is an island, entire of itself…”
~ John Donne, 1624
We humans are social creatures.
We thrive through connection, community, collaboration and co-creation. And although I firmly believe that each one of us is perfectly complete in and of ourselves, at the same time, it is the nature of our creation that connection to others is what makes us far more than the sum of our parts. The example I always think of is the iconic musical group The Beatles. While each of these musicians (along with their musical director George Martin) was undeniably talented in his own right, this group collaboration was massively more creative, influential and productive than the sum total of work produced by all of these artists independently. If you think about it, you might even call The Beatles the most “pop” example of a “mastermind group”, whose sole reason to exist was to churn out challenging, trend-setting (and highly profitable!) music. It’s a clear case of “The Power of We” in action.
The power of “We” is something that has long been known to leaders, both in governments and business. In there book Meet and Grow Rich (2006), Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler discuss the history of the idea of mastermind groups citing that many people believe the idea of “the mastermind alliance” was originated by the famous mega-business tycoon Andrew (Dale) Carnegie who attributed much of his success in rising from an impoverished upbringing to becoming the richest man in the world to the power of collaboration. And what is most interesting is that Carnegie had started using mastermind groups to help him achieve his personal goals as early as 1850, decades before he reached the pinnacle of his business success.
A look back through history shows us all manner of mastermind groups (in all but name) started by Benjamin Franklin (The Junto), P.T Barnum (The Cary Salon), Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr (The Metaphysical Group). Back when I was a music history student in Boston (I can’t
believe it’s almost 40 years ago!), I also learned about “The Florentine Camerata,” a group of humanists, musicians, writers and other intellectuals led by Vincenzo Galilei (father of the astronomer Galileo Galilei) in the late 1500s, who gathered regularly to discuss and influence trends in this arts. Taken in its broadest sense, this highly influential alliance was also a “mastermind group.”
Now the interesting thing is, most people tend to associate mastermind groups with business growth. But note that the above examples were NOT all focussed on business and profits. Far from it. Rather, these groups were havens of great ideas, inspiration and innovation. Just like The Beatles, they created far more together by dint of their mutual brainstorming and power of intention than they were likely to have done on their own.
What is even more remarkable to think about is the fact that all these groups have all changed history in some way, whether it is in business, government, philosophy, science, technology, the arts or world view.
Ok, I think I’ve made my point about mastermind groups. Now here’s the news I want to share with you.
My client and very good friend Allison Maslan has started a brand new, and very elite, mastermind group called Pinnacle Program that will have its first meeting next month (January 22nd 2011) in La Jolla, California. I am part of this group, as are also nearly 30 other entrepreneurs in a variety of fields. Some of them are names many of you would recognise I am sure. I have joined the group because I have a vision of creating something specific in 2011–a legacy, if you will–that will be the “pinnacle” of my life’s work on this planet. I believe the “power of we” will help me success in getting the project off the ground.
The Pinnacle Program is filling up, but it still has some room for a few more members for 2011. Allison is organising this group in such a way that anyone who wishes to be a part of it must be with us from the very beginning. In other words, you cannot just join later in the year. This is not a “personal development course.” Nor is it just a bunch of people getting together to network 4 times a year. It is a highly structured, very clever program with many different forms of support, including four annual full-day masterminds, weekly pod calls, monthly group coaching, and even daily support. Allison is even throwing in a full year’s free subscription to her Blastation motivational software (that’s worth $300 on its own).
A few weeks ago, Allison and I did the “10 Steps to Reach Your Pinnacle”webinar. I know from the emails I’ve received from people who attended that some of you out there are thinking about joining The Pinnacle, but have a lot of questions you would like to ask before you commit to such a program.
That’s why Allison and I are holding an online Question and Answer session on Thursday December 9th, specifically to answer any questions you may have about mastermind groups, The Pinnacle, or the benefits you might expect from joining this group.
This is a completely OPEN call. That means you DON’T have to sign up to attend or give your email address. It will be driven solely by the questions we receive from you either in advance or on the live call.
Click “Listen In” and you can listen EITHER via web or via telephone
(the phone number and access code will be displayed when you select “telephone” as your option).
Not sure you can make the live call? Want to ask a question in advance? There’s a question form right on that page where you can ask whatever you want. Be SURE to include your email address if you want a personal reply.
I look forward to hearing your voices on this Q&A call, and to the possibility of collaborating with some of you throughout 2011 on The Pinnacle Program.
Oh, and just as a point of interest, the above quote from Paul Simon’s song “I am a Rock” was first recorded as a solo piece in 1965, but it didn’t make it as a hit until he collaborated with musical partner Art Garfunkel and re-released the track the following year under the name Simon and Garfunkel. The words themselves are meant to be ironic, but the history of the song makes them even moreso.
Long live the “Power of We”!
About Lynn Serafinn, Creator of Spirit Authors
Lynn Serafinn is a transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has produced several top-10 book campaigns, including FOUR #1-sellers, in 2010 alone. She created Spirit Authors to offer training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. Contact Lynn about YOUR book project at at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog for regular book writing and promotion tips (just fill in form at TOP LEFT of your screen).
Sign up for Lynn’s bi-monthly newsletter Creative Spirit (fill in form BELOW) packed with inspirational articles, online networking tips, broadcast guide to her radio show, and news about upcoming spiritual author book releases.
Throughout the year, Lynn also hosts large-scale telesummits with world-class speakers on a range of mind-body-spirit topics. Your subscription to Creative Spirit will ensure you’ll be the first to know how to attend these free events.
Transformation coach Lynn Serafinn shares life experiences with fear and its impact upon her health, and tells us about Luis Diaz’s new course on releasing fear.
PLEASE share this article with others.
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A few months ago, I wrote an article for my volunteer Transition Town group in which I shared my thoughts upon the link between oil dependency, disconnection, fear and suffering:
Our dependency upon oil has made us disconnected from the Earth and the ultimate Source of Creation in just so many ways. Most of us in “developed” nations (an irony) don’t grow our own food and have become dependent upon big businesses and mass transport (i.e., supermarkets, trucking, air freight) for the very basics that keep us alive. In the past, all we were dependent upon was the weather for our “daily bread”. But nowadays, we are dependent not only upon the ever-changing weather patterns, but also upon oil, global economies, foreign policy and corporations. What a vulnerable place in which to be! And to me, as someone who works with people and their emotions on a daily basis in my work as a life coach and teacher, I know the emotional and physical impact of long-term vulnerability. People begin to feel helpless. Helplessness leads to fear. Fear leads to depression and even disease. It can also lead to violence and crime.
While these words were originally written to support my observations about the connection between oil dependency and our wellbeing at a societal level, on a very personal level I have witnessed over and over again how feelings of helplessness lead to fear, and how fear ultimately leads to depression, disease and overall unhappiness.
I grew up in a fear-riddled household in which it felt like the roof was going to explode at any given minute. I was educated in a fear-driven parochial school where beating children (and in front of their peers) was still the norm. Later, I went on to enter a violent marriage and stayed there for 22 years, continually walking on eggshells, fearful of the next outbreak of rage. My lifelong relationship with fear had caused me to become so disconnected I didn’t even realise I had suffered multiple cases of whiplash as a result of abuse (I was diagnosed years later), which still case health issues today. It is small wonder that by the age of 40, I was diagnosed with a case of fibromyalgia so severe I felt like I was 80 years old. When my rheumatologist told me there was no cure or treatment, I broke down into a flood of uncontrollable tears at the thought of living for the rest of my life in such extreme, constant pain.
Fear is arguably the most primordial emotion of all living beings, and for human beings, I believe it is at the root of many other emotions such as anger, shame, sadness, uncertainty of self and chronic anxiety. Without a doubt, it has profound effects upon both our physical and spiritual wellbeing.
For me, I discovered the link between fear and health after I left my marriage, and started to notice that my fibromyalgia, by which I had been seriously impaired for 7 or 8 years, was vanishing day by day, until it was completely gone. I also noticed that I no longer suffered from heart palpitations, night-time panic attacks, severe digestive disorders and relentless back problems.
To give a complete comparison, these days my back problems still flare up from time to time, which is understandable after more than 20 decades of physical violence. But while, in the past, these problems were my constant companion every day of the year, nowadays I have a minor flare up once every year or two, and my body is able to heal after a single osteopathic treatment. In the past, when my life was overwhelmed with fear and anger, my body was so resistant to healing I would typically have to go to the chiropractor two or three days every week for years and the spasms and pain never totally stopped.
Looking back upon my experiences, I am 100% convinced that fear, and all the chemical and neurological by-products of it, had been deeply lodged in the very cells of my body for many decades. And I cannot tell you how lucky I feel that I finally woke up one day back in 2002 and started my long process of healing. I fumbled my way through it and discovered these things as I went along. It took me about 6 years to heal from fear fully, and believe me I really WORKED at it very hard, with personal development training (including my coaching training) coming out of my ears.
In other words, I did it the “hard way”: on my own, not sure of where I was headed, and taking years to get there.
That’s why, when I met my client (and now good friend) Luis Angel Diaz, and he told me about the work that he does, I was extremely enthusiastic.
Luis is arguably one of the world’s foremost authorities on emotional healing, and has been a holistic health practitioner since his early 20s with qualifications in dozens of traditional and holistic therapies. Those of you who have followed my work will also recognise him as the author of the international #1 best-seller Memory in the Cells: how to change behavioral patterns and release the pain body. He is also the founder of a technique called “Cellular Memory Release” (CMR). Over the years he has worked with thousands of clients at his three successful practices in Argentina and California, helping them transform their long-term pain and illness into aliveness and joy.
The goal of Luis’s work is basically to take people from where I was back in 1995 to where I am today—without going it on their own, or taking years to get there, like I did. The CMR process is a teachable process where people learn how to identify their emotions, experience them fully and release them, so they can make room for the self-healing their bodies already know how to do naturally.
I’ve done several online events with Luis over the past few months, and I am delighted to be able to invite him back to my radio show this week on Blog Talk Radio:
I hope you’ll tune in. You can even ask Luis questions live on the air via the chat room, Skype or by calling in on the phone at 646-727-3449 (US Number).
And then, for those of you who want take this process further, I do encourage you to check out Luis’s 2-session course that starts next week:
Releasing Toxic Emotions from Our Bodies
How to Transform FEAR into Inner Peace, Joy and Wellbeing
TuesdayDec 7 and Tuesday Dec 14
PLUS full forum support
http://tinyurl.com/fear-dec2010
This course normally costs $197
But this December ONLY Luis is offering it at the discount price of only $157
AND if you tune into the show today (or listen to the audio replay before Friday), you’ll find out how you can apply for one of 20 $100 scholarships he will be giving away to attend this course for only $97. Tune into the show for full details, or check out the registration page above for more info.
Hope you’ll be joining us on the show!
Wishing you a lifetime connection, wellbeing and joy,
Lynn
About Lynn Serafinn, Creator of Spirit Authors
Lynn Serafinn is a transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has produced several top-10 book campaigns, including FOUR #1-sellers, in 2010 alone. She created Spirit Authors to offer training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. Contact Lynn about YOUR book project at at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog for regular book writing and promotion tips (just fill in form at right of your screen).
Sign up for Lynn’s bi-monthly newsletter Creative Spirit (fill in form below) packed with inspirational articles, online networking tips, broadcast guide to her radio show, and news about upcoming spiritual author book releases.
Throughout the year, Lynn also hosts large-scale telesummits with world-class speakers on a range of mind-body-spirit topics. Your subscription to Creative Spirit will ensure you’ll be the first to know how to attend these free events.
“One of the main causes of suffering is the lack of Emotional Education.” ~ Luis Angel Diaz
Every living entity experiences pain in their lives. But what exactly is pain? Why do we have it? How does it affect us? How can we overcome the distress it causes?
The term “Pain Body” is a term you might have read in many of today’s popular books on physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Most notably, world renowned spiritual author and teacher Eckhart Tolle uses the term in his classic books The Power of Now and A New Earth. But in spite of the widespread use of the term, very few people know exactly what the “Pain Body” is. Even fewer know how we can release its grip upon us.
International bestselling author and holistic healer Luis Angel Diaz has been working with pain for more than 20 years, and has developed a technique called “Pain Body Release” (PBR), which is part of his extensive system of healing called “Cellular Memory Release” (CMR). On Tuesday November 30th, you have the opportunity to attend a FREE online class from Luis:
“Self Healing and Transformation through Pain Body Release”
FREE webinar
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
12 noon PST / 3 pm Eastern / 8pm UK
90 minutes Taught by Luis Angel Diaz holistic healer and author of the international #1 bestseller Memory in the Cells:
how to change behavorial patte rns and release the pain body
If you cannot attend the live event, register anyway.
You will be able to download the audio after the event is over
On this free webinar, Luis will discuss the Pain Body and introduce you to the basics of Pain Body Release, so you can learn the answers to these questions:
How does the Pain Body affect our lives, physically, emotionally and spiritually?
How can we liberate ourselves from self-destructive behavioral patterns?
How can we overcome fear and anxiety?
What is the Pain Body Release (PBR) process and what can it bring us?
How can we access the Joy Body within us?
I hope you will join us for this informative 90-minute class, so you can find out how to begin the process of releasing pain from your body, mind and heart.
Lynn Serafinn is a transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has produced several top-10 book campaigns, including FOUR #1-sellers, in 2010 alone. She created Spirit Authors to offer training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. Contact Lynn about YOUR book project at at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog for regular book writing and promotion tips (just fill in form at right of your screen).
Sign up for Lynn’s bi-monthly newsletter Creative Spirit (fill in form below) packed with inspirational articles, online networking tips, broadcast guide to her radio show, and news about upcoming spiritual author book releases.
Throughout the year, Lynn also hosts large-scale telesummits with world-class speakers on a range of mind-body-spirit topics. Your subscription to Creative Spirit will ensure you’ll be the first to know how to attend these free events.
Author Maria Gamb proposes some answers in her new Book Healing the Corporate World, coming to Amazon Tues Oct 12th, 2010.
It’s staggering to think about it.
The American Institute of Stress calls stress “American’s #1 Health Problem.” They estimate “75 – 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems” and that “Job Stress is far and away the leading source of stress for adults.” The New York Times quoted Steven L. Sauter (Chief of the Organizational Science and Human Factors Branch of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) as saying, “workplace stress costs more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work and stress-reduction” and “workers who report that they are stressed incur health care costs that are 46 percent higher, or an average of $600 more per person, than other employees. And in the UK, nearly half a million people expressed they felt work related stress was at a level that was making them ill in 2008, and these figures appear to be increasing rapidly every year.
But in spite of all this, to my shock, all too many sites I found during my research provide tips on how to “deal” with stress, rather than trying to change “what is.” One site even talks about being “stress hardy” to make us better able to survive what we believe we cannot change. In other words, it seems that all too many have thrown in the towel, and given into the idea that being stressed (and unhappy) at our work is simply a part of life, and that the best we can do is to learn how to cope.
By all accounts, Maria was experiencing a highly “successful” career for many years—at least to the naked eye. But inwardly, Maria, a highly sensitive and intuitive woman, with a great belief in the human spirit, knew something was intrinsically wrong with the way businesses were being run in our modern world. Stress wasn’t the problem; it was merely the natural symptom that arouse as a result of much deeper issues. Competition, fear, blame, feelings of helplessness, and a sense of not being “seen” had become the norm rather than the exception, especially in corporate life. And no amount of stress management would ever make stress go away until these issues were addressed—not only at a personal level, but also at a global level.
It was time to talk about how we were going to transform the business world and heal a seriously ailing system.
Maria wrote this book with a passion to start the ripple of change that will do exactly what the title says: HEAL the corporate world. That doesn’t just mean to rescue our culture from economic crisis, but rather to heal the people and relationships within organizations so they can become healthy, flowing systems for change and creativity that are founded upon values, innovation, personal responsibility and authentic leadership at all levels of the business structure.
And while the title suggests a focus on corporate life, the book is NOT just for CEOs, senior managers or even corporations—it is a book for anyone who works. You might be a middle-manager, or a new employee on a team. You might even be self-employed, or the owner of a small business. The principles in this book are applicable to anyone who wants to create a more human-focussed society by transforming the way we do business.
To celebrate the release of this “inspiring and visionary book” (Ernest Chu, bestselling author of Soul Currency), when you purchase Healing the Corporate World on the day of its launch, you can receive a complete library of personal development gifts from dozens of leading authors, business professionals, speakers on the subject of business and self-improvement.
There you will find links to purchase the book from Amazon and instructions on how to claim your bonus gifts, including a special gift from Maria: almost 5 hours audio recordings of her 4-Day Telesummit, “Transforming Business from the Inside Out”, an uplifting and inspiring online telesummit with 9 of today’s top business and transformational authors and speakers.
When you look at all the bonus gifts, don’t worry about not having enough time to download them all. As long as you purchase the book during the launch, you’ll have access to the download page until October 31st.
I hope you’ll check out Healing the Corporate World on Tuesday October 12th, so we as a society can begin to apply these values-based principles in our work-place, and help start the process of healing for everyone.
Did you ever sit on the floor for too long and your leg went numb? Remember that horrible feeling you got when you stood up? At first, you don’t even feel your leg and your leg might wobble (or even collapse) underneath you. That happened to me on more than one occasion in India after having sat on a marble floor for several hours listening to a lecture. I had to get used to the locals laughing at me whenever they saw this western woman in a badly-wrapped sari fall over her own two feet for no apparent reason!
But once you’ve made it through the wobble, something else starts to happen—the dreaded “pins and needles” sensation as the blood starts to flow again in your legs. It feels absolutely horrible at first, and there is an overwhelming urge to sit back down on your leg and make it go “dead” again. But we know this is the worst thing we can do. We know the blood has to start flowing again. We know that the “pins and needles” is the signal that our leg is returning to its healthy state, where the leg recovers from its numbness, and we are again able to feel it and use it fully and effortlessly. We know it is necessary to feel the wobble and the pain (and maybe even the falling and the humiliation!) before we can move forward.
The interesting thing is, our emotional world works in exactly the same way, but for some reason, many of us do not respond to our emotions the same way we respond to our leg. Let me explain.
Emotions get “blocked” within us in exactly the same way the blood in our leg gets block—we “sit” on them and do not allow them to flow. And just like our legs, when we sit on our emotions, we go “numb”. We become detached and desensitized to our own feelings, as well as to the feelings of others. In extreme cases, we become incapable of connecting at an intimate level with anyone, what to speak of ourselves. Many of us can go on for years—decades—with blocked emotions.
When something shakes us up from our “numb” state, it is very similar to what happens when we first stand up on our “dead” leg. We wobble. We might even stumble. We have been hiding our emotions from others for so long, that when we start to allow them to be seen, our world starts to rock. People might not recognise or relate to us anymore, and because we fear losing them, we might try to convince ourselves to return to our familiar, stuck, numb place. We might also quite possibly become afraid of what we intuitively know is coming next—the “pins and needles”. This is the stage where sensation is returning to us. And just like pins and needles in our legs, it probably doesn’t feel particularly nice. We might experience an avalanche of confusing emotions like humiliation, shame, grief, anger, blame and fear. And being inexperienced with these emotions, having been cut off from them for so long, we might not know what to do with them or how to process them in a constructive way.
Now, if we were to sit our leg for decades, you can be pretty sure we would render it permanently useless, and it would be unlikely to heal. But the wonderful thing about emotions is that, even those that have been stuck for most of our lives can come back to life—if we can stay with the “pins and needles” long enough to allow the “flow” to come back into our feelings, without succumbing to the urge to jump back in the box of our numbness.
And just as how the end of the “pins and needles” stage restores full sensation and mobility to you leg, making it to the other side of your emotional pins and needles brings you into full sensation, which leads to flow at a heart and soul level. In both the leg and our emotions, feeling is the doorway to healing, and healing is the doorway to transformation.
And while the above analogy is my own, the essence of this story is the fundamental principle of the book Memory in the Cells: how to change behavioral patterns and release the pain body by my client and good friend Luis Angel Diaz. The book teaches both the theory and the practical methodology of what Luis calls “Cellular Memory Release” (CMR), where you learn how to FEEL your emotions at a deep level, not only for the purpose of healing old wounds, but also of transforming them so your life is full of awareness, sensation, aliveness and flow.
As Luis puts it, “It is about transforming the ‘Pain Body’ into the ‘Joy Body.’
Memory in the Cells is coming to Amazon at exactly 12:01 AM Pacific THIS TUESDAY October 5th (yes, that’s TOMORROW, as I write this). In celebration of the release of his book, dozens of Luis’ friends and colleagues have kindly donated a complete library of personal development gifts that you can download for free, when you buy the book Memory in the Cellson the day of its launch this week. I’m also giving away a free download (audio and text) of my mini-eCourse “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed.”
To find out more about the book and the free gifts, and to see a video in which Luis talks about how he came to develop this method to help people learn how to deal with pain, go to: http://memoryinthecells.com
AND… when you buy the book on Tuesday, Oct 5th, not only will you receive those free gifts, but you will also receive a special FR*EE 2-part LIVE online class with Luis himself, where he will take you through the CMR process, step-by-step.
This is not going to be another one of those self-help books that just sits on the shelf, unused. Luis is truly dedicated to sharing the information and practical tools in the book, and this free class is his way of showing that he “walks his talk.”
I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the release of this highly-practical, and truly healing, book by Luis Diaz. To buy the book on Tuesday October 5th, just go to http://memoryinthecells.com.
And then, I hope to see you on the fr*ee class a few weeks later.
Warm wishes
Lynn Serafinn
Author, Transformation Coach, Book Promotions
Lynn Serafinn is a an award-winning transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has many bestselling book campaigns, including four #1 sellers in 2010 alone. She is also the creator of Spirit Authors, which offers training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. To contact Lynn for coaching, campaign management or media appearances, please fill in the form at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.
By guest author Maria Gamb (pictured left). Maria is a former fortune 500 executive and author of the book ‘Healing the Corporate World’, examines how the impact of our responses to situations where our gut tells us something is wrong.
There are times when we all hit ‘the wall.’
We hit that wall when we start to wonder whether or not what we’re doing is making any kind of impact – not just on ourselves and our families, but also on those around us. So many times I have heard people ask, “Am I supposed to be working at the job I currently have?” People question their level of fulfillment and wonder what it’s all for– especially given all that’s transpired from an economic standpoint over the past few years.
Something’s gone awry in business. On morning radio and TV shows, pundits argue one way or the other about how to cure this problem. Recently I watched one commentator waving a large red pointer as he jumped up and down about financial projections and shortfalls. But is this really what’s going to motivate business to change and bring it back to its bastion of integrity and profitability?
Executives and entrepreneurs alike are facing the same problems: lack of motivation, less than stellar morale, and lack of fulfillment or a sense of accomplishment. They are fearful about their security and future.
But simply leaving the corporate world and working for oneself is not necessarily the solution. Sitting in a local coffee shop the other day, I overheard a conversation where one professional-looking woman was speaking to her sympathetic friend.
As she sipped her Americano, I heard the woman say, “I just want to walk out of this job and go weave baskets on the beach in Bali!”
Her friend replied, “Hey at least you have a steady job! I’m self-employed and it feels that way for me too. I thought I was supposed to be happier this way. I thought I was going to feel fulfilled doing work I believed in. But I can’t honestly say I am.”
They both stared at each other, looking beleaguered.
People want to feel productive. People want to make a difference where they work no matter what it is that they do. Many are tired of the problems we’ve faced in business year after year and are fed up. And they want to be making a better living (read money). However they are not quite sure how anything will get better.
So what’s the alternative?
It actually starts with each person– from corporate executives to the office worker to the self-employed– realizing that they are so much more powerful than they know, and by taking personal responsibility for their own happiness and fulfillment. It means they will have to make a shift and undergo the same kind of transformation needed in many businesses today: working from the inside out.
To celebrate the launch of my new book, which is coming to Amazon on October 12th, I would like to invite you to attend a very special FREE 4-part online telesummit with 9 guest speakers on this very topic:
On this event, over the course of 4 days, you will get to hear thoughts from a distinguished panel of 9 passionate and innovative authors and speakers (ok, I’m one of them) to discuss the ingredients for becoming the ‘Change Agent’ in your business, in your life and in the world.
I believe people are the greatest raw material in any business when their mindset and belief is focused on creating rather than competing. When our values and rules of engagement, both for ourselves and our teams, are in alignment, we can finally become the Change Agents and get past that brick wall.
Maria Gamb, author of "Healing the Corporate World"
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 5 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Healing the Corporate Worldby author Maria Gamb.
Written by former Fortune 500 executive, Maria Gamb, who spent more than 20 years trailblazing businesses valued at upwards of $100 million, Healing the Corporate World is a cutting-edge book examining the deep, and usually unspoken, ailment of the modern corporate world, offering solutions for healing at a personal, financial and even spiritual level. By showing the reader “the four cycles of transformational leadership”, Maria provides business leaders, from solo entrepreneurs to corporate senior executives, practical answers on how to transform their organizations from the inside out, and become “Change Agents”, consciously creating their own reality.
Yesterday, Maria visited Liz Pabon at www.lizpabon.com/blog. For today’s stop on the tour, I decided to ask Maria some questions about self-sabotage, feelings of powerlessness in the workplace, and how to rise above them.
* * * * *
Lynn: You mention in your book that some of us actually sabotage or compromise our own success. In your experience, what are some of the most common ways we do it?
Maria: Often times we engage in competitive behaviors, defensiveness and/or our values are compromised. But ultimately this all goes back to the same thing: we’re afraid that we’ll be found out as “not being good enough” or that potentially we believe there isn’t “enough” to go around. That means not enough opportunities, not enough resources to share, not enough praise or recognition. These are actually basic needs: to be seen, heard and recognized. By engaging in these “not enough” behaviors and attitudes, we often alienate those around us who can contribute directly to success.
Lynn: You mention in your book that it is vital to build teams that reflect our core values. What advice can you give for doing that when there are so many different value systems at play, and when some people in the workplace might not even be in touch with their own values?
Maria: It’s important for the individual business professional to decide what is most important to them. If it’s honesty, for example, then you would need to quantify exactly what that means in specific, actionable terms. Doing this helps to create a very clear framework of reference rather than an abstract ideal that will be hard for others to fulfil. More importantly, it will be challenging for the individual to know or experience that value in another human being without this quantifiable method.
People will be different, but that’s the beauty of this. In fact, my suggestion is to decide on 2-3 core values or beliefs of what they feel is most valuable for their team members to embody and then build that team. There will never be a 100% perfect match where everyone has the same values, but it is important to pick the ones that matter most to you. What you’re doing in this process is insuring that you’re all on the same page with regards to your rules of engagement in how you will work together and with others.
Lynn: You talk about “blazing a new trail no matter where you are.” What words of encouragement do you have for people who see themselves as powerless and at the “bottom of the food chain” in their business environment?
Maria: People are only victims if they choose to take on that role. That is a belief that no one will ever hear them or understand or appreciate what they have to offer. The truth is that the individual has to believe in themselves first and what they have to offer as truly valuable. When they do they do not feel powerless.
A majority of the book is based on helping the reader to understand that they create their work environments and outcomes. They are in control of their happiness and security when they work through the processes outlined. Those who may perceive themselves as at the bottom of the food chain may not feel they can make any real difference on the scale they’d like. However, when they begin integrating this work into their lives they first change the immediate environment and effectiveness, which builds to greater influence to those around them. That’s the point: to use your influence in a positive manner. But first, you’ve got to start exercising those beliefs and values into your personal and professional life first.
Lynn: A lot of your work focuses on corporate environment and teams. Most of my clients are solo-preneurs who don’t work within the same kind of environment. How can these kinds of people apply your principles? What will it bring them and their business?
Maria: The beauty of the content in the book is that it applies to all those in business, not necessarily just large corporations. Many entrepreneurs dream of having large businesses with a huge earning potential. That sounds like they want to build their own legacy within their niche. The tools, tips and processes outlined in the book are universal. They share what it takes to be a person in business who creates solid, healthy relationships and influence. With that influence they have a decision to make about how they want to use that success: to take care of themselves and their families only or to help others too. You see, the concept of commerce was built to bring the flow of goods, services and opportunities, including the flow of money, into the world. Entrepreneur or executive, both are engaged in this exchange. So why not use the tools for building a more compassionate and conscious business from the start – when the entrepreneur has the dream or idea then begins to bring it into the world. What this system brings is positive influence and affluence: the fulfilment of one’s purpose and a deeper understanding of what you’re doing and why it’s so important.
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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Maria Gamb and that you’ll check out her new bookHealing the Corporate World, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday October 12, 2010.
You can receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts when you buy the book on the day of its launch, including one from me: a special report called “Why Nice People HATE Marketing” (it’s actually a sneak peek at some of the content from my upcoming book).
In addition, Maria is hosting an exciting FREE 4-day telesummit entitled “Transforming Business from the Inside Out” on October 4th – 7th with a distinguished panel of 9 of today’s most innovative authors and speakers on becoming the ‘Change Agent’ in your business, in your life and in the world!
If you’d like to attend, all you have to do is request a “launch reminder” about the book, and you’ll receive all the information to attend. If you cannot make the live event, you can download the audio at your convenience.
To find out how to buy Maria’s BOOK and receive these gifts,
including the FREE pass to the 4-day online telesummit, go to
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day number 5 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Memory in the Cellsby author Luis Angel Diaz.
Newly translated from the popular Spanish edition, author Luis Diaz describes his book Memory in the Cells as “where Eckhart Tolle meets What the Bleep Do We Know, but taking you on a much more practical journey.” He says Memory in the Cells teaches “emotional education” and shows the reader how to transform the “pain body” into the “joy body”, helping to heal all aspects of their lives.
For today’s stop on the tour, I decided to ask Luis some questions about how to utilise both “positive” and “negative” emotions in our lives so we can find happiness and fulfilment.
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Lynn: I heard you say once that “Self betrayal is a cultural habit”. Can you explain what you mean by that and give some examples?
Luis: The process starts with the disconnection between mind and body in each of us. I’ll give you some examples: We say things that we don’t feel or feel things that we don’t express. We do things we don’t want to do and then we don’t follow through. We want something but we don’t ask for it, and then we get mad because we didn’t get it! We say yes when we want to say know and then we resent others for that. We don’t set boundaries but then we blame others when they crossed them. We betray ourselves each time we are not honoring our truth and we pretend to feel, to think or to do what is not coherent with ourselves. The result is unhappiness and disease no matter what we do to try to change it.
Lynn: You also say that “positive and negative feelings are both necessary.” How do you help people embrace their painful feelings rather than avoid them?
Luis: We human beings do everything based on our needs and values, but only 100% of the time! Therefore our values rule our life. Let´s say; “freedom”: if we lose it, we feel sad, angry or afraid. But if we have it; we’ll feel open, trusting, creative and happy. The same happens with all other human values; love, respect, honesty, trust, compassion. If I have them, I feel great. If I don’t, I feel horrible.
Then, negative and positive feelings are both indispensable to tell me where I am in relation with my values in life. How far or close I am from them. Then, feelings both positive and negative are our guidance system and without them, we are totally lost.
Lynn:You mention that people can get addicted to emotions. Can you give some examples of that? What happens to us when we are addicted to certain emotions? How can we get “unaddicted” and what benefit will this bring to us?
Luis: Addiction is a strong word, but it works in this case. What really happen is that we create deep habits and we keep repeating them automatically endlessly. We are addicted to anger when we are irritable and frustrated most of the time. We may be addicted to fear if we are anxious and worry frequently. Behind a habit like this, there is always a pay off or a benefit that is deep rooted in our subconscious and the first step to change is always; AWARENESS. Then it comes the deactivation of the pattern and after that the reconditioning based on my main priorities set by my values.
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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Luis Angel Diaz and that you’ll check out his new bookMemory in the Cells, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday October 5, 2010. You can receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts when you buy the book on the day of its launch, including one from me: a free mini eCourse called “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed”, which can help you start to recognise your limiting beliefs so you can move past whatever emotions might be keeping you stuck in areas of your life.
In addition, Luis is hosting a very special FREEtelesummit entitled “Healing at a Cellular Level” on September 27th, 28th and 29th with a distinguished panel of some of today’s most inspiring authors and speakers on the topic of emotional healing and holistic wellbeing. If you’d like to attend, all you have to do is request a “launch reminder” about the book, and you’ll receive all the information to attend. If you cannot make the live event, you can download the audio at your convenience.
To find out how to buy Luis’s book and receive these gifts,
including the FREE pass to the 3-day online telesummit, go to
In our modern society today, we as a culture spend enormous sums of money every year on our “healing” needs—from medicine and pharmaceuticals to alternative therapies of all kinds. We also spend millions on academic education. But rarely, if ever, do we spend money on educating ourselves on how to heal—especially emotionally.
My client, friend and colleague Luis Angel Diaz has written a book called Memory in the Cells: how to change behavioral patterns and release the pain body, which is coming out on Amazon on Tuesday October 5th. Luis’ work is ALL about emotional education: teaching people how to become more aware of the sensations locked within the cells of their bodies so they can understand what is really going on inside emotionally.
Luis feels this topic is so important he has organized a free 3-day online event called “Emotional Healing at a Cellular Level”, and has asked me to host the event. Together, we have brought together a panel of 7 guest speakers, including myself, who are passionate about helping others heal by teaching them how to become more aware and more sensitized in all aspects of their lives.
This special telesummit will take place on Mon Sept 27th, Tues Sept 28th and Wed Sept 29th at 12pm – 1.30pm Pacific (3pm – 4.30pm Eastern; 8pm – 9.30pm UK).
CLICK IMAGE to WATCH the VIDEO PREVIEW for this EVENT:
Here’s a brief overview of the topics and guest line up:
Day 1: Monday September 27, 2010 The Power of Beliefs On Day 1, you’ll be hearing about The Power of Beliefs, and how our beliefs shape our feelings and emotions, which shape our behavior and life decisions. On that day, our special guests will be:
VIP Guest: Rochele Hirsch, author of the books The Theory of How Come, Emotions in the Workplace: Love at Work, and True Energy and the Chemistry of Relationships.
VIP Guest: Arjuna Ardagh,“Awakening Coach” and author of 8 books including the bestseller, “The Translucent Revolution”
Host: Luis Angel Diaz, Creator of CMR-Cellular Memory Release and author of the new book Memory in the Cells
Host: Lynn Serafinn, transformation coach, marketing coach, author of The Garden of the Soul.
Day 2: Tuesday September 28, 2010 How Emotions attract/manifest our lives
On Day 2 we’ll be talking about how emotions attract and manifest our lives, and what we can do to change those stuck patterns and emotions that no longer serve us, but are held in the cellular memory. On that day, our special guests will be:
VIP Guest: Patrick Ryan, Executive Coach, Founder of Awakened Wisdom and author of the spirituality bestseller: Awakened Wisdom: a guide to reclaiming your brilliance.
Host: Luis Angel Diaz, Creator of CMR-Cellular Memory Release and author of the new book Memory in the Cells
Host: Lynn Serafinn, transformation coach, marketing coach, author of The Garden of the Soul.
Day 3: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Transformation is the only key to true freedom
What is self-transformation? What is living from that place instead of being a victim of life? How can being authentic and honest with ourselves and our feelings pay us the dividends of inner peace, harmony and total freedom? On that day, our special guests will be:
VIP Guest: Warrior Sage Satyen Raja, Kung-Fu Master and trainer of the renowned Illumination Intensive
VIP Guest: Lisa Schrader, sacred sexuality teacher, international media personality and author of the book Kama Sutra 52, Lisa Schrader.
Host: Luis Angel Diaz, Creator of CMR-Cellular Memory Release and author of the new book Memory in the Cells
Host: Lynn Serafinn, transformation coach, marketing coach, author of The Garden of the Soul.
Attendance is absolutely FR*EE!
You can listen to the call either via telephone or via webcast.
Even if you can’t make the live event, go ahead and sign up anyway, because you will receive the links to download the audio after the events are over, so you can enjoy this lively discussion about one of the most cutting-edge and important topics of our modern times—the healing of our bodies, minds and hearts.
Lynn Serafinn is a an award-winning transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has produced three #1-selling book campaigns, and another #2-selling campaign, in 2010 so far. She is also the creator of Spirit Authors, which offers training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. To contact Lynn for coaching, campaign management or media appearances, please fill in the form at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.
Lynn Serafinn takes a look at the “2012 phenomenon” and tells you about a FREE event Sept 14-16 where 9 leading authors and speakers discuss “the Shift” occurring on our planet today.
Throughout history there have been many prophecies about the “ending” times. I remember doing a history report when I was a teenager on the so-called “dark ages”, and I read about the apocalyptic panic that swept through parts of Europe as the calendar approached the “doomsday” date of January 1, 1000. While this might seem silly to some of us today, ironically, only a few years ago, millions of people were gripped by fear over the predicted “Y2K” catastrophe, or the “millennium bug”, which was supposed to wipe out global communications and commerce virtually overnight. I personally knew many people who were stock-piling food (and even weapons!), in anticipation of wide-spread civil war in the last few years of the 20th century.
Have a look for yourself. Google the term “end of the world predictions throughout history” and see how many amusing articles you will find on “failed” predictions, and how many times the world simply didn’t end.
Given all that experience, you would think our society would have given up on “end of the world as we know it” predictions, and take faith that, while the world is constantly in a state of flux and change, life moves onward regardless.
So why is it that nowadays people are getting all hyped up about the “2012” phenomenon?
By now, most of you know that the year 2012 (more specifically, the date of December 21, 2012) is the end of the Mayan calendar. Predictions of what might happen have been appearing in the media at both extremes of the spectrum, from catastrophic polar shifts to spontaneous ascension to a higher dimension. And amidst these extremes, my guess is there is a vast silent majority of people who believe December 21, 2012 will be a day just like any other and that life will simply move on as usual.
Personally, I do believe 2012 will be a year of change, but I believe this change will be a subtle conglomerate of all three of the above outlooks.
While I do not particularly think the Earth will roll over on its axis, I do see unnatural shifts in the environment occurring around us, and humankind seems to have had a hand in much of it. But then, amidst this environmental imbalance, I also see thousands of grass-roots movements on the planet cropping up who hold the core belief that we humans must re-establish our emotional and spiritual connection with our planet.
I see our economies collapsing, and again it is largely the result of our own miscalculations and anxieties. But again, amidst this collapse, I see people becoming immensely creative in developing new economic paradigms that will change our world significantly in the coming generations.
And amidst all this environmental and economic upheaval, I also see a greater percentage of the population becoming disheartened with the “old way” of leading their lives, and seeking pathways to a higher Self and more integrated way of being. In the workshops I have delivered over the past year, I see people going further and reaching higher levels more quickly than in the past. Whether this is “cosmological” or a purely social phenomenon doesn’t really matter. The fact is, more and more people are becoming interested in raising their own consciousness and cultivating their own personal spirituality.
I don’t believe the “end” is coming, but the world IS changing; and we are part of that great and wonderful change.
So what really lies ahead?
One of my spiritual author clients, Ms E.Dee Conrad, addresses this very question in her upcoming book A New Dawn Awaits, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday September 21st. To celebrate the launch of her book, E.Dee and I thought the topic was so compelling that we have coordinated a very special 3-day FREE online event with a great line-up of guest speakers. We would love for you to attend.
Over these 3 days, you will hear from 9 of today’s leading authors and speakers on the subject of consciousness and the great “shift” that is taking place on our planet today. Our guests include:
Hunt Henion, author of four books, including the bestseller, Looking, Seeing & Knowing
Bill Douglas, Tai Chi master and author of 2012 The Awakening
Christian Kyriacou, Energy Healer, Ki Architect and House Whisperer
Tambra Harck, spiritual teacher, radio host and author of the book Sacred Truths
Jeff Fasano, photographer, author, angelic channeler
Alan Seale, award-winning author, and leadership/transformation coach
Tracy Latz and Marion Ross, “Shift” Doctors, and co-authors of the bestseller SHIFT: a woman’s guide to transformation.
And of course, E.Dee and I will be co-hosting the discussion and offering our own thoughts and insights.
This telesummit is absolutely free. You can listen either via telephone or via webcast. And if you cannot make the live event, register anyway, because you can download the audio anytime up to 30 days after the event.
Again, to reserve your place, just go to http://virtualspiritualevents.com/. You can even send in a question you would like to ask the panel.
ALSO, at the telesummit, E.Dee and I will be telling you how you can receive a complete library of 30 personal development gifts when you purchase her inspiring new book A New Dawn Awaits on September 21st, including a free mini-eCourse entitled “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed” from me, which can help you recognise your own limiting beliefs, to make way for your own conscious evolution.
For more information about E.Dee and her book, A New Dawn Awaits,
visit http://edeeconrad.com
About Lynn Serafinn
Lynn Serafinn is a an award-winning transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has produced two #1-selling book campaigns, and another #2-selling campaign, in just the past few months. She is also the creator of Spirit Authors, which offers training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. To contact Lynn for coaching, campaign management or media appearances, please fill in the form at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.
When Vrinda Pendred (nee Barker) was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at age 7, the doctor failed to notice she had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as well, despite OCD symptoms being a huge part of why her parents had brought her to the doctor in the first place. Even when she was finally diagnosed with OCD at almost 14, Vrinda had no comprehension of how complex and wide-ranging the disorder was, even within herself. Only as an adult did she finally start to understand just how deeply OCD affected her life, mentally, physically, emotionally and socially.
Vrinda’s story is not at all unique. In fact, if there is anything rare about it, it’s that she was diagnosed as young as age 13. Some people don’t discover there’s a name for their intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviour until mid-life. Others are never diagnosed throughout their entire lives, their ‘quirkiness’ remaining a mystery both to themselves and to the people in their lives. We can only imagine the suffering they’ve experienced, struggling through homelife, school and work, feeling misunderstood by teachers, parents, friends and colleagues.
And it’s not just the people who have OCD who are suffering. Think of the frustration and heartache felt by millions of teachers and parents around the world, who watch their students or children struggling with OCD (often undiagnosed), but cannot understand what is happening because these children are too young to express what is going on inside their heads. The sense of helplessness, and even guilt, can be enormous, as they simply do not know what to do to help an OCD child, and are at a total loss as to how to manage or respond to the unusual behaviour and destructive anxieties.
And what is most poignant is the thought that all of this could be avoided – and even treated – if there were more education about the many facets that make up OCD.
And that is what Vrinda Pendred has set out to do. Now 27 years old, and a mother herself, she has merged her two most passionate callings in life: 1) writing and 2) educating the world about neurological conditions, such as OCD. Vrinda has created a unique publishing company called Conditional Publications, whose primary aim is to help push forward this education, by devoting its catalogue to publishing the works of writers with neurological conditions, thus giving a voice to the real experts on these mysterious disorders.
Put together by 20 writers and artists from around the world, all who have OCD, Check Matesshowcases a range of emotions, from love to hate, joy to rage, fear and sorrow to hope and optimism. There’s even a little bit of humour. What it doesn’t do is shy away from the truth. Every angle is covered, no matter how painful, which makes for a startling and moving read.
If you are wondering why I am so empassioned by Vrinda’s story it’s this: Vrinda is my own daughter, and I personally know what she has gone through to reach this remarkable achievment. I also know what I, as a mother, have felt watching her grow up. And lastly, my father had undiagnosed OCD, and it is only through Vrinda that I have come to understand much of the pain and confusion from my childhood.
On this Day-After-Mothers’-Day, I could not be more proud of my daughter than I feel today.
Whether you’re a parent or teacher of a child dealing with OCD, a therapist or coach of OCD clients, or you have OCD yourself, everyone will find something in this book that speaks to them.
And if you don’t think you know anyone with OCD, have a look around. I think you’ll be surprised (if not shocked) at how many people have it, but are hiding in silence and isolation. This book will open up your eyes, your mind and your heart, and will bring a long overdue healing for many.
And, true to her principles, Vrinda will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every copy of Check Matesto OCD charities, to encourage research and treatment for the condition.
AND… In addition to my gift, there are over 30 other wonderful gifts being offered by mind-body-spirit teachers, authors, coaches and healers from around the planet when you purchase the book on May 11th.
To find out how you can buy this book on May 11th
and receive over 30 other gifts, just click HERE
I hope you will join me in celebrating the launch of this unique book, Check Mates, the first ever collection of fiction, poetry and artwork about OCD.
If you follow my weekly radio show on Blog Talk Radio, you know I open every episode by saying it explores “personal empowerment, life purpose, balance of mind, body and spirit, and how to tap into the inner hero that lies within every human being.” While I believe all of my guests are “heroes” in their own right, never have I been more filled with emotion to introduce the hero of the show I hosted this past Wednesday, April 28.
Why? Because the guest was my own daughter, Vrinda Pendred, author and founding Director/Editor of Conditional Publications, a new independent publisher dedicated solely to publishing the works of authors with neurological conditions. Their first book ‘Check Mates’ comes out on May 11, 2010, and it is nothing short of groundbreaking. What makes Check Mates so special is that it is a collection of short fiction and poetry either about or inspired by the struggle with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, all written by people with OCD. Whether solidly real, allegorical, or completely fictionalised, all the compelling work contained in this collection portrays the true story of this greatly misunderstood condition.
It is also the first ever book of fiction written entirely by OCD authors—including Vrinda herself.
This interview is stop number 6 on Vrinda’s 14-day Virtual Blog Tour to promote the launch of Check Mates. Yesterday Vrinda stopped by the blog of Yvonne Perry from Writers in the Sky. If you happened to miss that stop, just click here.
In our interview together on April 28, Vrinda started out by describing the struggles she faced as a child growing up with neurological disorders.
She was first diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at age 7, but doctors did little to educate her, her parents or her teachers about the disorder. She describes the frustration of not being able to explain what compelled her to think and do the things she did, and how this impacted her childhood experiences and emotions. For years, she pretty much kept the reality of having Tourette’s hidden from her friends, but she finally had a breakthrough when the topic of Tourette’s came up in a discussion in a science class at school when she was 13 years old. She described how learning more about her condition was a “stunning” revelation, and how it released her from the feeling she needed to hide her condition from the world.
Wanting to understand her condition, Vrinda requested to go back to the doctor to find out more. It was then that a new neurologist finally diagnosed Vrinda with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Vrinda, now 27 years old and extremely knowledgeable about both Tourette’s and OCD, said she finds it “shocking” she was not diagnosed with OCD by the paediatric neurologist when she was 7 years old, as “half the stuff you brought me to the doctor for [at age 7] was actually OCD, and not Tourette’s at all.”
Vrinda explained that OCD, Tourette’s, autism, bipolar disorder and other neurological conditions are genetic in nature, but the way they manifest in a person are “completely founded in your own emotional experiences in life.” Vrinda and I discussed how her diagnosis opened up my own understanding about my own frustrations as a child because my father (Vrinda’s grandfather) had OCD, although it was never diagnosed when he was alive. Vrinda gave some pretty humorous examples of her grandfather’s OCD behaviour in a way that only a fellow OCD person could recognise.
I asked Vrinda about the freedom she has found from learning about her diagnosis. She described how most of her life she had suffered from the terrors of intrusive thoughts, and when she found a name for what she was experiencing, and realised that other people experienced the same thing, she stopped feeling “crazy” and alone. She said, “Once it had a name, it seemed so much smaller. As soon as I could box it and put a name on it I said, ‘Ok, this is the OCD—and I am more than it.”
Vrinda discussed how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has successfully helped her with many of her obsessions, by enabled her to learn how to allow her anxieties to pass without acting upon them. She said, however, that “intrusive thoughts” were frequently much more difficult to overcome and she is still challenged by many of them.
Vrinda discussed how important it was for parents to “educate” teachers about how OCD impacts the child’s behaviour and performance at school. She gave an example of how helpful it was when one compassionate teacher allowed her to take an exam in his private office so she would not be challenged by her OCD by being in a distracting environment.
Vrinda went on to talk about her book Check Mates. She explained that the title “Check Mates” refers to the tendency for people with OCD to “check” things, and also because it is a collection of stories by people who have now become good friends (“mates”). The 20 authors of this book all met each other on a social network called “OCD Tribe” (http://ocdtribe.com). Vrinda said it was “indescribable” and “life-changing” to find a “tribe” of people who all shared the same condition.
She explained that what makes Check Mates unique amongst other books is that it is not a “self-help” book, but rather a book of fiction by OCD authors. She said she felt fiction was “more powerful” than an autobiography in this case, as readers who do not have OCD would be able to see something of themselves within the stories as well.
She explained how the stories in the book shed light on the wide range of the types of obsessions people with OCD have, such as fear of death, post-partum OCD, pre-occupation with religion, compulsive cleaning, self-harming, hoarding, counting rituals, checking, etc. “We wanted to show that OCD is a very complex thing. When you see it on television, they only ever focus on one or two problems that seem really extreme. They certainly don’t ever talk about the thoughts, or ‘pure obsessional OCD’ (obsessive ruminations), which in my view is the most debilitating problem.”
If you or a family member has OCD, or any neurological condition, you definitely will want to check out Check Mates when it comes out on Tuesday May 11.
When you are there, be sure to sign up for a “launch reminder” so you can receive over 30 free personal development gifts when you buy the book on the day of its launch. Amongst the gifts are a free short story on Tourette Syndrome from Vrinda, and a free mini-course from me called “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed.” Just click HERE to read more about the book and the 30 free gifts (if you are reading this article after that date, you may buy the book directly from that page).
I should also mention that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every single book goes to OCD charities, so when you buy it, YOU are also making a difference.
Being Vrinda’s mom makes me understand what they mean by the term “pride and joy.”
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Be sure to follow Vrinda to her next Virtual Blog Tour stop on Sunday May 2nd, hosted by Geoff Laughton at http://geofflaughton.com/gltc/blog/.
Special 3 Year Anniversary Show! Author, coach and book marketer, Lynn Serafinn, hosts coach, bestselling author, visionary and world-renowned inspiration, Martha Beck. Martha Beck has inspired and changed the lives of millions through her bestselling books such as Finding Your Own North Star, Expecting Adam and many others. Her personality is a unique mixtu […]
Author, coach and book marketer, Lynn Serafinn, hosts author, lifestyle and relationship expert. Lissa Coffey Lissa is the author of six books on personal growth and relationships. She has studied with Dr. Deepak Chopra since 1998 and is the world's only expert on Ayurveda and Relationships. Lissa's purpose is sharing Ancient Wisdom with Modern Sty […]
Author, coach and book marketer, Lynn Serafinn, hosts author, psychotherapist and communications skills expert Rich Gallagher. Rich Gallagher is a former corporate executive turned author, speaker, and practicing marriage and family therapist. He specializes in helping people communicate in their most difficult situations, using techniques from psychotherapy […]
Author, coach and book marketer, Lynn Serafinn, hosts destiny mentor, energy aligner and author of The Destiny Discovery, Michelle Casto. A renowned Life & Business Coach, Michelle L. Casto is an advocate for "everyday enlightenment" and author of the book The Destiny Discovery: Find Your Soul's Path to Success. Throughout her 20-year care […]
Author, coach and book marketer, Lynn Serafinn, hosts energy worker and author of Ever-Flowing Streams of Healing Energy, Dana Taylor. While leading a “normal” life as wife, mother and writer, a life-long physical and spiritual mystery led Dana from traditional medicine and the church to alternative therapies and spiritual exploration. In 2005, an encounter […]
Author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts speaker, activist and author Carolyn A. Brent. CAROLYN A. BRENT MBA- Carolyn Brent is a speaker, activist and author dedicated to transforming the landscape of elder care giving helping parents and siblings communicate about painful End-of-Life Issues. For seventeen years Carolyn worked for some of the worl […]
Author, coach and book marketer, Lynn Serafinn, hosts healer, counselor and author of The Healers' Almanac Patty Shaw. As a young adult, Patty Shaw decided to immerse herself in alternative healing modalities, like homeopathy, Reiki, EFT, Cranio Sacral, Aurveydic and broadened her spirituality with divination, learning about world religions, mediumship, […]
Author, coach and book Marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts seven-generation parent, creative coach and children's author Nick Kettles. After 12 years as a spiritual seeker, during which time Nick tried just about anything to attain enlightenment (read: escape from the world and it's suffering) he finally realised, through the birth of his two daughters, t […]
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Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 1 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Michelle Casto whose book The Destiny Discovery: Find Your Soul’s Path to Success launches on Amazon on Tuesday January 17, 2012.
Join Patrick and Lynn this Thursday April 28th for a 
TODAY Tuesday March 15th is the big launch day of the new English translation of the bestselling book 
The end product of those years of experience and research is a method Roy developed called “Emotional Balance.” Roy explains, “Emotional Balance is a technique that allows us to return to what I call the ‘Still Point’. The Still Point is that place within us where we are in our power and are no longer governed by our egos or our past.”
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 7 of the Virtual Blog Tour of Hay House author Dr Roy Martina, whose book Emotional Balan6ce: the path to inner peace and harmony comes to Amazon on Tuesday March 15, 2011.
When you visit the page at the link above and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Roy’s 4-day “Emotional Balance Telesummit” with a line up of 10 TOP international experts on the topic of emotional healing and inner balance. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast. This is a completely free “no purchase necessary” gift from Roy, to celebrate the release of the new Hay House publication of his book.
On Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Did you ever sit on the floor for too long and your leg went numb? Remember that horrible feeling you got when you stood up? At first, you don’t even feel your leg and your leg might wobble (or even collapse) underneath you. That happened to me on more than one occasion in India after having sat on a marble floor for several hours listening to a lecture. I had to get used to the locals laughing at me whenever they saw this western woman in a badly-wrapped sari fall over her own two feet for no apparent reason!
And while the above analogy is my own, the essence of this story is the fundamental principle of the book 
To find out more about the book and the free gifts, and to see a video in which Luis talks about how he came to develop this method to help people learn how to deal with pain, go to: 
By guest author Maria Gamb (pictured left). Maria is a former fortune 500 executive and author of the book ‘Healing the Corporate World’, examines how the impact of our responses to situations where our gut tells us something is wrong.
Lynn: I heard you say once that “Self betrayal is a cultural habit”. Can you explain what you mean by that and give some examples?
In our modern society today, we as a culture spend enormous sums of money every year on our “healing” needs—from medicine and pharmaceuticals to alternative therapies of all kinds. We also spend millions on academic education. But rarely, if ever, do we spend money on educating ourselves on how to heal—especially emotionally.
Lynn Serafinn takes a look at the “2012 phenomenon” and tells you about a 
