Vrinda Pendred

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.

Check Mates - out on Tues May 11th

Their first book, Check Mates: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Artwork about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by People with OCD, is coming to Amazon TOMORROW Tuesday, May 11^th

Put together by 20 writers and artists from around the world, all who have OCD, Check Mates showcases 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 Mates to OCD charities, to encourage research and treatment for the condition.

Check Mates: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Artwork about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by People with OCD is coming to Amazon TOMORROW Tuesday May 11^th. To show my support of this inspirational new book, I am giving away my mini-eCourse “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed” to everyone who buys Check Mates on the day of the launch.

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 11^th.

To find out how you can buy this book on May 11^th
and receive over 30 other gifts, just click HERE

Or copy and paste this link in your browser:
http://conditionalpublications.com/pages/check-mates-launch.html

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.

Vrinda Pendred

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.

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Listen to the interview:

OR if you cannot view the player, CLICK HERE to download the MP3:

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.

You can do this by heading over to: http://conditionalpublications.com/pages/check-mates-launch.html

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/.

AND… don’t forget to sign up for the book launch reminder so you can buy ‘Check Mates’ and over 30 free personal development gifts on May 11, 2010. Just go to http://conditionalpublications.com/pages/check-mates-launch.html

Illustration from the book 'Check Mates'

OCD – Understanding, Not Just Awareness

It might sound like a surprising thing to say, but Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder affects pretty much everyone. Maybe you have it yourself. Or perhaps your partner has it, or your sibling, or an old childhood friend, or maybe your next-door neighbour. You might not even be aware of it, but the chances are high that you know someone who is obsessive-compulsive.

In recent years, OCD has become more publicly discussed, with celebrities coming forward and admitting they are afflicted by the condition. Yet when David Beckham went public with his diagnosis, much of the world made jokes and laughed. There was little consideration for his lifelong struggle with his own mind, or the difficulties it might pose for his family. There was even less acknowledgment that most people are at least a little obsessive-compulsive themselves.

Despite the growing awareness of such conditions, stereotypes persist…and an inspiring (and inspired) group of writers have boldly decided to do something about that. Together, they have compiled a groundbreaking new book Check Mates: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Artwork about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by People with OCD.

Check Mates, edited by Vrinda Pendred, is the first ever collection of fiction, poetry and artwork about OCD, by people with OCD – the real experts on the subject. It also marks the launch of Conditional Publications, the only dedicated publishing house for writers with any kind of neurological condition.

Divided between ‘Realism’ and the ‘Beyond’, this book drives the absurdity and horror of OCD straight home. It has been put together by writers and artists from around the world, and showcases a wide 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! I think everyone will find something to relate to.

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 have OCD, you’re going to find yourself in this book and realise you’re definitely not alone. If you don’t have OCD…you’re probably going to find a little of yourself anyway, because that’s what this book does: it forces us to look at our own neuroses. I think this book is set to crack wide open a few stereotypes that have been flying around for far too long.

And what makes this book even more special, is that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every single copy of Check Mates will be donated to OCD charities.

Check Mates: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Artwork about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by People with OCD is coming to Amazon on 11 May 2010. To show my support of this inspirational new book,  to everyone who buys Check Mates on the day of the launch, I am giving away a FREE copy the “Making Friends With the Monsters Under Your Bed” mini-course to help anyone overcome anxieties, fears, insecurities and negative self-talk, whether OR not you have OCD.

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 Check Mates: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Artwork about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by People with OCD on May 11^th.

AND … Vrinda Pendred, editor and co-author of Check Mates, and a genuine artist of surreal fiction, is giving away an EXTRA special gift of her own: ‘The Passenger’, an unpublished short story about Tourette Syndrome. And yes, Vrinda herself has Tourette Syndrome, OCD and other neurological conditions.

AND… would it be just TOO unprofessional of me to mention that the lovely and talented Vrinda happens to be my very own daughter? I am more than just a little bit proud of what she is doing, and I have to say this book is absolutely gripping. Very impactful, it touches me on just so many levels.

To find out how you can buy this book on May 11^th, claim your free copy of ‘The Passenger’, and receive over 30 other gifts, just click HERE

Or copy and paste this link in your browser:

http://conditionalpublications.com/pages/check-mates-launch.html

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.

Be sure to sign up for a “launch reminder”, and then mark your diary for May 11^th!

The winner for this contest is being decided by PUBLIC vote. Each of the contestants had to answer a single question: ”

What will YOU give the world when you reclaim your brilliance?”

To vote for a winner go to:
http://spiritauthors.com/AWE/Pages/contest-vote.html

Please take a moment to go over the to voting page, and read the (very short) answers to this question each of our 8 finalists gave. Then, vote for the one you believe has the most passion and desire to make good use of the Grand Prize, which is a $3000 “Awakened Wisdom Experience” (AWE) including 4 one-to-one coaching sessions with Patrick Ryan, 2 VIP guest passes to his 3-day workshop “Awakened Wisdom”, and a signed copy of his new book, “Awakened Wisdom”. All I can say is there are some VERY deserving people on there.

Again, to vote and help to change someone’s life, go to: http://spiritauthors.com/AWE/Pages/contest-vote.html

And if YOU missed out on this great contest, no worries. Check out Patrick’s book “Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance”. It’s coming to Amazon on Tuesday April 20th (that’s just ONE week away). When you purchase the book on that day, you can receive over 40 GORGEOUS gifts from a lot of wonderful people (including me!!).

Here’s the page to get the book:
http://www.awakenedwisdom.com/Public/Amazon/BookLaunch/index.cfm

Patrick’s a personal friend and mentor of mine, and I have to tell you that his work (and this book) is simply AWE-some. I urge you to go over and sign up for a “launch reminder” at this page: so you’ll remember to pick up the book next Tuesday, and be able to claim all those gifts (my mind is boggled at how many there are).

Ok, that’s enough for now. Just remember 2 things:

1) VOTE to give someone the spiritual makeover of a lifetime and

2) Register to get a reminder to buy Patrick’s book and receive 40 spiritual and business building gifts.

Have fun!

Warm wishes,
Lynn

P.S.: The CONTEST ENDS ON SUNDAY APRIL 18TH! Be sure to cast your vote before the end of the weekend, as the winner will be announced just after midnight on Monday.

Patrick Ryan

Today is stop number 3 on the Virtual Blog Tour for Patrick Ryan’s book Awakened Wisdom – A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday April 20. Yesterday, Patrick stopped at Schall Adam’s Girlfriend Mentors Site. For more awakened wisdom, be sure you check out Schall’s interview at http://www.mygirlfriendmentors.com/blog

“As students, we see our teachers come and go. After we leave, rarely do we get the chance to come back to tell them how they have impacted our lives. It is difficult to explain how the act of telling a teacher he changed your life can make you feel complete. What greater privilege can there be than to be able to tell someone, ‘You are the person who awakened my soul from its slumber; you were the vessel whence I found my voice.’”

This is a passage from my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self wherein I describe the feeling I had when I was reunited with a particularly influential teacher from my past after 33 years.  It is a wonderful thing to be able to glorify and give back something to our teachers and mentors, no matter how old we are. That is why, with great delight, I wish to share with you the highlights of a recent interview I conducted with one of my personal mentors, Patrick Ryan.

Patrick Ryan is an executive coach, leadership trainer, spiritual teacher and author. He was one of two leaders (the other is the wonderful Mary Butler) who trained, held and watched me evolve when I was on the 10-month Co-Active Leadership programme in 2007-2008 in Spain. Patrick and Mary’s expert training transformed my life in the most profound way and I can say without reservation that I seriously doubt I would be doing what I am doing today had I not crossed paths with them. After the course was over, I also had the great pleasure of talking Patrick’s workshop Awakened Wisdom when he delivered it in London (a rare treat). It was on that 3-day course that I stood up in front of a room of people and declared boldly that I was finally stepping into the (somewhat scary) call to become an internationally known author and spiritual teacher, no longer hiding from my own Essence. And the rest, as they say, is history… and the future is still unfolding, minute by minute.

So of course, when Patrick asked me to be the manager for the launch of his book Awakened Wisdom – A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance, which was the long awaited book version of the teaching he had been transmitting through his workshop for many years, it was a no-brainer. What an opportunity to be able to give something back to one of the people who shaped my life so profoundly. In a nutshell, I simply want other people to enjoy and bask in the simple wisdom of his teachings. I also want Patrick to enjoy what he deserves by seeing his book reach thousands—perhaps millions—of people.

As part of the promotion for his book release, I had the great pleasure to interview Patrick on my radio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul on March 24^th. It was a wonderful interview, and I thought as part of the Virtual Blog Tour, it would be perfect to share the highlights from that interview with you.

You can hear or download the complete interview in the player below:

If it does not appear correctly on your screen, you can grab it online at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn/2010/03/24/ep-58-living-an-awakened-life

Here are some of the highlights of that interview:

Wisdom Gained From a Near-Death Experience

When Patrick was in his late teens, he “died”, his body being kept alive only from CPR. During that time, he “met the Divine,” which he describes as “that wisdom that is of this Universe and that this Universe is of”. He said this meeting, “Woke me up in a most profound way to the mystery and the ultimate nature of this world we are living in.”

He said, “That experience allowed me to see that there is a profound Wisdom holding this Universe. It enabled me to trust that that Wisdom ‘just is’, but at the same time it provided me no answers. So, I still had to go and figure it out. And that really is the journey all of us are on: ‘figuring it out’. And I think the thing we’re figuring out, at the core of it, is ‘who is the one that is walking the walk of this life?’ And, at the end of the path, when you keep dropping the veils, and move further and further into the Essence of that answer, you find there is no distinction between you and your neighbours, no distinction between you and the animals and the forest, or even the organisation you work for, and that we are just this one entity, this one Being that reflects back and forth who we are to each other.”

Reflections on Hearing and Answering Our “Call”

Patrick was leading a life on an entrepreneur, but was always interested in what makes people behave the way they do. He said he woke up one day curious about what else was “out there.” He felt “called”.

“But like with any call,” he says, “you usually cannot see the path ahead with much clarity. So it requires you to take a leap and just enter onto that path.”

I asked him, “What are some clues that people are hearing ‘a call’ in their life?”

He said, “For me, and also for a lot of people I was spoken with, some of the common factors include a ‘stirring within’, a sense of dissatisfaction with life as it is today, and a desire to touch into a deeper meaning or purpose. There’s a wanting to get more fulfilment or more congruency between our moving through every day and the higher levels of values we know exist, even if we don’t understand what they are.”

“I had always dreamed about going on a walkabout,” he continued. “That dream had never left me. And that’s something people should pay attention to. What’s the recurring, nagging, dream that won’t leave you alone? First it knocks gently, and then it shakes you harder, and at some point, if it’s important enough, it’s probably going to create something in your life much more dramatic until you ‘get it’.”

Experience as a Monk in Burma

Patrick told his story of how he became a monk in a monastery in Burma in the mid 90s, even though he had no such prior intention, nor did the monastery have a policy of taking on western disciples (he goes into this story in greater detail in his first book The Eagle’s Call).

He gave us a little taste about the essence of the teachings he received during his time as a monk, as well as a student of many shamans and other masters around the world. He said, “At the end of the day, I’m a very practical guy, and as much is it is easy to become seduced by the mysticism and big words around spirituality, it’s very important to me to be able to ground it to my daily life in such a way that makes sense. That’s why I created the ‘Eight States of an Awakened Life’ that my book Awakened Wisdom is based upon.”

Distorted Self, Divine Essence and the Observer

Patrick went on to explain the three-part aspects of our nature: the “Observer”, the “Distorted self” and our “Divine Essence”. He said it’s important to know “who’s in your shoes” at any particular moment in life.

He describes the “Distorted self” and the voice in us that “wants to take us out of the game” and “hold us in a zone of safety and comfort” and “whispers messages to us like ‘you’re not ready for that yet, if you do that people won’t like you, etc.” He said that it is interesting how the body will so often respond to this by getting ill on the very day you are meant to do something you fear, etc. He said, the more the “Distorted self” takes over the decision making in our lives, the more isolated we become and the more ‘self’ there is in us.

“On the other side, we have that part of us that is infinitely wise, that moves with the wisdom of what we acquired in this life, and also that goes beyond what can be explained by what we received in this life. This is the one in us that does not get caught in fear—the one that is about creating beauty in the world, about bringing life-giving energy into the world and transmitting it outward. It’s the one that can go into an organisation and sit in a meeting and speak the truth about what’s really going on, in a way that makes everyone go ‘Wow, you just nailed it. That’s exactly what we needed to hear.’ That aspect of us, I call the ‘Divine Essence’ because the more connect you get to this aspect, the less ‘self” there is in it.”

He said that our “Observer” is that other part of ourselves that is able to report the facts in life clearly and without judgment. Both Divine Essence and Distorted self are receiving the report from the Observer and “we get to choose who we’re going to put in charge.”

The Eight States of an Awakened Life

In the last part of our interview, Patrick named and described his “Eight States of an Awakened Life”.

1. A Good State of Intention
2. A Good State of Words
3. A Good State of Being
4. A Good State of Purpose
5. A Good State of Effort
6. A Good State of Practice
7. A Good State of Doing
8. A Good State of Understanding

He then offered a few REALLY simple and very profound practical example of how to apply the principles. If you wish to hear more, please listen to the audio.

Book coming to Amazon Tuesday April 20, 2010

I also strongly encourage you to buy Patrick’s book Awakened Wisdom – A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance. Dozens of leaders in the mind-body-spirit field have joined together to support Patrick in celebration of the coming of this book, and are offering over 40 free gifts to everyone who purchases it on the day of its Amazon launch on Tuesday April 20^th.

I myself am offering 4 audio meditations from my transformation workshop The Garden of the Soul, to cultivate the four spiritual principles of Giving, Receiving, Becoming and Being. To be sure you receive this gift, along with all the others, just go to http://www.awakenedwisdom.com/Public/Amazon/BookLaunch/index.cfm and sign up for launch reminder so you remember to buy the book on April 20th.

Tomorrow, Thursday April 8, Patrick stops at Caron Goode’s “Intuitive Parenting” site. It should be really interesting. Check it out at http://intuitiveparenting.wordpress.com

That’s what I imagine it will feel like to the lucky person who wins a wonderful contest being offered by coach Patrick Ryan, author of the upcoming book Awakened Wisdom: a Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday April 20, 2010.

As part of the celebration of the launch of the book, Patrick is giving away a $3000 “Awakened Wisdom Experience” (AWE) to one person. The AWE-some Grand Prize includes 4 private 1-to-1 personal coaching sessions with Patrick, a personally signed copy of the book Awakened Wisdom AND 2 free VIP passes to attend his 3-day Awakened Wisdom Workshop anywhere in the world.

Patrick is a world renowned executive coach, leadership trainer and spiritual teacher. For more than three decades, he has studied and practiced the way of an awakened life with spiritual masters and indigenous teachers all over the planet, and even served as a Buddhist monk in a monastery in Burma. His depth of spiritual knowledge, combined with his natural, down-to-earth personality, make him both a powerful and accessible coach and teacher.

Anyone who receives this exceptional prize should ready for a complete “inner beauty” makeover. And remember: there are TWO free passes to the Awakened Wisdom workshop, which means you can share this gift with a friend or loved one.

To enter the AWE contest, you only need to answer one question:

“What will you give the world when you reclaim your brilliance?”

A great question, don’t you think?

To enter, you must submit your answer to this question BEFORE April 9^th. To get started, go to: http://www.awakenedwisdom.com/Public/Amazon/booklaunch/index.cfm

To qualify, you will be asked to sign up for a “launch reminder” for Patrick’s book, Awakened Wisdom first. As soon as you’ve done that, you’ll be taken to a page with a link to the contest entry page.

A list of semi-finalists will be announced on April 12^th. The Grand Prize winner will be decided by public vote (so be sure to get your friends and family on board to support you!).

And…

Even if you don’t want to enter the contest, do please check out Patrick’s book Awakened Wisdom: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance on that same page. If you scroll down on that page, you’ll see that dozens of authors, coaches, entrepreneurs and spiritual teachers have come together to celebrate the launch of this profound and practical book, by giving away over 40 very special gifts to anyone who buys the book on April 20. And I am one of them!

To everyone who buys Patrick’s book, I will be giving away FOUR free audio meditations from my Garden of the Soul Workshop. These are very special meditations I have never offered before anywhere, unless you happen to have taken my workshop. I hope you’ll like them.

Best of luck to all of you who enter the contest. Please keep me posted if you win, so I can announce it in my upcoming newsletter. I’d also love to hear your answers to this great question!

Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn

My Twitter asteroids:
http://twitter.com/LynnSerafinn
http://twitter.com/SpiritAuthors

My Facebook galaxies:
http://facebook.com/LynnSerafinn
http://facebook.com/VoteLynnSerafinnNextTopSpiritualAuthor
http://facebook.com/SpiritAuthors
http://facebook.com/gardenofthesoul

The grand prize is a book contract from Hampton Roads Publishing, one of the top Body-Mind-Spirit publishers in the world, along with a promotional package worth over $50,000.

There are 3 rounds of voting. The first round starts MONDAY March 29, 2010, and ends May 3, 2010. I could REALLY use your vote to help me advance to Round 2.

Here’s the video I made for my contest entry. I poured my heart and soul into it! If you cannot see it on your screen, view it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8P92UVYwCQ.

If you think The Garden of the Soul deserves to go to a wider audience, please help me by:

1) Watching this video to help you decide whether you think I deserve the prize AND THEN
2) Voting for me at http://tinyurl.com/TopAuthorLynn between March 29 – May 3rd.
3) Help yourself to a THANK YOU GIFT on that page (it’s a collection of audio excerpts from my book)
4) SHARE the page via Twitter or Facebook (you’ll see the buttons right there on the page).

And there is NO pressure to choose only one author to win this contest! There are hundreds of great authors for you to consider, and you can vote for as many authors as you like (but you can only vote ONCE for each author per round).

I you can help me advance to Round 2 of this exciting competition, I will be EXTREMELY grateful!

My motivation is fuelled by your encouragement and comments. I’d love to hear what you have to say about the video, my book and whatever else, in the comments box below (if you are reading this in your email inbox, click HERE to leave a comment).

Thank you everyone!

“Imagine a life through which you managed to rise above the fears and concerns that always linger faithfully in the background, haunting us with their song of intended safety, always with the purpose of keeping the status quo. Imagine a life without those messages you tell your Self about what you can’t do, or those messages that diminish the brilliance of who you are in any way. You know the voice I mean.

Presenting an exciting NEW concept on the Internet, combining coaching, learning, community and business-building in a creative, spirit-based environment…

SPIRIT AUTHORS GRAND OPENING

Register for free at: http://spiritauthors.com/pages/grand-opening.html

Spirit Authors (www.spiritauthors.com) is an innovative new membership site where established, new and aspiring authors in the mind-body-spirit genre can find everything and everyone they need to make their publication a success. Founded by bestselling author and award-winner teacher and coach, Lynn Serafinn, Spirit Authors provides learning, support and professional resources to mind-body-spirit authors, whether you are just starting out, or are already successfully published.

Won’t you please join us for our Grand Opening Celebration?

• Monday 22 February through Friday 26 February (one webcast per day), from 3pm Eastern (8pm UK)
• FIVE unique broadcasts on different topics including writing, publishing and marketing your book and beyond
• FREE to attend; FREE to listen (via webcast)
• A superb VIP panel of 18 spirit-based industry professionals, all leaders in their fields
• Panellists include top-selling mind-body-spirit authors, editors, marketing specialists, translators, literary agents, publishers and basically wonderful people.

On the broadcasts, you will…

• Hear the experiences and insights of 18 leading mind-body-spirit publishing professionals
• Learn lots of new things about spirit-based writing, publishing and promotion
• Have the opportunity to direct questions to the VIP panel via our webcast
• Find out how you can “Test Drive” Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience for only $1
• Receive some great free gifts just for checking it out.

Can’t make it to the live broadcasts?

No problem! Register for the webcasts you want, and you will receive a link to download the MP3 after the event. But don’t leave it too long before you listen to them… we’ll be giving away some freebies that will be available only during the week of the Grand Opening launch.

Who are our VIPs?

• HOST: Lynn Serafinn, bestselling author, book promotion coach
• CO-HOST: Shelagh Jones, Spiritus Spiritual Marketing Directory
• Alan Seale, author, transformation coach
• Allison Maslan, number-1 selling author, homeopath, life strategy coach
• Caron Goode, award-winning author
• Dana Lynn Smith, The Savvy Book Marketer
• Daya Devi Doolin, award-winning author, spiritual counsellor
• Laurel Marshfield, editor, ghostwriter, proofreader
• Marion Ross, number-1 selling author and psychologist
• Richard Fitt, Authors Online, publisher for self-publishing authors
• Shannon Arnold Jackson, spirit-based writing coach
• Shelley Lieber, The Wordy Woman, Publishing Maven
• Stephanie Gunning, the Get a Book Deal Coach
• Tony Eldridge, Marketing Tips for Authors
• William Bloom, world-renowned spirituality author and speaker
• William Gladstone, author, top literary agent for leading mind-body-spirit authors
• Yvonne Perry, author, book marketing specialist
• One additional guest to be confirmed

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT THE LINE UP AND REGISTER FOR FREEl

SIDEBAR NOTE: If you haven’t yet gotten your copy of Allison Maslan’s Number-1 seller, check this page out before Friday 29 January: http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch to receive 20 free mind-body-spirit gifts when you buy the book, “Blast Off!”.

This is a true story of how one small thing can change your life.

Back in September 2009, a fellow named Tony Eldridge, whom I had met on Twitter, asked me to write an article for his book marketing blog, talking about the promotional strategies I had used that enabled my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers to unearth the Self to become a bestselling title. I was a first-time, self-published author. I wasn’t exactly rich, and I had next to nothing to spend on promotion, so I did just about all of it myself. But somehow, by dint of my having spent the previous two years attending dozens of live seminars and teleseminars and reading hundreds of articles and eBooks on the topic of book promotion and Amazon launches, I built my online platform, designed my campaign and found some truly wonderful joint venture partners to assist me. As a result, my book became a bestseller in the UK in spirituality and mind-body-spirit categories, as well as in self-help category in both the US and the UK. I couldn’t have been happier. At age 50-something, it really was the dream of a lifetime.

I knew that the success of my launch had come from building my platform at least a year before my book had come out. So when Tony approached me to write the article, I decided to call the article “Pre-Natal Care for your Book,” with the aim of encouraging authors to start building their platform months before they even finished writing their books. When he published my article on 6 October 2009, Tony announced it on Twitter, and continued to ReTweet the link to it throughout the month.

I was very pleased with the article, and very pleased Tony seemed to like it too. I had no idea, however, that this one small thing was very soon going to be the catalyst that would change my life.

A few days after the article was published, an author from California named Allison Maslan saw one of Tony’s ReTweets (bless your tweet heart, Tony), and clicked the link to read my article. She was intrigued with it and contacted me through my website, asking me if I would “coach” her to create a book promotion campaign, because she had just landed a book deal with Morgan James Publishers for her book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality.

I asked, “What do you want me to do?”

She replied, “Exactly the same thing you did for your own book. I want to do all of it.”

Without thinking, I heard myself saying to her, “OK. Except it’s not enough. My book made it to Number 18, and that was great at the time. But I want your book to do better than that. I want it to go all the way to Number 1.”

Reaching Number 1 was something I had a difficult time imagining, but I really meant it when I said it. Over the months Allison and I worked together, I found myself saying, “I want your book to be a Number-1 bestseller,” again and again. The desire was so powerful I could feel it in my gut.

I have to admit, though, that somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear a voice chiding me, “Number 1, you say? Uh-huh. Well we’ll just see about that!” But in spite of my occasional self-doubt, my logical mind told me if I simply applied all the learning I had amassed from having completed my own launch several months earlier, I could avoid all the pitfalls I had encountered and easily surpass my previous achievement. It seemed perfectly “do-able”.

And while such logic is a wonderful thing, the greater thing I have learned is that when you set a sincere intention, the Universe conspires to ensure it comes to fruition. So honey, let me warn you—before you open your mouth and speak loudly enough for the Universe to hear, you’d better be sure you are ready for outrageous success. But when you say it, you really have to mean it. Don’t just wish it. Don’t just say to yourself, “That would be really nice.” Feel the desire so powerfully that you will not accept anything less, and then commit to doing the work that will make it come true.

Over the following months, I worked closely with Allison to design, coordinate and deliver her campaign. First we tightened up her platform by building a strong online infrastructure and integrating all her social networks. Then, I showed her how to operate many new software programmes. She got to be a real pro at them in no time and soon she was off and running and gathering new followers every day. She was a natural at it, and because she was such a nice person, people simply WANTED to be connected to her.

Then I introduced her to an excellent communications coordinator, Yvonne Perry from Writers in the Sky, whom I had met on my Garden of the Soul Ning group. Together, we three assembled a truly vibrant team of spirit-based joint venture partners. We then designed all the timetables, promotional copy, strategies, sales pages and so many other things. As the day of the launch approached, we worked out tracking systems and a rota for watching the sales. There were some pretty hair-raising last minute “tweaks” behind the scenes and Ali, Yvonne and I were writing emails to each other so rapidly, it was almost like talking in real time.

The day of the big launch finally came Tuesday 19 January 2010. As I live in the UK, I was up hours before Allison or Yvonne. Soon, Britain woke up and started shopping online. I found my heart pounding when I first saw Allison’s book get into the Top-20 bestseller lists in the UK, alongside and even AHEAD of celebrities from Britain’s show “Dragon’s Den”. I frantically started sending out blogs and newsletters and tweets to tell people about this great news. Then, as North America woke up (Allison amongst them), and I started to see her book climb the US and Canadian charts, I could feel my heart pounding even louder. Heck I think I could even hear Allison’s heart pounding all the way from San Diego! Wow! Suddenly Blast Off! was soaring up the charts into the Top-10. Unbelievable. She had indeed passed my own book’s rank, just as I had said I truly wanted.

Behind the scenes was a FRENZY of emails, Tweets, Skypes and on-the-fly blog posts. We analysed. We strategised. It was total madness! I think if I could pick one thing I am most proud of about the campaign, it would be when Allison got to the Number-4 ranking, just behind Gary Vaynerchuk and Michael Gerber—two monumental names in the charts. We looked at the sales figures and estimated that we were very close to the Number-3 position, and all we needed to get over the “hump” was another 15 book sales. At that point, I sent out an appeal to all our members on Spirit Authors fan page on Facebook, as well as my blogs, and Allison sent out emails to her lists, telling them exactly what was going on. Yvonne started Tweeting like crazy. Within minutes, people responded with messages of support, telling us they had just bought the book.

I watched as an amazing truth became evident—people WANTED Allison reach Number-1. Their desire was just as strong as ours… except now there were hundreds of people all desiring the same thing.

And do you know what? With all that passionate desire being sent into the cosmos, the Universe could not help but fulfil our collective wishes. It was like an ocean of desire flowing into cyberspace.

In less than an hour, the book Blast Off! by my wonderful client (and now dear friend) Allison Maslan not only moved into the Number-3 rank, but within the next couple of hours, it also rose in both US and Canada to become Number-1 bestseller in entrepreneurship and was dubbed Number-1 “Hot New Seller”. It also made the top 5 in several other categories including “motivational” and “self-help”.

As you might imagine, Allison is over the moon and she is getting a lot of media attention. I spoke to her this evening and she has FOURTEEN radio interviews tomorrow! I can’t imagine that many interviews in one day. And I have to say, it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

As for me, I’ve been living on not much more than adrenaline all week. But I really wanted to come back down to earth to tell you about the exciting things that have been happening in my life since the success as Allison’s campaign.

My first big announcement is that “Lynn the author” is now being represented by Waterside Literary Agency in Los Angeles, who also represent an array of illustrious spirit-based authors such as Eckhart Tolle, Neal Donald Walsch, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and of course my own client, Allison Maslan, amongst many others whose names you would undoubtedly recognise. Together, we are getting ready to approach publishers with a proposal for a NEW book I am writing. I’ll be telling you more about it over the coming months.

The second bit of news (and this will probably come as no surprise) is that, ever since the launch, I have been approached by a steady stream of authors requesting I help them with their book campaigns. Some of these are truly BIG and exciting projects. I’ll be telling you all about these wonderful books over the coming months.

All of this truly takes my breath away and, of course, I am absolutely thrilled so many people are approaching me about managing their spirit-based book campaigns. But there is a flip side to all this that also needs to be considered:

a) There’s only one of me and there are hundreds of authors who need help with their book projects and

b) Private campaign managers are simply not a financial option for everyone.

But here’s the beauty of the situation. The Universe is so incredibly wise and clever, it has been orchestrating a solution to this dilemma for the past two months, long before any of these events had occurred.

What is the solution? My new Spirit Authors site, of course!

For the past two months, I’ve been very excited about my new project Spirit Authors, which is a membership site that allows me to combine my professional experience as a teacher, coach, author, online promotion expert, WordPress “techie” and non-stop talker (!) in one place. I call it a “Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience” for mind-body-spirit authors—including those who simply have a dream to write and be a published author in the future. What Spirit Authors will offer authors is the opportunity to learn from myself and a range of other industry professionals about writing, social network-based promotion, self-publishing, Amazon launch campaigns, and making the most of your success, while always retaining your spirit-based focus, and being true to your personal values. It is also an online community, offering you the opportunity to make close personal and professional connections with others of like mind, for friendship, support, ideas sharing and business partnerships.

I originally set up this project because it resonated with my own values and interests. It also fulfils a long-term dream for me, because I have an MA in adult education and distance learning, and for many years I wanted to create a really fabulous online course, using all the principles I have learned in my many years as an educator.

But what I now understand is that the real importance of the project is that it will be able to help HUNDREDS of authors get the information and support they want and need for their projects. I couldn’t possibly do that as a one-to-one coach.

I have arranged a Grand Opening Webinar Week, Monday 22 through Friday 26 February. I’ve got over a dozen industry professionals from authors, marketing specialists, publishers, editors, etc., coming along to share their wisdom and experience on the air. And, yes, Allison Maslan will be amongst the guest line up to tell us what life has been like since becoming a Number-1 bestselling author. It’s all going to be FREE in celebration of the Grand Opening of the new Spirit Authors site.

The sign-up page for the Grand Opening won’t be available until NEXT week, so for now, if you’d like to make sure you receive a VIP invitation to the FREE Grand Opening Webinar Week, just got to http://spiritauthors.com and enter your email address in the right-hand side of this screen. Then, you’ll receive all updates about the event.

So there you have it. It all started by someone asking me to write a simple little blog article. Less than six months later, so many things I wanted to achieve in life are all joining together. It has truly been a dance of synchronicity, desire and manifestation.

If you follow my work, you know that one of my key messages is that there is great learning to be found in every story of our lives. So for this story, let me offer you these two “thoughts for the day:”

a) Never underestimate the power of an opportunity you are given, even if it seems very small. You simply do not know how far it will take you.

b) The more you desire to fulfil the dreams of others, the more your own dreams become fulfilled.

Thanks for reading. I really needed to share this story with you. Just by reading these words, you have become a part of my journey. Even if we have never spoken in person, I know on a subtle level that your presence in the world is impacting my life in ways I cannot yet measure. Similarly, I truly hope my presence in the world is impacting you in some small but positive way.

Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
Transformation Coach, Book Promotion Coach,
Author, Teacher, Talk Radio Host
Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience
http://spiritauthors.com

P.S.: If you haven’t already, have a look at http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch. You still have time to receive 20 free mind-body-spirit gifts if you buy Allison Maslan’s (Number-1 selling!) book Blast Off! before the end of Friday 29 January. I’m also offering over 1 hour of audio book excerpts from The Garden of the Soul as a gift, along with other great gifts from coaches, authors, marketing pros and holistic practitioners. Have a look and see what’s on offer.

P.P.S.: I’m celebrating my 55^th birthday this Thursday 28 January. If you are on Facebook, come join my “Virtual Birthday Party” on my Spirit Authors fan page. I’m giving away a gift to all fans on Thursday, so come along and invite your friends. http://facebook.com/SpiritAuthors.