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
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.
Last year, I had the great pleasure of being one of the dozens of holistic and creative teachers at the annual One World Summer Festival in the UK. Since 1996, thousands of holistically-minded adults, teens and children have enjoyed the uplifting vibes, wonderful macrobiotic food, arts, entertainment, world-class transformational workshops and warm community for which the One World Festival is known. Personally, what I loved most about teaching there was that everyone who attended the workshops was 100% ready for a truly life-changing experience. It made my role as a workshop leader a truly uplifting experience. I also loved the fact that all the workshops were included in the cost of the festival, so people were free to pick and choose whatever they liked. This meant you got to meet new people every day of the festival. Another thing I loved was that we teachers got to attend as many workshops as we liked when we were not teaching (which was most of the time!). All in all, the workshops were life-changing, the food was delicious, the venue (last year it was in Bath) was stunning, and the people-well, they are what made the festival wonderful. Even the weather was perfect. For me, it was the most fabulous “working holiday” I could have ever imagined. I knew I would return this year. I wouldn’t miss it!
This year, the 15th Annual One World Summer Festival is coming to Great Malvern, England August 9th – 15th, 2010. I will again be teaching at this wonderful event, offering daily mini-workshops “Becoming the Hero of Your Own Life”, “The Garden of the Soul” and “Spiritual Marketing.”
The festival will also be held in Tuscany during the first week of September, but apparently the Italian festival is already sold out! (but I WILL be there!… how lucky am I?). That just shows how popular this event is.
Over the past 15 years, thousands of people have benefited in body, mind and spirit from coming to One World, but THIS YEAR, we are giving everyone a taste of this fabulous festival right from the comfort of your own home at a unique event called…
The One World VIRTUAL Festival
Tues June 29, Wed June 30, Thurs July 1
TIME: 8pm-9.30pm UK time / 3.00pm – 4.30pm Eastern
ADMISSION: FR*EE!
A mini-fest of FR*EE online classes in holistic health, spirituality and overall wellbeing by NINE internationally acclaimed experts
Simulcast! Take your pick:
Listen via webcast OR telephone conference line
DATE: Tuesday, June 29th
TIME: 8pm-9.30pm UK time / 3.00pm – 4.30pm Eastern
DAY 1 GUESTS:
1) Christian Kyriacou RIBA MCSD – Ki Architect and House Whisperer. Christian will be talking about the Ki Signature of buildings, House Whispering, Feng Shui, Vastu and Geomancy.
2) Zascha Brésilley – Spiritual Teacher. Zascha will be talking about increasing our “Spiritual Footprint” in the world.
3) Steven Acuff – Nutritional consultant and therapist, author, teacher. Steven will give an introduction to healing with food, including acid/alkaline balance, and other vital information.
DATE: Wednesday, June 30th
TIME: 8pm-9.30pm UK time / 3.00pm – 4.30pm Eastern
DAY 2 GUESTS:
1) Simon Brown – teacher, consultant, healer, therapist. Simon will be taking you on an introductory exploration into macrobiotics, feng shui, face reading, chi, healing and wabi sabi.
2) Maria Gillott – Macrobiotic Coach, co-founder of the One World Summer Festivals. Maria will give a sneak peek into the Macrobiotic cooking workshops she delivers for parents, showing how to cook for children through the various stages of childhood.
3) Lynn Serafinn – coach, author, radio host, spiritual marketing consultant. Lynn will talk about becoming the hero of your own life, the four Principles from her book The Garden of the Soul, and a new paradigm for spiritually-focussed businesses.
DATE: Thursday, July 1st
TIME: 8pm-9.30pm UK time / 3.00pm – 4.30pm Eastern
DAY 3 GUESTS:
1) Julie G. Silver – Nutritional Therapist, Natural Health & Stress Management Consultant. Julie will be talking about “Nutrition for the Now”, and how to cultivate your intuitive, spiritual connection to nutrition.
2) Verne Varona – Author, film director, nutritional consultant and researcher. Verne will introduce you to the art of self diagnosis and disease reversal.
3) Samantha Terry – Acupuncturist, Aromatherapist, Chinese medicine practitioner. Sam will talk about understanding your health from a holistic perspective, and the art of vibrational healing.
YOUR HOSTS THROUGHOUT VIRTUAL FESTIVAL
Lynn Serafinn – coach, author, radio host, spiritual marketing consultant
Kyle Nash – One World Festival Promotion Team
There will also be a bit of time on each broadcast to ask questions, both over the phone OR via the webcast.
Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
Transformation Coach, Book Promotion Coach, Author, radio host
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 two #1-selling book campaigns, and another #2-selling campaign, in just the past 4 months. She created Spirit Authors to offer training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. She’s also in Round 2 of the Next Top Spiritual Author contest! To check out Lynn’s video entry, brand new book proposal and read 80 pages from her book The Garden of the Soul, go to http://www.NextTopAuthor.com/?aid=2016. A free gift awaits you when you cast your vote.
If you’re looking to reclaim your inner space this month, Karen’s luscious Walkingspirit Retreat runs June 26th to July 3rd in Tuscany, Italy. See full details at the end of this article to find out how to book and receive a discount as one of Lynn’s subscribers.
When Karen Maycey (pictured above) changed careers to become a coach in 2005, she was asked a simple question: “What is your dream?” Karen replied quickly, saying, “My dream is to run a retreat in the mountains!”
She had first had this dream when she was working as a tour guide in the Austrian Alps. During that period of her life, Karen had a successful and exciting career as a guide for long haul and adventure holidays. She had taken groups to the Great Wall of China, through the US National Parks, and countless times through New Zealand and Australia. And throughout those times, she kept dreaming of creating her own retreat-not one that was defined by the tour companies that hired her-which would incorporate yoga, walking, being in inspirational surroundings in the mountains (her favourite place) and good quality home-cooked food.
But the fact she was so successful at her job actually proved to be a distraction to Karen, and over time this dream got somewhat forgotten.
But when her coaching trainers asked the question, “What is your dream?”, the dream reappeared. And this time, she knew her mountain retreat would also include coaching.
But while the picture of the dream became clearer in Karen’s mind, life took over, and once again the dream got pushed into the background of her life. She says, “The dream sort of ‘hung around’ but it was semi-forgotten.”
In 2006, Karen she met a man named Verran, who was at that time a marketing director of private company. Soon, the two became a couple. Like Karen, Verran loved the mountains and the great outdoors, but his job offered little opportunity to live his passion. He had a dream to start a new company that incorporated his love for the outdoors and his work with businesses. Karen encouraged and supported him to follow his heart, and Verran resigned from his job. He soon started a company called “Outside Insights”, where he works as a walking guide taking businesses into the outdoors for team building, problem solving and personal growth. But Karen’s own dream was still not yet manifesting,
Then, April 2007 she took a course called Awakened Wisdom with Patrick Ryan where one of the tasks was to create a “mandala” envisioning her dreams for the future and how she wanted to “be” in the world. Over and over again, the theme of retreats kept popping up, along with being open-hearted, tapping into cosmic love, being a shining star, and being a catalyst for change and an inspiration. She was inspired by the words of Marianne Williamson that spoke of allowing one’s light to shine, and that it didn’t serve anyone for her to hide away. In making this mandala, Karen knew it was time to start being that shining star.
Astonishingly, within weeks of coming to that realisation, she was called by a company called “The Big Stretch” for an interview, and was subsequently hired. “The Big Stretch” was very close to her dream, as every gave her the opportunity to lead personal development courses for small groups that involved a “full on” week of coaching and walking in mountains of Spain. She felt this new job “semi-satisfied” her dream, but the bigger dream was still on the back burner. But all of it was slowly building up to the experience she truly wanted to create, and helped to give her the confidence she could do it.
But then, things changed.
In May 2008, Karen noticed a lump in her left breast. Shortly thereafter she went for an operation and her first diagnosis. At age 37, Karen had grade-2 breast cancer.
Karen was filled with shock and disbelief. How could she have cancer? She had always been so healthy and health conscious. She was young, fit, active, sporty and spent a lot of time outdoors. How could this happen?
But after the initial shock, she got down to dealing with the situation. After all, this was a matter of life and death. But Karen soon realised it was not so simple. She realised that deciding upon a treatment regime had to be something that matched her philosophy in life. Trusting her intuition, and frequently needing to hold true to her convictions in the face of advice she was receiving from her NHS doctors, Karen decided not to do chemotherapy, and embarked on a naturopathic route to healing. She felt her healing could only really happen if she worked in a way she herself believed.
Karen says, “I think what matters is that you believe in the choices you are making.”
She spent more than a year on an intense 5-hour a day regime that included detox and supplements, costing her thousands of pounds.
And all through the process, she kept saying to herself, “When I get better, I’ll do this or I’ll do that” But while her treatments seemed to be working well, and she began to look more healthy and vibrant than she did before the cancer, whenever her test results came back from the lab, the doctors never said, “Your cancer is gone forever.” Instead, they would always say, there is more work to do. It seemed like everything in her life was put “on hold” while she focussed on her cancer.
But then, over the Christmas holiday in 2009, things changed again.
She and Verran were on holiday on the La Vacchio farm in a valley in northern Italy. They spent many hours talking together about the experience of the past year and their vision for the future. Looking at the beautiful surroundings, Karen felt a shift within her. Suddenly, she realised how long she had been delaying her dream, year after year. But now she saw it was time to start living in the now. If she kept using other things as excuses to delay her dreams, they might never come true. And if she simply put her dreams on hold while she had cancer, she might even die before she had had the chance to live life fully.
In one instant, she shifted from a ‘When I get better then I’ll do…” attitude, to a ‘Go for it!’ attitude. It was time to do her retreat–NOW.
And in the serendipitous fashion of the Universe, no sooner had she made this shift, the owners of the farm asked her and Verran if they would be interested in running a retreat on their farm! So all of a sudden they had their venue sorted, without any effort.
Karen’s entire life has changed since then. She lives life fully and makes the most of every moment. She didn’t do this last year when she was focussing on her illness. There’s no more waiting for tomorrow, no matter what the situation might be–even when you have cancer.
So now, Karen wants to share her dream with the world. She says, “I’m really looking forward to showing others that self–indulgence–this lovely thing-is actually a gift for the sake of their happiness and health. I want people to have a gorgeous time reconnecting with nature and themselves, chilling out, and recharging their batteries.”
“What I want people to gain from the retreat is to know they matter–that they are important–and that they can choose their attitude in every moment. The retreat is an opportunity to kick-start loving life and to shift from deferring one’s dreams to being in now. The yoga, coaching, walking, wonderful food and beautiful surroundings will all bring that. It’s all about being in the present and going for what you want.”
“In a way, that’s the secret to life,” she adds.
WALKINGSPIRIT RETREAT
Date: June 26-July 3, 2010 (7 days)
Place: La Vacchio Retreat (in valley north of Luca, Tuscany, Italy
Retreat Leaders: Karen Maycey (coaching), Verran Townsend (walking guide), Lisa Jones (yoga)
Agenda: Coaching, Yoga, Walking, organic food, relaxing and fun!
There will be group coaching every day 1-2 hours, and the opportunity to have one 1-to-1 session of either coaching or yoga during the week.
Cost: £995 (including accommodation and food)
You can get £25 off to cost of the retreat if you say “Lynn sent me” when you book!
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 two #1-selling book campaigns, and another #2-selling campaign, in just the past 4 months. She is also the creator of Spirit Authors to offer training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. She’s also in Round 2 of the Next Top Spiritual Author contest! To check out Lynn’s video entry, brand new book proposal and read 80 pages from her book The Garden of the Soul, go to http://www.NextTopAuthor.com/?aid=2016. A free gift awaits you when you cast your vote.
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/.
5 Easy Ways to Beat the Blues and Feel Joyous this Holiday Season
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
Author Patrick Dennis somewhat sarcastically referred to the winter holidays as “The Joyous Season” in his 1960s book of the same name. Most of us inwardly believe that Christmas and the winter holidays are indeed meant to be joyous. But in actuality, many people have a rough time during the holiday season, for many reasons.
Because the holidays seem to be such challenging and sometimes transitional periods in our lives, this month I decided to have a look at what I think are the “Top 5 Blues” that affect so many people during the holidays, along with why we get them, and how to turn them around into Joy. Here are the top 5 that came to mind:
Holiday Blues Number 1: Seasonal Affective Disorder (“SAD”) in today’s issue
Holiday Blues Number 5: Feelings of Isolation (coming Thus 31December
Over the next 12 days, I’ll be examining each of these “blue areas”, give you some tips from other great thinkers, and offer a few of my own suggestions for turning the winter “blues” into cheery multi-coloured mind-body-spirit holiday sparkles. Today, I’ll be talking about SAD– Seasonal Affective Disorder. The findings might surprise you!
Beating Holiday Blues Number 1: Seasonal Affective Disorder (“SAD”).
SAD is a condition that affects some people during the winter months causing them to feel a bit blue, low in energy, or basically “down in the dumps.” But what causes it? Continue Reading…
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 Tuesday March 15th is the big launch day of the new English translation of the bestselling book Emotional Balance: the path to inner peace and harmony by Dr Roy Martina. 
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.”
On Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Last year, I had the great pleasure of being one of the dozens of holistic and creative teachers at the annual 
If you’re looking to reclaim your inner space this month, Karen’s luscious Walkingspirit Retreat runs June 26th to July 3rd in Tuscany, Italy. See full details at the end of this article to find out how to book and receive a discount as one of Lynn’s subscribers.
