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.
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago at 08:30. Add a comment
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.”
______
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/.
“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 Selfwherein 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 24th. 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:
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 20th.
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
Posted 4 months, 4 weeks ago at 20:52. Add a comment
In today’s world, you’ll see a lot of advertisements for beauty makeovers, pamper days and the like. That’s great for the body, but how about a makeover for the mind and spirit?
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?”
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 12th. 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 Brillianceon 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!
Please check out the video I made as my “pitch” for the “Next Top Spiritual Author” contest. I have entered my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self, which as many of you know, is currently self-published.
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).
“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.
“Imagine that you integrated those voices in such a way that they no longer gripped you but rather informed you about interesting and relevant conditions to pay attention to.
“And now, as you are no longer held in false constraints, you are free. Free to listen and respond to the wisdom of the moment. Free to wonder what is possible in creating more beauty and dreams. Free to respond to the yearning of your heart that knows that more is possible…”
These are the opening words of a most inspiring new book by Patrick Ryan called Awakened Wisdom – A Guide To Reclaiming Your Brilliance. The first chapter is called “A Life Well-Lived”, and as we read it, we cannot help but think to ourselves, “Yes! I want to know how to have that!”
In his book, Awakened Wisdom, Patrick Ryan says a life well-lived is an awakened life, in which we shift away from our “distorted self” and connect with our “Divine Essence”, and allow that wisdom to guide us.
But how precisely do we DO that?
Fortunately, Patrick Ryan gives us a formula: the Eight States of an Awakened Life”.
Patrick explains the “Eight States of an Awakened Life” in great detail in his book Awakened Wisdom. He says, for our awakening to unfold, we must come into a “good state” of relationship with our understanding, our intention, our words, our being, our purpose, our effort, our practice and our doing. And when we are in a “good state” with all these things, we are able to see life clearly, and our decisions and actions in life become purposeful, powerful and meaningful.
It sounds very inspiring, doesn’t it? It is. But what I really like about Patrick’s book is that it is also a practical manual. There are dozens of affirmations and practical exercises to help you learn and master each of the Eight States, to help you begin to create your own well-lived life. It’s great to see such a spiritual book come down-to-earth so we can actually apply the teachings within our daily lives.
Awakened Wisdom – A Guide To Reclaiming Your Brilliancecomes out on Amazon on April 20th, 2010. To expand the giving and receiving of this wisdom I am giving away FOUR free audio mediations from my Garden of the Soul Workshop to everyone who buys Patrick’s wonderful book with the first 24 hours of its release. I’ve never offered these meditations before, as they have only ever been available to those who have attended my live Transformation workshops.
AND… In addition to my gift, there are over 40 other wonderful gifts being offered by mind-body-spirit teachers, authors, coaches and healers from around the planet when you purchase Awakened Wisdom – A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance on April 20th.
AND… Patrick is giving away an EXTRA special gift of his own: An AWAKENED WISDOM VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE, a 2-day global event where you can learn the Eight States of an Awakened Life directly from Patrick himself after you have bought the book. I’m really lucky because I’ll be hosting that event!
To find out how you can buy this book on April 20th, claim your free admission to the Awakened Wisdom Virtual Experience, and receive over 40 other gifts, just click HERE
Presenting an exciting NEW concept on the Internet, combining coaching, learning, community and business-building in a creative, spirit-based environment…
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
I can hardly believe that we are now into the second decade of the new millennium. It seems like only yesterday I was watching the fireworks over London (on TV) as we passed from the 20th century into the 21st. I don’t know about you, but I have a truly wonderful feeling about this next decade. I’m going to be 55 this month (happy birthday wishes graciously accepted), which means that this decade is “traditionally” the time when someone my age would be moving towards retirement. Well I can tell you right now I have no intention of retiring at age 65. In fact, I feel like I’m just getting warmed up! Both my energy and my spirits are high, and I feel full of optimism and hope as we step into the “teenies”.
To honour the coming of the new decade, I decided to set some intentions. To keep me focussed and balanced, I decided to use the four principles of “Give, Receive, Become and Be” from my book The Garden of the Soul as a foundation for those intentions. I’d like to share them with you here.
My intention for the Principle of Giving
I have learned that true “Giving” means to listen deeply to people’s hearts and give them what they truly want, rather than imposing what my ego tells me what I think they need. This decade, I make the intention to give to everyone I meet, from my heart to theirs.
My intention for the Principle of Receiving
I have learned that true “Receiving” means to open my eyes and ears to become aware of the boundless gifts being sent to me at every moment of my life. This decade, I make the intention to allow myself to receive, with wonder, joy and gratitude, all the Universe offers me.
My intention for the Principle of Becoming
I have learned that we cannot “Become” or grow unless we let go of old ways of thinking that do not serve us and keep us stuck in a treadmill. This decade, I make the intention to let go of old stories I have about myself and the world, and to become extraordinary in ways I had never before imagined I could.
My intention for the Principle of Being
I have learned that “Being” means to know and love the Self regardless of the multitude of labels we use to describe ourselves, and to be aware of who we are no matter what challenges surround us. This decade, I make the intention to be me, and only me, and to see you as only you.
Thank you for allowing me to share my intentions with you. I had an ulterior motive for doing so. You see, I know that the true power of intentions comes when you share them with others. And I really, really want to be able to be mindful of these intentions, because I know they sometimes might not be so easy to remember. The fact that you have heard them means there is more power behind them, so thank you for reading.
Try it out for yourself. Make your intentions for the new decade, and then share them with special and supportive people in your life. Then see how much this action helps you to be mindful of your promises to yourself. And what’s even more interesting is that we don’t necessarily have to share our intentions with other people (although it’s always good to, because they can hold us accountable). If you prefer, you can go out into Nature and shout your intentions to the moon, the trees, the birds, the ocean or whatever has meaning and energy for you. Or, if you are the kind of person who likes to pray or meditate, state your intentions to Spirit, in whatever form is true for you. No matter how you state your intentions, when others bear witness to our sincere expression of them, it’s as if the Universe has etched our words into our cosmic diaries, and holds us firmly on our true course in life.
And of course, you are MOST welcome to share your intentions with me below in the comments! I’d love to be your “intention buddy.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Is one of your intentions in 2010 to start writing a spirit-based book? Maybe you’ve already written it and you are ready to find out how to publish and promote your book. Or maybe, you’ve just started your writing journey by keeping a diary, a blog or other journal of your thoughts, feelings or creative ideas. No matter where you are in your writing journey, I’d like to invite you to visit Spirit Authors, my brand new Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience just for mind-body-spirit writers.
We are having a fantastic Spirit Authors Grand Opening Webinar Week from Monday 22 February through Friday 26 February, where you can hear (for fr*ee) over a dozen top mind-body-spirit industry professionals, from authors, to publishers, to editors, to marketers and more, all talking about spirit-based books, from writing to publishing to promotion. You’ll also find out how you can join the new Spirit Authors membership site, bringing you bespoke courses, business resources, and great opportunities for both personal and professional networking, all aimed at writers in the mind-body-spirit genre.
To make sure you don’t miss our Grand Opening, be sure to come over to www.spiritauthors.com and sign up for our news updates, so you can receive a VIP invitation to this very special Grand Opening Webinar Week.
Intentions for a Wonderful New Decade
I can hardly believe that we are now into the second decade of the new millennium. It seems like only yesterday I was watching the fireworks over London (on TV) as we passed from the 20th century into the 21st. I don’t know about you, but I have a truly wonderful feeling about this next decade. I’m going to be 55 this month (happy birthday wishes graciously accepted), which means that this decade is “traditionally” the time when someone my age would be moving towards retirement. Well I can tell you right now I have no intention of retiring at age 65. In fact, I feel like I’m just getting warmed up! Both my energy and my spirits are high, and I feel full of optimism and hope as we step into the “teenies”.
To honour the coming of the new decade, I decided to set some intentions. To keep me focussed and balanced, I decided to use the four principles of “Give, Receive, Become and Be” from my book The Garden of the Soul as a foundation for those intentions. I’d like to share them with you here.
My intention for the Principle of Giving
I have learned that true “Giving” means to listen deeply to people’s hearts and give them what they truly want, rather than imposing what my ego tells me what I think they need. This decade, I make the intention to give to everyone I meet, from my heart to theirs.
My intention for the Principle of Receiving
I have learned that true “Receiving” means to open my eyes and ears to become aware of the boundless gifts being sent to me at every moment of my life. This decade, I make the intention to allow myself to receive, with wonder, joy and gratitude, all the Universe offers me.
My intention for the Principle of Becoming
I have learned that we cannot “Become” or grow unless we let go of old ways of thinking that do not serve us and keep us stuck in a treadmill. This decade, I make the intention to let go of old stories I have about myself and the world, and to become extraordinary in ways I had never before imagined I could.
My intention for the Principle of Being
I have learned that “Being” means to know and love the Self regardless of the multitude of labels we use to describe ourselves, and to be aware of who we are no matter what challenges surround us. This decade, I make the intention to be me, and only me, and to see you as only you.
Thank you for allowing me to share my intentions with you. I had an ulterior motive for doing so. You see, I know that the true power of intentions comes when you share them with others. And I really, really want to be able to be mindful of these intentions, because I know they sometimes might not be so easy to remember. The fact that you have heard them means there is more power behind them, so thank you for reading.
Try it out for yourself. Make your intentions for the new decade, and then share them with special and supportive people in your life. Then see how much this action helps you to be mindful of your promises to yourself. And what’s even more interesting is that we don’t necessarily have to share our intentions with other people (although it’s always good to, because they can hold us accountable). If you prefer, you can go out into Nature and shout your intentions to the moon, the trees, the birds, the ocean or whatever has meaning and energy for you. Or, if you are the kind of person who likes to pray or meditate, state your intentions to Spirit, in whatever form is true for you. No matter how you state your intentions, when others bear witness to our sincere expression of them, it’s as if the Universe has etched our words into our cosmic diaries, and holds us firmly on our true course in life.
And of course, you are MOST welcome to share your intentions with me below in the comments! I’d love to be your “intention buddy.”
Is one of your intentions in 2010 to start writing a spirit-based book? Maybe you’ve already written it and you are ready to find out how to publish and promote your book. Or maybe, you’ve just started your writing journey by keeping a diary, a blog or other journal of your thoughts, feelings or creative ideas. No matter where you are in your writing journey, I’d like to invite you to visit Spirit Authors, my brand new Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience just for mind-body-spirit writers.
We are having a fantastic Spirit Authors Grand Opening Webinar Week from Monday 22 February through Friday 26 February, where you can hear (for fr*ee) over a dozen top mind-body-spirit industry professionals, from authors, to publishers, to editors, to marketers and more, all talking about spirit-based books, from writing to publishing to promotion. You’ll also find out how you can join the new Spirit Authors membership site, bringing you bespoke courses, business resources, and great opportunities for both personal and professional networking, all aimed at writers in the mind-body-spirit genre.
To make sure you don’t miss our Grand Opening, be sure to come over to www.spiritauthors.com and sign up for our news updates, so you can receive a VIP invitation to this very special Grand Opening Webinar Week.
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago at 03:45. Add a comment
Author and Coach Allison Maslan Helps You ‘Blast Off’ in 2010
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
Like this article? Share it with others
These days, the market is flooded with self-help books. Unfortunately, all too many of them leave me feeling dull and lifeless, and they don’t really “help” very much. Half of the books I come across hit you over the head with “power talk” that makes you feel guilty for not being rich or for getting the occasional cold (I won’t mention names, but I have indeed tossed more than one self-help book across the room because of this!). The other half usually drown you in lofty “woo woo” language that never quite gets down to practical action. Frustrating! For a new self-help book to stand out from the crowd and become keeper in my library, it would need to be friendly, engaging, fun AND practical. In other words, it would actually have to HELP me help myself. In her new book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality, author, coach and registered homeopath Allison Maslan, has achieved exactly that. Her book is a step-by-step programme to achieving some of the most challenging and important goals in life: Continue Reading…
VIDEO: The Known Universe by American Museum of Natural History
This is simply awesome. And I mean that in the literal sense. It fills me with complete awe and really puts existence in perspective. What an amazing Universe we live in! Felt it had to go on my site. I call this my “cosmic universe” after all! Hope you enjoy it.
Please let your comments below and share with others.
Many thanks to Abbe Armband Henkel, an old High School friend of mine and Facebook fan, for selecting the magic number 61 for last week’s meditation. This meditation was read on the air on “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Radio Show” on Wed 4 Nov 2009. If you would like to help me write my upcoming book “The Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul” and possibly have your name listed in the acknowledgements of the book, and announced on my weekly radio broadcast, just select a number from 1-80 and post it in the comments below.
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Meditation 61: Serernity
from “Lessons from the Lily: the Principle of Being”
Serenity is that state of Being in which we feel most balanced and connected to Self. When we are serene, the ups and downs of life do not disturb the flow of our lives. Some people believe Serenity to be that quality of not being upset by loss or sadness, but actually it is equally true that the serene person is also not imbalanced by what appears to be gain or happiness. When we are full of Serenity, we become able to hold the entire World within our arms, carry everything with equal strength and inner satisfaction. And when we are able to carry all there is, without a view to whether it is positive or negative, we become both inwardly quiet, and outwardly invincible…
Many thanks to Belma Palacios Gonzales, from the Garden of the Soul Fan Page on Facebook, for selecting the magic number 4 for last week’s meditation. This meditation was read on the air on “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Radio Show” on Wed 21 Oct 2009. If you would like to help me write my upcoming book “The Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul” and possibly have your name listed in the acknowledgements of the book, and announced on my weekly radio broadcast, just select a number from 1-80 and post it in the comments below.
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Meditation 4: Love
from “Lessons from the Rose: the Principle of Giving”
Love is the energy that enables us to connect to Self, other and the Universe. Like any energy, Love can propel both motion and action. And also like any energy, it creates heat. It is this heat of Love that attracts us; it is also what generates Life itself. But heat and energy alone do not create Love. For energy to be Love, it must be free-flowing, easy and without force. Consider this: when we release the energy of a deposit of oil and natural gas from the depths of the Earth, it results in a massive quantity heat and of energy. But because these deposits are under so much natural pressure, the process requires an enormous amount of force. The force results in an explosion of pressure so great, that it can easily go out of control and even become dangerous.
Many of us have experienced so-called “love” in much the same way. We might believe we have fallen in love with someone or some idea. But we soon find the object of our love to be difficult to capture, and we resort to some sort of force to acquire it by all means. That force could be as simple as silently wishing for the object of our affections to be something other than it is by nature. Just like the oil well that requires great pressure to release its energy in such an unnatural way, when we similarly try to force Love to come unnaturally, our relationships and personal endeavours can become volatile and even heartbreaking. Thus, the key to mastering the energy of Love is to understanding that it must, at all times, flow freely and unconditionally from the heat of one’s heart. And the secret to knowing how to allow love to flow unconditionally is this—that Love has nothing whatsoever to do with the object of your affections; it only has to do with you. Continue Reading…
Rarely do I feel moved enough by a video to put it on my blog, but this one was so captivating and moving that I simply had to. It is a pictorial journal by Hans Silvester, who photographed the people of the Omo River in Ethiopia. They treat their bodies as artists’ canvases, clearly expressing their feelings of connection to and love for Nature. Take a few minutes to be amazed at the stunning beauty and complexity of the artwork, the intense emotion that comes through their expressiveness, and the sheer freedom you feel as you watch a whole culture of people letting go of inhibitions and ego and simply expressing the Art of Creation itself. If you happen to have read my book The Garden of the Soul, the Omo people are the perfect expression of the “Principle of Giving”, which is the unfettered outward expression of the Authentic Self. Surely we could all learn a lot about our real relationship with the Earth by meditating upon these jaw-droppingly beautiful images. Enjoy this!
Any of you who have either worked with me or read my book The Garden of the Soul know that I believe every human being is a born hero. However, all too few of us step into our hero’s calling. For some of us, it is simply because we don’t understand the call when we hear it. But for many others it is because we resist the call we are hearing. And when we continually resist our own call, we cannot feel truly fulfilled in life. We get a sense that our lives are put “on hold” as we wait for the “some day” when our “big break” will arrive that will turn our lives around.
But all too often, “some day” and the “big break” don’t come. This isn’t because we are unlucky or have “bad karma.” It’s because we are looking in the wrong direction to find the solutions to our lack of fulfilment. After going through my own transformations in life, teaching thousands of students over the years, working with hundreds of coaching clients and interviewing dozens of fascinating people on my radio show, I have learned one thing: Continue Reading…
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 10:57. Add a comment
Many thanks to Simon Ireland-Davies of ID Coaching, Liverpool, who selected the number 65 for this week’s meditation. If you would like to help me write my upcoming book “The Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul” and possibly have your name listed in the acknowledgements of the book, and announced on my weekly radio broadcast, just select a number from 1-80 and post it in the comment thread below.
Meditation 65: Wisdom
from “Lessons from the Lily: the Principle of Being”
Wisdom is the natural energy that flows through us when we surrender our ego so we may establish our connection with the Divine. Wisdom does not come to us as the result of learning. It is not something can be increased by any type of effort. Wisdom is Eternal, Infinite and Absolute. It belongs to no one and to everyone, simultaneously and equally. When we imagine that we can capture Wisdom via our own efforts, we are operating from the platform of ego, wherein we imagine that there is a limited amount of Wisdom to be gained in the Universe, and that it can be controlled and conquered by our own efforts. If this were the case, then the Universe would be a merciless and poverty-stricken place, as only the strongest or most intellectually gifted would ever have access to Wisdom. But the Truth is the Universe is infinitely opulent and full of mercy. Wisdom is the birthright of all living entities, and no effort is required to manifest Wisdom other than to allow it to enter us, without ego blocking its way. Continue Reading…
(Be sure to find out about how you can join me on an exciting transformation journey. See info at the end of this post, or click HERE to find out more ).
There is no denying that we live at a time in history when much of the world around us is changing. The currently fluctuating economy is proving to be challenging for many, causing us to change our spending and saving patterns. Climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuel dependency are becoming more and more apparent, making it necessary to make rapid decisions about how to address the issues, and to reflect upon how we need to change as a society. Technology is also rapidly changing the way we interact, and we frequently find ourselves on the one hand more able to communicate at a virtual level, but also feeling more and more isolated from one another in the flesh. Over the past few decades, we have become increasingly disconnected from the sources of our own sustenance (such as food production) and more and more dependent upon our own technological creations for survival. To see how dependent we actually are, imagine how vulnerable you would feel if tomorrow morning you woke up to find you had no internet or other telecommunications systems, had no access to electricity, oil or petrol, or you were unable to obtain food, clothes, medicine and other necessities from outside sources.
And here is the paradox: that feeling of vulnerability is one of the things that make us tolerate all these sociological changes, even if we intuitively know these changes are ultimately making us feel more and disconnected, and ultimately more vulnerable. Continue Reading…
Many thanks to Evelyn Thomas of Lizard Life Coaching who selected the number 27 for this week’s meditation. If you would like to help me write my upcoming book “The Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul” and possibly have your name listed in the acknowledgements of the book, and announced on my weekly radio broadcast, just select a number from 1-80 and post it in the comment thread below.
Meditation 27: Poise from “Lessons from the Iris: the Principle of Receiving”
Poise is a state of being in which you move freely and effortlessly within your own energy.
We tend to think of Poise as a word used to describe the quality of someone who is physically graceful and calm. Many of us also believe Poise to be the ability to control our emotional expression. While these external symptoms might sometimes be indicators of Poise, there are not the key elements. In fact, they might even been a shield that is covering up a lack of genuine Poise. How many of us refrain from expressing our emotions because we have told ourselves that it is the more “poised” thing to do. But if such emotional restraint is coming from the desire to appear mature, professional or in control, it is unlikely to be genuine Poise. You can tell the difference between the two, because true Poise results in a feeling of ease, satisfaction and freedom, while false Poise results in a feeling of being stuck, frustrated or stifled.
Poise, therefore, is not the absence of emotions, but the strength of their authenticity. We can be poised even when our emotions appear to be very powerful. Some of the most poised people in history are those who have wielded their genuine anger, grief or passion with creativity, honesty and fearlessness. When we are poised, we are most able to express all the colours of our Heart and Soul. Continue Reading…
Posted 11 months, 1 week ago at 21:38. Add a comment
Below is your Garden of the Soul Meditation/Practice for the week. This week’s number was selected intuitively by my great Twitter friend Lisa Lauffer (aka @deepwaterscoach) of Colorado. Lisa is a Co-Active coach and she always sends me fabulous cheesy disco on Fridays on Twitter.
Lisa selected number 19, which is the number for the attribute of “Life Purpose”. In my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self, Life Purpose is part of the section called “Lessons from the Rose”. The Rose teaches us “The Principle of Giving” which everything that emanates from within you, out into the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 19: Life Purpose Life purpose is the active process of embracing, expressing and living our reason to exist. Many people imagine Life Purpose to be something that they discover by asking the age-old questions of “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” And while to some extent this is true, the term “Life Purpose” is meaningless until we consciously integrate our thoughts and feelings, and set them into action in our lives. If Life Purpose were merely a matter of receiving a message from some Divine source, it would mean we had a passive role to play with it, and it would not be an active process. We would probably fight against it, as we would perceive it as something that had come from outside of ourselves, and against which we were the powerless victims of fate. This is why it is important to remember that Life Purpose is an attribute of the Principle of Giving. It originates within the Self, and it can only manifest when we ourselves choose to send it into the world in an outward direction. At this moment we begin to live our lives “on purpose.”
Knowing this, we can finally cease our endless battle in life. We battle first against our true nature when we believe the answers to our own meaning lie outside ourselves and that we must struggle to find them. We do this because Continue Reading…
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!
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.
So of course, when Patrick asked me to be the manager for the launch of his book 
In today’s world, you’ll see a lot of advertisements for beauty makeovers, pamper days and the like. That’s great for the body, but how about a makeover for the mind and spirit?
Please check out the video I made as my “pitch” for the 
I can hardly believe that we are now into the second decade of the new millennium. It seems like only yesterday I was watching the fireworks over London (on TV) as we passed from the 20th century into the 21st. I don’t know about you, but I have a truly wonderful feeling about this next decade. I’m going to be 55 this month (happy birthday wishes graciously accepted), which means that this decade is “traditionally” the time when someone my age would be moving towards retirement. Well I can tell you right now I have no intention of retiring at age 65. In fact, I feel like I’m just getting warmed up! Both my energy and my spirits are high, and I feel full of optimism and hope as we step into the “teenies”.
Meditation 61: Serernity
Meditation 4: Love
Any of you who have either worked with me or read my book The Garden of the Soul know that I believe every human being is a born hero. However, all too few of us step into our hero’s calling. For some of us, it is simply because we don’t understand the call when we hear it. But for many others it is because we resist the call we are hearing. And when we continually resist our own call, we cannot feel truly fulfilled in life. We get a sense that our lives are put “on hold” as we wait for the “some day” when our “big break” will arrive that will turn our lives around.
There is no denying that we live at a time in history when much of the world around us is changing. The currently fluctuating economy is proving to be challenging for many, causing us to change our spending and saving patterns. Climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuel dependency are becoming more and more apparent, making it necessary to make rapid decisions about how to address the issues, and to reflect upon how we need to change as a society. Technology is also rapidly changing the way we interact, and we frequently find ourselves on the one hand more able to communicate at a virtual level, but also feeling more and more isolated from one another in the flesh. Over the past few decades, we have become increasingly disconnected from the sources of our own sustenance (such as food production) and more and more dependent upon our own technological creations for survival. To see how dependent we actually are, imagine how vulnerable you would feel if tomorrow morning you woke up to find you had no internet or other telecommunications systems, had no access to electricity, oil or petrol, or you were unable to obtain food, clothes, medicine and other necessities from outside sources.
Meditation 27: Poise
Day 19: Life Purpose
