New Book with a Timely and Much-Needed Message for Our Time It’s January and we’ve just entered a new year. Some people even say the year 2012 is the beginning of a new era. But regardless of whether 2012 will reveal some special power or not, surely we can see many things around us going through [...] […]
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 1 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Michelle Casto whose book The Destiny Discovery: Find Your Soul’s Path to Success launches on Amazon on Tuesday January 17, 2012. A renowned Life & Business Coach, Michelle L. Casto is an advocate for “everyday enlightenment”, [...] […]
At long last we have reached that prophetic (if not hyped up) year of 2012 so many of us have been awaiting. According to many futurists, this year will mark the beginning of unparalleled expansion of awareness and global consciousness. And based upon the explosion of social media over the past few years — and [...] […]
Some of you might have been following me for the past 4+ years so since I started blogging. Perhaps you were first with me when I started my blogtalkradio show named after my first book The Garden of the Soul. That show started 3 years ago now (hard to believe it). After the success of that [...] […]
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 3 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Carolyn A. Brent whose book Why Wait? The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Preparing Emotionally, Financially and Legally for a Parent’s Death launches on Amazon on Tuesday November 15, 2011. Yesterday, Carolyn visited Gunther’s Grades [...] […]
Hi everyone , I am such a techno geek. I found this incredible techie toy called FBwebinars at http://bit.ly/n4tW83 and bought it tonight (yes, that’s my affiliate link). I thought I’d tell you about it because it actually lets you run webinars from inside Facebook. As it’s a Facebook application, it lets you intergrate with your autoresponder [...] […]
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 11 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Kimberly Coots whose book DIVINE WORTH – Break the Bonds of Unworthiness and Create the Life You Desire! launches on Amazon on Tuesday May 24, 2011. Author Kimberly Ann Coots is a transformational life coach, business [...] […]
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 5 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Mike O’Mary, Creator of The Note Project. The Note Project is a free, global movement aiming to make the world a million times better by inspiring 1 million people to write a note of appreciation to [...] […]
How Executive Coach Patrick J Ryan helps you stand out in the crowd by Lynn Serafinn Join Patrick and Lynn this Thursday April 28th for a superb FREE webinar on how to help your clients access ‘mind intelligence.’ Audio download available. Life coaching, business coaching, executive coaching, transformation coaching, career coaching, creativity coaching, hea […]
Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 5 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Tina M Games whose book Journaling by the Moonlight: A Mother’s Path to Self-Discovery (and its accompanying deck of 54 journaling prompt cards) is celebrating its 1st birthday on Amazon on Tuesday May 3, 2011. Author [...] […]
A friend of mine sent me this today. It’s a collection of photos from a 1977 JC Penney catalogue. It has to be seen to be believed. I will not contaminate the sheer bliss of its own ridiculous-ness by commenting on it. Just open it and read. Here’s the link:
WARNING: I don’t recommend eating or drinking anything whilst reading this. It could be life-threatening. This warning absolves me of any bodily injury that might ensue as a result of negligence on your part.
Ok, so there I was uploading a blog post on my site tonight. I was happily bopping along listening to my favourite online radio station. Suddenly the song I was listening to stopped and my blog post disappeared. My email wouldn’t download and the Internet was completely gone.
I rebooted my PC, but no luck. My modem went all wonky, with the little green light at the end flashing madly. I called up my Internet provider (who will remain nameless) and went through my usual angst whenever I speak to them. I tell you, if I could have a transcript for every dumb conversation I had with tech support with them I could publish a book and market it in the humour genre. Anyway, after a frustrating 20 minutes with them, they told me they’d send a repairman out on Tuesday (TUESDAY!!) even though I knew damn well there was nothing wrong with my modem and that someone at their end probably had let their cats chew on some of the wires or something.
I got nowhere with them, and hung up. So I just sat around Internet-less for a while. And then I suddenly realised just HOW dependent I am upon the Internet for just about everything I do in life these days. I need it to send my materials to the book printer. I need it to communicate with friends. I need it to do my radio show. I need it to do my promotions. I need it to send materials to people taking my course this week. HECK my book launch STARTS this week. How the blazes are you supposed to do an Amazon launch campaign without the Internet? Even my Promotion Manager communicates with me either here, via Twitter or email.
I sat around thinking, “What the heck am I going to do if I can’t get x, y, z done by Monday?” No internet for me means no money, no book, no work, no socialising AND not much play either! Wow. It’s hard to believe how dependent I am on the Internet for just about everything these days. Gosh, I 15 years ago I hadn’t even yet gotten my first PC (although I did own an electronic music studio). Now it’s like the technology is hardwired into my cells.
Then, after about 1 hour, just as I was making my “back up plan” the connection just sort of magically reappeared. Guess the Cyber-gods were playing with me tonight to invite me to assess my lifestyle….
Wednesday evening was episode 4 of my radio broadcast “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” on BlogTalkRadio. My special guest was John Levine of Alpha music who composes “Alpha” music that is supposed to put you to sleep. Umm… that didn’t come out the way I meant it… what I mean is, John’s music is intended as a cure for insomnia, anxiety, etc., because it is said to induce Alpha waves in the brain, which actually bring one to a relaxed state. I had spoken to John over the phone before setting up the show, and I thought the story of how he came to create this music was so interesting that I simply had to have him on the show. I was really excited that he was going to be on the air, and we made all the arrangements together.
So along comes Wednesday and I log on to my switchboard for the show. John had agreed to call in at least 5 minutes before air time to touch base before we went live. But 5 min before the start of the show, there was still no one on the guest line. I watched the countdown… 4 min, 3, 2, 1… Suddenly I’m live on the air. The theme music plays. Still no guest. Yikes!
When I was trained in Leadership, we learned that a real leader is supposed to be able to throw out “the plan” when needed, and create something from anything… or nothing, as the case may be. Well, all I had was the title of the show, and little old me. No back-up plan whatsoever.
Hmmm… I thought. So what can I create from this?
Ok, so after the theme music died down, I do my usual spiel to start. I talk about last week’s show, and even the week before. Still no guest. Hmm… we are already 3 minutes into the show. So, I go ahead and introduce my guest anyway, but am completely transparent and tell the audience he’s not there, if you can believe that! I tell them I am just going to talk about the topic anyway, trusting he’ll show up.
TALK?? On what? I ask myself …This is supposed to be an INTERVIEW.”
Anyway, I took the topic of the show, “Using Creativity to Heal the Self” and just started “winging it”. I started talking about my own journey of creativity and how it helped heal me (or not). I ended up talking about my own creative process in writing the book (at least part of it). I spoke about how I let go of control of the need to create and allowed things to just evolve, and how this actually opened up not only my creativity, but allowed me to “heal” from many wounds from the past. I spoke about how different characters appeared for my book, how I “allowed” the characters to write the stories, and how this bought me to a deeper understanding of the story I was writing. I spoke about my story “Learning to Breathe” (part of the section on the “Iris” in The Garden of the Soul) where I wrote about my mother’s death. I spoke about my character “Crow”, who was inspired by an actual crow who came to my window one morning about 2 years ago, and prompted the flow and meaning of the story. I spoke about how Crow asked me questions to which I didn’t premeditate the answers, and how I simply allowed the conversation to unfold in the book. I spoke about the wisdom and the healing this kind of organic creative process brought me regarding many pivotal events in my life, such as my mother’s death.
Then, just as I was “sort of” making a point, and with a whole 14 minutes left to the show, my guest John Levine finally shows up. Apparently, he had been trying to call in for half an hour but couldn’t get through to the call (bless him!). But, as fate would have it, he came in right at a moment when I was just completing the idea of “allowing” things to evolve naturally (but where I would have gone after that, don’t ask me!), so I just sort of used the moment to create from whatever showed up and said something like, “We’re going to be creative right now and allow this moment to happen exactly as it is.”
Now, one would think that this is probably a host’s worst nightmare. It’s like all those dreams where you are pushed out on stage without ever having had a rehearsal (ever have those?). But you know what? I felt perfectly calm. I was well aware that I probably babbled my silly head off for 16 minutes. But I didn’t care. I felt connected in some WEIRD way, and simply remained open and fully transparent. Now, I find this a very strange thing to have done, and regardless of how “good” the babble ended up being (hahaha… I haven’t listened to it yet! Maybe YOU could listen to it and let me know!), I still feel pretty proud that I was able to hold the room for 16 minutes solo, and actually stay somehow on the topic of the show.
Even though we only had 16 minutes, we managed to have just enough time for John to briefly tell how he first embarked on his journey to producing Alpha music. He spoke a little bit about how being the witness to his father’s lifetime of stress-related illnesses compelled him to find answers to the mind-body-spirit connection, which ultimately led him to use his musical talents to create music that can alter the alpha waves in the brain to restore health and wellbeing to listeners. He told me about his secret desire to record an album in the Taj Mahal some day. Paul Horn did that in the 70s on his album Inside, but all he had was a flute. Bringing in a grand piano would undoubtedly be a little bit more challenging! Unfortunately, we only had time for a small excerpt of one of John’s track on the air, but if you go to his site at www.silenceofmusic.com, he’s got loads of clips for your to hear. Of course, I will have John on the show again sometime soon. He’s a lovely person with a great story and a MASSIVE repertoire of Alpha wave inducing music. So and I really want to have the chance to present him properly on another show.
By the way, John will be appearing LIVE here in Bedford at our Global Wellness Circle evening this Monday 16 February at the Park Road West Church Hall, just off Roff Avenue. CLICK HEREfor full details, or visit http://www.global-wellness-circle.com and click “events”.
So the question is, I wonder why the Universe wished this to happen? I trust I shall find out eventually.
But I must admit, I now have a real appreciation for the role of a co-host!
Be SURE to check out John’s site athttp://www.silenceofmusic.com.He has a MASSIVE amount of music there, and you can here samples online.
Warm wishes,
Lynn
P.S.: Have a listen to my own creative process while I was creating from chaos:
AND it would be great if you gave it a little heart to mark it as your favourite! It will help me get higher in the ratings.
OR… subscribe the podast HERE:
P.P.S.: Next week’s guest is Royal Amber Rojaswho has an amazing story of survival to tell! Make SURE you all tune in on Wed 18 Feb at 6.30 PM UK time to hear her incredible story on the air. You can listen to the show online at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn, either live OR “on demand”.
P.P.P.S.: Come on over and join Amber, me and lots of other colourful people on my new social network “The Garden of the Soul” at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com
Getting Friendly with Your Monsters simple steps to stop what’s stopping you
Most of us carry around a dream for our lives. Having a dream is wonderful. It drives us forward. And in some ways, it is not so much the attainment of the dream itself that is the most important, but rather the fact that we are actively on the path towards it. We feel energised by the knowledge that we are living a vibrant, dynamic life that is moving one step closer towards our ultimate fulfilment every day.
Sometimes our dream is quite definable. We might be dreaming to find the ideal relationship, the ideal career or the ideal holiday. Perhaps we dream of having a best selling book (gosh, that’s my dream, for sure!). But sometimes, our dream is simply to find to courage to step into being the person we secretly know we are at heart, but have been afraid to show to the world. What is tragic is when we have this dream, and we never find the courage to act upon it, believing we are powerless for whatever reason. We might fear the judgement of others, or we might fear failure. We might be convinced that we are never “good enough” to be or to achieve what we really want. We might fear rejection, or we might even fear success itself, fearing that we may lose those who are close to us if we become the person we really wish to be.
I believe that all of these kinds of dreams comprise our “hero’s call” to our life purpose. And just like any hero, we encounter all kinds of “monsters” along the way before we reach the treasure we seek. In this case, our “monsters” are our self-perceived limitations. I say “self-perceived” because what I have learned, both in my own life and in working with clients, is that these kinds of limitations are seldom, if ever, founded in reality. However, they feel real to us simply because they are things we have come to believe about ourselves. Over the years, we have convinced ourselves we have these limitations or restrictions. We might even rationalise that we are being “responsible” to limit ourselves because we have family obligations. Thus, believing we are the powerless victims of fate or circumstance-or of other human beings-we never bother to take up the call to our own lives. Imagine if, due to your fears, you came to the end of your life, and you realised that you had never even started on your own hero’s journey. To me, this would be the ultimate tragedy in life.
I feel so passionately about this topic that everything I do, in one form or another, is focussed upon helping people get on, and stay on, the path to their life purpose, so they can attain their ultimate dream whatever that may be. One way I do that is through my course“Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed”, where I teach people a 5-step model for understanding what a monster is, how it works, how to recognise one, and ultimately how to make changes to your consciousness so you can finally step into your authentic Self, and be the person you really wish to be, and who you know you are.
I’d like to invite you to myFR*EE teleseminar “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed” on Wed 18 February at 8 PM UKtime, where I will introduce you to this model, so you can take away some useful tips right away. If you are looking to overcome your own monsters and become the hero of your own life, or if you are looking for a practical method to help your kids, students or clients do the same, check out this teleseminar.
Today I launched my new social network on Ning called “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” in preparation for the launch of my book (exactly 2 months away now!). I describe it as “A vibrant place for cultural and spiritual creatives.”I sent out the invitations this evening (Saturday evening…. not the best time to invite people to join a network?) and within 10 minutes I had several new members. Immediately they started bringing real vibrance to the site with music, pictures and just plain old personality. I found this to be amazing! All I did was set up the page and then click “send” and suddenly there is a virtual event going on all by itself.
While every one of the member pages has a quality and a character to it, I really wanted to showcase a priceless gem from one of my members, artist and poet Bruce Morse. He put on a slide show of his paintings, and frankly I could not believe that a single human being could paint so many paintings, what to speak of so many fabulous ones. I am posting his slideshow here (via YouTube) because I think it is top quality content and he deserves to be shouted about. So here’s to my Ning friend, the amazing artist Bruce Morse:
Afterthoughts: Interview with Swedish Artist Kristina Berglund Show:Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Episode 3: Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 2 Date aired: Wed 4 February 2009
This week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed Swedish artist, coach and teacher of Vedic Art, Kristina Berglund. Kristina and I discussed how she used painting, and in particular the Vedic Art method of painting, to restore health to emotional pathways that were blocked inside her, resulting in years of difficulty with poor body image and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
Those who listened to the show would have to agree that Kristina is a truly brave and beautiful human being. I have the great pleasure of knowing her as a dear friend, and I have also taken her excellent course on the 17 Principles of Vedic Art. On the air, Kristina kick-started the Vedic process by asking listeners to simply put their pen on a piece of paper in front of them, and let their hands go anywhere it wants to go. She warned that if your brain gets in the way and starts to compel you to create patterns, then you should toss away that paper and start again until the hand is really going on its own and there is no thought process involved. This was just a tiny hint of the first of the 17 Principles of Vedic Art-”the line”. It sounds like such a simple thing, but trust me, once you get into Kristina’s course, you realise the depth of it all, and how the Principles are all interwoven in a very deep and spiritual way.
Kristina’s art specialism is painting original mandalas using very large canvases, and highly textured images, mixing different objects directly into her paint, such as sand and gemstones. When I first saw Kristina’s paintings, all I could say is “Wow.” Fortunately for me, when Kristina read a galley print of my upcoming book The Garden of the Soul, she noticed that I described a mandala in my section “Lessons from the Lily”, and she immediately called me and offered to create an original mandala for the cover. I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I will be “unveiling” her finished work here by mid-February, so be sure you check back then.
From so many angles, Kristina is an artist-she is a painter, a teacher and a coach. She is also starting a project in Sweden aimed at helping men and woman with eating disorders to restore their mental, physical and emotional balance through the process of learning the 17 Principles of Vedic Art. Kristina’s approach to art is a true example of one woman’s use of creativity to heal the Self. But she is not merely an artist; soft and flowing deeply like a river, Kristina is herself is a work of art.
I have a long history in the arts. I started playing music when I was 4 years old, when my mother bought a second-hand piano. I started playing violin at age 9, sang in my first opera at age 13 and went on to be everything from a symphony violinist, to an east-west fusion artist, to an electronic trance musician. I even had a chart-topping dance record back in the 90s. But even though my life was filled with music every day, I always used writing as my medium of choice for personal expression, self-discovery and emotional healing. I have written seriously since my early teens, and have always found it to be the place where I could not only express myself best, but also find the parts of myself that seemed not so clear to me. The entire experience of writing my book The Garden of the Soul, for example, was a cathartic one from start to finish. By the end of the process, I felt like I had not only given birth to a book, but also to my authentic Self.
Personal expression is extremely important to our overall wellbeing. When I work with clients, they often come to me frustrated that they feel unable to express themselves fully in their life, work or relationships. That is my primary focus with them as their coach. But beyond the coaching session, I know that tapping into creativity, whether that means inventing a new recipe, crocheting a scarf or composing a new song, can often be the vital element in a person’s overall balance in life. Because creativity is such a key factor in our fulfilment as human beings, I always listen carefully to the desire of my clients to find out what is longing to be expressed. Then, together we design ways to bring out that expression, so as to allow the inner healing to unfold on its own
In my book, I take the reader through a very simple way to understand what might be missing in our lives whenever we feel a bit ‘out’. In my book, I discuss four principles that bring balance and wholeness to the human spirit: give, receive, become and be. All four of these principles play a vital part in the creative process:
The Principle of Giving: the principle of all that emanates outwards from within you. In relation to creativity, ‘giving’ as a principle includes self-expression, passion, emotiveness, boldness, etc. ‘Giving’ is the energy that drives us to call forth the creative process within ourselves; it is the urge to express.
The Principle of Receiving: the principle of all that comes from the world into you. In relation to creativity, ‘receiving’ as a principle includes acute awareness via the senses and the ability to relish the smallest of the small and the greatest of the great. ‘Receiving’ is the fertile ground upon which creativity can take root; through ‘receiving’, the entire universe can sit upon our consciousness like a canvas.
The Principle of Becoming: the principle of all that is continually changing. In relation to creativity, ‘becoming’ as a principle includes inspiration, imagination, spontaneity, and innovation. ‘Becoming’ is the act of creativity itself; without it, we have no impulse to invent something new.
The Principle of Being: the principle of all that is non-changing. In relation to creativity, ‘being’ as a principle includes inner wisdom, stillness, serenity within all circumstances and the ability to be the observer without judgements. ‘Being’ is the perspective where we accept the role and responsibility of the sacred role of creator; it provides us with the ability to express fully without judging either self or other.
What I have found is that when we are feeling a bit ‘off’ in life, it is often because one of these principles is not flowing properly within us, or perhaps all of them are blocked in some way. When we find we are not expressing ourselves fully and authentically, it can manifest in so many harmful ways in life, such as depression, anger or even (and frequently) physical illness. I know because I have experienced all of these things over the years, and am extremely grateful now that I know how to recover from these imbalances either on my own, or with the help of one of my many wonderful friends. When I coach my clients, I help them to learn how to return to that balance, and sometimes I help them to engage on a creative enterprise, whether it is something artist like writing, music or art, or something life-changing like creating a new business or a creating an entirely new perspective of themselves that they bring into all aspects of their lives.
No matter what method we use to express the innate creator within each one of us, creativity is as essential to our health and happiness as eating a balanced diet. So if you are feeling a little ‘off’ today, take a moment to create something with consciousness-from a great new sandwich to a heartfelt diary entry. Take a look out the window and see what is there. Take a look inside your heart and see what is there. Then listen for what needs to be expressed and find a way to let it be heard. You will find that you not only heal yourself, but you will heal the world around you as well.
I’ll be telling you more about the four principles give, receive, become and be in the coming weeks, and you can also read all about them when my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Selfwhen it comes out on Tues 7 April.
Want to hear more about how some
extraordinary people use creativity to heal the self?
Check out my next two radio broadcasts!
Wednesday 4 February
Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 2
6.30 PM UK time, 1.30 PM Eastern, 10.30 AM Pacific, 7.30 PM CET
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts Kristina Berglund, Swedish painter, Co-Active Coach and a teacher of the Vedic Art tradition. Kristina, whose artistic specialty is creating very large mandalas, is also the commissioned artist for the cover of Lynn’s book The Garden of the Soul. On tonight’s show, Kristina will be sharing her story of how she uses a deeper connection to art as a means of overcoming personal battles with eating disorders, distorted body image and other emotional blocks both within herself and others through her teaching. Kristina will be offering a live demo of Vedic art instruction on the air, so have some paper and come coloured pens ready! Listen LIVE at:www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number)
Wednesday 11 February
Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 3
6.30 PM UK time, 1.30 PM Eastern, 10.30 AM Pacific, 7.30 PM CET
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts British musician John Levine of Alphamusic. John will be sharing his story of how being the witness to his father’s lifetime of stress-related illnesses compelled him to find answers to the mind-body-spirit connection, which ultimately led him to use his musical talents to create music that can alter the alpha waves in the brain to restore health and wellbeing to listeners. John will be playing some samples of his compositions on the air, so get ready to an auditory massage. Listen LIVE at:www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number)
Did you miss ‘Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 1
with UK author Tom McGreevy?
Catch the show ‘on demand’ anytime at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
Afterthoughts: Interview with UK Author Tom McGreevy
Show:Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Episode 2: Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 1
Date aired: Wed 28 Jan 2009
Last week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed British poet, Tom McGreevy, author of the books Poems for Paula and the upcoming book ‘I’m a Soldier…get me out of here! Tom and I discussed how he has used his creativity as a writer to heal his own emotional wounds, as how he currently uses it to help heal the wounds of others.
Those who listened to the show would have to agree that Tom is a down-to-earth, home-spun hero of the highest order. Originally from Newcastle in northeast England (for those who might have been able to place his accent), where he wrote poetry as a child, Tom joined the military at an early age to ‘make his father proud’, even though he knew deep down in his heart of hearts that he is ‘a writer, not a fighter’ (as Tom is found of saying). On the show, Tom shared with us his experience with seeing his best friend die in his arms in the war of the Falklands, and discussed the impact that made on him. He also talked about his experience with prostate cancer, and the emotional rollercoaster of the healing process. Tom’s poetry is traditional and direct, and written in an unassuming, natural way that gets right to the heart of the matter without any fluff. Plainly addressing issues surrounding death, dying and saying good bye to loved ones, Tom’s poems are a true example of one man’s use of creativity to heal the Self.
Tom spoke in brief about his work as Head Moderator for a project called ‘Forces Poetry’, which helps military, ex-military and their families overcome the effects of war, including post traumatic stress disorder, by writing. He is helping to coordinate the publishing of their first book entitled ‘ Voices of the Poppies” a collection poems by members of Forces Poetry, which is a part of a greater organisation called ‘Flow for All’ ( Forces Literary Organisation Worldwide for All ).
NEXT SHOW: Wed 4 February 6.30 PM UK time. ‘Creativity to
Heal the Self Part 2′ with special guest Kristina Berglund, Stockholm-based artist, coach and teacher of Vedic Art Principles.
FLOW is a non-profit making organisation set up by ex-forces, to help other
ex-forces and their families Worldwide. They try to encourage those suffering from PTSD ( Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ) to express their fears and feelings through writing poetry, and having it published on their sites. Their sites are free to use for anybody, but they welcome donations to keep the sites running, and help ex-servicemen and women worldwide.
