Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts lifestyle expert, art therapist, author and founder of the Get Happy Zone, Jackie Ruka. Jackie is the queen of self reinvention, having had two major career changes and surviving a literally back-breaking experience that almost caused an accident with Buddha himself. Based on her own life enhanc […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts empath, metaphysical teacher and spiritual author Erica Tucci. Erica Tucci was living a very full life. She was a corporate manager, a life coach for women, Reiki master, massage therapist and author. She was also a single mum of two wonderful young men now in college. But it all came to a scree […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts Barbara Techel, author, publisher, educator, advocate for dogs with disc disease and therapy dog team volunteer. Barbara Techel began a journey five years ago that she never intended to travel. After her beloved Dachshund, Frankie, was diagnosed with disc disease that caused paralysis, she thoug […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts empath coach, metaphysical teacher, spiritual author and host of We Are One in Spirit Podcast, Yvonne Perry. For many years, Yvonne Perry’s empathic abilities caused great distress until she learned how to protect her auric field. Her best-selling book, Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts spiritual author, minister, blessing giver and empowerment coach, Charlene M. Proctor , Ph.D. Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. is an ordained Minister of Spiritual Peacemaking and a Deeksha facilitator trained by the oneness guides from Fiji and India. She is the bestselling author of Let Your Goddess […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts author, spiritual educator, organizational psychologist, leadership development consultant, executive and life coach Sarah Rozenthuler. As a young woman, Sarah has struggled to talk with people, including loved ones, at key moments in her life. Because of this, she was always been interested in […]
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Title: Mind Body Soul Show Location: Real Coaching Network Online Link out: Click here Description: Host Steve Toth interviews author and coach Lynn Serafinn about her book “The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self” and how the lessons from the four flowers can help to improve our daily lives. Start Time: 2:00 UK time Date: Saturday 27 June (In US: Friday 26 June, 9pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific)
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
A question came up on one of the coaching networks recently as to whether or not coaches should do health/wellness fairs.
Well, in my opinion, YES!
I do mind-body-spirit, wellness, complementary health fairs quite regularly and straight “health” fairs a bit less regularly. Here are a few compelling reasons why you should, and a few tips that could make them work for you.
Why you should display at wellness fairs
Your primary aim at a fair is to get people’s names onto your list. Be sure you have a proper email list for them to sign (not just a blank sheet of paper) so it looks official and you capture the information you require. The challenge then becomes GETTING people to part with their information. One way I have done this is to buy about 50-100 cheap and cheerful gift bags at a £1 shop (or dollar shop in US). Buy ones that are 3-4 in a package for £1 (or $1). Fill them up with leaflets and articles, and put a sticker of your company (with your website URL) on the front of the bag. Line up all these nice “goodie bags” on your table. Tell people they can have one if they give you their email address. I use this method all the time to promote my Global Wellness Circle, so it means the bag is filled with flyers from lots of other practitioners as well as myself. However, you can find things to fill it with that are just from you. This strategy works like a charm… people simply want that bag, even though it is filled with promo materials! I routinely get about 50 new names on my list at every event I do.
Your secondary aim is to get people to agree to a free consultation or sample coaching session. At such events, the best way to do that is to offer a 10 minute micro session. Be careful, however, and only offer it to someone who is already engaging with you and who seems like a likely client. If you simply have a sign up that says “free sample sessions” you are likely to have a queue of people who are looking at you like some sort of free psychic or tarot card reader, and they are only doing it for entertainment. This is a waste of your time. If you do a micro session, stick to the 10 minute limit, and leave them with an enquiry. Get their contact info and see if they are willing to set up a full consultation with you. Put it in the diary, and make sure to drop them an email that says, “I look forward to our consultation on X date.”
Things you should have in place for the show:
Get yourself a speaker slot. This is ESSENTIAL! Most of these fairs will give you the opportunity to do a 20 – 40 minute talk. Many of them do not charge an extra fee for this, but some might. If you do a talk, make sure that you have a clear call to action built into it (i.e., to sign up for a course, telecourse, workshop, purchase a book, etc). If you give a talk, and have no call to action, you are wasting a golden opportunity. Be SURE you get people to sign in and provide their email address when they attend your talk (ask them to tick a box giving you permission to send them info on your upcoming workshops).
Be SURE you have at least one other person at your table with you. Choose that person should know all about what you do and should be comfortable and genuine with helping to promote your services. Sometimes I give someone a portion of the table to display their own products, in exchange for supporting me. How do they help? Well, you are going to need time of here and there for “bio” breaks, a walk about, lunch, etc., No one can go all day without some relief! Also, if you are giving a talk, you don’t want your table unmanned, or you will lose potential clients/sales. When you do walk about, don’t be away for more than 15 minutes at a time and make sure that you are making use of the time by establishing valuable contacts with other vendors at the event.
Give attention to your display. This doesn’t have to be an expensive investment.A lot of people think you need an expensive banner or sign. While flashy signs/banners are nice, they cost a lot and are inflexible (i.e., once you have them, you can’t change them). A cheaper and more adaptable option is to have felt/Velcro display boards. I have a 3-panel tabletop board that is very lightweight and fits in a carrier bag. I take it everywhere with me (even on trains). I use one side to promote my coaching/Wellness Circle, and I have the other side JUST for my book if I am at a book event. I can change it around and add new things as they come in (ex: a new book review, a radio show I want to promote, a new course I am offering, etc).
Create a few attractive things people can take away for free … NOT just flyers and business materials! Write an article or a whole newsletter they can have (making sure your photo, bio and contact details are on the bottom). Free articles are some of the best and easiest freebies you can offer. Make sure it is on a topic that is immediately relevant to your niche and the kinds of clients you want to attract.
Create a few things you can SELL. Don’t have any ideas? Try recording some visualisations on an audio CD, for instance. Slap a label on it with your contact details. Sell if for what anyone would charge for a CD. Even better, make an audio course and workbook, and put it all on a CDR. Try to make your money back for the table fees.
The last mind-body-spirit fair I did, I made back every penny of my rent from book sales, I made a new client (who is still with me) and I collected 60 new names for my Wellness Circle, which turned into revenue as pretty much all of them have since started attending my Wellness Circle events. PLUS, these folks are now receiving regular updates about my workshops, books, etc., and many of them are buying them now that they have gotten to “know” me.
So all in all, wellness fairs are a great way for coaches to be seen, increase your list, and establish long-term clients/customers.
If you are planning an upcoming fair, drop me a line and let me know if I can help in any way.
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
An Evening in the Garden of the Soul Location: Putnoe Library, Library Walk, Putnoe Street, Bedford, MK41 8HQ Date: Thurs 25 June Time: 7pm – 9pm FREE entry (but please reserve your tickets in advance; see below) Click HERE for event flyer: http://www.give-receive-become-be.com/pdfs/Putnoe-Library-Flyer.pdf
Description: Get up close and personal with Lynn Serafinn Bedford Bestselling Author of “The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self”
BOOK: The Garden of the Soul by Lynn Serafinn
Title:
Author, Coach, Lynn Serafinn
At this very special and transformative event, Lynn will share:
Her creative processes used in writing the book
The key teachings of the book and how they can help us create happier lives
How looking at our own life stories can help us unlock our life purpose, find our inner hero, and find relief from emotional pain
A few excerpts from the book, read in Lynn’suniquely inspirational style.
* Light refreshments served *
* signed copies available for purchase *
* Free admission, but tickets must be reserved in advance *
Pick up your free ticket during opening hours at the Putnoe Library
OR request one from Coral Clarke by calling 01234 276 462
OR via email at Coral.Clarke@bedford.gov.uk
Start Time: 19:00 Date: 2009-06-25 End Time: 21:00
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Joe Rumbolo
Title: TALK RADIO: Integrating Spirit and Human Location: Blog Talk Radio Link out: Click here
Description: Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts life empowerment facilitator, transformational life coach and talk radio show host, Joe Rumbolo. Joe will share his story of how he overcame the challenges of his own lack of confidence, and learned how to recognise and step into opportunities he would never have dreamed of in the past. He will tell us about his experiences with creative channelling and his thoughts on conscious evolution, and will draw upon the material from his workshops to offer us tips on how to “dump the junk” that holds us back, so we can move towards the ascension of our own higher consciousness.
Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number). An online chat room is available during the show for people to ask questions/make comments.
ABOUT THE SHOW “LYNN SERAFINN\’S GARDEN OF THE SOUL” www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
Weekly show exploring personal empowerment, life purpose, balance of mind, body and spirit, and how to tap into the inner hero that lies within every human being. Lynn hosts a line up of distinguished guests including authors, coaches, artists, motivational speakers, social reformers, community leaders and others who are actively making a positive and inspirational impact upon the world.
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC, is a Personal Transformation Coach living in Bedford England, dedicated to awakening the authentic voice in all people through her company Create-a-Life.
Lynn is also the Founder/Leader of The Global Wellness Circle, an exciting holistic community project that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK. Start Time: 18:30 UK time (13.30 EDT) Date: 2009-06-10 End Time: 19:00 (1400 EDT)
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
The Lily- The Principle of Being
Some thoughts on the teachings in my book The Garden of the Soul. Click HERE to find out how to purchase the book today.
Over the past months, I have been sharing with you some of the life lessons from my book, The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self.The main body of book is divided into four sections, each one represented by a particular flower. You might think of these flowers as my “guides” or “mentors”, who teach me four spiritual principles:
The Rose teaches the Principle of Giving
The Iris teaches the Principle of Receiving
The Daffodil teaches the Principle of Becoming
And finally, the Lily teaches the Principle of Being
Today I would like to share some thoughts on the Lily and the Principle of Being.
Last month, I spoke about “The Principle of Becoming” (lessons from the Daffodil). The Principle of Becoming calls us forth to let go of “old stories” and allow change to occur for the purpose of expansion and growth. The Principle of Becoming is extremely important because without the conscious act of letting go, we tend to hold on to old patterns of behaviour, old emotions and old belief systems that no longer serve us and keep us stuck in so many ways. The Principle of Becoming is vital to our ability to adapt, experience joy and actualise our own creativity.
While the Principle of Becoming is all about our need for a sense of change, regeneration and rebirth so we can grow and have a sense of aliveness, the Principle of Being reflects our need for a sense of continuity, serenity and timelessness so we can feel safe and have a sense of identity. And while the Principle of Being is the seeming opposite of the Principle of Becoming, it is actually its essential counterpart. Without a firm hold on the Principle of Being, change in our lives can often make us feel vulnerable rather than free. But when both of these Principles are present and working together, they provide that much-needed balance between our desire for outward expansion and our desire for inner stability.
“Being” refers to continuity.
Our “Being” is that which is constant throughout our lives.
Being is…
That safe place to which we can return reliably no matter what else is happening around us
Our sense of Self that is not dependent upon time or circumstance
Our inner knowing of who we are regardless of changes in our age, occupation, education, marital status, achievements, belief systems, social circles or economic status
Our personal wellspring of serenity, wisdom, peace, inner tranquillity and satisfaction
In other words,”Being” is our sense of eternal identity, and is independent of our ever-changing personal relationships and roles in life.
To assess your own connection to your ”Being”, a good question to ask yourself might be, “Who am I when I remove all the labels about myself?” In other words, “Who am I when I am not the mother/father, daughter/son, husband/wife, boss/employee, this profession/that profession, rich/poor, young/old?” etc. In a quiet moment, ask this question, without self-judgment, and you will begin to get an idea of how much (or how little) you are in touch with your own essential “Being”.
At an even deeper level, true “Being” means an awareness of who we are beyond even more subtle designations of “self”, such as our intelligence, our talents, our nationality, our faith, our ethnicity or even our gender. Now ask yourself “Who am I without these designations?” and look more deeply into yourself to get a sense of that “Being” that lies at your centre. How easy or difficult do you find this?
Now go even deeper still and strip away all designations whatsoever, even to the point of letting go of the boundary between Self and the Universe. At this point, you realise at a deep level, and not merely with your intellect, that you and everything around you is Spirit. You come in touch with your own essence-your own eternal, pure consciousness- where you can see your connection to all of Creation, and is not dependent upon being within a particular bodily form at all. This ultimate understanding is at the core of the Principle of Being.
Some of us might find this perspective shift very challenging, if not scary, if we are at a point in life where we feel little inner connection to our own Being. We might fear that without some kind of “label” we will lose all sense of identity completely, and simply slip into a feeling of “nothingness”. If we dig down to discover the underlying cause of our fear, more often than not we will find it is triggered by a deep-rooted feeling of unworthiness. We do not feel we are “enough” without our worldly attributes. In other words, we have become accustomed to defining our worthiness through our roles, achievements and designations. We feel that we need these roles and designations to feel worthy of love, abundance-to be worthy of “Being”. When we have this underlying belief in our own unworthiness, it stands to reason that we would fear the loss of Self if we were to lose our labels.
But in actuality, the truth is just the opposite. Far from losing the Self, when we reach a state of genuine connection with our “Being-ness”, where no designations are needed to define who we are, our sense of identity is profound. At this point, we are able to find immense peace within the understanding that our identity is no longer dependent upon any external factor and is not subject to circumstance. When we finally release the need to identify the Self with “things” that come and go throughout our lives, we come into contact with our true Self, embracing it as eternal, and transcending all change. And there is an immense sense of safety within this sense of “Being”, which is both immutable and indestructible.
The lessons I learned from the Lily in The Garden of the Soul (and especially in the story in the book called “Message on the Bridge”) guided me gently and lovingly through my own fears and attachments, so I could return to the essence of who I truly am. And the Lily as an image is an inviting and appropriate symbol for the Principle of Being. In the west, the Lily is frequently used in funeral ceremonies as a symbol of eternal, spiritual life. In the east, the water lily (or lotus) is a symbol of eternity and divinity, used to represent the soul, the spiritual master and even the spiritual world itself. In my own personal experience, back when I used to live in Arizona, I remember seeing a very special type of cactus that only bloomed one night a year, during a full moon. While I don’t know the name of this flower, it seemed to me that its white, star-shaped blossom was yet another kind of Lily, who appeared like a solitary hermit praying to the moon itself, shining brilliantly against the dark night for only a few hours. In fact, some of the imagery in my book where I meet the Lily come from my memory of that remarkable cactus flower. To me, the Lily, in all of its lovely permutations, was the perfect metaphor for the Principle of Being, as its beautiful, strong, white petals look like a hand of outstretched fingers, reaching upwards towards the heavens, providing a bridge between the earthly plane and the Divine.
The Four Principles of Give, Receive, Become and Be provide an easy model to check balance and flow in our lives. When we learn how to recognise these Principles in ourselves, we are more easily able to know how to recover from the inevitable upsets that come into our lives. The Principle of Being, like all the other Principles, helps us to enter into a deeper and more meaningful relationship both within our own Self and with the world around us. By tending to the Four Flowers within the Garden of our own Souls, it becomes very easy for our true Selves to blossom.
Master the energy of the Four Flowers in your own life this month!
During the lovely month
of May, I am offering a 30-minute
“Garden of the Soul Coaching Assessment”
to a very limited amount of new clients for the highly discounted price of only…
£20
That is 70% off my usual coaching price.
There’s no catch and absolutely no obligation.
During our Garden of the Soul Coaching Assessment, we will:
Explore the Four Flowers/Principles
Assess the current state
of flow in your own life
Identify which of the Four Flowers/Principles is currently most in need of nurturing
Identify which attributes of that Flower/Principle you would like to call forth
Identify actions and/or changes in perspective that could help you find the balance and flow you seek
My personal aim is that you will:
Experience a session that is be light, fun, colourful and inspiring
Leave with a feeling of renewal, focus, self-awareness and optimism
Book your “Garden of the Soul Coaching Assessment” for only £20 HERE:
Your Time Zone
Times your are NOT available
You will receive confirmation of your session within 48 hours of your request.
This is a limited offer:
1 assessment session per person
Open only to the first 10 new clients who book their session before the end of May.
(If no more sessions are available, you will receive a full and immediate refund).
If you decide you would like to continue 1-to-1 coaching together, your £20 assessment fee will be applied towards your first pre-paid block of coaching.
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Show: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Episode 14:Using Sound for Healing and Happiness Date aired: Thursday 23 April 2009
This week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed Australian (living in UK) musician, recording artist and composer John Levine of Alphamusic. John was a guest on an earlier episode in February, but he had some technical difficulties that prevented him from being able to dial in, and his interview was less than half the length of what it should have been. On that episode he spoke a bit about what led him to create “alpha music”, after watching his father live through a lifetime of stress-related diseases, only to die from them at the early age of 58.
On tonight’s show, John shared further insights into the mind-body-spirit connection. He explained a bit about the different waves in the brain, and how alpha waves can enable natural restoration of health and wellbeing. He explained a bit about how his Alphamusic which has been proven both anecdotally and scientifically to induce alpha waves in the brain, and how this results in a reduction of stress hormones, and an increased a feeling of relaxation, not dissimilar to a meditational state.
We played two samples of John’s music on the air. First was a short excerpt from his 1984 composition “The Silence of Peace”, which was played on a grand piano in a studio. John said the complete composition is 1 hour in length, and that the full relaxation benefits can be felt after listening to the piece for at least 15 minutes–he cautioned that it should not be played whilst driving! .
The second piece was “Gratitude”, which was a electro-acoustic composition from John’s 2007 album “Emerald Forest”. Played in a free-form ambient pastiche of various acoustic instruments blended with the occasional synthesiser, this composition has a markedly more complex feel to “Silence of Peace”, while still maintaining an open approach to musical structure. Of the air, John said that one of the salient features of Alphamusic is that you specifically cannot sing it or tap your toe to it. In other words, you cannot anticipate what is coming up, or repeat it, as there is no real structure. Still, there are simple melodic motifs (usually built around specific harmonic intervals) that keep it from being so abstract that it feels “avant garde” or discordant.
Now, I am not a scientist, but I did teach music technology and acoustics for many years. And I feel that it is this precise intension NOT to have structure that is what creates the alpha waves in the brain. Why? Very simply this: when we humans anticipate something, our brain gets very busy analysing and predicting. This anticipation keeps us in a heightened state of awareness, or a Beta state. While this is extremely useful for work, if we are in a continual state of heightened awareness, our bodies become over flooded with stress hormones. And the fact is, our minds and bodies will stay on alert whenever they perceive the need to be. However, when our senses detect something cannot be analysed or predicted, and there also appears to be no danger, the brain will eventually let go of the need to be on alert. And that is exactly what John says is the intent of the music-to lower the “fight or flight” reaction of the brain that increases stress hormones. There are no downbeats, no meters, no predictable phrases, no verses/choruses, etc. The music just “is”. And when the brain gets the message that everything just “is”, it allows itself to relax into an alpha state. It’s really very simple.
Tonight we could only play a few minutes of these substantial tracks, and John has more than a dozen albums available on his website. He sells many of them to holistic practitioners, teachers and medical professionals who use them to reduce anxiety, fear and stress in their clients, students and patients (dentists especially love John’s music!). Check out John’s complete repertoire at www.silenceofmusic.com.
AND…
you can receive a very special FR*EE Alphamusic gift from John Levine PLUS 25 other beautiful mind-body-spirit gifts
when you purchase my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self before the end of April 2009. To find out how, go to http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus.
Wednesday 29 April Ep15-Astrology, Numerology and Birth Order to Discover Your Life Purpose 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 Conscious Living Communicator and author Michelle Payton, Ph.D. Michelle will be sharing a process she created called “Birth Mix Patterns” that combines Astrology, Numerology and Birth Order to connect with your unique personality patterns, to improve your relationships and discover clues of your underlying life purpose. Michelle will also be offering a short demo of Lynn’s Birth Mix Patterns right on the air, so you can see how easy and informative it is to do yourself, so be sure to have a pen and paper ready to take some useful tips! Listen LIVE at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn/2009/04/29/Ep15-Astrology-Numerology-and-Birth-Order-to-Discover-Your-Life-Purpose
Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number)
You can receive 26 special mind-body-spirit gifts
when you buy my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Selfduring the month of April 2009.
Find out how to get these beautiful gifts at: http://www.give-receive-become-be.com/pages/bonus.html
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Title: Flitwick Mind Body and Soul Fair Location: Rufus Centre, Flitwick, England Link out: Click here Description: Rufus Centre, Steppingley Road,
Flitwick, Beds MK45 1AH
18th & 19th April 2009
Sat 10.00am – 5.00 pm
sun 10.30am – 4.30pm
Entrance £3.00
Don’t miss this fabulous mind-body-spirit fair. Free talks on both days. Lynn will talk at 1 PM Sat and 12.30 PM Sunday. Signed copies of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self also available. Start Date: 2009-04-18 Start Time: 10.00 End Date: 2009-04-19 End Time: 16.30
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Boosting Your Emotional Intelligence – an Interview with Gail Sussman Miller
[NOTE to readers: this blog post originally appeared on my social network "Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul" on Ning. When I refer to people by name as "our own" and "right here", I am referring to that network, which can be accessed at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com. Come JOIN us!]
This evening on my radio show, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, my guest was our very own GAIL SUSSMAN MILLER. For those of you in the Garden who have not met her, Gail is a coach, writer and public speaker, living in Chicago. I met Gail about a year ago when I attended one of her excellent teleseminars about reaching your target audience. At that time, I found her energy to be so warm and loving that I simply had to become her friend. On the spot, even though she didn’t know me at all, she volunteered to be one of my “beta readers” for my book (which was, at that time, unfinished). Since then, she has not only been one of my readers, but also a reviewer, a joint venture partner, a friend, a guest on my show and NOW (as of tonight’s show) we are talking about doing a workshop together sometime soon. How cool is that?
Anyway, if you don’t know Gail, become her friend because she is one fabulous lady who really knows how to make you feel welcome. And that is probably why she is so good at what she does. One of Gail’s many specialties is working with small groups to develop “Emotional Intelligence”. The term, she says, was originally coined by Daniel Goldman. On the show, Gail explained how we generally equate “intelligence” with the brain and measure it with “IQ”. This kind of intelligence is fairly static in life. That is to say, we all have a certain amount of “brain” intelligence, and while we can study and learn, brain intelligence itself does not generally increase to a great degree as a result of learning. Our bodies also are great repositories of intelligence (Luis and Fran you are always talking about this!). Lastly, however, our emotional bodies are also great bodies of intelligence. And unlike brain intelligence, emotional intelligence CAN be increased. And a good thing too! Most of us grow up with vastly underdeveloped emotional intelligence. We simply “react” rather than learn how to “respond”. Through development of conscious awareness, however, we can learn how ot separate ourselves from this reactionary modus operandum, and move away from feelings of being controlled by our emotions, and into a place where we feel at choice and within true selves at all times.
These are the ideas that Gail spoke with me about on tonight’s show. She also gave 3 of her 10 “secrets” to developing emotional intelligence. I’m NOT going to tell you what they are!!! (ha ha). If you want to find out these first 3 secrets of emotional intelligence, well you’ll just have to listen to the show by CLICKING HERE..
AND… Gail also wrote an eBook called (as you might have already guessed) “!0 Secrets to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence”. AND… here’s the very cool thing. She is giving it away to everyone who buys my book during its launch. Now, the launch was SUPPOSED to be over today (Wed 8 April) but I have decided, as it is Easter week, that it will run through Easter Monday. That means, if you buy “The Garden of the Soul” on or before this coming Monday, you can STILL get access to download 26 beautiful mind-body-spirit gifts from my friends and colleagues…. many of whom are right here on this site like Gail, Fran Stockley, Amber Rojas, Kathleen Schulweis, Gina Marks, Sheila Finkelstein, Jessica McGregor Johnson and Glenn Smith (did I miss anyone?).
To get Gail’s great eBook, along with all the other wonderful gifts from our friends here in the Garden (and many others besides, just go to http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus and find the links to Amazon to buy your copy of my new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Then come back to that same site and enter your name, email and purchase code. That’s all there is to it. you will then be able to “unlock” the bonus page and download all the goodies. Remember…. this page will ONLY be online until Easter Monday, so be sure to claim your copy of the book and these bonuses now.
To find out more about the wonderful Gail Sussman Miller how she teaches women solopreneurs, executives and companies how to turn obstacles into opportunities by boosting their emotional intelligence her many courses, training, coaching and other skills, visit her websites at:
P.S.: If you missed Gail’s show and you don’t have time to hear it now, you can access it “on demand” at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn or subscribe to “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” via iTunes.
P. P.S.: NEXT WEEK on my show on BlogTalkRadio, my special guest is our own BRUCE MORSE, American artist, photographer, poet and author of the book “Forgive Myself”, which I JUST read last week. Bruce will be sharing his personal story of how he found peace with personal crises in his own life, including the death of his young son, through the pathway of personal forgiveness. Bruce will also share selections from his book. His story is remarkable. Be sure you tune in next WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 6.30 PM UK/1.30 PM EDT at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
NEWS FLASH!
BEDFORD, ENLAND, 8 APRIL 2009. Bedford author Lynn Serafinn became an Amazon UK best-selling author yesterday when her debut book, The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Selfentered the top selling titles on the day of its launch on 7 April 2009, hitting as high as number 18 in its genres.
Amazon’s sales ratings are updated hourly. Books are not only rated in their rank according to their sales in “all books”, but also within a range of different categories. If a book appears in the ”Top 100″ within any given category, it can be said to be a best-seller.
The Garden of the Soulachieved “Amazon Best Seller” status in the UK in the rankings at 1230 PM on Tuesday 7 April, the day of its official launch, when it ranked 25th in the New Age/Occult category (assumably because it contains content about Indian spirituality) and 28th in the Mind, Body, Spirit/Spirituality category. Later in the day, these rankings rose to number 18 and 21 respectively. It shared this list with authors such as the Dalai Lama, Rhonda Byrne, Deepak Chopra and Paul McKenna, and it is actually AHEAD of some titles by Doreen Virtue, Abraham (Esther Hicks) and Eckhart Tolle. All in all, it is mighty respectable company to be amongst, especially for a brand new author.
In addition to this, by the morning of Wednesday 8 April, Lynn’s book had also reached number 92 in the extremely competitive “Self Help” category, and its rankings in the overall books on Amazon reached an extremely impressive figure of number 1,494 amongst its many MILLIONS of books.
Some words from Lynn: All of this is extremely satisfying for a first-time, self-published author working on a complete shoe-string marketing budget and who owes all success to the collaborative efforts of her many colleagues on the social networks! All hail to the power of the world wide web! When it works, it really works. And all of that is just from the first 24 hours! The real work has only just begun.
I am feeling truly grateful today. After two solid years of writing, rewriting, editing, proofing, marketing, coordinating and overall madness… the baby is finally born, and I now release it to the world. Just so you know how important each and every reader is to me, here is my “Artist’s Manifesto”, which I wrote in May 2007, and appears in the Introduction to The Garden of the Soul:
“An artist is a person who has awakened to the thrilling realisation that the real meaning of what he creates can only manifest via the multi-coloured perspectives of those other than himself.
In this state of being, he releases his vision, unattached to its destination.
Until that moment, he is not yet an artist, but a dreamer.
The true beauty of his art takes birth in the things others see in it that he does not.”
Synopsis: The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Selfis a book about becoming whole…
Called ‘as spiritual as Deepak Chopra and as magical as Paulo Coelho,’ The Garden of the Soulis a journey on the ‘path of least resistance to the Self’ through the imagery of four flowers that represent four spiritual principles: ‘Give’ (the Rose), ‘Receive’ (the Iris), ‘Become’ (the Daffodil) and ‘Be’ (the Lily).Taking the reader on a daring and magical journey through the author’s life and imagination–from stage fright and burnout in a classical music conservatory, to life inside an Indian temple, to a hidden life of domestic violence, to finding inner peace atop an old English footbridge–The Garden of the Soul explores birth, death, love, art, spirituality and transformation in an eloquent, poetic and ultimately unforgettable way. It is an open invitation to readers to explore how they are already the heroes of their own lives.
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Title: AMAZON LAUNCH! The Garden of the Soul Location: Amazon.com worldwide Link out: Click here Description: Official Amazon launch date of Lynn Serafinn’s book, The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Receive 25 beautiful bonus gifts when you purchase the book on the day. Find out how at http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus Start Time: 12:01 EDT Date: 2009-04-07
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Title: RADIO: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Location: Internet Radio Link out: Click here Description: Ep9-Food as a Pathway to Spirit.
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts British Naturopathic and Nutritional Therapist, Fran Stockley. Fran will be talking about how we can use food to deepen our spiritual connection. She will also share three principles for using food to open up both our “cells” and our “Selves” on a practical level so we can become open and more receptive to receiving guidance from the divine. Start Time: 18:30 GMT Date: 2009-03-18 End Time: 19:00 GMT
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Show:Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Episode 7: Growing Up in Your Relationships Date aired: Wed 4 March 2009
Last week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed Colorado-based Geoff Laughton, a Transformational Coach and Counsellor who specialises in inner child and relationship healing. Geoff shared his insights on how our childhood and adolescent wounds and beliefs affect our personal and professional relationships, and offered some practical tips to improve communication with your partner in a clear, adult, “Spirited” way, to deepen intimacy.
Geoff shared his own story of the struggles he had earlier in life, where he said he felt emotionally “dead” for many years. He described how he had taken what he thought would be a temporary job right after college, which ended up being a 17-year stint in the field of engineering. This, he said, gave him no intrinsic satisfaction, and left him feel empty, detached and stressed. Eventually in his mid-30s, after climbing the ladder in his career to reach the top of his field, he found himself working up to 80 hours a week, suffering from many chronic illnesses, and 100 pounds overweight. Due to his weight, which was by then about 300 pounds, his back eventually went out and he could not go to work for an entire month, being unable to drive, walk or even stand up. After that painful experience, Geoff used his willpower to lose the weight through diet and exercise over the next year. But although physically better, he was not truly and wholly well yet, for on Christmas day when he was 35 years old, he had a panic attack while standing in a book shop. In a private interview, Geoff described the terror, the racing heart, the fear of death, and the claustrophobia he felt in that attack.
Fortunately, this incident drove Geoff to do much soul-searching. He says, “The message I took from that was that it was time for me to look at what was really going on inside me. I had been overeating for a long time. So, I could see that something was wrong on the inside, but didn’t know what.” And in asking these kinds of questions, Geoff realised that, in spite of having a loving family and a highly successful career, basically he felt trapped and unfulfilled in life. So the question for him was, “What is not being fulfilled?” It was at this point that Geoff reached a turning point where he could clearly see that he had been using his career and work to avoid dealing with important emotions that had been with him since his childhood, but had not been resolved.
Geoff then started doing what he calls “significant work on himself”. He began conventional therapy and also did some group work around Transactional Analysis. All of this was very helpful, but then a good friend invited him to a special programme where he learned about the difference between thoughts and energy and how to work with both. Geoff says the experience was “intense” and that it was here where he “rediscovered and lit the fuse of his passion to help people.” He says, “I started feeling great, in body, mind and heart. I felt vibrant.”
Now back in touch with his innermost desires, Geoff embarked on the hero’s quest to live out that passion. He left the corporate world in 1996 and trained as a coach. He did Love Transformational Work and started volunteering to work with men’s groups. Then, the really big turning point happened when he started Inner Child work. Geoff quickly realised that he had a lot of unresolved and unexpressed pain from childhood and adolescence, including feelings of unworthiness and of not being good enough. He also came back in touch with different unresolved traumas, both physical and emotional, from when he was an infant and a child. He says, “I never got to be a kid while growing up. My spirit was dead, closed. My heart was not available. I felt disconnected in relation to God and spirit.” But the day after he started his Inner Child studies, he woke up with what he calls an “epiphany”. He says, “It might as well as been God standing in the room and handing me a programme telling me what I was supposed to do.” And so began Geoff’s decision to dedicate his life to being a relationship coach specialising in Inner Child work, and soon trained as an Inner Child Facilitator. These days, he helps men and women, both individually and as couples, to get in touch with their unspoken childhood pains, so they can reconnect to their hearts and souls, and develop intimate, loving and more spiritually-based relationships with their partners.
Of himself, Geoff says, “These days, I feel connected to an incredibly loving Universal Co-active Consciousness. I feel blessed to feel this in body, mind and spirit. I feel bliss, peace.”
Much of what I have written here are highlights from a private interview I had with Geoff shortly before the show. In his online broadcast, he shares other things, including different strategies for how to tap into your own inner child so you can find that same bliss, freedom and intimacy in your own personal relationships.
Speaking for myself, my own focus in life is to call out and acknowledge the inner hero that lies in every human being. And those of you who follow my writing know that my definition of a hero is one who hears the “call” of his/her own life and answers it, and brings those answers back to the world to make it a better place. Geoff’s story is an inspiring one of someone who not only hit rock-bottom and bounced back up to make himself a happy person, but also of one who is now actively helping to heal the pains of others and bring more peace, joy and connection to the world at large. So, like so many of my other wonderful guests on “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul”, Geoff is a true hero of his own life.
Transcending Survival: Stretching Towards the Divine, Tele-Class, Begins 11 March 2009
Raising Your Spirit’s Voice Workshops: Boulder, Colorado, March 27-29; Santa Cruz, CA April 3-5; Albuquerque NM April 17-19
Growing Up In Your Relationships Workshops: Los Angeles, CA, April 24-26; Santa Cruz, CA May 8-10
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You can receive a special gift from over 20 other mind-body-spirit professionals when you buy my upcoming book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Find out how to get these fantastic gifts at:
AND… you can meet Geoff personally when you come join my online community, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com. I call it “a vibrant place for cultural and spiritual creatives.” Come join Geoff and the dozens of others who are making it a very colourful place to be on the web.
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
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
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
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:
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
The Garden of the Soul is a book about becoming whole…
Described by its readers as “magical”, “spiritual”,“brilliant” and “profound”,The Garden of the Soul is a book that dances freely on both sides of the bridge between fiction and non-fiction, to illustrate the unearthing of the human spirit, using autobiography, dream work, poetry and metaphor. It is a journey on the ‘path of least resistance to the Self’ using the metaphor of four flowers that represent four spiritual principles that bring wholeness to the Self:
The Principle of Giving (the Rose)
The Principle of Receiving (the Iris)
The Principle of Becoming (the Daffodil)
The Principle of Being (the Lily).
It is an open invitation to readers to explore how they are already the heroes of their own lives.
More to follow…
Official launch date: 7 April 2009
Publisher: Give-Receive-Become-Be Publications
Enquiries: info@give-receive-become-be.com
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[NOTE to readers: this blog post originally appeared on my social network "Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul" on Ning. When I refer to people by name as "our own" and "right here", I am referring to that network, which can be accessed at 
