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
Greetings friends of the Garden of the Soul.
It came to my attention this week that my the Garden of the Soul site at give-receive-become-be dot com, which has been inactive for the past 2 years, was invaded by hackers who have been spamming my friends and followers.
I went into the back office of the site tonight and discovered over 65,000 spam articles lined up to go out on my site. It took me over 4 hours to get into my database to delete them all. Very sad that people resort to this, and I simply don’t understand what they gain from it.
I shall be paying more attention to this site from now on, and hopefully will use it as a platform to let you know about the Garden of the Soul Radio show on BlogTalkRadio on Wednesdays.
I’m so sorry if you’ve receive spam emails from this site, and MANY thanks to Callie C and Angela M who were the first to bring this to my attention so I could rectify it.
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
Personal Transformation and Why it is Important for the Greater World (Part 4)
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC Personal Transformation Coach and bestselling author
For Part 1: view post dated 7 July 2009
For Part 2: view post dated 8 July 2009
For Part 3: view post dated 9 July 2009
The role of coaching in this process In my coaching, this is a major facet of how I help people. First, I help them realise the unconscious limiting belief patterns they have created and carried with them for many years (perhaps since they were children). Because coaching focuses on the “now” and not the past, it is not essential to go back in time to the cause of these beliefs; but often I find that as soon as clients see the pattern emerging in their lives, they can frequently scan back in their memory and find the root of it without effort. Usually, they are amazed that the belief has gone back so far in time, and they begin to see the impact this belief has had upon them, sometimes for many decades. This in itself can create a huge shift in the clients’ view of life, and they see that they are truly at choice to change their belief system, if it is no longer working for them in their current lives.
Stepping into your life purpose Of course, as you begin to transform, it is also important to learn compassion and forgiveness towards oneself as you release these old belief systems, so you do not blame yourself for wasted time or spend time dwelling on regrets for past decisions. This process of “letting go” is the next stage in transformation. Taking a step back and seeing the bigger picture of the story of your life, instead of all the little stories in isolation, you begin to see who the world has been calling for you to become within your lifetime. At this stage, I help clients identify and claim their life purpose.
A life purpose is not the same thing as a career or defining what you want to “do”. A life purpose is identifying your ultimate impact on the world—your legacy. Once we come to understand that we actually have a life purpose, we look at life differently.
If the words “impact” or “legacy” are too challenging for you at this point, trying substituting them with the word “gift”. To get a clue as to your purpose in life, ask yourself these questions:
What keeps calling me over and over again throughout my life?
What do I keep resisting out of fear?
If I could create/do anything, what is the “gift” I would want to leave behind for the rest of the world?
What would I need to stop resisting so I could give that gift?
When you begin to see that you have a “gift” for the world, it shifts your sense of purpose. Instead of believing you are powerless and insignificant, you begin to see your own importance in the world. When I work with clients at this stage, I help them “claim” their life purpose, and learn how to give themselves full permission to live that purpose, for the sake of giving the gift that only they can give. This is when all the old, out-of-date belief systems simply start to slip away. No longer do we see ourselves as selfish human beings for living our life purpose, Rather we start to see that our own personal transformation and fulfilment is actually the key that can unlock a future world that is full of peace, harmony, compassion and wide-spread happiness at a global level…
To be continued.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog to receive complete article.
Coming up in Part 5:
“Becoming BIG” and
“Balance, Resilience and Recovery”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
For more information about Lynn and her work, visit:
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
Personal Transformation and Why it is Important for the Greater World (Part 3)
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC Personal Transformation Coach and bestselling author
For Part 1: view post dated 7 July 2009
For Part 2: view post dated 8 July 2009
The impact our beliefs have upon us When we are convinced that something “is” true, it stands to reason that we will not bother to look at it a different way. So at the core of this feeling of powerlessness is the belief that something simply “is” and we are not at choice with it.
But the minute we are willing to try to see the same situation from a different angle, we have stepped out of the role of being the victim, and become one step closer to our Authentic Self. For instance, if someone has the habitual tendency to criticise you, you might have developed a belief around the fact that you are trapped in this situation and cannot escape it. At the core of this belief might be a deeper belief that you are weak and powerless, or that you actually are all the horrible things that the person is saying you are. Standing in these beliefs, you already believe yourself to be weak, flawed and vulnerable, and your reactions will be dictated by these beliefs. Because you feel so vulnerable, you might react by counter-attacking their criticisms. Or, if you are feeling very flawed and weak, you might simply “stuff” your feelings so as not to get into an argument, only to feel upset or irritable about it later. You might even believe that what they are saying is true, and beat yourself up about it rather than get into a conflict with them.
This is classic “passive-aggressive” behaviour. In either case, whether passive or aggressive, you have still allowed their criticisms to affect you emotionally, and to enter your mental and physical world. In the long term, this can cause stress and even disease. In some extreme scenarios (such as abuse or incessant bullying) it might be necessary to take yourself physically out of the situation as a first step, but until you learn how to realign and rebalance yourself from such energies in the outside world, you will simply continue to swing back and forth in a passive-aggressive pattern, without being truly free of its effects.
Learning to realign Learning to realign is a matter of developing the ability to step into different perspectives where you are not “taking on” the energy of that critical person, and you do not feel the need to expend any of your own energy towards it, whether physical, mental or emotional. When you begin this process of realignment, you start to see that person as someone who is simply trapped in their own sense of powerlessness, and their criticisms lose their energy. When you do not take on that undesired energy, and you do not expend any of your own energy to reflect it, you remain equipoised, balanced and stress-free. And when the body and mind are not under stress, it means you are not only healthier and happier, but you are also more able to be creative and find more solutions to the challenges in your life. So while it is true that you cannot change the person’s behaviour, their behaviour no longer has a negative impact on you, and you find that you are more able to create the outcome you truly desire for yourself…
To be continued.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog to receive complete article.
Coming up in Part 4:
“The Role of Coaching in this Process” and
“Stepping into Your Life Purpose”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
For more information about Lynn and her work, visit:
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
Those of you who know me know that I believe there is a powerful and positive shift in global consciousness happening throughout the world. At the same time, these days we are also being met with an unparalleled amount of challenges in all aspects of our external and internal environments. The Transistion Movement was originally formed to answer the call to action we are facing with regards to the need to move away from fossil fuels for our energy supply. But really, it is much more than that. The Transition Movement (and now the Transition Network) offers us the opportunity to bring communities back together for the purpose of creating their own future, at all levels of human existence. Conservation, ecology, economy, education, abundance, health, wellbeing, global peace, non-judgment, inclusivity, self-worth, awareness of the sanctity of life and of the planet and a return to grass-roots community and support are but some of the values that I believe are a part of the emerging Transition Network.
This week I have had the great honour of being asked to be the Chairperson for Transition Bedford, which is a part of the greater Transition Network throughout the world. Local members here in Bedford would like to send me for Transition training, so I can better serve both our town and the Transition movement in general. This training will enable me to help Bedford and other local communities create their own non-political, grass-roots solutions to environmental and social challenges we currently face at a global level.
I am MOST fortunate to have been given
a place on my first training session…
THIS WEEKEND (11/12 July) in London.
Will you please pledge £10 to help send me on this training?
If we raise enough, I will also be able to go on the “Train the Transition Trainer” programme, so we can create a formidable group of Transition trainers in this part of the UK, and make a real impact in building awareness in our schools and local communities, so everyone can understand both the importance and the practical means of living in harmony with each other and with our environment.
AND, as Founder/Leader of the Global Wellness Circle here in Britain, I will also be able to utilise my training directly to serve a rapidly growing network of over 400 members in the central UK region.
To give your pledge, or for more information about the training and the Transition Network in general, click on the link above, or go to: http://www.pledgebank.com/TTTraining
NOTE: You don’t need to live in Bedford or even in the UK to help. All you need is to do is this:
Send £10 to this email: lynn [at] create-a-life [dot] co [dot] uk. Replace the word “at” with “@” and the words “dot” with a dot “.”
If you send your £10 as a “gift”, you can opt to pay the 53p service charge to ensure we receive your complete donation. Transition Bedford is not yet registered, but when we do, we can send you a receipt so you can deduct it from your taxes.
Want to know more about the Transition movement? Check out this video by Rob Carr:
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
Personal Transformation and Why it is Important for the Greater World (Part 2)
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC Personal Transformation Coach and bestselling author
(if you missed Part 1, view post dated 7 July 2009)
The stories we tell ourselves In my work, I have discovered that many people would indeed change, even at the age of 50 or even older, if they believed they had the power, choice and courage to do so. I hear them say things like, “Ok, all that sounds really good, but I can’t change my life. I have a family, job, etc. It would be SELFISH for me to change. My world would fall apart. I would let everyone else down. It would be irresponsible of me. I cannot change my life. Isn’t it the mature and dignified thing to simply accept what we cannot change?”
Well here’s something that might come as a shock to you—if you are not living the life that the world had in mind for you when you came into this world, and you are currently suffering as a result, it is actually selfish of you NOT to transform yourself, and step into the person you were always meant to be. Why? Because you are not on the outside of the world looking in, or the inside of your own little world looking out. You are an integral part of this greater world called the Universe. You are like a facet in a very intricate diamond. If I take out your facet, the entire system loses a bit of its lustre. When you are not living the life the Universe deeply desires you to live, you not only get caught in an endless karmic swirl of frustration and personal dissatisfaction, but you also cause the Universe to weep for that person it knows you are, and for the impact it wants you to create in the greater world.
“Whoa there—impact?” you may ask. “Who me? You say I am supposed to create an impact? People like me don’t create an impact on the world.”
Well, here’s the news:
You are exactly the same kind of person as those you consider to be great heroes
Everything you do already creates an impact, whether you are aware of it or not
Why we stay stuck I believe that the reason why so many of us stay stuck in lives that do not fulfil us is because we believe we are powerless. I believe that this feeling arises from a basic lack of connection to Self and the rest of the world. When we feel disconnected from Self and other, our energies are driven downwards—mentally, physically and emotionally—and we become less able to see and feel our impact, even though we are indeed creating one. We begin to feel isolated and insignificant, and these feelings can lead us to believe we are very small and therefore have no impact upon the world. And sadly, when we believe ourselves to be these things, the world (and the life) we create for ourselves only reinforces these beliefs again and again.
Seeing so much “evidence” around us confirming (or so we believe) that we are small and insignificant, we develop the underlying belief that life is “happening to us” and all of this is simply beyond our control. As soon as we adopt this belief system, where we hold ourselves to be powerless, we have stepped into the role of the victim. Playing the role of the victim is a very subtle thing. Many of us may not realise we are doing it, and would argue that it is not true. Many of us might say, “You’re wrong. I’m not playing the victim. It’s just that the economy really is bad right now” or “It’s just that my parent/partner is always so critical of me” or “It’s just the way my life is right now” or “It’s just that my body is prone to such-and-such illness.” As soon as such “is” statements become our truths, we take on the role of the victim because we are saying that we are simply powerless against the forces around us. And in some distorted way, this because a very satisfying place to be for many people (I used to be like this myself) because it allows us to blame another person, entity or circumstance for our troubles, thus making us feel less critical of ourselves. But deep down, we are simply spinning in a vortex of powerlessness that we ourselves have chosen…
To be continued.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog to receive complete article.
Coming up in Part 3:
“The Impact Our Beliefs Have Upon Us” and
“Learning to Realign”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
For more information about Lynn and her work, visit:
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
Personal Transformation and Why it is Important for the Greater World (Part 1)
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC Personal Transformation Coach and bestselling author
Like so many other coaches I know, when I first started my coaching practice, I was going through many changes in my life. Moving to a new country, major illness/surgery, my father’s death, menopause, divorce from a 22-year abusive marriage, recovery from post-traumatic stress, leaving my decades-old religious and social circles, doing a Masters degree and a full teaching qualification, feeling the pangs of “empty nest” when my daughter started her adult life, moving to a new town with nothing but a computer and a suitcase of clothes, living completely on my own for the first time since my 20s, becoming a grandmother, changing jobs three times while climbing the corporate ladder in the educational sector, “making it” by becoming a director of a college department with a good salary and even better prestige, and then suddenly dropping everything to change my career completely to start my own coaching practice (and all the training that goes along with it) had all come within an unbelievably short time period of only 7 years. Furthermore, by the end of those 7 years, I was already in my early 50s. Who in their right mind would start their lives over from scratch at such an age and after going through all that change already?
So, was I in my right mind?
Well, since making the decision to embark on my own journey of personal transformation:
A long list of long-term physical illnesses have vanished from my life
I look and feel 10 years younger than I did 10 years ago
I won a business award for my coaching
I started an organisation called the Global Wellness Circle that is transforming the holistic community in central England
I became a talk radio host and frequent media guest
I have been a keynote speaker at such events as International Women’s Day
AND I wrote and self-published an Amazon bestselling book called The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self
Furthermore, I have coached and mentored hundreds of people through the process of their own personal transformation.
But regardless of all those wonderful things, for which I am truly grateful, the most significant thing of all is that I can honestly say I am truly, deeply happy and fulfilled, and that I know my life has meaning and purpose.
Fleeting versus Ultimate Happiness A sense of purpose is the most important element in finding deep, core happiness. “Every day happiness” can come to us in many guises. We are happy when we fall in love, have children, are accepted for great new job, complete a course of study, or win a competition. But all of these things are what I call “fleeting happiness” because they are dependent upon time and circumstance. What happens when circumstances change? Where is happiness then?
Ultimate happiness—or joy—can really only come when we are connected to a sense of purpose. You might call it “Divine Purpose” (or at least I do). I firmly believe that every human being is born with an innate purpose to fulfil in this world, and that unless and until we hear the call of that purpose—and answer it—we will continue to spin around in life, trying to get as much “fleeting happiness” as we can find. But the problem with this is that as soon as the “fleeting happiness” runs its course, we will simply look for our next “hit”, because we don’t necessarily have the deep core happiness and joy that comes from living a life “on purpose.”
To be continued.
Be sure to subscribe to this blog to receive complete article.
Coming up in Part 2:
“The Stories We Tell Ourselves” and
“Why We Stay Stuck”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
For more information about Lynn and her work, visit:
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
Event: An Evening in the Garden of the Soul
Date: Friday 7 August 2009 Start Time: 7.30 PM (doors open at 7pm) Location: Life and Soul Academy, Boxmoor Hall, St Johns Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1JR Tickets:http://tinyurl.com/gots-7aug09
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
A one-woman show!
An unforgettable multi-media performance combining storytelling, music, poetry, performance, inspiration and life lessons. Presented by Lynn Serafinn, award-winning Personal Transformation Coach, teacher, musician, public speaker, radio host and Amazon bestselling author of The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self.
“As spiritual as Deepak Chopra and as magical as Paulo Coelho.” Lina Nahhas, 1-Urban Humanity
Tickets: £10 at the door; £8 in advance.
Special offer through Friday 17 July ONLY: Get your ticket PLUS a signed copy of the book for only £20 (a 50% savings on cost of entry).
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
Hi there Garden of the Soul friends,
Here is your Garden of the Soul Meditation/Practice for the week. This week’s number was selected intuitively by our lovely Callie Carling of London. She sent the number 13. Callie says, “13 is unlucky for some, but not for me.” I selected this number at random from about 10 numbers I received this week.
I read part of this week’s meditation earlier this week on my Wednesday broadcast of “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul on Blog Talk Radio. You can listen on demand at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
Lucky number 13 is in the number for the attribute of “Vitality” that (once again) appears in section on “The Rose: The Principle of Giving.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 13: Vitality
The Rose: The Principle of Giving
Vitality is that inner quality that generates Life. Vitality is one of the easiest and most direct indicators of our connection to Divine Source. It’s easy: if we expend great amounts of energy and feel drained, we know we are not in alignment with Source. When we feel full of life, and feel unstoppable as we progress towards our dreams, we can be confident we are in alignment with Source. When we are in alignment, we become agents of Divine Vitality, wherein lie unlimited creative possibilities.
In The Garden of the Soul the Rose is the sweet embodiment of Divine Vitality. Her vibrant colour, her unrelenting scent, her prickly thorns, her full blossoms that burst with life so full that they make the rose bush bend under their weight, give us a model of Vitality that speaks directly to the heart. And herein lies the key. Vitality means Divine vibrancy, not merely physical health. And while it is always essential to care for the body, true Vitality comes when all parts of the Self are connected and in flow.
Symptoms of when it is blocked or distorted Lethargy, frustration, headaches, exhaustion, irritability, apathy, boredom, sleeplessness, aches, pains, chronic disease
Symptoms of when it is flowing Enthusiasm, bubbly personality, glowing health, sparkling eyes, unstoppable, fun loving, ready to go, radiant inside and out
Enquiries to cultivate this attribute
Where in my life do I feel the most lethargic and apathetic?
Where in my life do I feel the most enthusiastic and radiant?
What things would be wonderful to add into my life that would give my heart a real surge of Vitality?
Practical exercise to cultivate this attribute Think back to a time in your life when you felt radiant, vibrant and glowing from the inside out. Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? Reflect upon all the elements of that scene that made it wonderful, and write down one key word or metaphor that reminds you of each of these elements. Read these key words aloud every morning, and set the intention to find one small thing in the world that day that can bring you the essence of that same feeling of Divine Vitality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you liked this week’s Garden of the Soul Weekly Meditation. Read below to find you how you can help me write my next book, have your name mentioned on the radio, and have a chance to be mentioned in the book, under my acknowledgements.
HOW TO HELP ME WRITE MY NEXT BOOK…
I am writing a “Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul: 80 Daily/Weekly Practices to Allow Your Spirit to Blossom”. The book has 80 Daily (or Weekly) meditations to help to cultivate the spiritual attributes of the four flowers in the book. All 80 attributes are already “assigned” a number, but the entries for them have not necessarily been written yet.
YOU CAN HELP ME WRITE MY BOOK!
Every Wednesday through Sunday, just send me a number from 1 – 80 that you pick intuitively.
I will put all the numbers into a “hat” and chose one at random.
I will publish the correlating “meditation” for that number on the following Friday.
AND… if you number is selected, I will also read your name and your intuitively chosen meditation ON THE AIR on my weekly broadcast of “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn. Now that our show is 1 hour long, I have plenty of time for this. It’s just so much fun.
AND…I will also mention every person whose number was selected in the “acknowledgements” section of my book when it is published!
HOW DO YOU SEND ME YOUR NUMBER?
You can send me your number by:
HERE’S THE BEAUTY OF IT…
If you send me a numbers for which I haven’t written the entries yet, I’ll write them as you send them. In other words, if 10 of you send me 10 new numbers, then I will write 10 new entries, but I will only post only one per week. That way, you will help me write my book, and you will receive a free meditation every week.
SO FAR THE WEEKLY MEDITATIONS I HAVE SENT TO YOU HAVE BEEN:
Day 75: Self-Awareness, selected by Kristina Berglund
Day 11: Boldness, selected by Kate Parker
Day 13: Vitality, selected by Callie Carling
???? Coming next week! What does YOUR intuition tell you?
I look forward to receiving your intuitive number this week.
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
Title: Dresser after Dark Location: Syndicated on 35 different US/UK radio stations (see list) Link out: Click here Description: Host Michael Dresser interviews author Lynn Serafinn about the meaning and teachings of her book “The Garden of the Soul”. Syndicated on 35 radio stations in US and UK. Click the link to see ful list and find a station in your area. Start Time: 1:00 AM Date: 2009-06-25
(Stations shown below in bold have a live internet stream so you can listen right now!)
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
Have you ever wanted to write a book or see your name in print? Well, here’s an easy way for you to help ME write my next book, and have your name appear in my acknowledgments…
All you have to do is pick a number from 1 – 80!
I am writing a “Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul” that has 80 Daily/Weekly meditations to help to cultivate the spiritual attributes of the four flowers in the book. You can help me write my book! Just send me a number from 1 – 80 that you pick intuitively.
I will draw one number at random to appear in next week’s meditation, which I will publish on Friday here on the blog. If you send me a number for which I haven’t written the entries yet, I’ll WILL write it if you send it to me. In other words, if 10 of you send me 10 new numbers, then I will write 10 new entries, but I will only post ONE of the ones I receive per week. That way, you will help me write my book, and you will receive a free meditation every week. AND I will also mention every person whose number was selected in the “acknowledgements” section of my book when it is published. Sound like fun?
To “play” all you need to do is:
Subscribe to this blog
Post a comment to this post below with your “intuitive” number (so everyone has a chance to play, comments will go “live” after I announce the winner for the week)
Watch every Friday for a brand new weekly meditation
By the way, I started this “game” on my Facebook group last week, so I do have one meditation already done for you, which I’ll put in my next post later today.
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
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul EP17-Forgiveness as a Pathway to Freedom GUEST: Brenda Adelman DATE AIRED:Thursday 14 May 2009
I first met the lovely Brenda Adelman on the coaching networks. When I first heard her story, and about her current work, I knew that she had to be a guest on my show “The Garden of the Soul.” Read on and you’ll see why.
Originally from Brooklyn (like me!) but now residing in Los Angeles, California, Brenda is an award-winning actress, Unity Church Prayer Chaplain, and Forgiveness Coach. What is a “forgiveness coach”? It is someone who works with clients at a deeply spiritual level to enable them to “forgive the unforgivable.” For her outstanding work in the field of forgiveness, helping others to forgive, and overcoming tremendous forgiveness of her own challenges as well, Brenda was the recipient of Hero of Forgiveness Award from the International Hawaii Forgiveness Project in 2008.
What makes Brenda a hero of forgiveness? In 1995 she heard a shot that, as she describes it, “shattered her world” when her mother was shot and killed at point-blank range… by her father. If that would not be enough for one young person to forgive, her father then went on to marry her mother’s sister. On the show, Brenda read an excerpt of this story as she tells it in her upcoming book, Forgive and Be Free: A Pathway to Personal Happiness. I must say that it is gripping and chilling at the same time. The shock of it, as Brenda reads it, does justice (as much as one can with words) to the shock she must have felt when this happened. Brenda then told me about all the subtle ways this impacted her at a deep level. Grief, anger, rage, shame, depression, loss and so many other emotions became a tangled web in her life.
I am quite sure that most people would agree this is just about as close to “unforgivable” as you can get. So imagine coming to a place within yourself where you were not only able to forgive everyone in this situation (father, aunt, the court system, society, the universe, God, self…) but you were also able to step into peacefulness and inner joy. Pretty amazing, huh? Well, now imagine that you not only reach this place within yourself, but you also use all of your talents and abilities to help others overcome devastating loss in their own lives by learning how to forgive. This will give you an idea of who Brenda is, and what she does.
Brenda has created a one-woman show entitled “My Brooklyn Hamlet” that tells the story of her journey from tragedy to freedom in a theatrical setting. After the show, she delivers a workshop entitled “Forgiving the Unforgivable as a Path to Freedom.” She does this, she says, “to open people’s hearts and gets them out of blame.”
As a special gift to our listeners, Brenda shared her 5 Top Reasons to Never Forgive and Why You Must:
Number 1 reason why you tell yourself you must never forgive:
If I forgive this person I am condoning what he/she did. Why you must: Forgiveness is for you, not them. It sets you free.
Number 2 reason why you tell yourself you must never forgive:
My anger assures me that this person will never be in my life again. Why you must: Your anger assures you that this person is constantly in your life through either obsessive thinking about them or suppressing your thoughts about them.
Number 3 reason why you tell yourself you must never forgive:
They will hurt me again.
Why you must: Being angry and unforgiving actually increases the odds of you being triggered emotionally (being upset) by something else that they do.
Number 4 reason why you tell yourself you must never forgive:
Who would I be if I forgave them?
Why you must: You wouldn’t be the same person who holds a grudge, lives in fear and needs a wall up to protect yourself. Your open heart, good judgment and healthy boundaries would lead to a life of more joy.
Number 5 reason why you tell yourself you must never forgive:
What happened to me or a loved one was just too horrible. Why you must: It was horrible. In order for you to create the beautiful and empowering life that you want you need to acknowledge that, grieve what was lost and/or what was taken from you and learn how to release those parts in you that are stuck in darkness and pain.
And finally, Brenda reminds us that “Forgiveness is a process not an event.”
If you want to find out more about Brenda, listen to the podcast below. And after you do, be sure to visit Brenda’s websites, to get a whole lot of free forgiveness “stuff”:
Sign up to find out when Brenda’s new book, Forgive and Be Free: A Pathway to Personal Happiness will be available and get a small gift called Your Personal Forgiveness Assessment at http://www.forgiveandbefreebook.com
And join Brenda for her next free “Forgiveness Teleclass” on Wednesday,May 27th at 5 PM Pacific time “What is a Healthy Boundary? How do you Set It?” Sign-up at http://www.forgivenessandfreedom.com (replay available).
Going to be in Los Angeles in June?—Come see award-winning actress Brenda Adelman in her one-woman show, My Brooklyn Hamlet, on Sunday, June 7th at 7 PM at Celebration Theatre in Hollywood. Get tickets online at www.celebrationtheatre.com . A Q&A follows the performance.
NEXT ON
Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
(this show was already aired; catch the blog and podcast shortly)
Wednesday 20 May
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Ep18-Photography and Transformation
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 American photographer and transformation teacher Sheila Finkelstein.Sheila will be sharing her tips for using the camera as a tool for personal transformational, through which you learn to see the world with new and different eyes. She will tell us about her success in helping people who previously told themselves they were “not artists” to find and express their unique vision, by noticing the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary, and the magic that is all around us within what she calls the “accidental art” of the world. Check out Sheila’s stunning photography in Lynn’s video “Song of the Rose” at http://tinyurl.com/rose-song.
About the show, “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” Weekly broadcast 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. Hosted by Lynn Serafinn, Personal Transformation Coach and author living in Bedford England dedicated to awakening the authentic voice in all people. She is the author of the Amazon bestselling book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self, and the Founder/Leader of The Global Wellness Circle, a holistic community project that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK.
Lynn’s next live appearance: Saturday 23 May
EVENT: Edenbridge UK Independent Authors Book Fair 9 AM – 4 PM
VENUE: Rickards Hall, 72 High Street, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 5AR
The first Independent Authors Book Fair takes place as part of the Eden Valley festival. The festival celebrates the West Kent community of Edenbridge town and the surrounding villages. The Book Fair presents twelve independent authors covering a range of genres. There will be a programme of talks, presentations and readings running throughout the day from 9.00 – 4.00. Light refreshments will be available. Join Lynn and 11 other UK independent authors for this inaugural event. Get to meet authors 1-to-1, ask questions, hear talks of writing and publishing, and purchase signed copies of their books. Be the first to be in the know about who is setting the trends in the independent writing field.
Amongst the speakers, author Lynn Serafinn will be delivering a talk on her new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self which reached Amazon bestseller status in both the US and the UK the first week of its release in such categories as spirituality, mind-body-spirit and self-help. Visit Lynn’s book blogsite at http://www.give-receive-become-be.com for more information and full media kit for The Garden of the Soul. More information at: http://www.ukindependentauthors.co.uk/Edenbridge_Book_Fair.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
Show: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Ep15-Astrology, Numerology and Birth Order to Discover Your Life Purpose Special Guest: Michelle Payton, Ph.D. Date aired:Wednesday 29 April2009
Well, my blog is a TOTALLY late this week! Last week I had a whole series of physical challenges that got me in a real state. First I had a massive spasm in my shoulder that wouldn’t go away. The pain was excruciating. Over the week, it became obvious to me that the spasm was actually being triggered by something weird going on in my teeth. Then, finally, on Sunday of this week one of my teeth when totally haywire and I had massive nerve pain running through my head, face and neck. It was so painful I just couldn’t think straight at all. AND then on top of everything else, it was a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and everything was closed. I ended up in the hospital at A&E, where they pumped me full of pain killers until I could get to my dentist…which I finally did yesterday. She took one look at my tooth and said that the root was dying and that I need a root canal right away. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? Well, I have to say she actually did a magnificent job of it. Apart from the pain of the shot going into the roof of my mouth (OUCH!), I felt absolutely no pain; today, I am happy to say, I am pain-free, drug-free and even should-spasm free. I feel really lucky and in SUCH a better mood!
So, while the going is good, I decided I would write TWO blogs today about my past two guests on BlogTalkRadio. The first is about last week’s show, which aired on Wednesday 29 April 2009, where I interviewed Conscious Living Communicator and 6-time author Michelle Payton, Ph.D.
Michelle explained that she calls herself a “conscious living communicator” and a “mind over matter professional” because the essence of her work is to help others live consciously. She said that she was led to this work by asking herself questions like:
“Why am I doing what I am doing?”
“How do I learn how to interact with others gracefully?”
“How do I express my own intuition to others with ease?”
In Michelle’s work, she uses a variety of methods to “help people relax into who they are” including hypnotherapy, NLP and EFT. But one particular method that she created, and about which she is particularly enthusiastic, is called “Birth Mix Patterns” (BMP). BMP combines Astrology, Numerology and Birth Order. She calls this your “Cosmic Personality Mix” and says that understanding it can help you create better relationships, and gain insight into your underlying life path.
Michelle discussed the appeal and logic of combining these methods. She commented that, in her opinion, numerology has a masculine feel, while astrology has a more feminine quality. She says that when she goes into a workplace using BMP, it’s actually a lot of fun, and it takes the mystique out of these three elements. She also mentioned that men especially seem to be extremely interested in understanding their birth order to shed light on their own personalities.
Michelle’s unique method involves taking the birth date of a person and putting it into its numerical equivalent, and then looking at it in the context of birth order. To show how easy it is to do, she gave a short demo on the air, by looking at my own numerology, birth date and birth order. She pointed out that birth order is not always self-evident. We can be “only children” if we are more than 5 years away from our nearest sibling. Also, being the first in a particular gender (i.e., the first girl or the first boy) can also impact our personality. If you want to find out what she said about me… well, you’ll just have to listen to the podcast below.
And after you do, be sure to visit Michelle’s website and calculate your own numbers for yourself for FR*EE:
NEXT ON
Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
(this show was already aired; catch the blog and podcast shortly)
Wednesday 6 May 2009 Ep16: Voice as a Key to Wholeness 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 coach and spiritual healer Gemini Adams, author of the book “Your Legacy of Love: realise the gift in goodbye”. Gemini will share her own story of how her mother’s untimely death when she was a young woman gave her insight into value of creating a loving and living legacy for those we leave behind us after we leave the world, as a means of overcoming and preparing for the challenges of loss. She will also talk about how this experience helped her to unlock her own voice to find ultimate wholeness of self and peace with the universe after years of previously unresolved bereavement.
About the show, “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” Weekly broadcast 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. Hosted by Lynn Serafinn, Personal Transformation Coach and author living in Bedford England dedicated to awakening the authentic voice in all people. She is the author of the Amazon bestselling book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self, and the Founder/Leader of The Global Wellness Circle, a holistic community project that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK.
You can STILL receive 26 special mind-body-spirit gifts when you buy my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self before Friday 8 May 2009.
This is the ABSOLUTE final deadline… it was actually supposed to end last week, but my toothache got in the way!
So, my pain is your gain!
Buy the book and 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
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
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.
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: Healing the Universe Location: BlogTalkradio Link out: Click here Description: Crystal Clear Speaks with Joe Rumbolo. Joe interviews Lynn Serafinn, author of The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Start Time: 1:00 GMT (yes, 1 AM) Date: 2009-04-03 End Time: 2:30 GMT
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: 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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Gail Sussman Miller Location: Gail Sussman Miller’s Blog Link out: Click here Description: Stop number 15 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Check out Gail’s Inspired Choice blog and find out what she has to say about the book. Date: 2009-03-25
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Kristina Berglund Location: Kristina Berglund’s Vedic Art Blog Link out: Click here Description: Stop number 14 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Check out Kristina’s Vedic Art blog and find out what she has to say about the book. Kristina is also the artist of the fabulous mandala artwork on the cover of the book! Date: 2009-03-24
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Gina Marks Location: Gina Marks’s Blog Link out: Click here Description: Stop number 12 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Gina interviews Lynn on the topic of personal transformatin, and the mind-body-soul connection. Lynn shares her views on the link between emotional repression and chronic illness, and shares her own journey of recovery from a crippling case of fibromyalgia and other ailments, and how this led her to understand the four spiritual principles of “give, receive, become and be” that appear in her book The Garden of the Soul. Date posted: 2009-03-21
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Duncan Brodie Location: Duncan Brodies’ Blog Link out: Click here Description: Stop number 11 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Check out Duncan’s blog and find out what he has to say about the book. Date: 2009-03-20
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Lola Fayemi Location: Lola Fayemi’s blog Link out: Click here Description: Stop number 10 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Check out Lola’s blog and find out what she has to say about the book. Date: 2009-03-19
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Judy Davids Location: Judy Davids’s Link out: Click here Description: Stop number 9 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Check out Judy’s blog and find out what she has to say about the book. Date: 2009-03-18
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Heidi Richards Location: Heidi Richards’s Blog Link out: Click HERE Description: Stop number 8 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self.Check out Heidi’s blog and find out what she has to say about the book. Date: 2009-03-17
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: Virtual Blog Tour for Garden of the Soul: Claudia Merydech Location: Claudia Merydech’s Blog Link out: Click here Description: Stop 7 on the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Lynn Serafinn’s new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self.Check out Claudia’s book review blog and find out what she has to say about the book. Date: 2009-03-16
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
BlogTalkRadio presents
Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Episode 1: “Peace Begets Peace” (full programme info below)
Listen below to broadcast first aired Thursday 22 January 2009
About the episode “Peace Begets Peace” Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts special guests Lina Nahhas of “1-Urban Humanity for the Middle East” and Davina Smollan of “You” South Africa to share a formula for peace at both a personal and global level. Discussion will include how focusing on your inner peace can cause a shift in society, and create lasting peace within our homes, communities and the world at large.
About Lynn Serafinn, host
Lynn is a Personal Transformation Coach living in Bedford England, dedicated to awakening the authentic voice in all people through her company Create-a-Life. She is the author of the upcoming book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self, and the Founder/Leader of The Global Wellness Circle, a holistic community project that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK.
About Lina Nahhas, guest speaker Lina is an Arab Canadian social researcher and social reformer living in Dubai dedicated to creating a new consciousness where all people see past cultural labels, and embrace the humanity within each other. She is the Founder/Leader of ‘1-Urban Humanity for the Middle East.’
About Davina Smollan, guest speaker Davina is a Jewish woman and a personal and organizational transformation coach living in South Africa dedicated to helping others embrace themselves as their own full-range masterpiece living powerfully in accordance with their true worth for the purpose of creating a larger, connected humanity. Her Johannesburg-based organisation ‘You’ works with people of all ages, creeds and colours to achieve these goals.
About the show, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Based upon the lessons from the book of the same name, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul is a broadcast series offering a range of inspiring topics and special guests, 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.
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
10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker – Part 10 By Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC author, speaker and personal transformation coach
You’ve made it now to the end! Here’s Part 10…
STEP 10: Follow up! Ok, you have read so much over the past 10 days that I am going to make this one a very short one, to give you time to assimilate all that information. But while I might not be writing as much today, step 10 is quite possibly THE most important step to take if you are to make an actual career out of public speaking. So in this case, size doesn’t matter!
So, here’s the deal. If you are serious about building a following, the most important thing to do is to FOLLOW UP with your guests. Communicate with them regularly (at least once a month) so that they get to know you personally, and will want to come see you again some day… even if it’s some time down the line. Keep the “buzz” rolling with them. Don’t just tell them where you will be appearing next. Send them bits of inspiration on a regular basis. Make your communications something they look forward to. Make yourself stand out from the crowd. And then, of course, by all means do publicise your upcoming events, and make them feel like they are part of your VIP list. You will get a loyal following if you are also loyal to your followers. Treat them like gold.
If you are communicating via email and you are really serious about doing this right, I highly recommend investing in a proper email deliver system/autoresponder and stay away from sending out bulk emails from your personal email account. Here are a couple of links below:
GetResponse (I have used them for 2 years now) AWeber (I have not used them but they come highly recommended)
Both of these systems are not just email delivery systems. They also can set up automated messages in a series to your subscribers. Learn how to set up capture pages on your website, and give people good value for signing up with you. This will all help to grow your list, and establish your career. It’s not the goal of this series to get into a whole discussion on Internet marketing, so I’ll leave you with that for now.
OK, that is all part of PHASE 1.
Next, it’s time to move on to the next stage. You have an event under your belt, a growing mailing list and a handful of testimonials. It’s time to get on the phone to a couple of those organisations who hire speakers and start SHOUTING ABOUT YOURSELF!
That’s one way to get started from the ground up. How you can take this further and make money from this is another chapter.
Want to take this dream further? I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.
You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.
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
10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker – Part 9 By Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC author, speaker and personal transformation coach
Whew! You’ve done the event, so why is there a Part 9?
STEP 9: Ask for endorsements.OK, it’s time to remember the focus of this article series is about BECOMING a motivational speaker, not making a motivating speech. It was never about doing a single gig. This is about your career. And as a career, you need to think about how you are going to get your next gig.
If you were going to a job interview, you would take your CV with you to your potential employer. You would put all your employment experience and references. Making a career in public speaking is not very different. You also need a “CV” of sorts, except we are going to call it a media kit. And you don’t list your employment history, but rather you list your speaking engagements. AND you don’t list your references, but rather your endorsements/testimonials.
There are several ways to get endorsements from people. One of the easiest ways to do it is to have feedback sheets at the event. This is a common method, but in my experience these kinds of endorsements don’t usually contain the type of rigorous material you need. People are in a hurry to get home, or they want to talk to other people, so they tend to just say things like, “It was great!” Well that might be a nice ego boost, but it doesn’t do much for you in terms of telling a potential speaking host about why you are so great. So to get those really juicy, lovely endorsements, you have to target the right people and ask the right questions.
So what are the right questions to ask? Basically three things that break down into past, present and future:
PAST: What were there expectations before the talk?
PRESENT: How did the talk meet or exceed their expectations?
FUTURE: What impact has this talk made upon them? The impact could be how they felt as a result, how your talk will help them, or how it raised their awareness.
So if you don’t get enough endorsements via feedback sheets at the event, when and how do you get them? Well, you could send out an email follow up to all your guests. Again, in my experience this does not always produce the desired effect. People are so inundated with emails that they simply don’t get around to it. Surely you can do this, but don’t expect this to be your best sort of endorsements.
The very best way to get endorsements is to call people up on the phone.
YIKES! Call people up and ask them to sing your praises? Yes! Here’s how.
If, at the event, someone casually tells you how much they enjoyed your talk, then ask them if you can call them up to get an endorsement from them, to use in your marketing materials. If you have genuinely made an impact on them, they are generally all too happy to honour your request. Try to set up a few of these calls before people leave your event.
If you haven’t made too much contact with people at the event (or you got cold feet about asking), then the next day call up a few people you know by name and ask them how they enjoyed the evening. Be sure to ask them the three questions above, reworded of course so they sound more natural and in your own voice. Take notes as they are talking and try to write down exactly what they are saying. Then pick out the best bits and read it back to them and ask if you can quote these words to use it as a testimonial/endorsement for your website or marketing material. Also, be extremely courteous and ask if you can use their full name. Most will give this permission, but some might prefer initials only.
Something you need to remember is that once people have seen you speaking in public, you have already raised your image in their eyes. You are now on a different level to them. Remember always: you ARE a public speaker now. Not everyone can do what you do. People like to listen to good speakers. What that means is that when you ask for endorsements, people will probably be so flattered you have asked, they will even ADD more compliments to their feedback. And also, don’t’ forget, if your endorsers own businesses or websites, you can always put their business name or links on your materials. It is a win-win situation.
So don’t be shy about getting endorsements. They are easy to get and vital to your success as a motivational speaker. And, yes, they ARE an ego boost!
Want to take this dream further? I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.
You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.
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
10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker – Part 8 By Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC author, speaker and personal transformation coach
Drum roll!! It’s time for the best of all! Part 8…
STEP 8: The big night. This event is not just about your speaking. It is about the entire impression you leave behind. Believe me, sometimes I have not given the proper care and attention to a particular gig, and frankly I was received with the corresponding lack of care and attention. Remember that, yes, people will be listening to what you say, but the truth is they will already start to decide what they think about your talk the minute they walk in the door (and before!). It is highly important that you bond with your audience in whatever way is your style. It is also extremely important to plan and oversee the flow of the event so that it ensures you will have an audience for another one in the future. Here are some suggestions.
I highly suggest that you create a mailing list template for the event so you can take people’s names and emails (or addresses/phone, if you prefer). This will be at the door as people come in. Don’t just LEAVE it on a table. Have someone (not you) is at the door collecting the entry charge (if any) AND people’s names and emails for you. This is extremely important. If you omit this step in your planning, your event will not give you the desired result because you have no way to follow up with your potential audience. Of course, if someone else has planned the event for you and the guest are members of their list, you would have to ask their permission to do this. Be sure that you have tick boxes on the opt-in sheet that asks if people would like to subscribe to yours newsletter or hear about upcoming talks, etc., according to you situation.
Another thing I highly recommend is to prepare a short 1-page article with you photo and contact info on it, and have the entry person hand it to people as they come in the door (or you could put them on the chairs in the audience so they are there before they sit down). The article should be in some way related to your talk, and have a short “call to action” at the end where you briefly let people know how to contact your about your services, your book or your availability for talks. The power of putting an article in the hands of your audience (as opposed to just a business card) is immense. It already establishes you as an expert AND people will come up to you and want to speak with you even before you begin your talk. The last time I used this strategy I got a new client and two paid speaking engagements. Use this tip. It works.
The night/day of the talk, show up an hour early to the venue. Bring a few people along to help you prepare the space nicely and make it welcoming. As mentioned before, thing aesthetically. The space is just as important as you are.
Here is the MOST important thing. Don’t sit in the wings waiting to “go on stage”. Use the first half-hour to socialise with your guests. When the doors open, greet your guests at the door personally. Shake their hands and get to know their names. Use the time to feel relaxed. Believe me, you DON’T need to go over your notes one more time. You already know your topic. Too much rehearsal will make you MORE nervous, not less.
Then give your talk! Make sure it is lively, interactive and interesting. Hold the room by establishing eye contact with different people at different times in the talk. Don’t stare out into space. If you get “stuck”, don’t ever apologise to the audience. Don’t say, “I’m really nervous.” You don’t want the audience to take care of you. You want to lead them. Remember: they have bothered to make the time to come here to hear what you have to say, so they are already open and willing to hear you. You don’t have to work as hard as you might think.
Never EVER read from a book and never use a script (unless you are doing a book reading, and then you really should practice on your “performance” to make if full of life)! The best talks are those when the audience is engaged, and when they go away with a new skill or outlook. If you simply talk “to” them, they will switch off. Think of ice breakers. Think of things you can get them to do in pairs. Engage them in dialogue as you are talking (if the group is small enough). They will feel connected to you. They will want to come back the next month.
Did I say “next month”? YES… make sure you have a follow up date set up, and be sure you tell them about your next event before the end of the meeting. We’ll talk more about that in the next tip…
Want to take this dream further? I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.
You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.
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