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
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.
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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.
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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
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.
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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
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul EP20-Feeling is Healing GUEST: Steve Ryals DATE AIRED:Wednesday 3 June 2009
Every now and then, you meet a person whose every thought, word and way of looking at things just seems to shine back to you like a mirror. My guest on my last episode of “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” was one of those rare mirrors, whose clarity of heart was so evident that we were able to connect within seconds of first speaking together. That person was Mr Steve Ryals, a licensed spiritual coach and “Feelings Coach,” and author of the transformative book Drunk with Wonder: Awakening to the God Within.
Steve’s book kicks off with a bang. The opening words of the first sentence hurtle us directly into a graphic scene in which he describes one of his many experiences shooting speed in Haight Ashbury in the 1960s. From that scene, we travel along with Steve down the rabbit hole of bereavement, depression, alcoholism and dissociation. But Steve shows us this descent only for the sake of contrast, for his book is far from a nostalgic ode to the Summer of Love. It is, rather, a collection of spiritual dialogues between Steve and his Higher Self.
Which brings us to explore the reasons why this book is described as “‘Where What the Bleep Do we Know?’ meets ‘Conversations with God’”.
First, let’s talk about “Conversations.” Dialogue as a literary vehicle is as old as philosophical thought itself. While so many of our modern philosophical works are presented in the form of scholarly theses, the Greeks, the ancient Indian Vedas and countless other oral traditions of the past utilised dialogues (and metaphoric stories) to present and explain complex spiritual concepts. Following in the tradition of these ancient texts, Steve Ryals, in Drunk with Wonder, allows his “Higher Self” to engage in an ongoing debate with his “lower self”, who asks many of the same kinds of questions we might also ask during the process of our own spiritual evolution.Such a dialogue enables Steve to speak eye-to-eye to the reader, rather than positioning himself “above” the reader as some kind of expert. In this way, the reader travels along with Steve as his two “selves” hash out finer details of the meaning of life. In travelling along with Steve on the journey, he becomes our ally in our own transformation.
If any of you have read my book, The Garden of the Soul, you will no doubt remember that I also use dialogue in my discourses with the Four Flowers, the Very Good King, and also in my escapades with Crow in the story “Learning to Breathe.” I did this because I strongly feel that carefully constructed dialogue is possibly one of the most effective means of presenting a deep, spiritual message. Steve’s use of dialogue is slightly different, although the impact is similar. When I read Drunk with Wonder, the dialogue reminded me a bit of how Boethius wrote the classic work The Consolation of Philosophy way back in the 6th or 7th century. In that work, a reluctant and depressed Boethius is visited by the personification of Philosophy, who brings him to a state of Divine Wisdom through the vehicle of dialogue. Steve does much the same in Drunk with Wonder except that his teachings come from our 21st century perspective, where quantum physics, field theory and holistic thinking have informed our way of explaining the nature of Truth.
Which brings us nicely to the whole “What the Bleep Do We Know?” thing. Back in the days when I was studying Vedic (ancient Indian) spirituality, I used to chant a lot of Sanskrit mantras. The Sanskrit word “Sat” appeared in many of them. Most books translated the word “Sat” as “eternity”, but I always felt that this did not give the true purport of the word, so I made up the word “is-ness” to explain what I felt the word “Sat” to mean. I remember my daughter, when she was little, always used to comment on how much she liked that word, because it was easy to understand the complex meaning of the word “Sat” by thinking of it in that way. Well, as I was reading Drunk with Wonder, to my great surprise and delight Steve also uses the word “is-ness” to describe our intrinsic and unchanging state of being. This made-up word speaks to us at a direct and intuitive level that bypasses the intellect and eradicates the need for logic…which I sort of think is at the backbone of Steve’s Truth. When we start to trust and release the need to understand the Infinite by means of our own finite thought, we start to step into the Divine.
Ok, so I’ve tried to explain a little bit about the style in which Steve’s book in written, but in this blog post I am not going to give away what the profound, yet easy to understand, teachings of the book contain. For that, you will just have to pick up your own copy of Drunk with Wonder and travel with Steve through his journeys with his Higher Self. But first, if you want to get a feeling for how, well, feelingly Steve presents his pathway to the Truth, check out his beautiful reading of one of the poems from the book near the end of the podcast. To my delight, he said that there is indeed an audio version of the book available via iTunes (see link below).
Steve and I did quite a lot of talking both before and after the show, and I felt like we had so much more we wanted to share. He is a lovely person, with a lot of passion for his work and for people in general, so he really is (as I said at the top of this article) just so easy to talk to. We both felt there simply wasn’t enough time on the air to cover everything we wanted to discuss. The whole experience has really got me thinking to extend the show to 60 minutes in length. My guests just keep getting better and better and 30 minutes is just not long enough.
Guess I’ll just have to invite Steve back some day.
AND… watch this space, because I’d actually like to collaborate with Steve to create some sort of intercontinental spiritual awakening experience sometime in early 2010. I’ll keep you posted.
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If you want to find out more about Steve and his work, listen to the podcast below. And after you do, be sure to visit Steve’s websites, and check out his book on Amazon.
NEXT ON
Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the SoulWednesday 10 June
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Ep21-Integrating Spirit and Human
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 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
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.
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
GUEST: Sheila Finkelstein DATE AIRED:Wednesday 20 May 2009
I met the charming and fascinating photographer Sheila Finkelstein via social networking earlier this year, when she offered to be a joint venture partner for my book launch campaign. Like all the other joint venture partners, Sheila offered a free gift to anyone who bought my book during the launch. When I saw the unique gift she was offering, I was immediately impressed. It was a self-reflective photo-journal of thoughts and perceptions she had during the process of peeling a red onion. The reflections made during this most humble activity proved to be a veritable journey into self awareness. “Wow,” I thought, “this is really out-of-the-box. This woman is definitely someone I want to know better.” And so began my friendship with the wonderful Sheila Finkelstein.
To me, what makes Sheila an extraordinary artist, and an extraordinary person, is her ability to see things in ways that many of us simply miss. Remember when you were a child and saw pictures in the clouds? Sheila goes way beyond this. She has the uncanny vision to see a face in a crest of sea foam, or a heart in a reflection made between a reed and the surface of a pond. And that is just scratching the surface. On the show, Sheila and I talked about several of her thought-provoking photos, which she very kindly compiled onto a single page for my listeners to see. Have a look at these photos and others of stunning natural beauty at http://www.sheilafinkelstein.com/links-lynn-interview.html
But Sheila doesn’t just take photos; she also teaches others how to use the camera as a tool for personal transformational, through which you can learn to see the world with new and different eyes. On the show, Sheila shared a few tips on how to get started. First and foremost, she said, you should always carry a camera with you. While I am not a photographer, I do appreciate how having a camera in my mobile phone (even if not a very good one) has helped me chronicle the different seasons when I walk through the woods or along my beloved River Ouse here in Bedford, England. Taking a photo compels me to stop and appreciate what is there, instead of just walking through it. It also helps me to connect with the flow of life around me in a deeper way. And that is just from a grainy out-of-focus camera shot. Have a look at Sheila’s photos, and you can get an idea of the quality of Sheila’s photography, and what her students must experience as they work with her.
Sheila tells me that her work has helped many of her students, who had previously believed 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.
Sheila and I have also collaborated on a promotional video entitled “Song of the Rose”, which is a reading of a poem from my book The Garden of the Soul set to music composed by London musicians Bleep Test (two of my former students) and illustrated by a collection of Sheila’s stunning nature photography. If you haven’t seen the video you, be sure to check it out on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/rose-song. I am really fond of this video, and I would welcome your comments and ratings.
From my perspective, Sheila perfectly exemplifies the “Principle of Receiving” (taught by the Iris) in my book The Garden of the Soul because she is able to open her senses fully and receive what is all around her, and to see the treasure that is contained within the smallest of the small.
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I urge you to check out Sheila’s art and her work. If you have been looking for a novel way to experience self-discovery, check out Sheila’s 4-week telecourse:
“Through and From the Lens”
Discovering Beauty in the Ordinary
Experiencing it as Extraordinary
If you sign up using THIS link, you can save $30 on Sheila’s course as a “Friend of Lynn”:
Wednesday 27 May
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Ep19-The Art of Joyful Living
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 Certified Law of Attraction Coach, educator and talk radio show host, Ruth Hegarty. Ruth will be telling us how she helps women entrepreneurs create effortless success. She will also share her own story of how she went from an extremely shy underachiever, to someone who truly understands the personal demons that hold us back and, most importantly, how to shed those demons and transform into outrageously happy, successful, confident and prosperous beings without sacrificing our authenticity. Listen LIVE or download the broadcast “on demand” at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn/2009/05/27/Ep19-The-Art-of-Joyful-Living Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number)
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 links
Find “The Garden of the Soul” on Amazon US: CLICK HERE
Find “The Garden of the Soul” on Amazon UK: CLICK HERE
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
Last year, I attended a very special course called “Awakened Wisdom” led by my mentor, colleague and very special friend, Patrick Ryan. I wanted to share a pearl of wisdom that he dropped into my cosmic jewellery box during that course.
Patrick, a genuine daredevil, whose diverse background includes having been a Buddhist monk in Burma, a leadership trainer and a follower of the Native American medicine path, was also a race car driver when he was younger (maybe he still does this… not sure). Patrick was telling us about how, when you are trained to drive a race car, you have to learn what to do when your car goes out of control, which will inevitably happen sooner or later. He said that when your car starts to go into a spin, the natural instinct is to look at the wall, because you are afraid you are going to go careening into it. And, at all costs, the one thing you DON’T want to do is hit that wall!
Well, while that may be your instinct, it is actually the absolute WORST thing you can do, because if your eyes are focussed on the wall, well guess where you’re going to go? That’s right. Instead of steering clear of the wall, that is EXACTLY where you are going to end up…
CRASH!
For this reason, he said that the first thing you are taught when you start to learn how to drive a race car, is that you MUST look at the field in the centre of the race track if your car goes out of control, and never, EVER look at the wall!! If you look towards the field, then THAT is the direction the car will go.
In short, we drive the direction in which we choose to look.
This is a fantastic metaphor for how we can navigate through the inevitable “tail spins” of life. When you are stuck in an undesirable or difficult situation, the very worst thing you can do is to dwell upon what you don’t want. When you spend your energy this way, you will “drive” yourself even more deeply in that direction. So, to make sure you don’t hit that “wall” in life, rather than focussing upon what you DON’T want, turn your focus in another direction… in the direction of what you WANT in life. Then, you will “drive” towards it without effort.
It is sometimes just so easy to get stuck into life’s difficulties. When we feel unhappy, we tend to dwell on the unhappiness, which prevents us from seeing alternatives. The deeper we go into our own dissatisfaction, the more time and energy we spend on rationalising our position through anger, blame, mistrust and loss of hope. And the more “rational” our dissatisfaction appears to our minds, the more likely we are to stay exactly where we are.
Speaking for myself, I was stuck for decades in that cycle of “looking at the wall”, constantly fighting off one “spin” after another in life. I knew in my heart that there was a field somewhere, but I always thought, “How can I ever get there? I’m always too busy trying to avoid the wall!”
But then fortunately, one day, the light bulb finally got switched on in my brain. I turned my focus toward my own field of fulfilment. Since then, I have never felt the urge to turn my focus back towards my “wall” again. I see green, green fields ahead of me, even when life occasionally sends me into the inevitable “spin”. I am not talking about blind, naive optimism. I am talking about having our eyes wide open and focussed– a focus that is borne of divine trust and life purpose. It is not that spins won’t happen; of course they will. But when we keep our eyes on the field, we are able to navigate back to ourselves, and bring our lives back into control, choice, empowerment and peacefulness.
I feel truly blessed that my brain finally “got the memo” (ask Patrick loves to say). And since becoming a coach, I am even more blessed with the opportunity to help other people find their own “fields” and drive onto safe, fulfilling and exciting ventures in their own lives.
That’s how ordinary mortals like me can feel the adrenaline rush of being a race car driver, without having to be a natural daredevil like Patrick.
So today, take a moment to pay attention to where you are looking in life. Are you looking at the wall, continually trying to avoid it? If so, then turn around and have a look in the other direction. Cast your vision towards that lovely green field of awareness, and trust that you will be carried there effortlessly if you only allow that your natural navigational system take you back to your true Self.
This article originally appeared in Creative Living, November 2008.
Copyright 2008 Lynn Serafinn, all rights reserved.
