Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts lifestyle expert, art therapist, author and founder of the Get Happy Zone, Jackie Ruka. Jackie is the queen of self reinvention, having had two major career changes and surviving a literally back-breaking experience that almost caused an accident with Buddha himself. Based on her own life enhanc […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts empath, metaphysical teacher and spiritual author Erica Tucci. Erica Tucci was living a very full life. She was a corporate manager, a life coach for women, Reiki master, massage therapist and author. She was also a single mum of two wonderful young men now in college. But it all came to a scree […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts Barbara Techel, author, publisher, educator, advocate for dogs with disc disease and therapy dog team volunteer. Barbara Techel began a journey five years ago that she never intended to travel. After her beloved Dachshund, Frankie, was diagnosed with disc disease that caused paralysis, she thoug […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts empath coach, metaphysical teacher, spiritual author and host of We Are One in Spirit Podcast, Yvonne Perry. For many years, Yvonne Perry’s empathic abilities caused great distress until she learned how to protect her auric field. Her best-selling book, Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts spiritual author, minister, blessing giver and empowerment coach, Charlene M. Proctor , Ph.D. Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. is an ordained Minister of Spiritual Peacemaking and a Deeksha facilitator trained by the oneness guides from Fiji and India. She is the bestselling author of Let Your Goddess […]
Bestselling author, coach and book marketer Lynn Serafinn hosts author, spiritual educator, organizational psychologist, leadership development consultant, executive and life coach Sarah Rozenthuler. As a young woman, Sarah has struggled to talk with people, including loved ones, at key moments in her life. Because of this, she was always been interested in […]
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Title: Bedford Wellness Circle Evening Location: Park Road West Methodist Church Hall Link out: Click here for address, directions and full programme Description: Theme for the evening “Stayin’ Alive!” Four dynamic holistic speakers, social networking and great community vibes. Open to public. £4 at the door, free to Global Wellness Circle members. More info at link above. Start Time: 19:00 Date: 2009-06-15 End Time: 21:30
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
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
Realising the Gift in Goodbye: Lynn Serafinn’s interview with author Gemini Adams on BlogTalkRadio reveals how Gemini’s journey through bereavement led to her finding her authentic voice.
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul EP16-Voice as a Key to Wholeness GUEST: Gemini Adams DATE AIRED:Wednesday 6 May 2009
I met coach, author and spiritual healer Gemini Adams earlier this year when we were both guests on John Levine’s Happy and Healthy Hour in Cambridge, England. Gemini is a Brit by birth who currently makes her home in Los Angeles, so I was fortunate to have crossed her path on one of her occasional trips back to her homeland. What I noticed about her as soon as I met her was how open and generous she was. She did not even know me and she immediately took one of her books out of her satchel, signed it and made a gift of it to me. Of course, I knew I had to have this woman on my radio show.
Gemini is the author of a unique book called Your Legacy of Love: realise the gift in goodbye. The book was prompted by Gemini’s mother’s untimely death from cancer, when Gemini was only 21 years old. While much of the book gives us deep insight into the largely unspoken impact of bereavement upon the human spirit, and how it can last far longer than most of us care to admit, this is not just another book about loss and how to deal with it at an emotional level. Gemini offers the reader practical answers to how to deal with the “D” word, so that your loved ones are not left with a big gaping hole in their lives.
That practical solution is to leave a legacy of love for those you will leave behind. Gemini offers a range of practical, creative and pleasurable ideas for what that could be, ranging from letters to your loved ones, personal biographies, musical diaries, detailed instructions for how you wish to be remembered, and many other ideas. Gemini gives many compelling reasons why we should do this when we are well and fit, rather than waiting for the time when, heaven forbid, we find ourselves diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. She describes in detail, giving many case studies, how the gift of a legacy of love can help those we leave behind deal with grief and bereavement after we pass on.
And like all books, especially of this type, there is always a story behind it. Gemini explained to me how the process of writing this book also helped unlock her own voice to find ultimate wholeness of self and peace with the universe after years of previously unresolved bereavement. In a private interview, she told me how she believes that “our authentic voice is always there, but we are scared to use it.” Having done past life regression, Gemini came to the conclusion that this might be the culmination of issues that have transpired of many lifetimes, and that it can go on for generations. She says that she finds this to be especially true of women, and that she felt that this was a kind of historical, collective pain that all of us must confront and overcome. To overcome this, it is essential that we break through the fear of judgement. She said that writing offered her great healing in this regard, but the inner barriers are often more formidable than what can be resolved through writing.
It was this need to break free from these fears that ultimate drove Gemini to take action. Going strongly against her middle class instincts, she decided to give up her previous lifestyle and move out of London, out of the UK altogether, far away from everyone and everything she knew. Giving up all her personal possessions, she went to live in someone’s garden shed in Los Angeles, surviving on the dole. It was here that Gemini at last found the voice to write this book, and in doing so she found, and began to live, her life purpose.
Gemini told me that the entire experience of moving through her own bereavement, and ultimately finding her own voice, gave her a deep personal intention and underlying need to make a contribution to the world, and that her motivation is never money or fame. She says that she knows she is helping others to live freely through her work, and that the ultimate intention of the book is to heal and to help others to heal.
When I asked Gemini what her “bigger message” for the world was, she said, “You can be who you really are; you don’t need all the pretence. Education is designed to undo ourselves. Forget what others want for you. Become a unique, pioneering person. YOU are the one who must be satisfied.
If you want to find out more about Gemini, listen to the podcast below. And after you do, be sure to visit Gemini’s websites:
NEXT ON
Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
(this show was already aired; catch the blog and podcast shortly)
Thursday 14 May
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Ep17-Forgiveness as a Pathway to Freedom
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 award-winning actress and Forgiveness Coach, Brenda Adelman. Brenda will be sharing her story of how she learned to “forgive the unforgivable” after her father murdered her mother and married her mother’s sister. A trained chaplain at the Unity Church and recipient of “A Hero of Forgiveness Award” from the Hawaii International Forgiveness Project, Brenda now leads forgiveness workshops entitled, “Forgiving the Unforgivable as a Path to Freedom” and regularly tours with her own one-woman show, “My Brooklyn Hamlet.” Brenda will tell us about her journey through deep loss and pain, and resultant depression, to the ultimate freedom and joy she experienced when she learned how to open her heart to forgiveness. Brenda will also reveal her “three steps to forgive and be free” and her “top five reasons to never forgive, and why you must,” and will read us an excerpt from her upcoming book, Forgive and Be Free: A Pathway to Personal Happiness.
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.
At 1245 -115 PM, Lynn will deliver 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.
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 7: Growing Up in Your Relationships Date aired: Wed 4 March 2009
Last week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed Colorado-based Geoff Laughton, a Transformational Coach and Counsellor who specialises in inner child and relationship healing. Geoff shared his insights on how our childhood and adolescent wounds and beliefs affect our personal and professional relationships, and offered some practical tips to improve communication with your partner in a clear, adult, “Spirited” way, to deepen intimacy.
Geoff shared his own story of the struggles he had earlier in life, where he said he felt emotionally “dead” for many years. He described how he had taken what he thought would be a temporary job right after college, which ended up being a 17-year stint in the field of engineering. This, he said, gave him no intrinsic satisfaction, and left him feel empty, detached and stressed. Eventually in his mid-30s, after climbing the ladder in his career to reach the top of his field, he found himself working up to 80 hours a week, suffering from many chronic illnesses, and 100 pounds overweight. Due to his weight, which was by then about 300 pounds, his back eventually went out and he could not go to work for an entire month, being unable to drive, walk or even stand up. After that painful experience, Geoff used his willpower to lose the weight through diet and exercise over the next year. But although physically better, he was not truly and wholly well yet, for on Christmas day when he was 35 years old, he had a panic attack while standing in a book shop. In a private interview, Geoff described the terror, the racing heart, the fear of death, and the claustrophobia he felt in that attack.
Fortunately, this incident drove Geoff to do much soul-searching. He says, “The message I took from that was that it was time for me to look at what was really going on inside me. I had been overeating for a long time. So, I could see that something was wrong on the inside, but didn’t know what.” And in asking these kinds of questions, Geoff realised that, in spite of having a loving family and a highly successful career, basically he felt trapped and unfulfilled in life. So the question for him was, “What is not being fulfilled?” It was at this point that Geoff reached a turning point where he could clearly see that he had been using his career and work to avoid dealing with important emotions that had been with him since his childhood, but had not been resolved.
Geoff then started doing what he calls “significant work on himself”. He began conventional therapy and also did some group work around Transactional Analysis. All of this was very helpful, but then a good friend invited him to a special programme where he learned about the difference between thoughts and energy and how to work with both. Geoff says the experience was “intense” and that it was here where he “rediscovered and lit the fuse of his passion to help people.” He says, “I started feeling great, in body, mind and heart. I felt vibrant.”
Now back in touch with his innermost desires, Geoff embarked on the hero’s quest to live out that passion. He left the corporate world in 1996 and trained as a coach. He did Love Transformational Work and started volunteering to work with men’s groups. Then, the really big turning point happened when he started Inner Child work. Geoff quickly realised that he had a lot of unresolved and unexpressed pain from childhood and adolescence, including feelings of unworthiness and of not being good enough. He also came back in touch with different unresolved traumas, both physical and emotional, from when he was an infant and a child. He says, “I never got to be a kid while growing up. My spirit was dead, closed. My heart was not available. I felt disconnected in relation to God and spirit.” But the day after he started his Inner Child studies, he woke up with what he calls an “epiphany”. He says, “It might as well as been God standing in the room and handing me a programme telling me what I was supposed to do.” And so began Geoff’s decision to dedicate his life to being a relationship coach specialising in Inner Child work, and soon trained as an Inner Child Facilitator. These days, he helps men and women, both individually and as couples, to get in touch with their unspoken childhood pains, so they can reconnect to their hearts and souls, and develop intimate, loving and more spiritually-based relationships with their partners.
Of himself, Geoff says, “These days, I feel connected to an incredibly loving Universal Co-active Consciousness. I feel blessed to feel this in body, mind and spirit. I feel bliss, peace.”
Much of what I have written here are highlights from a private interview I had with Geoff shortly before the show. In his online broadcast, he shares other things, including different strategies for how to tap into your own inner child so you can find that same bliss, freedom and intimacy in your own personal relationships.
Speaking for myself, my own focus in life is to call out and acknowledge the inner hero that lies in every human being. And those of you who follow my writing know that my definition of a hero is one who hears the “call” of his/her own life and answers it, and brings those answers back to the world to make it a better place. Geoff’s story is an inspiring one of someone who not only hit rock-bottom and bounced back up to make himself a happy person, but also of one who is now actively helping to heal the pains of others and bring more peace, joy and connection to the world at large. So, like so many of my other wonderful guests on “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul”, Geoff is a true hero of his own life.
Transcending Survival: Stretching Towards the Divine, Tele-Class, Begins 11 March 2009
Raising Your Spirit’s Voice Workshops: Boulder, Colorado, March 27-29; Santa Cruz, CA April 3-5; Albuquerque NM April 17-19
Growing Up In Your Relationships Workshops: Los Angeles, CA, April 24-26; Santa Cruz, CA May 8-10
Listen to the show now:
Subscribe to this podcast here:
You can receive a special gift from over 20 other mind-body-spirit professionals when you buy my upcoming book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Find out how to get these fantastic gifts at:
AND… you can meet Geoff personally when you come join my online community, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com. I call it “a vibrant place for cultural and spiritual creatives.” Come join Geoff and the dozens of others who are making it a very colourful place to be on the web.
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Show:Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Episode 6: Grief as a Pathway to Growth: an interview with Dr Louis LaGrand
Date aired: Thursday 26 February 2009
Last week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed the very distinguished author, bereavement counsellor and inspirational speaker Dr Louis LaGrand, Ph.D., C.T.. Lou shared his unique survival strategies for coping with loss and change that occur during the bereavement process, and revealed the ‘four gifts’ available to anyone who is mourning the death of a loved one: (1) knowledge of grief and grief work, (2) truth about coping, (3) choices to make (wisdom), and (4) persistence and perseverence.
Lou also shared just a bit about some of the cases he has seen of amazing transformations that have occurred when people encounter what he calls the “extraordinary experience” of receiving messages from loved ones who have passed on to the next plane.
Lou holds multiple degrees and honors including: advanced degrees from Columbia University, the University of Notre Dame, & Florida State University, and has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows throughout the country including “Unsolved Mysteries.” With over 25 years of counseling the bereaved, he is an international speaker who has written eight books including four on topic of the afterlife communications, and the transformations they bring to people:
Lou will be speaking on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 on the topic of “Nine Proven Survival Skills for Coping with Loss and Change” as a guest of St. Francis Hospice, at Borthwick Mortuary, 1330 Maunakea Street, Honolulu, Hawiaii, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Registration is required by March 24, 2009. You can register via email at fmarquezwong@stfrancishawaii.org or call Felicia Marquez-Wong at 547-8145 for more info.
Lou’s compassion and love for people is truly evident when he speaks. His understanding of death as a natural part of the cycle of life is so genuine, that it is obvious why he has been of such help to so many thousands of people over the years through his lectures, books and counselling. His voice is soothing and relaxed and his approach to the topic of death and dying is not only light and easy, but comforting and poignant. While a 30 minute show is simply not long enough to cover all of Lou’s wisdom and understanding on the topic, you can certainly get a taster from the podcast below). AND… be sure to visit Lou’s websites at www.extraordinarygriefexperiences.com.
Listen to the show now:
Subscribe to/download the podcast for “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul:
Be sure you catch this week’s show: Growing up in Your Relationships
with Transformation Coach Geoff Laughton
Wednesday 4 March 2009, 6.30 PM UK time at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
Afterthoughts: Interview with Swedish Artist Kristina Berglund Show:Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Episode 3: Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 2 Date aired: Wed 4 February 2009
This week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed Swedish artist, coach and teacher of Vedic Art, Kristina Berglund. Kristina and I discussed how she used painting, and in particular the Vedic Art method of painting, to restore health to emotional pathways that were blocked inside her, resulting in years of difficulty with poor body image and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
Those who listened to the show would have to agree that Kristina is a truly brave and beautiful human being. I have the great pleasure of knowing her as a dear friend, and I have also taken her excellent course on the 17 Principles of Vedic Art. On the air, Kristina kick-started the Vedic process by asking listeners to simply put their pen on a piece of paper in front of them, and let their hands go anywhere it wants to go. She warned that if your brain gets in the way and starts to compel you to create patterns, then you should toss away that paper and start again until the hand is really going on its own and there is no thought process involved. This was just a tiny hint of the first of the 17 Principles of Vedic Art-”the line”. It sounds like such a simple thing, but trust me, once you get into Kristina’s course, you realise the depth of it all, and how the Principles are all interwoven in a very deep and spiritual way.
Kristina’s art specialism is painting original mandalas using very large canvases, and highly textured images, mixing different objects directly into her paint, such as sand and gemstones. When I first saw Kristina’s paintings, all I could say is “Wow.” Fortunately for me, when Kristina read a galley print of my upcoming book The Garden of the Soul, she noticed that I described a mandala in my section “Lessons from the Lily”, and she immediately called me and offered to create an original mandala for the cover. I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I will be “unveiling” her finished work here by mid-February, so be sure you check back then.
From so many angles, Kristina is an artist-she is a painter, a teacher and a coach. She is also starting a project in Sweden aimed at helping men and woman with eating disorders to restore their mental, physical and emotional balance through the process of learning the 17 Principles of Vedic Art. Kristina’s approach to art is a true example of one woman’s use of creativity to heal the Self. But she is not merely an artist; soft and flowing deeply like a river, Kristina is herself is a work of art.
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
I have a long history in the arts. I started playing music when I was 4 years old, when my mother bought a second-hand piano. I started playing violin at age 9, sang in my first opera at age 13 and went on to be everything from a symphony violinist, to an east-west fusion artist, to an electronic trance musician. I even had a chart-topping dance record back in the 90s. But even though my life was filled with music every day, I always used writing as my medium of choice for personal expression, self-discovery and emotional healing. I have written seriously since my early teens, and have always found it to be the place where I could not only express myself best, but also find the parts of myself that seemed not so clear to me. The entire experience of writing my book The Garden of the Soul, for example, was a cathartic one from start to finish. By the end of the process, I felt like I had not only given birth to a book, but also to my authentic Self.
Personal expression is extremely important to our overall wellbeing. When I work with clients, they often come to me frustrated that they feel unable to express themselves fully in their life, work or relationships. That is my primary focus with them as their coach. But beyond the coaching session, I know that tapping into creativity, whether that means inventing a new recipe, crocheting a scarf or composing a new song, can often be the vital element in a person’s overall balance in life. Because creativity is such a key factor in our fulfilment as human beings, I always listen carefully to the desire of my clients to find out what is longing to be expressed. Then, together we design ways to bring out that expression, so as to allow the inner healing to unfold on its own
In my book, I take the reader through a very simple way to understand what might be missing in our lives whenever we feel a bit ‘out’. In my book, I discuss four principles that bring balance and wholeness to the human spirit: give, receive, become and be. All four of these principles play a vital part in the creative process:
The Principle of Giving: the principle of all that emanates outwards from within you. In relation to creativity, ‘giving’ as a principle includes self-expression, passion, emotiveness, boldness, etc. ‘Giving’ is the energy that drives us to call forth the creative process within ourselves; it is the urge to express.
The Principle of Receiving: the principle of all that comes from the world into you. In relation to creativity, ‘receiving’ as a principle includes acute awareness via the senses and the ability to relish the smallest of the small and the greatest of the great. ‘Receiving’ is the fertile ground upon which creativity can take root; through ‘receiving’, the entire universe can sit upon our consciousness like a canvas.
The Principle of Becoming: the principle of all that is continually changing. In relation to creativity, ‘becoming’ as a principle includes inspiration, imagination, spontaneity, and innovation. ‘Becoming’ is the act of creativity itself; without it, we have no impulse to invent something new.
The Principle of Being: the principle of all that is non-changing. In relation to creativity, ‘being’ as a principle includes inner wisdom, stillness, serenity within all circumstances and the ability to be the observer without judgements. ‘Being’ is the perspective where we accept the role and responsibility of the sacred role of creator; it provides us with the ability to express fully without judging either self or other.
What I have found is that when we are feeling a bit ‘off’ in life, it is often because one of these principles is not flowing properly within us, or perhaps all of them are blocked in some way. When we find we are not expressing ourselves fully and authentically, it can manifest in so many harmful ways in life, such as depression, anger or even (and frequently) physical illness. I know because I have experienced all of these things over the years, and am extremely grateful now that I know how to recover from these imbalances either on my own, or with the help of one of my many wonderful friends. When I coach my clients, I help them to learn how to return to that balance, and sometimes I help them to engage on a creative enterprise, whether it is something artist like writing, music or art, or something life-changing like creating a new business or a creating an entirely new perspective of themselves that they bring into all aspects of their lives.
No matter what method we use to express the innate creator within each one of us, creativity is as essential to our health and happiness as eating a balanced diet. So if you are feeling a little ‘off’ today, take a moment to create something with consciousness-from a great new sandwich to a heartfelt diary entry. Take a look out the window and see what is there. Take a look inside your heart and see what is there. Then listen for what needs to be expressed and find a way to let it be heard. You will find that you not only heal yourself, but you will heal the world around you as well.
I’ll be telling you more about the four principles give, receive, become and be in the coming weeks, and you can also read all about them when my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Selfwhen it comes out on Tues 7 April.
Want to hear more about how some
extraordinary people use creativity to heal the self?
Check out my next two radio broadcasts!
Wednesday 4 February
Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 2
6.30 PM UK time, 1.30 PM Eastern, 10.30 AM Pacific, 7.30 PM CET
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts Kristina Berglund, Swedish painter, Co-Active Coach and a teacher of the Vedic Art tradition. Kristina, whose artistic specialty is creating very large mandalas, is also the commissioned artist for the cover of Lynn’s book The Garden of the Soul. On tonight’s show, Kristina will be sharing her story of how she uses a deeper connection to art as a means of overcoming personal battles with eating disorders, distorted body image and other emotional blocks both within herself and others through her teaching. Kristina will be offering a live demo of Vedic art instruction on the air, so have some paper and come coloured pens ready! Listen LIVE at:www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number)
Wednesday 11 February
Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 3
6.30 PM UK time, 1.30 PM Eastern, 10.30 AM Pacific, 7.30 PM CET
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts British musician John Levine of Alphamusic. John will be sharing his story of how being the witness to his father’s lifetime of stress-related illnesses compelled him to find answers to the mind-body-spirit connection, which ultimately led him to use his musical talents to create music that can alter the alpha waves in the brain to restore health and wellbeing to listeners. John will be playing some samples of his compositions on the air, so get ready to an auditory massage. Listen LIVE at:www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn Listener questions: call at 646-727-3449 during broadcast (US number)
Did you miss ‘Using Creativity to Heal the Self Part 1
with UK author Tom McGreevy?
Catch the show ‘on demand’ anytime at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
