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 […]
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Darlene Siddons, host of "Good Morning Inspiration"
Lynn Serafinn
Lynn Serafinn will be interviewed on the “Good Morning Inspiration Show” with host Darlene Siddons on BlogTalkRadio.
Date: 22 July 2009
Time: 19:00 UK time (2pm Eastern)
Episode title: “Turning Up the Volume of the Music in Your Heart!” Link to show: Click here
Description: Lynn Serafinn is a Personal Transformation Coach, bestselling author, teacher, motivational speaker, talk radio show host and community leader whose passion in life is to help people find and express their authentic voice. Her debut book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self is a transformational journey towards finding her own voice, and is an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and the US in spirituality, mind-body-spirit and self-help. Owing to her long and diverse professional history in the music industry– from symphony violinist, to opera singer, to east-west fusion artist, to a number-1 electronic dance artist in the 90’s– Lynn’s writing is lyrical, rhythmic, colourful, highly visual and undeniably metaphoric. Lynn is also the Founder/Leader of the Global Wellness Circle, a thriving community-based holistic education project spread throughout the United Kingdom, and host of the weekly radio show \”Lynn Serafinn\’s Garden of the Soul\” on Blog Talk Radio. On today\’s show, Lynn will share a bit about the 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. She will also share a few excerpts from the book, read in her uniquely inspirational style.
Start Time: 19:00 UK time Date: 2009-07-22 End Time: 20:00 UK time
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: TALK RADIO: Stepping into Our Personal Legacy Location: Blog Talk Radio Link out: Click here Description: Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts French author, marriage family therapist and consultant Marie-Eve S. Kielson. Author of the book “Messengers: the courage to rebel, the power to inspire”, Marie-Eve will share with us the 15 messengers we encounter in life that are the universal threads that connect us all, as brought to life through 15 chosen works of art of by the late, renowned metal sculptor Madeleine Stanley-Jossem (Marie-Eve’s mother). She will also tell us how she now uses stories in her work with clients to put together a sense how are all connected, how to beat the odds, and how to do what is in our hearts to do. Start Time: 18:30 Date: 2009-06-24 End Time: 19:00
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
Title: SHINE Radio Show on Westside Radio, Southall, London Location: 89.6FM (London) Link out: Click here Description: SHINE, the weekly west London community motivational show hosted by Carla features Lynn Serafinn, personal transformation coach and author of the Amazon bestseller “The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self.” Start Time: 15:00 Date: 2009-06-11 End Time: 16:00
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 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
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul EP19-The Art of Joyful Living GUEST: Ruth Hegarty DATE AIRED:Wednesday 27 May 2009
Ruth Hegarty, LOA Coach
When I first spoke to Ruth Hegarty on the phone, she felt to me like a ball of bright, fluffy, yellow sunshine wafting through the ether. She was just so upbeat and approachable. But then again, that is what Ruth is all about as a Certified Law of Attraction (LOA) Coach. In my observation, many people have the impression that the Law of Attraction is intended as means of attaining monetary “success”. And while that may or may not be a part of how LOA might manifest in your unique life story, what LOA is really about is attracting that which makes us truly and “outrageously” happy (as Ruth says it). Small wonder that she calls her own radio show, and her whole approach to life, “The Art of Joyful Living.”
Ruth said that she finds LOA not only appealing, but also practical, joyful and empowering. She says that LOA offers us the means to enjoy the moment and have a joyful life at all stages of our journey without putting our life on hold (which she calls “an abysmal scarcity model”).
At a practical level, Ruth gave us three essential parts to the Law of Attraction that crystallise its essence:
The Law of Like Attracts Like
The Law of Deliberate Creation
The Law of Allowing
In explaining “like attracts like,” Ruth gave as an example that if we are unhappy about our lives, and we focus on it, we will only attract more unhappiness.
She said, however, that many people try positive thinking and then come to the conclusion that LOA doesn’t work, because they do not progress onwards to “deliberate creation”. After that, she said, people may still sabotage the deliberate creation because they don’t “allow” things to happen. She gave examples of we do this at a subtle level in the live show (listen to audio below).
With regards to “deliberate creation”, Ruth described how journaling and vision work help us to open up and become more creative. The more we picture the dream, she said, the more it will manifest. She said it is not the “how” that will bring about creation, but rather just the “what” and the “why.”
Being a coach who coaches creative process, I can attest to the fact that when people get too much into the “how” of things, it can shut down the creative process completely. They start to get overwhelmed by the enormity of it. The only thing that is essential for the creative process is to see what it is you want to create, and why you want to create it. “How” is a demotivator, whereas “what” and “why” are motivators. Even if you do not believe in LOA, surely from an intellectual platform you can see the logic of this simple law of creative process.
Ruth also told us about her new Law of Attraction Starter Kit, which has just come out yesterday (Friday 29 May). She said it is an easy and fun to use Law of Attraction home-study program with a focus on practical exercises that show you how to “do” Law of Attraction. She has assembled 10 ways to put LOA into action into your life. The kit includes an audio program with full transcripts.
Plus, you will receive over $2,500.00 worth of fun and powerful bonus programs and products absolutely F*REE when you purchase theLaw of Attraction Starter Kit during the launch anytime between now and Friday 5 June.
Ruth says that these F*REE bonuses are being supplied by some of the top people in the Law of Attraction, personal development and self-image fields and can’t be obtained together like this anywhere else.
Guess who one of those “top people” is? ME of course!
Everyone who buys Ruth’s book can download the first 6 chapters of my upcoming eBook “The Path of Least Resistance to the Self” in both text and audio format. In those chapters, I talk about the importance of understanding what alignment it, how to know when you are in alignment, how you sway from it, and how to return to it.
Perhaps one of the most generous gifts is Eva Gregory’s 12-week e-course “Wake up to the Dream”, which is valued at almost $700. And apart from Eva’s and mine, there are 11 other bonuses available when you buy Ruth’s Law of Attraction Starter Kit.
But the thing I was most amazed to hear (and you can hear my genuine surprise when I am on the air) was the price of the LOA Starter Kit when I asked Ruth how much it cost. It’s only $47!Well, at least during the launch that’s the price (after that, it goes up to $97). Gosh, in the UK, that’s less than £30. I can’t thing of any other 6-week course you can find for that price. What to speak of the fact that the course includes audio, transcripts, workbook, resource list and direct access to Ruth via email.
And…
Ruth just wrote me an email telling me that, to celebrate the launch of this brand new product, the first 25 people who purchase it will receive a private 1-to-1 coaching session with her!
That’s pretty generous, don’t you think? Ruth definitely does NOT suffer from “scarcity mentality”. To me, what makes Ruth a genuine LOA practitioner is that she really walks what she talks.
Wednesday 3 June
SHOW: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul
Ep20-Feeling is Healing
6.30 PM UK time, 1.30 PM Eastern, 10.30 AM Pacific, 7.30 PM CET
Author, licensed spiritual coach and “Feelings Coach”, Steve Ryals. Steve will be sharing his story of his journey from being a down and out drug addict in Haight Ashbury to an alcoholic to someone who now helps others to get in touch with their feelings, let go of their “old stories”, and reconnect to their passions so they can finally live the life of their dreams. Steve is also author of the powerfully transformative book “Drunk with Wonder”, which is described as “Where What the Bleep do we know meets Conversations with God.” Steve will also share an excerpt or two from his book on the air, and give us some practical tips for developing our Higher Self.
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
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
Boosting Your Emotional Intelligence – an Interview with Gail Sussman Miller
[NOTE to readers: this blog post originally appeared on my social network "Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul" on Ning. When I refer to people by name as "our own" and "right here", I am referring to that network, which can be accessed at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com. Come JOIN us!]
This evening on my radio show, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, my guest was our very own GAIL SUSSMAN MILLER. For those of you in the Garden who have not met her, Gail is a coach, writer and public speaker, living in Chicago. I met Gail about a year ago when I attended one of her excellent teleseminars about reaching your target audience. At that time, I found her energy to be so warm and loving that I simply had to become her friend. On the spot, even though she didn’t know me at all, she volunteered to be one of my “beta readers” for my book (which was, at that time, unfinished). Since then, she has not only been one of my readers, but also a reviewer, a joint venture partner, a friend, a guest on my show and NOW (as of tonight’s show) we are talking about doing a workshop together sometime soon. How cool is that?
Anyway, if you don’t know Gail, become her friend because she is one fabulous lady who really knows how to make you feel welcome. And that is probably why she is so good at what she does. One of Gail’s many specialties is working with small groups to develop “Emotional Intelligence”. The term, she says, was originally coined by Daniel Goldman. On the show, Gail explained how we generally equate “intelligence” with the brain and measure it with “IQ”. This kind of intelligence is fairly static in life. That is to say, we all have a certain amount of “brain” intelligence, and while we can study and learn, brain intelligence itself does not generally increase to a great degree as a result of learning. Our bodies also are great repositories of intelligence (Luis and Fran you are always talking about this!). Lastly, however, our emotional bodies are also great bodies of intelligence. And unlike brain intelligence, emotional intelligence CAN be increased. And a good thing too! Most of us grow up with vastly underdeveloped emotional intelligence. We simply “react” rather than learn how to “respond”. Through development of conscious awareness, however, we can learn how ot separate ourselves from this reactionary modus operandum, and move away from feelings of being controlled by our emotions, and into a place where we feel at choice and within true selves at all times.
These are the ideas that Gail spoke with me about on tonight’s show. She also gave 3 of her 10 “secrets” to developing emotional intelligence. I’m NOT going to tell you what they are!!! (ha ha). If you want to find out these first 3 secrets of emotional intelligence, well you’ll just have to listen to the show by CLICKING HERE..
AND… Gail also wrote an eBook called (as you might have already guessed) “!0 Secrets to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence”. AND… here’s the very cool thing. She is giving it away to everyone who buys my book during its launch. Now, the launch was SUPPOSED to be over today (Wed 8 April) but I have decided, as it is Easter week, that it will run through Easter Monday. That means, if you buy “The Garden of the Soul” on or before this coming Monday, you can STILL get access to download 26 beautiful mind-body-spirit gifts from my friends and colleagues…. many of whom are right here on this site like Gail, Fran Stockley, Amber Rojas, Kathleen Schulweis, Gina Marks, Sheila Finkelstein, Jessica McGregor Johnson and Glenn Smith (did I miss anyone?).
To get Gail’s great eBook, along with all the other wonderful gifts from our friends here in the Garden (and many others besides, just go to http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus and find the links to Amazon to buy your copy of my new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Then come back to that same site and enter your name, email and purchase code. That’s all there is to it. you will then be able to “unlock” the bonus page and download all the goodies. Remember…. this page will ONLY be online until Easter Monday, so be sure to claim your copy of the book and these bonuses now.
To find out more about the wonderful Gail Sussman Miller how she teaches women solopreneurs, executives and companies how to turn obstacles into opportunities by boosting their emotional intelligence her many courses, training, coaching and other skills, visit her websites at:
P.S.: If you missed Gail’s show and you don’t have time to hear it now, you can access it “on demand” at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn or subscribe to “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” via iTunes.
P. P.S.: NEXT WEEK on my show on BlogTalkRadio, my special guest is our own BRUCE MORSE, American artist, photographer, poet and author of the book “Forgive Myself”, which I JUST read last week. Bruce will be sharing his personal story of how he found peace with personal crises in his own life, including the death of his young son, through the pathway of personal forgiveness. Bruce will also share selections from his book. His story is remarkable. Be sure you tune in next WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 6.30 PM UK/1.30 PM EDT at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn
Subscribe to this blog to receive weekly radio listings for Garden of the Soul Radio. Tune into the show Wednesdays at http://blogtalkradio.com/lynn-serafinn
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: RADIO: Happy and Healthy Hour Location: Cambridge radio 105 FM, or http://www.209radio.co.uk/shows/profile.php?show=happy Link out: Click here Description: John Levine hosts the Happy and Healthy Hour. John interviews author, personal transformation coach and teacher Lynn Serafinn. Lynn discusses her new book The Garden of the Soul and reveals four simple principles that can help you express yourself through your authentic voice and find out who you really are (re-broadcast from 24 March). Start Time: 12:00 GMT Date: 2009-03-31 End Time: 13:00 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: The Doctor Sally Show Location: BlogTalkRadio Link out: Click here Description: Doctor Sally interviews Lynn Serafinn, author of The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Listen live online or one demand at the above link Start Time: 18:00 (UK time) Date: 2009-03-30 End Time: 19:00 (UK time)
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: Global Wellness Circle Evening Location: Hemel Hempstead, England Link out: Click here Description: Uplifting holistic community event. Music, displays, fascinating talks and fun. See website for full details. Start Time: 19:00 Date: 2009-03-30 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
Title: RADIO: Happy and Healthy Hour Location: Cambridge radio 105 FM, or http://www.209radio.co.uk/shows/profile.php?show=happy Link out: Click here Description: John Levine hosts the Happy and Healthy Hour. John interviews author, personal transformation coach and teacher Lynn Serafinn. Lynn discusses her new book The Garden of the Soul and reveals four simple principles that can help you express yourself through your authentic voice and find out who you really are. Start Time: 12:00 GMT Date: 2009-03-24 End Time: 13:00 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: RADIO: Playing the Inner Game Location: TALK RADIO: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Link out: Click here Description: Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts London-based Personal Success Coach Lola Fayemi of Aligned and Thriving. Lola will share her tips and tools for conquering the self-defeating game we play within ourselves, so we can enter the bigger game of life and finally attain the success we have always desired but never believed we could have. Start Time: 18:30 GMT Date: 2009-03-25 End Time: 19:00 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: Global Wellness Circle Evening Location: Bedford, England Link out: Click here Description: Uplifting holistic community event. Music, displays, fascinating talks and fun.
Monday 23 March 2009 Park Road West Methodist Church Hall,
Park Road West (just off Roff Ave) MK41 7SB
Rich Gilbert, Forever Living. Aloe Vera the Miracle Plant. Historic facts, health benefits, and emerging advancements in the world of medical research.
Rosamund Hoskins, Alexander Technique Teacher. Alexander Technique and Performance. How simple body awareness can transform your experience of performance as a musician, public speaker and other forms of presentation.
Ursula Kraus-Harper, Registered Homeopath. Homeopathy for Menopause. A guide to natural homeopathic treatments for the relief of a range of menopausal symptoms.
Lynn Serafinn of Create-a-Life Personal Transformation Coaching. A Formula for Joy (Part 3). Simple secrets for unlocking joy in your life now.
PLUS music from John Levine of Alpahmusic to get your brain into a stress-free alpha state.
AND exhibits, socialising and great community vibes.
Come join us!
Doors open: 7 PM for music, social networking, displays Programme: 7.30 – 9.30 PM Entry £4 at the door. FREE to GWC members.
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 8: Sound as a Pathway to Spirit Date aired: Wed 11 March 2009
Last week on my BlogTalkRadio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, I interviewed internationally renowned musician, recording artist, singer and composer Sat Kartar Khalsa. Sat Kartar spoke about the link between sound and the spirit, and practical ways in which we can use sound meditation, such as mantra, singing and chanting, to access the Divine Self. Sat Kartar also shared two very heavenly treats from her albums on the air, so it was a true auditory delight.
Sat Kartar shared some delightful information about herself, including insight into her early “hippy” days and how she moved from taking drugs to chanting mantras, and how within the sound vibration she was able to get a permanent “high” without intoxicants. She also talked about how her “upside down lefty” guitar playing influences her creativity, and how she came to mesh a sample from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite” with an esoteric Indian mantra (which she shared with us on the air). Listeners sampled two delightful sound bytes from Sat Kartar’s albums, including her latest album “Flow”. Although we were only able to listen to a few minutes of each one, they really demonstrated the breadth (and “breath”) of Sat Kartar’s uplifting and enchanting style, and the undeniable purity of her captivating voice.
And captivating, she truly is. I myself have been amongst Sat Kartar’s fans from the moment I met her in 1994. Since then, she has been a close personal friend of mine, so this show was a real privilege for me. But I also know about her integrity as a musician, and her creativity in the studio, for I worked with Sat Kartar when she was the vocalist on a track called “Imagine! Deeply Hypnotic Mix” by our band “Overlords of the UFO”. I believe it was her deliciously smooth voice and passionate harmonies that helped to propel the progressive b-side of that vinyl-only release to be called “Weird by wicked” by Mixmag, and shoot to the top of the trance DJ charts in 1994. You can hear a short snippet of that track, and Sat Kartar’s vocals, on the closing music to my radio show every week. Later, in 1999, she went on to record two more tracks with us on an EP entitled “Transcendental Overdrive”. Both of these are currently out of print, but stay tuned as there is chance you just might see them re-released later in 2009.
But you don’t have to wait until then to hear Sat Kartar’s vocals. Her delicious albums “Flow” and “Listen” are available both on Amazon, and these, along with other back-catalogue, are also available on her website at www.satkartarmusic.com. You can also purchase “Flow” and “Listen” right here on The Garden of the Soul Gift Shop.
AND… you can receive a very special FR*EE mantra meditation gift from Sat Kartar when you purchase my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self on Tuesday 7 April. To find out how, just click HERE.
NEXT ON
Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Wednesday 18 March
Ep09- Food as a Pathway to the Spirit 6.30 PM UK time, 2.30 PM Eastern, 11.30 AM Pacific, 7.30 PM CET
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts British Naturopathic and Nutritional Therapist, Fran Stockley. Fran will be talking about how we can use food to deepen our spiritual connection. She will also share three principles for using food to open up both our “cells” and our “Selves” on a practical level so we can become open and more receptive to receiving guidance from the divine.
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: Global Wellness Circle Evening Location: Rickmansworth, England Link out: Click here Description: Uplifting holistic community event. Music, displays, fascinating talks and fun. See website for full details. Start Time: 19:00 Date: 2009-03-19 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
Title: RADIO: Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul Location: Internet Radio Link out: Click here Description: Ep9-Food as a Pathway to Spirit.
Author and Personal Transformation Coach Lynn Serafinn hosts British Naturopathic and Nutritional Therapist, Fran Stockley. Fran will be talking about how we can use food to deepen our spiritual connection. She will also share three principles for using food to open up both our “cells” and our “Selves” on a practical level so we can become open and more receptive to receiving guidance from the divine. Start Time: 18:30 GMT Date: 2009-03-18 End Time: 19:00 GMT
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: Lynn’s interview on “The Passion Project” Location: BlogTalkRadio Link out: Click here Description: “The Passion Project” with Katherine Reschke presents Lynn Serafinn, on finding what Lynn calls “the path of least resistance to the Self”. She will also share principles and excerpts from her book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self.She will also share with us her approach to being an authentic entrepreneur and how she helps her clients in this area. Start Time: 16:00 UK, 12 PM Eastern Date: 2009-03-13 End Time: 17:00 UK, 1 PM Eastern
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
Wednesday evening was episode 4 of my radio broadcast “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” on BlogTalkRadio. My special guest was John Levine of Alpha music who composes “Alpha” music that is supposed to put you to sleep. Umm… that didn’t come out the way I meant it… what I mean is, John’s music is intended as a cure for insomnia, anxiety, etc., because it is said to induce Alpha waves in the brain, which actually bring one to a relaxed state. I had spoken to John over the phone before setting up the show, and I thought the story of how he came to create this music was so interesting that I simply had to have him on the show. I was really excited that he was going to be on the air, and we made all the arrangements together.
So along comes Wednesday and I log on to my switchboard for the show. John had agreed to call in at least 5 minutes before air time to touch base before we went live. But 5 min before the start of the show, there was still no one on the guest line. I watched the countdown… 4 min, 3, 2, 1… Suddenly I’m live on the air. The theme music plays. Still no guest. Yikes!
When I was trained in Leadership, we learned that a real leader is supposed to be able to throw out “the plan” when needed, and create something from anything… or nothing, as the case may be. Well, all I had was the title of the show, and little old me. No back-up plan whatsoever.
Hmmm… I thought. So what can I create from this?
Ok, so after the theme music died down, I do my usual spiel to start. I talk about last week’s show, and even the week before. Still no guest. Hmm… we are already 3 minutes into the show. So, I go ahead and introduce my guest anyway, but am completely transparent and tell the audience he’s not there, if you can believe that! I tell them I am just going to talk about the topic anyway, trusting he’ll show up.
TALK?? On what? I ask myself …This is supposed to be an INTERVIEW.”
Anyway, I took the topic of the show, “Using Creativity to Heal the Self” and just started “winging it”. I started talking about my own journey of creativity and how it helped heal me (or not). I ended up talking about my own creative process in writing the book (at least part of it). I spoke about how I let go of control of the need to create and allowed things to just evolve, and how this actually opened up not only my creativity, but allowed me to “heal” from many wounds from the past. I spoke about how different characters appeared for my book, how I “allowed” the characters to write the stories, and how this bought me to a deeper understanding of the story I was writing. I spoke about my story “Learning to Breathe” (part of the section on the “Iris” in The Garden of the Soul) where I wrote about my mother’s death. I spoke about my character “Crow”, who was inspired by an actual crow who came to my window one morning about 2 years ago, and prompted the flow and meaning of the story. I spoke about how Crow asked me questions to which I didn’t premeditate the answers, and how I simply allowed the conversation to unfold in the book. I spoke about the wisdom and the healing this kind of organic creative process brought me regarding many pivotal events in my life, such as my mother’s death.
Then, just as I was “sort of” making a point, and with a whole 14 minutes left to the show, my guest John Levine finally shows up. Apparently, he had been trying to call in for half an hour but couldn’t get through to the call (bless him!). But, as fate would have it, he came in right at a moment when I was just completing the idea of “allowing” things to evolve naturally (but where I would have gone after that, don’t ask me!), so I just sort of used the moment to create from whatever showed up and said something like, “We’re going to be creative right now and allow this moment to happen exactly as it is.”
Now, one would think that this is probably a host’s worst nightmare. It’s like all those dreams where you are pushed out on stage without ever having had a rehearsal (ever have those?). But you know what? I felt perfectly calm. I was well aware that I probably babbled my silly head off for 16 minutes. But I didn’t care. I felt connected in some WEIRD way, and simply remained open and fully transparent. Now, I find this a very strange thing to have done, and regardless of how “good” the babble ended up being (hahaha… I haven’t listened to it yet! Maybe YOU could listen to it and let me know!), I still feel pretty proud that I was able to hold the room for 16 minutes solo, and actually stay somehow on the topic of the show.
Even though we only had 16 minutes, we managed to have just enough time for John to briefly tell how he first embarked on his journey to producing Alpha music. He spoke a little bit about how being the witness to his father’s lifetime of stress-related illnesses compelled him to find answers to the mind-body-spirit connection, which ultimately led him to use his musical talents to create music that can alter the alpha waves in the brain to restore health and wellbeing to listeners. He told me about his secret desire to record an album in the Taj Mahal some day. Paul Horn did that in the 70s on his album Inside, but all he had was a flute. Bringing in a grand piano would undoubtedly be a little bit more challenging! Unfortunately, we only had time for a small excerpt of one of John’s track on the air, but if you go to his site at www.silenceofmusic.com, he’s got loads of clips for your to hear. Of course, I will have John on the show again sometime soon. He’s a lovely person with a great story and a MASSIVE repertoire of Alpha wave inducing music. So and I really want to have the chance to present him properly on another show.
By the way, John will be appearing LIVE here in Bedford at our Global Wellness Circle evening this Monday 16 February at the Park Road West Church Hall, just off Roff Avenue. CLICK HEREfor full details, or visit http://www.global-wellness-circle.com and click “events”.
So the question is, I wonder why the Universe wished this to happen? I trust I shall find out eventually.
But I must admit, I now have a real appreciation for the role of a co-host!
Be SURE to check out John’s site athttp://www.silenceofmusic.com.He has a MASSIVE amount of music there, and you can here samples online.
Warm wishes,
Lynn
P.S.: Have a listen to my own creative process while I was creating from chaos:
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P.P.S.: Next week’s guest is Royal Amber Rojaswho has an amazing story of survival to tell! Make SURE you all tune in on Wed 18 Feb at 6.30 PM UK time to hear her incredible story on the air. You can listen to the show online at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn, either live OR “on demand”.
P.P.P.S.: Come on over and join Amber, me and lots of other colourful people on my new social network “The Garden of the Soul” at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com
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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.
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[NOTE to readers: this blog post originally appeared on my social network "Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul" on Ning. When I refer to people by name as "our own" and "right here", I am referring to that network, which can be accessed at 
