Today, I have the pleasure of taking part in Lynn Serafinn’s New Book Blog Tour. Her book, “The Garden of the Soul: Lessons from Four Flowers to Unearth the Self” is scheduled to launch on April 7th.
Here’s my interview with Lynn:
1) When did you start writing this book?
While healing from the dissolution of my 22-year marriage, I wrote the short story “The Very Good King” in 2002. It was atypical of my style because it was written like a fairytale. Really it is a spiritual metaphor, and not a fairytale at all. It is in that story that the “four flowers” (the Rose, the Iris, the Daffodil and the Lily) took birth. I knew they represented some deeper aspects of myself, but hadn’t really put my finger on it. I really liked this story and felt very connected to it, but didn’t immediately see that it had any potential to be more than a tool for my own processing. I put it on the shelf, and more or less didn’t think about it. Then, one morning in March 2007, I literally woke up in bed one morning and “saw” the entire book in front of me. I understood the meaning of the four flowers and how this story would serve as the Prologue and the wellspring for the rest of the book, which is anything but a fairytale. That’s when I sat down and began to write daily, and made the public announcement to everyone I knew that I was writing this book.
2) Why did you decide to write this book?
I had always fantacised about writing a book, but had never really made the commitment to do it in earnest. I had only ever shown my writing to trusted friends and saw it as a private thing. But eventually, I realised that my resistence to setting my writing free, so to speak, was due to my own fear of judgement. And that’s when it all turned around for me, because I started to see that I had lived much of my life like that up to that point, and that the story I wanted to tell was really about setting the soul free to become who you really are. So, to do that, I had to unleash my own inhibitions by offering the book to the greater world, so that others could receive this message.
3) Please explain the purpose of the book to your readers?
The purpose of the book is twofold. First, it offers a simple model for spiritual balance in the four principles of give, receive, become, be. Secondly, it is intended to call forth the inner hero in the ready. By reading my stories, the reader can connect to their own, and see how and when these four principles have been flourishing or suppressed in their lives. I suppose there is also a third purpose to the book as well. I wanted to create something beautiful that spoke directly to the heart through storytelling and metaphors, like the way storytellers of old did, full of magic, symbolism and the bending of time and space. Even though my book is technically “non-fiction”, it is presented in a way the reads like fiction.
4) What drew you to add the flower aspect (symbolism) to the book?
Hahaha… I didn’t add the flower aspect! The blossomed all by themselves. As I mentioned earlier, they took birth in “The Very Good King”. That story came to me in a single flash, triggered by a random comment a friend of mine had made over the phone about wanting to be a “king”. After I hung up the phone, I sat down and wrote that story in one go, in a single 9-hour writing session. Apart from a few tiny edits, that story has never changed. I don’t feel like I wrote it; rather it was dictated to me. Later in 2007, when I woke up and realised who/what the four flowers actually represented, it was also not a conscious decision. I simply came to me and I wrote.
5) Did you enjoy the experience of writing this book?
Extremely. I learned so much about myself and also about the creative process. I wrote the book 3 times before I pronounced it “finished” (and that’s not counting the copy edits and proofreading). It wasn’t until after the first draft that I really learned how to dive into the characters and allow them to “write” the book for me. I found that real writing is a process of surrendering to the story itself, and getting away from my own brain. When I get myself to that place, it is a real state of “flow”. When you reach that state, you know that anything that comes from you is pure and perfect, because you are allowing your soul to speak without any of the masks we tend to put on in daily life. It was a liberating experience, and I truly think every word I wrote was a gift sent to me. I was just the instrument.
6) Do you have plans to write more books?
Absolutely. The first thing I am planning to do is record an audio version of The Garden of the Soul. Then, later this year, I will be completing my eBook The Path of Least Resistance to the Self, which already has been read in its unfinished form by many hundreds of people. It is nearly done, but I put it on the back burner because I needed to focus on the release of The Garden of the Soul. Many people have downloaded the first 6 chapters of that book from my Create-a-Life website, and it is still available there if you simply request it. The full book should be out sometime this summer. There are other projects in the works, such as a co-authored book on the principles of Vedic art with my friend and artist Kristina Berglund, and also some practical self-development books.
And, I am also sure there is another major book inside me, and I trust that it will show itself to me when it wants to be born.
7) Besides the book, do you have other products to tell us about?
Not so much “products” as services, I would say.
Firslyl, I am a personal transformation coach. I work primarily with holistic practitioners and creatives who are struggling/resisting connecting to their life path in their work. I love working with people who are ready (even if terrified) to cut free of the “status quo” and create a new lifestyle. This can mean returning to education, changing careers or building a new entrepreneurial enterprise (my favourite!). But I work with them to build this plan “from the inside out”. In other words, we focus on the person first and foremost, and the life changes come as a result of the transformation within that person.
I also run a number of group coaching telecourses, including “Making Friends with the Monsters Under Your Bed” (about overcoming limiting beliefs) and “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out” (which teaches you how to create your own network). I am also developing two retreats, one for The Garden of the Soul, as well as one I am co-creating with my colleague Fran Stockley on the Inner Hero. If people subscribe to my Create-a-Life newsletter, they will receive calendar updates for when these courses are on offer.
I also host a weekly radio show on BlogTalkRadio. I have some great guests, including authors, coaches, musicians, artists and other colourful people. We explore life purpose, personal empowerment, balance of mind, body and spirit and how to tap into the inner hero that lies within every human being.
I am also the Founder/CEO of the Global Wellness Circle, an educationally focussed holistic community project that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK.
I am also an avid public speaker and I speak on a range of inspirational topics. I also adore reading aloud and I am currently in the planning stages with my good friend and musician Sat Kartar Khalsa to create a multi-media show that would incorporate reading with live music. Again, if people sign up for my newsletter, they will receive all updates as to where I will be next.
8) What does the rest of 2009 hold for you?
At the beginning of the year, a friend of mine sent me a horoscope for Aquarians (which I am) and it said that 2009 was going to be the year where Aquarians would become immensely “visible”, if they allow it to happen. Well, I am ready for the visibility, lol. Right now my calendar is getting packed with lots of public appearances and radio. I think I will also be doing a 1-week festival in western England this August. I am getting into more and more collaborations with others and that really gets me energised. I want to launch the Hero retreat by next October.
I would also love to expand my career as a radio show host, as I completely love doing that. I get to talk all I want, I get to meet the most fascinating people, and everyone sends me signed copies of their books. What could be a better dream for an author and a coach?
Hey, and my intuition tells me that this might just be the year where I meet my life partner. Hopefully by the autumn, I will have created enough space in my life to share this wonderful journey with someone else!
It is already a great year, and I know it is only going to get better.
Please click here to register and take part in the launch on April 7th, and receive 25 free items for doing so.
This interview was a part of a virtual book blog tour. Yesterday, the tour stopped with Claudia Meyrdech and tomorrow it will continue with Judy Davids
