I’m privileged to co-host a conversation with writing client Satyama Ratna Lasby launching her book, freshly published on the Amazon platform. Below is the invite.
———-
Join us for a celebration of LOVE this Wednesday, May 26th from 3-7pm at Buddha Cafe for the book launch of Satyama’s new release:
“The Tao of Tantric Yoga”
We are happy to invite the community of Koh Phangan to drop in with great consciousness for on-the-spot tantric exercises to go with the theme of the book and for a visit.
You are also invited for
snacks,
a raffle
a reading by the author, some background of the process on KPG.
a special invitation to a Tantric Yoga masterclass with Satyama will be given to those attending the book launch, so you can experience this style of yoga, her teachings, and get a glimpse into some of the topics she introduces in the book.
to purchase the book in paperback form signed for 500THB
I have been privileged to work with Aaron Wexler on his new book, a fascinating guide for young athletes seeking inspiration and a balanced life. While coaching Aaron, he started a podcast which has had marvelous success. Check it out. And thanks Aaron for the shoutout. The complete interview can be found on Shout Out LA. Here are excerpts.
Within The Game Podcast is all about learning about what tools others use to stay inspired, and how you can best relate the information back to your own life. For me, the work has been 2 fold: researching and learning about my guests to be best prepared for our episodes, as well as implementing what I learn from each guest into my own life. During this process, I have found that I am becoming more inspired in my own life, more creative, more focused, and I flat out am having more fun with my journey as a writer and business owner. Looking back on my journey, I am most proud of the relationships I have created and grown. I love connecting with other people, especially those who’s stories’ really inspire me. I am proud of knowing that I am making a positive impact on my community with the content I am putting out by sharing their stories. I am also proud of the questions my writing coach Brian Gruber and I came up with because they are truly unique & eccentric, especially for athletes, coaches, and entrepreneurs!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my Shoutout to my writing coach, Brian Gruber (grubermedia.com)! I met Brian in Thailand at a yoga ashram, and after taking a creative writing workshop led by him, I signed up for his coaching services. Brian has been with me every step of the way in the writing process of my forthcoming book, as well as in the creation and structure of my podcast. I can’t thank him enough and highly recommend him for anyone looking for help with their own book or idea for a book! I would also like to give a shoutout to my team of editors Olley Thorpe & Garette Shaun of DAF Global (dafglobal.co.uk). Olley has been instrumental in helping me setup a vision for my podcast and coaching me through the nuts and bolts of its operations, and Garette is an absolute pro when it comes to editing.
My friend and coaching client Satyama Ratna Lasby is raising funds for the production and marketing of her new book. It is worth a look, and, hopefully, your support, Check out the project here. A short description:
The campaign is to fund the development, production, editing, marketing, distribution of life-long research on spiritual practice in the form of a book I have written to make the connection between practicing yoga and authentic tantric practice to heal the world. In this auspicious time of change, I need your help to make this happen and for more people to wake up to the potential that lies in ancient wisdom that can only be realized by the practitioner themselves.
The book, The Tao of Tantric Yoga is a provocative and direct account of the study, embodiment and leadership of BOTH yoga and tantra. The Tao, meaning “the way” is the way I have lived an intentional life based on love that have defined this alternative way, which I hope to share with the world. The study of meditation and intentional communities is strongly accounted for in the book, as are the principles of meditation. The book looks at life from the big picture, and through some real-life tantric lessons I account for, one can come to their own conclusions as to what makes life expansive, exciting, valuable and meaningful.
I had the pleasure to coach Wendy May through her process of writing and publishing her book Regenerative Purpose. She also conducted a highly successful Kickstarter campaign to support key aspects of her product launch. I was privileged to write the book’s Foreword.
Wendy recently announced the launch of her audio book. You can purchase the audiobook – and all other versions – here.
She is also leading a workshop that may interest you. This from an email she sent out today:
2020 has certainly tested us… with physical, emotional, financial and egoic death. We’ve had to meet our limits and transcend them. We have been permanently changed.
Are you clear now on what’s next? How do you want to shape 2021?
For me, so many questions have arisen about…
MY PLACE IN THE WORLD What is the nature of life and death? What makes a human life worth living? How do I speak my truth when the word “truth” itself triggers confusion?
MY RELATIONSHIP WITH SELF How do I measure my value in the world when I’m not actively working? What does it feel to take up space when I’m not confident in my direction?
MY LIFE LESSONS TO LEARN Can I love and give fully and fearlessly, without knowing who will receive it? Can I boldly walk to the edge of my discomfort and expand from there?
AND, HOW TO KEEP GOING Can I step forward into what’s next without being able to see the whole path? What is it to be a leader in the new planetary paradigm? Am I ready for that?
SO MANY QUESTIONS
Maybe you have been considering some of the same questions.
I don’t know any of the answers.
But I do know that when we come together to ask these kinds of questions, magic always happens. I’m inviting a small group of devoted souls to join me in kicking off 2021 with Regenerative Purpose Co-Lab.
Announcing… REGENERATIVE PURPOSE CO-LAB
It’s an 11-week journey to support the living integration of Regenerative Purpose.
It’s not coaching. It’s not an online course. It is a group r/evolution co-creation lab.
It’s limited to 6 people, to make sure there’s spaciousness for sharing and reflections.
The purpose of the Co-Lab experience is to come together in community and find clarity, while releasing the need for control. We are pointing each other towards that sweet spot of creative contribution that is active (not pushy) and receptive (not passive).
This work helps us get clear on what we want in life, how we want to live and serve, and what choices we’re willing to make to realize that reality. Yet we can relax the normal management and control functions that create stress around striving. We learn the art of reading and responding to life, so we can shape our path with ease.
For experienced coaches and facilitators, there is also the possibility to get trained and licensed to lead Regenerative Purpose Co-Lab circles yourself.
Thank you to French poet Sophie Foucher for her lovely testimonial. I had the privilege to coach Sophie through the editing, design, and publishing of her poetry anthology Alchemy of Love. Each poem is in both English and her native French and features an original hand-painted illustration For information on coaching, editing, publishing, and marketing services to take your book from concept to completion, check out my new www.Sandscribes.com partnership with Tom Vater and Henry Roi.
“Brian has been my Jiminy Cricket to help me finish my first work as an author and artist. He was guiding me the all time, and I could go where I needed to go in the process of this work without any hesitation.
“He supported not only the flow of my work but also giving very beneficial advice on marketing ideas. He made the connection for me to get a graphic designer and supervised all the work also in this field. He did my proof reading in English and still gave me marketing and strategy advice till now. I’m so grateful I met him for my first project, because he had removed all limitations to realise the finishing product.
“He is specialised in self-publication so the distribution part is through Amazon (in my case).
“Brian was also with when I first give a lecture of my book in front of an audience and today I can lecture during book festivals with ease.
“He is enthusiastic, realistic, find solutions fast, he is reliable, affordable, super communicative, and funny.
“Beside, the book project, I also met an amazing human being and working together was a source of joy and immense pleasure. That also inspire me a lot to work in this way now.
“Cannot wait to collaborate again with him from his tropical island Koh Phangan!”
You have an idea for a novel? An action-packed thriller?
How about a non-fiction book on a personal passion? Or perhaps you want to document and publish your own unique story for posterity?
If you’ve always dreamt of writing – putting thoughts on your favorite subjects on paper – but are not sure how to go about such a daunting and exhilarating project, Sand Scribes will help turn your literary dream into a published book.
If you’re new to publishing, but have a big or small idea, we will support and guide you on your literary journey. If you already have a manuscript, Sand Scribes can help you hone structure, technique and style and undertake a meticulous edit to focus your text.
Tom Vater
Sand Scribes know all about telling stories. Brian Gruber and Tom Vater have spent their professional writing lives traveling the world, working in a myriad of creative industries and literary genres. Henry Roi has worked a publicist for independent writers and fiction imprints for the past six years.
Brian has published a globetrotting romance novel, an oral history, and a book on jazz fusion, and runs a writing group on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand. Tom has published crime fiction as well as reportage for media in the United States, England, France, Germany and elsewhere for 25 years. He has edited more than 30 crime novels along with several non-fiction titles.
Sand Scribes offer a unique, start-to-finish range of vital services that pave your way to a published book: one-on-one coaching while you craft your story, seasoned editing to make your work shine, advice on key writing issues during your literary journey, book cover design and formatting, publishing consulting and hands-on self-publishing support and, crucially, a set of proven programs for marketing your title.
For more details, and a free one-hour coaching session to set you on your path and demystify the writing, editing, and publishing process, check out www.sandscribes.com.
In my coaching experience, while talking to aspiring writers who have a book in them, anxious to find a path forward, I often encounter a mysterious phenomenon. For a period, the idea percolated but there was not the sense of urgent drive that, suddenly, appeared, motiving the writer to act. That drive becomes too fierce to ignore and, though there is some sense of being overwhelmed, mystified at the process of starting the task, there is invariably joy and passion in the pursuit.
And then, there is a choice. To act, or to to wait for some time in the future, when execution of the task might be more convenient. In my experience, if one does not act when that passion is still fresh, it will wane. It might return, but likely will not. Why? I believe we signal something important to our psyche when we act. We tell it this is important, and so one’s inner resources, call them what you will, are activated, allowing a more forceful setting aside of distractions and doubts. We have the enthusiasm and intention to stay on the path. When we choose not to act, we send another message to ourselves, this is not important, and thus other priorities, various mundane activities get in the way. That’s why I like this quote so much.
Here’s another:
When the impetus to write a book or produce a completed creative work arises, act on it or that passion vanishes. It’s sapped of its power, and power is needed to produce something of enduring value. If you have never heard Oliver read, here she is with a favorite of mine, Coleman Barks, famous for his popular and delightful interpretations of the Persian poet Rumi.
I will be on the road for most of October, leaving on the 2nd, returning on the 24th, and look forward to seeing friends and family throughout the visit. Here’s a look at the itinerary.
I will join Billy Cobham, Randy Brecker, and the Crosswinds tour band for their performances, notably,
Jazz Alley, Seattle, October 3-6
Kuumbwa, Santa Cruz, October 10
Blue Note, Napa, October 11-12
I will be signing copies of “Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s: Billy Cobham on Jazz Fusion and the Act of Creation” after each show. I especially look forward to meeting Randy Brecker, one of the world’s great jazz trumpeters, and a featured interview in the book. It will be a particular pleasure to have my daughter Andrea join me at one of the Napa shows, her first time meeting Bill and Faina. Then on to Auburn, for a visit with the now one-year-old Silas.
Also scheduled are coaching sessions with U.S. clients and continued work on the Surmountable protest book project. I will be proud to be attending the launch of my coaching client Wendy May’s book, “Regenerative Purpose” at San Francisco’s Dolores Park, noon on the 12th. Wendy credits the workshop I facilitated at Koh Phangan’s Mermaid Villa with inspiring her to write the book, and our coaching sessions for completing it. It is a terrific work, on sale soon. I am privileged to have written the book’s foreword.
Brian Gruber is an author, writing coach, and marketing consultant living on the Thai island of Koh Phangan. He has spent 40 years studying, leading, and founding new media companies and projects.
snacks,
