Today I am welcoming the wonderful Lynne Marie to my blog. Lynne has hopped all the way over from New Zealand just to do this interview. Hiya Lynne and thanks for joining me here today.

Thanks Richard, wouldn’t miss tea and twiglets for the world! Thank you for asking me to join you here today.

So, tell us a bit about your background Lynne; just who is Lynne Ralph?

Wow, where to begin Richard..?? I am a 4th/5th generation “Kiwi” (New Zealander) with one of my ancestors born in Auckland when the population was just 15! I was raised in a rural setting and until ten years ago had lived all my life on the land. My parent’s farmed dairy cows and my younger sister, brother and I were surrounded by animals and home-grown veggies, a super lifestyle many would envy for its simplicity and good clean living. Personally I LOVED horses and my sister and I owned our own ponies and rode for a number of years, attending the local Hack & Hunters Club. I also enjoyed art and drawing, often combining my love of horses and drawing by spending many hours mastering the dimensions, angles and shape of the horse. I also loved to read and being a very introspective child who valued quiet and space, I would often demolish a book during the weekend. I later went on to marry a horse trainer and dairy farmer and we had three wonderful children. During another later partnership child number four emerged. From a work and career perspective I have majored mostly in Management and Administration, as well as Teaching / Training and Website Development.
Who Am I? Interesting question Richard and perhaps more difficult to define and answer than a summary of my background. My inner world and spirituality defines more of me than my outer world has tended to show. From a very young age I was aware of there being more than what we can physically see and that there is much more to life than we are often consciously aware of. One story I have often shared with friends is a beautiful demonstration of contact with the “unseen” dimensions and how I kept the knowledge of how I came to know what I knew, to myself. During a Sunday lunch as a child a family member asked a question, that question simply being, “What is your favourite number?” As each of my family took turns answering this question I was keenly aware it would be my turn soon and I was deeply concerned I didn’t seem to have a favourite number, it simply wasn’t something that had occurred to me before! So when it was my turn I admitted to not having a favourite number, yet I was secretly upset I didn’t have one when everyone else seemed to. After lunch I retired to my bedroom, lay on my bed and closed my eyes. In my minds’ eye I saw a white light emerge from the darkness and this white light began drawing a line. I watched in awe as a 7 was created and then in my mind heard the words “Your number is the number 7”. I was then relayed some other information, about the 7 being a number I would come to learn more about as an adult and that I would work with the energy of the 7. I had no idea consciously what was meant and in my childish enthusiasm begged to know more now and questioned why I had to wait. Then something beautiful was shared with me, the 7 began to rotate until it became an L. I was lovingly told that in the meantime (until I was old enough to understand) the reminder was “in my name” (the 7 becoming the L of Lynne). I was so excited to know what my number was that I jumped up off my bed, scurried back to the dining room and with much joy announced my number was 7. I knew I could not share the fullness of my experience, nor even hint at it, and that was okay. Much of my life has been like this Richard…..information perhaps shared, but the origin of how I come to know what I know often not revealed. (Btw my life path number is 7. The first numerologist I consulted remarking at how my chart is riddled with 7’s!).
In short, many of the most profound turning points during my life journey have come about as a result of some amazing spiritual experiences. Those experiences, scattered throughout my life, have sometimes swung the pendulum (so to speak) so far into the spiritual that I have had a tendency to neglect or struggle with physical living. Yet I have learned and continue to learn. At this time I feel the most empowered and grounded I have felt in a long time, empowered to make choices to co-create an amazing life worth living. The world really is our oyster! We can have, do or be anything we deeply desire and it is our choice. I am in a phase of rebirth and renewal as if parts of me are arriving on Earth for the very first time and I am looking at the world with awe and wonder. Life is a treasure chest…what do I choose?

How did you get into web design and how long have you been doing it?

During the early 1990’s the internet was birthed into New Zealand homes. I was intrigued and curious about how these things called web pages were created and also very excited by the potential. So I decided to learn! My third child had just started school and I approached the headmaster about the possibility of creating a school website. We chatted about the potential for students to connect with other children around the world. Consequently I was employed to teach computers and technology to students and set about becoming involved with teachers globally creating projects our children could be involved with. Our collective won a number of awards and a highlight was attending a Cable & Wireless Award ceremony in Sydney Australia. From there I went back to academia and enrolled in Computer Programming which I thoroughly enjoyed and where I broadened my knowledge of coding. Creating websites requires a balance of both creativity and structural logic – a wonderful way to keep both hemispheres of my brain actively engaged.

What prompted you to found Inspirational Storytellers; where did all the ideas come from?

Hmmm, what prompted me? After what I shared earlier Richard you would be right to suspect from guidance and intuition for the most part. I can’t pinpoint a particular date or event, just a sequence of unfolding. Seeds of being involved in publishing emerged three years ago after I was offered a publishing company a mentor had established to self publish her own books. Around that time I joined Facebook and from nowhere had friend requests pouring in and oft-times from authors! This trend continued and I had a knowing within, a growing desire in fact, to assist my author friends to be seen “out there” on a world stage and I wanted to assist in promoting and supporting their life purpose and work. Couple this with my love of stories, my understanding of personal development, of how some of our stories can inhibit us (when left unexamined) or help us shine (when examined and understanding gleaned) and you can see how the stage was being set for Inspirational Storytellers. When it finally occurred to me to build the website platform I put out into the ethers a request for assistance in choosing the name. More than once “Inspirational Storytellers” floated in…and more than once I discounted the name as it seemed too long. Finally, one day the penny dropped as everywhere I turned I kept hearing the words “Inspirational Story” being bandied about. And so, domain name purchased, I set about approaching authors I was drawn to and Inspirational Storytellers began to be birthed.

How do you see Inspirational Storytellers developing?

I have no doubt guidance and intuition will continue to play a key role in where things go next. I see a community of authors supporting one another, I see a place to come and be inspired and to share, I see a one-stop-shop where authors can pick and choose from products and services exactly what they need at any given time. How can we help authors? What are their needs? Future development will be guided by the feedback and support from those authors we help promote and serve with our products and services.

What about your own aspirations as an author? Is there a book in the pipeline?

I believe likely so, although no book in motion at this time. There is a growing desire to write and share some of my stories Richard and I will likely begin as I am encouraging other budding authors to, by sharing some short stories and articles on Inspirational Storytellers.

What was the defining moment that set you off on your spiritual pathway?

My defining moment that set me off on my spiritual pathway was not one of those spiritual experiences that have guided me on my journey, but a traumatic event that occurred when I was five years old. The child I was before the trauma was markedly different to the child I became after trauma. And it set me on a path to regain myself, to regain that connection….I became the proverbial “seeker”. Yet to seek is a double-edged sword as in the seeking one is not being and therefore healing, enlightenment, connection, however you describe it, is always something you hope to attain somewhere in the future. Yet my path was my path for a very good reason and from it birthed strength and fortitude, a “never say die” attitude. I imagine someday I will share my life story and when I do it will be when I am sure no victimhood remains and I have gleaned all the understanding of the gifts bestowed through my experience. As we discussed I have had a number of profound spiritual experiences guiding my path and actions throughout my life and one in particular changed my life. I had a spontaneous full kundalini awakening at the age of 18, almost exactly as Eckhart Tolle describes in his “Power of Now” book. I didn’t however spend weeks on end sitting on a park bench as I had a fulltime job. Make no mistake though it was every bit as powerful as the description Eckhart Tolle and others who have shared such an awakening describe. I awoke one morning to a different world and I was different too. Others who knew me well couldn’t help but notice the change, it was that remarkable! To be in such a blissful space of love, joy, grace and gratitude and yet simultaneously to be the most grounded and real I had ever been in the world, was a miraculous gift. I lived this way for a period of six months until the light anchored in me began to contract and finally largely withdrew, but not before I’d had a very good opportunity to understand and live as an enlightened and connected individual and to see the various aspects of how it manifested in my world. Someday I shall probably share that story too 

OK, now to completely change theme of the interview, what was the first record you ever bought Lynne?

That’s an easy one to answer Richard! The Flowers Album by Icehouse 

I’m not sure if you are familiar with this great Australian band (Yes I have heard of them Lynne ED.). I wore that record thin! They were the first band I experienced in a live concert, locally in the Founders Theatre in Hamilton. I’ve never forgotten that concert or the way their music touched me for many years…and still does!

(A sample for your listening pleasure Richard….  )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtImBCUWJf4&list=PL501551630A0489B2

Who is your favourite band of all time?

You will likely not be surprised by my response…..Icehouse. (Wow! I’m so surprised!!!! ED.)

Batman or Superman?

The jury is out on that one Richard….whoever can bring Marmite back to New Zealand supermarket shelves will be my favourite superhero!(I hear the penalties are very stiff in NZ for anyone caught Marmite smuggling Lynne! Ed.)

All that remains now is for me to say thanks once again to the wonderful Lynne Marie for joining me today in Tetbury. Now Lynne, I don’t want you to miss your bus… but as a parting shot can you leave us with a message of inspiration please?

Richard it has been such a pleasure! Thank you! We all have inspirational stories and we are all on our own inspirational journey. Please share your stories, share who you are and where you’ve been and what you’ve learned. Speaking your truth and sharing your story inspires others to do so as well; we all need to be the hero in our own story and all need to know it is well worth the journey… don’t ever give up.

Great! Thanks Lynne, hope to chat to you again soon.