Ask the Author: Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
Answered Questions (8)
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
CHarlotte's Web-I'd visit the farm and speak with Charlotte and WIlbur.
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
I'm doing a deep dive into 12 step literature. Keeping close to the mothership and the voices of my community keeps me strong and present! Grateful to these books and these rooms for my imperfect abstinence from compulsive eating. Also planning to reread "Bright Line Eating" which is packed with goodness! Now I need to find my beach reads.:):):)
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
What a JUICY question! Well one thing that I find very mysterious and somewhat intimidating is navigating the bardos of death....those states of consciousness between life and death and rebirth? When I read the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (an incredible book!), I wondered, "Will I have what it takes to navigate those spaces mindfully?" As a shamanic practioner-of course I have adventured to those places myself...but I know that is not the same as when you actually navigate them. Perhaps is my existential anxiety...most people fret about planes crashing (I do that too!)..not the bardos. So I think it could be intriguing to build a plot using the bardos symbolically or LITERALLY in some way...a spiritual adventure of sorts!:) I have an idea for a fictional book involving spiritual awakening and global travel and this might just fit in there so thank you for asking this intriguing question! With love, elephants and a baker's dozen of honey badgers for courage, Sarah
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
When I get scared I don't have any new ideas or that I won't be able to figure out how to express something beautifully enough, I will go and visit Alice the Elephant, my loving and compassionate spirit helper. She usually makes me laugh, calms me down and reminds me that I have what it takes. Sometimes she is gentle (take a break and just goof off today- forget writing!). Other times she is more firm...but still loving. I always return from my visits to the spirit world more refreshed, lighter and feeling inspired.
I also simply agree to set my alarm for 5 AM and leap (or crawl...) out of bed and write when the conditions are the very best for me....in the quiet between 5 and 7 AM at our house. These conditions guarantee something will happen...even if its just organizing notes or spellchecking something.
Take a gentle but firm stance with yourself. You've got this.
I also simply agree to set my alarm for 5 AM and leap (or crawl...) out of bed and write when the conditions are the very best for me....in the quiet between 5 and 7 AM at our house. These conditions guarantee something will happen...even if its just organizing notes or spellchecking something.
Take a gentle but firm stance with yourself. You've got this.
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
Crying tears of PURE JOY and recognition, alone at your desk, as you revisit a story from your life and truly understand what it meant for you and your own trajectory.
Calling friends and "characters" in the book to share what you have written about them or simply to understand a situation you shared. Again- more tears, more gratitude from sharing the journey of life- what could be deeper, more beautiful or profound? Nothing! That is why I write.
An excuse to buy whatever books you want and read them (its research!).
If you write about your own life, there will be times when your life simply becomes more incredible and astounding as you realize that it's a living thing...there are plot twists...new characters appearing and the ending is always surprising and constantly being updated. Writing about my own life made me want to live a life that was worth writing about...it made me realize on a deeper level that I am the hero in my own journey. I want that for everybody.
Calling friends and "characters" in the book to share what you have written about them or simply to understand a situation you shared. Again- more tears, more gratitude from sharing the journey of life- what could be deeper, more beautiful or profound? Nothing! That is why I write.
An excuse to buy whatever books you want and read them (its research!).
If you write about your own life, there will be times when your life simply becomes more incredible and astounding as you realize that it's a living thing...there are plot twists...new characters appearing and the ending is always surprising and constantly being updated. Writing about my own life made me want to live a life that was worth writing about...it made me realize on a deeper level that I am the hero in my own journey. I want that for everybody.
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
Make time to get your words out. Begin with what you know...the tidbits of your own life or the non-fiction topic that set your heart aflame.
Begin anywhere....I never kept a diary much or was a writer my whole life....I was a physician in training and then an overworked mother of 4 in medical practice- I never wrote much until I hit 40. Some writers begin at 70. Whenever you begin is just perfect.
There is always time to write. Bring a notebook to carpool. Take notes of stories you remember or characters you've seen on the street in your phone over lunch. One of my sweetest memories was hiking one day with friends and I suddenly had an AH-HA for an essay (that eventually led to a book) and I stopped trailside and quickly typed the thoughts into my phone and emailed them to myself. Material is coming at you all the time and when you begin to collate it...more will come...you are marinating in an endless source!:)
Begin anywhere....I never kept a diary much or was a writer my whole life....I was a physician in training and then an overworked mother of 4 in medical practice- I never wrote much until I hit 40. Some writers begin at 70. Whenever you begin is just perfect.
There is always time to write. Bring a notebook to carpool. Take notes of stories you remember or characters you've seen on the street in your phone over lunch. One of my sweetest memories was hiking one day with friends and I suddenly had an AH-HA for an essay (that eventually led to a book) and I stopped trailside and quickly typed the thoughts into my phone and emailed them to myself. Material is coming at you all the time and when you begin to collate it...more will come...you are marinating in an endless source!:)
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
I am currently working on a BIG and beautiful book for Sounds True....The Book of Beasties: An A-Z Guide to the Enlightening World of Spirit Animals.
For months I have been immersed in wild animals and my friend laughs, "Sarah...you're the only person who says, I'm glad you called--I've got time--I was just about to watch another hippopatamus documentary!". I'm working directly with the loving and compassionate spirits of animals and tapping into all my stories from travel and from my wonderful family, friends and clients who have worked with their own animal spirits. It's been nothing short of miraculous and synchronistic as each message of each beastie seems to want to come forth. I have the feeling I will look back on this period of writing and be gobsmacked at how blessed it was...and is!
The book will be a large format reference and gorgeous resource for anyone who is seeking inspiration and divine insights from the wild animals that cross their path. A perfect gift for a nature loving/animal loving friend who is being tossed about on the waves of life and could use a life raft. That's what the animals were---and still are to me. I am so grateful for all of them.
For months I have been immersed in wild animals and my friend laughs, "Sarah...you're the only person who says, I'm glad you called--I've got time--I was just about to watch another hippopatamus documentary!". I'm working directly with the loving and compassionate spirits of animals and tapping into all my stories from travel and from my wonderful family, friends and clients who have worked with their own animal spirits. It's been nothing short of miraculous and synchronistic as each message of each beastie seems to want to come forth. I have the feeling I will look back on this period of writing and be gobsmacked at how blessed it was...and is!
The book will be a large format reference and gorgeous resource for anyone who is seeking inspiration and divine insights from the wild animals that cross their path. A perfect gift for a nature loving/animal loving friend who is being tossed about on the waves of life and could use a life raft. That's what the animals were---and still are to me. I am so grateful for all of them.
Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
Well, the idea for Swimming with Elephants (coming Oct 2017 Red Wheel/Weiser) came when I realized I wanted to share the strange and also wondrous transition I made when I left my medical practice to become a different kind of healer. Then a pilgrimage to India left me with more incredible stories and I thought- PERFECT- let's have a travel and adventure memoir with a bit of humor and show the anatomy of a BIG LEAP in life. I hope it will inspire others to develop faith and take their own leaps and adventures!
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