Sequestered with my book, Crystal Consciousness

I'm tucked away with my laptop working on my book. I've sequestered myself within a hotel looking out at skyscrapers. Some authors go to a mountain cabin. I guess you can't take the New Yorker out of me, so I'm gazing out at tall buildings overlooking the Miami River! It's not NYC but it is an easy drive away to change the setting to keep me focused.

Really . . . how focused am I if I'm having a moment of diversion writing in my blog? Oh well, I've achieved quite a bit this morning so a little break of writing on my blog is still writing, isn't it? I'll just consider this diversion a bit of time dedicated to creating a pre-publication buzz for my book.

It's really a great book. I'm extremely excited about it. Although it's primarily about crystals, colors, chakras, aromatherapy, herbs and resins - Crystal Consciousness is much more. I've incorporated spiritual teachings from various indigenous cultures including Toltec, Native American, Mayan, Italian, and Buddhist philosophies. The book is a tool for transforming your life and incorporating spiritual practices into daily life with the sparkle of gemstones and the scents of essential oils, plants and tree resins.

I'm really ready for the final editing process to be complete. My good friend, Melissa, is working with me to edit and tweak the 12 chapters.

The publication of Crystal Consciousness is set for Fall 2009 by Llewellyn Worldwide. That is, of course, dependent upon the actual completed manuscript getting delivered within the next 10 days or so. There are many pre-publication jobs on the to-do-list. But for now, I must stay focused on completing the editing. So now I return to my sequestered state of consciousness!

Green Bags and Branding My Logo

I am so blessed to have Victoria Rose Martin, artist extraordinaire, as one of my good friends and angels. She happily created the logo for my store. I knew I needed to work on branding for marketing purposes.

It wasn't until my 19th year of The Crystal Garden that I established a very definitive logo and focused on branding.At the last International New Age Trade Show, INATS, one of the main themes for seminars and the show in general was "Going Green." I realized that it was time for The Crystal Garden to have a 'green bag.' I love how it turned out. When people participate in my special layaway program going on this year at The Crystal Garden til Dec 15, they get one of these with their purchase. Otherwise, they are available for sale. They are very big. I'm impressed on how many groceries fit in them. My cousin, Camille, has had great results with using it for grocery shopping.

Remembering to bring the bags with me into the store - all stores - is a new habit that I am still working on integrating. I usually remember when I run in for groceries. I am still working on remembering to bring my bag with me for other types of shopping. I've been a compost nut for years. Now that I have a lot of land, my yard is so happy to receive the nutrients from the remains of vegetable cuttings, coffee grounds, egg shells and so on.

How are you going green?