Category Archives: Stairs For Breakfast

I’ve had a few bumps…

…No, not in my car!

Here’s my festive photo! (Thank you to Keshava for giving his AWESOME hat. He said it suits me.)

awesome hat

My previous update was about the great experience I had in Guayrapa. Well, my experience since then has been a bit bumpy.

About a week after I got home from Spain I started to feel stressful. The stress I was feeling was due to do with the two buy-to-let flats I own. One of the properties has been empty since mid October and needs a refurb.

One of the reasons I decided to write Stairs For Breakfast was because, after buying the two flats, I realised I didn’t enjoy the time/stress/finance owning flats can consume (and I want to do something else which will make a real difference in the world).

When I was told that the refurb on the flat was going to cost £7K, I naturally looked into why it was going to cost so much. And I spent about five weeks getting other quotes for the refurb, looking into selling the flat – and therefore the cost of extending the lease on it.

I understand property and am financially astute but I need to rely on letting agents and builders. I spoke to a few people, who all want to work with me, and who gave me conflicting advice and guidance. I found it so stressful.

When I started to look into it I thought ‘This won’t take long to sort out.’ Now, six weeks later, I’m happy that the refurb on the property has started!

Reflecting on it now, it’s interesting to see how very gradually I felt more and more stressed, and although I didn’t stop meditating, my ascensions did become shorter. Another thing that happened was it knocked my confidence and I experienced fear of an old pattern.

A fear is just a thought – and a thought only appears to be real to you when you identify yourself with it. But by becoming the observer (rather than the identifier) of your thoughts they will just pass quickly in and out of your awareness.

The good is, I realised it was a signal for me to increase my meditation practice again – so I did. I now ascend for at least 3 hours a day and feel much more present (and awesome again!).

About a month ago I went to Glenn Armstrong’s Property Mastermind Day, to seek advice on what to do with my flat. In front of 40-50 people I said “Please can someone help me…I don’t know what to do.”

Thank you very much to Julia Austin for helping me. I don’t know Julia well but by coming to see the flat twice (and showing estate agents round it), she spent time and went out of her way in helping me. That is true humanity.

Stairs For Breakfast – I’ve now submitted all the material to Hay House and they will publish the book in due course. In the meantime I’ve ordered another print-run of my self-published edition. You can order Stairs For Breakfast here and now http://stairsforbreakfast.com/buy-now and I’ll post you the book in mid January.

I owe it to myself to live to most expansive life possible and to let my universe unfold and opportunities come to me.

Happy new year

Hay House Publishing & my Spanish adventure

Hola everybody!

I’ll write about Stairs For Breakfast and Hay House in a mo.

First, I want to talk about Guayrapa (the meditation retreat in Spain) because it’s a life-changing experience.

I initially went for 2 weeks with the intention of staying until the end of November but it was fully booked in November, so I stayed until 31st October. Nevertheless it was an amazing experience – which took a few days to get use to.

My first impression of it was it was like a prison camp; the dining had long wooden tables and benches – and everyone ate from metal plates and bowls! When I asked for a black tea with 2 sugars, I was informed “There’s no sugar here”!

Before I got there I thought the retreat was on top of a mountain – it’s in fact on the side of a mountain – and it was far too steep and spread out for me to get around the retreat on my own.

As my old self, I was like “I’m independent,..I don’t need any help…” but I did need people to help me.

One of the first lessons I lessons I learnt there is: once you let go of something with is bothering you, it doesn’t bother you anymore. Hence when I accepted that I needed help getting around, it was easy and joyful. Thank you Satta for teaching me that.

My 30-year-old wheelchair (which I never use at home) wasn’t fit for the bumpy and steep terrain – so the retreat centre bought a wheelchair!. It took 2 people to take me down the steep slope and 3 to push me up the hill.

There were 80-100 people at the retreat. It’s amazing how quickly you get to know so many people (from all around the world).

As it was my first time in Guayrapa I was in the Newbies group. There were 15 of us and we had a meeting in the mornings. Our teacher Manyu is one of the funniest guys on the planet!

newbiesEverybody was brought together for the evening meetings. At first I was daunted by saying anything in a room of 100 people – and realised that it was just a case of feeling the fear and doing it anyway. It wasn’t long before I relaxed and was my inspirational and humorous natural-self again.

Ascension meditation is about watching the thoughts of your mind – and not grabbing hold of any thoughts – just letting them pass through your mind. The phrase “You are not your thoughts” is so true. Ascension automatically brings you into living in the present moment.

The mind and body are connected – and ascension relaxes the mind. One of the incredible things I’ve found is the more I ascend, the more my body relaxes – making my walking and talking physically easier. It’s like magic 🙂

At home I fall over about once a month. In Guayrapa, at first, I was falling over twice a day. But as I became more relaxed I stopped falling over.

I see my Cerebral Palsy as a gift because I help and inspire people just by being my natural self.

I used to think that asking for help was weakness – but I’ve learnt that the opposite is true. Wanting to help people is a natural human experience, which gives people pleasure. By accepting help from people, you are expanding your world and theirs too.

It was great being surrounded by so many people – all there for the same reason – peace, love and joy. This blog update would be much longer were I to name everybody who helped and inspired me! Not only all the teachers but also everyone on the mastery course. Everyone is there to help each other.

I would particularly like to thank:
– Virendra,:for inspiring me to go to Guayrapa, for his help and for being a good friend.
– Prakasha and Maitreya, two teachers who took it upon themselves to help me get around and who got me breakfast, lunch and dinner every day
– My roommates, for the great conversations and helping me.
– George, a newbie who took it upon himself to help me every day. My first recollection of George was him coning over to help me when he saw me sitting on the ground (after I had fallen over walking down a slope).
– Everyone I interacted with (ie everybody else!)

Don’t listen to what your mind says about you. Instead listen to the reflections people are giving to you.

I used to think I was just a regular guy who hadn’t done much in life. Meditating and surrounded by over 80 people for a month, all calling me an amazing person and an inspiration. I now appreciated that the latter is definitely true 🙂

Having been home for nearly a month now, I’m noticeably more peaceful and joyful person. Also, I’m drinking less tea and more water (partly because my metallic teacup was accidentally left in Guayrapa!)

I’m planning to go back to Guayrapa next year – with some electric wheels!

As I said, Guayrapa was a life-changing experience, I can write a book about it (and I’ve got the title for it).

I had a nice surprise when I got home from Spain. My friend Paul Apps (who I know from the Brighton ascension group) said he had sent a copy of my book to his contact at Hay House in America.

Having spoken with them, they like what I represent. They want to re-master Stairs For Breakfast and take my book(s) and me to the next level. Exciting stuff – watch this space 🙂

I often say that inspiration is a two-way thing. Thank you to all of you who help and inspire me.

It’s interesting looking back at what I’ve done over the last 5 years; took a chance and left my IT job, ventured into property investment, written and self-published a book and found ascension. At times it has been emotionally and financially difficult but I’ve learnt and changed so much.

I am amazing 🙂

Spain here I come!

Had a great time at the Berkshire Property Meet last week. Francis Dolley was the speaker and I didn’t realise he is so humorous! Francis is one of first persons I met in property five years ago and he inspires me a great deal.

Also I managed to sell 50 copies of Stairs For Breakfast at the BPM. Thank you to everyone who bought my book including Sylvia & Juswant Rai, Kevin Wright, John Cox and Kev Winchester.

I now have the opportunity to speak at the Bucks Property Meet and at the Landlords Property Meet. Thank you John and Kev respectively.

Chapter 1 of Stairs For Breakfast is now available for free from my website.

I’ve started this process of getting Stairs For Breakfast into Waterstones.

Thank you to Paul Apps who’s a great motivator and coach.

Thank you to everyone who has inspired me to go to the meditation retreat in Spain – where I’m off to tomorrow morning for two months!

My Latest TV Interview – and much more

It’s been 3 months since my last email/blog update and I’m on a mission to sell 50 books in the next 7 days!

It’s one thing writing and self-publishing a book. It’s another thing promoting it. Over the summer I felt a bit tired and not knowing what to focus on, I took scattered action:

– Learnt more about internet marketing and added some pages to my website.
– Spoke in front of 50+ people at Tony Ogundeyi’s London Property Meet.
– Sold a handful of the 100+ books that have been in my car for a few months; wondering how I can easily sell more books.

My friend and neighbour Steve Bell advised me to contact the Latest TV (channel) in Brighton. I phoned them and emailed my press release. It was easy. Here’s the result.

As some of you know, I practice Ascension meditation and since the weekly Brighton group started about 18 months ago, I’ve increased my practice more and more. Meditating 3 times a day is just part of my life now. It’s making a real difference and people keep telling me how relaxed I am. I can Ascend for several hours at a time now and I feel so peaceful.

In May I said to my friend Virendra “I’ve worked so hard for the last 5 years, I really need a holiday.” Being an Ascension teacher and knowing me he replied “Why don’t you go to Guayrapá? (a meditation retreat in Spain that Virendra knows well).

I needed a bit of encouragement from my teachers Radha & Ananta. They say I’ll love it there (and I’m sure I will). I booked it about 3 three months – and Virendra is coming with me – we are going on 1st October. A couple of other people from our Brighton group are already in Spain – and others are likely to join us. I’m now looking forward to it!

Satta – thank you for all your help in arranging everything. Look forward to meeting you.

Not being very good at remembering names, I keep referring to Guayrapá as Ayia Napa. I’m told that that would be a different kind of experience!

On 1st September thinking ‘Spain is a month away…’ and frustrated by the number of books still sitting in my car I thought ‘I better do something…’

I’m not sure how it happened but around the same time Paul Apps (a relatively newcomer to our meditation group, who sees my potential, becoming an inspirational speaker) offered to coach me. Paul is really helping to motivate myself. In the last week I’ve sold about 50 books locally:

– Last Sunday I did a book signing in the Duke of Wellington pub.
– Tuesday, Virendra and I sold some books on Shoreham Footbridge (the bridge on the front of my book).
– Yesterday my flatmate John came with me to the book signing in the Bridge pub – before selling more on the Footbridge.

It’s easy and fun!

This Thursday evening I’m doing a book talk in The Vintners Parrot (10-12 Warwick St, Worthing). I did a talk there in November and I was so present (in the moment). If you were there, you’ll remember how captivating the evening was.

vinters-talk on 19 Nov 2014

Successful people do simple things very effectively.

I’ve also been to a few book shops recently and found this process of getting Stairs For Breakfast into Waterstones.

I know I’ve got so much potential as an inspirational speaker, doing promotion on TV and radio (and internet marketing). However my focus now is selling 50 books in 7 days. I would also like to make further enhancements to my website before going to Spain.

I wrote Stairs For Breakfast to help and inspire people – and I’ve done what I set out to do (it’s got great reviews on Amazon). You can buy the book directly from me here and now.
Thank you to everyone who helps and inspires me. Inspiration works both ways.

An action-packed time

It’s been a full-on fortnight!

A while ago my Ascension meditation teachers Ananta and Radha asked me if I would take part in a TV documentary. The filming took place a couple of weeks ago.

Here’s a photo of me, Ananta and Radha with the film crew.

dd boundless jpgWhen I arrived at Ananta and Radha’s house (thinking I was going to be filmed there), Ananta suggested “The guys want to come with you in your car and film you driving up to Devil’s Dyke [on the Sussex Downs]” I initially thought ‘You must be joking, there’s no way I’m doing that…” But when he then said “Do you want to feel the fear and do it anyway?” I couldn’t say no! I found myself in the present moment during the filming process. The cameraman was sitting in the front of the car and the director/sound guy and Ananta were in the back. It was an amazing experience. I then did a 20 minute piece to camera. I loved it and it was virtually effortless.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been out networking on ten consecutive days/evenings. I wasn’t built to do so much walking and standing around! I knew I could do it – and now, a few days later, I have physically recovered and am fine.

I went to the Berkshire Property Meet and sold 50 books! Here I am with my ‘bookstore’.

bpm bookstore with andyAnother place I’ve been to is Glenn Armstrong’s Mastermind Day. It’s such a good community to be part of; full of good people with a wealth of knowledge, who are happy to advise and help me.

Success is about knowing what you want (knowing what’s important to you) and taking action.

Over the last five years I’ve developed so much (as a person). Not only by publishing Stairs For Breakfast but also by practicing Ascension mediation. Inner peace is so nice. I want more of it 🙂

I’m also at the start of the next phase of my journey; public/inspirational speaking and marketing my book online.

Bring it on!

Thank you to everyone who’s helped and inspired me – and for the growing list of 5 star reviews on Amazon here.

PS I regularly post content on Facebook. You can join me www.fb.com/patrick.souiljaert

Stairs For Breakfast is on Amazon!

Five years ago I was still working in my IT corporate job and was just getting into property. The idea of writing a book hasn’t occurred to me yet.

The 400 pre-ordered books were sent out over a week ago. Thank you for all the 5 star reviews on Amazon and Facebook comments. I feel very proud.

I’ve made a new video and updated the front page of my website.

Thank you Jayne Owen for reviewing Stairs For Breakfast and making it Book Of The Month on Property Tribes.

I feel my Cerebral Palsy is a gift for me to make a difference in the world and I knew writing Stairs For Breakfast was a good idea. I wrote the book to help and inspire people – and it’s the best thing I’ve done so far in life.

Thank you to my flatmate John and his daughter Lucy (who’s very bright and diligent for her age) helping me send out the pre-orders. Here’s John with sacks and boxes of books.

flatmate john

I have a few copies left over from my print-run and you can buy the book for £15 here http://stairsforbreakfast.com/buy-now

Thank you to all of the people who have helped and inspired me over the last five years. Inspiration works both ways.

I’m looking forward to Glenn Armstrong’s Mastermind day this Saturday for guidance with my marketing plan.

Stairs For Breakfast is now at the printers

I’m delighted to say that Stairs For Breakfast is now fully published.

CPI Books are printing the pre-orders, which will take 2 to 3 weeks. When I receive the books I will send yours to you. I think CPI might stand for Cerebral Palsy Interactive!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me have my book published; from people who have pre-ordered to the guys at CPI (including Stephanie Hale and Roy Stannard).

I will be printing the address labels next week. Hence, until then, you can still pre-order copies of the book HERE for the discounted price of £15.

I’m very pleased and proud of Stairs For Breakfast. It’s going to help me inspire people and make a difference in the world.

Stairs For Breakfast update

It’s been 6 weeks since my last update. At the time of writing it, I thought I was closer to getting the book out than I was. However the first proof copy of the book revealed a few issues with the cover and the typesetting (including typos), which took 5 weeks to iron out (ironing isn’t my forté!).

I received the second proof copy last Wednesday. The look and feel of the book is great. Then on Friday evening my friend Roy Stannard came over to check the proof copy out (I’ve been friends with Roy for nearly 20 years and he read the book while I was writing it)

holding proof copyThe first thing Roy noticed on Friday was that my surname is spelt wrong on the back cover of the book. He then read 4 pages at random and found 5 typos. Having provisionally given the go-ahead to the printers to print 600 copies, I wasn’t expecting there to be any more errors.

Roy is now very kindly proofreading the whole book.

I didn’t think it was going to take this long to publish my book. I’ve read the book twice during the process, as have a couple of other people.

I have learnt so much throughout the editing and publishing processes. My flatmate says I should write a book on how to publish a book (I think producing a free giveaway tip-sheet is a better idea)!

It’s going to take Roy a few days to proofread the book, and then I will get the corrections made and the book out ASAP.

Thank you very much to Roy and to Stephanie Hale – who are both going beyond the pale to help me and the book.

Thank you also to everyone who has helped by pre-ordering Stairs For Breakfast. It’s a fantastic book – and worth the wait.

Stairs For Breakfast is now technically published

Yes, Stairs For Breakfast has been published! I’ve ordered a proof copy of the book and will approve its publication once I’ve physically checked it over. It’s an exciting time!

I started writing Stairs For Breakfast two years ago – and have spent the last six months going through the editing and publishing processes. All in all it has been a lot of work – and well worth it! The 400 pre-orders have covered all of the publishing costs. Thank you to all of you who have pre-ordered and for helping me to have the book published. Your books will be printed in the next few weeks and I’ll send them to you as soon as they arrive.

Thank you for all of your help Stephanie Hale, you are a joy to work with.

This version of the cover needs a couple of corrections – including the term ‘life-limiting condition’, which Cerebral Palsy isn’t.

Stairs For Breakfast book cover

If you haven’t already, NOW is a great time to order YOUR copy of Stairs For Breakfast because the book price will be increased soon.

The publishing process

The final draft of my manuscript has been sent to the typesetter and I should receive the typeset (book page) version of Stairs For Breakfast by the end of this week.

Barring any changes to it (eg photos, font size, book cover), it will be uploaded onto Lulu.com for the book to be published. Once Stairs For Breakfast has been published, it will be for sale on Lulu (and after a few weeks, it will be on Amazon.com and co.uk – as well as some other websites)

Also once published, I’ll receive a galley proof of the book – and an ISBN – which will enable me to have copies of the book printed. I’ve contacted 2 book printers, however until I get the typeset version of my book I won’t know how many pages will be in the book! At which point I’ll be able to an accurate quote – and your pre-ordered books will be printed.

I’ve got an idea as to the postage and packing costs – but again, it depends on the number of pages in the book!

I’ve worked so hard to get to this point – and now am excited because Stairs For Breakfast should be out in February. I’ve raised £6,2K (so far).

There is still time to pre-order Stairs For Breakfast. I’m currently selling it at £15 (including P&P). Once the book is published the price will be increased.

I’ve updated my THANK YOU page. It humbles me to have sold close to 400 pre-orders. Thank you also to the handful of people who have invested in me, by giving me a small amount of crowdfunding money.

I would also like to thank my libel lawyer Alex Wade for his advice – and for giving me a big discount on his initial quote. He says he has never read a book like Stairs For Breakfast and would like to help me on my way to success.

Thank you to Stephanie Hale, who, like Alex, is easy and a joy to work with.

I’ll keep you posted on the publication of Stairs For Breakfast.