Writer Geoffrey Saign joins me today to chat about his new self-help book, Smile More Stress Less: A Playful A Playful Method to End Anxiety, Be Calm & Achieve Happiness with Awareness.
During his virtual book tour, Geoffrey will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!
Bio:
Geoffrey Saign began reducing stress by practicing mindfulness at the age of fifteen. For fifty years he studied many modalities for mind-body calming and awareness, including Qigong, tai chi, kung fu, meditation, biofeedback, positive psychology, and many others. He co-designed and taught a cutting-edge, research-based self-awareness class to young adults for ten years. In 2020 the author experienced a major breakthrough in mind-brain-body awareness, which led to him Living with intelligence HERE, and the resulting book, Smile More Stress Less.
Please tell us about your current release.
When you listen to many stress experts, including Eckhart Tolle and others, there often isn’t a road map, a how-to-get-there. I needed that, and found it, created it, and use it daily. The Power of HERE can transform your life. This book encompasses all of life—and all of your life—regardless of your lifestyle or stress. I use humor daily, and in this book, and that’s one of the best antidotes to stress you can find.
What inspired you to write this book?
When I was seven, a traumatic move caused me deep stress that was only amplified with bullying in High School. Thus I have been looking at stress and ways to reduce it all my life—from obvious stress triggers, to subtle stress that everyone creates daily. Smile More Stress Less is the cutting edge of where I found a final breakthru to end stress. It totally transformed my life and I want to share it with whoever is interested.
Excerpt from Smile More Stress Less:
One way to change rote, stressful thought patterns is to use playful exaggeration. It is a simple, repetitive method that will produce immediate and significant results, and we will use it often in this book in different ways and situations.
Let’s try it with dirty dishes. You see the dirty dishes in the sink. Thoughts enter your mind about how irresponsible the person was in leaving them there. You feel annoyed and irritated. You notice this Self-Created Stress reaction inside yourself, and you interrupt it. You say out loud or think:
Oh no! My hands will never recover from this!
This is going to ruin my whole life!
It’s the end of the world as I know it!
Smile as you do this. Smiling brings about a strong positive emotion, and strong emotion helps change the brain by wiring a new neural pattern that’s even stronger.
It’s worth repeating that your brain pays attention to everything you focus on. If your intent is to end illusions, the brain will work on it, even if you don’t see an immediate change in how you respond to situations with illusions.
What exciting story are you working on next?
Currently I’m working on the Pitch Bibles for my movie contracts for my MAGICAL BEASTS YA fantasy series, and my KILL SIGHT thriller series. Very exciting! A Pitch Bible is a short story synopsis, and includes the first season for a streamer, like Netflix, broken down into synopses of each of the first 10 shows in season 1.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I put pen to paper in high school and wrote my first novel.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I have been working in education, but honestly, probably writing fulltime at the same time. During the summers especially. I’m leaving education this year, which will make writing time much easier to come by. Mornings are good to write, but I write all day, usually ending by 8-9pm. Summers are glorious. I’ll swim early evening in a favorite lake or river, which rejuvenates me and keeps me inspired.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t outline much beyond a few key ideas until well into the book, and I rewrite everything constantly. By the end of the first draft, it’s 90% finished. And, most importantly, Mom is still one of my best editors!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I didn’t know. It wasn’t until I began writing that I figured it out. I loved wild animals even as a very young child, and so for a while I studied wildlife biology—I use all of my passions for nature and wildlife in all of my writing.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Follow your passions! Follow your heart! Become a child again! Listen to everyone, follow no one. Smile daily!
Links:
Website | Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads | Audible
Thanks for being here today, Geoffrey.
Thanks for hosting!
I’m happy to be here with Lisa Haselton! I’ll stop back later to check in on any comments. I look forward to it!
Sounds like a good book.
Thanks for sharing!
Great excerpt and giveaway. 🙂
Thank all of you for your nice comments! I hope you enjoy it!
nice excerpt
This sounds like an interesting and informative book.
Sounds like a good read.
This sound slike a very interesting book.
“Geoffrey Saign began reducing stress by practicing mindfulness at the age of fifteen. ”
Wow, that’s an early start! Sounds like a great read. Thanks for posting!
“For fifty years he studied many modalities for mind-body calming and awareness, including Qigong, tai chi, kung fu, meditation, biofeedback, positive psychology, and many others.”
Wow, he truly is an expert. Thanks for the giveaway!
“including Qigong, tai chi, kung fu, meditation, biofeedback, positive psychology, and many others. ”
Wow, that’s a lot to learn! Thanks for the giveaway!
“When you listen to many stress experts, including Eckhart Tolle and others, there often isn’t a road map, a how-to-get-there.”
I haven’t read any of those books, so I’m a newbie. Thanks for the giveaway!
“The Power of HERE can transform your life. ”
Sounds great! Thanks for the giveaway!
“This book encompasses all of life—and all of your life—regardless of your lifestyle or stress. ”
This book sounds great. Thanks for the giveaway!
“I use humor daily, and in this book, and that’s one of the best antidotes to stress you can find.”
I love a good laugh when I need it the most. Thanks for the giveaway!
“When I was seven, a traumatic move caused me deep stress that was only amplified with bullying in High School. ”
I think we are soulmates. I also had a traumatic move at age 7, and I was bullied in middle school.
“Thus I have been looking at stress and ways to reduce it all my life—from obvious stress triggers, to subtle stress that everyone creates daily.”
That was a smart thing to do. Thanks for the giveaway!
“Smile More Stress Less is the cutting edge of where I found a final breakthru to end stress.”
This would be a fascinating read. Thanks for the giveaway!
“It totally transformed my life and I want to share it with whoever is interested.”
Well now I’m really interested! Thanks for the giveaway!
“One way to change rote, stressful thought patterns is to use playful exaggeration.”
I never thought of that before. Thanks for the giveaway!
“It is a simple, repetitive method that will produce immediate and significant results, and we will use it often in this book in different ways and situations.”
It sounds like a great system. Thanks for the giveaway!
“Let’s try it with dirty dishes. ”
Good idea. I’ve got a few of those, lol. Thanks for the giveaway!
“Smile as you do this. Smiling brings about a strong positive emotion, and strong emotion helps change the brain by wiring a new neural pattern that’s even stronger.”
I’ve heard this before, but what if you’ve perfected the perfect fake smile?
“It’s worth repeating that your brain pays attention to everything you focus on.”
So true.