An Interview with renowned author, speaker, healer, and business consultant Cyndi Dale.

We have a special treat for you. We recently interviewed intuitive author Cyndi Dale. We can't wait for you to read her inspirational answers. We want to send out a special thank you to Cyndi for sharing such deep answers. She truly walks an intuitive connected path. Enjoy! Please share your thoughts. If you have any follow up questions, share them. We'll make sure Cyndi sees your questions. ~ Carol and Stacy

Carol and Stacy:    At what age did you know your were intuitive or have your first intuitive experience?

Cyndi: I didn’t have a label for the phenomenon, but I was intuitive as a very small child. I actually remember being in my mother’s womb and watching sound waves pass through her skin and into me. They were huge and colorful and the ones that came from angry comments actually hurt.

Interesting…those spots that were hit by the harsh comments have been the same ones I’ve had afflictions, such as infections, palpitations, and more.

At about three or four, I recall seeing angels. I saw them as a child might: as big with wings. There was one I favored in particular since he would have tea parties with me. Imagine sitting with an angel at a child’s table, his wings dripping onto the floor, his gigantic hands picking up tiny teacups.

But I also saw beings that weren’t so delightful. I could hear and see ghosts, people who continued to stay around though dead. These weren’t particular scary, most of the time, except when I was three and a half, we moved to California and I saw the image of a woman hanging by a noose in our garage. My parents later told me that yes, in fact, someone had hung herself in the garage. I also saw figures I would call demonic—dark, grey, and shadowy, float around the room and sometimes, into and out of my parents when they were in bad moods.

Carol and Stacy:    What was your childhood like? Are your parents intuitive? 

Cyndi: I had a mixed childhood. I lived a lot in my dreams and intuitions, sometimes forcing my sisters to engage with me in that subtle world. Modeled after some of the ghosts I saw, especially those in long flowing gowns, and what seemed to be their life stories, I’d play dress up, write stories, put on plays.

I also loved nature. To me, it was alive. There was a sense about the grass that was different than the trees; rocks had personalities; stream beds, promises.

I believe that my parents were intuitive but didn’t know or like it. My dad would shake his head if I shared a perception and say,

A Conversation With Author Simon Paul Harrison

We recently had the opportunity to interview Simon Paul Harrison. Simon is the author of The Truly Alive Child ~ For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children.

Stacy and Carol: First of all what was your childhood like?

Simon:Like everyone else, I always considered my childhood normal. It’s not till weget older and have some perspective, do we discover that none of us have a“normal” childhood. I was quite happy really, playing soccer, riding my bike.We had fields behind our house where we would build shelters and play games. Wewere always out and about. I had a lot of freedom that seems to havedisappeared for children very rapidly.

Stacy and Carol: What would you have liked to have asked your parents to change, stop or start todo with you while you were achild?

Simon: Great question! This one really made methink. There’s an awful lot of things I would have answered at the time of mychildhood, but now looking back on them, they were all wonderful experiences.For example, we lost part of our pocket money if we left lights on, which was areal drag at the time. But looking back on it now, it was a great lesson inenergy conservation! I’m very happy in my life, so it’s hard to say thatsomething held me back. I think I was allowed to watch too much television, butboth my parents worked really hard to pay the bills, so I can’t reallycriticize them. But, if I have to pick something,  it would have beennice, looking back, to have spent less time in front of a television.

Stacy and Carol: What made you choose the John Lennon quote at the start ofyour book? 

Simon: Because it’s wonderfully simple and tothe point! I appreciate simplicity.

Stacy and Carol:  At what age did yourmind think of this concept you write about? Being truly alive and conscious ofthe role you have as a parent?

Simon:  Itreally began to emerge when I was an elementary school teacher in England, somid-twenties. In many ways I was amazed how damaging huge parts of theeducation system were to children. Most of all, arbitrary destinations werechased after without ever questioning them, which I found to be very worrying.The ability to question everything we create is fundamental. Things are everchanging and the ability to move with the flow of life is crucial foreverybody’s peace and joy. 

PIN IT TO WIN IT! Pin or repin to win a stuffed Cooper and his travel guides.

We are happy to share with you our very first "Pin It To Win It" Contest.

How do you enter? Simple. Pin the picture of Cooper below on Pinterest.

What is Pinterest? Pinterest is an online pin board that allows users to share images they find over the web. Example, you love to cook so maybe you have a board full of all your favorite recipes.

Your an avid book reader and love sharing what you've read or you are an author or illustrator. You can create a board of all your books. Pinterest is a lot of fun and a visual way of sharing what you love.

Join us on Pinterest for several boards. Cooking, recycling, conscious parenting, conscious living, giveaways, social media tips and much more.

How to enter? Pin a picture of Cooper by clicking on the "Pin It" button located right above Cooper. One lucky pinner will be chosen on September 20th. Happy Pinning! If you are new to Pinterest you will have to ask for an invitation. You will receive your invitation shortly by email and then you will be able to set up your account. Bookmark this page to return and pin Cooper and join the contest.

Read our full interview with the mastermind of Cooper's Pack - Brandon Kyle Rudd. Hear all about how Cooper travels to bring children ventures through-out cities from around the world. 

"Coopers Pack Children's Travel Guides is one of the best children's travel guides we've ever seen. With so many choices in our world today these books are  definitely worth taking a look at. As far as educational books go this is definitely well spent money that your children will benefit from many times over. The simplicity in which these books are designed will draw your child in and open up their imagination. Even if you are a world wide traveler or you've never left your town you can still travel the world with these travel guides. Each page is packed with information from top to bottom. The visuals and intricate details are so realistic, from the maps, to real live pictures of the towns, to the street signs; the details of the buildings, the features of the glaciers, even down to the details on the statue of liberty." Read our full review here!

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Are You Taking Your Kids To The London Olympics? Check Out Cooper's Pack London Travel Guide For Kids And An Interview With Brandon Kyle Rudd

Your children will be enthralled and engaged along the entire olympic
journey with the Cooper's Pack London Travel Guide. Cooper makes an excellent companion to join your child during his Olympic journey.


Cooper’s Pack™ was created by author Brandon Kyle Rudd in conjunction with graphic designer, Martin McCann (Groot), in 2004. After returning from a trip to Thailand in 2003, Brandon sketched the original New York City book in one afternoon and an idea was born—children’s travel guides based on stuffed animals traveling around the world, city by city.

Each book follows the journey of the main character Cooper, as he ventures through a city with a new friend, a member of his “pack”. Look for L.L. (Little Lambie, the London hipster) in the London book Phinney the bear in NYC, Elliott the Sea Otter (who works at the Space Needle) in Seattle, Zoe the fox (and perfumery mogul) in Paris, Demitri for the Athens book and many others. The books also include an interactive education and activity section plus look for hidden secrets or “buried bones” that can be found on most pages. The interactive books for the iPad and Android platforms have advanced buried bone hunting with over 100 buried bones just in the Seattle book alone.
Brandon Kyle Rudd is responsible for the concept, writing, photography, art direction, and business management and Martin McCann creates the corresponding graphic designs and assets, bringing Cooper to life in print and on the web.

Meet Brandon Kyle Rudd, the author behind Coopers Travel Guides

Carol and Stacy: Have you been to every destination you wrote a travel guide about?

Brandon: Absolutely! That is the best part about the job…planning and then exploring every new location. To be honest, I usually visit each location more than once to ensure we capture everything, photograph major events (where applicable) and to standardize weather. If anything, we have more travel guides to write than time allows. Some of my favorite storylines that are yet to be published include Cape Town (South Africa), Tokyo (Japan), Santiago (Chile), Portland (Oregon) and Angkor Wat/Siem Riep (Cambodia).

Carol and Stacy: How did you create the photos and illustrations in your book?

Brandon: The artwork shown in Cooper’s books are culled from a variety of sources, starting with the actual onsite photo shoots of each city/region. From there, we select the most viable shots for each page in the story then the work begins. Utilizing Photoshop, we fold in multiple layers and imagery to build the page along with placing the characters. Some of the illustrations are hand-drawn and others are simply invented as needed. The one standard across all books is that we utilize a new character for each city/region and ensure we have them physically in-hand prior to shooting the book. This way we can also have a spread in the activity section that shows the real characters in the real city (instead of just relying on Photoshop).

Carol and Stacy: Do you have any children of your own?

Brandon: You would think so but alas, no. Because traveling has taken much of my time over the last 10 years, the timing just hasn’t happened yet. I do completely enjoy sharing my adventures and stories with kids through the school systems I visit along with friends and family. Someday…

Carol and Stacy: Have you written any other books besides the travel series?

Brandon: I've contemplated writing several books over the years, both fiction and
non-fiction however haven't tried to actually publish any of them. Instead
I often find myself making up songs and trying to map them to the guitar or
piano...songs about odd-holidays, made-up characters and the like. If I did
focus on writing a separate book, it would be focused on motivational
behavior and how the glass is always half-full.

Carol and Stacy: Is there a T.V. show in the works? This could easily be a TV show for kids. The potential is endless.

Brandon: The proverbial “nail on the head”. This is one of our main goals as Cooper’s Pack is completely scalable for television. Think about the fun and educational possibilities by having a regular show featuring Cooper’s travels and his “pack” of friends? We can focus on world regions, cities and places along with activities (for example: Cooper’s Pack—Fishing or Cooper’s Pack—Sculpture). We’ve been working on the theme song for Cooper that includes a wonderfully repetitive line that goes: He’s Cooper…He’s Super-Duper! As of now, we’re still trying to figure out how to break into the TV world and are looking for help if anyone has some suggestions…

Carol and Stacy: Is Coopers favorites really your favorites?

Brandon: I’ll answer this one level deeper…I am Cooper. So yes, his favorites are mine, though as anyone knows, favorites can change with time. Therefore I try to update Cooper’s favorite music in every other book to show that he has changed/grown. I should also mention that his Pack of friends are also built off of friends and family, therefore their favorites…

Carol and Stacy: Who is Groot and Kyle?

Brandon: Kyle is my middle name (Brandon Kyle Rudd) and Groot is Dutch for large. Martin McCann who helps produce the Cooper graphics is fairly stout and also loves Amsterdam and the Dutch people. When I do school presentations, I often describe Groot as similar to Harry Potter’s Hagrid character (black long hair, large, big). That is Groot. Together we decided we didn’t need our names on the books and preferred to have some fun with the publishing.

Carol and Stacy: What is next and how can your audience connect with you?

Brandon: We are aggressively working on updating our London eBook to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics. In addition, we’re finally getting ready to release our Paris book who features our first female character, Zoe the Fox (she’s from Paris and owns a Perfume Empire—studied both botany and chemistry in grad school). I started shooting Cooper’s Pack—Hawaii in May which should be complete by the year’s end (featuring a surfing cat). I plan on scouting our Tokyo book sites in September/October and solidifying the Tokyo character. From there, we are simply trying to get the word out about Cooper and our books. Anyone who has ever seen them seems to love them and want more. I know we have a great product, we just need help getting people to see them.

If anyone wants to learn more about Cooper’s Pack, they can visit our website at http://cooperspack.com/ to see our latest releases and purchase books or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CoopersPackTravelGuides.
In addition, we’re starting to release weekly video updates on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/CoopersPack/.

Carol and Stacy: Is there any messages you would like to pass onto the parents buying your books or reading this interview?

Brandon: Cooper’s Pack is geared towards 4-12 year old audiences, however I am continually amazed with our fan comments that include adults who love the books or from their 2-year olds that won’t let them read anything else when they go to bed at night. The books also include over 100 “buried bones” (hidden secrets) in each book that can help entertain on a long road-trip or plane flight. I should also mention we try to push the following travel goals in each book produced:

• Have fun and take pictures.
• Be courteous and respectful to others.
• Be smart and learn about new cultures.
• Make new friends.

Cooper’s books are also available for the Apple iPad as an interactive book that unlocks Cooper’s “buried bones” found in both the print and eBooks, along with video animations and extended fun facts. More information on our eBooks can be found at  http://cooperspack.com/store/interactive/

Carol and Stacy: What are you reading right now?

Brandon: I’ve got 3 in-process books right now that take up space in my luggage when traveling:

-Keith Richards Life
-Lonely Planet 1000 Ultimate Experiences
-Philip Matyszak Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day (in preparation for writing our Cooper’s Pack—Athens book that has already been photographed)

We want to send out a big thank you to Brandon for sharing his time with us and for Cooper for putting a smile on so many children's faces. Good luck on your adventures and keep us posted. ~ Carol and Stacy

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Review: The Intuition GuideBook How To Safely And Wisely Use Your Sixth Sense

Cyndi Dale has put together an unmeasurable resource for those who wish to develop their intuition, study their chakras and energy on a more in depth level.

The Intuition Guidebook-How To Safely And Wisely Use Your Sixth Sense is perfect for beginners and delightfully stimulating for the more advanced.

Cyndi Dale covers subject matter not widely talked about but very vital to healthy energetic growth and intuitive development.

"Ultimately, being connected to the greater presence presents you with the greatest gift of all: affirmation of your own presence."

Some of our favorite subjects in The Intuition Guidebook:
1. Five steps for safe psychic activity.
2. How to prepare yourself to be able to become more intuitive.
3. The role feelings play in psychic discernment.
4. Universal laws and how they are all recognized by people and indigenous cultures from all around the world.
5. The importance of getting a gatekeeper, a special being that will help you discern helpful from unhelpful energies, messages and behaviors.
6. The infinite power of love.

One of the reasons we became best friends and have gotten along so well for 26 years is do to the fact we both are very intuitive and empathic. We always talk about following your intuition and developing your psychic skills. Cyndi's newest guidebook gives you the tools to do this. When we take the time to develop our inner selves and then in turn teach these tools to our children, we empower them to lead more fulfilling, connected and rewarding lives.

"The basis of all psychic issues-whether the problem lies in your auric field, your chakras, or any other energy body-is in your programming. A program is a belief that controls our thoughts, emotions, activities, and reactions to life events."

All quotes are from The Intuition Guidebook How To Safely and Wisely Use Your Sixth Sense.
Review by: Carol Lawrence and Stacy Toten